chapter 1

Officer Higgins reached the gruesome scene where the air was filled with tension. Police officers stormed the area, their concerted action punctuated by the sad wail of ambulances. Three body bags stood stark in the open, each an ominous testimony to the horrors that had transpired.

Opening the first of the heavy bags did not take anything less than a heavy heart from Higgins. What he saw in that was terrible enough-a young blonde woman was inside. Her face was beyond recognition through deep stab wounds. Her neck was a gaping wound-her killer had shown no such mercy in his aim to butcher her. Dried blood on her shoulder was a dark stain. Higgins zipped the bag again as his stomach churned.

The second victim, an African-American woman with curly dark hair, had been stabbed mercilessly in her back. The wound was so serious that her bones and her flesh were visible. Higgins turned the body around and gulped at the nausea rising up in his throat. He zipped the bag and moved toward the third.

The last victim was a redhead female with a mark on her cheek in the form of a freckle. She met the same horrible death. Her jaw was nearly ripped off from her, and her face was distortedly expressive, exposing tissue and bone. The very cold symbol, a circle with a horizontal star, and the words "est tu cupa, demonyo" had appeared carved into her chest. Brutal is too mild a term for that. She had been killed by a monster.

A figure emerged from the shadows; Shey Williams, a news reporter. "According to my sources, the killer is Ms. Autumn Jackson, right? " she asked. "And I heard she's been dead for several hours. What's the cause of death, and why is the main suspect dead?"

Higgins let out a heavy sigh. "That's confidential, Ms. Williams. We are yet to investigate. Excuse me, I have work to do." He walked off, but Shey's stubborn stare followed him.

The whole scene went chaotic when the families of the victims arrived. The blonde woman was Tara Remington, whose mother was a star actress and also an heiress to a fortune. The curly-haired one was Samara O'Neal, whose father was well-known politician. Sandy Darling was the redheaded woman and an exchange student from England.

The murderer never showed the remotest interest in the victims' grieved families; the parents were utterly inconsolable as they mourned, all the more resonating than the absolute silence of the murdering person. Higgins became spellbound by the horror of it all and went to the woods to escape for a while into his own solitude. Lost in his thoughts, he chanced to hear a whispy scream. A shiver ran down his spine as he strained to listen.

"Help.!" The voice was weak but unmistakable. Higgins sprang upright, every sense on high alert. Could it be a survivor? Or perhaps a cruel twist of fate, the last sneer from the murderer? Higgens swept his flashlight through the dense underbrush looking for any signs of clues. A figure emerged from the darkness-a local resident was finishing a cigarette. The man disappeared into the woods, and Higgins focused his attention upon the crime scene.

Shey Williams was questioning the teary-eyed relatives of one of the victims. Tara's mother, wracked with grief, wailed, "Who could do this to our children? Lord, I'll never forgive them." She drove off in her police car, leaving Higgins with his thoughts.

The haunting voice he had heard before reverberated in his mind. Had he really heard it or was it a trick of his imagination? He violently shook his head, attempting to clear the dark fear that crept into his heart.

Officer Miggy offered him coffee and a donut, which Higgins refused. His appetite was gone, replaced by foreboding dread. He could not forget the hideous images of mutilated bodies, the chilling symbol etched on the victim's chest, and the ominous name "Samael".

"Darn kids today," Miggy thought to himself. "If I were watching a horror flick, my mom would've thrown me to the depths of Hell."

Higgins ventured off to solve the mystery behind the cornfield by the side of the highway. A worn scarecrow stood watch over rows upon rows of stalks. A voice began to resonate as he walked into the field further.

"Hello there? Who's that?" An old man with a Southern drawl, emerged from the shadows. "Officer? What are you doing on my farm?" he inquired, looking at Higgins with suspicion.

"Good evening, sir. I'm Officer Higgins. I am investigating a murder case nearby. Have you seen anyone suspicious around here?"

The old man's eyes wide open. "Murder? Who's been killed?"

"Some tourists staying at the lakehouse on Samael Lake," Higgins replied. The moment the words had left his lips, he felt a shiver.

The old man looked uncomfortable. "I don't know anything about that place. It's cursed, I tell you. I wouldn't go near it if I were you."

Higgins pushed him for more details, but the old man refused to open his mouth. Just as Higgins was about to leave, a boy approached.

"You do not want to set foot near that house," the boy warned. "It is evil. My mother says that it is accursed by Samael, the devil of death."

Every new clue heightened the mystery. For every new thing Higgins learned about Samael Lake, so did the seriousness that told him he had made a discovery truly evil.

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