Aaron opened his SUV door to warm, dry wind and the faint sounds of wind chimes. He stepped down onto the concrete driveway, stuffing his keys into the pocket of his shorts with his cell phone. He reached over the console, grabbed the strap of a messenger bag, containing this month's PO box mail. He pulled his travel mug from the cupholder, then closed his door and locked it.
Outside, the sun was beginning to set against the trees, and Aaron, being a creature of the night, was just beginning his day. He had spent the late afternoon working on orders for his clothing line, "Big Steppin," and after picking up a bite to eat, he stopped by the PO box to retrieve some fan mail. His plan was to drop them off at his best friend's house. He thought, if nothing else, it would put a smile on his face. It would be the first Aaron had seen Zak Bagans smile in weeks.
The past two years had been rough on the Ghost Adventures crew. Although the show had grown dramatically in popularity, things had also spiraled out of control. Zak's purchase and investigation of a demon infested house in Gary, Indiana brought everything to a head. They had lost crew members, including lost long time investigator and friend, Nick Groff. Of course, Zak promoted other crew members to fill in, but things still felt out of balance.
On top of being shorthanded, Zak's stay in the Demon House had affected him so negatively, he developed diplopia, an eye condition that causes permanent double-vision. He had recently attempted to have his condition corrected through surgery, but with the threat of blindness, the hope of regaining his vision was gone. Ever since, he had become increasingly quiet and distant from his friends, and Aaron was determined to bring his friend out of his current depression.
Aaron padded up to Zak's front door and reached for the door handle. Inside, he could hear the television blaring and Gracie barking. He pushed the heavy iron and glass door open.

"Hey, G," Aaron called over the noise, his voice echoing off of the rock walls and concrete floor.

He shuffled inside to a large room, decorated in ornate wooden furniture. The rock fireplace held a large flatscreen TV, on which was showing a random set of commercials. Aaron looked around as he set his bag down on a console table. The room was seemingly empty, with only Gracie sniffing at his leg.

"Za-"

Before he could finish, an arm shot up from the couch.

"Hey," came Zak's weak voice.

Aaron nodded to himself and walked around the couch. He was no less than shocked when he saw Zak.
The man was a shell, laying on the couch with his legs under a blanket, his cell phone on his chest, and his glasses rested crooked on his nose. He did not make eye contact with Aaron for a brief moment. Aaron shuddered.

"Jesus, bro!" he breathed out, "Are you sick?"

Zak looked up at his friend from the television and quickly snapped out of it.

"Nah, man. I'm good. Just chilling," he replied.

Zak kicked his blanket over and sat up, readjusting his glasses and reaching for his hat on the coffee table. He covered his limp hair, then stood up and hugged Aaron.

"It's good to see you, bro," he said.

Aaron smiled at that and happily welcomed the hug.

"Yeah, man. You, too. It's been a minute," he said with a laugh.

Zak gave him a small smile and led Aaron to the kitchen.

"I know," Zak agreed, "You want something to drink?"

Aaron grabbed his bag from the table and followed in step behind Zak.

"Yeah, sure. Water's fine," he replied.

Zak opened the stainless steel refrigerator and grabbed two bottles of water, tossing one to his friend. Aaron caught it and cracked it open.

"Still hot out there, G?" Zak asked.

Aaron swallowed and shook his head.

"Nah. It's nice out now," he replied.

Zak nodded and walked up to the center island.

"What's in the bag?" he asked curiously.

Aaron grinned and reached into the bag, producing dozens of letters.

"Mail time!" he said happily, "The post office was begging me to come pick these up. Besides, I thought you could use something to cheer you up."

Zak blinked tiredly, but Aaron inwardly rejoiced when a small smile crossed the investigator's lips.

"You know you haven't been yourself lately," Aaron said softly.

Zak's eyes flickered up to meet Aaron's. He shuffled his feet against the concrete floor.

"Yeah, I know," he replied in defeat.

