THE HOLLER

Part 2 : Inspector Ploi

The room has nothing much in it. It is a very small room which only one person can occupy. A single bed is on the opposite side of a small dusty vintage closet. A small window is in between with a filthy white curtain hanging on it. The room is moistly hot. It appears really draggy. A small dusty fan is working but still could not get a snug fit room. Ploi is sitting on the side of the bed grasping  some air. He looks pale and strained. He is having nightmares for the past few months. He  perspired a lot. It was 3 am but the weather was very dry and humid. He could not go back to sleep anymore so he headed to a mini kitchen and plug the electric kettle  to boil some water. He made a strong coffee and sat near the window. He opened it to grasp some air outside. He keeps on thinking about his dreams. He's been dreaming about some inexplicable events. Some were related to the cold cases he has been handling for the past few months. Some were really strange but the most recent is his dream about this woman whom he can't recognize but he felt really connected to her. The other one is the tragic murder of his closest friend Gordon and the disappearance of his wife Martha. They have two young daughters Dana and Mira. Since the murder of their father and disappearance of their mother, they are under the custody of their aunt  Lora. 

Inspector Ploi is currently leading the investigation action group at the crime department of Mandalia Central Police District, one of the most populous district in Bartavia region.. Being the youngest high-ranked police officer, he had numerous accomplishments in solving heinous crimes in the district. His full name is Marcus Ploi but his friends and colleague call him Ploi or Inspector Ploi. He is in his early 30s and he is still single. He is living alone. He is an only child and became an  orphan when he was 15 years old. He struggled to finish his education. He persevered  by working at day time and studying at night. He managed to save money to enter police academy. He made it to the academy without a sweat. He always have passion to whatever he does, so no doubt he often excelled.

He is a short-tempered man but a very reliable police officer. He is very icky in grappling with women, no wonder why he is still one of the most eligible bachelor in his district. He can even just settle in this filthy small room since he is always out. He would just go home late and take a long nap in his place. For him, it is unreasonably lavish if he will get a spacious condo but he is not always around. His passion for his job made him a very serious-minded person. He prefers to work on his own most of the time. You would not even recognize him as a policeman since he working at crime department, they do not wear uniforms. He would just usually drop by the small tavern nearby his apartment to grab some beer or two shots of his favorite Devil Springs Vodka.

There were lots of changes about him for this past few months though. It started when he lost his closest friend Gordon and when Gordon's wife Martha disappeared he has been restless. He likes Gordon's family dearly. He is also worrying about the two young girls left in Lora's custody. He has this special eye with Martha's younger sister as well but he is an introvert man and he ca not even determine what kind of discernment he has for Lora.Gordon and his family live in a Sodlog district. It is the district closest to  Mandalia. Ploi and Gordon met at the Skimmis Yard when they were 18 years old. It is a famous place for scavenging steel auto parts which they can sell at the nearby junk shops. They got really close like brothers but Ploi was determined to get higher education. Gordon was the opposite. He just finished high school and he got tired no matter how much Ploi convinced him to pursue his study. He preferred to work instead and got married early but struggled to get a decent job to raise his family.

After sipping his coffee, he noticed he has been sitting for more than an hour already. He's been thinking a lot but he did not realized the time passed by. "I am sorry Gordon." He uttered. " I am disappointing you. The people who are responsible for your death are still free." Martha is still missing." I feel useless nowadays Gordon." He continued to utter. "I am good at solving others' cases but I could not even solve my friend's murder case." It flashed back in his mind, the cold corpse of Gordon floating bloated body in Tol Channel and his skull was smashed by hard object leaving it almost unrecognizable. He doesn't have any hint why on earth it happened to his closest friend. They really don't talk about their jobs when they were spending time together. They hated the topic too much. They usually talk about Gordon's simple but happy family. He can still picture it out how happy Gordon was when he was talking about his children." Ahh those poor kids. I wonder how are they."

He put on his usual garb. He never failed to wear his favorite cargo pants pairing it with moss green or gray tees under long sleeves camouflage oversize jacket. He just usually put on his favorite black classic Brooks sneakers. He looks youthful with his garb. He left his apartment as early as 5 am. He decided to drop by Sodlog District to check on Gordon's and Martha's daughters today.He bought some food and groceries for the girls. "I wonder how they eat nowadays but I am pretty sure Lora is taking good care of them properly." He murmured. He took the bus from Pell Bus Station. It is about an hour to get to his destination. He sat behind  the driver seat and decided to take a long nap while on his journey. He closed his eyes and leaned his head on the bus' window pane. Time passed by, he seemed he was on his deep sleep when  a distorted and bloody features of a woman flashed in his senses. He woke up suddenly perspiring like marathoner. The bus stopped and the gray-haired old driver exclaimed..." We're already in Sodlog bus station sir."