Dreams of Destiny Pt. 04

“What about the killer,” asked Destiny quietly. “He knew me. He called me by name. He was toying with me in the Chamber of Horrors. He could have killed me. Why didn’t he? He’s playing a game with us and the game is linked somehow to that filthy, filthy chamber of horrors.” Destiny was overwrought and completely spooked.

“Had you been in that chamber before,” John asked.

“I don’t know”

“Think, Destiny.”

“My instinct says one thing but my intellect rebels against the idea.”

“Talk it through. If its stupid, so what.”

“Have you ever had an idea creep around the edges of your brain. Like some important memory almost completely lost? That’s how I feel about this killer. I know I know him. I just don’t know who the hell he is. I dream of him all the time but I never see his face.”

“Destiny, we still have your camera!”

“I forgot to give it to the police.”

“Don’t give it to them. Lets get the film developed ourselves. If there’s anything of any interest we’ll turn it over to the police. But first lets look at the pictures.”

At this point the forensic pathologist was busy with her grisly work on the victims in the House of Horrors. The Chief of Police, Manta, had arrived and was anxious to interview John and Destiny. He introduced himself to the couple. He wanted to question them individually.

“Ladies first,” said John, as he strolled off to light a cigar.

Destiny and Manta sat back down on the well used park bench. “Why don’t you start from the top little lady.” the chief suggested.

Destiny described what happened inside the house of horrors.

“So how did the killer know your name?”

“I don’t know.”

“How close to him were you when he bolted from the chamber?”

“I don’t know. 20 feet maybe.

“So he left once, and then came back in. He must have had eyes like a cat. When did you say you first saw the body?”

I just told you. I didn’t think, I just acted. I opened the door to the large chamber right after that horrible scream. I immediately saw a dark figure run out and then I saw the woman just lying there, staring. I wasn’t sure if she was dead. I didn’t want to leave her if she was still alive, but I had to get help. I put my mirror up to her mouth to see if her breath made a cloud. I didn’t. After that, I kind of froze. That’s when the killer came back. He told me not to go out the front entrance. I freaked out and started to run. It seemed like I ran for hours under the amusement park but that’s not possible, is it?”

“No, its not. What time did you enter the House of Horrors?”

“8:30 or there about.”

“And you didn’t call 911 until 10:30. What were you doing for those two hours?”

“I was running.”

“You were running around inside the closed park for two hours after witnessing a brutal murder? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I... guess I just went into some kind of state of shock -- you know, a fugue state or something.

“And in those two hours you never ran into either the killer or Officer Rodgers?”

“No. And when I came out,” Destiny said, remembering, “it wasn’t through the exit of the House of Horrors.” I can show you where I came out. It was like some kind of bulkhead door. We should go take a look at it,” Destiny said, getting excited. “Maybe the killer has some kind of lair down their or something.”

“Now just calm down, young woman,” the Chief said. “We have enough work to do here tonight without chasing around some damn steam tunnels or something. Lets just stick to the incidences in the House of Horrors. I think I have what I need from you for the time being. Now I need to talk to Rodgers.”

Destiny shrugged her shoulders. “Am I free to go now?”

“Yes. But don’t leave town without letting me know.”

As Destiny walked by John said “hold up. Please, wait for me. I want to talk before things go haywire again.”

Destiny sighed tiredly, “John, I’m dead on my feet. Can’t it wait until I’ve gotten a little shut eye...

“Oh shit.” Destiny realized she didn’t know where she’d wake up if she went to sleep.

“Exactly,” John said.

“All right. I’ll be here doing calisthenics or something to keep me awake while you talk to Chief Long Cock.

“Is he really that bad?”

“No. I’m just not feeling very charitable tonight.”

John’s meeting with the Chief was pretty straight forward. Afterward, John and Destiny headed out of the park grounds together. They drove their respective cars to the Best Western where Destiny was staying. There was a Smuckeys’s restaurant across the way from the hotel. Destiny borrowed John’s jacket to cover the worst of the blood showing on her outfit. She ran a comb through her hair and put on some lip gloss.

The smell of hot coffee and breakfast food grease assaulted their senses as they entered the little diner. It felt like they were the only people awake on the entire planet.

