Night Mares

by Janine R Pestel

  "Bob, what's wrong?" he asked, concern in his voice. Robert didn't answer. He couldn't. All he could do was stare at Johann. He moved his lips and tried to speak. But he could only tremble, and mumble incoherently. Johann took Robert by the shoulders and shook him lightly. Not enough to create a scene, but enough to try and jar his friend back to reality. Bob blinked and closed his mouth, which had been open slightly. Robert raised his arm and weakly pointed back toward the bathroom.

  "Jesus, Johann. I was just talking with Theresa," he said weakly.

  "Theresa?" Johann asked, surprised but excited. "She's here?" Robert nodded, still staring blankly at Johann.

  "She said she's always here," Robert said. Johann almost glared at him.

  "But, that's only the good part," Robert said. "I ran into Malphas, too."

  "Malphas? That son of a bitch is here as well?"

  Robert nodded. "Yes," he said, "and he said you might have won that last battle, but the war has started. He said we aren't going to win." Robert deliberately left out the part about what Malphas said concerning a wedding with Johann's sister. He decided what he told him was enough bad news to deliver to his friend at one time.

  Robert's stomach began to retch as he remembered witnessing the mayor's death. He put his hand to his mouth to suppress the urge to vomit. He glanced at Johann. He waited a moment for the sensation to subside.

  "I saw it," Robert said, almost whispering so no one but Johann would hear. "I saw how Mayor Benson died." Johann stared at him.

  "How did you see that?"

  "I don't know. Somehow, Malphas put me in the room when it happened. I witnessed the whole thing." His stomach retched again, and tears welled up in his eyes. "Johann, it was awful." He put his hand up to his mouth once more and quickly ran back to the bathroom to vomit. Johann stood where he was. He tried to make sense of everything his friend told him.

  Upstairs, the new mayor came out of the master bathroom and rejoined his police escort. They headed back down the stairs. Mayor Tibbs saw all he needed to, and it was time for him to go back home for the night.

  As Robert rejoined Johann, the mayor and his party reached the ground floor.

  "Are you going to be okay, Bob?" asked Johann as he placed a hand on the coroner's shoulder.

  "I think so. If I can get that vision out of my head."

  Robert noticed the city official standing near the staircase and peered at him. Their eyes locked, and the mayor's lips curled into a slight smile. Robert couldn't seem to break his gaze away from the man. It was as though Robert were in a trance. Johann looked over, confused by his friend's reaction, then looked back at Robert.

  "Bob," Johann said as he slapped Robert's face. "Snap out of it, buddy." The sting on his cheek brought Robert's mind back to reality. He shook his head and glanced around the room, finally realizing where he was.

  "What happened?" he asked Johann.

  "How the hell would I know? You went into the bathroom, then came out mumbling about Theresa, Malphas, and seeing the mayor die or something. You tell me what's going on," Johann said. Robert thought for a moment. Then it all came back to him. The voices, the reflection in the mirror, the vision.

  "Oh, Christ," Robert said, putting his hands on the sides of his head. "We gotta get out of here." A sense of urgency suddenly filled him. His heart pounded in his chest, and he just knew something terrible was going to happen unless they left immediately.

  "What?" Johann asked, surprised by this sudden rush from his friend.

  "I can't explain it. I only know that we have to leave. Right now. Johann, please. Tell Belinda and Dave we need to get out of here right away," Robert said. All the while he glared at Mayor Tibbs, who was now on his way out the door with his police escort.

  "You still have that thing Father Nelson gave us in Mountainview, right?" Robert was referring to a talisman that was given to the two demon hunters by a priest several days earlier in the town of Mountainview. The Cimeries talisman seemed to have the power to protect them from demons.

  "Got it right here," Johann said as he patted his shirt pocket.

  "Good," said Robert. "We must get to a hotel and talk. I told you. Malphas is here."

  "Where?" Johann said, glancing around the room. If the demon was there, he wanted to find him. Robert sensed the air in the room change. Peace suddenly came over him.

