Finding Home (Zak Bagans Daughter)

Chapter Forty-Eight

"Please be safe Charlie"

"I will" I smiled and walked out of her spell shop, with her warning replaying over and over in my mind.

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"You're late" Bacon said as I stepped onto the bus. "By ten minutes" He raised an eyebrow. I shrugged.

"Sorry, I thought it would only take fifteen. Did you tell my dad?" He smiled.

"Girly, I would never do that. I remember what it was like to be a teen" He grinned and pulled a handful of food bags from beside him. "I also got the food"

I laughed.

"Do you think we could do one more stop before going back to the library?"

He huffed and looked at his watch. "How far is it?"

"A ten minute drive, I swear! and it'll only take me a few minutes" I gave a sweet smile.

"Fine, fine, Where to?"

"Peace Memorial Gardens" He gave me an odd face, I gave him a small smile. "There's someone I have to see"

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"We're here" Bacon said as we pulled up to the gated entrance. "Is this the place?" He leaned forward in his seat to see more of the cemetery.

I peeked out the window. "This is the place"

I walked down the three steps of the bus. "I'll be a few minutes"

"Sounds good" He was already looking at his phone.

After getting off the bus I walked up to the front gate. It had its name written in fancy cursive writing on the top of the gate. I bent down and picked a few stray flowers that were growing at the entrance and bundled them together in my hands.

I peered down at each gravestone I passed. This was one of the oldest cemeteries in Phoenix, so the majority of the stones dated back to the early 1900's. When I saw the stone I was looking for, I sped up my pace.

The familiar stone made me smile. A few balloons were attached to it making me realize it was her birthday last week. A bouquet of yellow roses lay just beneath the headstone, barely alive.

"Hey Danny" I smiled. "It's been awhile"

A small breeze flew past my face, I knew she was here. I could feel it. Small movement in front of me caught my attention, when I looked up from the grave stone; a familiar smile filled my vision.

"It's good to see you again"

"Danny" I grinned. "Why are you here?"

Her smile faltered. She crossed her tan arms across her torso and stood straight. "I'm here to warn you"

"Warn me about what? The prison?"

"No" She shook her head. "I'm here to warn you about what lurks in the prison. Something bad happened there. I'm worried it'll stick to you"

I took a step back. "What are you talking about?"

She sighed. "Charlie, something very bad will happen at the prison. You need to listen to me"

"How do you know that?"

"Call it a ghosts intuition, okay?"

I threw my hands up. "Exactly! You're a ghost! This- This could be my mind playing tricks on me- Or something"

"Jesus Charlie! You and I both know you aren't making me up right now! My mom said the same thing to you when you were at her shop, didn't she?" I gulped. "You need to listen to me. Watch yourself at that damn prison. There a just some places living people, especially people like you, who should never go into places like that" And with that she was gone.

I huffed and crossed my arms. I laid the stray flowers I picked up earlier next to the old roses. I was about to turn around and walk away when something shiny under the grass caught my eye. I moved the flowers slightly out of the way and dug my fingers into the cool dirt. To my surprise, something that definitely wasn't dirt, hooked onto my finger.

I pulled my fingers out of the ground and examined the object I found. My eyes widened at the sight of it. Dangling off of my index finger was a familiar friendship bracelet Danny and I shared when we were children. I remember she was buried with hers around her wrist (I made sure of that), but mine- I buried mine exactly where I found it.

"Well son of a bitch" I mumbled as I held it in my hand. I remember burying this a couple weeks after Danny died. I was too afraid to lose it, so I put it somewhere where I knew it would be safe. I guess I had forgotten about it over the years.

As I held it in my palm, I traced the small chain with my thumb. It had rusted a fair amount, but it still had a shiny glare in the sun. The small charms clashed together creating a tiny jingle as they touched. A four leaf clover for the St. Patrick's Day I slept over and chased leprechauns together, a small heart symbolizing the sister-like bond we had, and a fake diamond since we both had birthdays in April, it was our birthstone.

I quickly stuck the chain in my pocket and checked the time. My eyes instantly widened as I realized how long I had been standing at Danny's grave.

Bacon is gonna kill me