Devil's Nightmare: Premonitions (Devil's Nightmare, Book 2)

by Robert Pruneda

  “Wow! When did you get that?”

  “I picked it up while you were in San Antonio. You like it?”

  “Hell, yeah, I like it!”

  Maria pulled her husband onto the bed and rolled on top of him. She sat up, rubbed his chest, and leaned forward, kissing him. He wrapped his arms around his wife, rolled on top of her and kissed her passionately. It only took seconds of foreplay before they disrobed each other. They remained as quiet as possible, knowing how sound carried easily through the walls of the old house. All of Aaron’s anxieties, frustrations, and concerns escaped his mind as he and his wife shared intimate love for one another. The intense orgasm that followed released all of the stress Aaron had allowed to build up for far too long.

  †

  Aaron sat bound in a chair in the middle of the Saint Hedwig Youth Home chapel, the building burning around him. The screams of children coming from behind a door at the back of the chapel echoed in his head. The chimera stood behind the altar where Cody lay, a ceremonial dagger protruding from the boy’s chest. Aaron wrestled with his restraints, trying in vain to break free. Fire swallowed the altar, and Cody’s clothes burst into flames. As the fire consumed him, his flesh reddened and blackened, but he didn’t make a sound.

  The scent of burning flesh filled the room. The chimera also burned, its flesh melting off its bones. The fire grew so intense that the altar, Cody, and the chimera were no longer visible. The heat surrounded Aaron and flames burned throughout the chapel, but somehow he remained unscathed.

  The fire diminished and Aaron was suddenly freed from his restraints. He checked his surroundings and recognized the stone and iron wall that fenced the property. He was still at Saint Hedwig Youth Home, but the building itself was in charred ruins. A full moon and thousands of stars in the cloudless sky provided his only source of light.

  Aaron stood from the chair and listened. It was too quiet. No children screaming. No chimera roaring. No thunder. No crackling of burning wood. Nothing. Only silence. Then something caught his attention at the edge of the ruins where Dr. Jerome Hadley’s office had once stood. He found a trap door in the floor and pushed charred wood and stones aside to open it, but someone grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. He spun around and found Cody standing in a black tunic.

  “There’s nothing in there that can help you.” His voice was hollowed, distant. “There is no one you can save.”

  “What do you mean? That’s where you hid. I remember. Joseph told David he found you in a room underneath Mr. Hadley’s office. What’s in there?”

  Cody tilted his head and stared into Aaron’s eyes. He held out a closed fist, but didn’t speak. Aaron held out his hand, palm upward; Cody dropped a gold necklace with an old key into his hand. The head of the key had an inverted pentagram within a golden circle molded into it.

  “What does this go to?”

  Cody disappeared. Aaron scanned the area, searching for him, but couldn’t find him anywhere.

  “Find the key,” said a faint voice, “and unlock the answer to end the curse. Fail to do so and more death will follow.”

  The necklace and key burst into flames and disappeared into a small pile of ash. Something pierced into his back and through his chest. He peered down at the curved blade of a dagger and his blood-soaked shirt He searched the vicinity again, his eyes widened in shock, and fell to his knees. A boy’s laugh echoed nearby. Then a pair of bare feet sticking out from underneath a black robe stepped into view. Aaron gazed upward into a pair of solid black eyes.

  “You should have let me die,” Cody said in an unnaturally deep and faraway voice. He held up a deformed hand that appeared almost reptilian with its long, dark claws. In a single swipe of his clawed hand, he ripped through Aaron’s neck, spraying blood and flesh onto the ground.

  †

  Struggling to breathe, Aaron jolted up in his bed. His shirt was soaked, but it wasn’t from blood, only sweat. He finally took in a deep, gasping breath as the silhouette of someone standing at the foot of his bed caught his eye. He checked to his right. Maria was lying in bed next to him. When he faced forward again, the dark figure was still there at the foot of his bed.

  “Cody?” No answer.

