Hearing the SUV pull up, I click my laptop shut and toss it on the couch, ready for what Zak was about to bring through the door. Rubbing my hands together, I wait and listen as the door open and the crew begin filing in.

Jay is the first to come in, looking exhausted, followed by Billy and Aaron. Zak is the last and gives me a concerned look before crashing on the couch beside me.

"How was it?" I ask instantly as they all follow Zak's approach and crash on the nearest chairs. "Don't tell me it was a blow out.." When nobody answers, I sigh. "That sucks. It had so much potential."

"You are not going in." Zak says making my disappointment shift instantly.

"So there is something?"

He nods. "Sure as hell is and mom will kill me if I let you get involved."

A smile creeps onto my face. "Well mom isn't here. So what was it like?"

"The place is seriously dark." Billy answers. "Heavy and oppressive. Not somewhere for you to go. Not yet."

My shoulders sag instantly. "Oh come on Billy. Don't say that. Otherwise Zak will agree-"

"I do agree with him. As soon as I got in the car, I said no to you coming into the investigation." Zak says which makes me frown.

"But I am here. I came with you guys and you promised you would help me find my feet in the paranormal world. I could have taken off on my own, like I planned to. But you pulled the big brother card and now you're backing out on me? What the hell Zak?"

He rubs his forehead. "It's because I'm your brother, that I am telling you, let this one go, Alex. It's no good for you."

"No. No I will not." I answer, folding my arms.

There's a grumble about me being a pain in the ass and stubborn. I simply smile and wait as Zak pulls himself up. "The place is dark, seriously dark. Myself, Aaron and Billy got dizzy. The place is oppressive, it is almost suffocating. I couldn't think properly whilst I was there."

I nod waiting for more.

"None of this is putting you off, is it?" He asks seeing my face.

"Absolutely not. Tell me more." I answer.

"There is loud knockings, we did a burst session of EVP and got a response." He says, pulling the recorder from his pocket and tossing it onto my lap.

My fingers instantly go to work, rewinding and playing back the recording, listening intently until I hear the EVP. "It said Hey Zak."

"That's what we heard." Aaron answers.

"Awesome." I whisper replaying it and mouthing the words as the EVP plays. I click the stop button and look at Zak who looks like he has had the wind taken out of him. "Maybe you should let me come in on this one, to you know... See how bad it can get?"

He groans and flicks his eyes over to me. "You're not taking no. Are you?"

"Nope."

"Fine. You can tell mom when it goes to shit."

I lift up my pinky as he sticks his out. "Pinky promise."

***

For most of the night, I had sat at nerve with Jay, being the second eyes and ears, whilst watching Zak, Aaron and Billy go room to room investigating the estate home. Using all the equipment they could get their hands on to get some activity on camera.

EVP seemed to be working best as they had gotten multiple responses, there is some residual noises too but nothing they could pinpoint instantly.

"I wanna go in." I mumble beside Jay as he watches the cameras, without blinking.

"Maybe you should just observe? This is all practice for when Zak let's you go in with him, in the future."

"I'm more hands on than sit back and watch. I need to be learning on the job. Not holed up in here, eating all the snacks." I tell him, looking at my small pile of wrappers.

"Set up the full spectrum camera." He tells me.

I do so, without another word, when it is ready, I look up at him hopeful. "Now, this goes wrong, you are taking the blame. Got it?"

I nod.

"You can go outside the tent and do a sweep of the grounds, but you cannot go into the estate house, you will contaminate the evidence. Okay?"

"Sure." I answer, slipping out the tent and shooting the gardens and surrounding area.

I'm deep into the camera when I spot a figure, but before I can call to Jay, the figure waves and I look up just as Zak shines a torch in my eyes. "Hey!" I complain as he blinds me with it and swipes the camera off me.

"Too slow." He laughs as I try to swat him. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing now, jerk. Can I go in now?"

"We are taking a break."

