Investigation

When officer Phil along with two junior associates entered the hospital the first thing they noticed was a group of people , all wearing suits , discussing something in low voices . Most probably , they were the executives of the hospital .

Upon seeing Phil and his team , one of the them came towards them . It was clear from his face that he was very disturbed because of the incident .

Before Phil could say or ask anything , the man said looking at Phil , " I guess , you are the officer in charge of this case ? "

" Yes , I am . " , said Phil as he introduced himself . Then he said , " May I know your identity ? "

The man introduced himself as the executive manager of the hospital and then informed him that the chairman wanted to meet the officer in charge , before they start their investigation .

.......

As the manager brought Phil to the chairman's cabin he found the chairman ranting in a furious tone . It was an old man in his late seventies . He didn't notice them entering his cabin .

He went on saying , " I won't let them go ..... I'll see the end of this ... my hospital ..... my precious hospital ..... how dare they lay their dirty hands on it .... I won't accept this ... " , he couldn't finish as he started coughing heavily .

" Please , calm down , Chairman . Excitement is not good for your health . " , a person wearing doctor's coat spoke up .

When his cough eased up a bit , the manager said , " Sir , the officer is here . " . The chairman took a look at Phil . After a moment , he indicated his men to go out .

When everyone left , the chairman said , " Please , have a sit " , Phil took the sit in front of the chairman .

The chairman looked at his badge and started , " Officer Phil , before you start your investigation , I want you to know about certain things . "

Phil nodded . The old man continued , " This hospital was made by my father . He did everything to enable this hospital to provide necessary and proper treatment to people . You know , back in the past , there was no proper health centre at this side of the town , people had to travel for hours to get treatment at the hospital in the other part of the town . " , he was speaking with so much trouble but his voice had a kind of boldness which Phil could sense quite easily .

It was clear that he was once a powerful man . Though old age and several diseases have now added slight tranquility to his composure his appearance still gives off an aura of superiority .

The old man started again after a moment , " Daisy was the name of my mother . You can guess how important the hospital is for me . We didn't have a prominent business . Still my father risked everything to build this hospital as it was my mother's last wish .

You must be thinking why I am telling you all this . "

Phil didn't say anything .

" Well , I want you to recall these words when you work in this case . Don't forget that , it is not just a hospital .... it was someone's last wish and it was the product of someone's lifelong hard work . Never think that it is not a big deal if the case is not solved .... I have nothing except this hospital . And now , we'll probably have to close the hospital because of those bastards . "

" Excuse me , Mr. Chairman , would you please elaborate why you would have to close the hospital ? " , Phil spoke for the first time .

" Can't you guess already ? Who will show the courage to come to a hospital which itself is not safe ? "

" I have studied the case reports of the dark souls attacks very minutely . They never attacked any place twice . So , you can rest assured about the fact that they won't come here again . "

" There is another thing and that is more problematic . A few days ago , we made a huge purchase of medicines , equipments , machines and many more things . Everything was damaged because of the attack . As I said before , I don't have much resources . The purchase was very expensive . It would take a long time to purchase all those things again and I don't think , the hospital would last that long . " , the man sighed a little , " You can see , I can't do much at this age . I don't have any successor either . I don't even know , who would take the charge of this hospital after me but I never expected to see this hospital to be closed before my death . "

" You can always ask for help from the government . They will definitely help to support a super speciality hospital like this . "

" It's not that simple and I don't trust the government in this regard . I'll just leave it to the fate . " , he stops for a moment and said again , " But , you don't need to think about that . I just want you to catch those people . They must be punished for their heinous deed . Please don't give up on the case . " , the old man said with mixed expression .

" I won't . I promise , I will try my best to uncover the perpetrators and provide justice for your hospital . " , said Phil in his straight voice .

" I don't know how much time I have in my hands and I also don't know what would happen to the hospital . So , it is the only thing I can ask for , to see those criminals getting the punishment they deserve . Whoever it is , please catch them before my death . "

......

" Sir , have you decided yet where to start from ? " , one of the associates asked Phil after he got back to them .

" Yes . " , he ordered one of them to make a list of all the people who were present there last night . And took the other associate with him to investigate the west wing which was the main point of attack .

...….....

The medicine room was in complete mess . Glass pieces , broken boxes and many more damaged items were scattered all over the floor .

