So What Do I Know now?

I've done what I can to stay in contact with Nicole. Over this last week she's been telling me some pretty scary things. First, the local paper for the town had an ad in that sad I was a "suspected missing person." She forwarded me the article.

Adam Gray, age 23, was last seen leaving his uncle, Hank Smith's house on the night of February 24. Witnesses reported that he seemed to be very distraught over his mother and uncle's recent deaths. [Town] as well as county police have begun a search to find the [Town] native, but as Police Chief Richard James explains, "He could just be anywhere, at this point. He kept to himself and didn't disclose where he'd been, or where he'd go if something went wrong." If you have any information, please call (555) 444-1111

Nicole did call, to tell them that I was okay. Even though she called anonymously, she said that they were trying to pressure her for her name and information. After her phone call, the ad disappeared, but there's more:

I needed to know if the police were in on my attempted murder, so I got Ryan's e-mail address by calling the police station last week. I did what I could to be careful, in case he was on their side after all.

Ryan's a beat cop, not an FBI agent. I realize that police work isn't like what you see on television, but he was the only person I knew. Besides, he seemed to be helpful and seemed like he knew that things weren't right when I was there the last time.

When he called, he answered in a hushed voice. It sounded like he was outside.

"Adam? We gotta make this short. They're trying to cover it up. It's... Something is wrong. There was an article in the paper, and an investigation -"

"I heard."

"Yeah, but they never did anything. Not even going through the motions. All fake. I was the last one to see you before you left, and no one came to question me. No one here would even let me help try to locate you."

"You weren't the last one. They tried to kill me."

"I'm sorry. I... Damn it, I knew. You're not the first, either. I think there are at least five or six others that they've done this to. It's a cover-up, Adam. They're blocking me out, but I am sure none of them got away. There's a sort of process to it, now. First, they put an article in the paper, then they wait for a few days. Then they build a story about how they got lost, or caught by a sneaker wave at the beach. You can tell when these things really happen because it affects everyone. People start pulling longer hours and providing 24-hour coverage. With these other few people there's none of that, it's all kept quiet.

"So this time, after they find out that you haven't actually 'disappeared,' they start to freak out - especially Chief James. He lost his shit. I've never seem him so on edge. I'm pretty sure he was trying to track you, but couldn't get authority to follow you across county, let alone state lines. Not officially, anyway. Anybody come over there last week?"

"No. No police... I had a guy break in last weekend."

"What day?"

"Saturday night."

Ryan sighed. "We had a guy in lock-up. Public intoxication; homeless guy. A couple of officers picked him up in Old Town on Friday night and brought him in for the weekend, but when I got to work on Sunday, he was gone. I couldn't find any discharge papers for him either, which was weird. I thought someone was going to get fired for losing the guy... But then something weird happened. I saw Chief James and he was back to normal - giddy, even. I asked where our missing man was, and he said 'Hospital. He'll be back tomorrow.' The Chief's not a giddy guy, Adam. I didn't know - *don't* know - how they're connected, or how the guy got all the way there and back, but the guy was back in his cell the next day."

"Normal?"

"No. Definitely fucked up. His eye went all white and he was screaming bible verses."

"That's the guy. What the fuck?"

"I don't know, Adam. Just... Stay safe."

"How should I do that, Ryan? They know where I live. I am not safe - I am the opposite of safe. I haven't slept more than five minutes at a time in two fucking weeks, now. And do you know why? Because they drugged me and tried to kill me. I think they killed my uncle. Maybe they killed my mother too, and my sister. What the fuck happened to my sister?"

"Sorry. I don't know for sure."

"So, what *do* you know?"

"Just rumors. I don't want to be the one to tell you this."

"Who else am I going to ask? Look, I'm not crazy. I know you weren't a part of whatever happened, but I need to know."

"I always thought maybe she was sick. All I remember is that my parents were talking about the new hospital and something going wrong before. That's why they had to build it."

In our hometown the "new" hospital, as it seems it will perpetually be dubbed, was actually built in the late 1980's.

"They said something like 'It doesn't always work.' Whatever that means. "

"Hm," I grunted as I mulled over this information. There was a sound on Ryan's end of the line like a voice in the distance.

"Shit, I gotta go. Like I said, man, stay away. I'll get ahold of you if something happens..."

So what do I know now? The people of my town are a part of some conspiracy, involved in covering up murders. They tried to kill me, because of... Marissa? It had to be - they found the pictures, realized that they'd been leaked and tried to dispose of every trace of it. Of the whole thing. Even though at some point it seemed like it had been common knowledge.

I also know that whatever is going on there stretches back to some time in the 1970's, and seems to have something to do with Newport Pharmaceuticals. Something, but I'm not sure what. Lastly, I know that it's still extremely dangerous, and there's no safe place for me anymore. They are still attracting people to their cause and can apparently move them anywhere in the world. I don't remember [Town] Municipal Airport having any private jets.