116 First Drain Village

 

We had stayed at Elm Town for more than 2 months and this was the first time we heard the term dead body. In the past, there had been cases of reported murders but whenever we arrived, the so-called ‘dead’ were still alive. The caller only said that so the police would come faster. But based on the tone and attitude of the caller, we had reasons to believe there had been an actual murder. The caller said the woman’s body was found at First Drain Village.

The body was covered under heavy snow. A villager spotted a protruding foot and went forward to examine it. The toes had red nail polish and when the person touched the foot, it was already frozen solid. The sun was setting. He didn’t dare to move the body out on his own, so he called the police and hurried home.

Therefore, we were now on our way to First Drain Village. We didn’t know the road so the team was led by Chief Zhou from the station’s crime unit. Behind us was a car with the officers from Elm Town. This time, basically all the members of the crime unit had mobilized. According to Chief Zhou, this was practically the first actual murder case for some of them. However, after saying that, Chief Zhou’s brows scrunched tightly together. Noticing this, I asked, “Chief Zhou, what’s wrong? You look like you have some concern on your mind, is there something bothering you about this case?”

The road was slippery from the snow. The country roads were rarely used by motor vehicles so the snow piled high. Chief Zhou drove very slowly in case of an accident. The headlights shone on neither person nor animals. With the wind howling outside the window, it was as if we were travelling to another world. The place was so quiet, too quiet if you asked me. It felt like no living human would be found here. No wonder the caller hurried back home after calling the police, instead of staying at the spot where the body was found.

Chief Zhou sighed and then said, “Actually, no one would have come to First Drain Village unless necessary.” The confidential tone used by Chief Zhou coupled with the dark environment made it feel like he was telling a ghost story. That was the perfect combination to get my interest hooked. I pressed, “Why so?”

“First Drain Village…” Chief Zhou explained evenly, “You outsiders wouldn’t know this, but we at Elm Town also refer to this place as the Handicapped Village.”

“The Handicapped Village?” Guan Zhenglin tilted her head to the side. Chief Zhou nodded and his voice lowered even more, “Yes, the Handicapped Village, because the people who live here are handicapped. They either miss a limb, or an eye, or they’re mute or deaf. I’ll put it like this, there is not a single villager here that is like us normal people.” A strange feeling gripped my heart hearing that. “Every single one is handicapped?”

“Yes.” Chief Zhou answered, “First Drain Village has around 80 families so 200 plus people and everyone is handicapped.”

I didn’t look down on the handicapped, but something about this just didn’t seem right. Noting our silence, Chief Zhou continued, “I am a local from Elm Town, I was raised on the stories of this village. Do you know how the parents at Elm Town discipline their children? They threaten them with a night at First Drain Village, it works every time.”

“But why would these people gather together in the same village?” Gu Chen asked.

“No one knows.” Chief Zhou answered, “I’m in my 30s now but I’ve heard of this place since I was a toddler. I heard from my elders that this village started as a normal village but as time moved on, there were more and more handicapped people coming over. I suppose birds of a feather flock together?”

Gu Chen scratched his head. “I suppose. Perhaps because they’re all handicapped people, they could look after each other more easily this way. But it feels strange knowing the whole village is filled with handicapped people.”

Chief Zhou nodded. “Yes, that’s why normally the locals won’t come to this village. It is quite backwards too. However, the specialty of this village also made it some kind of dark attraction for thrill-seekers. Then again, during this wintry season, I doubt there are any outsiders there now.”

We drove for an hour and we were no closer to our destination. Looking out from the window, we were lined by snowy fields. There were only 2 blocks of color. White on the floor and black in the sky.

First Drain Village, a village made up entirely of handicapped people. This sounded like an episode from Ripley’s Believe it or Not. A strange feeling rose within me, it was hard to describe. I wondered if the dead body under the snow was also a handicapped person or not. The snow tires creaked noisily, the engine hummed, the wintry winds howled. The heater was on full blast, I felt drowsy. The two vehicles drove like that towards the destination. After another hour, we finally arrived. By then it was already 9 pm, and every door was closed. The only light was the yellow light from the streetlights that stood on either side of the narrow road. They were the old-fashioned type of streetlights.

