John smiled as he found what he was looking for. He stood up and walked back over to his altar and got to work. He took a black colored candle and a needle, John lit the candle and then began pricking it with the needle while saying

"As I prick this candle, I prick at thee
Broken hearts unhappy be
May you part another day
Soon to go your separate ways"

Then he blew the candle out and then broke it in half. John then threw one half of the candle into a garbage can, then he walked upstairs, making sure to turn off all of the basement lights and locking the basement door behind him, and threw the remaining half of the candle out in the garbage can in his kitchen. He smiled and then headed to bed.

In the guest room, Angie, who had been sound to sleep, suddenly woke up, her chest was hurting, it was an incredibly sharp pain. She didn't want to wake or worry Alex, so she quietly got out of bed and made her way to John's bedroom. Angie wrapped on his bedroom door. "John, are you awake, I need help."

John opened the door and did his best to hide his smile when he saw her holding her hand over her heart. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know but I woke up with this terrible pain in my chest."

John led Angie into the living room and sat her down on the sofa. He ran into the kitchen and returned a moment later with a bottle of water. "Here, drink this water slowly." Angie did as he asked, while John gently rubbed her back. "It's only natural for you to feel some real pain, after everything he did to you." John said. He looked over Angie's shoulder and spotted a shadowy figure in the corner of the living room. John ever so slightly nodded his head and then the shadow vanished.

At that exact same moment, Zak felt an incredibly sharp, painful, shooting pain strike him right in the heart. The pain was not like anything else he's ever experienced in his entire life. He clutched his chest and fell out of his chair onto the floor. Aaron, Billy, Nick, Jay and Diana came rushing over to him. "Zak!"

Nick and Aaron bent down. "Zak, what's wrong?" Nick asked.

"Angie, Alex" was all Zak could manage to get out.

"He looks like he's having a heart attack" Diana stated.

"Zak wrote in his book that this job can sometimes cause heart attacks" Jay said.

"I'm calling nine one one" Bill said pulling out his cellphone.

30 minutes later, Zak was laying on a bed in a room inside the local emergency room. Aaron, Nick and the others were explaining to the doctor about what had happened to lead up to his chest pains. An hour later the doctor walked in and stated that the tests indicated elevated heart enzymes which could mean Zak was having a heart attack.

The doctor said he wanted to admit Zak and Zak shook his head. "No" he said. He started to try and sit up, so he could get off the bed and leave; and Nick pushed him back down.

"You're not going anywhere Zak."

"Damn it Nick, I gotta get Angie and Alex back" Zak said.

"And you will, once you're better."

"Zak" Aaron said. "You won't be able to win her back if you're dead bro. Just at least spend the night and let the doctor check you over okay?"

Zak sighed, he knew this was one battle he wouldn't win…at least not tonight. And despite not wanting to admit it to anyone, he wasn't sure if he would have had the strength to walk out right then anyway. "Fine" he finally said, giving in.

Three hours after having been brought to the ER, Zak was laying in a hospital bed, in a private room. Billy, Jay and Diana had returned to the hotel, while Nick and Aaron choose to stay at the hospital with Zak….just in case he tried to make a break for it in the night.

Zak was laying there, fighting the medication the nurse had given him to help him fall asleep. He didn't want to sleep; if he fell asleep he'd dream about him and Angie and Alex being together…..being a family, and right now that was the last thing Zak wanted to think about. But it was no use, the medication won and Zak soon drifted off to sleep; but he wouldn't get any rest.

~~~~~~Zak's dream~~~~~~

Zak opened his eyes and found himself laying in a hospital bed. The bed appeared to be resting on a floor made out of clouds. "Nick, Aaron" Zak called out. Not getting an answer, Zak looked for the nurses call button and realized that all the wires that had been hooked up to him were gone.

He climbed out of bed and carefully took a step onto the cloud floor. "What the hell?" He took a couple more steps and soon realized that it wasn't really clouds, but more like fog, a thick fog, covering the floor. "Nick, Aaron" he called out, but got no answer.

Just then in the area where the door to his hospital room should be was a bright white light. Zak froze, he'd heard of people who died but were brought back to life talk about seeing a bright white light that they were supposed to walk into. Zak wasn't the type of man to become afraid easily, but right at this moment he was scared beyond all measure. He shook his head in disbelief. "No, this can't be happening, not now" he said. "I can't be dead, not yet. I gotta find Angie and Alex. I gotta get her to love me again…."

Before he could say any more, a figure stepped out from inside the bright white light and began walking towards him. Zak began walking backwards, trying to get away from it.

~~~~End Dream~~~~~

In Zak's hospital room, Nick and Aaron were woke up by the sound of a monitor giving off a steady long beep. Doctors and nurses rushed into Zak's room and one of the nurses quickly shoved Nick and Aaron out into the hallway. "He's flat lined" they heard someone inside the room yell.

"What the hell does that mean" Nick yelled into the room.

"It means right now, your friend is technically dead. But we're working to bring him back."

