Chapter 4 - Ghostly Encounters: Part One
Fire. Parading like a triumphant army, inflicting pain wherever it goes. There is pain. An awful lot of it. Tearing at his soul like a savage animal. They can't be gone, they just can't.
The tears evaporate as soon as they form, courtesy of the heat. The boy, shaken and fragile, rises hastily from his spot on the floor, surrounded by the rubble of his once lovable hangout. His mind refuses to believe what it knows to be true. What he sees before him. Taking absolutely no care in where he treads, the boy makes his way to the centre of the site.
His vision is stained red, whether it is just the fire or the feeling of death around him, he isn't quite sure and in all honesty, he doesn't care. He needs to find them, he needs to save them, it's his job, it's what he needs to do! Stumbling once or twice, he gets there, the place he last saw his family alive.
A single tear found its way down Danny's face. He couldn't hold back the memories of that day, and he doubted he ever would be able to. It was too much for his mind to swallow. He had lost everything; everything that had ever meant anything to him. His friends, his family… his life.
And it was all his fault.
Horrific images of what he had seen when he had found their death site flickered in and out of his head, hurting more with every visit. He wished they would go away; he wished he could just forget. Whatever it took to be rid of the ever growing pain in his heart.
The boy sniffed and wiped at his eyes. It was true, his 'escape plan' had completely exploded in his face. As it turned out he wasn't quite as healed as he thought he was. Getting only a mile or two from the house wasn't something he was proud of. Crash landing for the second time in two days? Well that was just humiliating, and something he didn't plan on sharing with anyone.
Not that he had anyone to share it with.
He took a steadying breath. He needed to get a grip on himself. If he cried like this every time his memories decided to pop in and say hello then he might as well carry around a bucket; 'save the tears from staining the floor' as his Dad used to say. If past experiences had taught him anything it was to just keep on going.
Apparently if you smile for long enough, you actually become happy.
A bitter laugh escaped the boy. As if he had anything to smile about in the first place. Besides, he didn't really fancy looking like an idiot, sat on a log in the middle of a forest grinning to himself just seconds after sobbing.
He had no idea where he was. He hadn't really been surveying his surroundings while in flight. It was definitely something he regretted, but it was something he couldn't change. Glaring up at the stars as though they were to blame for his onslaught of bad luck, the boy wrapped his arms around his throbbing chest. It seemed his injuries were irritatingly more painful in his ghost form. What made it worse was that the treatment and bandages he had received in human form hadn't transferred to his more ghostly one. He didn't really know what he had expected but he definitely hadn't counted on the amount of physical pain he was in. Wasn't his ghost half supposed to heal faster?
The clearing in which he was now sat was surprisingly beautiful. The glow emitting from his body effectively lit up the scene, preventing the darkness from swallowing it whole. If you looked further into the wood, the shadows cast by said glow could have been interpreted as spooky, but Danny was familiar enough with the dark to see it's true glamour.
To his left, a barrage of trees, each a deep, soft brown, guarded a series of rabbit warrens. To his right, a nest hosting four yet-to-hatch eggs sat upon the thin branches of a lighter barked and overall more welcoming tree. The first time Danny had landed he hadn't hesitated in taking in the view. He was currently surrounded by more breeds of tree than he had previously known existed.
Danny could swear that if he listened close enough, he could hear the cry of a coyote. Did New York even have coyotes? All around him, even the soiled floor he was stood on, seemed to be crawling with life.
So of course he shouldn't have been surprised by a shuffling sound, just ten metres behind him.
The young halfa jumped and flew from his seat. He landed awkwardly before spinning on the spot and pulling his arms up, falling into an instinctive defensive stance. What he saw took him completely by surprise.
Danny narrowed his eyes. What was she doing here? He slowly took in the oversized coat, the tangled brown bed-head and the worn, though startled eyes. It looked as though she'd come straight from her duvet.
Melinda.
The two stared at each other for a long while, neither knowing what to say. Realising he was still in his defence stance, Danny blushed, instantly dropping his arms and straightening up. At this, Melinda also seemed to relax, even if only slightly.
"Sorry, you haven't seen a boy come through here, have you?""
Danny blinked, in shock, unable to answer the question. She was looking for him? Why? It was the middle of the night… Plus… why wasn't she running away? As far as he was aware, Grandview didn't get ghosts – she should be freaking out.
"Pretty average looking, black hair, blue eyes, fairly short," she prompted, eyes scanning the area. He couldn't tell if she was angry, worried, or just tired. The crease in her forehead indicated all three. "It's just that, well, he kind of ran away and I think he came past here."
"Uh… No, no I haven't sorry." His hand snuck to the back of his neck, lie adding to his awkwardness. Wait. Did she call him short?
Melinda sighed, glancing around the clearing a final time before nodding. "Okay… well… thanks anyway." She turned to leave.
Danny watched as the woman took a few steps, and frowned slightly. Was she really this interested in his welfare? The thought struck up a warm feeling in his chest. It was quickly doused however by a different, more disturbing thought. Maybe she was some sort of psychopath that liked to pray on children. Okay, so it wasn't his smartest thought but it was certainly possible.
"Hey, wait!" He couldn't stop himself, he had to know. The woman turned back to him, a weary expression on her face.
"What do you want with him?" Danny cocked his head in honest curiosity. She couldn't hurt him whilst he was in this form, what harm could asking do? Melinda blinked, as if it were the oddest question he could have asked.
"How do you know he isn't my son?" she asked, half-heartedly. Danny narrowed his eyes. Could he get away with saying that he was an all-knowing ghost? Those apparently existed. Melinda stared at him for a while before letting go of whatever was on her mind, and shrugging. "I guess I want him to be safe. I'm a mother, I have a natural protective side."
