3
Eddie nearly ran screaming at the sight of the corpse.
The room smelled of urine, blood, and fecal matter.
He stumbled and fell on his back, scrambling away. He screamed.
But the corpse lay unmoving, staring up at him with ballooning eyes and a somber grin.
The man looked like a scientist. He wore a gray suit with gold sunglasses. Blood caked around his mouth. His body was still intact. His stomach was swarming with maggots. Flies buzzed in the air around the room.
On the man’s chest was a name plate: T. Miloschenko. Next to the man’s hand was a golden pendant on a silver chain. The pendant had a teal front made of smooth gemstone. Eddie picked it up, turned it around—something was engraved on it. Numbers. Some sort of passcode.
He opened the pendant. Inside was a picture of a wom
