Epidemic

*3*

"Lacey? Lacey!"

The voice was muffled and my shoulders were being grabbed at and shaken. I went to open my eyes and answer whoever was calling for me, but as soon as I tried to move, something came over me and all of my movement stopped. The air around me became thick and my head was pounding. My chest felt as if it had caved in. I could hear that I was breathing heavily and I tried to get it under control but it felt impossible. My eyes were squeezed shut and I tried to open them but it felt as though something had forbidden it, and the longer I seemed to fight, the harder it became. As suddenly as it had overcome me, it disappeared. The air around me thinned and I was able to breathe normally again.

My eyes snapped open and a loud gasp erupted from my chest, like I had been submerged and needed to come up for air. I don't remember lying on the floor, but apparently  I had been. I sat bolt upright, staring straight at Zak, his blue eyes wide. I dropped my head and took a couple of deep breaths, my chest suddenly able to take in the right amount of air and my lungs not burning every time I attempted to breathe. My head still hurt, but the immense tension that was in it just a few moments ago was gone and I felt like I had full control over my body again.

Zak cupped my face in his hand and forced me to look up at him, "Lacey, what the hell happened?"

I squeezed my eyes shut and rubbed my face, "I was just walking around and when I turned the corner it's like something came over me. I had to sit down because I got dizzy and then I guess I passed out."

I looked around for a moment; the presence I had felt when I rounded the corner earlier was no longer there and the emotions were also not as strong. I leaned back against the wall and huffed, my body aching from the energy being taken out of it. I looked back at Zak and I couldn't tell if he was angry or upset that I was hurt but I didn't have time to really think about it before he was standing up. He looked at the man they had just been interviewing and mumbled an apology.

"Well don't apologize to me, you should be worrying about her. The spirits here don't seem to like her, you can feel it in the air. Keep an eye on her tomorrow night."

With that, he turned on his heel and walked down the hall to the stairs to exit the building. Zak stood there staring for a moment before turning to me and getting down to my level again, "Are you okay?"

"I uh, yeah, I think so." I stammered, staring back at him.

He nodded and helped me to my feet, giving me his infamous half smile before walking down the hall and leaving me to walk with Billy. I rubbed my temples and the back of my neck; the feeling of something touching all over my body suddenly coming over me. Billy seemed to notice my discomfort and started talking about the interview to distract me. He somehow knew how to make me feel less awkward and left out. I think that's why we became such good friends so quickly.

I watched Zak, Aaron, and Jay walk down the hall in front of us and chewed on my lip, what the man had said running through my mind like a skipping CD. The emotions swirling through the air became thick again and made me not want to be here, but I didn't let that show.

It was still sometime in the afternoon, and we would drive back into town to eat dinner in just a short while, but what would happen when we came back? That feeling? It felt like I left myself and something tried to take my body with it, but my body was just too heavy for it so it left. It felt like something wanted to take over my mind and soul. I haven't felt that hollow since...

I shake my head hard and try to focus on helping the guys pack the equipment, even though I knew that they knew something was wrong. I was getting nervous and that wasn't a good thing.

The last case was placed in the back of the van and the boys started to file in, Zak talking to the owner about last minute information for tomorrow. I opted to sit in the middle with Jay while Aaron drove and Billy sat in the back. Zak got in the passenger's seat. I hugged my cased laptop to my chest and just stared out the front window, finding it hard to breathe again. I was taken out of my daze by a hand on my shoulder. I nearly jumped out of my skin as I turned to look at Jay who had a worried look on his face.