“Sadie…Sadie…” 

            John Levy always knew his fiancé to be a heavy sleeper so he knew it would take awhile for her to wake.

“Sadie…Sadie…” He started to shake her gently.

            All of a sudden she woke up and practically flew out of bed.  John yelled out she startled him so much.

“Oh my God.  It was just a dream.”  Sadie whispered to herself.

            She looked over at John.  He was standing against the wall with a hand holding his heart.  He had a disturbed look on his face that changed rapidly to different emotions.  His face was slightly pale from fright and it quickly started turning crimson with anger.

“What is wrong with you?” she asked.

“You just scared the hell out of me.  What is wrong with you?”

“Oh John, it was horrible.  I just had the worst nightmare.”

            Knowing that Sadie already had an overactive imagination, John braced himself for her story.

            “I was being chased by a man.  I was out of breath, couldn’t breathe.  I needed to rest but knew if I stopped he would catch me.  I ran down an alley and hid behind a dumpster.  He followed me down and was looking for me.  He called out my name as if he knew who I was.  He told me to come out and play and that if I managed to escape he would find me again.”

            She started to cry.  Sadie had the habit of being extremely emotional at times and John knew this.  He wrapped her in his arms in a tight embrace until she calmed down enough to talk again.  She had always been comfortable in his arms. Always feeling safe in them, so it only took her a few moments.  When she had enough courage she told him every detail she could remember.

“God, it seemed so real.  It’s as if I was being hunted by a supernatural being.  He always knew where I was going or what I was going to do.”

“Supernatural?” John questioned.

“It’s not funny.  Laugh if you like but it scared the hell out of me.”

“No one is laughing.  I just think it is a little far fetched.”

“You didn’t see him, the look in his eyes, hear the evil in his voice.  He was pure evil and he was only after me.”

“It was just a dream.  All will pass over time but time is not on our side.  We are late for the meeting at the station.”

            Sadie looked at the clock and sure enough her little escapade already made them 10 minutes late.  Both of them worked at the Starsunville Police Department in Arizona.  The taskforce wasn’t large since the town was small.  It was only ten thousand or so.  Though, none-the-less, the cops were still needed from time to time.

            John had strange hours since he worked vice and she didn’t, but he always tried his hardest to keep semi normal hours since, as it was, they already had very little time to spend together.

            Every morning on their way to work they always stopped at Don’s, the nearby coffee shop.  It was like a ritual whether they were running late or not.

            John drove up to a parking space and went in while Sadie stayed in the car.  He had always liked coming here ever since he was little.  The fresh smells brought many good memories.  He also knew almost everyone that stopped in and or worked here.  Being a cop in a small town you have a tendency to get to know the people you meet.  John walked up to the counter and rang the bell for service.

“Hey John.  You want the usual today?” Don asked.  John had known Don since they were both children.  They were practically inseparable as kids but they had slowly drifted apart over the years.

“Yes please, for Sadie too.  She’s out waiting in the car.”

“Ok, one Double Shot Espresso and one French Vanilla Cappuccino coming up.  How is Sadie anyway?  I don’t get to see her much.  Have you two set a date yet?”  He asked

“We were thinking about next April.”

“Wow that’s only a few moths away.”

“Seven.  We’ve already been engaged for a year.  We both think it’s about time to move things up a level.”

“True.  I do wish you two the best of luck and I am looking forward to being there.”

“Thank you.  We won’t be sending out invitations until about January.  That way it gives people enough time to plan.”

“Great, here’s your drinks.  It will be $4.15.”  John pulled out a $5 and gave it to Don.  He never liked getting change back so he always let him keep it.

“Thanks.  Have a nice day and say hi to Sadie for me.”

“Will do, thanks.”

            John walked out and went back to the car.  He felt odd for some reason.  Almost as if Don had known something that he didn’t.  He shrugged it off and didn’t think twice about it.

“That took awhile.  Don in one of his talkative moods again?”  Sadie asked.

“Of course, he always is.  He’s the only one that I know that is that perky this early in the morning.  I don’t even want to know how much coffee he drinks in a day.  He says hi though.”

“Oh, that’s nice.  Are you ready to go?  If we stay here any longer we will end up being minced meat instead of in deep shit.”

            On the way to the station Sadie only had one thing on her mind, her dream.  She just couldn’t get over it.  Something about it just seemed…wrong.  She felt like she had seen the man before and that the whole experience was in some way real.  John didn’t think so.  He just thought she was over reacting but she knew that there was something else, something deeper.

            Neither one of them knew what this meeting was about.  As of yesterday there wasn’t one even scheduled.  Sergeant Peers had called everyone last night to tell them that something important had surfaced and that it was mandatory for everyone to be there.

            As everyone filled into the North Conference Room they could see the dire look on Peers face.  It looked as if he didn’t get any sleep, which, as they will soon find out, he didn’t for one reason. 

“Thank you all for taking the time out of your busy lives to meet here.  We have some very important business to discuss.  There has been a breakout of the state prison, Cliffton, last night and being within a 50 mile radius of the prison Starsunville County is now on red alert as well as several other counties.  As you all should know, five years ago, the mass murderer, whom we dubbed, the Midnight Slayer, was put away for life with no parole for the murder of six women.  It will be publicly announced tonight on the local 6:00 news.  He has not been spotted, as of yet, but we are glad to say that he has not started his old habits.  We need to be sure that all women are aware of this man.  He was known to strike all females between the ages of 19-25.  We need to be aware of all happenings in the town since the FBI believe he is still in Arizona and most likely will not leave since this is his birthplace.  Although, just in case he did decide to leave it will also be announced nationally so that everyone can be on the lookout.  This is not a person that you want roaming the streets.”

“What do you propose we should do?”  Adam Dureemith asked, another cop on vice.

“Just keep your eyes and ears open for the moment.  Other than that there really is nothing else we can do.  His general description: he is 6’2”, fairly strong build, dark sandy hair, and dark brown almost black eyes.  His only identifying marks are a scar on his left eyebrow, which is nearly invisible from far away, and he has a black knight riding a dragon tattooed onto his chest.  Which I hope no one will ever get close enough to see them unless making an arrest.  Again, I warn you he is still at large and women, please be careful.  You never know when or where he could turn up.”

“I need two people to speak to the press tonight.  We have no information other than what I just told you.  It should be easy enough.  John and Sadie, do you feel up to it?”

“Sure Sergeant, we can handle it.” Said John.

“Yes sir.”  Sadie replied.

“Good it’s settled then.  You both will need to be back here at 5:00.  There will be a news reporter, Stacie Roth, here to meet you and to ask you some questions to get you ready for the air.”

            Sadie looked ever at John and without even looking he knew what she was thinking.  She was very uneasy because this meeting hit too close to home with her dream.  So close that it was making her paranoid.  Was her dream an omen?  Should she heed the warnings?  She was so scared that it was almost hard to hide it.  She swore to herself she would never sleep again for the fear that the man of her dreams might return.