Chapter 1: Happy Family

On a dark night one could only see the lights of cars on the highway, the roads were not lit or anything. Not that anyone was expecting anything different this had always been the norm and that did not even rouse complaints from anyone. "…...Ah mama, mama, maio, maio, iwe Amai…" the whole family was singing along having the time of their lives and enjoying each other's company on their way home after an exhausting day of fun at the park. The atmosphere was serene the father was on the wheel, on the passenger was his eldest daughter, at the back was his younger son and the twins that were playing on their mother's lap doing their best to make sure that they say the words correct and also keep up with the song while they are at it. That atmosphere was soon disturbed when the father soon lost control of the car. From nowhere he saw a huge wall that was right in front of them and in a state of panic he tried to maneuver the car but it was futile.

He was cursing at his poor judgement at the back of his mind, for he knew the biggest mistake he had made was trying to avoid the wall but what could he do that was the first reaction any normal human would do, it was almost like something that was done subconsciously. But it was already too late for regrets in no time the car was hovering on the air and it came crashing on the water surface. Everyone was fighting for their lives and the first thing that both the husband and wife did after recovering from their initial shock was to try and locate their kids in those murky waters. The first that was brought out was their second child who was found by the mother and brought to the surface. She jumped back to try her luck again but never came back out. Whatever monster that was in these waters wanted them and wasn't going to let them go.

On the surface the other drivers and even those that were walking on the sides of the road saw what had happened and those that were quick called for the police while other cars stopped to see if they could help. Everyone knew the tale about that place but no one really believed it, because to them it was one of those stories. This tale told of story about a young lady who was offered a lift by her workmate only for the workmate to capture and sexually abuse her. After the deed was done from fear that the lady would report to him to the police, and, he would be arrested, lose his wife and his job even his reputation at work he decided to dump the girl's body which was already weak in a nearby swamp. And from the anger, hate, bitterness and a lot going on in her heart the girl's soul was trapped in this realm until she found justice. So, he haunted this place in wait for the monster who took her life. Because of this resentment and dark energy, she became a vengeful ghost a monster even that trapped her victims with her and sometimes she would leave one alive all kill them all. No one believed the story and the story since it sounded far-fetched. The ghost manifested as a lady in the middle of the road or illusions, for one to see what is not there which is the case that faced this family.

The police arrived in approximately 20 minutes after the incident took place, however even if that was the case, they could not locate the car or its occupants within the accident's vicinity. This was bizarre, how could they not find the car, it was not like the swamp it fell in was deep in actuality it was very shallow. They thought that maybe it was buried in the mud under but even after three days they could not find the car or the people inside. Detective Solomon was put on the case to see if he could find anything. This was a very small case and it was supposed simple but it was becoming troublesome and they were using a lot of resources that is why they decided to put the hound on the case. He was famous of sniffing out even the most subtle of clues, looked into places that most did not bother to look. The Investigation Berueu was really hoping that this case would close soon, especially the captain, those at the top were breathing down his neck.

When Dect. Solomon came on the scene of the accident, the first thing that caught his attention was the place did not look like any accident took place. No tire marks, no remnants of broken glass, there was absolutely nothing, but from what the eye witnesses account these were supposed to be there. He could feel it that this was going to be a long case and he had a bad feeling about it. He went down to the swamp to check if he could find anything but the place was quiet, peaceful even, kind of smelly but it was calm. Solomon inwardly groaned this was starting to be troublesome he did not spend too much time there and went back to the precinct to read all the files that had been compiled concerning the case and if the were any other cases that took place in the place. He retrieved the files he needed and when he looked through them boy did, he find what he was looking for and yet found nothing, he did not know if he should laugh or cry at his predicament.

"These are the most bizarre cases that ever seen, and to think that there are 33 cold cases from the same place this is absurd and approximately 11 months time span. . And this, what is this…" he wondered. Amongst the cold cases he had seen a report made by a certain lady by the name Chido were she suspected that her sister could be one of the victims there however there was no evidence for this so the police did not look further into this case.

However, looking at the case and the date comparing it to the other ones this would be the very first case. But he could understand why the police did not link this with the later cases. This is because the spacing between this case and the others was quite big. Moreso, the case of this lady states that she was last seen at work and no one knows when she left or who she left with, her boss had left work late that night but was sure that he was the only one there and there were no CCTV at the building or the ones surrounding it so there were no leads. The younger sister who reported the had made this connection suggested this because that is the same route her sister used when coming home albeit she used public transport. However, no missing cars or people were reported on that day so the police thought that this was a bit far-fetched.

After reading all the cold cases, Solomon had this nagging feeling that if he talks to the younger sister of the Chipo who went missing then and only then will he be able to have starting point to solve the case. It was even scary to him how sure he was about this. After having the captain's permission, he went to find Chido.