  Aaron rubbed his eyes and shook his head. The silhouette remained. He turned on the lamp next to the bed, but when the light filled the room, the silhouette was gone. Rain slapped against the bedroom window. A faint crackle of thunder announced the coming storm. He glanced at Maria, who was still sound asleep, and ran his hand over his face.

  “It was nothing,” he whispered to himself, convinced it was an illusion, and turned off the light. He sat at the edge of the bed for a minute, then left the master bedroom to check on Cody. He always left the door cracked open an inch, so Aaron only had to push it forward a little, enough to let some hallway light into the room. Cody wasn’t in his bed. Aaron’s body tensed. He swung the door open and flipped up the bedroom light switch.

  The clock on Cody’s dresser blinked 3:32. Where was he? Aaron turned around to check the rest of the house and came within a few inches of walking straight into Cody, who held a glass of milk and a sandwich. Every nerve in Aaron’s body reacted in a jolt. He grabbed his chest with one hand and rested his other hand on the doorframe.

  “Damn it, Cody. You about gave me a heart attack.”

  “Sorry,” he apologized. “What’re you doing in my room?”

  “I was just checking… Were you in my bedroom a little while ago?”

  Cody wrinkled his forehead and cocked his head back. “Um, no. Why would I be in your room?”

  “Forget it. It’s nothing.” He stepped aside. “What are you doing up? It’s three-thirty in the morning and you have school tomorrow.”

  Cody set the glass of milk on his desk and sat on the bed. “I couldn’t sleep, so I made myself something to eat.” He took a bite from his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. “What’re you doing up?”

  Aaron leaned back against the wall next to the door. “I had a nightmare.”

  Cody stopped chewing and gazed.

  “What?” Aaron said. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  Cody chewed slowly, swallowed, and washed the food down with some milk. “Is that why you came to check on me? Did that dream have something to do with me?”

  “Yeah, it did.” Aaron grabbed the chair from the desk next to the bed. He turned it around and sat on it with his arms rested on the back. “But, I think you already knew that. You had a nightmare tonight, didn’t you? That’s why you’re awake.”

  Cody took a deep breath and shifted his eyes away, confirming Aaron’s suspicion. Cody knew what he had dreamed, the same way he had known about Jackson Smith’s death in Austin. Back when Detective Riley and Aaron were questioning him, he’d known every detail of Aaron’s dream because they had shared the exact same nightmare. They’d had some sort of weird supernatural connection in their dreams that hadn’t made any sense. If they were sharing the same dreams again, Aaron needed to know why, and figure out what it all meant.

  “I’m sorry, Aaron.”

  “Sorry for what?”

  He sighed and tossed his sandwich on the desk. “It’s my fault this is happening. If I hadn’t messed with that stupid book of spells, we—”

  “Hey…” Aaron sat next to Cody and rested his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “None of that was your fault. That cult brainwashed you into believing all that demon protection crap. We stopped them from hurting anyone else, and now they’re gone. You don’t have to worry about them anymore.”

  “And the chimera?” Cody said. “It’s here in Lost Maples now. It doesn’t matter where we move, as long as I’m still cursed.”

  Aaron knelt in front of him. “Don’t believe that crap. It’s a bunch of superstitious cult bullshit. Just push that nonsense out of your head, okay? Those assholes had themselves convinced of a lie just so they could justify killing you for their own sadistic purposes. It’s as simple as that.”

 
“And the dreams?”

  “What about them?”

  Cody lay back on his bed and sighed. “I kill you in my dreams. And the chimera is always there. It’s always at Saint Hedwig, too.” He hoisted himself up on his arms. “Why are we having these dreams? Why now?”

  Aaron pursed his lips and shook his head. “I don’t know. I wish I had the answer. All I know is that we need to keep this between us, okay? I don’t want to worry Maria and Sam with this.”

  Cody formed a disconcerted frown. “What about the man at the lake? The chimera is—”

  “Don’t worry about that fleabag from hell. It’s gone, Cody. The ME already performed an autopsy on that guy. He’s certain an alligator killed him. I agree with him, too.” Aaron slapped Cody on the leg. “We’re going to be fine, son. I promise. They’re just dreams. Okay?”

