p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="9ddaafb2fcb8eb0fdc07c9b4944f6d72"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"oOo/em/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="6faac94f1280305cdb955a6b35a91775"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Third Person Point-of-View/em/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="773d8d1bb554f21514bf614b0f4e3e8e"The night's investigation went as expected: constant paranoia, weird noises, dark shadows, and troubling EVP's like every other lockdown went. Except for the one thing that stood out from the rest of the others: they knew something would once again follow them home. Zak knew that this place wasn't worth the heartache and terror anymore. He swore to himself that after he left the town of Wilder, Kentucky, he would never step foot in that building again. Not even if his life depended on it. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="dd40fa4c2f7f40d251d008670652789f"Dawn made its presence over Kentucky landscape, thawing the morning dew that sat on the short blades of grass surrounding the railroad tracks that run behind Bobby Mackey's. Matt, the building's caretaker for many years now, unlocked the chain that ran through the door's handle, knowing that the crew was more than happy to be setting foot on the sacred land they called 'outside.' /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="063279c55727f8f6653b006ae8526093""Have fun?" Matt chuckled as he shut the door behind Nick, the last one to leave the building./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="7c0d6e42e82e36127fc152b999aa66bd""Hell no!" Aaron said, finally shutting off his camera, rubbing his forehead out of exhaustion. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="38e393dab07dc3e9c4ed0c7ce7b84443""What about you, Zak?" Nick asked as he too shut off his camera. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="cdf1e1bca6c255f2dc27b0fd66e36b13""I'm ready to get the Hell outta here," He trailed off as the guys could tell his attitude had changed. He wasn't the normal 'em style="box-sizing: border-box;"tired but still with energy Zak/em,' but the 'em style="box-sizing: border-box;"almost seems depressed/em em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Zak/em.' And that wasn't something that they saw normally. Something was affecting him yet again from Bobby Mackey's and he knew it was going to carry a long-term effect on him for quite some time. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="07ca72be2b130b93a66425f6d651c0f8"As the guys filled up the back of their rented SUV with their equipment to head back to the hotel, Zak turned his head to look in the direction of the diesel truck that was now pulling up at the early hours of the morning, remembering that same truck from yesterday. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="82df2f19432d03e747839ed6d07147f1"It was Victoria arriving for work. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="ec71a12e0a4622690ed3a743b2420c46"She slid out of her truck, wrapped in her Ariat jacket with Wrangler jeans that hugged her hips along with broken-in Justin square-toed boots that made a small thud against the parking lot as she walked. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="d24c27f9fc740260cb8c6423b73e81b8""I didn't expect you guys to still be here!" She said with a warm smile. Zak could still see how red the whites of her eyes were. He could tell she was tired. Either that or she had been upset recently. In that short moment of her greeting them, he forgot every bad thing that happened in there last night. He felt a short ounce of happiness even though she intimidated him. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="856cad6d48d078b65d5e2ee7bc38f259""And I didn't expect you to be alive after riding that crazy horse yesterday!" Aaron laughed as he shut the back hatch to the SUV, moving to where he was now standing beside Nick. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="8add7059de903ac7fe27d4289e0c197f""Ah, he's a good horse. He takes care of me better than I take care of him," She said, waving her hand at Aaron's statement. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="9db1ce5911ebd0bf6afa785291810dca""I'd say he is. Aaron is just afraid of horses and according to him, all of them are crazy!" Nick laughed. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="58bac6a2fc29c2c8bcd4196911df25f1""Nah, if it's a pony or a chestnut mare, then they can be labeled as crazy!" She laughed. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="31b32dbef3a0df4762ee454b319ddde0""But ponies are so cute!" Nick said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="30354073a3acd41dd7f95ad9f8b001c0""They are, but the way I see it, the shorter they are, the closer they are to Hell. It's true!" She said, winning a laugh out of all three of them before looking at her phone, checking the time. "Well, I hate to leave you guys, but I have to clock in. I'm opening today and probably won't get out of here until six o'clock tonight," She said with a sigh. