The Beast Within
11 PM
Friday night.
He'd been running for hours.
So had the beast he'd been chasing all this time.
That hulking great creature seemed to have limitless energy.
He stopped for a minute to catch his breath and leaned against a lamppost, basking in the florescent light. He watched the beast run onwards into the distance until he couldn't see it anymore. A long exhausted sigh left his mouth and he wiped the masses of sweat from his face. How the hell did that damn great thing move so quickly? In the animal kingdom the bigger they are, the slower they run, but as a result they made up for it in strength. As with all things in life though, there were exceptions to the rule.
The minor details were irrelevant; the important part was how that black bear always appeared pretty much out of thin air, almost every time it was in school. Eyes tightly closed, he thought back to how and when all this started. The ghost attack by Skulker… no, it was before that. When Tucker got stuffed into his own locker for the third time in one day… no, it was before that too. That's when it hit him; this whole thing sparked up almost five days ago, not long after the incident at school. He racked his brain, trying desperately to remind himself of the exact events of that day…
FLASHBACK – MONDAY LUNCHTIME
Danny sat at his usual lunch table, with his usual friends, listening – once again – to their usual argument. Not a single day went by that this fight didn't fire up, unless one of them was ill or too busy thinking about exams or something stressful going on at home, at which point the innocent blue-eyed bystander would actually start to miss the continuity.
"Aw, c'mon Sam, why you always gotta start up with this?" Tucker moaned.
"Because it's sick that's why! Eating the carcass of a helpless animal, it's just… ewww," Sam shuddered with disgust.
"Have you ever tasted meat, Sam?" Danny asked.
The three friends fell instantly silent. It's true, as far as the situation went Sam had always preached a life of strict vegetarianism, no one had ever seen her eat any meat or meat bi-products in all her life. Her face turned red out of embarrassment. Maybe it was time she told them…
"Um… I don't think I have, no," She mumbled. "Ever since I was a kid, meat always smelt so foul, especially when my mom tried to force it down my throat."
"No wonder you're so Goth and unhappy. You've never eaten meat!" Tucker yelled, and proceeded to poke her with a small piece of meatloaf on a fork.
"Ew, Tuck! Quit touching me with that! Tucker quit it! I'm gonna hit you so hard! Tuck will you-"
Here she was silenced when Danny managed to stuff a meat ball in Sam's mouth while she was busy scolding Tucker for prodding her. Slowly, as if it were a delicate meringue, she sent her taste buds on a wild journey they'd obviously never been on before. The flavour of dead, cafeteria grade beef remained on her lips even after she swallowed it. Circles of lilac were reduced to a mere dot.
"So…?"
The two boys eagerly awaited her reaction. Tucker was had the rights to the biggest, loudest I-told-you-so in the history of the world. He had shattered a vegetarian and brought her over to the carnivore side of the species. And best of all, she appeared to be smiling…
"I… I…" Her face soon fell. "I'm gonna be sick…"
"Well it was nice while it lasted…" Tuck sighed and slid down his chair in disappointment.
"I think I'll go and see if she's OK," Danny got up and walked in the direction of the girl's bathroom.
He could hear the rhythm of her throat opening and closing as she retched up everything eaten in the last two days. If there was one thing that really scared Danny – and let's face it, a kid who fights ghosts can't be frightened of much – it was the sound of someone vomiting, and if he knew that someone, it scared him even more. He stood by the door, waiting for her like a guard dog protecting the family house. It wasn't long before Sam had ejected 48 hours of vegetarian diet, and the awful sound finally finished. He tapped on the door, as if to assure her he was there.
"Sam, did you want me to fly you home?"
That's when he saw it. A giant black grizzly bear and boy did it looked pissed off…
END FLASHBACK
It was official, he'd lost track of the beast. Blast it! That large furry nuisance had caused quite a stir, it messed up the school and now it was running loose through town, but the Amity Zoo hadn't reported a black bear escaping, in fact they didn't even have a black bear. He imagined they'd have their hands full with rarer species like that Purple-backed Gorilla that Sam was so obsessed about freeing.
No more breathers, he had to find and catch that animal before it got into even more trouble.
He took to the sky, his legs dissolving into one long vapour tail. Strange how he felt like running after it when it would've been easier from the start if he just flew. Where was it going, what was its purpose, why was it just running around breaking things? Surely it had something better to do. Again he raided through his thoughts attempting to crack the reason for the weird behaviour of the mysterious brute…
FLASHBACK – TUESDAY AFTERNOON
Sam was at home, sick. Danny felt guilty because it was him who made her ill. Tucker had tried over and over to make him feel better, saying that even if Danny hadn't made her eat the meat, he himself probably would have, since he was the one who nudged her and annoyed her with meatloaf on a fork.
