Things were quiet in the house over the next few weeks. I went back to avoiding Ridley. I refused to touch another thing in Zak's home. I wanted him to believe I was gone. As time passed I felt myself getting weaker. I knew my time was coming soon. As the days went on Zak began to go back to his old habits. He looked calmer, happier.
We were heading out to another lockdown. I stayed silent all the way to the hotel. Aaron was travelling with us. He asked Zak about me, and Zak happily informed him that it appeared like I had finally crossed over.
"To be honest, it feels a little strange without her," Zak told him, "But, it was what needed to happen. She would never have been happy trapped on Earth. I think I'm going to miss her, though."
I'll miss you, too, Zak.
The lockdown location was an abandoned mental hospital. As before, I wandered along with Zak on the tour.
"Do you believe there are dark energies still roaming these halls?" Zak asked the tour guide.
"Absolutely," the guide replied, "The conditions here were horrible. Apart from that there's actually one spirit you need to watch out for, and be aware of."
"Who's that?"
"Fred. He was a patient here in the early 1900's. One day he broke out of his restraints and killed several of the other patients and a nurse before they were able to sedate him. Because he was handicapped, the courts refused to send him to jail and he was kept here. The nurses and doctors were so scared that he would break loose and do it again that they kept him chained in the cellar in a cage for the rest of his life. He is definitely still around, and very violent. He has thrown people down stairs, and against walls. He even broke one of the tour guide's arm."
"Sounds like our kind of spirit," Zak said. I bad feeling rose in my chest. Zak used provocation often to elicit a response from spirits. I had a feeling that this was not a spirit that should be provoked. Nevertheless, the lockdown began several hours later, and the crew went about their investigation. I began to relax as the night went on. The guys had made contact with several spirits, harmless, for the most part. So far there had been no sign of Fred. The lockdown was almost over when everything spiraled out of control.
Zak was standing at the top of a stairwell when I felt it. The darkness approaching. Zak was provoking Fred, his arms spread wide, asking Fred to push him down the stairs. My breathing became shallow as I saw a shadow approaching from down the hall.
"Zak, stop," I pleaded, but of course he didn't hear me. I was weak beyond the point of communication. My body was nearly transparent at this point. I had no energy left to spare.
"Leave him alone," I commanded the encroaching shadow. Its black eyelids opened revealing a pair of bright red eyes, "I won't let you hurt him."
"Die," the shadow said in the darkest, most evil voice I had ever heard. It rushed at Zak then, and what happened next happened so quickly I barely had time to think. I breathed in deeply, taking in all the energy I could. I heard Nick drop down to his knees beside me.
I'm sorry, Nick. I have to save Zak.
When the black shadow reached me I used all my energy to block him. He growled, snapping and hissing at me.
"I WILL NOT LET YOU HURT HIM!" I cried. I felt Fred trying to scratch his way through me to get to Zak. I knew that what I did next would be my last act. I prayed Zak never encountered a spirit so evil again.
"I love you, Zak," I whispered. I threw out my arms, sending an energy burst through Fred that made him scream. He flew backwards, hissing and growling. He took off down the hall before disappearing down another hall. I collapsed.
"Guess you don't have the guts," Zak said, lowering his arms.
"Man, something drained all my energy," Nick said, "My camera, too."
"Let's go find Aaron," Zak said, "Its about time to wrap it up." I tried to follow as Zak and Nick went off in search of Aaron, but it was nearly impossible. Only the rubber band kept me from being left behind. It dragged me along behind him like a limp rag doll. I held up my hand and looked at it as the guys packed up their equipment. I was barely there anymore.
It's for the best, I thought, At least I can go to my grave knowing I brought Zak something other than pain. Back to the hotel I was dragged, wondering how long it would be til I faded completely. I lay at the foot of the bed as Zak showered and took a quick nap. The lights from the television flickered over me, eerie as the beams passed through my image. CNN again, I saw. It made me smile.
A loud rapping on the door woke Zak.
"Zak! Wake up! Zak!" I heard Aaron's voice, muffled through the door. Zak groaned, and rolled over, checking the clock.
"What the hell?" he grumbled. He stood up, and shrugged a shirt on, stumbling towards the door. He opened it to see Aaron standing there with his laptop in his arms.
"You have to see this," Aaron said, barging into the room.
"Would you like to come in?" Zak asked sarcastically.
"Shut up, this is important," Aaron said, putting the laptop down on the desk, "It's Alexa."
"Alexa?" Zak asked, his voice confused. I tried to pick my head up to listen more closely, but I couldn't.
"She didn't leave," Aaron said, clicking on icons on the screen, and bringing up a video.
"What are you talking about? Its been quiet in the house. Even Ridley doesn't cry or bark anymore."
"I'm telling you she's not gone. We captured her."
"What?" Zak asked, moving forward. He leaned over the computer as Aaron brought up the moment on the staircase.
"Nick's camera went out, but there was a static cam at the bottom of the stairs. It caught everything, and your digital recorder caught the sounds. I synced them up. Its intense."
Aaron played the video. I could hear Zak provoking Fred, asking him to come and push Zak down the stairs. I crawled up onto the bed so I could watch before collapsing once again. If this was dying it wasn't so bad, I mused. Mostly I just felt tired.
"Zak, stop," I heard myself say. The words seemed distant, even to me.
"That's her," Zak said, surprised.
"I know," Aaron said, "Keep watching." I could see my white mist forming in front of Zak like a shield.
"Leave him alone," I said, "I won't let you hurt him." I knew the chilling, evil voice was coming next. I tried to cover my ears, but I couldn't.
"Die," the voice said. Then something unexpected, even to me, happened. My white mist glowed brighter, began to take shape. As Nick collapsed my image formed. Not just the mist, but a perfect image of myself. I was wearing the same leggings and sweater I'd been wearing at the time of the accident. The same ones I was wearing now.
I could hear the evil entity hissing and growling as the dark shadow hit my form, but it could not pass. My arms were spread wide in a protective wall. My image was so clear I could even see the curls in my hair.
"I WILL NOT LET YOU HURT HIM!" I heard myself cry. The hissing and growling grew more fierce, but despite it, anyone in the room could hear what I said next, "I love you, Zak." The white glow turned bright for a moment, and then my arms shot forward, shoving the black shadow down the hall, hissing and screaming. Zak stood by the computer, stunned. Aaron closed the lid slowly.
"The image collapses after that," Aaron said, "The mist hovers on the ground for a minute and then disappears. She saved your life, bro."
"I don't understand," Zak finally said after processing the information for a moment, "I haven't felt her. She's gone. There hasn't been any activity in the house at all."
"Maybe she was just hiding," Aaron reasoned, "You heard what she said. She was attached to you because she loved you. She probably wanted to protect you, not scare you." Zak walked over to the bed, and sat down beside me. I looked up at his face which was a mask of confusion.
"Something doesn't make sense," he said. He seemed to be staring off in space until something on the TV caught his eye.
"Aaron, unmute the television."
"What?"
"Turn the volume up on the TV!" Zak yelled. Aaron had muted it so Zak could hear the EVPs better. Aaron grabbed the remote and unmuted the television, turning the volume up a few notches. I turned my head a fraction to see what had caught his eye. I was greeted by a large picture of myself with a headline underneath that read 'McConnell Case Settled Out of Court'.
"What is it?" Aaron asked. Zak pointed at the screen.
"That's her," he said, "That's Alexa."
