Chapter One
Reagan woke up ahead of her alarm, as per usual. She was unsure why she even set one anymore. She swung her legs off the side of her king size bed. She stretched and yawned. She slipped off the bed and walked over to her master bathroom, equipped with a steam shower and his and hers sinks. She started the shower, making the water as hot as her skin could stand. After stepping out of the shower she wrapped her long, layered, fiery orange/red hair in a towel and walked to her chef style kitchen and started the coffee pot. I should just get one of those single cup coffee makers, she thought to herself. She walked back to her bedroom to get dressed while the coffee brewed.
Dressed in her usual attire of jeans, a black t-shirt, gray converse, and black prayer beads, Reagan returned to the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee. Extra cream and sugar. After polishing off her first cup while eating a bowl of cereal at her glass-topped dinner table, she poured another and went to her small study. A very small room, meant to be a second bedroom in her spacious apartment, that was only furnished with a tall bookshelf and a cluttered desk and an empty computer chair.
Reagan set her coffee cup on the right side of her laptop and sat in the gray computer chair. The laptop was turned on and Reagan began another day of writing that seemed to go nowhere. After all the work she had produced in an hour, about fifteen pages, she deleted it all. Crap, she thought, all crap. She had an up-coming deadline and couldn't seem to produce a few good chapters for her book in progress. A month to write five chapters. She was unsure if she could do it.
She got out of her chair and retrieved her cellphone. She needed a distraction from work for a few minutes. She called her mother, which was never a short phone call.
An hour and a half later Reagan was still walking around her house talking to her mother about not being able to produce any good writing and all the things her mother was up to while traveling the world.
"So, Reagan honey. Have you met anyone lately?"
"No, mom. I've been too busy trying to write a good damn chapter. I can't focus on men right now. They all just run away anyhow. Gift my ass. Curse is more like it. Going out in public sucks." Reagan was complaining again. Reagan had, at birth, received the gift of being clairvoyant and clairaudient. She was able to see and communicate with paranormal entities and hear people's thoughts. It plagued her as a child in elementary school, and led to her being homeschooled in middle and high school.
"Reagan that is not a healthy way to view the world. There is someone out there for you. But to find him, or her, you have to be out there and looking!" Her mother was always encouraging her to be free with herself and to experiment. Maybe that's my problem with men, she thought, do I belong with a woman? Reagan glanced at the clock on the wall in her living room above her small television. Already it was 2 o'clock and she'd gotten nothing done.
"I know. Hey, mom. I've gotta get back to work. I'll call you later, okay?"
"Okay honey. Remember! Him or her, they're out there."
"Thanks, mom. Love you. Bye," Reagan said and hung up. After heaving a heavy sigh she went back to her laptop. "Why can't you just write yourself?" she asked the machine. She began to type once again.
Two more hours later her cell phone rang. 'Who's gonna saaave the wooorld toniiight'. Not me, Reagan thought as she answered the phone. The number was an unknown Nevada number so she answered formally.
"Hello, Reagan O'Connor's number. Who is this?" she asked politely.
"Hello, Ms. O'Connor," said a male voice on the other end.
"Hey Nick, wake up," said Zak. "It's time to get rollin'," he shouted as he shook his sleeping friend and coworker. Nick groaned and told Zak to go wake up Aaron, their other friend and coworker. Zak left Nick's hotel room and found Aaron's. He let himself in with the extra key Aaron had given him for this exact purpose. "Hey, man. Time to get up." Aaron rolled over and greeted Zak with a 'good morning'. Zak just looked at him.
"Fuck mornings," Zak said and closed the hotel room door. The trio met up in the hotel restaurant and ordered breakfast. "So guys today we're going to start interviews. There's a woman who says she was attacked in the warehouse."
"Awesome, there have been physical attacks?" Aaron asked.
"Yes. She said she'd tell us more once we interviewed her. Which is in about an hour." The Ghost Adventures Crew paid for their meal and went back to their rooms to get their gear and head out to the interview.
Forty-five minutes later they were sitting at Ellen's dinner table, a cup of coffee in front of each man.
"So, Ellen, Do you want to describe to us what happened to you in the warehouse?" Nick asked the middle-aged woman.