Entering the city, she lived in he could feel the difference, he could even smell it and it was bad, really bad it was he had driven into a sewertank of some sort. He wondered how the people here were breathing. Right after entering the city he could see that at almost every corner there were piles of waste there. In some cases, he could see a path between the trash. Driving through the streets was no easy fit, he could see, sanitary pads, and what seemed to be a carcass of a dead dog that had strayed from the pile of waste. And this was the least of his problems, the potholes in that area were too much and too deep to be called potholes the could cause a pregnant womanto miscarry, and yet the public transport was moving so fast without any difficulty. The view of the shopping center was not any better with all the litter and rubbish everywhere there were people selling food cooked, even beverages and fruits there were even big shops with big names such as KO, Shoppies, Rasp. And one would the think they would put in an effort to clean up their place of business. Solomon had been to many places but this was just too much. He put that at the back of his mind and made his way, somehow, to Chido's place.

Upon getting into the neighbourhood there were kids everywhere that it was a miracle he did not run over one already. However, Chido's was a decent place, grooves of dust and parchments of grass and gravel and perfect patterns that seem to have been from sweeping.

He walked to the front door and knocked, after three knocks someone came to the door and it was a little boy about nine years of age, he was a bit darker than the girl he saw in Chipo's file case but they had similar features like he could be her son or little brother.

"Hello Mister...." he runs from the door to talk to someone for some time and after about a minute or so a young lady about twenty-three or twenty-five years a bit chubby but that only added to her charm came to the door. One could say she was really beautiful with a touch of cuteness. Her complexion was the same version as the little boy that came to the door, but she looked exactly if not better than her sister Chipo who had a more mature look. "Um…hello, how may I help you….um is there something on my face…. excuse me mister" at least that's what he could put together. "Ah how are you ma'am, I'm sorry, excuse my rudeness, I am detective Solomon from the investigation department I am here to talk about your sister Chipo, if you don't mind answering a couple of questions." He was caught off guard so he just said whatever that came to his mind while showing his badge. She kept staring at him and then said to the little boy who had gone back into the house "Hey Charles you can go join your friends who are playing ball out there"

"How many times do I have to say that they are not my friends, can I at least go to the library and do some reading?"

"You just need an excuse to read those stupid comics of yours just go play, starting tomorrow it will be holiday so you have all the time you will need in the world to read those books. I actually have new issues with me so can I lend you some" right after this the little boy ran past them without a word. Chido had that look that seemed to say works all the time. After making sure that the kid was out of sight, she ushered the detective into the house and offered him a sit. The inside of the house was quite homey and warm, there were pictures on all walls of the family.

There were two, a man and a woman who seemed to the mother and father of the house and then the two girls who looked like Chido and Chipo but younger, Chido seemed to be around 14 and Chipo 19 and there was a little baby in the elder man's hands who he suspected to be Charles and that was the complete family he guessed. Chido saw him staring and explained that in the picture was her parents, sister and her sister's son Charles and the picture was taken 9 months after Charles was born and two months after his father's death who had died from poisoning at his brother's house.

"Well detective I know you're not here to listen to my family's tragic story. Now, tell me what is it that you wanted to know about my sister. I hope she hasn't gotten herself in trouble."

She said this with a small smile on her face that seemed to be pretty hopeful. "Well not really, but I saw the missing person case file of your sister, and something caught my attention. It stated that you suspect that your sister could be one of the victims of the swamp monster as people are putting it. If I may ask what made you think that?" right after saying this he saw the light in her eyes dim. She straightened up herself and answered in an almost defeated voice, "Officer what's the point of all this the officers there at the precinct already made sense of my delusions or so they say, I can't back my story up it was just a gut feeling and since I don't have any evidence there is nothing, I can help you with.

"What if I tell you that you can help me plenty the thing is you are not going to like what I am going to say but from what the witnesses are saying I think that….." before he could finish that he was cut off by Chido, "You think that Chipo could be involved. Well sir, even Charles has heard that from the description it sounds like Chipo even one of the men from here who claims to have seen the ghost clearly states that he saw my sister its crazy that the people here still associate with us even though some of their family members were targeted."

"Wait you mean to say there are people from here who have seen this 'ghost' or whatever people decide to call it? The detective asked with one eye raised "well yes they say it was a family car but they had picked up some of our neighbors along the way or they were coming from the same place but they all said they saw her standing in front of a Durawall or something like that." The detective had a contemplative look on his face and then said that he wanted her to come with him on the scene of the recent accident. She was on guard but agreed never the less, it seemed that just like him she believed that surely this swamp was linked to her sister's death. She excused herself to go and talk to her neighbor to look after the little boy for her before they left.