With an exasperated sigh, I stomp after him and retake my seat beside Jay, who gives me a lopsided smile.

Two hours pass before Zak decides that it's time to head back inside the location. I am out my seat like a shot, grabbing my camera and turning it on.

"I'm ready coach." I tell Zak, bouncing on the balls of my feet.

"Ah, shit. I guess it's time." He tells the rest of them with a resigned sigh.

I hold back the urge to squeal with excitement and instead nod my head solemnly. "You are the boss.."

"I'm also your big brother.. We will do a couple of hours but I'm not using it for television. Got it?"

"Sure, but can I ask why?"

Zak replies "Because I don't need you being plastered online and trolls coming at you."

Being Zak's younger sister, I had seen the comments online as well as the haters and critics, who love nothing more than dragging him through the mud.

When Zak's career took off, our lives changed too, but whilst ours was only turning social media profiles private, Zak's life was turned inside out and dissected, which is why I fully understand his concern.

"Now it's heavy in there, you need to keep your guard up. Got it?" Zak says seriously, making me nod. 

Using my own camera, courtesy of Zak for my 17th birthday, we head into the location, where he also hands me a walkie-talkie. "Any problems, any at all, you use this."

"Sure thing." I answer, clipping it onto my belt. 

"Jay will be watching you at all times. Now we are gonna split up. I want you to go with-"

"I want to go on my own." I blurt out, making him pause. 

"Alex.."

"I can do this." I insist. "Come on, you've taught me loads and you've already said that Jay will be watching me the entire time. What is the worst that can happen?"

Before Zak can think of an excuse, Jay chirps through the walkie. "My eyes won't leave her screen and it's true GA initiation  if she goes alone.."

Looking over my shoulder, I grin at the X-camera, happy to have an ally on the team. I hear Zak's sigh. "Fine, but you gotta watch her, bro. She is a pain in my ass."

"You love me really." I tease. 

He grumbles a reply before splitting the crew up and stops at  me. "Okay, little miss badass. You got the basement."

Determined to prove my worth, I salute him and head off in direction of the basement. The steps leading down to it creek under my weight and lack of use, which only adds to the creepiness of the house. Even the door that squeaks under protest as I open it, doesn't shock me and I slip into the dark and damp place, closing it behind me. 

However, I almost scream when the Walkie on my hip chatters. "I got you on the X-camera now. Don't look so nervous and remember to keep your guard up." Jay chirps. 

"Okay but maybe some warning next time you do that?" I ask looking through my LCD screen at the X-camera.  It begins moving side to side as if answering me and saying 'No'. "Smart ass." I add before heading further inside. 

Night vision makes everything seem spookier than it needs to be and I try to envision the colours of everything down here, in a hope to calm my nerves that seem to be brewing away.  Pulling a rickety chair away from the wall, I take a seat in the centre of the floor. 

"Alright.. Let's see who or what wants to talk." I say to myself as I pull out the recorder.

"Is there anyone here with me?"

"Can you tell me your name?"

"What year is it?"

"Does anybody want to tell me anything?"

Stopping the session, I replay the recorder. Upon hearing something, I hit rewind and bring it up to my ear for a closer analysis. 

"Is there anyone hear with me?"

"Yes."  A raspy voice replies.

The rest of the questions go unanswered, which spurs me on to continue. But after 20 minutes of failed communications, I lose my patience. "Come on! Talk to me through this! Tell me your name! Can you tell me your name? Or are you too weak?"

"Alex.." Jay warns me through the radio. 

"It's frustrating as hell." I answer, placing it own on the floor between my feet. Staring at the light on the walkie talkie, I get an idea. "Use the battery on that radio to talk to me. Use it's energy and answer my questions."

"Who is here?" I try again, holding the recorder out. 

I'm about to throw in another question when the temperature around me drops and I shiver. "Is that you, making it cold in here?"

"Tell me what you want?"

