Finding Home (Zak Bagans Daughter)

Chapter Forty-Three

I hunched over in relief and put my hand over my heart. "Holy shit, I thought you were someone else"

"Where the hell did you go?" He ignored my comment. "One second you were behind me, and the next you were gone! What happened? The second I noticed you were gone I called your name, but you never answered. I just started re-tracing my steps to see if you were where I last saw you"

I gave him a confused look. "We were only apart for five minutes..." He shook his head.

"No Charlie, I saw you half an hour ago" He straightened his posture and made a face of realization. "You lost time didn't you?"

I puffed out my cheeks. "Looks like it"

"Did you feel anything? Is that why you walked away?"

I nodded. "Yea, well no, I walked in here because I saw something, and that's when I felt him"

Zak opened his mouth to say something, but three knocks pounded on the wall behind me.

"Was that-"

"Three knocks" I confirmed Zaks question before he even asked it. Three knocks was never a good thing to hear in a haunted building.

"Oh boy" He mumbled. "C'mon, let's get out of here and look to see if we find anything else" He turned around and left the room. I followed closely behind.

"What are we looking for anyway?" I asked.

He didn't turn around to answer me. "I don't really know. Usually when things go awry we bring in a priest or someone to bless the place. But this is my museum, and this is my problem. I don't want to bring anyone else here just so they get hurt because of what I've brought here"

"You brought me here"

He scoffed. "I didn't have a choice here did I? Knowing you, you would've shown up here regardless of what I told you"

"Very true. There was no way I was going to let you come here alone"

He said nothing, but I knew he was smiling.

Out of the blue, my head started pounding. I put one hand up on my head and leant against the wall for support on the other and groaned. Zak shot around and rushed to my aid.

"What's going on?"

It's in the basement

"Charlie? Answer me!"

Go to the basement

"Tell me! What's wrong?"

He is in the basement

The pounding stopped right after I hear a woman's voice in my head. I stood up straight and looked Zak dead in the eyes. "We need to go to the basement"

He dropped his camera to his waist. "How do you know that?"

I turned around and started walking the opposite direction we were headed. "A woman told me. She basically kept telling me to go to the basement"

Zak groaned. "Of course it's the basement. Nothing ever good happened in the basement. About a year ago we learned some rituals took place down there in the seventies. I'm not even surprised something evil is lurking down there"

Ten minutes later and we were standing at the top of the stairs to the basement. I stared down the stairs. It looked like a black hole; ready to consume you and rip you from existence.

"I still can't believe we fell down those and didn't die" Zak blurted. I opened the gate to the stairs, which squeaked as I pulled it.

"Yeah, well you were trying to kill me, so you can't hold that against me" I was the first to step down the concrete steps when Zak put his hand on my left shoulder and held it there.

"Dad, get your hand off my shoulder"

"What are you talking about? Both my hands are on my camera" His voice was coming from my right side. I sucked in my breath and held it. I slowly moved my camera to see him standing there, with both his hands on his camera. I still felt the giant hand on my shoulder. When it squeezed, I jumped, causing me to trip over my own feet and tumble down the stairs...again. And this time I didn't have Zak to fall on.

My body hit the concrete ground with a thud. I groaned and reached for my only source of light—my camera, but I couldn't find it. The dark was already petrifying enough, but it was especially terrifying when you were all alone with a demon.

"Charlie!" Zak yelled. The thumping of his boots running down the stairs vibrated on the floor I was lying on.

When he saw me on the floor he pulled me up by my arm and helped me regain my balance. Although my body felt exactly like it had fallen down a flight of stairs, as far as I could tell nothing was broken.

"I'm fine, I'm fine" I mumbled. Zak let out a deep breath.

"Thank god. You scared the shit out of me"

From what I could tell; we were not alone. I felt something lurking in the darkness, watching us as if it was the wolf and we were the rabbits. I walked backward into Zak and grabbed his jacket.

"Can you feel it?" I whispered. It was so quiet in the basement, a simple whisper echoed off the walls.

"We are definitely not alone" I nodded in agreeance. He was exactly right.

"Stay here" I mumbled and walked away from his protection.

"Charlie don't-"

"You can see me with your camera. Just if you see anything, don't hold your breath" I held my arms out as I walked further into the darkness.

I stopped walking and stood in the pitch black. A sudden hiss came from Zak's direction and caused him to turn around and face it, leaving me without any eyes.

That was when I felt him. He was right behind me. I could feel his cool breath on the back of my neck causing the hairs to stick straight up.

"Found you" I whispered. A sudden large hand wrapped itself around the side of my neck causing a cold fire to spread through my body from his touch, absorbing any ounce of energy I had.

"Found you" His low and demonic voice whispered.

Then I blacked out.