Super giant hugs and kisses to everyone that has reviewed and added this story to their Fav/Follow list. If I didn't get them I would have given up on this story a long time ago. XOXOXOXOX

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And Too Many Times I Have Wanted

To Turn Around And Walk Away

Knowing Deep Inside

You Can't Provide What I need From You

But Do You Know, It Doesn't Change

The Way I Feel About You At The End Of The Day

Because I know

That All I Want Is What You Got

….Susie Suh (All I Want)

CHAPTER 13

Zak POV

"I know Shannon but…Okay I understand, but…"

I was growing continually frustrated. After two hours of being on the phone with every head department for Travel Channel, I was finally put through to the CEO. I let her rant and rave over the fact we had been in Wilder for 2 days and had nothing to show for it. Empty threats were just that. Empty. I knew no matter what ultimatums I was thrown nothing would ever come of them. Shannon's words blared through the speakers of my phone but my attention was directed to the scene going on outside my window. I looked down into the parking lot at Jess talking to Shelly. Their bodies were very animated, arms swinging about wildly and fingers pointed at one another. They were arguing. Jess had made her decision. She was going to stay here with me and the guys. She was going to dive head first into what had transpired in the last few days at Bobby Mackey's. She was going to face it head on and I was going to make sure she didn't do it alone. I would be lying to myself if I admitted it was just about that. Another selfish part of me wanted to be able to spend more time with her. I wanted to figure out what this "thing" was between us before we released one another into this wicked world that would refuse to let our paths meet again.

"Do I make myself clear Mr. Bagans?"

My thoughts snapped back to the more than perturbed woman on the phone. I honestly hadn't heard a word she said and again….what did it matter? "Yeah. Loud and clear Shan." I hung up without so much as a cordial goodbye. I was tired. Too tired to argue. The last time I remembered getting enough rest to even consider it sleep was the other day in Jess' bed. There was a knock at the door and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the thought of another problem being on the other side. Nick and Aaron had been worried about the phone call to Shannon and were more than likely coming to make sure we were all still employed. Instead, I found Jess staring back at me, her eyes bloodshot and heavy with fatigue. She rushed in, throwing her arms around me and burying her face into my chest. I shut the door and held her to me. Her small frame shook and I realized she was softly crying. She clung to me as if I wasn't real, as if I would disappear if she let go of my shirt that was being tightly clutched in her hands.

"Tell me you have a plan. Tell me I'm not being stupid."

I pulled her back gently, looking down at her face. The stormy grey eyes I had been so used to seeing wrought with certainty and boldness in the beginning, were now staring back at me for answers I didn't know I could give. Did I have a plan? No. Not really. Just a handful of theories and good intentions. Was she being stupid for staying? I would be contradicting myself to pass judgment. We had both made a collective decision without really discussing it. When I didn't answer, her eyes drifted away from mine and landed on the center of my chest.

"Shelly said she doesn't know if she wants to do this anymore. She said this whole thing got too real and dangerous. Told me I was stupid for staying." She paused, tracing the DW emblem on my shirt "Stupid for staying with you."

Jess was looking everywhere but at me, her cheeks turning the palest shade of pink. I quirked an eyebrow and craned my neck to regain her attention "What do you think?"

She pulled away, taking a seat on one of the chairs near the window of my room. Resting her elbows on her knees and running a hand through her long black tresses, her sigh broke as it passed her lips "I don't know Zak. I've barely had time to register what happened the other day. Now I have to decide on the fate of my web show and friendships. Damned if I do, Damned if I don't seems like a pretty literal and accurate statement at this point. Don't you agree?" Her laugh was bitter, laced with frustration and the heavy feeling in my chest gave way to helplessness. I crossed the floor and knelt down in front of her, resting a hand on her knee.

"Shelly's scared. She has every right to be. I don't think she was trying to be intentionally mean. She's afraid for you. She's afraid for her family. Demonic spirits play on peoples emotions. She'll come around as soon as she has a few days to detox away from this place. This job isn't for the faint of heart. Takes something like what happened to make you realize how real and dangerous it is."

"Yeah." Jess concluded in a docile tone "So. What do you do now?"

"I don't have a fucking clue."

We shared a moment of silence before we both erupted in laughter. Unabashed and perhaps completely inappropriate, but it felt good. It felt like a complete release of everything negative that had gone on the passed two days. However, when it ended, the uncertainty in the silence was palpable.

"For now, I say we get a couple hours of sleep. None of us have really gotten any rest and I don't think I'm going to be able to think clearly till I do. Why don't you just sleep in my room with me for the morning?"

Jess sat back in the chair and stared at me incredulously "I'm not in the same mood I was earlier Zak."

I raised my arms in mock defense "Neither am I. With the girls gone I just don't want you to be alone in your room." I hesitated, running my hands down the sides of my pants "Actually, if you wanted to I think it wouldn't be a bad idea….only if you don't think so…I mean it would be completely up to you but, maybe you should just get rid of your room and stay in mine. We're going to be here together anyway. So I just thought.."

Jess' suspicious melted away to something that resembled shock and I was beginning to regret having brought it up. But the moment I opened my mouth to retract the invitation, her cupid's bow lips turned up into a smile "Well, it would save money."

I chuckled, grabbing her hands to pull her up from the chair. I bent down and kissed her, enjoying the small sigh that escaped from between her lips "Go on. Go get your things. I have to go talk to the guys and let them know we still have jobs if they want to stay."

"Well I can't speak for Nick, but I'm pretty sure Aaron will definitely be staying."

"Why do you say that?" I questioned

Jess gave a mischievous smile and paused before opening the door to my room "Because, I'm not alone. Mandy stayed. But I should probably get my things anyway, I think they're going to take the double bed room."

Hmph, I thought as the door closed behind her. Good for Aaron.

It only took a few minutes for Jess to get her things from her room, but exhaustion had finally set in and even the most trivial of tasks was all the more draining. It had also taken time to convince her that I wanted to set up a camera in the bedroom and a digital recorder for research purposes and not for any other reason. I explained that the exorcism last night was not a full proof way of getting rid of the attachments. Especially after only one try. Although I had to admit, when Jess came to bed in tiny shorts and a tank top, I had to muster every ounce of self control. I think the thought crossed her mind to when I noticed her eyes flick over my shirtless body.

"This isn't an open invitation. I don't sleep in clothes." I joked, batting my eyelashes "You're lucky I have pants on."

She laughed and blushed. Curious considering we both pretty much already knew what one another looked like naked. Jess pulled back the covers and crawled in next to me, her slim body molding instantly against mine. She rested her head into the crook between my neck and shoulder and placed her hand against my chest "I'll try to control myself" she yawned.

I kissed her forehead and switched off the light, wrapping my arms around her "Night sweetheart." My words fell on deaf ears when I looked down and saw her fast asleep, a small smile on her lips.

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My breathing was shallow. Strained. I struggled to open my eyes and fought against the sleep weighing down my eyelids. When they finally cracked open, I was looking up at a shadowed form straddling my body.

"Jess?"

She sat completely upright, eyes narrowed sharply down at me. Her hair was messy from sleep and her face was as white as the sheets we lay on. Her head cocked to the side at the mention of her name as if it were foreign to her ears, but her eyes never left mine. It wasn't sexual. It wasn't a seduction. If anything, it felt combative. An attempt to gain the upper hand while I was lying completely oblivious and vulnerable. Her head ticked oddly to the right and then the left and I could hear stiff muscles cracking unnaturally with the quick movement. My hands slid up to her thighs and the moment my fingers grazed her skin, she suddenly dipped down and I found myself nose to nose with her.

"What are you doing?"