It didn't help.
They sat in study hall, not doing much, just doodling and waiting for Mr. Lancer to show up and supervise the group of twenty or more students getting rowdier by the minute. Dash and his football buddies were a few rows behind them, laughing about something stupid no doubt. Tucker was eyeballing a flock of pretty girls a couple of seats away.
"Wuthering Heights, someone call animal control!" The entire class piled out of the room to watch the balding teacher run though the corridor.
A loud holler erupted from the belly of an aggravated dark-haired creature. It stood at a monstrous 10ft tall, its thick set fur drenched and powerful vice-like jaws baring blood-stained fangs as a testament to what it had been doing. With the student body and teachers vacating the school in a huge flurry of panic, Danny freely reverted into his ghost form, but the bear was clearly uninterested and clumsily trundled past him, throwing its bulky form through the window.
"Tucker, go to the pool and see if there's anything out of place,"
"Gotcha," He knew what that really meant; he too saw the blood on the bear's muzzle and its soaking wet body, and it didn't take a genius to put two and two together.
Danny watched his friend leave and instantly went after the creature. He peered out of the broken window; heaps of shattered glass and even more blood were splattered on the ground below. He saw it limping away, every step it took caused more plasma to squirt out of the cut on its leg. Flying alongside it, he tried to get it to stop without hurting it further. But the beast refused to comply; it growled and slammed into Danny with all its might, forcing the consistent Halfa down.
It stared down into his green eyes and angrily roared leaving a shower of red fluid sprayed all over his dazed face before it bolted…
END FLASHBACK
The hapless victim of this rogue mutt turned out to Chelsea Faulkner, said to be this year's valedictorian from the graduating class of Seniors. Her mutilated corpse was discovered by an unfortunate freshman with a weak stomach. By the time Tucker showed up at the poolside there were two bodies waiting for him, the worst of which allowed chlorine to blend with human gore. He and the freshman were both admitted to the infirmary for trauma induced system shutdown.
Despite its injuries, it never once stopped running, not on Tuesday and certainly not tonight.
There was something very peculiar about that bear. Most grizzlies were brown and had hazel eyes to match, but this grizzly was black all over with almost neon yellow orbs that cut into his very soul the same way his green ones did the first time he ever saw them. Such unusual qualities and colourings explained why Skulker had come after it also…
FLASHBACK – WEDNESDAY NIGHT
Danny lurked in the shrubs. The raven furred mammal padded around the fountain in the park. He inched closer, step by step, watching his 'prey' like a lion in the jungle. It hadn't noticed his presence yet, simply lapping up the cool water that sparkled in the moonlight. The Fenton Fisher poised to fire he peeked between the branches of the hedge he was hiding in. He crouched down and almost pressed the button to release the extra-strength fishing line…
"No, not yet," A rugged yet echoed voice whispered.
"Why not, I mean- AHH!" Danny yelled when he saw the culprit. Frightened by the sudden noise, his large target made a run for it and soon was out of sight. "Oh, thanks a lot Skulker, what the hell do you want?"
"I'm not here for you Ghost child, at least, not this time," He smirked evilly. "No, I came here to get that critter, and now the hunt begins."
The armoured ghost was about to fly off in the direction of the bear, but was halted instantly by an ectoplasmic wallop, shooting him to the floor. His nervousness increased when he saw Danny Phantom, who was shaking with rage and whose green eyes were turning slightly red, stood on his chest, aiming the Fenton Thermos straight in his face. Ghost Zone's greatest hunter suddenly became the hunted.
"Why are you here?" He growled.
"I told you, I came for the beast, and I notice you've been chasing it too." Skulker boasted. He once again got a gloved fist pounded into his cheek.
"Listen Skulker and listen well," Danny warned, the scarlet that possessed his iris spread through his face and down his arm, until it surged into his ready-to-strike knuckles. "I am going to put you back into the Ghost Zone and that is where you are going to stay. And if I catch you going after that bear again I will rip you to shreds…"
He didn't wait for an answer, with little more than a thought and a twitch; he sucked up the ghost and clasped the modified thermos so tight he felt his fingers were going to burst. Eventually, he sighed and dropped down onto the grass, simply laying there in the peaceful night…
END FLASHBACK
Skulker was more Ghost Zone's greatest pain in the backside, than he was a hunter – always showing up at wrong freaking time. Danny was so close to capturing that black bear it was almost unreal. However, before it cleared off, he was positive he'd seen a French plait that had been hand-braided into the fur on its back, tied neatly with a pair of blue hair scrunchies. That could only mean one thing.
