The entire city was restless. Rumors flew around in the air like bees, stirring up excitement in person after person. They all had their suspicions, but nobody knew for sure who had done it.
The police had only just found the scene of the crime: Aperture Laboratories, the city's famous science center, had apparently been stormed by an unknown attacker. The victims had died at just about the same time, and there were no wounds of any sort on their bodies, or evidence of being strangled. Everyone was completely stumped.
The chief of the police force, Mr. Newell, immediately arranged a team of detectives to work on the case. It was a mixed bunch; there were men and women of various experience levels and nationalities. Among them was Tim Wheatley, a rookie detective who was really only added to the team for comedic relief. He had never solved a case this big before, and was very nervous about the whole thing.
One day, after the team had gone another hard day without discovering the slightest thing, Wheatley rode home on his bicycle with one thought on his mind: Why am I even here in the first place?
He stormed into his apartment and slammed the door. "Dammit, Rick," he shouted at his roommate, "I can't do this. I just can't do this!"
Rick, a self-proclaimed "lady killer" with a smile that was just begging to be slapped, slowly strolled out of his room to greet his friend. "Hey, look who's back! It's the master detective. How'd the meeting go?"
Wheatley sighed. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. This guy's a bloody genius!"
"Well, I'm sure an intelligent man like yourself would be able to crack the case," he said in a mocking tone.
"You're hilarious, Rick." Wheatley deadpanned.
"Oh, I know."
"Thanks," he yelled as he walked out the door again. "Big help."
Wheatley kicked the ground in frustration. He was beginning to lose confidence. Murders usually proved to be among the easiest cases to solve, especially mass killings like the one at Aperture. Ah, well. Maybe I should take a walk. Some exercise might help me think, he thought to himself.
As soon has he had started on his way, a woman wearing a black jumpsuit collided with him head-on.
"Oh, my god! I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. "Are you all right?"
He rubbed his head. "No, it's quite all right. I wasn't looking where I was going. Just going for a nice walk, clearing my head, all that. Have a big case to solve..." His voice trailed off as he lost his train of thought.
"A big case, you say? Which one?"
"Well, you know, the killings at Aperture and all."
"Oh." She seemed a bit nervous for a second, then regained her composure. "Aperture, huh? I've heard of that. I worked there a while back, you know."
"That's great! Maybe you could help me!" he said excitedly. "Oh, and my name's Wheatley, by the way. Tim Wheatley."
"I'm Caroline. It's nice to meet you, Tim." She stuck her hand out for a handshake, which Wheatley awkwardly returned.
"Caroline? That's, um, that's a lovely name. Er..." Wheatley blushed. He had never been the best at making friends.
She held out a slip of paper. "Here's my card." Just then, her phone rang. As she fumbled around in her pockets to find it, he could faintly hear the lyrics of her ringtone.
This was a triumph
I'm making a note here, huge success.
It's hard to overstate my satis-
"Sorry," she laughed sheepishly as she pressed the 'Accept Call' button. "Yes? Yes, this is Caroline. No, sorry, I haven't seen him. Okay. Okay, bye!" She hung up, rolling her eyes. "That's the third time today she's called me. I swear..."
"Er, that- that song," Wheatley stammered, "what's it called?"
"Oh, that?" Caroline said dismissively. "It's called Still Alive. It's by... an acquaintance of mine."
"That's amazing! What's their name?"
She paused for a few seconds. "Her name's Gladys."
"Gladys... Johnson?" His pupils got noticeably smaller. She nodded. "But isn't she, er..."
Caroline sighed. "Yes, she's a wanted criminal. And the one people suspect to be the Aperture killer. Personally, I think all of that's a load of bull."
"S-so... you know her?"
"Technically. We used to work together." She sighed again. "Anyway, I have to go. My friend needs a ride and she's probably waiting for me right now."
"Oh. O-okay."
And just like that, she was gone.
[AN: So, how'd you like it? It's a bit short, but yeah. The next one will be longer, I promise! Review if you have any comments or suggestions! -TAR]