Phil was investigating the disheveled room very minutely . His associate was doing the same but he couldn't understand , what was the point of searching the ruins . After some time , he couldn't help but ask , " Sir , what are we looking for , here ? "

" Of course clues . " , Phil answered straightforwardly without looking at him .

" I mean , what kind of clues ? ...." , the associate was saying something more but Phil didn't hear any of it as something very interesting caught his eyes . He frowned a little .

" Sir ?? " , Phil came out of his thoughts by the voice of his associate . He looked at him . The associate said again , " Sir , what is the point of searching this mess ? It's just ruins . What can we find here ? "

" Probably nothing . But it's a part of investigation to search the scene . We never know , what if the seemingly simple scene is covering some extremely complicated truth . "

" Sir , I don't think , there is anything complicated here . The dark souls have always been cruel in their activities . And this mess is just another result of their cruelty . "

" So , that's what you think . Alright , I'm almost done here . You go and bring the person who was in charge of the medicine room last night . "

" Yes sir . " , as the associate left , Phil collected a lot of samples from the ruins . There were many things going on inside his head .

' Everything is so weird ... Since most of the newly purchased boxes were damaged how come some of them are intact ? And that rack ..... that is also totally untouched . This room is brimming with clues . As if they are intentionally left behind ... for someone ... to notice . ' , he thought to himself .

Meanwhile the associate brought the man who had his duty in the medicine room .

Phil said to him without wasting any time , " Tell me everything you saw in the medicine room without missing any point . "

The brief summary of what the person described in his nervous and stuttering tone for almost seventeen minutes is that a person , in completely black outfit , entered the room amidst all the chaos outside . He , by that time , was hiding in a dark corner . The black dressed person went to the boxes of newly purchased medicines which weren't even opened yet . He opened some of the boxes and saw the medicines inside them . After looking through the medicines for some time he put the boxes down . And the next moment , an invisible wave shattered the boxes . He left shortly after that .

Phil asked , " Besides you how many people has duty in medicine room ? "

" Three including Dr. Clark . "

" I heard that there was a recent purchase of medicines and other medical stuffs ? "

" Yes sir , those items arrived just three days ago . Those medicines were not even unpacked , as I said before . "

" Okay last question , from which company the medicines were purchased ? "

"It's TN Enterprise . Our medicines and other medical equipments come from them . "

...........

The morgue was in much better condition than the medicine room . The only odd sights of the room were the broken window and some opened and empty cellars , used to keep dead bodies .

The man who had his duty last night was present there .

Phil said without wasting time , " Tell me what you saw . "

" Sir , I was about to escape but before I could some dark souls arrived . They pushed me to a side and directly went to the cellars . They were taking out bodies and throwing them out of the window . There were definitely some of them outside of the window to get those bodies . "

" I see . How many were they ? "

" Four people , sir . "

" Anything important , have you seen about them ? "

" No sir , all of their faces were covered with hoods . They didn't do much harm to this room , they just took the dead bodies and left . "

" They took all the bodies ?? "

" No sir . They left some of them . "

Phil thought for some time and spoke up , " Okay , I'd like to check the room now . And I also want the details of the bodies which they took away . "

" D...details ?? "

" Why , didn't you have records of the bodies ? "

" We had sir . "

" Then ? "

" Nothing sir ... I'll provide the records . " , the person's expression seemed to Phil a bit odd . He looked at him sharply before saying , " Ok , you can go now ....Oh , I heard that few people have died last night because of the attack ? "

" Yes sir . "

" What is the number ? "

" Five including two patients . "

" But the media said nine people ? "

" Media said ? I don't know sir , from where did they get such news . They always exaggerate things . "

" I see . So , where are those bodies ? "

" Those bodies are not brought here yet . "

" That's okay but I'll see those bodies too . "

" Okay sir . "

Phil got busy checking the bodies . A question kept on running in his head - why some of the bodies were left behind by the perpetrators exactly like the way they left some boxes of medicine ? He couldn't understand that .

" Sir , I think , the dark souls not only came to destroy the hospital but also to loot the dead bodies . " , his associate remarked .

" And what do they need the dead bodies for ? " , Phil subconsciously asked .

