Floor Four - Part 2

By A. Lopez Jr.

A fresh start and a new beginning. Time to finally turn the page on the past. But some things just won't let go.

Four years after his first encounter with the Mangler, a change of scenery may be just what Brandon needs. As his parents continue to seek help for their son, they reach out to the best dream psychologist they can find. But this comes at the cost of uprooting the family and moving to Pennsylvania. But Daniel and Alice will do anything to help their son.

Brandon meets his new doctor, and soon, things are looking better. He embarks on his junior year in high school and adjusts to life in Pittsburgh. To make things better, Brandon meets and becomes friends with Lily. Lily walks to the beat of her own drum and that is a breath of fresh air for Brandon. As life is trending in the right direction, Brandon soon finds out the past is never too far behind.

The Mangler won't let go until he closes the door on Brandon and whoever gets in his way. Take this trip with Brandon and his family and find out if he is truly prepared for what his evil nemesis has in store and see if he is amongst the living, or if all of this is part of living…with the dead.

If you wondered what happened to Brandon, grab part two today to satisfy your curiosity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ace-Hil-Ink
• Release date: Apr 10, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224719365

Book preview

safety coffin: any coffin fitted with a mechanism to allow the occupant to signal, by the ringing of a bell, that they have been buried alive

Prologue

Little known to most is a place called the Library of Dreams. In this library, on massive bookshelves, are the Books of Dreams.

This library contains shelf after shelf of volumes of books—some ancient and some as new as yesterday. The old and new collections contain dreams within them. It is said these books are magical and hold the power of the subconscious—of good and bad.

Books yearn to be touched. The pages attached to their spines want to breathe and need to be read. But this is a rare and fascinating place. It in no way bounds the borders of normalcy. These books cannot be opened for fear of corrupting the dreams within.

Inside these walls reside the Elderly Two, who are the keepers of the dreams. Their job is to protect and preserve the good dreams and not allow them to be opened. Their sole purpose is to defend the books from the Dream Collector. Only the most vile and evil can become the chosen Dream Collector.

The Library of Dreams provides the perfect feeding ground for the evil one to do his bidding. He collects books with good dreams and replaces them with nightmares. Once he has the dreams in his possession, those affected die horrible deaths in their sleep. Once they are buried, the evil entity will dig up their graves and collect their bodies as his trophies.

Recently, the most violent and vicious entity thus far has taken over as the Dream Collector. 

His name is… David Henry Coleman. 

one

I was at a church. I drove there in my parents’ station wagon. I’m not sure why, but I believe one of my cousins was getting married. I was there, but I had the feeling I wasn’t there for the wedding; I was there for something else. People were all around, complete strangers, having a good time and interacting with each other. They served these huge plates of food, and someone handed me one, so I went outside to eat.

Brandon leaned back in his chair, almost put out by this new therapy session with a new doctor. He had been through so many of these and told his endless tales of dark, sleepless nights, that he had lost count. But this was his life, for now, and he wanted to do right by his parents since they had gone to extreme lengths and sacrificed so much to find him the highly recommended doctor he sat in front of now.

Brandon continued, I walked outside and there was one of those shiny gold carts, you know the ones they use to put coffins on to push in and out of a church at funerals. I set my plate down, grabbed the cart, and pulled it to the side of the station wagon. For whatever reason, none of this was weird to me. There was a tarp, like a canvass, laying on top of the car and I attached it to the luggage rack and draped it out above the cart then I attached it to a light pole. This gave me a little shade, so I sat back on that cart and ate my lunch. I watched as people milled around here and there when I noticed someone had put a bunch of balloons on a nearby grave. There was a boom box next to it playing AC/DC music. I finished eating while listening to the music and wondered who the dead person was. I know this all sounds crazy, but this is how my dreams are. Should I stop now?

We still have a few minutes, the doctor said, looking at his pocket watch. Please continue, if you feel comfortable doing so.

Brandon nodded. Right then, someone walked up to me and asked where I got that cart and I told them it was between the church and the cemetery. As they walked away, a hearse pulled up near the cemetery entrance. I figured they were here to pick up the cart, so I rolled it over to the hearse and gave it to a man dressed in a black suit. As I went to get in my parents’ car to leave, I noticed three trucks had me blocked in. No one was sitting in them. I walked to the back of the first one and looked in through the camper top. Three decayed bodies were inside wrapped up in something, but I could see parts of their faces. Then, their legs and feet jerked and shook like they were trying to break free. It scared me and I jumped back. I walked to the next truck and saw more moving bodies. Chunks of skin were missing with slime and sludge all over them. I covered my mouth and went to the third truck. This one didn’t have a camper and there were two more bodies in it covered in dirt. These weren’t moving. Brandon paused, then looked at the doctor. You must think I’m crazy, like all the rest of your patients, huh?

No, I do not. This is what I do and I don’t judge. Please, continue.

Seeing all that scared me and I ran back to the car. I didn’t know what to do so I walked in circles trying to wake myself up. I got in the station wagon and decided I would drive right through the middle of the cemetery to get out of there if I had to. I turned the car on and looked for a way out. My hands were sweaty and I grabbed the steering wheel tighter. I looked out at the cemetery and saw the funeral home workers digging up dead people instead of burying them.

