The day started with a blaring alarm. Brendan arose from his
slumber at exactly 7 am. Slightly annoyed with the abrupt ending of his dreamt
expedition of Mt. Everest, he dragged his feet all the way to the bathroom
where he blinded himself with the fluorescent bulbs. He stumbled to the sink
and cupped his hands. The water splashes across his face, sharpening his senses
like the brisk winds of Nepal. A long sigh escapes his lips as he moves to the
shower. "No heat again?" he thinks to himself, "Why can't they
just fix it already?" Throwing on a new set of clothes, he sets the kettle
on the stove. While he waits for the water to boil he grabs the morning paper
and flips to the crossword puzzle.
"What is a three letter word for a container?", he
asks aloud, "Aha! Box." As is it was a response to his achievement,
the locked box in the corner of the room creaked. Startled, Brendan made his
way over to check on the box. This box was in the apartment when Brendan
arrived two months ago. While he was curious as to what was inside, he never
made the effort to open it. He approached slowly and placed his hand on the
metal covering. It was as cold as ice. A handprint
was left in the field of dust. There were locks on three sides of the box. One
lock was a steel padlock with designs of veins etched in the back. On another
side was a panel of five buttons with the letters T, M, G, D, and A. The last lock was a ten-string number lock. The
numbers were completely faded on the tenth number slider. This brief
examination ended with the whistles of the kettle, and Brendan finally poured
the cup of tea he needed to properly start his day. Sitting in his chair, he
returned to his crossword puzzle. The next clue read "dead" for a
seven lettered word. "That's obvious", he thought, "The answer
is decease." As he approaches the
completion of the crossword, he soon realizes "decease" was
incorrect. The word had to start with letter "M". he did not get much
time to think because there was a knock on his door. The door opened, revealing
Georgie Mendoza.
"I don't think this is the best phrasing but uh Mr.
Evans is dead."
