They made their way into the house in somber silence. Nick itched to hold Zak's hand. He read the tenseness in his shoulders and wished for the hundredth time that he had never mentioned Poveglia. Zak had been beating himself up over that possession for years. And now at a time when it was so important for him to concentrate and keep his mind sharp, he was distracted. And Nick knew he was responsible for it.
"Zak, you sure you're good?" He asked quietly, desperately needing confirmation.
"I'm okay." Zak said in a tone that wasn't terribly reassuring. "I just need a minute to get my head in the right place." Nick knew that meant Zak wanted him to shut up. And he couldn't blame him. He was the reason for Zak's clouded mind.
"Sorry." He muttered quickly. Zak reached back to grab Nick's hand, giving it a quick squeeze before letting go. Nick released breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. At least Zak wasn't angry with him. He took comfort in knowing that they could go into this situation with a united front.
A few more minutes passed and Nick followed behind Zak as he walked silently from room to room. Nick didn't know whether he was still working to clear his mind or if he was looking for the room with the most negative energy. But he stayed quiet waiting for his cue. Zak walked through the threshold of one of the bedrooms when he suddenly stumbled backward.
"Woah." he said, catching himself on the doorframe. "I just felt something go through me. There is definitely something negative in here. Did you feel that, Nick?" he said, turning to face him.
"I didn't feel anything." Nick said. He wanted to get closer, to take the lead and walk into the bedroom. But Zak was still leaning against the wall, hands clutching the doorframe tightly.
"Is somebody there?" Zak called. "Did you just go through me? If you want me to leave, you're gonna have to try a lot harder than that!" He yelled. They stood in silence for a moment, Nick's heart beat loudly in his ears. "Do you like me in your house?" Zak taunted. "Do you want me to leave? Then do something!" Both Zak and Nick's heads snapped behind them as they heard a door slam loudly down the hall.
"I think that was the other bedroom." Nick said, pointing his camera down the hall.
"Why don't you go check it out? I'm gonna stay here and see if I can communicate with it." Zak said in his usual on-camera tone. But Nick could tell he was nervous and he didn't want to leave him alone.
"I don't know, man. I think it's just trying to distract us...draw us away." Nick tried to reason.
"Which is exactly why I'm gonna stay here. But we need to document that what we heard was a door slamming." Zak said. And Nick knew he was right. The more evidence they gathered, the quicker they could put this house in their rearview mirror.
"Ok, I'll be right back." Nick relented. "Yell if you need me." Nick made his way in the direction of the slammed door. He was moving as quickly as he could but was careful to film into each room as he passed by for documentation if they needed it later. As he got to the other end of the hall, he immediately noticed the door had in fact closed. He took care to try and debunk it, pointing out to the camera that there were no open windows or breezes of any kind. He opened the door to see if it would slam on its own. As he stepped into the room, he felt an unmistakable presence. The kind that prickles the skin, raising hairs in their follicles. "Hello?" he said, pulling a digital recorder from his pocket. "Who's in here with me?...Did you slam this door?" He waited with baited breath as whatever was in the room with him seemed to grow in power. He couldn't explain it any other way. It was as if the presence was filling the room. Spreading out into all the corners; spilling into every nook and cranny and threatening to take Nick along for the ride. He wanted to leave the room. He wanted to run and grab Zak and drag him out of this house but he couldn't move. He knew this feeling. He knew what was about to happen and he fought it. He fought off the possession with everything he had. But this thing felt so powerful as it swirled around him, looking for a way in. He hoped by now Aaron and the guys would have noticed something wasn't right. He knew they couldn't feel what he was feeling, but they could see him. Soon they'd radio him to see what was wrong. Or maybe they already had. He wasn't sure. Everything was so...unclear. No. He had to stay focused. He was in charge of his own mind. He had to fight it. Suddenly it clicked. The guys could see him, but they could also hear him. He just had to will himself to say something. A warning for them to get Zak out of there. He opened his mouth, forcing his lips to form words. "Zak...GO!" He meant to scream it loud enough for everyone to hear, but by the time he got the words out of his mouth, they only registered just above a whisper. As the last word left his mouth, all the energy in the room compressed, forming a tight sphere of swirling force in the middle of the room. Nick's breath caught in his throat as every hair on his body stood on end. Then all at once, the massive orb blew through him, lifting him off his feet and sending his body crashing to the floor as it made its way out of the room and down the hall. Zak let out a blood-curdling scream before the door slammed shut. "Zak!" Nick yelled desperately. His blood ran cold as he forced himself up off the ground, sprinting toward the second bedroom where he had left Zak.
"Nick!" He heard Zak yell back. The sound was muffled by the closed door, but the fear in his voice was palpable. Nick got to the door, twisting the knob but the door wouldn't budge. "Nick!" Zak screamed again. Nick rammed the door, but it wouldn't move. He felt hot tears forming as his desperation grew.
"Zak, I'm right here! You have to unlock the door!" He yelled. But he had a sickening feeling that the lock wasn't the problem.
"Nick! Please help!" Zak yelled again and Nick began to worry that Zak couldn't hear him at all.
"You have to fight it, Zak! Fight it!" He yelled back hoping that he would somehow hear him through whatever torture the demon was putting him through. He continued to slam his body against the door, trying desperately to make his way to his partner. The tears were falling steadily now as he realized he wasn't getting through this door. Zak's cries for help tore at him in ways he never imagined. Anger washed over his whole body, radiating from his stomach and coursing through his veins. No. This is not how this is gonna go. He stepped back from the door, righting himself and letting the anger take over. "HEY! You listen to me, you son of a bitch! Get away from him, or so help me God, I will end you. Why don't you come out here and finish what you started?! You wanted me... I'm right here. Come and get me!" And just like that, Zak stopped screaming. Nick held his breath, eyes going wide as he waited.
"Nick?" He heard weakly from the other side of the door.
"Zak!" he said, exhaling in relief and lunging for the door. It opened easily this time and Nick had to catch himself as he went barreling into the room. He ran over to the older man who was slumped against the wall, clearly exhausted from the whole ordeal. "Zak. Oh, thank God you're okay. You're okay, right? Let me look at you." he said, grabbing either side of his face to look him in his tear-stained eyes and then quickly scanning his body for any injuries.
"I'm okay." Zak said shakily. "Nick, where did it go?"
"I don't know." Nick said worriedly.
"We need to get out of here." Zak said, making his way to stand up.
"Ok. Take it easy." Nick said, steadying Zak as he shakily got to his feet. "Let's get you out of here." He said, leading Zak to the door. Suddenly he felt it. The air around him charged up with electricity, churning like the ocean before a storm. He barely had a moment to react. Quickly, he shoved Zak out of the way as the swirling mass slammed into him once again. This time, it picked his heels up off the ground, sliding him as his toes scraped against the floor, finally slamming him against the back wall.
"Nick!" Zak screamed as he watched in horror.
"Zak, get out of here!" Nick managed before the demon twisted his middle, squeezing all the air from his body. He heard screaming and he was pretty sure it was coming from his own mouth. He wanted to fight but he couldn't. Not with Zak in the room or anywhere nearby. The demon had let Zak go once, and he was damn sure there wouldn't be any second chances. His eyes searched for Zak, but he couldn't focus. His vision began to blur around the edges, slowly fading to black. There was no more air. It hurt...and then it didn't.