“The people here sure sleep early.” I commented.

Chief Zhou chuckled, “This is not Dong Xing City, people retire to bed early here. But I’ve already contacted the village head. Someone is supposed to lead us to the crime scene. We’ll meet at the village entrance not far from here…” Then Chief Zhou opened the door and got out. “I’ll go look for the person. It’s cold out here, you guys better stay in the car and wait.” While he said that, I already got down from the car. Chief Zhou shook his head, “Didn’t you hear me? What if you catch a cold?”

I chuckled, “Brother Zhou, I might have come from Dong Xing City but I’ve worked on the frontline before, a bit of snow is not going to pose any problem. Plus we’re searching for a dead body, we can’t just sit idly inside the car.” While we spoke, the rest of the team got down as well. Even though it was just early winter, the months felt like it was going to be a cold one. Even though we were dressed in layers, we couldn’t help rubbing our hands together. Chief Zhou said someone would be here to lead us to the crime scene but I saw no one.

Just as we turned towards the village entrance and looked, suddenly someone grabbed me from behind. I turned back to look and almost screamed. I saw a face, a face that only had an eye. The face’s skin was shriveled, there were patches of wounds and parts of the skin was turned inside out. The face had a black hollow at the spot where the right eye should be. The left eye was muddled and it had been studying me. Even for someone like myself, this sudden meeting almost made me scream.

But moments later, I soon calmed down. The scars on the man’s face were caused by burns. There was no moisture on the skin so they folded like undulating mountains. The man had no lips, they were probably burnt away as well. The lack of lips meant that his gums were directly exposed before me. The mouth spoke, “Come.”

Through the streetlight, I saw the great tearing on the skin near his mouth. It was clear that every word spoken would literally cause this man extreme pain. It was why he only said the word ‘come’ and nothing else.

Chief Zhou walked over and studied the man. “You are Ol’ Xia whom the village head sent over to guide us? You know the way? The caller has told you that?”

Ol’ Xia nodded. Chief Zhou glanced at Ol’ Xia and said, “How about this, you can take the passenger seat and point out the direction for us. Tell us when we’re at the crime scene, okay?” Ol’ Xia only nodded.

Guan Zhenglin, Gu Chen and I sat at the back. After Ol’ Xia got into the car, he pointed forward and then he closed his only eye as if to rest. We observed the strange man through the rearview mirror. I wondered what had happened to Ol’ Xia that he ended up like this. He was wearing an old military coat which was heavily patched. The coat looked as old as he was.

Chief Zhou drove silently. Ol’ Xia pointed at the other side of the village, we still had quite a bit of journey to make. Initially I planned to ask the guide for information about the victim, but seeing the state Ol’ Xia was in, I decided to just leave it be. Looks like the Handicapped Village wasn’t just in name.

Ol’ Xia kept his eye closed even though we had been driving for some time already. Afraid that we might have passed the crime scene, Chief Zhou asked a few times whether we were on the right path. In response to the questioning, Ol’ Xia only pointed forward, signalling for Chief Zhou to keep going without even opening his eye. This went for a few times until it grated on Chief Zhou’s nerves slightly. He tutted, “I say, Mr. Xia, I really need you to cooperate with us. The body is found at your village, the victim might even be someone you know. How can you even spot the crime scene if you keep your eye closed like that? Ol’ Xia, are you even awake?”

Ol’ Xiao kept his eye and mouth closed. Chief Zhou continued to drive. “Ol’ Xia, can you please say something? Or just give me some hand signals? We’ve been driving for half an hour already, are we there yet?”

Just as Chief Zhou was about to explode, Ol’ Xia suddenly said, “Stop!” The voice was raspy but the volume was high, it shocked everyone inside the car. Chief Zhou stepped on the brake. The moment the car halted, Ol’ Xia opened the door and got out.

With a stern look, Chief Zhou groused, “This Ol’ Xia, he either spends his time in total silence or booms like thunder. Thanks to him, I almost drove into the drain…”

 

 

Join my patreon for daily update of the story <3