The Ghosts in You (A Zak Bagans Fanfic)

Chapter 75

Sara took her time in Trader Joe's. She picked up a bag of their Salt & Pepper Potato Chips straight away, and a couple of bottles of their store brand sparkling water – lime and grapefruit. Ooh! La Crema Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast! She picked up one bottle of that, as well.

Sara hadn't noticed the car that had followed her Uber all the way from Zak's gated community.

She texted with Ameera while inside the store. They were planning how they were going to watch Riverdale together, even if it was over the phone.

Sara got in line and paid for her items, then made her way outside to order her return-trip Uber. It was a beautiful sunset. She was admiring the purple hue over the horizon when her ride arrived three minutes later. The driver offered to put Sara's groceries into the trunk of the car; Sara handed her bag to him, opened the door on the passenger side of the vehicle, and got into the front seat.

She was looking at her phone, about to let Zak know by text that she was heading back. She felt the car's balance shift and the driver's door slam shut. The car took off at an accelerated pace.

Startled, Sara looked to her left. It wasn't the driver she'd just met, but someone else. A beat later, she recognized him. Stalker! She quickly typed "stlkr.help" and hit send. She let her phone slip out of her hand onto the floor by her door. "Dwayne, what are you doing?"

"Shut up!" he said, angrily, as he pointed a gun at her. Sara swallowed hard.

Meanwhile, the Uber driver set down Sara's groceries and dialed 911. "Yes, hello? Someone just took off with my car! And I think I need to report a kidnapping!"

Over at the museum, Zak and Aaron were plotting out their upcoming shooting schedule when Zak's phone dinged. He smiled as he thought of Sara, on her way back to his place. He opened her message and read her text.

stlkr.help

It took a few seconds before the meaning of Sara's text hit him, full force. "Fuck!" Zak exclaimed. "Fuck –"

"What's up, man?" Aaron asked.

Zak dialed Sara as quickly as he could. The phone rang several times before going to her voicemail. Zak tried once more. Come on Sara, answer!

He knew she kept her phone on vibrate only. When he'd asked her why, she explained that the ringing bugged her no end. Clever girl. Keeping the phone on vibrate might just help her here: she could keep it powered on without alerting her stalker.

"Zak! Bro, what's going on?" He could see the fear in Zak's face.

"It's Sara – something's wrong! We have to go!" Zak grabbed his keys and frantically dialed 911 as he headed out the back entrance of the museum with Aaron in tow.

"911. What's your emergency?"

"My girlfriend – she just sent me a text that read, 'stalker help'. She has a restraining order against a stalker. I tried calling her, she doesn't answer –"

"Sir, do you know where she was when she sent you the text?"

"She took an Uber from my house to Trader Joe's, she could be anywhere between...I don't know!" he continued, flustered.

Arriving at the police station, Zak and Aaron hopped out of the car, ran inside the lobby and over to the officer behind the Plexiglas wall where Zak motioned for Aaron to kick off the conversation with the officer. And to the 911 operator, Zak said, "I'm at the police station right now, with Officer...?"

"LeBral. What can I do for you?" Officer LeBral asked Aaron.

"We have an emergency. Zak –" Aaron pointed to Zak to clarify. "Zak is on the phone with 911 right now. He just got a text message from his girlfriend that said 'stalker help'. She has a restraining order against a stalker. Zak tried calling her a couple of times, but she doesn't answer."

As Aaron recounted the situation to Officer LeBral, the 911 operator patched her own call through to the officer's secure extension at the station, ending the original call with Zak.

"What's her cell phone number?" the officer asked. Zak opened his contacts and pulled up Sara's number. He relayed it to Officer LeBral, who repeated it digit for digit for the 911 operator's benefit.

The operator, in turn, was able to ping the location of Sara's cell phone. "Officer, she looks to be moving north along interstate 15 at Cheyenne. One moment – we may have a related call, officer: a driver reported a stolen vehicle and possible kidnapping from a Trader Joe's location." She provided the car's make and model information.

The officer radioed for help. "All units, we have a possible abduction, heading North on Interstate 15 at Cheyenne. 2017 white Toyota Prius."

Zak's first instinct was to get in his truck and head North on Interstate 15. It took him all of a few seconds to see that wasn't the right move. He wasn't "patched in" to the police band, so he would have no idea how to stay on their trail.