At that point, did you wake up, Brandon? Nothing more after that? The doctor asked. This was the second time Brandon had told him about this exact dream.

Brandon nodded, his head down. Yes, that was it. 

"How did you feel when you woke up?’

I felt anxious. My anxiety came back as soon as I opened my eyes. That hasn’t happened in a while.

I understand. These things can affect our mental state. This dream is very vivid and I see it is very unsettling for you. I appreciate you opening up so much in this session. I think this is a good stopping point for now, the doctor said, closing his journal.

Doctor, there was one more thing, Brandon said, looking at the doctor.

Yes? The last time, at this point, Brandon had nothing more to add.

The thing that scared me the most was…after they dug up the bodies. The dead people stood up and started walking across the cemetery…straight toward me.

two

Joseph Rickettes, the infamous doctor in dream psychology circles, had seen and heard many things in his life and career. He had experienced the worst kind of trauma in losing his wife in such rare, cruel, and unusual circumstances. Only those close to him knew what he had gone through—and that circle of friends was small. Truth be told, only the late Father Lombardi truly knew what happened to Andrea. If it wasn’t for his good friend and confidant, he would have perished and been living in heaven alongside his beloved wife, or burning in hell with the hordes of poor souls who could not get their lives together.

He suspected that hell was where he would end up. Not that he was a bad person or habitual sinner. It was just that the things he had done and seen, the treacherous lines he had crossed spiritually were far more than most men could even fathom. In trying to do right, he felt he had committed so many sins. He had punched his ticket to hell long ago.

Since that night he and Father Lombardi had ended his nightmare and faced the demon responsible for the terror in his and so many others’ lives, Joseph had found peace. He had cleared his head and centered himself. He had debated shutting down his practice and moving away from Pittsburgh and all the memories. But there was something inside, maybe a part of Andrea calling out to him, that kept him here and grounded. He started his practice in order to help people and that’s what he would continue to do.

He had seen a few patients since regrouping. He vowed to not use his gift to help others, having learned it only opened up doors to evil and dark places. Places unnecessary to help the people who had come to him. His new vision was to help his patients through conventional means—the things he had learned from going to school and getting his degrees. This would be the path.

As far as his gift was concerned, he had no idea nor interest in finding out if it even still existed. Having seen a few patients after his restart and hearing their worst nightmares, his gift had not resurfaced. That was fine by him—good riddance.

His patients had always been local or in-state, but this new one, Brandon, he was something new. Brandon’s parents had sought Joseph out from their home in Texas. They had contacted him and asked so many questions so many times, he almost felt as if he was the one being evaluated.

He agreed to speak with them on a lengthy call so they could explain what their son had been through. It didn’t take Joseph long to realize their son was being haunted by the ghost of the serial killer, David Henry Coleman. He knew the story of this man very well. He had also heard of the supposed hauntings at the old hospital. That all seemed like a circus sideshow to most compared to what Coleman had actually done in his murderous killing sprees. Joseph did indeed know of the infamous Mangler very well.

For Brandon’s parents, their concern had nothing to do with Coleman’s murderous past. Their concern was what happened after Brandon and his friends went to that party at the hospital. That’s when it all started for them. They sought an end to Brandon’s nightmares and sought to end the relentless grip The Mangler had over their son.

Desperate, they had searched far and wide, looking for the best doctor in the field. They heard from many. Repeatedly, the name of Dr. Joseph Rickettes came up. So, they reached out to him and explained everything Brandon had been through. The countless therapy sessions, the revolving doors of psych wards. It all had caused them too much pain and grief.

Finally, Brandon made progress and lived at home like any normal teenager. Except, in this case, it didn’t take long for his nightmares to return…if they had ever left him. Even though he was a few years older and a bit more mature, he had witnessed things in his young life that no child should ever see. The three of them knew the terrors would return, and they did. That was the last straw, and his parents took action.

After consulting and listening to their pleas, Joseph told them he wanted to research things and decide what would be the best way to proceed. Joseph dove into David Henry Coleman’s world. If he was going to take on Brandon’s case, he needed to know everything he could about the serial killer.

What he discovered was a world filled with fear, violence, and solitude. He delved deep into Coleman’s psyche. Even the most famous serial killers in our world had their own deficiencies. They were not immune to the defects that sent people down the wrong fork in the road. It didn’t take much to cross that line, and that line is much thinner than people know.

three

Brandon had grown a lot since his first encounter with David Henry Coleman. Prior to that, he was living the life of a young teenager—making it through the school year and looking forward to summer vacation. When his family made the short move to Baytown, he was looking forward to making new friends and exploring all there was to find in the small coastal town.

One thing he didn’t know much about was The Mangler. If you asked him now, four years later, he could tell you everything you needed to know. And not just the things the public knew—no—he could tell you things no one except for him knew. He had gotten to know The Mangler up close and personal. That propelled him into early adulthood—at least that