They grabbed a booth with a view of the parking lot. Destiny ordered diet coke. John ordered tea. They both opted for buttermilk pancakes and made hogs of themselves when the food arrived.

“Do you think you can stay awake long enough to get the pictures developed?” John asked.”

“I’m going to have to,” Destiny said with a sigh. “God knows where we’ll wake up at the next turn of the wheel. Isn’t there something we can do to, you know, smooth things out. Something short of sleep deprivation. Isn’t there any way to prevent tearing eyes, sneezes, closed eyes in moments of passion.” Oh God, why did I have to say that? Destiny thought.

“I’ll take that moment of passion” John said, his blue eyes growing darker as he said the words.

“Here’s what I think we should do, John continued. “After we get the film developed, and do what we have to about the pictures, you and I get into bed together.”

Destiny kicked John’s ankle.

“Hey! You’re leaving bruises and we haven’t even gotten to the good part yet.”

“Cad,” Destiny quipped.

“What I suggest is that we try to dream our way back to Washington, DC and Dr. Phaeton. Phaeton’s the only person I can think of who might have some kind of a take on this mess.”

“Well, it’s a plan,” Destiny said with doubt in her voice. “You know Phaeton better than I do. I know that I can’t live my life in fear that in a blink of an eye I can be thrown into some unknown dream/reality, or whatever the hell is out there. God knows I could use some good, sound sleep.”

John and Destiny perused a borrowed Yellow Pages while they ate their breakfasts. They located an all night photo shop not to far from Summit. With full stomachs and caffeine highs they hit the road.

They drove in silence through the dark Florida night. The sound of the engine intermingled with some blues John punched into the tape deck. Destiny hummed along.

“You have a nice voice,” John said softly.

“Thanks.”

For a time the pair felt perfectly in sync. If only I could bottle moments like this Destiny thought. I’d sell them cheap and the world would be a much better place.

They arrived at the photo shop and sure enough, it was open. Why someone would want to operate a 24 hour photo shop in this neck of the woods was anyone’s guess, John figured, but there it was, ready and waiting for them.

It did only take an hour to get the photo’s developed. When the photo technician came out of the lab he looked like he was about to be sick. “I don’t know what the hell this is all about,” he said. “I have half a mind to call the police on you right here and now based on what you’ve got on that film. All I can say is I hope this is some kind of Halloween prank or something. God Almighty, what a mess.“

John reassured the technician. “I am a cop. “ He showed his ID. These are photos needed in a criminal investigation. Just let us have the photos and the negatives. Here’s my number. Call me if you have any questions. Okay? But we really need the photos now.”

“This is so irregular,” the man dithered.

“Murder’s always irregular. How much do I owe you?” John threw the man some bills as he and Destiny left the store.

They got into John’s car keeping the dome light on. With trembling fingers Destiny tore open the package containing the photos.

Oh dear God. What horror! The camera had picked up the eerie lighting in the chamber and showed the murder scene in vivid color. It was sick, Brutal. Evil. Destiny shuffled through the picture hoping...

YES, there was a shot. She thought she’d caught him and she had.

“Oh Shit,” Destiny said at first.”

“You know him,” John said flatly.”

“Oh yeah. I feel like the fragments of a kaleidoscope have just pulled together to make a true picture. And you, John? Who is he?”

He’s Juan Rodriguez’s so called half-brother, Esteban. So called because my investigation over the years have led Juan to believe that he was not my father’s child. He’s also someone I’ve been tracking in my persona as a police officer.

“As his brother on the island I cannot openly act against him. He has power and he has made no overt mistakes. He’s very careful. He bides his time and waits.”

“It is my guess that he likes to hunt. Like tonight. I watched him go in to the House of Horrors with the red head.”

“He used the red head’s scream to lure me into the chamber of horrors.” Destiny said. She was scared . Why me? How did he know I would be going in there?”

“He must have been watching you. He was stalking you. What did you do before you went into the House of Horrors?”.

“First I took pictures of the rides, and of people in the park. I remember! I kept catching glimpses of a man decked out like a black pirate, but he was never in sight when I tried to snap his picture.”

“So he was following you from the start. Maybe he followed you in. Did he have the red head with him when you first saw him?”

“No.”

“Then what did you do”

“I went on some rides. I rode the bumper cars, the carousel, and the Thunder Bolt.-- great old coaster. Then I headed for the House of Horrors, but back tracked to go to the ladies room.”

