Don't look into the shadows, for you will see them.
Don't walk the deserted streets alone, for they will see you.
They are an ancient evil from before the great Egyptians walked the earth.
They have haunted humanity since there was the first sliver of malice in the world.
They strive to rid the world of the tainted people; the unjust; the ones who are unfit to live among us.
They do not realize that we are all tainted.
Every single one of us.
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PART ONE: Ghost Island
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Chapter One: Landing Hard
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A deserted island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean; covered in lush vegetation and various wildlife. All is tranquil. In the middle of the island is a large freshwater oasis. There are cliffs and mountains along the south side of the island, jungle to the north, sand to the east, and a river to the ocean on the west. But there is more to the island than meets the eye.
The island is for ghosts; those that are too dangerous to keep in either the Ghost Zone or among the humans on Earth. It is the in-between place. Once there, you cannot escape, unless you know the way out.
Few do.
Which comes to the beginning of the story. On the east side of the island, where the water first laps up onto the sand, there is a bright green light. From that light three familiar figures are tossed, with no cares as to where they land. They hit the sand and roll a ways before coming to a stop. The green portal vanishes behind them as quickly as it came.
The first one sits up, coughing. He is a young teenager, with scruffy black hair. As he looks up and blinks you can see his crystal blue eyes set in a rather handsome face. The boy brushes sand off of his white t-shirt, of which is decorated with red stripes on the hem and sleeves, and a red circle on the chest. Then he stands, and does the same to his jeans and sneakers.
The boy's name is Daniel Fenton, more commonly known as Danny. Though his frame is somewhat scrawny and he looks innocent and child-like, he harbors dark secrets that are hard to keep. One of these secrets is that Danny is part ghost, due to a freak accident involving a ghost portal. As of yet it hasn't been explained, but Ghost DNA was somehow transferred into him.
"Where the heck am I?" Danny asked, confused. The sight of the island was beautiful, yet frightening. Looking in one direction you could see only water, but to turn and look in the other direction all you could see was sand. If you squinted you might be able to make out the forms of trees and mountains in the distance.
There was movement and a groan from his right. Danny looked, barely turning his head.
One of his two companions shook her head, blinking a couple times. She stretched a hand over her eyes to block out the searing June sun that illuminated the island. Her top and skirt were starting to become hot, and for the first time in her fourteen years she contemplated wearing some color other than black. She pushed herself to her feet, a frown playing across her features.
"Sam," Danny said, walking over. "Do you know where we are?"
Samantha Manson, or Sam, as Danny had called her, shook her head, sending particles of sand flying from her jet-black hair. "Not a clue," she replied. She turned her head to the right, then the left, observing the area. "Where's Tucker?"
Danny gestured behind him with his head. Tucker Foley, the African-American boy, was sprawled on the ground and picking up his PDA, cell phone, and laptop. Sam rolled her purple eyes at this. The technology always came first, didn't it?
Tucker pushed his glasses farther up on his nose and looked down at the screen of his PDA with confusion. "I don't get it," he said to his friends. "I can't tell where we are."
"That's good news," Sam dead-panned, crossing her arms. She and Danny walk behind Tucker to look at the screen of the small gadget.
"We're here," Tucker said, pointing to a blinking red dot in the middle of what was marked as the Atlantic Ocean. "But the map says that we're floating in seawater. The island doesn't exist."
Danny knelt down and grabbed a fistful of sand, letting it run through his fingers to the ground. "It looks pretty real to me."
As they were looking at each other with bemused expressions, a large shadow fell on them. They simultaneously looked up.
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As this was going on, another green light appeared on the south side of the island. Flung out of this portal were only two figures, a boy and girl. As they hit the hard ground their faces and hands were scratched and bruised, and they cried out in sudden pain.
The boy was dirty blonde and had very messy hair. His eyes were dark blue, very close to black. He was not very tall, but appeared to be about 5 feet. His red shirt and jeans were ripped against a rock as he had fallen to the ground.
The girl was on the ground, in the fetal position and holding her arm. She dug her fingernails into the skin with a wince, but as the hand glowed blue her face contorted into one of severe pain. With a sharp intake of breath, she let go of her previously bleeding arm, revealing dried blood and a scar. The girl wiped at her face.
