A Bump in the Rainy Night

Chapter 1

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Harrison County, West Virginia
September 23, 1954  - 20:43

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On a rainy night, a middle-aged man sat in the driver's seat, brooding as he gazed at the desolate road, faintly lit by a few streetlights and a small torch lamp before him. With hands trembling and clutching the steering wheel, he was stranded. Not only had he left his umbrella behind, but his car had also malfunctioned. For some unknown reason, it had stalled, and now, despite his attempts to turn the keys, it refused to start, leaving the headlights unlit.

"Just great..." he said to himself... "And right when it's starting to pour rain...".

The man cautiously opened the door of the 1949 Ford Sedan he had been driving to diagnose the issue. Fortunately, his car had halted beneath a thicket of trees, providing temporary shelter from the downpour for him and the vehicle. However, as he started to examine the sedan's hood, droplets began to seep through. He had to act swiftly...

He pulled the flashlight from the pocket of his right beige leather coat and adjusted his hat to shield his head from the rain as he examined the car hood for any issues. After inspecting for a while, as he was about to close the hood, he noticed a faint glow shining onto its underside. Turning around, he saw two sets of lights approaching from the right, near the trees. Unsure of who or what it was, he instinctively lifted the flashlight in his left hand and raised both hands in the air, shouting to alert the approaching driver.

"Hey, stop! Stop!"

He persisted for several seconds until the driver noticed the waving flashlights and heard his shouts, bringing the vehicle to a stop, to the stranded man's immense relief. As he approached, he saw it was a box truck. The driver emerged slowly from the cab, his raincoat flapping behind him to stay dry in the rain. The driver spoke:

"Hey, you alright? What's going on?"

"Ah... My car... It won't start... Turned the key several times, it just won't give," the stranded man replied.

"Ahh, I've been through that a few times, must be the battery... It ran out of juice or something..." said the trucker.

"Right... I guess I should have come to the repair shop after such a long time travelling about..." the man sighed.

"By the way, what are you doing out here in the middle of the night?" the truck driver asked. The man replied:

"Just heading off somewhere... My name's Thomas Vaughn Saunders, good sir... I'm a private investigator," The trucker was met with intrigue, as he said while the two shook hands:

"N-nice to meet you... I've heard that there was a great investigator that they call him "Sheriff Tom" said the trucker. "Anyway, my name is Jaime, I'm just heading home... What you mean you're going somewhere?"

Saunders clears his throat and says:

"I'm on an investigation of a case, but I will not tell you the exact details..."

Jaime said: "Yeah... I know, it must be about the disappearance case, right? You know, word comes round, everyone's very desperate to know what happened of the fate of the 36 people..."

"Yes..." Saunders sighed. "Our firm has been hired by certain someone that I won't name, per the client confidentiality... to investigate this."

"So, is it just you?" Jaime asked and Saunders said: