Angel of Light (A Zak Bagans Story)

Chapter 6: What's A Man To Do?

Authors Note: Just a quick note. This chapter is from Zak's point of view (stated below as well). I felt it was important to write from his view why he reacted the way he did in the interview, but please bare in mind, I don't know Zak, nor know how he thinks. This is just my personal assumption of one way he could react to such a scenario. I don't mean any offence to Zak's character at all. And I'm certainly not making Zak out to be a "women can't do what men can" type of person. Hopefully you'll gather as such by the end of the chapter.

Chapter 6: What's A Man To Do?

Zak's Point of View

"What the hell was that bro?!" Aaron exclaimed as he turned to look at me, anger and disbelief on his face.

I rubbed a hand over my face.

The night before had been horrible.

Again.

I had barely gotten any sleep, because I had kept having nightmares anytime I did sleep.

That happened a lot to me, especially at home. And when we were on the road doing lockdown after lockdown.

So, essentially, all the time.

I had tried every silly remedy you could think off to ward off the nightmares.

Relaxation. No electronics before bed. Dream catchers. Lavender to calm me down. Eucalyptus Oil to reduce stress.

Nothing worked.

I don't know what had set off the nightmares the night before.

We hadn't done any lockdowns in a while since Nick had left after Season 9 ended. I had done a few 'Aftershocks' episodes in the past couple of months, but they usually didn't affect me in the same way.

The only thing that had been on my mind lately was this damn interviewing process.

I was pissed at the network.

How could I bring some stranger, and a woman on top of it, with us to lockdowns?

That in itself was a nightmare.

And to make matters worse, today was the last day for interviews. Most of the applicants were no where near what I wanted and needed in an investigator.

"I don't like this idea from the network to hire a woman bro," I replied.

Aaron's eyes widened.

"Are you freaking serious? That's messed up bro!" Aaron said in shock.

I sighed, realizing how my words had sounded.

"You know that's not what I mean Aaron," I said. "I'm just concerned. You and I both know a lot of women can't handle some of the stuff we experience. Your marriage ended because of it. I refuse to date anyone now because of it. You know that," I explained.

His shock disappeared, but he still looked slightly angry.

"I know that bro. But we made sure Holly explained to any applicants that this could be a tough job, and not to be taken lightly. And if a girl has been having paranormal experiences to begin with, then it's not new to them," Aaron replied.

"Yeah, I know. But do you really think if a girl is experiencing shit like we do, she'd apply for this job? We didn't know nearly enough about what we were getting into when we started," I said.

"Well, I don't know about the rest of the girls, but this one seemed pretty haunted to me. She got emotional in front of us when she clearly didn't want to. You barely gave her a chance. She's friendly, she has a sense of humour, and she made a good point about the cameras and filming," Aaron replied. "And you gotta admit bro, she's nice to look at. That clearly won't upset our male viewers," Aaron added with a smile.

Good 'ole Aaron, always trying to make light of a situation.

But he had been right, when I had first walked into my office and saw Alicia sitting there, I was blown away.

The first thing I had noticed were her eyes. They were beautiful. The colour of chocolate, and they had this...sparkle, to them. I didn't know how else to explain it.

And her face...she was a 10, definitely.

She hadn't been wearing a lot of makeup, which - as I grew older - I had come to realize I preferred on a woman. She had looked to only have been wearing lip gloss on her plump lips, which drew my attention to them almost immediately.

They looked so kissable...

And then I had noticed her hair. Long and dark. I would never admit it in front of the guys, but I loved long hair on a woman.

She had been beautiful, but I could see in her eyes she was haunted by something. Something painful. That had made me feel even more strongly about bringing a woman along on our crazy trips.

"Yes, I'll admit, she's pretty hot," I replied naturally, looking at Aaron. "And you're right about the gear. None of the other girls who applied have that as a plus. I'm just not comfortable forcing a girl into this shit," I replied honestly.

Aaron looked slightly sympathetic.

"I get that bro, I do. But it's not like you dragged her off the street. She came here willingly. And if her experiences are that personal, then you and I both know what it's like to want answers," Aaron replied.

I sighed.

"I know that bro," I said softly.

I closed my eyes briefly and then opened them again.

"I had nightmares again all last night. I didn't sleep. I'm just tired bro," I said, explaining my outburst and anger toward Alicia.

Aaron frowned slightly.

"I'm sorry bro. But we have no choice. Nick is gone and the network wants a girl to fill the spot. They're letting us pick someone instead of forcing someone on us. Alicia is the best applicant we've had, and you know it," Aaron said.

I rubbed a hand over my face again.

He was right.

When Alicia had stood up for herself, she had impressed me even more. I knew I had been being a total ass toward her, and I had sensed I was upsetting her and causing her inner turmoil, but she fought through that and spoke up for herself. Even though she probably knew that doing so would cost her the job.

She had looked to be a small, haunted little girl, but I had misjudged her.

Big time.

Idiot, I thought.

"Call her. Tell her she has the job if she still wants it," I replied. "I still need time." I added, explaining why I wanted Aaron to call.

He knew how hard this shit hits me sometimes.

He smiled.

"Right on bro," Aaron answered, as he picked up the printout with Alicia's information on it and walked out of the room, heading toward his own office.

I put my earbuds into my ears and picked up my phone to select a song to chase my mood away.

How in the hell was I going to work with the very person I've been trying so hard to avoid?

A beautiful, yet haunted, woman.