Her skin was Mediterranean, her eyes and hair both the same shade of dark brown. There were miniscule streaks of blonde and red in her hair that gave a faint sparkle. She wore a black top with a white line around the bust, and jeans, with orange lacing down the side.
"Chaiya," the boy asked, scuttling over. "Are you all right?" She nodded.
"Yeah, Neil, I'm fine. Have you seen my glasses?" She looked up at him as he shook his head.
"Sorry, no."
"Darn."
Chaiya leaned on Neil's shoulder, and the thirteen-year-olds both stood. The girl rested her very small figure against her friend, squinting as she searched for her glasses. A brown line appeared beneath her, but with her very bad vision she could not tell what it was. She bent down to grab it, a necklace falling out of her shirt and dropping towards the ground, stopped by only a chain.
As her hands closed around the object she recognized the feel as that of her glasses and hurriedly pushed them onto her face. The world became clear and Chaiya emitted a sigh of relief.
The problem at hand solved, both teens looked around at their surroundings. They were up very high on a mountain top, and had an overview of an island. From where they were, it had the look of a deformed four-leaf clover, and they were standing on the stem. Neil perceived it to be about two by two miles. They could see mountains surrounding them, and then a very steep drop-off 3/4 of a mile away from them.
After that drop-off was a large pool of water, that was glistening in the bright sunlight. To their right they saw a vast area of sand, at least a mile wide. Past both the water and the sand was a jungle, as big, if not bigger, than the desert area. To their left they saw a system of cave some out of the steep drop, then a river leading from the lake-sized pool to the ocean. Branching off of the river was what appeared to be a stream, but in reality must have been huge. The stream led to a smaller inlet of water.
It was all breathtaking, and for a while the two just stared. But after a moment, Chaiya realized something.
"Jen?" She asked, looking around suddenly. Neil kept watching, oblivious. "Jen?" Chaiya said more urgently, running over to where the mountain they stood on began to steeply angle down.
"JEN!"
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Rose struggled against the death hold of the vines that held her. It was dark; the trees were so densely packed around her, and silent. A bird called far-off, only adding to her apprehension.
"Help!" She called in a southern tone out into the forest. Was she expecting an answer? No, but she could hope. The leaves and twigs were caught in her jet-black hair, and her red eyes were starting to well up with angry tears. "Is anyone out there?" She asked, glaring.
Suddenly there was a horrible crack, and she came crashing through the brush with a very loud scream. The last thing Rose knew was the sensation of falling, and then the world was black.
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The whimpering in the area was a stark contrast to the eerie and complete silence of the grassy knoll. A small child, perhaps only 8 or 9, was crouched on the ground, shivering. She held her hands over her head with fear and was hardly aware of her tranquil surroundings. The wind picked up slightly and made a whirling noise as it passed through the grass. The young girl let out a cry and ducked her head.
She missed her mother, and her father, but mostly her sister. She didn't know where she was and the girl felt too frightened to move. A memory of her parents telling her to stay where she was if she ever got lost came to her, but she was panicked. As the wind picked up once more she let out a scream and bolted across the grasses.
There was a wooded area off in the distance. As she ran at breakneck speed, running on pure fear and adrenaline, she whipped past a tree. It caught her sleeve, and as she struggled to get loose the fabric ripped. As soon as she was free from the branch she dashed away.
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The three teens looked up at the cause of the shadow. They could not believe their eyes when they saw a dragon. Yes, a dragon. The creature stood on his hind legs much like a human, and had his front legs crossed like arms.
It had a long, rectangular head that ended in a sort of rounded point. At the top of its head were two green horns, spiraling inward and about a foot in length. The eyes of the dragon were red with black pupils. It stood about six feet tall, but from head to tail was probably twice that. The dragon was a blue-green color, and has a green underbelly. His claws were green, sharp, and specked with ectoplasm. There were five fingers on each of his feet. On the right arm of this dragon was a gold brace with a strange red mark. The mark was also located on his forehead. Curled around the dragon's body were two light blue wings of great length. And along the dragon's back, down to its tail, was a green ridge of plates.
Danny, Sam, and Tucker gulped simultaneously.
"Hello children," the dragon said in a deep, menacing voice. "What brings you to Ghost Island?"