  Cody bobbed his head in a slight, but unconvincing nod.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Treasure Hunting

  Come on you…” Aaron turned the key in the ignition several times, but the Corvette refused to come to life. The starter clicked, but the engine wouldn’t crank. After testing the battery behind the driver’s seat and determining it had a full charge, he pulled back the hood to check the connections on the engine. As he reached toward the wires from the spark plugs to the distributor cap, the hood support slipped out of its locked position. The hood fell and hit Aaron on the back of his head, knocking him unconscious for a few seconds.

  “Aaron!” Maria yelled. “Are you okay?”

  Aaron pulled the hood up and slammed it back down. He cursed and rubbed the back of his head.

  “Are you okay?” Maria asked again.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, checking his palm for any blood. “Damn car won’t start.”

  Maria rolled her eyes, shook her head, and pointed to the Sheriff’s Department cruiser. “You know, you do have another vehicle.”

  “This is why I should take my own car to work.” Aaron’s tone had a hint of anger in it. “I can’t leave it sitting in the garage all the time. I need to drive it.”

  “What you need to do is sell it.”

  “I’m not having this discussion with you again.” Aaron shifted the car’s transmission into neutral and pushed it back into the garage.

  Maria walked back towards the house and reminded Aaron that it was his turn to take the kids to school.

  “I know, Maria,” he grumbled in a low voice. “You don’t have to remind me.”

  Maria stopped and gave him an angry glare.

  “I heard you,” he said. “I’ll take care of it.”

  She shook her head and slammed the door on her way out.

  †

  Aaron stepped out of his cruiser and acknowledged Sergeant Henderson standing there with a slight nod of his head.

  “Running a little late, are we?” Henderson teased.

  “Shouldn’t you be inside investigating a jaywalking case or something?”

  “Just taking a little break and enjoying the nice cool air God blessed us with for a change.”

  Aaron checked the time on his watch. “It’s a quarter after eight. Break from what?”

  Henderson opened the glass front entrance for his superior. “Somebody’s in a cranky mood this morning.”

  “Let’s just say it could have started better than it did.” He brought Sergeant Henderson up to speed on his vehicular dilemma as they headed to their offices.

  “Take your car here.” Henderson handed Aaron a business card for Julian’s Auto Body & Repair. “Forget about taking it to Dalton Slavic’s shop. The guy’s a real butthead.”

  “So I’ve heard.” Aaron placed the card in his wallet. “I may give Julian a call.”

  “You won’t regret it, boss. He does good work.”

  They all promise good work, Aaron thought. He sat at his desk and turned on his computer. While he waited for his machine to load the operating system, he checked his voice mail. He had two messages. One was from Animal Control informing him that they had sent the alligator head to Dr. Allen Westminster at the Natural Science Center in Austin. The other message was from a Detective Millstead at the Travis County Sheriff’s Department. He didn’t give any details in the recording, but he did request assistance with a case in Travis County. Aaron jotted the detective’s name and phone number on a Post-it note and called him back.

  “Detective Millstead. Investigations.”

  “This is Lieutenant Aaron Sanders with the Lost Maples Sheriff’s Department. You left me a message this morning inquiring about a case you’re working on.”

  “Yes, thank you for returning my call so quickly.” Papers ruffled in the background and fingers snapped. “The reason I called you was because I’m investigating the disappearance of three teenagers here in Travis County.”

  “Right. I read about that in the Statesman.”

  “Well, we may have found their remains.”

  “They’re dead?”

  “We don’t have positive ID, but we found three bodies in the woods about a mile from the Saint Hedwig Youth Home property.”

  Aaron leaned back in his chair and nibbled on the inside of his lower lip.

  “Lieutenant?”

  “Yeah, I’m still here. So, why call me? Travis County isn’t exactly in my jurisdiction.”