  "He's not literally here now. He left," Robert said.

  "But he was here?" asked Johann.

  "Yes. I already said that."

  "In this room?"

  "That, I can't say for sure. But I can tell you he was here, in this house." Robert was still trying to figure out how he was going to tell Johann that Malphas still had Theresa. He stood there mulling things over while Johann retrieved Belinda and David so that they could leave.

  -4-

  A short while later Johann and Robert found themselves back in the Mustang. David and Belinda dropped the two demon hunters off where Johann parked his car earlier near the bar and grill. They were leading the way in search of a motel where the four would make their base camp. The rain had begun to fall again, and it added to the overall bad feeling of the night.

  Johann’s breathing increased, and his muscles tensed as Robert described to him what Malphas had shown him about the mayor’s death. Gunter swallowed hard and his teeth clenched as he tried to keep his emotions in check. He couldn’t help but imagine how terrifying the last few minutes of the elected official’s life must have been. He may have been a hardened demon hunter, but he was still a compassionate human being.

  After Robert described everything to Johann in the best detail he could, he broke the news that Malphas still had Theresa. As expected, that did not go over well, but Johann’s steering wheel survived the blow from the demon hunter.

  When Robert finished talking they rode in silence for a while. Robert hated when his friend was silent. They had only been friends a short time, and he still didn’t fully know how to read Johann. He only knew that silence was a bad omen. It usually meant that the demon hunter was processing information and compacting it. Once it became too compact, Johann usually exploded with a violent reaction.

  One look at Johann and Robert could see he was deep in thought. As he looked at Johann he noticed something. There was that nervous tick again in the corner of Johann’s eye. Robert had noticed that when they were in Mountainview. He was concerned about it but decided not to mention it to Johann. Not yet, at least. He let out a sigh of relief when Johann broke the silence.

  "I can't wait to see what Dave got on the tape," Johann said. He turned on the radio and found a station that played his favorite kind of music—classic heavy metal.

  "Me too," answered Robert. He winced a little at the volume of the music but decided this would be a bad time to criticize Johann’s choice of radio stations. There would be a better time for that later.

  As they rode along, Robert watched the night-time scenery out his window. There wasn’t much to see, but it didn’t matter. His thoughts were still caught up over what had happened earlier; the visit he received from Malphas. His heart rate quickened as he recalled the hair-raising encounter. As he sat there thinking, he reached up and started pinching his bottom lip. He was pinching it so hard; it was making him wince.

  "Bob. You okay? You’re not dwelling on that slimy bastard, are you? You know that’s what he wants you to do. It keeps you distracted. You have to focus, Bob. Just get him out of your mind. As horrendous as it was, just let it go.”

  The question brought Robert back to reality. He blinked a few times and moved his gaze around the car, not looking at any one thing in particular. He rubbed his bottom lip then dropped his hands to his lap and turned to his demon-hunting partner.

  "No. Not dwelling. Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little tired, I guess. You? Are you okay?”

  "I’ll live. Which is more than I can say for that prick when we find him.” He looked over at Robert and could see he was tired. “I'm sure we'll find a plac
e to stop for the night, soon," Johann said.

  No sooner had the words left his mouth when the sign for a small motel appeared. Johann flicked on his turn signal so David would know they were going into the parking lot. As they pulled into the lot, Johann noticed a sign near the street that read “R.I.P. Mayor Benson. We’ll all miss you.”

  After parking their vehicles, the four walked into the small, well-kept office. They approached the desk and both Johann and David reached for their wallets. Gunter put his hand up and turned to David.

  "I got this," he said. "Put your wallet away."

  “Okay. But I get breakfast in the morning,” answered David.

  “Deal.”

  A slender, middle-aged man got up from his chair behind the counter and approached them. He was pleasant looking and wore a white shirt under an argyle print sweater vest. Above the top of the vest was a bow tie. He was clean-shaven, and his short hair was combed neatly with a part on one side.