"Yeah, uh well, I was working late that night. Making sure everyone was out of the warehouse, finishing up some paperwork in my office on the third floor. When I walked out into the hallway to leave I heard some laughing. Really creepy laughing. So I asked if anyone was there and a deep, growly voice said, 'I'm here.' I freaked out; I knew I was there alone. So I ran to the elevator and they are really shiny so I saw a reflection of what was behind me, there was a black figure coming up behind me and when I turned around no one was there. So I hit the down button and the elevator came and I got in. Thinking I was going crazy."
"That's understandable," Zak told her comfortingly.
"Then while the elevator was going down I felt something grab hold of my hair and pull it really hard. Then I felt a slap on my left cheek and another on my right cheek," Ellen said as she started sniffling. "It pushed me against the wall and g -groped me. Then when the elevator doors opened it vanished. I got a copy of the elevator security tape. You can see my hair being pulled by a black figure." Ellen got up and grabbed a clear CD case out of the kitchen. "Here, you guys can keep it. I don't want to see it, ever again."
"Thank you, Ellen. We'll find out what did this. I promise," Zak said as her placed a hand on her shoulder.
"No, thank you." Zak smiled and nodded at the woman. The trio left Ellen's, but not before she gave them a very interesting piece of information. "Have you guys talked to anyone who told you about Reagan O'Connor?"
"No, who is she?" Aaron asked.
"She's a psychic. She lives downtown in the Applegate Apartments. She's a family friend of mine. She might be able to help you. Here's her number," Ellen said as she wrote the number on Zak's hand with a sharpie. Zak took a quick glance at the number and thanked Ellen. When the three climbing into their rental SUV Zak called Reagan.
"Hello, Reagan O'Connor's number. Who is this?" asked a polite female voice.
"Hello, Ms. O'Connor," Zak said. "My name is Zak Bagans. Ellen Hartley gave me your number. She said you might be able to help me with an investigation my crew and I are conducting at the Gordon Warehouse."
"I'm sorry, I can't help you."
"She told me you were a family friend. She told us that she was attacked by a black figure, and I've got evidence that she's telling the truth. She also told us that you were the only psychic in town."
"Ellen has no right telling you about me. So I suggest you don't call me again." Reagan hung up. Aaron grabbed Zak's phone and called her back.
"I told you not to call me again." She was very angry.
"Sorry, miss. My name is Aaron. I work with Zak. I just wanted to know why you couldn't help us out."
"Because that place is evil. No one should be in there and I told Ellen that. You guys shouldn't go either."
"Why not?" Aaron asked.
"It's not safe. People shouldn't even be working there."
"Would you consider doing a walk-through? We have some people taking us through the warehouse tomorrow afternoon, to point out the hotspots." Reagan was silent as she contemplated accompanying the three guys.
"Only in the walk-through? During the day? Not that that matters there, but still." Reagan's voice wavered slightly. Aaron thought she sounded afraid.
"Yes, to both questions. And Zak, Nick and I will be with you the entire time."
"Okay. When is it?" Reagan asked.
"Tomorrow at two o'clock. Then we get locked down at nine o'clock."
"Okay, I'll meet you there," Reagan sighed. Aaron could tell from the tone of her voice that she was not excited about the walk-through at all.
"Great, thank you Ms. O'Connor."
"One last thing. Call me Reagan."
"Will do, thank you. See you tomorrow." Aaron hung up and smiled smugly. "And that's how it's done!" He gloated. Zak shook his head as Nick laughed.
Reagan looked up at the expansive, worn down warehouse. The words 'Gordon Warehouse' were on the front in red paint that was almost completely chipped away. The corrugated metal walls were dented and rusting in almost every possible place. The doors were almost falling off their hinges, and most of the windows were broken out. Reagan sighed and sat down on the ground and crossed her legs.
Ten minutes later the rumble of a large, diesel engine invaded Reagan's mind. She looked up to see an SUV holding three guys. The person she saw climb out was the large one with slight stubble on his chin and an exquisitely sculpted faux-hawk, which probably took about half an hour to create. The second was a smaller man, his hair was combed back and gelled, he had a neatly trimmed goatee and he held a camera perched on his shoulder. The third man to get out was bald and he had a longer goatee and a bigger camera in his hand. After the three exited the SUV another car pulled up and parked behind the SUV. A man, whom Reagan had seen at her local grocery store many times, emerged from the passenger side door. Ellen came around from the driver's side and Reagan glowered for a few seconds.
"Reagan, I presume?" Asked the man with the faux-hawk as he held out a hand. Man, she's hot. Reagan rolled her eyes and thought, awesome, a pervert. Just great. He had no walls up. No walls meant easy possession.