Flipping my camera around, I shoot around the basement, looking for an anomaly or a shadow figure, anything that would suggest that I am not alone and that there is something paranormal here. But when I don't see anything interesting, I turn the camera to myself.

"This is the hard bit. Waiting. I know on some shows they are overloaded with evidence, but that is collected over an entire night. Maybe they don't want to interact with me? Or maybe they are too weak? All I know is, that it's pointless to sit down here, waiting for something, when I could be upstairs, finding some evidence." 

As I stand to leave the basement, I'm hit with an energy force that puts me back in the chair. My head swims and I find myself feeling nauseous and drained.

"Okay, I can feel you. Is that you asking me to stay? Or to get out? Because if it's to get out, you are gonna have to do a little better than that. I'm Zak's sister and as he says, I'm a pain in the ass."

CLANK!

I jump as a piece of wood falls from behind me and lands at the side of the chair. "Jesus! Did you get that Jay?!"

"I got it! I'm gonna get Zak down there."

"No!" I shout to the x-camera. "Not yet! I got this, I swear!"

Looking at the walkie -talkie on the floor, I reach for it but the red light on top becomes two. I sit back again and watch as two red dots dance around each other. My vision is doubling and my head still feels like it is swimming. But my determination to get something overpowers my sense to get out. 

"Come on then! Is that all you have?" I ask.

Trying to stand, my legs wobble and I sit myself back down before I fall into the seat. "Okay. I feel you. How about you tell me what you want?" I ask, holding the recorder out, hopeful.

Breathing through the sickness, I try to do an EVP session, until I drop the recorder all together. As much as I want to prove myself, I also have to know when to come out. I've already pushed it far enough, now it was time to get out and push whatever this is, off me.  "Jay.." I speak, knowing he can hear me through the x-camera. "Jay, I don't feel good."

"I'm on the way. I'll get Zak too."

"I can't get up." I tell him, holding my legs as if they are gonna disappear. "I feel drained."

The walkie-talkie replies. "I'm on my way. Just keep talking to me through the radio." He replies. 

I nod and reach out to pick it off the floor, when I topple forward, hitting my head off the basement floor and landing on top of the walkie. "Ah shit.." 

My ears pick up a cough or maybe a stifle of a laugh, which makes me roll over onto my back and pick up the walkie. "Man down."

"Alex? Alex, what do you mean man down?!" Jay asks panicked.

As my eyes begin fluttering, I spot a dark figure hunched in the corner, watching me. "I see you." I tell it.

"See who? Alex?"

"My brother is gonna kick your ass." I tell it just as the basement door opens and Jay rushes in. 

"Oh, you're bleeding.. Okay. You're alright." He says pulling me into a sitting position. "Alex, can you hear me?" 

I smile weakly. "Hey Jay. I fell."

"You sure did." He answers, turning on the torch and shining it into my eyes. "You've banged it pretty good. I'm gonna need to take you back to base."

"But the spirit-"

"Where is she?!" A voice yells which I register to be Zak's.

"Oh no." I answer as he drops his camera and grips my chin. "Damn it Alex!" He snaps. 

"I gotta get her back to base." Jay tells him, grabbing the equipment off the ground as Billy and Aaron come in too. 

"Come on." Zak says, pulling me to my feet. Before I can tell him that I will walk, he picks me up and carries me out, like I'm 5 years old and weigh nothing. Forever being the big brother.

With my chin on his shoulder, I see Aaron and Billy trading looks and rush ahead to open the door for us. Before we leave, I spot the black figure, only now it's stood up and reaches to the ceiling. Showing how menacing it can truly be, it also makes me wonder if that is what drained my energy, instead of using the radio's battery. 

"Mom is gonna have my ass for this." Zak says for me to hear. I don't answer and instead stare at the shadow figure looming in the basement.

But, in true Bagans fashion, I flip it the bird before the door shuts. I guess I'm like Zak after all..