"No, that's not it," Danny commented, before he could think better of it. There was something not normal about Melinda – about her whole family. Her reason for wanting to keep him safe wasn't as simple as she made out, and this could be his way of finding out why.
"You want my honest answer?" She asked firmly but not unkindly. Danny nodded. Sighing, the woman removed her hands from her pockets and folded them across her chest."He's different. I don't know what it is, but there's something… I feel like I need to keep him safe. Keep him secret."
Well that wasn't helpful. She thought him as odd as he thought her. Great.
"Cool." he murmured, not really knowing how else to answer.
"What's your name?" she asked, tone suddenly shifting. She advanced, as though they'd had some kind of connection and now they were friends.
"Phantom," he replied, deciding it wasn't worth pulling away. He didn't know why, but he trusted Melinda. She made him feel oddly safe.
A flicker of amusement danced on Melinda's face. "Phantom? Creative."
Well at least if she was smiling, she wasn't preparing to rip his human head off. Silence settled over the pair as they took each other in.
"So, what are you doing out here?" Melinda asked, finally. The young ghost stared at her a while longer, pondering whether or not to answer. He wasn't going to admit that he was lost, because… well how stereotypical ghost could you get?
"Thinking." he murmured simply.
Danny moved back to his seat. He took care in sitting down, feeling the pain in his chest throb with his movements and glanced back up at Melinda. The way she was hugging her coat suggested that she was cold. He hadn't really thought about temperature when he'd ventured out. Maybe he should have packed something warm.
Packed. Crud, the duffel bag. Danny's gaze fell to the brown lump behind his log.
"You picked a good spot for it," she joked lightly. He felt to panic rise in his chest as she moved towards him.
"Yeah, it's… it's pretty." He adjusted his position so as to block the bag from view as she advanced. When it was clear she was wanting to sit down, he swung his leg over the log and turned the bag intangible. Before she could get close enough to see what he was doing, he phased the bag into the log.
"Come here often?" she asked, apparently oblivious to his antics. She sat down beside him.
"No, not really. I guess you could say I'm new to the place." Danny sighed, unconsciously rubbing his chest. If Melinda noticed, she didn't mention it.
"Really?" She frowned and pulled her coat tighter as she examined the clearing. She looked colder by the second. Danny couldn't help the feeling of guilt that sparked in his stomach.
"Yeah," Danny muttered not completely understanding the question. Before either of them could say any more, Melinda's phone began to ring. She pulled the device from her pocket and stared at the name that flashed on the screen.
"Jim..." she whispered, debating whether or not to answer it.
"You should probably get that." Danny nodded to the device, discretely passing his hand through the log to reach for the duffel bag. If he wanted to get anywhere by morning, he'd have to start moving now.
Melinda looked over at him, and he could see the conflict in her face. After a second, she nodded, and accepted the call.
"Hey, Jim. No, I'm still looking..."
Danny bit his lip, fighting his guilt as he pulled up the duffel bag and slipped into invisibility. She'd be fine. She'd let go of him eventually, it wasn't like he was all that important to her, despite her apparent need to protect him. With a little sigh, he stood and made his way out of the clearing.
It didn't take long for him to find his way out of the wood. As he reached the Grandview's town centre, he began to realise just how drained his escape attempt had left him. Deciding the best way to conserve energy was to let go of his ghost half, Danny transformed.
The cold hit him like an ice bath. He shuddered as the air hit him at every angle, finding its way to his bare arms and sneaking underneath his clothes. He tugged on the sleeves of his shirt, as though the action alone would shield him from the brutal temperature shift.
Grandview was beautiful, even at night. The dimly lit stores provided the street with colour, the paint coating their walls almost glowing. A few potted trees scattered the pavement. Everything looked so orderly, so quaint. Danny felt a pang in his heart as his thoughts fell back to his own, more densely populated home-town.
A small shiver claimed his body as he took a few more steps forward. He had no clue where he was going and, in all honesty, he didn't care. Something would turn up, whether he wanted it too or not. That's how he ended up with Melinda. He'd already lasted one night alone in the streets of Grandview, what harm would another do?
If Danny had listened closely, he would have heard the sound of an engine roaring to life. He would have heard the sound of tyres against tarmac and maybe it would have dawned on him that the vehicle causing this disturbance to the otherwise silent night, was racing towards him at speeds that well exceeded the local limits. However, as things turned out, Danny remained unaware of the oversized white van until it pulled up in front of him, effectively cutting short his walk.
Before the boy could react, two rather brutish looking men jumped from the van's back doors and grabbed him, an arm each, before dragging him back into the same vehicle. It was all Danny could do to yelp as he was violently shoved onto what seemed to be a rather hard, metal bench. Just as he began to get his bearings, the van doors slammed shut, killing the light that had been allowed to leak in.
Scared and in shock, the young halfa found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move. His whole body seemed frozen in a rigid and uncomfortable position, his back was pressed against the wall of the van, knees were pressed together on the edge of his chair and his arms were firmly by his side. He didn't know to whom he owed the pleasure of the obviously planned 'pick up' but he knew the person didn't mean him well. The fact was confirmed somewhat by the voice that sounded from the other side of the van.
"Hello, Daniel."
AN(09/05/2016): I am so much happier with this chapter now that it's been edited. It went from being around 4500 words, to 2400 and it is so much better for it. As a chapter I have hated for a long time, this is a very good thing.
I'm going to leave you with that thought and perhaps consider sleeping.
~Mea