  “Call it a wild hunch, but I think you know why. I’d like to meet with you in person, if you don’t mind. Based on the condition of these bodies, this case has similar details to your case from a couple of years ago.”

  “Similar, as in how?”

  “They were decapitated, missing their arms and legs, and had several deep wounds in their torsos, just like—”

  “Okay. You have my attention now.”

  “The only difference is that all three bodies were burned.”

  “Burned?” Aaron logged into his computer. “What else did you find?”

  “We searched the ruins of that old youth home.”

  “Saint Hedwig.”

  “Right. But we didn’t find any useful evidence, other than a few shovels, and a gold necklace with an old key attached to—”

  “A key?” Aaron straightened up in his chair. “What type of key?”

  “I don’t know. The antique kind. It has a pentagram on it. Pretty creepy shit.”

  “Could you email me a photo?” Aaron asked, while launching the email program on his computer. “Send it to asanders@ LostMaplesPD.gov.”

  “Yeah, sure. But what’s the significance? You know something about it?”

  “Not yet, but it could be important. Or maybe nothing at all. I just need to see it before I can draw any conclusions.”

  “All right then. I’m sending it now.” Detective Millstead emailed a photo of the necklace and key while Aaron waited on the phone. The email arrived a minute later. Aaron clicked on the attachment and recognized the jewelry and key immediately. It was the same necklace and key he’d seen in his dream, right down to the ornate design.

  “I think I’ll make that trip to Austin after all. I’d like to examine the evidence in person. What do you say we meet around noonish?”

  “Excellent. Let’s meet for lunch and then we can go over the evidence.”

  “Um. Yeah, okay. That’ll work.”

  “I appreciate your assistance, Lieutenant. Our cases may in fact be connected.”

  “I think you may be right. I’ll see you this afternoon.”

  †

  Aaron met Detective Millstead at Dan’s Hamburgers on the corner of Ben White and Manchaca about twenty minutes after the noon hour. Millstead appeared to be in his early thirties, stood about five-ten, and was a bit heavy set, likely from a steady diet of jalapeño bacon cheeseburgers and milkshakes at the popular burger joint. After formal introductions in the parking lot, the two men entered the restaurant and sat at a booth in the back corner.

  “Hi, Aaron!” said a familiar female voice.

  Aaron turned around as an attractive young Hispanic woman
approached him with her arms open wide. She gave him a strong hug and kissed him on the cheek.

  “Hey, Dora. It’s good to see you.”

  “Where have you been? I haven’t seen you in months.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. My wife and I have been in the middle of career changes, looking for a new place to live and such. We moved to Lost Maples a few weeks ago. I just started a job with the Sheriff’s Department there.”

  “I knew you couldn’t stay away from being a cop,” Dora teased.

  “So, can I get you and Jordan something to drink?”

  “You know Detective Millstead?”

  “Of course I do. He eats lunch here at least twice a week… unlike someone else I know.” She winked at Aaron and greeted Detective Millstead. “I’ll go get your cheeseburgers ordered. Chocolate strawberry milkshakes for both of you?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Detective Millstead and Aaron shared various cop stories with each other while they ate their hickory jalapeño cheeseburgers, fries, and shakes. The conversation eventually came around to David Hernandez and his secret cult.

  “That was quite a shocker when we heard about it,” Detective Millstead said while he added some pepper to his curly fries. “I’d only met him once, but he seemed to be an upstanding guy.”

  Aaron gave a slight nod in agreement. “Yeah, he was at one time, and a great friend. Best chief I’d worked with up until my last case with APD.”

  Aaron had so many unanswered questions about the deceased chief’s motives. What had changed him? Maybe he’d never changed. Maybe David had always been that twisted, and had just been good at hiding his demons. Whatever it was that had driven him to such evil measures, Aaron would never understand. It was a real shame, because they’d been close friends up until the moment David had turned into a satanic homicidal maniac.

  “Be honest with me,” Detective Millstead said in the parking lot after lunch. He leaned against his department-issued Ford Taurus. “What do you think killed those kids?”