  "Can I help you?" he asked as he stood at the registration desk looking at the four through his black horn-rimmed glasses. Gunter stood silently eyeing the clerk for a moment. Are we back in the 1950s? The man raised his eyebrows slightly to indicate he was waiting for an answer to his question.

  "Yes," said Johann, embarrassed he had been caught staring. "We need two rooms with—" he paused and glanced at David and Belinda. David grinned and held up two fingers. Johann half smiled and turned back to the attendant. "With two beds in each room, please."

  "Certainly. Would you like the rooms adjoining?"

  "Yes, please," Johann answered.

  The man checked his computer to find where there would be two adjoining rooms that were vacant. Johann took his ID out of his wallet and slid it on the counter to the motel clerk. The man looked at Father Gunter, and his lips curled into a smile. Without moving his head to look at the ID Johann presented, he peered at Johann.

  "We've been expecting you, Mister Gunther," he said. Johann cocked an eyebrow in surprise. His three companions looked at each other.

  "Is that so?" Johann asked, realizing the man hadn’t even glanced at his ID.

  "Yes, we have." The man stood up straight and started tapping on his keyboard.

  Johann was taken aback by this. Not only did this stranger say they were expected, but he even knew Johann's name—almost. There was that damned “h” again. But Johann was too nervous right now to correct the man’s pronunciation of his name.

  Johann’s muscles tightened, and he felt the tension start to build as he came to the only conclusion that he could; this was a demon. He narrowed his eyes as he clenched one of his fists at his side.

  "And, could you tell me exactly how you would know who I am and that I was coming?" Johann stared at the man. He was paying attention to every move this man made. He inhaled through his nose to see if there was an odor of sulphur that he could detect. Nope, the air smelled clean. At least, as clean as it could be for a motel office.

  Johann looked around the room quickly, taking note of everything he could see. He was looking for anything that would indicate a demon’s presence. An inverted cross, a demonic symbol, anything. He breathed a little easier when he noticed there was a crucifix on the wall right behind the man. The fact that the man was able to stand there, a few feet away from a crucifix, helped Johann to relax.

  The clerk, oblivious to everything Johann was doing, didn't answer for a moment but finished what he was doing on the computer first. Then he turned to Johann and gave him a smug smile. He was about to spring a nice surprise on someone, and he enjoyed doing that.

  "You have a friend. A Father Tuttle, I believe his name is. He called and said if you show up, I was to tell you the room has already been taken care of." He glanced at the other three. "As a matter of fact, he said to tell you both rooms are already taken care of. One for you and Robert, and one for Mr. and Mrs. Smith here.” He nodded toward Belinda and David. David gave Belinda a playful nudge while looking slyly at her. The reporter put her head down and looked around nervously.

  The clerk looked back at Johann. “He described you all perfectly,” the man said.

  Johann held his gaze on the man for a second longer then turned to Robert, who had a look of bewilderment on his face. Robert shrugged his shoulders.

  "You have a very generous brother," Johann said. Robert remained silent and raised his eyebrows. He opened his hands with his palms up in wonderment. Father Gunter turned back to the gentleman.

  "Thank you. That's very kind," Johann said.

  "Not at all," answered the clerk. "It wasn't me. It was this Father Tuttle guy. You will find both rooms on the ground floor. They're rooms forty-seven and forty-eight. Here are your keys." He handed two electronic chip cards to Johann, who in turn handed one to David. The clerk looked at David and Belinda.

  “I’m sorry. We don’t have a honeymoon suite. But congratulations to you both just the same.”

  Oh, that’s…uh…We’re fine. Thank you very much,” David said, trying desperately not to chuckle out loud. Johann slowly rolled his eyes.

  "Thank you again," Johann said.

  "Yes, thank you,” Belinda added.

  The man bowed his head and smiled as the four signed their names in the guest register. After they signed, they turned and went back out into the parking lot to their respective vehicles. The man knitted his brow and cocked his head to one side when he noticed that David and Belinda signed with different last names. “Must be city folk,” he said to himself.

