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somehow he ended up even busier. Tonight he had a stack of papers in front of him that needed to be read and graded, but he’d pushed them aside and was now hunched over a National Geographic magazine, fighting back much-needed sleep. He had intended to take a break from grading the essays — an hour ago. It was approaching midnight, and he wondered if it would be easier to just sleep on his office’s futon mattress instead of driving all the way home. 
     
    The hall outside his office was darker than usual. The exit signs at each end and the safety light at the restroom door were the only illumination. During the day and throughout most of the nights during the school year, the halls were filled with the whitewashed glow of florescent ceiling lights. The Geography and World Studies wing of the college was one of several 24-hour facilities on campus, and most of the professors and even some of the students often stayed after hours to finish up grading and assignments. Must be the football game tonight, he thought.
    His eyes wandered over the page on his desk in front of him, sleep sneaking in and causing him to drift away. Finally exhaustion won out, and his eyes closed for a brief moment, his head propped up by his fist. No sooner had he drifted off than his head snapped back upright, and his bleary eyes blinked back open into focus. What was that?
    He could have sworn he’d heard a noise outside his office. He sat dead still at his desk for a full minute, not hearing anything. Finally he rose to his feet and walked — quietly — to his office door. His heart was suddenly pounding, and he stood at the doorway for a moment to catch his breath. Why was he so shaken up tonight? Most likely it was just some kids down the hall, or a night janitor on the other side of the building, nothing to worry about. 
    Thwap .
    There it was again, only this time louder. He tensed, frozen in place, straining to hear around the corner. Absolutely silent, he reached out and pulled open his office door. The gentle click of the handle retracting made him stop for a second to listen again, but there wasn’t a sound. 
    With the door half open, he leaned his head out slowly and pushed his glasses upwards on his face, as if somehow it would improve his sight in the near darkness. Squinting, he could make out the exit sign at the far end of the hall to his left; to the right he could see about twenty paces until the blackness overcame the feeble light.
    “H-Hello?” 
    The silence seemed to intensify. After what seemed an eternity, he let out his breath — he hadn’t realized he’d been holding it — and took one step into the hallway. 
    Ever so slowly, he turned to the left and moved tentatively toward the exit. After a few steps his pace quickened, and his timidity gave way to curiosity. 
    He was about halfway to the end of the hall when his instincts kicked in. He slowed, suddenly unsure, and tried again to focus on the exit, now about fifty feet ahead. What is that? he thought, as his eyes passed over a large, dark shape on the floor in the corner. 
    His heart raced again. The shape slowly became clearer to him. A pile of clothing… no, a coat, and a…
    Oh my God.  
    It’s a body. 
    As he drew closer, he could make out that the person was unnervingly still — not at all like someone sleeping or even passed out drunk. Jensen had never seen a dead body before — yet he somehow knew that he was looking at one now.  
    His heart was racing.Who was this, and what had happened? 
    He rolled the facedown body over, and only then noticed the growing pool of blood on the floor underneath. That alone would normally have caused him to jump back, but it was the round bullet hole directly between the man’s eyes that pushed him into a state of panic. He dove back against the wall, fighting to keep from hyperventilating.
    As he stared in shock, he realized the dead man was a security guard. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he actually