Obligatory Disclaimer: I own nothing. Plot idea belongs to Hellbreaker. Characters and setting belong to Butch Hartman.
Author's Notes: This is a response to (and my interpretation of) Hellbreaker's challenge, "Ghostpool." It sounded interesting, so I'm going to give it a shot. Hellbreaker, if I mutilate it, please don't kill me.
This is (probably) going to be very short. Likewise, each chapter will (probably) be short.
Before we start, and before anyone asks. . .
Yes, I am continuing "Deadly Things."
Yes, I am continuing "Steam Machine."
Yes, I am continuing "The New Girl: A Parody."
Yes, I am continuing "Apprentice." (Or maybe it'll finished by the time I post this. I'm only posting three chapters of it; it may very well be up by now.)
Yes, I am going to keep posting one-shots.
Just wanted to get that out of the way, guys. Anyway, enjoy!
The Ghost with the Mouth
Chapter One
"These aren't necessary," Maddie mumbled, flyer in-hand. She felt defeated and, at the moment, very small. It was a feeling that she wasn't used to, and she didn't like it one bit. "Everyone knows that he's gone. He's all over the news in every country. What are these flyers going to do?"
The flyers felt redundant. Everyone knew who Danny was, that he had disappeared, and they knew to look for him. It was their civic duty; after all, he'd saved each and every one of them. Now, they had to somehow return the favour. But the flyers also felt obligatory. Maddie and Jack had made them, and they were hanging up the information people already had known for a month.
Maddie felt like kicking the stack of flyers at her feet, sending the photos of her son and the words "Have You Seen Me?" scattering everywhere. She felt like screaming and crying. She felt like laying in his room, surrounded by his things, and pretending that he was still there. Most of all, she felt like scouring every inch of the Ghost Zone, which was exactly what she would do once she finished wasting her time with the damn flyers. She and Jack could be actively searching for Danny, and, instead, they were sticking pieces of paper everywhere.
"We have to hang 'em," Jack said. "Maybe it'll help."
He'll come home, Maddie thought to herself for the hundreth time as she tacked a flyer to a telephone pole, but it won't happen because of these.
One month later, Danny did exactly that. He showed up at the front door, looking just like anyone who spent two months on the street would look. He was tired, thin, and dirty, wearing his beaten-up jumpsuit. And he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he didn't seem to mind anything at all. His family greeted him with hugs and kisses and questions – and he was apathetic to all of them. He had no answers or explanations. He waited until everything was silent, until he was no longer being kissed or hugged or interrogated, to clear his throat and say, simply:
"Hello. I am the Ghost with the Mouth, and I am here to let you know that we don't exist."