This chapter is for...

❤️ @nettab50 ❤️

 Thanks for your support!

Your search - Malik Holston Institution - did not match any documents.

Suggestions:

Make sure that all words are spelt correctly. Try different keywords. Try more general keywords.

"How?" I whispered. Google had stuff on everyone, even on me and I don't really use social media. I knew that just typing 'Malik' was pointless as there were many people called that. So far my search hadn't borne any fruits except for frustration.

I decided to change my method. It was obvious he was very wealthy and powerful - or his family was - so there was no point trying to search him up. Maybe I could try researching Dr Patel. I headed to the Holston's website and under the 'staff' section I found him listed as 'Dr Sameer Patel' which I pasted into the search bar.

"Wow", I whistled quietly in shock. This guy was a big deal. He had at least 2 PhDs, graduated from med school, carried out ground-breaking research and then specialised. What was such a person doing here? It must obviously be due to the high salary. I mean I got paid a lot and I was new. He must be paid a lot more as he said he had been in Holston's for a while.

For some reason, he didn't have any social media and there weren't many pictures of him. As my search progressed further, things started getting weirder.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find out anything about him prior to university. No Facebook posts from his parents of him when he was little and no mention of any of the schools he attended which just didn't make any sense. Schools tend to show off when such an accomplished person came from their school. That was definitely ringing alarm bells.

I tried my luck with Dr Seacole and Nurse Carter and hit the same dead end. It couldn't just be a coincidence. Their pasts were all hidden and they all had one thing in common - they knew about Malik. To test that theory, I Googled a random Nurse who used to work with Jessica and I was right. If I dug deep enough, I found all out all sorts of random things about her which I couldn't do with anyone connected to Malik. It was like they had most of their upbringing purposefully hidden.

So not only was everything about Malik a secret, but anyone connected to him was also shrouded in mystery. There were no legal records about them which didn't make sense and was technically impossible. I decided to write that down in my notebook.

Next, I typed up Colston's village and a whole bunch of articles came up like 'Colstons to host the elusive Holston's institution' and other random articles. I scrolled down to the bottom of the page and the articles were very typical and not very interesting. There were no crimes and nothing special was reported. Out of desperation, I decided to go on the last page on the last link and click on the link which directed me to a Facebook page.

"Bingo", I whispered. It was a Facebook post posted a while ago from a name I didn't recognise and it frankly seemed made up and there was a lengthy post with the Colston's hashtag. The account had only made this one post so I decided to read it.

"Sorry, this message has to be anonymous, but they somehow pulled down my other posts so I made another account to warn people. Like everyone else here, I was excited for Holston's to be built here as it meant more business for my husband's shop which is always a good thing and I was grateful for the new doctors that came as well as my Caleb had his broken arm treated quickly instead of having to go to the nearest city for treatment. But there is something going on behind those closed doors, mark my words.

No one believes my son, no one. But he saw something, so terrifying he can't sleep at night, he can't talk about it and he has become closed off. I warned him about going into the forest behind our house as there are all sorts of animals there but he didn't listen, and he took off with my husband's camera to make a video for YouTube and came back early in the morning the next day, a changed person. It breaks my heart to see him like this but everyone thinks I'm crazy. They have turned everyone against us, so we can't even leave our house. They have deleted all my other posts and they sent people to watch over my house 24/7 so we don't tell anyone. The hardest bit is we can't do anything against them and if we did, I would be scared to see how they retaliate and I want my family to be safe. So if you see this, please get the hell out of there like we are."

I sat back numbly. What was that? I re-read it several times, not believing what I've read. The post was titled as 'Colston's horses' which is probably why it hadn't been taken down yet as they hadn't realised it was there. It was dated 4 years ago and had no likes or comments which meant no one here had seen it either. From what I've gathered, it was a family of three (the son was called Caleb), and the son took a camera which meant they probably had some footage and possibly didn't release it for their safety. I needed to somehow get hold of them but they had clearly moved out and no names were given. I needed to hit the village centre and ask around.

I quickly changed into casual clothes and headed for Meyers inn. It was towards dinner so there should be some people around. As I walked to the inn, I saw that I was right but thought I should start with someone familiar first. A few people nodded at me or gave me a wave as I walked in which I returned. I headed straight for the bar where John preparing some orders.

"Hey John", I said watching him pouring some beers into glasses as I slid into a seat.

"Hi, Arya! Long-time no see. I have half a mind to go to Holston's and telling them not to hog up all your time", he chuckled loudly. "What can I get for you?"

I didn't actually know how to phrase my question so I decided to small talk and improvise.

"Oh not much, just wanted to see some people. How's Jada?"

"The missus is fine, she'll be happy to hear that you asked about her", he wiped some sweat off his forehead. "I know why you're really here, just spit it out".

"You do?" I asked nervously.

He hummed in response and called the waiter to take the food he made.

"You're here for Karl of course", he said whilst winking. "He talks about you quite a bit".

I blushed a little. "He does?"

"All the time. How are you? I heard about what happened with the horses".

"Oh, I'm good now. Just a small fall and he took most of it", I said reassuringly.

"Glad to know he has finally come to some use", he chuckled loudly.

He disappeared in the back which allowed me time to think my strategy through. There where loud rummaging noises and a few crashes and then he reappeared with a large crate of food which he dumped on the counter and turned around to face me.

"You look troubled", he commented whilst sorting through the box, clearly looking for something.

"Oh, it's just work"

"Your job must be hard. You should take some time out to look for yourself too you know. Aha - I found the salt. Don't work yourself to the bone, okay?"

I nodded in agreement and we remained in companionable silence.

"By the way, I was just wondering if there was a kid called Caleb around," I asked hesitantly. The mood instantly changed

"Why are you asking?" John asked a little harshly.

"Oh, I just found an old toy near my house with that name on it", I lied with my fingers crossed tightly underneath the table. I could feel myself sweating lightly and hoped my lie wouldn't be caught out. He let out a visible sigh of relief at my answer.

"Well you can chuck that away", he laughed. "That family moved out a long time ago and...", he leaned in conspiratorially and whispered, "I say good riddance. They moved here and caused an awful amount of ruckus and trouble for the rest of us folks. Unpleasant people. Nothing but trouble".

I faked a laugh in agreement and for appearance's sake ordered some food off the menu which I hastily ate so I could quickly get out. After thanking John and saying goodbye, I left the inn more puzzled than before. Things weren't adding up. Why did he have such a negative reaction to that name?

It was warm outside, so I stood in front of the entrance, stalling and deep in thought. It was getting darker and I decided that there wasn't much I could do tonight. Suddenly I felt a hand on my arm and I felt myself being tugged back into the small alley next to the inn. I opened my mouth to scream but a hand covered my mouth and dragged me backwards forcefully.

How was the chapter my lovely amazing readers?

I have finally decided where this story is going lol. This isn't going to be some wishy-washy rom-com because there is PLOT. It's going to get interesting (I'm getting so excited lol).

I'm actually ahead with my chapters (only by a few but still) and I have exams next month (again FFS) so instead of mass releasing I'm going to use them for when I don't have times to write because of revising.

Question for today:

If you had to turn into any animal, What would it be and why?

As usual, PLEASE VOTE, COMMENT AND SHARE!! 

Also here is a random heart if you're feeling sad:

❤️