"The one and only." Reagan took his hand after standing up and shook it firmly.
"I'm Zak Bagans," he told her while he smiled proudly.
"Cool." Reagan dropped Zak's hand and saw the bald man walk over to her.
"I'm Aaron, the second one you talked to on the phone." She's so tiny, I hope she doesn't get scared. Reagan raised an eyebrow. So none of them have walls, she thought.
"Nice to meet you, Aaron." She smiled brightly. She liked this one. He had innocent thoughts.
"And I am Nick," said the smallest of the three men as he shook her hand. Damn, strong grip for such a small person. Ouch. Reagan smiled at the thought she picked up from him. The man she recognized form the grocery store introduced himself as Jeremy, Ellen's next door neighbor and the current owner of the Gordon Warehouse. Reagan shook his hand as well. No thoughts from him or Ellen. Ellen knew to keep her walls up around the red head.
"So, Jeremy, you wanna show us the hot spots in this place?" Zak asked excitedly as he clapped his hands together.
"Yeah, let's go on in." Jeremy opened the front door and immediately Reagan felt static electricity wash over her body. That place was full of spirits. The group walked in the building in a single file line, Jeremy then Zak, then Nick, then Ellen, then Reagan, then Aaron, who closed the door behind him. I heard the trio's thoughts go wild with excitement. Spooky. Awesome. It's so huge! Damn I hope we don't get lost. Maybe I can get her alone…
Reagan chuckled at the last thought, it was obvious to her that it was Zak. He'd been thinking such thoughts since he'd set eyes on her. Ellen turned around and gave Reagan a questioning look. Reagan shook her head as if to say 'nothing'. Jeremy began talking about the history of the dilapidated building and how he came to own it, a family inheritance. Once they reached the heart of the building, where the elevator was, the trio had Ellen stand in the elevator and describe what happened to her there.
Reagan couldn't help but watch as the spirits passed all around them. Many were dressed in jumpsuits with the Gordon's Warehouse logo printed on the front. Most of the spirits just walked by, not even acknowledging the group's presence. Those were residual energies. Two stopped to watch the group. One was a woman, who seems interested in Nick. She appeared next to the athletic man. The woman was very short, shorter than Reagan, so she was looking almost straight up at him.
"Whoa, guys. I feel like there's something standing right next to me. It's cold and I can feel the energy," Nick said.
"That's because she's standing next to you," Reagan blurted out.
"Who?" Zak asked her.
"I don't know. Some factory worker. She seems to like him. She's smiling up at him." The trio looked at Reagan, surprised she'd said anything. Reagan resumed her silent state as she felt a darker presence enter the area they were in. Zak glanced over at the small red head and noticed that she seemed suddenly uneasy, but he said nothing, remembering that she didn't like him much during their first phone call.
Reagan scanned the room full of spirits, searching for the dark presence. She gasped when she spotted it. A demon. He was a big, hulking, black form of swirling smoke. He had red eyes that stared into Reagan, as if he was staring straight into her soul. Which he probably was.
"We need to leave now." Reagan turned and started walking to the front door, but stopped when she realized no one was following her.
"No, we're not leaving. We're finishing the walk-through," Zak told her. He was concerned about her sudden change in demeanor.
"No. We need to leave, now! Or there won't be a walk-through to have," Reagan warned. "Now, c'mon."
"Why? What changed?" Aaron asked. He could feel the heaviness of the demon in the room, but did not understand what it truly was.
"It's here. Now. And it's trying to mark me. Please, can we just leave? This is why you brought me. To help. So let me help by getting you all outta here."
"What's here?" Zak asked. He knew deep down, but needed to hear her say the word and he didn't know why.
"The demon."
"A demon? We've faced demons before. They're nothing. Just cowards," Zak spat. The demon turned it's red eyes toward Zak and slowly slinked towards the tall man.
"You challenge me, mundane little human?" the demon asked Zak. Not knowing that it couldn't hear him. Reagan stood still, she could tell her eyes were wide with fear.
"We're going to be locked in here and I will make you leave. You will never hurt a living soul ever again." Zak stood tall and spoke loudly. Reagan knew what was coming. The black smoke flashed over to her and grabbed her right forearm and threw her into a wall. Reagan hit her head and passed out. Zak and Aaron rushed over to her and tried to wake her up. They were unsuccessful, and they decided that they needed to get her to the hospital. The group rushed out of the warehouse, with Zak carrying Reagan.