Aaron stared at the granite countertop, thinking carefully about how to word his next question.

"Is there something wrong, dude?" he asked worriedly.

Zak crossed his arms over his arms, his eyes also trained on the gray speckles in the granite.

"You still feeling side effects from the house?" Aaron pressed.

Zak shook his head.

"No, it's not from the house," he replied.

Aaron nodded, relieved.

"Is it because of your eyes?" he asked.

Zak shook his head briskly.

"No! No, I've come to peace with that," he replied.

Aaron studied Zak. Zak dropped his arms and gripped the edge of the island.

"I'm serious, Aaron. I'm good with that. I still have my eyesight and for that I'm grateful," he continued.

Aaron nodded, satisfied with Zak's response. Zak sighed and reached into his pocket for his cell phone. He unlocked it and opened an email. He said nothing as he handed it to Aaron. Aaron took the device from his hand and turned it around to read it. At first, he was confused. However, after thoroughly reading the text, his shoulders dropped.

"Damn!" he groaned.

Zak slowly nodded, clenching his jaw. Aaron set Zak's phone down.

"Another?" he asked

Zak slowly nodded.

"Another crew member," he replied, "Ever since I bought that damn house, we've been losing crew members left and right. And half of them haven't even been affected!"

"They were just too scared to stay," Aaron agreed, eyes wide.

Zak nodded.

"Exactly," he said, then groaned, "It's my fault."

Aaron shrugged.

"Well, we'll find new people," he said.

With the popularity the show had accumulated, he was not worried about it. Sure, it slowed production, but he seldom noticed a change. However, he was also not in Zak's shoes. He did not have to deal with the network so much.

"Aaron, this is the most people we've lost at once to date!" Zak exclaimed, "If we keep on like this, they're going to find a way to stop us from filming until they get more people hired."

Aaron sighed.

"We don't know that for sure, though," he said, trying his best to bring optimism to the room.

Zak swallowed and nodded.

"We need to hire people that can handle this stuff better," Zak said, slowly making his way to Aaron's side, "Maybe building a strong foundation here will somehow filter out to production."

Aaron smiled. Zak's serious resolve broke and he smiled as he reached for Aaron's bag.

"What'd ya bring me, G?" he asked.

Aaron grinned.

"I knew this would cheer you up!"

Zak and Aaron spent the following two hours reading letters and giggling at some silly collages and gifts their fans had sent them. Aaron was simply happy to see his best friend raise his head from the dark pool of depression he seemed to have been drowning in for the past few weeks.
The two paranormal investigators later found themselves on the couch, a cooking show playing on low volume in the background while they made silly Snapchat videos. Zak was looking into his phone's camera, laughing loudly at a face Aaron was making in the background. It felt good to laugh again, as if the rush was washing away the darkness, if only for a little bit. It reminded him of the vlogs they used to make in the earlier seasons of Ghost Adventures. It was a simpler time, and his crew he had then had been all in. His current crew was still there for the long haul, but after losing two main members and only having a backup cameraman part-time, the dreaded search of hiring new members was staring him in the face.

"If only we could find someone who could handle this shit," Zak spoke up.

Aaron stared at his friend, lost. It took him a moment before he realized what Zak was talking about. The subject of the crew had not come up in hours.

"Like, veteran paranormal investigators?" Aaron asked.

Zak shrugged.

"Maybe," he replied distantly, "Just someone with some balls."

Aaron sighed.

"You know, as much as I wouldn't trade what we have now for the world," he began.

Zak looked over to his best friend, peeling his eyes from the television. Aaron looked up at him and gave him a sad smile.

"I sometimes miss the old days," he finished.

Zak gave him a small smile.

"Yeah, me, too," he replied quietly.

Zak settled deeper into the couch, eyes glued back on the television, but his mind a million miles away. He began to wonder where everything changed, and how he could somehow bring that fresh excitement back to himself and his crew.