" Sir , you don't know ? They turn the dead bodies into harmful creatures . Haven't you seen the new kind of creatures ? They looked as if they are just taken out from the morgue . "

Phil's frown got deeper hearing his words . He muttered to himself , ' Is that really the case ? ..... If they needed dead bodies why they did leave some of them behind ? '

---------------------------------

When the other associate of Phil handed him the list , he asked for , Phil got a bit surprised to see that among the medical staffs only two doctors and five nurses stayed back .

" And the others ran away ? " , he asked .

" Yes sir . "

According to the list other than those mentioned doctors and nurses some critical patients , family members of some patients and some others staffs were present .

........

Phil's interrogation was almost done . Melvine was the last one to interrogate .

Currently Melvine was sitting in the interrogation room , in front of Phil . It was clear that Melvine was completely exhausted both physically and emotionally .

" I'm sorry , Dr. Melvine , to bother you like this . " , Phil started , " I know , it's very hectic for just two doctors to manage so many critical patients .... but I won't take much of your time . Just relax and tell me everything that you experienced last night . "

She told him everything , of course she excluded the part of her encounter with Ryan .

Phil found her version of statement pretty same as other's .

He asked , " The cabin , you were in charge of , I heard , if someone needs to go to west wing they have to pass by that cabin . So , I want to ask , didn't you see any of them ? The perpetrators , I mean . "

Melvine bit her lips and spoke up after some time , " I did not . "

Phil raised his brows and asked , " Not even one ? "

She shook her head . He asked again , " Are you sure ? "

She nodded and said , " There are other ways to reach west wing . They probably took different path . "

" But the patient from next cabin informed me that he saw a dark soul passing by . "

She remained silent . So he spoke up , " You really didn't see anyone or you saw something more ? "

She replied without lifting her eyes , " I really didn't see anyone . My patient's condition was very bad , the nurse left too , so I was quite busy with my patient . "

" I see . " , said he with a suspicious look on her .

Some times later she spoke up , " Officer , I've told you everything that I knew . Can I leave now ? "

" Sure . "

Melvine stood up and was about to leave but she felt slightly dizzy . She was going to hold the table to support herself but before she could Phil stood up and hold her wrist out of reflex .

Melvine looked at him who had a blank expression on his face .

" I'm....I'm fine . " , she spoke up pulling her hand a bit .

Phil nodded and left her hand instantly . With that Melvine slowly went out of the room but the suspicious look remained in Phil's eyes .

--------------------------------

That afternoon .

Dark Souls Base

" Ahhhh , are you trying to kill me ? " , Ryan hissed in pain , " Can't you do it a bit softly ? "

" This is the softest , I can , ok ? " , Aaron replied as he applied the antiseptic on Ryan's wound , " Who told you to get stabbed in the first place ? "

Ryan didn't reply . Aaron said again , " Your wound is really deep , I don't think just dressing would be enough , it needs stitches . You should've gone to the hospital . "

Ryan laughed a little and said , " Do I even deserve the treatment of the hospital which I attacked myself , last night ? "

" Still , it is not looking simple . At least we should take professional advice . "

" Stop worrying that much . Just put some bandages on it . I'm fine . "

Aaron didn't say anything else as he continued dressing Ryan's injury .

After some time , Ryan's phone started vibrating . Ryan didn't seem to hear it . Aaron looked at the phone which was placed on the nearby table and spoke up , " Some ' darling ' is calling you . "

Ryan laughed a little at his tone as he said , " Pass me my phone . "

Aaron passed the phone . Ryan was about to receive the call when Aaron said , " Wait , Let me leave first because I don't want to witness your flirting session with your darling . "

Aaron was done with his job , so he left the room . Ryan received the call .

" Hello darling , are you okay ? " , he said in his lazy voice .

" Hmm . "

" Are you still in the hospital ? "

" No , my shift is over . "

" You are in the hospital quarter ? "

" How do you know ? " , Melvine's voice was sounding very upset .

" Your friend's house is a bit far from the hospital . So I just guessed , you would go to the nearer place . "

" Ohh ... what are you doing ? "

" Nothing... just talking to you . "

( Silence )

Ryan waited for her to speak but she , on the other side , didn't know what to say to him .

" You don't have anything to say ? Why did you call then ? " , Ryan said teasingly .

" Umm ...." , she still couldn't say anything .

After another moment of silence Ryan said , " Do you want me to come over ? "

Ryan's question again meets the silence of other side . He was going to say something when finally the reply came , " Yes..... please . "