Crimson Creek

Prologue

Daniel wasn't very passionate about his job.

As he walked down the short hall of his police station, his dress shoes lightly clacked on the floor. The flickering bulbs on the ceiling caught his eye.

Just cursed under his breath, remembering how he had told his assistant to change them. Multiple times.

He thought he outa punish the man for his incompetence.
However, Daniel wasn't big on firing people. He had decided that yelling at them was the better option; it's saved him the hassle of having to find new workers, and also allowed him to release some anger.

Daniel passed by one of his officers, who tilted his head as if to greet him, then scurried away timidly.
He knew he terrified the police officers that worked below him, and that's how he liked it.

The hot, Kentucky air fanned his face when he opened the door to leave, somehow smelling just as lonely as the small town felt. The warmth of the weather hugged his skin as if to say, "Hey, this'll be the most intimacy you'll get today." Daniel leaned against the cool bricks that lined the station, fishing around in his pocket for his pack of cigarettes.

When he retrieved it, he pulled one out, a lighter accompanying it. Then he watched as the flames set the small stick ablaze.

Daniel put the cigarette to his lips, puffing out a cloud of smoke after, and thought about the uneventful week he'd had. It seemed to him as if every week was falling into an endless cycle, where he went directly from work to the bar, then from the bar to his dumpy apartment.
Rinse and repeat. The rinse being optional- who did he have to impress?

He often felt as if he should be doing something more with his life. He was only 26 for God's sake! It was the prime of his life, yet he was wasting it in a town made of dead ends.

Not even being chief of police made him feel fulfilled anymore. After all, nothing ever happened there. There were no damsels in distress, not even a fucking kitten stuck in a tree for him to save.
So what was the point?

He released another tired breath that was laced with toxic fumes, shutting his eyes and letting his hand fall to his side, the cigarette still position between his middle and index finger. The growing head buzz felt like heaven.
Daniel knew he needed to get out of that place, he knew he had to escape somehow–

"Officer Blake?"

The voice snapped Daniel out his half-asleep state, and he forced his eyes open.
"What do you want," he grumbled, voice raspy as he he glared at the man he now recognized as one of his police officers.

The officer had a strange look in his eyes, one not usually seen in people around their. Even the air, which had just felt hot, now had a certain chill to it.

Daniel knew something was up.
"Spit it out!" He barked.
The man gulped, shaky hands resting on his hips.
Daniel never would've been prepared for what the man said next:

"There's been a murder."