“I’ll bet that’s when he figured he could get a jump on you. That’s when I saw the red head going in the House with a guy in black. He looked somewhat familiar to me from the back. Right after that I saw you go in. He must have brought the red head into the Chamber of Horrors on the second floor where he got her to make her grisly scream.”

“And I like a lunatic came running in to save her. I’m lucky I’m not lying next to her in the coroner’s office right now. Maybe the flash from my camera scared him off.”

“Destiny, if he’d wanted to kill you in there, you’d be dead, regardless how you responded to red’s scream. This was like a glove being slapped across your face.”

“A throwing down of the gauntlet, so to speak?”

“Precisely.”

“You think he’s going to come after me again don’t you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Where do you fit into this right now?”

“I don’t think he knows I’m here. He didn’t see me in the park and we missed each other in the House of Horrors. This could give us an advantage over him.”

“If we can ever figure out how to use it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, what if we track him, what do we do if we find him? Does he blink his eyes and disappear into some other dog and pony show. Does he slither off like a snake and become someone else’s problem? Or are we bound for eternity to get him before he gets us? We can’t fight in this soup. We have no weapons. We don’t even know where the fucking rule book is.”

“So what do we do now?” “Give up? Let him go on killing, perverting, creating nightmares and bending reality to fit his pleasure? There has to be something we can do?”

“Maybe he’s like a vampire,,” Destiny said grasping at straws. Maybe if we can get him in his lair we can get some control over him. Actually, I may be on to something. Remember I told you I once pissed on him?”

“Yeah.”

“This was during a dream where my dream self floated down into one of the lower planes.”

“I’m not sure I follow.”

“Well, its kind of analogous to earth, heaven and hell. Anyway, the lower planes are below ground and are very seductive at first glance. They’re very steamy. Intriguing really. And also dangerous. In my dream I slid down into a huge cavern. It had marble walls of red, black and white. There were natural fountains throughout the cavern. In the dream a demon was standing next to a throne. Now I know who the demon was.

The demon said something which made me really angry. I told him ‘you really piss me off’. Suddenly a faucet appeared out of nowhere and poured yellow liquid on the demon’s head. I laughed. So did the demon. But when I got a glance at the look in the demon’s eyes I high tailed it out of there tout suit. I woke up safe in bed but my room smelled like sulfur for a week. Ever since that episode I’ve been much more cautious about exploring the lower planes.”

“I guess the sine qua non of the story is that someone had control over matter in the demon’s lair. I don’t know if I pulled that faucet out of my subconscious, or if someone or something else was fooling around. But either way I like the implications. If I did it, my ability to manipulate matter in a dream state is a lot stronger than I thought. If it wasn’t me, we may have a valuable ally.”

“Well, if we have an ally, this would be a great time for him, her or it to reveal himself. What do you say, shall I drive us back to the Hotel?”

“Are you staying there too?”

“I hadn’t actually planned out where I was staying. I left for the amusement park at the spur of the moment.”

“There’s only one bed in my room” Destiny said, uncertain how she wanted things to play out. I guess you could sleep in the bathtub, or on the floor or...”

“Yeah, if I want to be uncomfortable and wake up with a sore back” John felt rather put out by Destiny’s aloofness. “I could spring for a room if you’re worried about your virtue but I thought we were going to try to make some progress on gaining control over the dream shifts. It seems to me that if we want to travel together during the next shift we should maintain physical contact. That seemed to work in getting us here together, remember?”

Destiny could feel heat coming from John’s body. “Maybe you’re right, but this is all so, so weird.”

“You didn’t seem to mind physical contact with Colonel Rodriguez”

“But that was different. The circumstances were so different and you were different.”

Now John was angry. “And so were you. But it was still you, wasn’t it”

Destiny was silent.

“Well, was or wasn’t it you Rodriguez made love to” he asked coldly.

“Yes, damn it, it was me” .

“And you accept that I am Rodriguez?” John persisted.

“I have to. The evidence is indisputable.”

“So what’s the problem?

“I don’t even know why Rodriguez and I made love. It just happened. It was crazy. We barely knew each other. Things are happening way too fast. Now everything’s all mixed up. I don’t know how I feel about you, or Juan or Nathan or even myself at this stage of the game.