  "Well, your brother said he would be an asset. I would love to know what he told this guy," Johann said as he started the car. Robert turned the corner of his lips up and shook his head.

  “I have no idea,” Robert said putting his hands up. “You wouldn’t believe some of the stuff he would come up with when we were kids.”

  “Really? You’ll have to enlighten me one day,” teased Johann.

  “Oh, trust me. When I tell you some of the stuff he did, you’ll wonder how that guy became a priest.” He looked at Johann then realized who he was talking to and said, “Never mind.”

  They found their rooms and quickly got themselves settled. By now it was very early in the morning, and all four were exhausted from all the activity they had the day before. Johann and Robert didn't even unpack any of their clothes. They simply left their bags on the floor near the closet and sprawled out on their beds.

  While the two demon hunters lay on their beds relaxing, Robert thought about some stops they made on their way to the town. At one place, they purchased a large box of rock salt. Then they stopped at a local gun shop. At the gun shop, Johann had purchased another small shotgun, some packages of empty shotgun shells, and everything they would need to make their own shells. The only thing he didn’t purchase was buckshot, and this was puzzling to Robert.

  Johann didn’t explain to Robert why he bought these items, which piqued the coroner’s curiosity. But not wanting to appear dumb, he didn’t bother to ask Johann to explain. Finally, the curiosity had become too much for him.

  “Johann?” he asked.

  “Yeah?”

  “Um, okay, I’m not really very knowledgeable when it comes to this demon-hunting stuff. You know that, right?”

  “Yeah?” Johann looked at the ceiling and raised his eyebrows, wondering where his friend was going with this conversation. “You got a question? Whaddya wanna know?”

  “Well, yeah. I do have a question,” Robert said as he sat up in his bed. “I know why we bought a new shotgun when we stopped at that gun place at the edge of town. I want you to know that I really do thank you for that. But, what I don’t understand is why you bought all those empty shells? Aren’t empty shells pretty useless?”

  Johann sat up in his bed and turned to face Robert. “We’re gonna fill them with rock salt and make salt shells.”

  “Salt shells?”

  “Yeah, salt shells. That’s what we bought the box of rock salt for.”

  Robert stared at his frie
nd, a blank expression on his face. It was obvious to Johann that Robert had no idea what he was talking about. He fought hard to suppress the urge to laugh.

  “Salt shells. You know what I’m talkin’ about, right? Like farmers use to shoot at people who poach their crops? Or Granny, on that TV show about those rich hillbillies.”

  Robert looked at Johann blankly, then shook his head. “I know I came from a farming community, but I never heard of something like that. Why would they use salt?” Johann looked at him and raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

  “Are you kiddin’ me? You really never heard of that? Farmers sometimes use salt to shoot at people poaching their crops. This way, if they hit someone they don’t kill them, but it hurts like hell. It’s a great deterrent. Did you ever get salt in a cut when you were a kid? Let me tell you that stings like hell.”

  “How is that going to help us?” Johann had to look away for a moment. To him, it was blatantly obvious. He couldn’t believe that Robert couldn’t see it.

  “It’s salt, Bob. You know, like the kind demons don’t like. We use it to keep them in or out of a particular area. We use it to destroy their bones when it’s a ghost—“

  “We do?” Robert interrupted.

  “Yes, we do. Or at least we will when the time comes. You haven’t done that yet, but I have. We also use it to get rid of demons. Now, think about how powerful it would be to shoot the stuff at them. I’ve used these before, and they work great. Just another tool in our toolbox, my friend. Just another tool.”

  “But I thought the Cimeries talisman would make anything work?”

  “If there is one thing I learned in the time I’ve been doing this, it’s not to rely on one tool alone. The more tools we have, the better it is and the more effective we can be.”

  Robert knitted his brow. “Well, that does make sense.”

  “Mind you, it won’t kill a demon. But it sure as hell will get rid of it for a while. Send it back to hell at least. That can buy us some time when we’re trying to find the root of the problem so that we can get rid of it.”