"But we continued through the wood to stray;
The wood, I mean, with crowded ghosts for trees."
"Remember the acronym BARK." The professor said as she wrote it on the whiteboard. "Be aware of your surroundings, Alert as soon as possible, React immediately, and Keep track of time." Enid dutifully scribbled it down in her workbook before doodling in the margins. "Now, let's go through the importance of each." She said, scanning the room. "Who can tell me why it's important to 'be aware of your surroundings'?" A student raised their hand. The professor nodded at them.
"So they don't hurt themselves?" They guessed.
"That is correct." The professor said encouragingly. "It's beneficial to treat psychic seizures similar to typical seizures which means we want to clear our surroundings as much as possible. In addition to being aware of physical objects within the area we also want to be aware of people. Who might have an idea as to why that is?" She asked. Another hand rose into the air.
"Because it could attract attention?"
"Could you elaborate a little further?" The professor asked.
"Uh, people might think it's a regular seizure and call 911?"
"Exactly. It's best not to draw attention to psychics during such a vulnerable time. Many psychics and service werewolves have been separated as nonsupernatural healthcare providers jump in." The professor said, noting it on the board. "Let's move on to the next letter, A, alert as soon as possible. Why might-?" A few hands rose into the air before she had finished. She stopped and nodded.
"So we can get them to a safe area."
"So we can clear the area."
"Because they might not know they're about to have a vision."
"All excellent answers." The professor said, beaming. "I see you've been studying. Next letter." More hands shot up. Enid frowned as her mind began to wander back to the event that landed her here in the first place. She had followed the acronym. She had been aware of their surroundings. She had alerted Wednesday that the other objects would be dangerous. "R, react immediately." The professor said but waved down the numerous hands. "I trust you know why we should react immediately but I'd like to know how you would react." She said seriously. There were a few confused looks among the students.
"How far are you willing to go to protect your psychic?" She continued. "How much force is too much force? How do you prevent a scene from happening in public? How do you maintain an amicable working relationship if you are forced to restrain your psychic?" The professor asked as she started writing on the board. "Answering those tough questions will be your assignment." She said, turning back to them. "I'll provide you with a set of scenarios to choose from. Pick one and answer those questions. I expect a minimum of six pages with at least four peer-reviewed sources to support your answers."
There were a few quiet groans as they started to pack up. Enid put her workbook away and trudged to the professor's desk to grab one of the scenarios.
"Wait a moment, Ms. Sinclair." She said, pulling a separate paper out from her desk. "Since your placement here is more of a refresher course than anything, I'd like your paper to be a reflection." She said gently. "Same questions but what you would have done differently regarding the event from last week." Enid accepted the paper and nodded somberly. "It's not a punishment. Just think of it as an exercise in self-reflection." She said encouragingly. Enid tried to force a smile and nodded again. She didn't want to be reminded of her failure, as if she hadn't thought about all the things she should have done differently.
As Enid left the building she was surprised to find Wednesday waiting outside for her with a colorful drink in hand.
"Wednes?" She asked as she sniffed the air hopefully.
"I," She swallowed, "have procured this obnoxiously colorful beverage as…" She avoided Enid's eyes but couldn't help glancing back. "As recompense for my egregious and erroneous transgressions against you." She shifted her feet nervously. "I hope that it-" But her words faltered as Enid pulled her into a bone crushing hug.
"Wednes…" Enid whimpered happily as she squeezed her again before pulling back. She had to repress a giggle as she noticed how red Wednesday's face had become.
"I, yes, I hope that this can be an adequate first step in my reparations to you." Wednesday said, holding the drink out. Enid happily took it and nodded.
"So if this is the first step-" She pulled the straw to her mouth and took a sip. Her eyes fluttered shut as she savored the intense rush of sugar. Her mind temporarily went blank.
"Yes, I have planned many more steps. As many as it takes to earn your forgiveness for my foolishness." Wednesday said seriously. Enid beamed and took Wednesday's hand in her own.
"I hope they involve more drinks." She said, as she stared at the colorful one before her.
"They could." Wednesday acknowledged as they walked the campus. Enid pressed her shoulder against hers and glanced down at her. She could see that Wednesday had a slight frown and had started chewing her lip. Enid let out a small sigh. Wednesday was too easy to read. Wednesday looked over at her questioningly.
"What new thing did you find out about the case?" Enid asked, repressing a smile as Wednesday's face lit up at once.
"I followed up on your hunch about their digital presence somehow being the linking factor and-" Wednesday began immediately then forced herself to pause.
"-and?" Enid asked, tilting her head to the side.
"Do you wish to discuss the case or would you prefer we talk about a topic of your choosing?" Wednesday asked seriously.
"We can talk about the case." Enid said, squeezing her hand affectionately. "Thank you for asking." Wednesday nodded and leaned into Enid as she continued.
"At first I couldn't determine a pattern. Yes, there were the two professional athletes and a third professed their interest in pursuing a career as such but the others-" Wednesday shook her head. "I looked for anything tangentially related: coaches, school sports teams, sport enthusiasts in general, gym memberships, Kinesiology." She listed off. "And yet nothing of that nature presented itself."
"So I guess we could cross 'targeting jocks' off the list of possible motivations." Enid said, sounding stumped.
"I would have to agree." Wednesday said, stopping to pull a paper from her pocket and unfolding. "However, while I was investigating a link between the victims I stumbled across something linking these murders to another set of murders." She held out the paper to Enid. Enid squinted at the paper as she took it; Wednesday had printed out a webpage.
"Top 100 unsolved murder cases of the mysterious and macabre." Enid read aloud. She looked at Wednesday. The site looked less than reputable.
"There was a set of murders fifteen years ago that share some striking similarities." She said eagerly. Enid looked back at the page. There was a picture of the crime scene with broken bodies arranged in a curved line. "I looked into the victims and again there appeared to be no connection, except for one."
"Okay?" Enid said, scratching her neck. Wednesday reached over and started scratching behind one of Enid's ears. Enid shivered and pushed herself into Wednesday's hand.
"A brother and sister." Wednesday continued. "One of the recent victims was related to someone from this previous case."
"Uh huh." Enid said, only partially listening.
"So I looked back further." Wednesday said. "And while I couldn't find a direct link between two close family members I did find two distant cousins between that case and another from twenty six years ago."
"Were the bodies also arranged in a weird shape?" Enid asked. Wednesday nodded enthusiastically.