Red Tiles

chapter 1

As I stepped out into the cool, breezy air of the night, there was only one thing on my mind: exhaustion that possessed my every thought. I wanted nothing more than to go home to a steaming cup of tea and be with my iguana, Zeus.

As I reached into my pocket, my fingers sliding around the smooth metal of what would be my car key, a chill ran down my spine. Something's off, I thought to myself. I looked back at the building, then shook my head and started for my car. Nothing's wrong. Parry is just locking up, and if something actually were wrong, he'd know about it.

As it turned out, Parry, the security guard at my lab, was stepping outside, locking the doors. Without thinking, I started back towards the building.

"Parry, wait, I forgot something in my office!" I called. He stopped and looked over at me, clearly alarmed. But no longer than a second later, his alarmed expression was replaced with a look of relief.

"Oh, Dr. Kyle, It's just you. Go on ahead." He held the door wide open as I walked past him.

"Thank you. I'll lock the doors on my way out. Have a good night, Officer Parry." As I dismissed him, he responded with a nod and tipped his hat as he let go of the door, heading for his vehicle. The door closed with a loud *THUD*.

As I headed towards my office, the echoes of my footsteps down the long, narrow hall made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I just couldn't shake the feeling that something could be wrong. That's when I noticed the light on in Dr. Sterling's office.

"That's odd," I mumbled to myself. Usually Dr. Sterling, one of the two entomologists in town, didn't work this late, and she's supposed to be out of town for the weekend. She left yesterday. I sighed and slowly made my way to her office door, and knocked softly as I peeked through the tall, narrow window beside the door. Empty as far as I could see.

"Dr. Sterling? Hello?" I called out, pressing my ear to the door. Silence. Then, my nose began to twitch, a very familiar scent filled my nostrils as I cracked open the door.

Oh sweet aroma of decomposing flesh, how you reek like no other... I pushed the door open the rest of the way and froze; my eyes were wide and my mouth remained ajar. There on the whiter tile floor lay the cold, bloody, naked, lifeless body of Dr. Chandler Sterling. I couldn't help but think to myself, "boy, those are some red tiles'".