It wasn't her voice. I had heard this voice before. I had heard it on EVP's and through the spirit box. It was deep and unnatural. The gravel of a smoker's voice combined with the menacing vibration of a bee hive. Jess sat back up on top of me and her face was once again hidden by the shadows in the room. I could see her breath now, short bursts of white mist coming from her nose and mouth. I swallowed hard.

"You're not Jess are you?"

She laughed behind tight lips and her hair swayed as her head once again ticked repeatedly to her shoulder "You were not to come back. You were warned."

Warned

There were more voices in the room, unseen whispering hisses from a source I could not see. My heart was beating so fast I thought it would come out of my chest. I refused to break. Refused to fold under its intimidation. It wouldn't be doing this if it weren't scared too "Who are you?"

Dead. We're dead. You're dead. Dead. Soiled ground. Can't save the girl. Go away.

I gripped a hold of the sheets to try to keep myself stable on the bed. The voices around of me grew so loud it felt as if the noise would swallow me whole. My head rolled to the side and my eyes searched the room, but still I saw no other presence other than the one pinning me to the bed. I gathered every ounce of courage I had and steadied my voice with forceful resolve "In the name of Christ I command you to tell me who you are!"

The room went silent. Eerily silent. At my final word Jess' head fell back and stared up at the ceiling. Her head twitched back at forth continuously till finally going idle. A low growl rose up from her throat, a shallow grumble that elevated to an ear piercing roar. When her head finally rolled back to normal, Jess dipped down to come face to face with me again. But this time, it wasn't Jess staring back at me.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" I yelled out.

It was a corpse. A sickly rotten skeleton with shredded greenish skin barely clinging to its bones. It smiled, pleased with itself at my reaction. Yellow gnarled teeth peeked out from behind rough decaying lips and its black pupils rolled over white. It rose its hand up in front of me, skin swinging from thin fingers balled into a fist. It squeezed something above me, showering me with what felt like dirt. I tried to yell but found myself choking on the putrid soil.

"Soiled ground." It hissed. It moved closer to my face, its once menacing smile slowly fading as its white orbs locked with mine "GO AWAY!"

"Zak! Zak!"

I bolted upright, swinging with everything I was worth at…nothing. My eyes and head moved quickly around the room that now seemed brighter than last I remembered. There was no pressure on my body, no horrid smell and no decaying body. Instead, I was looking into the worried gaze of the face I remember. Jess. She sat up in bed, her facial expression twisted with concern.

"Zak?! What happened? You were talking in your sleep and then you started screaming. What's the matter?" She studied me carefully, placing her hand on my cheek "What did you see?"

"I don't know." I admitted "It looked like you, but it wasn't. I heard voices. It told me to leave."

Jess shook her head in confusion "What? What told you to leave?"

She slid closer and I went stiff at the foreign roughness coming from under the covers. I threw the blankets back and nearly fell out of the bed when my eyes landed on the source. The once snow white sheets were soiled now with muddy brown dirt containing fat squirming earth worms rolling around near my feet.. I looked back up expecting to see the horror in Jess' face, but she seemed completely oblivious and the worry on her face only deepened at my behavior. She didn't see what I was seeing. This was a warning to me. My head reeled and I became increasingly dizzy. My stomach rebelled and I felt like I was going to be sick. Without another word, I tossed the covers completely off the bed and ran for the bathroom, barely making it before I emptied the contents. I heard Jess rustling with the blankets and she quickly padded over to the bathroom and paused in the doorway. I watched as she reached over and grabbed a wash rag off the towel rack and started the faucet. She kneeled down with the cold cloth in her hand, pushing it to the back of my neck.

"Better?"

"A little." I lied, sitting back onto the tile floor. She grabbed a plastic cup from the sink and filled it with water, handing it to me as she sat down with me on the floor. We sat in silence as I drank, finding the whole thing reminiscent of her exorcism. I stared down in to the cup as if it would have all the answers I was looking for.

"Ya know early when I said I didn't have a clue about what to do? I wasn't joking."