“We made love, Destiny. You and I. As I recall you didn’t complain at the time. Everything that is Juan Rodriguez is in me, just as I am in Rodriguez. You... You are very different than the woman I made love to on San Angeles Island. And because of what happened tonight that woman will probably never exist. But you are that woman. How’s that for a paradox? So you’re not the only one having trouble coping with what’s been dished out. Work around it! We have a lot to figure out. We can’t do it if we don’t work together, I think that’s clear.

Angrily, John turned the key in the ignition. He gunned the engine. When they got back out on the highway Destiny rolled down her window to let the cool night air in. John took the curves at a fast pace. The tension began to ease out of her body. They drove back to the hotel in silence. Destiny felt contrite but was not quite ready to mend fences.

When they got to the motel they didn’t notice the figure sitting in the dark on the walkway of the second floor of rooms. Stephen was watching the sky from the tacky beach chair on his balcony. He was startled and then incensed when he saw John usher Destiny into her room. How the hell did she hook up with him?

He hadn’t recognized Destiny when he first saw her this afternoon but now memories were flooding through him. Oh yes, now I remember you, he thought. And we’re going to play the game by my rules this turn of the wheel.

He recalled in delight the dream of protecting her in his arms down that wintry slope. God! How she’d trusted him. He could have taken her there, or continued the ride down past the end of the slope through the planes of earth into its deeper bowels where it would have been warm, steamy and welcoming.

It had been so tempting . What would he have done with her their? Fete her, feast her, feast upon her; maybe make her my queen if she so chose. But not without a price. She would have to bow before me and more. Yes, much more. He felt himself become hard at the thought.

So why hadn’t he made a bold strike? It was too soon. She’d have found a way free.

But damn it, now she’s hooked up with the damned cop. I’ll bet the two of them are making the mattress shake tonight. Reunited at last! The thought made Stephen want to vomit.

That blue-eyed son of a bitch has been stepping on my tail for much, much too long. When I end it with him I will take Destiny and she will be mine for good.

He remembered the first time he had her. The thought of pouring himself into her with his screams in his ears made him want to roar like the mountain lion be believed he resembled. Then he laughed quietly at the memory of Destiny naked on her knees with his cum on his face. Stephen’s thoughts were becoming fevered. He stood, stretched and flexed his fingers. He wish he had his hands around John’s neck. How fine it would feel to just squeeze until there was nothing left. No more policeman. No more political rival. Just me and Destiny.

Stephen sought an outlet for his pent up fury. The circumstances were wrong for another hunt tonight. It was much too dangerous. He slid off his clothes on put on a black thong swimsuit. He slipped through the dark, down the stairs and across the parking lot to the pool.

The water looked black and oily in the darkness. It was bracingly cool and exactly what Stephen needed to cool his over-heated blood. He closed his eyes and let the water wash over him as he began to swim.

Stephen swam like a shark. Effortlessly, efficiently. He felt sharp and mean. As he cut through the water he concentrated on the stretch, the pull, the even, measured breathing; the control hat he had come so close to losing back on the deck of his room. He swam lap after lap. Finally he became one with the water.

With a last burst of power he slid through a fissure of reality and into home territory. Stephen found himself in one of the many burrows that wind through the planes of earth closest to the surface. It was cool where he was but it would get warmer as he made his way down towards the large cavern where he had his lair.

Stephen didn’t know, and didn’t really care if the burrows and caverns he knew so well manifested themselves physically in this part of the world. Under most circumstances accessing them was more a mental pursuit than a matter of turning a corner, going down a flight of stairs, or crawling into a cave.

The hallway was empty and dark. There was a quiet sound of rushing water off in the distance. This path was not well traveled. Every so often a sleeper, or an accident victim would pass by. Some came for a short time by chance and returned, eager to explore new territory but found little to their liking. They rarely stayed long. The terrain was bleak and desolate.

Stephen wound his way through the passage heading west. It became warmer as he walked. The walls and ceilings were slick and wet. The sound of water grew louder. The only other noise was the slapping of his bare feet on the marble - like floor. Stephen was in his element; like a snake in its pit. He was like a piton of gold and black with his tan skin and blond hair, his black eyes, and the black swim suit which was his only item of apparel.