Controlled Chaos (Deadly Dreams Book 1) (13 page)

Chapter Twenty-six

5:30 a.m. Wednesday Morning

I slept off my buzz, got up before the sun came up, and took off to my condo. I normally wouldn’t need to do that at someone else’s pad, but I’d had quite a few beers last night and I had been taking far too many cabs lately for a guy burning through his trust fund because he couldn’t work normal hours.

I felt bad that I was letting a lot of people down by not being there for them during the day. However, I needed to do what I needed to do. I was dying for a bag of blood. Yes, I was drinking by the bag. I drank it fast and thoroughly. It was fucking delicious.

I checked my phone and noticed that I had a few messages from Donna as well as Steve.

I sent Donna some sexy messages in the hopes that it would put her in the mood for a visit tonight. Then I messaged Steve to ask what the hell he wanted so early in the morning. It didn’t matter that it was the afternoon; it still felt like morning to me.

Steve called me right back, avoiding sending another message. “Where have you been? I’ve been calling you all morning.”

“Yeah, I was out all night drinking.”

“Who were you out drinking with? You’re an old man. Apparently, I am not your only friend. You better not tell me you were out with the killer in your nightmares?”

“Yes, Dad, actually I was. So what?”

“Are you crazy? You’re getting way too close to this guy. The next thing you know, you’re going to start sympathizing with him.”

“No shot of that,” I said. “I’ve seen what he’s capable of.”

“Just stop, Hunter, seriously. You have no idea what you’re messing with.”

“Was there a reason you called, Steve? Because I’m trying to enjoy my morning cup of blood.”

There was an awkward pause as Steve considered this.

“Munson wants to meet up with you and talk. I told him about your dreams, and he has heard of something like that before. He wants to discuss what’s been going on. He has some helpful hints for your new...lifestyle, too.”

“Oh, goodie. So what time are we meeting?” I said, mocking Steve.

“Just come to the station when you can. I will meet you there. Call me when you go.”

“Okay, see you then.”

I clicked off the phone.

Chapter Twenty-seven

11:00 p.m. Wednesday Night

I walked into the station, headed to an interrogation room, and made sure there was no one around to hear them.

Munson looked at me from across the table in an interesting way. “Glad to hear you’re robbing the blood bank instead of feeding off of residents.”

I looked at Steve and said, “What the fuck? Do you tell this guy everything I tell you?”

“Munson is a good dude. Hear him out,” Steve said sharply back at me.

“Look, Hunter,” Munson said. “Steve is worried about you, and I live by a different set of rules when it’s vampire related. No one is busting you for stealing some blood bags. Just continue to be discreet and stay off the radar, and you should be fine.”

I laughed, feeling pretty weird about the conversation.

“How’s your physical strength?” Munson asked me.

“I haven’t noticed anything new.”

“You will. It comes later, for some reason.”

I certainly liked the sound of that. Maybe then I wouldn’t have to worry about Felix killing me in my sleep.

“So, Steve tells me you’ve been having weird dreams.”

“They aren’t dreams.”

“What are they?” Munson asked.

“I have epileptic seizures in my sleep, and somehow these visions are only coming to me when I’m having a sleep paralysis seizure.”

“I’m not going to even to pretend to understand what is happening when you’re having a seizure, but I can speak to you about visions, and vision come to some vampires a lot more than others. What do you see in these visions, Hunter?”

“I can see this guy killing people.”

“I looked up this fella, Felix,” Munson said. “He does have a record for dealing, but nothing recent. We don’t have anything we could pull him in for. We would have to catch him doing something new. Unfortunately, the dreams you’re having aren’t current.”

“What do you know about my dreams?” I asked Munson.

“I know some vampire have prophetic visions and they come in all shapes and sizes. You’re an epileptic, so it comes to you when you’re having a seizure.”

“Prophetic?” I asked. “You mean my visions will happen in the future?”

“That’s my experience with these paranormal dreams. We believe that your seizures are visions of things to come. They aren’t live visions. You’re seeing what is going to happen. That’s why we haven’t found any bodies. It’s because the others haven’t died yet. Look, this talent you have has been documented with another guy in New York. He has the same ability.”

“Is he epileptic?” I asked.

“No, he has autism. He sees into the future when he dreams. He sees some awful shit. I heard he tried to help a few of them and eventually something happened to him. I’m not sure what.”

That information rocked me to the core. I see the future? They aren’t dead, which means that they could still be saved. “You’re kidding me?”

“No,” Steve said. “There is still a chance we can prevent those murders, and maybe even catch him in the act.”