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="1fbca8879381c3277ac988769bcc3be1""It was so nice meeting you!" Zak said finally. "We should keep in touch?" He said with a raised brow, hoping she would say yes. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="73192a9f4092c2f06c14012dfe5cad4a""Sure! I'm sure Matt has your phone number and I'll call every now and then!" She said, slightly regretting saying anything about Matt as he had been her on and off boyfriend for quite some time now. She could tell it crushed Zak's spirits after she mentioned that. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="7c0cf79fbc5f0a250514fa609b421fbb""Oh, okay. Well, we'll hear from ya soon!" Zak said has he made his way to the driver's seat, not daring to participate in the hug Nick and Aaron gave to Victoria. Instead, he kept a close eye on Matt as he still stood at the front doors to the club with his arms crossed, staring at Victoria with a fire in his eyes. He knew he wasn't well. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="e0308a2882bf29af5e25312494445bd9"Aaron and Nick got into the SUV. Aaron retrieved his blanket and his small bag of pistachios for the trip back to the hotel to prepare for their flight home. As Zak purposely pulled slowly out of the parking lot, he saw that Matt had grabbed Victoria's harm harshly as she met him at the door. And to this day, Zak deeply regretted that he didn't go back and beat his ass. Instead, he continued driving. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="f46e9d54ebf2c1d18f4d3bb5c95a1bf9"He had constantly wondered what was going on since he left, deeply regretting that he didn't turn around and go back. Maybe it just looked harsh? He didn't know, but he thought about turning around many times on the drive back to the hotel. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="9236300b80dcb14b63539a09eed4fd3a"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"oOo/span/em/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="98dc0a4a2e770680cbf31a9df85fba10"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Victoria's Point-of-View/em/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="d4396285a776b3064fdee0c5b18a80bd"I clocked in as I relived what just happened, even though I wasn't shocked. Matt was mad that I let Nick and Aaron hug me before they left. I told him that it was nothing other than a friendly hug. It wasn't like I was going to see them again anyway. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="30b2177392cd97ae18d86d881ec9bbda""I'm heading home. Text me before you leave so I can go pick us up something for you to cook when you get home," Matt said behind me. I noticed he wasn't wearing his pendant Mr. Long gave him a couple of years ago. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="933d761fb3a744a3a6e62a8046e2ec1c""I can go ahead and tell you I'm not fixing shit when I get home. I'll be tired. And no, you're not coming over tonight. I don't want to talk to you after the shit you pulled earlier," I scolded as I gathered my notes of what the days special were and what to expect during my shift. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="4a1d33d4a7b8f6f37fa86c0b51d849e6""Excuse me?" He said as he pinned me against the wall, breathing heavily in my face. "Why not? You have one of those guys come over tonight?" /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="9811e8cc2aa69c9dd438603773325d05""No! They're leaving. They're not coming back. I just don't want to be around you right now. Those things you call ghosts are feeding off of you again," I said as I pushed my hands into his chest, easily pushing him away from me before he squeezed my cheeks with his right hand, pushing me back into the wall. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="ab2f75db770d630d8029a7e72df43b38""You better watch what you say." He said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="c3946225a32fff69fff3d1a7341c2c59""Or what? Are you going to do the same shit to me again that I've been putting up with for a while now? I'm not scared of you," I said, staring at him with my dark brown eyes. My mom and dad raised me to not take shit from anyone, even though I've been taking Matt's shit longer than I should've. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="5583ee81339c99b07a22a4529d034b4b""What's goin' on here?" Bobby chimed in as he came out of his office. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="d2c5b64a97d71963420bfefac464948b""Nothin'," Matt replied quickly./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="d6de11a3e5aa6d01a0ae7d66bec7d61b""I hate to be mean, buddy, but she's clocked in. I can't have you distracting her while she's working," /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="69ebacc953633c909cb46df6b15a874c""Alright. I'll be waiting for you when you get off." /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="a2aa99ba31f40a8254501c8cfd49e291""No you won't," I said sternly. He definitely wasn't himself and I wasn't putting up with it any longer. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="0c6dd5697fc75b1c3e760388cbdb6cd3"My mind rambled the whole time I was working. I kept thinking about how the investigation went for Zak, Nick, and Aaron last night. I kept wondering what was affecting Matt, even though I was fifty-fifty on the whole "believing in the paranormal" thing. I believed that weird things that we can't explain em style="box-sizing: border-box;"do /emhappen, but I also believe that it can't just affect a person and make them change. I think it's all in the mind. And it wasn't an excuse for Matt if he dared to use it as an excuse. And I kept having a weird, tense feeling as I was working, going back and forth to the kitchen serving tables. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="42442d11f3e41d2f713270b14a043635"Eh, I was just paranoid. No big deal./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="dbb78e3b708ddb9d28d78e3c09017ab6"Every now and then, I'd feel my phone vibrate in my apron several times, indicating me that it was ringing./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="94945dff5b156a0e3b0cb7408ea81337"Thinking it was Matt, I never bothered to answer nor check. I didn't care. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="f6ed6ed02aad70078a5ff2b2b8c6ca6a"I ended up working past my scheduled shift. The familiar aching in the arches of my feet was returning as well as my usual headache. I was ready to go home. During the last three hours, I kept hearing a faint knocking sound, but I couldn't quite figure out where it was coming from. Every now and then, the knock would get more profound and sharp, like it was meaning to get my attention. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="2bc038d683850d15fb711c92cd46b7a5"After I had finally clocked out and left, I rushed to the barn to feed Arson a flake of alfalfa hay and his daily grain. That was the only thing I hated about working odd shifts like this. Arson's feeding schedule was a lot different. I wrapped my jacket tighter around me as I got back into my truck, still hearing the haunting knock in my mind. What the Hell was it?!/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="4c2771883ac9402789d6330cc3f0f29b"After I got home and settled in, I finally checked my phone. I saw a missed call from Matt, an unread text from him as well, and a new text from a phone number with a 702 area code. After doing a quick Google search, I've come to find out that it was a Las Vegas area code./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="760443cad787cefa54876a66ee8cfb60"Eh, still didn't think or care enough to open it. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e" /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="26478db11a74b3c8675f463fee30cba7" /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="6faac94f1280305cdb955a6b35a91775"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Third Person Point-of-View/em/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="773d8d1bb554f21514bf614b0f4e3e8e"The night's investigation went as expected: constant paranoia, weird noises, dark shadows, and troubling EVP's like every other lockdown went. Except for the one thing that stood out from the rest of the others: they knew something would once again follow them home. Zak knew that this place wasn't worth the heartache and terror anymore. He swore to himself that after he left the town of Wilder, Kentucky, he would never step foot in that building again. Not even if his life depended on it. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="dd40fa4c2f7f40d251d008670652789f"Dawn made its presence over Kentucky landscape, thawing the morning dew that sat on the short blades of grass surrounding the railroad tracks that run behind Bobby Mackey's. Matt, the building's caretaker for many years now, unlocked the chain that ran through the door's handle, knowing that the crew was more than happy to be setting foot on the sacred land they called 'outside.' /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="063279c55727f8f6653b006ae8526093""Have fun?" Matt chuckled as he shut the door behind Nick, the last one to leave the building./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="7c0d6e42e82e36127fc152b999aa66bd""Hell no!" Aaron said, finally shutting off his camera, rubbing his forehead out of exhaustion. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="38e393dab07dc3e9c4ed0c7ce7b84443""What about you, Zak?" Nick asked as he too shut off his camera. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="cdf1e1bca6c255f2dc27b0fd66e36b13""I'm ready to get the Hell outta here," He trailed off as the guys could tell his attitude had changed. He wasn't the normal 'em style="box-sizing: border-box;"tired but still with energy Zak/em,' but the 'em style="box-sizing: border-box;"almost seems depressed/em em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Zak/em.' And that wasn't something that they saw normally. Something was affecting him yet again from Bobby Mackey's and he knew it was going to carry a long-term effect on him for quite some time. