The Secrets Within Pages

Stealing from the dead

I walk down the cobblestone path, every step I take speeds up until I'm running desperately back to class. Rushing down the hallways, my surroundings blend into an abstract painting in my periphery until everything refocuses when I reach Osbourne's office. I look around, shock and disbelief still lingering. 

He's not dead. He can't be.

Avoiding all care for privacy, I inspect his desk. I read every letter, note, and document I can. I rack my mind trying to think of something, some clue he must've left, signs. I gather several of his personal journals and his computer when I accidentally drop a mug that shatters on the floor. Anxiety claws at my stomach as I look around in paranoia to check if anyone is approaching. 

The smithereens of broken porcelain reveal a set of keys. Timidly, I picked them up and throw them in my bag- my bag, filled with the belongings of a dead man. Scanning the room once more, I exited with as much composure as I can muster not sure whether to go to the police or back to my dorm room to figure out what the hell I'm going to do. 

My pace quickening, I pass the same halls I was manically running down moments before. Moonlight douses the walls and ceilings illuminating the esteemed college, even with the haunting circumstances one can't help but admire the beauty of it's elaborate architecture.

I come to a halt when I see the library. Deciding that there was no way I could sleep with the possibility of Osbourne's death looming over my head, I enter quietly and slip into a corner. A flickering light on another desk consumed with books captures my attention yet no one is there. I ignore it, there are more pressing matters to tend to.

 I pull out all three journals from my bag knowing there'd be more information than the computer- Professor was always a very traditional man, never liked or used modern technology. It was only until the university forced him to, he bought a very old computer that I rarely saw him use. Three journals of the same design and shape just different colours- black, brown and a deep green, sat before me. I opened the black one first, when a photograph fell to the ground. 

"What's this?" A voice questioned.