Finding Home (Zak Bagans Daughter)

Chapter Fifty-Two

"And why wouldn't your mom tell us this?" A huge part of me wasn't believing his story at all.

"Because her dad-- my grandfather was the warden of the prison during that time"

I looked at him with wide eyes and began to step backward away from him. "Well, okay thanks for the information now, I'll just go" I turned around and took one step forward when Nick grabbed my arm.

"Charlie you have to believe me. I swear to God I'm not lying-"

"What's going on here?" Holy shit, it was Zak. 

"Dad!" I gave him a smile, but he could tell something was off.

"Nick I think you're mom needs you"

Nick gave me a quick glance before walking past Zak and toward the rest of the crew and his mother.

Zak stepped toward me with his arms crossed across his chest. "Everything okay?" his eyebrow was raised.

I shook my head. "Nope, nothing. He was just telling me about the prison and... stuff" I trailed off. There was no way he was buying this.

"Mhm. You'll tell me if something is wrong... right?" I nodded.

"Of course"

He pursed his lips and watched Nick walking further and further away. "Anyway... let's get back to then entrance, I'm sure the guys need help" I started to walk by Zak when he put a hand on my shoulder.

"Charlie, are you going to be okay tonight? This might be worse than the Levik Asylum"

I put my hand on his. "Don't worry, I'll be fine" he let out a breath of disbelief.

"Okay"

"Okay" I smiled. "Let's go back, it's almost sundown"

********************

As we were getting ready for the lockdown, everybody was on edge. Nick and his mom went home and planned on coming back to lock us in for the night, which was nice since I didn't feel like seeing anymore of Nick.

I went to pick up a heavy box full of equipment when Zak jumped in front of me and grabbed the box from my hands.

"That's too heavy for you, why don't you grab something bit lighter?" I glared at him.

"Dad, you need to stop"

"Stop what?"

"What you just did. You need to stop babying me"

He sighed. "Charlie, it wasn't that long ago you got out of the hospital. Have your scars even fully healed?" I looked away from him and at the ground below.

"That's what I thought" He started to walk away, but turned around once more. "I know you're not a baby Charlie, but you're not invincible. Once you're in perfect shape again, then we'll talk about lifting heavy boxes. Sound good?" I nodded.

He whispered something under his breath, but it was too quiet for me to hear. He lifted the box up and walked into the prison, passing Aaron and Billy on his way in.

I took a step back and looked at the prison once more. It wasn't as big as the Levik Asylum, but it sure was a little more terrifying. We also weren't locked inside the asylum, we could've left whenever, but with Blackwater Prison, there was no coming out until sunrise.

I thought about telling Zak about the story Nick told me, but there were no facts to back it up, so I decided not to. There were a lot of things I wasn't telling Zak lately, but it was for his own good. No need to give him more stuff to worry about.

Thinking about evil things lurking in the prison reminded me of the black figure lurking in the corner of the hallway. A sudden chill overcame my body causing me to cross my arms and rub them in attempt to calm the hairs on my arms from sticking up. I looked at the setting sun. It was still warmer than hell out, so why was I cold?

I started to walk in the front doors of the prison. Once you stepped through the doors, you felt a whole different feeling. Almost darker and much more gloomy. My shoes scuffed the ground as I slowly shuffled down the main entrance. I know Zak wouldn't let me go off alone, but I badly wanted to venture the entire prison and get an understanding of what I was feeling. Just as I almost turned a corner and further into the prison, Zak's voice echoed behind me.

"What do you think you're doing?"

I stopped what I was doing and slyly turned around and gave Zak a sly grin. "Nothing"

"Mhm. That's not what it looked like. How many times to I have to tell you not to wonder off alone in places like this?"

I didn't answer.

Zak huffed. "Too many times Charlie, I have to tell you, an unexperienced eighteen year old, too many times that you can't wonder off into a haunted building on your own"

I shrugged. "Well when you put it like that..."

He raised an eyebrow and signaled me to walk back to the entrance with him.

I huffed and dragged my feet toward him. This is going to be fun.