Keeping Promises
Prolog: Beginning at the End
Danny smiled as the light disappeared into the thermos, relived to have finally quarantined the threat. The reprieve lasted less than a second as he gasped, remembering his family and friends were still in danger, that getting rid of the ghost wasn't the end of his trials.
Turning sharply, he ran. Everything happened so fast. 'Hurry! Hurry!'He thought desperately, pushing himself harder as he ignored the dull ache of over exertion touching every nerve in his body. 'This isn't fast enough!'He willed his body to change, but gasped as, the rings fizzled before they even began. "I can't Go Ghost!" He yelled shocked. This proved to be just enough of a distraction as he found himself on the ground, having tripped over ruble. He pushed up and his family looked down on him, their fear flooding into his eyes. A thousand emotions flowed through each of them. Danny pushed himself up- he could still do something!
Then it happened.
"BOOM!"
Danny felt the force of the blast hit him, sending him flying through the air. This was where it all changed…
"NOOO!"
He fell hard, hitting the ground with a dull thud that sent the air rushing out of him. He grunted, unconsciously curling into himself. The thermos held tight in his hand as, beaten and spent, he lay there in the middle of a desolate warzone…
Danny heard a roaring sound as he came to. "Hurry!" He heard someone yell. The world blurred, and tilted uncontrollably, as he sat up with an intense feeling of vertigo.
Blinking away the dazed haze his eyes fought for focus. As the chaos around him sharpened he found himself coming face to face with a nightmarish scene.
The sky was a sickly gray-green, and the horizon burned red as smoke climbed up into the darkening sky. Red flames licked under charred debris. Blue and red lights flashed around him- an eerie silence permeated the roar in his ears. Danny jumped slightly as sound suddenly hit him all at once. Sirens piercing his skull joined by the sound of crumbling rock and crackling flames. Voices seemed to echo from everywhere and he blinked as he saw three yellow clad figures rush toward the larger source of smoke. Danny bit his lip and tightened his hands around his thermos.
Danny felt his heart pounding, as he moved, the push of adrenalin and blood rushing through his system so strong he felt like puking. Scrambling, unaware anymore of how his body worked, he crawled to his feet. He was cold, bruised and dazed, completely covered in soot, wide eyed, and shaken. His eyes were locked on the charred rubble around him. He could see more fire fighters were shifting through the wreckage- the last of the fire dyeing out without much effort.
One of the fire fighters broke from their search through the remains to see to him.
"Hey, kid- you okay?"
Danny hardly even acknowledged the man's presence as he stumbled toward the dying flames.
The man grabbed Danny's shoulder and pulled him to a stop. "Hey! Look at me! What's your name?" He shook the shocked boy lightly. "Kid?"
Danny blinked, seeing the man's worried eyes for the first time. "D-Danny." He stuttered shocking himself with his own voice. "Danny Fenton."
"Well Danny- I-" The man stopped. "I'm Gregory. I'm going to take you to the ambulance, okay?"
Danny blinked. "But…" He went to look back to the destroyed ruble- to where the Nasty Burger once stood, but Gregory stopped him. "But…" Danny stuttered.
"It's okay, you'll be fine."
"What about them?" Danny asked suddenly.
"Them?" Gregory asked, and then looked over Danny's shoulder where the building once stood, understanding instinctively that the boy was saying someone had been inside.
"My family!?" Danny yelled suddenly. "My friends!" He turned and ran, this time, toward the suffocating flames.
"Wait!" Gregory yelled- shocked at the sudden burst of life in the boy. With how banged up the kid was he was surprised he was standing- he hadn't expected him to run. Shaking the surprise off the man took off after him, stumbling over the loose ruble- still shocked at how nimbly the kid made his way across the destruction.
Danny jumped over a pile of toppled debris as he neared a larger gathering of firefighters. "We found something over here!" A female firefighter yelled.
Danny slowed and silently walked toward them. "What is it?" Another firefighter asked.
"I don't know." The firewoman admitted as she shifted some ruble. Danny gasped seeing burnt pieces of the Fenton Peeler and a chard reminisces of what looked like goggles. "This is kinda heavy, can I have some help here!"
A few of the firefighters worked together to move a slab of concrete. As they lifted it a chard arm rolled out from underneath. Its black fingers balled around a piece of metal.
Danny snapped then- trembling uncontrollably- as he screamed. "What is he doing here?" One of the firefighters yelled.
Danny stumbled back and Gregory caught him before he fell. "He was in the wreckage a few yards back. I tried to stop him."
The firefighters could see that Danny was injured. "Get him to an ambulance." One of the others yelled. "He's exhibiting signs of shock."
Gregory nodded and grabbed Danny lifting him over his shoulder caring him, in true fireman stile, away. "NO!" Danny screamed. "No! Let me go! Let me go! That's my family! That's my family!" Danny fought uselessly, trying to get away from the man.
And Gregory carried him; jaw tight, to the ambulance, where paramedics swarmed the boy the moment he was set down. It wasn't long before they sedated him as the fireman watched on sadly.