Finding Home (Zak Bagans Daughter)

Chapter Twelve

As it turns out, Zak was not kidding about first thing in the morning. The sun hasn't even risen when he came storming into my room yelling at me to wake up, he even had the audacity to turn the lights on and leave my door to the hallway open. 

Of course, my response was to angrily storm out of bed, close the door and turn the lights out, and hop back into the warmth of my bed.  I had almost fallen back asleep until he yelled at me from downstairs. 

"Come on Charlie! Ten minutes till we leave, you better be ready!" 

TEN MINUTES?!

My eyes shot wide open and all the exhaustion left my body in a matter of seconds. I immediately jumped out of bed and welcomed the carpet with my bare feet. I threw today's clothes I had wisely placed at the end of my bed the night before and ran to the bathroom to apply some mascara. 

I grabbed my Adidas bag filled with the rest of the week's clothes and rushed downstairs to find Zak leaning up against the kitchen counter in a housecoat with a mug in his hand, and a smug smile on his face. He looked down at his watch and then back at me.

"I knew you'd fallen back asleep" He laughed.

My mouth opened in response.

"You tricked me."

He let out a slight chuckle, "I did. Now eat some breakfast, we leave in 20 minutes."

I scoffed. "I don't even think that's enough time to do your hair, let alone find something wear."

He put his mug down in the sink and walked past me, a small smile tugging on his lips. " I'll wear a hat, and I don't think I'll have too much trouble finding something to wear, it's not like I own a wide array of colors."

I watched as he walked up the stairs and vanished around the corner into his room. I sighed, dropped my bag down on the ground and made my way to the fridge to find something to eat. 

I mumbled to myself while I searched the fridge to find something appetizing enough to eat. I lazily rubbed my eyes as I grabbed an apple and closed the fridge. A sudden nudge against my leg caused me to look down, only to see Gracie carefully wagging her tail and looking at me with her soft brown eyes. 

I bent down and traced the black circle surrounding her one eye, then rubbed the top of her head. 

"I'm gonna miss you, you know." I scratched her chin. 

She lowered her head and licked my palm, and I kissed the top of her fuzzy head. 

"But don't worry, we'll be back soon. I promise." She stopped licking my hand and stared at me. It was as if we were having an entire conversation but without any words. 

30 minutes later, and I was passed out on the sofa with an apple core slowly falling out of my hand. Yet again, the sound of Zak yelling disturbed my peaceful slumber.

"Charlie, it's time to go!" Zak yelled. His voice boomed off the walls.

I rolled over and groaned as he started walking toward me. 

"There you are! I've been yelling to go for the past five minutes, come on we need to go! Everyone is waiting for us!"

I slowly stood up and stretched my legs and arms, grabbed my bag and pet Gracie goodbye just in time to meet Zak at the front door. He was wearing a black T-shirt, exposing his large cross tattoo on his arm, and of course black boots with black pants and his large-framed glasses. He also was, in fact, wearing a hat. He stood at the front door with a smile and his bag in his right hand. I looked at him with a weird expression, while he looked at me with a big smile. I don't think I've seen him this happy before.

"Your first investigation, I can't even tell you how excited I am." He beamed. 

I gave him a tired smile and dragged my bag behind me tiredly.

"With a smile that big, I think I have an idea."

He chuckled and looked at my bag. "You have everything packed? A toothbrush, pyjamas, socks? You better not forget-"

"Yes, mom I packed socks. Did you make sure to pack some hair gel? Because I know if you forgot that nobody would hear the end of that." I joked.

He sighed and turned around to face the door, not before making sure to pet Gracie goodbye. 

"Let's go." He opened the door, making sure to let me out first before locking it behind us. 

He made his way past me as we walked down the driveway toward the massive bus and the end of the way. I watched as he boarded the bus and heard as he said his "good mornings" to the guys. They were just waiting for me now.

I looked down at my bag, then back at the bus, and then I looked down the empty street we lived on.  That was when the voice in the back of my head began to speak. 

This is your chance, nobody's watching you. Just run, seize the opportunity and run like hell.

"All you have to do is walk to the bus, no running away, just keep walking, " I said aloud, my attempt at trying to block out my inner self.

My entire walk toward the bus was me talking to myself, reminding myself why I shouldn't run away right this second, I knew I was better than this. I knew that I belonged with Zak, he was my dad and I'm happier than ever, so why is my brain telling me to run?

"Finally!" Zak said. "We've been watching you walk down the driveway talking to yourself this whole time. Let me grab your bags." He reached forward and plucked the bags from my hands.

"Get on the bus, it's road time now!"

You just lost a great opportunity. 

I faked a smile and got on the bus to find the guys looking at me with large grins.

"Are you ready for your first investigation? Are you nervous or excited?" Jay asked.

I sat down next to Zak and nodded. "A little bit of both, I think I'm a little more nervous than excited though."

The guys laughed, then Aaron chimed in. "Don't worry, you think you're nervous now, but just wait until you see the place in person. That's when you really start to feel it." 

Billy and Jay nodded in agreement. 

Zak looked at Aaron with wide eyes. "Oh yeah guys, why don't you freak her out a little more," He said sarcastically. 

Aaron winked, and Zak pat my arm. "Don't worry Charlie, they're just having some fun with you." 

I sighed and gave him a reassuring smile. I couldn't blame the guys for joking around, but there was a feeling in my gut I couldn't place. The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I would feel. It felt as if something very bad was about to happen, and I couldn't do anything about it. 

For the rest of the drive, the guys joked around and reminisced about past investigations, while I stared out the window as watched the passing scenery. My entire life until now I had never seen the outside of Phoenix, so I never pass on an opportunity to watch the moving landscape as we drove through it. 

As time passed, Zak sat down next to me and nudged my shoulder. "Is everything okay? You seem a little... off." 

I turned my head and met his worried stare. I let out a breath and rubbed my palms on my thighs. 

"I have a bad feeling about this place we're going to, the Levik Asylum. I can't explain it, I just feel like something bad is going to happen, but I don't know what."

Zak pulled off his hat and ran his hand through his hair, then put his hat back on. 

"Well, you know what I say to that?" He asked.

"What?"

"We Bagans never ignore a feeling like that."