Jess scoffed, shaking her head in feigned amusement "I know" She admitted "I suppose maybe I was just hoping you did. I thought maybe someone with more experience might be able to at least point me in the right direction. It also feels better to not be alone through all this."

I cocked my head to the side and grinned at her "I'm sorry Ms. Blades, did you just say someone with more experience?" She laughed again, nudging me in the side with her elbow. The moment was short lived when my thoughts jumped back to only moments ago. "Whatever or whomever this thing is, Scott Jackson, Alonzo Walling, some demon masquerading as both. It wants you and it wants me to leave."

Jess stared down at the tile, tapping her painted black toes up and down rapidly "Is that what your dream was about? Is that what it told you?"

I nodded, reaching over to cup her chin in my hand and turn her head till I was looking her in the eyes "I already told you I'm not going anywhere. The fact that it's trying to scare us means it's threatened."

"Threatened by what?" She finally asked.

I shrugged "I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with that woman that came to you. Maybe it has something to do with what she told you about us being stronger together. I have to figure it out." I stood up, pulling her with me and kissing her on the forehead "And I think I know just where to start."

Jess watched me curiously "What? Where are we going?"

I walked back into the bedroom, briefly acknowledging the fact the sheets on the bed were back to their original snow white. Grabbing some clothes out of my suitcase, I headed back for the bathroom, my fear turning into adrenaline now coursing through my veins "Not we. Me and the guys. You're going to stay here with Mandy."

Jess frowned and crossed her arms across her chest "What are you talking about? You just said you weren't going to leave me alone. I thought we were going to do this together.

"I'm not leaving you alone. I just told you to stay with Mandy." I started the shower and tried to ignore the incredulous grey eyes glaring at me from the doorway "I'm not going to be long. Hopefully."

"I just had an exorcism and you woke up fighting air demons and you're telling me you're going for a top secret, boys only, club meeting?"

My shoulders dropped and my sigh broke in defeat "I have to go back to Bobby Mackey's Jess. You can't come with."

The tension in her face gave way to an open mouth stare "Oh" She said simply, scratching dismissively at her arm.

"I'm going to give Bobby a call and see if he has time to talk before the bar opens for the night. I just have a few questions for him. I was thinking maybe Aaron and Nick can see if they can get some EVPs. Maybe we can pick up on this woman that talked to you. Maybe she'll talk to us."

Jess stood stoic in the doorway, she stared blankly at the floor and nodded as if only to appease me.

"Hey" I grabbed a towel off the rack and tossed it at her playfully. She pulled it off her head and finally smiled "I'll be back as soon as we're done. Hopefully with some answers."

"Hopefully." She repeated "Mandy and I can look over the footage and recorder from when we were sleeping. We don't have a lot of time before we both have to head back to the real world. Feels like we're playing beat the clock."

I openly flinched. Back to the real world. That meant she would go back to Chicago and I would go back to Vegas. That same anxiety rushed over me and I pushed it back down so it didn't show on my face. I was pulled from my thoughts when Jess suddenly stepped completely into the steamy bathroom and shut the door,

"I sure don't want to be alone while you're in the shower." She pulled her tank top over her head and only regarded me for moment before leaning over to check the temp of the water.

I swallowed hard and my eyes flicked over her half naked body "Well your spirit friend did say we were better together than we are apart." I concluded with a smile.

"Well I think that is pretty obvious" She said, pulling off her shorts and stepping into the shower.

I raised a brow, fumbling to get my pajama bottoms "Is it?"

Jess pulled the curtain back and gave me a cheeky grin "Oh course. How else am I supposed to wash my back."

Can't argue with that I thought, before pulling back the curtain and joining her in the cloud of steam and hot water on the other side.

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Sorry for the wait guys. I have other stories that needed updating and I also had another surgery that kept me down for awhile. I'm already halfway done with the next chapter but it's going to be a lot longer than this one so I'm not really sure when it will be posted so please be patient.