The narrow corridors of my college held silent screams of the children it had tortured. The silence was deafening. Every single lecture suddenly felt shrouded with an ulterior motive. The dissection hall smelled rotten with dirty secrets. What if the reason they were hiding Daisy's truth was because they had her killed for their own dissections? No, that would have been too far. The skilled approach they had towards Daisy's disappearance and the haste with which they performed their respective duties towards the institute made me wonder if there were others before her. Maybe, this wasn't the first disappearance.
I had to know if my theory held weightage. All the bullying and ragging had ultimately led to the formation of a bond between my and my seniors. I knew that if I asked around enough and if I managed to remain calm and smart with the way I asked questions, my research could find a way to slip under the noses of the politically criminal institute I was in. One thing I knew for certain is that Daisy's admission form had been forged to look real enough so that it fooled anyone who would ever come asking questions. I knew that paperwork was not going to be reliable to catch a fully prepared army of deceivers. I had to do this the old-fashioned way.
I decided to start with the oldest batch here. Initially, I had no luck finding anything of value to my investigation. Then I met Henry, the worst senior I had ever encountered. He was an impertinent brat. However, I heard somewhere that he wasn't always like that. He used to be the sweetest and funniest in class but the institute turned him into their personal pet. He was the only one who could help me.
"Good evening, Henry Sir. I am Neil, from first year. We met a month ago when you made me do all sorts of things as part of my welcome to this institute. I needed to know something about the institute. Were there any replacements mid-semester in your batch as well?" My question shook Henry to his core. His eyes popped out of their sockets with astonishment. He grabbed my collar and the next thing I knew, I was up in the air, being lifted up in anger by a hunky man. "Henry sir, please forgive me. Let me go", I screamed! He kept asking me who had sent me. The institute had turned him into a monster, always alert and conscious of its hunters. I reassured him that this was a solo investigation. I told him about my Daisy. I felt his arm around my neck soften as he heard of my profoundly incomplete love story. I watched his eyes tear up as he held a strong façade on the outside.
"Her name was Anna. She was just like your Daisy. There had never been a soul so pure to have touched mine. I loved her immensely, completely, and desperately. Just like your Daisy, my Anna was snatched away from me by these soul-sucking monsters. This institute has dark secrets hidden behind doors. The façade of medicine helps them stay off the radar. I too was a child like you, out investigating the disappearance of my love. I was naïve then. I am responsible for letting them get to me, allowing them to make me a pawn in their game. Our ladies weren't the only ones taken. There has been a total of ten women taken every year. Any one who tried to intervene were taken too." His words hit my heart like a sword. "Taken?" I asked. "Yes, taken. No one can jump windows that far up or escape the premises without being noticed." That is exactly what I had been thinking over and over again. I knew that Henry was the key to every lock the institute was putting in my way to reach Daisy.
"It isn't safe right now. They are watching. I am sorry for what I am about to do but I have to give them a show. I am always being watched and if they find you with me, your precious friend Samantha will be next. Yes, I know your friend. I have seen you both around campus. You both make it too obvious that you are up to something." While talking to me, Henry had to act as if he were bullying me to prevent any future problems for Sammy. "Are girls their only targets? Has there ever been a missing boy", I asked as I took another hit. "Boys are the replacements. They find them so fast; it is uncanny. It feels like they already have the biggest jerks prepared to replace the softest souls. This is all part of some bigger plan and all the students here are just cattle fodder. We are being educated and prepared for something big, I can feel it. The girls are mere victims. None of them are safe. They may be here today but they will be taken eventually. The replacements have methods they seemed to have been practicing for, to make sure no one ever remembers the victims. Let me tell you one thing, you will never forget her. You will search the ends of earth but your Daisy is gone. I am sorry kid; I wish I could have helped you." Henry crushed my soul. His words were like glass spiking on bare feet.
"My Anna was actually my girlfriend. They took your Daisy too soon, which means they were desperate. Anna was taken four months later. She was my whole life. We spent every second of every day we could together. They came at night. Her roommate, my best friend at that time was taken too. I lost my Sammy and Daisy on the same day Neil. I think about them every single day. I looked for answers everywhere, I asked everyone. The more people I got involved, the more disappearances occurred. My greed for Anna and Leslie made me a monster. I feel like I killed them all. All the disappearances I caused are retched into my conscience for the rest of my life. I cannot eat. I cannot sleep. Their screams that I never even had the vexation to hear, keep me awake. I tried going to the police; I tried lawyers too. They have bought them all. There is absolutely no evidence against the institute. No news channel will agree to speak up about such a renowned institute without proof. Every one is aware of what goes on over here but they turn a blind eye so that their loved one is not next. You have to save Sammy, Neil. You need her to survive. I would hate to watch yet another soul be taken away. Run while you can. They will never let you leave, but you must leave behind what they desperately want to see you forget. Please, just let it go Neil. There is nothing you can do. Save Sammy. I have to go; they are probably too suspicious by now. Take care of yourself."
Henry was broken, lost, damaged and mentally murdered by this institute. His words tattooed a fear inside of me. What if Sammy was next?