First Visit

Juan Orona is a favorite character for many readers of Braile House. His personal story is integral to the underlying tale. Through Juan we are first introduced to the terrible evil that concerns our story. Here is a short excerpt. Juan is confronted by a long dead James Pratt.

He could feel him.

Suddenly Juan's senses were stunned. He slammed the Toyota’s brakes, killing the engine and bringing the car to a screaming halt. Fear greater than he had ever known began to overpower him. Straight ahead just a few yards away, suspended, hovering, several inches off the pavement, was James Pratt. His eyes were wide open and unblinking. His face was cold white with a cruel, unforgiving smile on his dead black lips.

The ghostly figure was holding his arms out and saying something to Juan. Terror welled up inside Juan, but he could not find his voice for a scream, or tear his eyes away from the aberration floating before him. He sat there in his car, frozen, staring at the hovering figure of James Pratt reaching out for him. Pratt's unholy lips formed Juan's name, again and again. Then they began to move to form something else. To his increasing horror, Juan was beginning to hear the faint mutterings from Pratt's mouth, but he could not distinguish the words.

Juan could smell his own urine. Bile was coming up his throat to the back of his mouth. His teeth began to clatter and his hands were shaking violently on the steering wheel. The small hairs on his body stood on end and his breath was forming vaporous clouds in front of his face.

Another sound began to come. There was a pounding sound in his head. The image of James Pratt in front of him began to fade and as it did, the pounding grew louder. Pratt's hideous face was still visible when Juan first became aware of a bright light shining through his car door window. Suddenly he realized the pounding in his head was coming from the same source as the light. Juan's body began to jerk and he wretched involuntarily into his own lap.

"All right buddy, out of the car!" Officer Shouth opened the door of the Toyota and gagged momentarily from the smell of vomit and urine. "Jesus Christ, I can't fucking believe it. I've seen some drunks in my time, but you take the fucking cake buddy," Officer Shouth yelled at Juan as he backed away from Juan's open car door, "I'm not putting your ass in my unit tonight, buddy."

Officer Shouth walked back to his patrol car and radioed for the Drunk Wagon. Juan collapsed into the steering wheel of his Toyota. Officer Shouth looked up from his report pad when he heard the retort of the Toyota's horn, as he did, Juan fell out onto the street.