“I’m a little stunned here. How do you know all this?”

“Experience,” Munson said, and Steve nodded. Munson looked at me and I knew the guy was legit. I wasn’t sure if it was my vampire sixth sense telling me so, but I felt like I could trust Munson.

I pulled out my notebook out of my backpack.

“What’s that?” Munson asked.

“It’s a vivid detail log of all three murders. They took place over four dreams.” I handed the notebook to Munson. Munson studied every word I wrote.

Munson got up and said, “Do you mind if I make a copy of these? They will be for my personal use. I will never show them to anyone.”

“Fine,” I said.

Munson printed out twenty-seven pages. He organized the papers into the four dreams. Then he began shuffling the order. It didn’t take him that long.

“This is what we’re seeing, “Munson said.

“Huh?” I said.

“This is the order of the dreams. Your first dream is the third dream in sequence. Your second dream is the second dream in the sequence.”

“His third dream is first,” Steve chimed in. “And your last vision is the last thing you see. You see Felix’s last killing.”

I looked at Steve and Munson and said, “How long of a timeline are talking about here?”

“Look,” Munson said. “Felix and Tyler looked to be acquaintances when you dreamed about the drug exchange, or lack thereof. Tyler obviously doesn’t know where Felix lives and Felix writes down directions to his place.”

“That’s the mystery bit of information that Felix wrote down. His address?”

“It makes sense,” Steve said. “When Felix kills Tyler, that’s the second dream in the sequence. His clothes never change. One is daytime and the other is night because the daytime dream happened around 4:00 in the afternoon and the second dream happens a couple hours later, when it gets dark. It all happened on the same day.”

“The same day?” I asked.

“Once Felix kills, he’s going to do whatever he can to get away. But he doesn’t have money. I think he went straight to the old man’s house. That’s the third dream in the sequence.”

Munson nodded. “It makes the most sense. He goes to the guy who betrayed him, Douglas Schmitt. Douglas Schmitt is an old-school criminal that has seen more of the inside of a jail cell than he has not.”

“You know Douglas?” I said to Munson.

“Of course I do. I have been with the force for twenty-five years.”

I nodded. A guy like Douglas stays off the radar as much as he does because guys like Munson are all over him.

“He didn’t find any money at Douglas’s pad,” I said, agreeing with the order Munson came up with. “He needed to see his crack addict buddy. So he was forced to go to the crack house and try to hit up his crack buddy that owed him.”

“A buddy that he kills without reserve,” I added.

“He has reserve,” Munson said. “By this point in the day, Felix is practically mad. He has already killed two people and one of them is an old-school guy that never left the life. By the time he hits the crack house, he would do whatever it took to get what he wanted. What he needed was cash. That was why he spared the other girls’ lives. There are no more dreams because there are no more killings. I think he’s done after this. But...” Munson paused.

“Yes,” I said.

“Don’t you see, Hunter, you’re being given some kind of supernatural gift. He hasn’t done any of these killings, but I think it’s close, or your dreams wouldn’t be so rapid. The spiritual and supernatural world is crying out to you, Hunter.”

“Why am I getting these visions when I’m having a seizure? If they are crying out to me, why are they doing it when I’m most fearful and desperate?”

Munson and Steve both moved very close to me and Munson took the lead. “Hunter, they are crying out to you when you’re crying out to anyone for help. They are catching you when you have no choice but to watch.” Munson paused and then shifted gears. “Felix has two strikes on his record now. We believe if he continues to sell, he will meet the man who tried to rob him. That man will then be killed. The next in line then would be the three crackheads in the crack house. I truly believe, Hunter, that you have been put in this situation to talk Felix out of being a drug dealer. Because if you can do that, then you will save three lives and his life as he knows it.”

“You met the guy,” Steve said. “Is he a scumbag?”

“Not at all,” I replied.

“Then maybe he isn’t a true killer. I truly believe, along with Munson, that you’re placed here for the good of the person. The universe is speaking to you.”

“You’re saying I need to talk a drug dealer out of dealing?”

“If anyone could, you can, Hunter,” Steve said.

“Tell him about the other side of it. How many bodies you have buried on your contact list this year. Tell him all of that. Get real with him, and we believe you can save everybody’s life here.”

I looked at Steve and Munson. I was moved by Steve’s speech and just about everything Munson had said to me. I knew what I had to do to make the nightmares stop.

I needed to meet up with Felix and have a heart-to-heart.

Chapter Twenty-eight

6:00 p.m. Thursday Evening

I left Munson and Steve and headed home. I wasn’t sure how I was going to talk to Felix about any of this. I took a morning nap. I got up around 6:00 p.m. and had a strong urge to go visit Felix.