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="07ca72be2b130b93a66425f6d651c0f8"As the guys filled up the back of their rented SUV with their equipment to head back to the hotel, Zak turned his head to look in the direction of the diesel truck that was now pulling up at the early hours of the morning, remembering that same truck from yesterday. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="82df2f19432d03e747839ed6d07147f1"It was Victoria arriving for work. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="ec71a12e0a4622690ed3a743b2420c46"She slid out of her truck, wrapped in her Ariat jacket with Wrangler jeans that hugged her hips along with broken-in Justin square-toed boots that made a small thud against the parking lot as she walked. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="d24c27f9fc740260cb8c6423b73e81b8""I didn't expect you guys to still be here!" She said with a warm smile. Zak could still see how red the whites of her eyes were. He could tell she was tired. Either that or she had been upset recently. In that short moment of her greeting them, he forgot every bad thing that happened in there last night. He felt a short ounce of happiness even though she intimidated him. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="856cad6d48d078b65d5e2ee7bc38f259""And I didn't expect you to be alive after riding that crazy horse yesterday!" Aaron laughed as he shut the back hatch to the SUV, moving to where he was now standing beside Nick. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="8add7059de903ac7fe27d4289e0c197f""Ah, he's a good horse. He takes care of me better than I take care of him," She said, waving her hand at Aaron's statement. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="9db1ce5911ebd0bf6afa785291810dca""I'd say he is. Aaron is just afraid of horses and according to him, all of them are crazy!" Nick laughed. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="58bac6a2fc29c2c8bcd4196911df25f1""Nah, if it's a pony or a chestnut mare, then they can be labeled as crazy!" She laughed. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="31b32dbef3a0df4762ee454b319ddde0""But ponies are so cute!" Nick said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="30354073a3acd41dd7f95ad9f8b001c0""They are, but the way I see it, the shorter they are, the closer they are to Hell. It's true!" She said, winning a laugh out of all three of them before looking at her phone, checking the time. "Well, I hate to leave you guys, but I have to clock in. I'm opening today and probably won't get out of here until six o'clock tonight," She said with a sigh. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="1fbca8879381c3277ac988769bcc3be1""It was so nice meeting you!" Zak said finally. "We should keep in touch?" He said with a raised brow, hoping she would say yes. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="73192a9f4092c2f06c14012dfe5cad4a""Sure! I'm sure Matt has your phone number and I'll call every now and then!" She said, slightly regretting saying anything about Matt as he had been her on and off boyfriend for quite some time now. She could tell it crushed Zak's spirits after she mentioned that. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="7c0cf79fbc5f0a250514fa609b421fbb""Oh, okay. Well, we'll hear from ya soon!" Zak said has he made his way to the driver's seat, not daring to participate in the hug Nick and Aaron gave to Victoria. Instead, he kept a close eye on Matt as he still stood at the front doors to the club with his arms crossed, staring at Victoria with a fire in his eyes. He knew he wasn't well. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="e0308a2882bf29af5e25312494445bd9"Aaron and Nick got into the SUV. Aaron retrieved his blanket and his small bag of pistachios for the trip back to the hotel to prepare for their flight home. As Zak purposely pulled slowly out of the parking lot, he saw that Matt had grabbed Victoria's harm harshly as she met him at the door. And to this day, Zak deeply regretted that he didn't go back and beat his ass. Instead, he continued driving. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="f46e9d54ebf2c1d18f4d3bb5c95a1bf9"He had constantly wondered what was going on since he left, deeply regretting that he didn't turn around and go back. Maybe it just looked harsh? He didn't know, but he thought about turning around many times on the drive back to the hotel. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="9236300b80dcb14b63539a09eed4fd3a"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"oOo/span/em/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="98dc0a4a2e770680cbf31a9df85fba10"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Victoria's Point-of-View/em/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="d4396285a776b3064fdee0c5b18a80bd"I clocked in as I relived what just happened, even though I wasn't shocked. Matt was mad that I let Nick and Aaron hug me before they left. I told him that it was nothing other than a friendly hug. It wasn't like I was going to see them again anyway. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="30b2177392cd97ae18d86d881ec9bbda""I'm heading home. Text me before you leave so I can go pick us up something for you to cook when you get home," Matt said behind me. I noticed he wasn't wearing his pendant Mr. Long gave him a couple of years ago. