Here's chapter 4! Don't forget to leave your comments- it's good for morale -grin-
Enjoy!
Samantha Manson
The restaurant now completely empty, I transformed in plain sight and dashed up to my room. I shoved the room card key into the slot and burst through the door.
"Dude, what happened?" Tucker said in surprise as he pressed the mute button on the remote. "Your date only started half an hour ago."
I ignored his remark and rushed to my bag, from which I took out my blackberry and opened the GhostZone application Tucker had downloaded for me. He threw the remote on the bed and came over to see what I was doing.
"What's going on?" he asked. "Ghost trouble?"
"Plasmius decided he'd pay me a little visit during my date," I grumbled.
"Yikes. What happened to the chick?"
I rolled my eyes. "Alejandra," I said, accentuating her name, "Ran off with all the other people from the restaurant. She'll be fine…I just need to get to the Ghost Zone…now."
"Why?" Tucker frowned. "Plasmius is gone, isn't he? Why don't you just leave him alone and finish up your date? You know, I hear women these days are really into the whole 'rescue the maiden from the monster' bit…or 'from the ghost' in this case."
"Tuck, it's not about Plasmius…I, uh- I need to go get something from in there before Vlad decides to blast it to pieces." I don't know what he meant with that threat, but I have to get in there and get Samantha before he does something to her. "Tucker, look, I really need to go," I said as I pressed a yellow square on my phone's screen. Immediately, a hologram portal shot out of my phone. I had managed to find a way to make portals appear whenever I wanted by copying the original portal into my phone's memory system. All I had to do to get in the Ghost Zone was open the right application and press the 'Activate Ghost Zone' button.
Tucker nodded. "See ya in a bit, Danny."
I transformed into Phantom, sending a shiver up my spine, and put my foot the hologram while still tightly holding onto my phone. I pressed the 'Activate' button, and after suffering from a brief bout of vertigo, I opened my eyes and found that I was in floating in the middle of an endless sea of greenness: the Ghost Zone. I started flying through the Zone, searching behind doors and boulders for Samantha.
"If I were Vlad," I mumbled under my breath while opening a door that lead into some place called Fairy World, "Where would I hide an heiress?"
Just then, I heard a very unwelcome voice from behind me. "You needn't look for her, boy."
I took a deep breath to calm my nerves before turning around to face my smirking arch-nemesis. "Vlad. What a surprise," I managed through clenched teeth.
"No need for hostility, Daniel. I've simply come to give your precious Samantha."
My eyebrows shot up for a moment but then my eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why?"
"Oh I'm most certainly not taking back my promise. I've certainly got something in store for you, my boy…that is, unless you've changed your mind about joining me? It would save you a lot of pain," he said, his lips curling into a smile.
I scowled in response. Who did this ghost think he was, exactly? I wouldn't join him if my life depended on it...
"Alright. Whatever you want, my boy. I just decided that since either way, I'm going to end up getting what I want, I may as well make your life easier by giving you the girl." He gave a small sigh and snapped his fingers. Instantaneously, a young woman about my age appeared next to him. Her hands were tied behind her back and she had a handkerchief wrapped around her mouth. She was struggling so hard to get out of her bonds that strands of hair were falling on her face.
"Here you are, child," Plasmius said, gesturing to Samantha Manson. "Now if you two don't mind, I have some things to take care of." And with a snap and a wave of his cape, he disappeared. I stood there in shock for a moment before I realized that Samantha was still tied up.
Apologizing, I rushed over and started untying the ropes around her hands as well as the cloth on her mouth. "Are you alright, Miss Manson?" I asked.
She gave a small huff. "Ugh, would you let go of me? I don't need some ghost helping me."
Slightly offended, I backed off. That's not exactly what I was expecting to hear… "Okay…um, look, we need to get out of here before Vlad changes his mind and comes back for us."
"Right," she scoffed. "Like I'm going anywhere with you. I'll find my way out of here on my own," she said contemptuously as she brushed off her skirt.
"Good luck with that," I said, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow. "There's no way for humans to get out of here."
She had already started looking around for a way out, but when she realized that there were too many portals and doors, she turned around to face me. "Fine," she said impatiently. "But get on with it. I have places to be."
I rolled my eyes. "Yes, your majesty," I muttered under my breath. You have places to be? I have places to be…places like with a gorgeous model.
I pulled out my phone and pushed the Ghost Zone button. As I waited for my app to load, I got my first good look at her. She had hazel eyes and shoulder length black hair, and was wearing gold heels and a white, professional-looking, ruffled blouse and black skirt. She looked as though she was about to step onto the red carpet or something.
Samantha caught me looking at her and glowered. "What're you looking at, ghost?"
I sighed in annoyance. "Look, just tell me where you want to go so we can get on with this."
"Home," she said curtly. "To Amityville."
"Fine," I said and typed Amityville in the outgoing bar on the phone. "Hold onto my hand."
Reluctantly, she held onto my hand and in a moment, we were back in Amityville, near the country club. "There." I said shortly. She seemed slightly disoriented for a moment, but she almost immediately regained her previous, uptight composure. She brushed the hand that had been holding mine on her skirt, as if I had dirtied it. Insulted, I announced, "Now if that's all, I have places to be," and held up my phone, promptly transporting myself back to my room in Switzerland.
After another brief moment of dizziness, I opened my eyes and found myself in my hotel room.
"That was fast," Tucker noted as I threw my phone back into my suitcase and transformed to my human half.
"Yeah," I said dryly, still bitter about the way that uptight, bad-tempered, country club elitist had treated me. I sighed. "Anyways, I really should go find Alejandra and apologize fo-,"
"Uh, Danny?" Tucker interrupted, "Alejandra came over to leave a message. She said she didn't appreciate the way 'you disappeared the second your precious life was in danger and that she didn't want to ever see you again'. Her words, dude, not mine," he added when he saw the look on my face.
"Oh yeah, because that makes it so much better," I sighed as I threw myself on the sofa.
"Sorry, man."
"Ah, it's not your fault. Look, Tuck, I'm gonna turn in early tonight, okay?" I said.
"Suit yourself, dude. I'm going to the gym, okay?"
I frowned. "You don't work out."
"Yeah, but Alejandra's sister does," he winked.
I shook my head, though I couldn't help feeling slightly amused. I changed into my pyjama pants and a t-shirt, turned off the light next to me and got into bed.
Well at least now I don't have to worry about Manson pressing charges against Phantom…instead I can stress about whatever it is Vlad is planning and about why he gave me Samantha without so much as a fight. Honestly. Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed.