Nick and Aaron looked at each other in horror.

~~~~~~Zak's Dream~~~~~~~

Zak walked backward, trying to get away from the figure that was approaching him, until he reached his hospital bed and realized he couldn't go any further. "I won't go with you" he yelled. "I'm not gonna die! Not yet!" The figure kept walking towards him and was soon close enough that he could see who it was. "Grandma?" The elderly woman smiled and then nodded her head. "Grandma what's going on? Am I dead?"

"At this moment, yes Zachary, you're dead."

Zak's eyes widened in shock, he began shaking his head. "No….No….I can't be….Grandma I gotta find Angie and Alex…."

His Grandmother reached out her hand and touched her Grandson's face. "I was sent here to help you Zachary."

"Help me do what? Die? Let go of Angie and Alex?"

"No" his Grandmother said. "I'm here to help you live. Angie and Alex are in grave danger and you and your friends are the only ones who can save them."

"What kind of danger?"

Just then the room began to get very cold, the fog surrounding their feet began to blow around the room. The bright white light that was coming from the doorway, began to fade as a dark shadow moved closer to them. Instinctively Zak stepped in front of his elderly Grandmother, so he could protect her from what ever this thing was.

His Grandmother chuckled and then stepped in front of him. "Grandma, please get behind me, I'll protect you."

She shook her head. "I'm all ready dead my dear boy. But you, you have a chance to continue living, so I'm the one that must protect you."

The shadow was now right next to them, but neither could make out any distinguishing features, but both Zak and his Grandmother could feel the evil radiating from within this dark shadow. "Step aside old woman" the shadow growled.

"You can't have my Grandson."

"I can and I will" the shadow responded.

"It's not his time yet."

"He's here" the shadow said. "So it is his time."

Zak felt himself being picked up and laid back down in the hospital bed, by unseen hands. "Grandma what's happening?"

"They are trying to bring you back dear" she answered.

"His soul is mine!"

"If you want a soul then take mine" the elderly woman stated.

"GRANDMA NO" Zak yelled.

The shadow laughed. "I don't want you old woman. I want your Grandson who has caused my kind so much trouble."

Just then a figure surrounded by that white light appeared. Like the shadow, distinguishing features on this new figure couldn't be made out. But it appeared in between the shadow and Zak's Grandmother.

"You know it's his life mission to cause your kind trouble" the light figure said. "I'm here to propose a solution. Zak is allowed to live, and will continue his life mission, but his memory will be erased of what has taken place here." The shadowy figure growled. "You have no choice demon, now return to your dark master!"

Before Zak could say or do anything he suddenly felt like he was falling.

~~~~~~End Dream~~~~~

At that same exact moment, in John Redland's guest room, little Alex found herself dreaming about her Daddy. He was in a hospital bed, and her Nanna and a boogie man was with them.

Alex stood in the corner of the room, watching, and praying for someone to save her Daddy. Just then a bright light appeared between her Nanna and the boogie man.

"He's back" someone from inside Zak's hospital room shouted. Nick and Aaron sighed with relief, as tears rolled down their cheeks; they had been mourning their friend. "Thank God" Aaron said. Nick nodded in agreement and pulled out his cellphone; he was going to call the others and let them know what happened.

Aaron slowly walked into Zak's hospital room. To the doctor's amazement, Zak not only was alive once more, but appeared to be improving. His vitals were returning to normal, his heart enzymes were returning to normal and he was conscious.

"Aaron" he said, in a questioning tone.

"Hey bro" Aaron said, walking over to the bed. "You scared the shit out of us dude."

"What happened? Why am I in the hospital." Aaron sat down next to Zak's bed and explained what had happened. "Angie?" Zak questioned and Aaron nodded his head. Nick walked in then and smiled when he saw his best friend was awake and talking. "Who's Angie?"

Aaron and Nick looked at each other in shock. "Zak stop kidding man that's not funny" Aaron said.

"I'm not kidding Aaron, who's Angie, and who's Alex?"

Nick walked over to Zak's bedside. "Zak are you saying you seriously don't remember those names?"

"Yes" Zak said, getting frustrated. "I have no idea who you are talking about."

Nick and Aaron looked at each other once more and sighed, here we go again.

Over the next few weeks, Zak's health improved, he was released from the hospital and went back to doing what he does best, investigating the paranormal; but his memory of Angie and Alex seemed to remain forgotten. His near death experience made the news and John was successfully able to keep it hidden from Angie. The last thing he wanted was for her to find out that Zak nearly died and go rushing back to him.

With the use of his dark magic, John was slowly making progress on causing Angie to not only stop loving Zak, but forget about Zak, and start loving himself. John learned that Alex, however wasn't going to be as easy to 'win over' as he thought. He quickly learned that simply making her Mother love him, wouldn't be enough to get Alex to love him, so she would share her gift with him.

(A/N: The Lost Memory is ending here. A sequel will be coming shortly along with a prequel.)