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="933d761fb3a744a3a6e62a8046e2ec1c""I can go ahead and tell you I'm not fixing shit when I get home. I'll be tired. And no, you're not coming over tonight. I don't want to talk to you after the shit you pulled earlier," I scolded as I gathered my notes of what the days special were and what to expect during my shift. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="4a1d33d4a7b8f6f37fa86c0b51d849e6""Excuse me?" He said as he pinned me against the wall, breathing heavily in my face. "Why not? You have one of those guys come over tonight?" /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="9811e8cc2aa69c9dd438603773325d05""No! They're leaving. They're not coming back. I just don't want to be around you right now. Those things you call ghosts are feeding off of you again," I said as I pushed my hands into his chest, easily pushing him away from me before he squeezed my cheeks with his right hand, pushing me back into the wall. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="ab2f75db770d630d8029a7e72df43b38""You better watch what you say." He said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="c3946225a32fff69fff3d1a7341c2c59""Or what? Are you going to do the same shit to me again that I've been putting up with for a while now? I'm not scared of you," I said, staring at him with my dark brown eyes. My mom and dad raised me to not take shit from anyone, even though I've been taking Matt's shit longer than I should've. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="5583ee81339c99b07a22a4529d034b4b""What's goin' on here?" Bobby chimed in as he came out of his office. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="d2c5b64a97d71963420bfefac464948b""Nothin'," Matt replied quickly./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="d6de11a3e5aa6d01a0ae7d66bec7d61b""I hate to be mean, buddy, but she's clocked in. I can't have you distracting her while she's working," /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="69ebacc953633c909cb46df6b15a874c""Alright. I'll be waiting for you when you get off." /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="a2aa99ba31f40a8254501c8cfd49e291""No you won't," I said sternly. He definitely wasn't himself and I wasn't putting up with it any longer. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="0c6dd5697fc75b1c3e760388cbdb6cd3"My mind rambled the whole time I was working. I kept thinking about how the investigation went for Zak, Nick, and Aaron last night. I kept wondering what was affecting Matt, even though I was fifty-fifty on the whole "believing in the paranormal" thing. I believed that weird things that we can't explain em style="box-sizing: border-box;"do /emhappen, but I also believe that it can't just affect a person and make them change. I think it's all in the mind. And it wasn't an excuse for Matt if he dared to use it as an excuse. And I kept having a weird, tense feeling as I was working, going back and forth to the kitchen serving tables. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="42442d11f3e41d2f713270b14a043635"Eh, I was just paranoid. No big deal./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="dbb78e3b708ddb9d28d78e3c09017ab6"Every now and then, I'd feel my phone vibrate in my apron several times, indicating me that it was ringing./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="94945dff5b156a0e3b0cb7408ea81337"Thinking it was Matt, I never bothered to answer nor check. I didn't care. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="f6ed6ed02aad70078a5ff2b2b8c6ca6a"I ended up working past my scheduled shift. The familiar aching in the arches of my feet was returning as well as my usual headache. I was ready to go home. During the last three hours, I kept hearing a faint knocking sound, but I couldn't quite figure out where it was coming from. Every now and then, the knock would get more profound and sharp, like it was meaning to get my attention. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="2bc038d683850d15fb711c92cd46b7a5"After I had finally clocked out and left, I rushed to the barn to feed Arson a flake of alfalfa hay and his daily grain. That was the only thing I hated about working odd shifts like this. Arson's feeding schedule was a lot different. I wrapped my jacket tighter around me as I got back into my truck, still hearing the haunting knock in my mind. What the Hell was it?!/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="4c2771883ac9402789d6330cc3f0f29b"After I got home and settled in, I finally checked my phone. I saw a missed call from Matt, an unread text from him as well, and a new text from a phone number with a 702 area code. After doing a quick Google search, I've come to find out that it was a Las Vegas area code./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="760443cad787cefa54876a66ee8cfb60"Eh, still didn't think or care enough to open it. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e" /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="26478db11a74b3c8675f463fee30cba7" /p