The bear was not wild – it belonged to someone.
What ever happened to leash laws? Was the animal micro chipped? If it truly was a pet, the owner should've had an identity chip placed on it. If that was true, it meant Danny could catch the beast and use his parent's lab equipment to scan for such a chip… that is, unless the raging animal caught him first. In any case it didn't matter, the reason he wanted to ensnare the big ball of fur was so it couldn't hurt anyone else, after all the next person it attacked might be Sam.
He took off to get a bird's eye view, but even flying was painful. His legs ached and his back was sore from all the ducking and diving and general chasing activities. This time, he had only brought the Fenton Fisher. Yesterday and the day before he had the thermos, the fisher and the crammer – he learned the hard way that while being prepared was a wise idea, weighing himself down was not. He had to face facts, bringing three heavy pieces of weaponry was just dead weight and nothing more.
"I don't even know where it is!" He griped to himself as he flew over the park.
Lo and behold there it was - just like the other day - taking another drink, only this time its left paw was also in the water. He swooped down, silently landed roughly three feet away and tried to stay silent, and if another spirit showed up and wrecked this opportunity too, he was gonna go psycho on that unlucky someone.
Happily, no one did.
"I'm sorry, but this has to be done," Danny mumbled.
When the animal looked round, he immediately fired an ectoplasmic blast at it, knocking the creature sideways. So while it moaned in agony and tried to regain composure, Danny swiftly fired the Fenton Fisher. A glowing light blue rope shot out and coiled around its neck. Burning yellow eyes glared at him and it stood on its back paws, a gargantuan roar stabbed at his eardrums.
"HEEL!" He commanded, yanking on the rope so hard that the beast came crashing down.
A coarse cry of pain pulled Danny's heartstrings as it writhed in anguish. He knelt down beside it and warily patted its fur. More whimpers came as it rolled over onto its stomach and pleaded with him to loosen the tight hold of the resin-coated rope. It didn't take long for him to notice the laceration on the defeated critter. That cut had healed and reopened at least twice and had a scorch mark to boot; now he felt really bad.
"Aw jeez, I'm sorry," He apologised.
He really wanted to help the poor thing. After everything this beastly entity had done he should dispose of it while it was weak, but Danny wasn't the type to do that to an injured animal, no matter how badly behaved the animal was. A pair of rings circled his body and swished over him, restoring his human form. He dug into his pocket pulled out his cell phone and dialled his sister's number.
"Jazz? It's Danny… yes I know what time is… but you don't understand I… I'm at the park and I really need you to come get me… no, don't bring your car, use the Fenton RV… never mind why just do it!"
He hung up and gazed at the bear beside him. A cold wet feeling nipped at his arm – a rough yet soothing tongue licked his elbow. Such a sweet thing, yet so destructive and angry its eyes were losing colour. He stroked its warm furry head and scratched behind its ears. One more whimper tore at his insides when saffron eyes flickered and slowly closed…
Danny's alarm clock harshly woke him up at 7.30 AM… on a Saturday no less.
Memories of last night flooded his brain as he yawned and stretched his arms. He finally caught that black bear, but it was badly injured. The phone call to his sister rang in his mind when he reminded himself of her expression. Sat on the grass and stroking the fur of a big fluffy beast probably wasn't the way she expected to find him. Battered and bruised from a ghost fight perhaps, but this? Yeah, it kinda freaked her out.
Either way he was grateful when she helped the animal into the RV, and then to clean and dress the wound, even when the great beast got testy about the sting of the disinfectant - threatening to wake the entire neighbourhood by way of a massive growl - was going above and beyond sisterly duties. Mind you, said duties became a lot more intense at the point she discovered her baby brother had been endowed with the powers of a ghost, following an 'accident' over a year ago.
It was quite funny, going to sleep on the floor of the lab next to a bear. Like some giant stuffed animal that breathed heavily on his face and huge paws which could easily do some damage. To be perfectly honest, it comforted him with warmth he rarely felt unless he was with Sam. He was lost in a completely euphoric state that he didn't experience often enough.
He rubbed his eyes and took in his surroundings.
