Chapter 2
-1 year ago-
White Mist was all around me. I knew I was dreaming and it was a happy dream also. Roxanne and I were on top of Crowley Hill. This hill had sad and happy memories along with it. Next thing I knew black mist replaced the white and a dark figure approached me. Roxanne and the hill disappeared along with the white mist. "Johnny, Johnny." The figure smiled as it got closer with every touch. "You're no good to me dead!" I winced as I heard the familiar words that had haunted me throughout my life. "You'll become the Ghost Rider and hunt down someone for me." I tossed and turned. I tried running away but I couldn't move my feet.
"Your son will become the Ghost Rider, and he will work for me!" The figure said laughing the entire time. "Take good care of him for me!"
I screamed as loud as I could. "NO!! He will not become your bounty hunter!!"
"Johnny!!" A voice said, so calm and soothing. "Johnny! Wake up you're having a nightmare!" A hand shook me awake as I sat up on the couch with sweat dripping down my face. I was breathing hard as I held my head in my hands.
"Johnny are you alright?" Roxanne asked sweetly, trying to calm me down.
"What the hell happened to J.B.?" Mack asked Roxanne.
"He must have had a nightmare." She responded with worry on her face.
After I calmed down I looked up. I smiled and said, "I'm alright. It was just a nightmare." I took a deep breath and got up. Roxanne was still worried about me, she could tell that something was bothering me, but she dare didn't ask me.
"Do you know what time it is?" I asked yawning and stretching at the same time.
Roxanne looked down at her watch and replied, "It's 2:55 p.m. Why?"
"I have to go pick up Alex from school." I replied grabbing my leather jacket from the closet and headed toward the door of the garage. As I walked through the door I stopped and looked at Grace and smiled. I got on her and turned on the throttle. I started backing out and hit the gas when I got on the road. I missed the wind in my face since I don't feel it that much at night when I'm Ghost Rider.
It was 3:10 when I finally got through all the traffic and reached his school. He was sitting on the bench in front of the school waiting for me. I guess he must have heard Grace because he looked up and smiled. He got up and waved at me, and I waved at me. I pulled up along side of the curb. He jumped on and wrapped his arms around my waist.
"How was school?" I asked hitting the gas again.
"Good and long." He replied.
"Have any homework tonight?"
"Nope! That's why I'm so happy!" He shouted.
"OH. You're not happy to see me?" I joked.
"DAD. You know I'm always happy to see you."
"I know." When we got back to our house and I parked Grace back in her spot, Alex jumped off and ran off into the house.
As I walked into the house I saw Roxanne's happy face.
"Hi mom!" Alex said as he gave her a hug.
"Hello sweetie." She replied ruffling his hair. "How was your last day of school?"
"Good, but long." He replied.
"Hi Uncle Mack."
"Hi." I was hanging up my jacket when Alex asked his mother a question.
"Hey mom, I've been meaning to ask you a question." Alex said letting go of his mother.
"Yes?" She crossed her arms.
"I've been feeling really, really hot lately. I mean it's kinda hard to sleep when I feel like I'm on fire." He put his hand to his forehead. I froze in my tracks and my heart started beating faster.
"Oh. Maybe you're getting sick honey." Roxanne said putting her hand up against his forehead.
"Roxanne," I said turning toward her. "I need to speak to you for a moment." She only nodded and turned to follow me upstairs to our bedroom. When we did reach our bedroom I sat down on the bed and patted the spot next to me, and she sat down.
"What's wrong Johnny?" She asked putting her arm around my shoulders.
"In my nightmare, Mephitopheles came to me and spoke to me." I paused to let this sink into her mind. Her face lost some of its color at the mention of his name. "He said 'Your son will become the Ghost Rider, and he will work for me!'" Roxanne let go of me and her hand covered her mouth. She started crying.
"S--So, our son?" She made a motion with her hand.
"Yes, he will become the Ghost Rider." I hugged her as she cried a little harder. I knew that this was going to happen and I accepted it a long time ago. But Roxanne, she didn't want her only son to go hunt demons at night.
"Look at the bright side," I said looking into her eyes. "He'll have me to help him out when he changes."
"But he's too young to handle something like this!" She whispered.
"Honey, he's a teenager." I said. "Now go wipe away those tears and let's go downstairs.
"Alright." She got up and wiped away her tears. "Do you think we should tell Alex 'bout this?"
"Not yet."
It was 12:00 exactly when we heard a scream. It came from down the hall from Alex's room. We looked at each other and got out of bed. We ran down to his room, but when we got there he was gone. The window had been shattered into pieces and some were on fire.
"Johnny?!" Roxanne whispered. "Do you hear that?" I listened closely; as I did I heard the roar of an engine. 'GRACE!' I thought as I raced down the stairs and into the garage. She was gone and so was Alex. There was scorch marks and burned concrete showing the path that the motorcycle had taken. I told Roxanne to get into the car so that we could follow him and Grace.
"Johnny, for heaven's sake will you slow down!?" She was scared that we might crash or get caught by a cop. I, on the other hand, was too worried about Alex. My mind was racing, 'Damn! I didn't think it would happen this early!' I only frowned in frustration. When we caught up to them my eyes widen in fear. He had already transformed into the Ghost Rider, and so did Grace.
Ghost Rider must have felt someone staring at him 'cause he turned around and looked straight at us. He looked back at the room and pointed to something in the horizon. At first I didn't recognize it but after a few seconds I did. He was headed toward the graveyard that is kept by Caretaker, also know as Carter Slade. I was a little confused as to why Ghost Rider would go back there. Then it hit me, that's were I went when I first changed.
After 10 minuets of following the same road we turned onto a gravel road that led straight up to the graveyard. The jolt of the car woke Roxanne up.
"Where are we?" She asked sleepily.
"Remember when I told you about a guy called 'Caretaker?'"
"Yeah."
"Well this is where he lives." When we stopped we got out of the car and walked up to the shack. When we opened the door we saw that Caretaker and Ghost Rider were deep in conversation. They turned their heads toward us when they heard the door close. Caretaker was sitting on a chair while Ghost Rider was leaning casually against the opposite wall.
"Hello Johnny." He said in a menacing voice.
"Where is Alex?" I asked looking straight at him and taking a step forward.
"Inside of me, just like you were." He responded looking back at Caretaker.
Notes: Wow. This chapter has 1,355 words. That's the most I've ever done. O-O
Anyway I hoped that you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading!
-Grimmy