A few hours later and I was ready for bed, and so was Zak. He couldn't stop looking at his phone and checking if the killer was wandering around our neighborhood had been caught.
"Still nothing?" I asked.
He sighed, "No, it's like they're not even looking for the killer" he pointed at a line in the news article he was reading and read it aloud.
"No moves have been made to discover the killer, but to protect and guard the once-safe neighborhood from another treacherous murder"
He shut off his phone and angrily stuffed it in his of one of his pant pockets.
"They haven't done anything" he sighed. "How am I supposed to keep you safe when a murderer is on the loose?"
I faintly smiled at him. "Trust me dad, you've kept me safer than Marion ever did".
He didn't even seem to be a little comforted at what I said. He just sighed again and ran his fingers through his hair.
We both just stood there in silence; him, sitting on one of the many antique looking couches of the museum, and I, standing across from him with my hands in my jacket pockets wondering if I wanted a snack before bed. You could only hear the sound of the two of us breathing until the thump of me crashing to the ground broke the silence.
I didn't even know what happened. One second I was just standing there and the next, it felt like someone had kicked both of the back of my knees out, immediately knocking me to the floor below.
As quickly as possible, Zak jumped to my rescue, but I was already face-first in the dusty carpet.
"Ughhh" I groaned, still facing the floor.
"Holy shit! Charlie are you okay? What just happened?" Zak was kneeling next to me and helped to my feet. As I was standing up, I looked around at my surroundings to see if maybe I had tripped or if I had bumped into something that would make my knees completely give out, but nothing was around me that would cause me to fall. There was only one real explanation that would cause this, especially in this building.
"I am so done" I whispered under my breath causing Zak to give me a confused face; obviously not hearing what I had said.
"What was that?"
I angrily huffed. "I said I am so fucking done with being picked on by ghosts. Like, Seriously?! I feel like the new kid at school being picked on by bullies! First, I get Rosemary to haunt me and get me to try and kill myself, then there's Helen, also from the Levik Asylum, who scared me shitless and haunted the both of us, and now we have Lady Verge! What is she going to do now? Huh? She's probably going to make me burn this place down and murder everyone else along with it!" I could feel my face was burning red from anger. Zak was just standing in front of me looking at little terrified.
After realizing what I just did, I closed my eyes and rubbed my face. "I'm sorry"
Zak cleared his throat. "No, no, its fine. I totally get it, and I understand what is going on. Maybe we should stay somewhere else? I'm sure I can call one of my friends and ask to stay for the nigh-"
"No" I cut him off and put my hand up in front of me signaling him to stop. "Its fine" I smiled. "I'm just getting... tired because it's late.... I'm just going to go to bed now" I fake smiled. As soon as I finished talking I walked out of the room we were in and toward my room for the next few nights.
"Wrong way Charlie! Your room is the other way!" Zak yelled from the room I walked out of.
I tiredly laughed and walked in front of the doorway again and made sure not to make eye contact with my dad out of embarrassment, and walked to my room. As I walked down the hallway I could hear him laughing at me.
**************
Once I made it to my room, I knew something was off. It looked as if someone had ransacked it. The sheets and pillows were all over the floor and the clothes from my bag were with them.
"What the?" I said aloud as I slowly walked inside. I looked all around the room to see if anyone was in here or playing a joke on me, but there was no one.
I put my head down and moaned. I must be some kind of ghost magnet, because everywhere I go, I've been a target for paranormal activity.
I quickly cleaned my room and put all the sheets back on and all my clothes back into my bag. After that, I went to go put my phone on the bedside table when I noticed the drawer was a little pulled out showing that something was clearly inside. So, I opened it and found a black spirit box, like the ones my dad and the crew were using at the Levik Asylum. On the side it read it was fully charged, and my dad told me earlier this room hadn't been used in months, and I don't believe my dad left an expensive piece of equipment in a drawer of a room that hadn't been used in months.
"How did you get in here?" I asked it. Obviously knowing it wouldn't answer me. Then it dawned on me that I could just turn it on and ask the spirits who tore my room apart and tell me who put the device in the drawer.
I quickly flipped the on switch on the bottom, and a sweeping sound immediately filled the room. For a few seconds it said nothing until I asked it a question.
"Who put the spirit box in my room? Who tore my room up?" I quietly asked. I didn't want anyone to hear what I was doing.
Nothing answered, just the sound of it sweeping the room. Then I answer another question.
"Why are you following me? What do you want?" My stomach was beginning to feel a little unsettled.
"He's ours" a deformed voice came from the box and answered my question.
I jumped a little.
"Who's yours?"
Sweep. Sweep. Sweep.
"Who are you talking about?"
Sweep. Sweep. Sweep.
"Daddy" a little girl's voice came through the box.
"You want my dad?" I asked. Where is this going?
"YOU CANT HAVE HIM" a low and demonic voice came through and yelled. I nearly screamed and immediately turned off the spirit box. I threw it on the bed and stared at it.
"What the fuck just happened" a voice came from behind me. When I turned around, I found Zak staring at me with a bewildered expression.
"You tell me" I said.
He walked over to the bed and picked up the box. Then turned around and faced me.
"How did you get this?" he asked.
I shrugged my shoulders and pointed at the drawer. "I found it in the drawer"
He examined it and held it in his hand, "This is supposed to be in a locked case with the rest of the equipment, which is all in a locked room. And you found it in the drawer?"
I nodded.
"Did you not just hear what it said? Why does a ghost want you?"
He rubbed is face and signed. "Charlie, a lot of ghosts want me. Are you sure you're not lying to me?"
My mouth dropped. "Are you serious? You're asking me if I'm lying to you? Why don't you go and check your security cameras that you warned me about and see if I was the one who grabbed the box?"
He shrugged. "Fine. Come with me then" and so I did.
We made our way through the museum yet again and into the security room. There were about 15 computer screen showing the live feed from all 35-40 cameras in the museum; even the camera from the security room we were standing in now.
Zak started rewinding the feed from the security room from the whole day and then started playing from when we arrived. We sat there for ten minutes watching the sped-up security room footage, which showed up absolutely nothing. Not one person had been in the room the whole day.
When it stopped, Zak didn't look at me, he was too focused on the screens. "Then how did the damn thing get into your room?" he asked.
"You're the ghost expert, you tell me. Are you going to say sorry for blaming me for taking it and not believing me?" I asked.
He sighed and turned around and looked me in the eyes. "I'm sorry Charlie" then he held out his arms for a hug.
I went in as soon as he said his apology. "You're forgiven" I said. "I don't lie to you, not anymore"
He smiled. "I love you kid. I hope you know that"
My heart swelled. "I love you too da-" I almost finished when the spirit box, which turned on by itself, screeched. Then the same voice from earlier came on and in its low demonic voice it whispered.
"You were told" then the box shut off.
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I am not kidding when I say this next chapter is seriously about to be one hell of a shit show.
Cant wait for you to read it in a few days!