Chapter 142: A WARNING IN BLOOD
KEISHA’S POV
Callum had told me about the call thirty minutes after he had received it. And obviously, I had opted to go with him.
By the time we arrived at Doctor Fenn’s clinic, I felt incredibly uncomfortable and Nadia who had insisted on tagging along also looked the same, though she clearly didn’t want to talk to me.
The hospital looked exactly as it always did from the outside. The cream-colored walls gleamed beneath the morning sun, and the hospital was supposed to feel safe and familiar.
Instead, it felt abandoned.
There were no patients sitting beneath the veranda waiting for their names to be called. Everywhere seemed silent. Way too silent than normal.
Something wasn’t right.
Callum must have felt it too because he slowed the car before it reached the entrance, his eyes sweeping carefully across the grounds.
"I don’t like this," he murmured.
Neither did I.
Then, without warning, the front doors flew open and a man burst out.
He was dressed entirely in black from head to toe, his face hidden beneath a dark mask that concealed every recognizable feature except his eyes. The instant he saw our vehicle, he stopped so abruptly that it looked as though he’d run into an invisible wall.
For the briefest second, we simply stared at one another and his panic was obvious like he hadn’t expected anyone.
Then he turned and ran.
"That’s him!" Dane’s voice echoed through the silence before the car had even stopped rolling. "The mask!"
He shoved the door open with enough force to make it slam against the side of the vehicle. "It’s the same mask they were wearing last night!"
Before any of us could react, he was already sprinting across the courtyard.
"Dane!" Callum shouted after him.
But Dane never slowed. It was a miracle he could move that fast for someone injured. He had insisted on coming to the general hospital.
Callum swore beneath his breath. "I’ll handle this." He turned sharply toward us. "Stay inside the clinic. Don’t split up unless you have no choice."
The words had barely left his mouth before he was running after Dane.
Nadia and I exchanged one uneasy glance before we hurried inside.
The reception hall was empty. Like... Completely rid of people.
The receptionist’s chair had been pushed back so violently that it now lay overturned on the floor. Papers were scattered everywhere, drifting lazily whenever the breeze entered through the open doorway behind us. One of the filing cabinets had been left hanging open, its drawers pulled out as though someone had searched through them in desperate haste.
"Doctor Fenn?" I called out, searching frantically but no one came.
Nadia stepped carefully over the mess, her eyes moving restlessly from one room to another. "Where is everyone?"
I didn’t know.
Doctor Fenn never left the clinic unattended when she was on shift. Never.
A strange feeling crawled slowly beneath my skin.
Fuck.
We moved deeper into the building together, checking each examination room as we passed.
It was as though everyone had vanished halfway through their work.
"Doctor Fenn!" I called again, louder this time.
Still nothing.
Oh goddess. Something had happened.
Then I noticed something. Near the entrance to the laboratory, one of the medicine trolleys had been knocked onto its side. Glass bottles lay shattered across the floor, their contents mixing together into colorful streaks that glistened beneath the overhead lights.
My heart lurched. There had been a struggle.
I quickened my pace without thinking.
"Keisha—" I heard Nadia call after me, but I was already moving.
The laboratory door was slightly open and I stepped forward, just enough for me to notice the dark stain spreading slowly across the polished floor beneath it.
My footsteps altered and for one impossible second, my mind refused to understand what I was looking at.
No. No...
My hand trembled as I pushed the door wider.
Oh shit.
A scream erupted from my throat when I saw the sight in front of me — Doctor Fenn lay crumpled against the far wall, her white coat had turned almost entirely crimson, soaked through by the blood pooling beneath her body. One hand rested weakly across her abdomen while the other lay stretched toward the middle of the room, as though she’d been trying to reach something—or someone —before collapsing.
Her breathing was shallow like she was struggling to take a breath.
"Doctor Fenn!" I dropped beside her instinctively, my knees hitting the bloodstained floor without me even noticing.
Nadia stopped several feet behind me but she didn’t scream. She simply stood frozen, both hands covering her mouth as horror slowly spread across her face.
A second later, hurried footsteps rushed into the laboratory.
Callum.
He fell to one knee beside Doctor Fenn almost immediately, pressing both hands firmly against the wound while trying to slow the bleeding. "Stay with me."
His voice was calm but I could hear the tone of horror and desperation in it. "Fenn... look at me."
Her eyelids fluttered weakly and I knew she tried. She truly tried. And after several agonizing seconds, her eyes opened just enough to find Callum’s face.
"Who did this?" He asked quietly, searching her face. "You have to tell me."
Her lips moved but no sound came. Blood only slipped from the corner of her mouth and I felt utterly useless.
Every instinct screamed at me to help, yet I couldn’t even think straight.
Doctor Fenn struggled once more, forcing herself to breathe despite the pain consuming her.
Then, with enormous effort, she slowly lifted one trembling hand toward the opposite wall.
Her finger shook violently as though she wanted us to understand something before it was too late.
Callum followed her gesture and so did I.
Across the white wall, written in thick strokes of drying blood were six chilling words.
STOP DIGGING... ELSE MANY OTHERS WILL FOLLOW.
Oh my god.
Bile rushed up my throat and I spun back to Doctor Fenn who looked like she was losing the spark in her eyes.
Tears stung my eyes and I felt a choked sob crawl up my throat.
Almost immediately, Doctor Fenn went still and her hand dropped to the floor.
Only then did it hit me fully and I burst into tears.
She was gone.