Ghost portal, laboratory table, spectral weapons, Sam… Wait… Sam? To his right, in the exact place where that black bear once lay, was a very pale, very naked Goth girl.
"Holy hell!" Danny pushed himself away until he hit the wall.
Suddenly he had developed problems breathing and started to hyperventilate. He couldn't stop shaking. His heartbeat was loud as it throbbed in the depths of his chest and his face was on fire. This was starting to look like the plot of a fantasy/romance Tokyopop Manga. What's the name of that one where that guy brings home a perso-something and she was pretty much naked? Chobits, right? Yeah, it was looking like that.
Sam had… you know, and… wow, those were nice…
Oh God what was he thinking? He really didn't need to see this, not yet… so why was it that he simply couldn't look away? His eyes caressed the taut pale flesh hugging her perfect hourglass body, and she had all the streamline sexiness of a brand new Lotus Elise with angel eyes headlights. Subconsciously she must've known she was exposed. Her arms crossed over her chest covering something, and her legs were pulled up against her waist covering something else.
A drop of blood hit the lino floor of his parent's lab. His finger was covered in red juice when he brushed it over his lip. Oh jeez! Damn nosebleed… this situation kept getting worse. How did she get here and why for the love of heaven was she naked? She definitely wouldn't just take her clothes off in front of him, she wasn't the exhibitionist type, and there was no way she could've gotten in the basement, after all she had no reason to be there, unless…
"Oh no… No… It's just not possible…"
Then he sighted her left arm, it was bandaged up to the palm of her hand and her hair had been hand-braided into a French plait, tied neatly at the back with a pair of blue hair scrunchies. He didn't know how, or why, but all the evidence pointed to one conclusion - that his best friend was under some sort of curse that turned her into a foul-tempered black furred grizzly bear whenever she ate meat; leaving her as uncovered as the day God made her once she changed back.
It did sound farfetched that the grumpy creature which caused such a ruckus was in fact Sam disguised, but he had been made half ghost by a machine his parents built so they could contact the dead for crying out loud. Anything was plausible at this stage.
She stirred lightly. Danny froze.
Oh crap…
He was well and truly doomed if she couldn't remember anything from the past few days. Imagine waking up nude in some guy's basement after a five-day memory blank. It's pretty bad right? Now imagine that the guy was your best friend, and without warning you're looking at over a decade of friendship getting smeared all over the walls like pig's guts at an abattoir. Sam limply rose up, stretching her arms behind her back, inadvertently showing off a couple of things that were partially hidden earlier.
"Danny?"
"Y-yeah, it's me…" He replied, facing the other way.
She felt a chill streak through her skin and when she looked down at herself, it became apparent why he refused to look at her. The bandage on her arm was firm and neatly tied. She ran her hands over her hair and discovered the pattern of a loose weave. Her tone fell to a rabid disappointment.
"Why did you feed me that meatball?"
"I think another good question is why you didn't tell me about your 'allergic reaction' to meat."
"I didn't know it would happen again,"
"Again? You mean this has happened before?" Danny shouted, turning around to face her but turning right back when he remembered her unclothed status.
"As a child, I think I was about two, my Grandma gave me a piece of beef jerky because I was teething. Needless to say, the result wasn't pretty," Sam held herself, trying to cover up her insecurities. "At the risk of being thrown in the loony bin she never told my parents, but she traumatised me into never eating it again. She told me about my little problem at age eight when I started to question my vegetarianism. I don't know how or why, but meat messes with my D.N.A."
"I just wish you'd told me before, at least then you've got a good reason to tell me and Tucker to back off when we bug you," He hung his head in self-loathing.
Hesitant, but desperately wanting to make him feel better, she crawled over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Her head rested on top of his as she hugged him. She may have momentarily forgotten she was naked, but he certainly didn't. He felt her breasts pushing against him and blushed to the roots of his hair when it became painfully clear; the only thing between her lush bosom and his bare back was a thin cotton t-shirt. They were both so pre-occupied with each other that they didn't notice someone open the basement door.
"Hey Danny, just thought I'd- OH MY GOD!" Jazz screamed. Danny and Sam looked up at her innocently while she covered her eyes. "I don't wanna know, I don't wanna know, I don't…"
They heard her mutter when she blindly turned around and walked away. Blue eyes and blushing cheeks stared back at Sam, filled with major embarrassment.
"Um, maybe we should get you some clothes…"
OK, it's weird I know, but I blame the anchovies on my pizza for this one XD
SS2K4