Zak Rider: Teenage Monster Hunter

Chapter Six: No Wonder They Died

A few hours later, Zak emerges from Spencer's bedroom, bleary eyed and groggy. He rubs his eyes as he walks into the living room. The TV was on, but he knew it wasn't Grace watching seeing as it was on ESPN and Grace couldn't possibly care less about sports.

"So Sleeping Beauty awakens!" an unfamiliar voice calls from the couch. Zak looks over and sees a girl with fire engine red hair and brown eyes smirking at him. She had a decent tan given that it was only a few days until Christmas and had a black acoustic guitar in her lap, strumming random chords aimlessly. "I'm Spencer, Grace's roommate. She's on the phone with some British dude."

Zak nods, wondering why Grace was on the phone with Beck, but decides not to pursue it any farther. Someone knocks on the door and Spencer groans. She sets her guitar down on the couch and gets up to answer the door. "Why in God's name is anyone knocking on my fucking door at this hour? I'm gonna kill the-" she says, stopping immediately once she opens the door. Her brown eyes grow wide and her cheeks flush pink. "Oh! You're attractive!" she says quickly, before her hand flies up over her mouth. Zak laughs from the couch as the words tumble out of her mouth before she can stop them.

Kellin laughs and gives her his signature smile. "Thanks," he replies, still smiling, making her cheeks turn a deep red color. He steps inside the apartment after she invites him in and then adds, "I'm Kellin, by the way. I'm just here to take Ghost Boy over there home." Grace had already filled Spencer in on the paranormal events before Zak had woken up.

"He's all yours," she says. Zak stands up and grabs his coat from the chair where he laid it down when he came in last night.

"Well it was nice meeting you," Spencer says, following them to the door.

"I never caught your name, sweet heart," Kellin responds, a smile stretched across his face.

"Spencer. Spencer Neil," she responds.

"Spencer," Kellin says, letting her name roll off his tongue. "It fits you. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl."

Spencer's face turns the color of her hair as Zak pulls Kellin through the doorway. "C'mon Lover Boy, let's go," he says.

"But I didn't get her number yet!" Kellin cries as Zak drags him down the hallway.

"You can get it later!"

Spencer laughs at Zak's last comment and shuts the door, locking the dead bolt. She still has a smile on her face when she returns to the couch. She picks up her guitar but can't put any chords together because her thoughts are still on the green eyed boy. She tries to push Kellin out of her mind since he seems like the kind of guy who prefers bleach blonde strippers and one night stands over a long term relationship.

* * *

In the car, Kellin asks Zak numerous questions, making sure he's mentally stable and able to function. "Are you sure you're fine?" he asks.

"Yeah... That was just...weird," Zak responds, staring out the window. He was still a little on the uneasy side, but nothing he couldn't deal with.

"You're in a line of work where you're going to see a large amount of dead bodies. I strongly suggest you consider changing professions," Kellin says, eyeing him carefully at a stoplight.

"I'll be fine, Kellin! Drop it, already!" Zak was getting annoyed with all the paranormal investigator's questions and suggestions. He wishes he would just shut up and drive. The rest of the drive is silent and Zak hops out of the car into the lab's parking lot as fast as possible. He doesn't wait for Kellin and just heads inside on his own.

He walks through the front door, walking past the front desk to his office. Grace wasn't in yet, probably because she was still on the phone with Beck when Kellin and Zak left. Zak sits down in his swivel chair and starts his laptop up. He can hear Walters on the phone across the hall. Once his laptop is up and running, Zak browses through his email, looking for anything that needed to be dealt with immediately. As he's reading through them, Walters sticks his head into the room.