So that was what I did. I drove to Felix’s apartment in the dark of night. We had become besties as of late. I wondered what his schedule was like. I needed to try and figure out how close the date actually was that Felix killed Tyler and went on a temporary killing spree.

Knowing that Felix wasn’t a killer yet allowed me to see him in a whole new light. I wanted to save him. I wanted to save everyone. I had dealt with the sufferings of his victims all my professional life. It was time for a guy like Felix to see how drugs destroy families and destroy lives.

Tyler was going to show up at Felix’s place. To be honest, I wasn’t sure that particular murder could be prevented, what with it being at Felix’s own apartment.

I hoped that Felix wasn’t working on the night that I would actually catch him at home. I got lucky, because he buzzed me in. I headed up there with a twelve pack of beers.

“Hey, man, what are you doing here again?” Felix asked. He was confused that I had come over without calling or meeting him at the pizza parlor.

“Why, are you busy? ‘Cause I thought I could return the favor.” I held up the beer.

“Aren’t you hung over, man? I’m so hung over from last night. I had to get up early for work too.”

“Oh, shitty.”

“Come in, though, whatever.” Felix invited me in. He was acting a little more suspicious, as if I came at a bad time. I was going to just have to wait and see what happened. I walked into his place, and he set the beers on the counter and cracked a couple open.

I stared at Felix and thought he was acting a little weird. I couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but he seemed distracted. Not even distracted, but...sketchy. Considering just the night before he had mentioned how cool it was to hang out, he could barely even look me in the eyes, and he hadn’t smiled once since I had been there. His behavior was suspicious.

Suddenly, I realized Felix was wearing the exact same outfit he did when he killed Tyler in my dream.

Had it happened yet? Was that why he was acting so unusual?

Then there was a knock at the door. Felix peeled back the one window in his small apartment. He opened the curtain and I saw who it was.

It was Tyler. Tyler showed Felix a roll of hundred dollar bills. Holy shit. Tyler is here to rob Felix, which triggers Felix and puts him on a temporary murder spree.

“Don’t answer the door, Felix,” I yelled.

“What the hell, man? Shut the fuck up. Lower your voice. I know this guy. He and I need to go in my bedroom to discuss something important.”

“Don’t do it, Felix. Just trust me.”

“What the fuck...trust you? What the fuck does that mean? A friend of mine and I need to take care of business.”

“Felix, he’s here to kill you,” I said.

Felix looked at me, shocked.

“His name is Tyler, right?” I said, desperately. “He’s here to buy drugs. He’s actually here to kill you. He has been sent by Douglas.”

“How the fuck do you know Douglas? Nobody knows Douglas.”

“I know him. He wants to kill you.”

Felix looked at me, and he knew I either had lost my mind or I was telling the truth. Either way, he needed to deal with it and put Tyler on hold.

“Hey Tyler,” Felix yelled through the door. “Hey bro, I have company. Can you come by tomorrow morning?”

“What the hell, dude?” Tyler said.

“You need to come back,” Felix said.

“I’ll be back first thing tomorrow,” Tyler said. We both heard Tyler leave and go down the stairs.

Felix looked at me and said, “What the fuck are you talking about? Who are you?”

“Felix, I’m nobody. I know it will be hard to believe, but Tyler was here to kill you.”

“How the fuck do you know?” Felix said to me. “Fuck this. I’m sick of this shit.” Felix looked enraged. He took off, out the door, and downstairs after Tyler. I chased after him and I hit the bottom of the apartment complex about ten seconds behind him. I ran past the pool and made my way to the front. Suddenly, Felix just stopped. I didn’t know what to make of Felix’s actions, but I caught up to him and then I saw what he saw. There were police cars, fire trucks and ambulances right outside his apartment complex.

Felix recognized one of the guys outside and he said, “What the hell happened?”

“Yo, bro, like three people were shot by a drive-by. They caught the motherfucker up a ways that did the shooting. Dude, you know Tyler, homie?”

“Yeah,” Felix said.

“He’s one of the guys that died. He was coming out of the complex and was caught up in the crossfire.”

Felix looked at me. I looked back at him and I shook my head, astounded.

“What do you know, Hunter? Who are you?” Felix was horrified that Tyler was dead.

I started to talk when, suddenly, a large white eagle flew across the sky. As it did, I felt a peace come over me and I knew I had done the job that was given to me. I interfered with fate and saved two lives. Some people you can never save, and Tyler was one of those guys.

“Let’s go back to your apartment. We need to have a long talk.”