It has been 2 weeks since Danny saw her cousin Irma and now, with only a few kilometers of road separating her from Heatherfield, the young teen was practically bouncing in her seat beside her sister Ella. Furthermore, she couldn't wait to get out of the old bus that she had been stuck in for the past 7 hours with her older sister Ella, her older brother Mike, her little sister Gwen, her baby brother Jack, Janet, and her alcoholic uncle Roger. Jack had been crying his head off for no true reason other than that he hated car rides and Gwen kept kicking the back of Danny's seat. The joys of siblinghood.
"Are we there yet?" Gwen asked for the 20th time in the past hour.
"Gwen, if you keep asking this, I will throw you out that window without hesitation." Snapped Ella from the driver's seat, brushing back a strand of her choppy, electric-blue colored, hair. She had been up for the past 18 hours and annoying drive with her siblings was the last thing she wanted. Furthermore, she hated moving back to Heatherfield. Besides a job at the local junkyard, she never managed to keep a position there; it also didn't help that they were moving back to another dinky, rundown, house with the added bonus of having to house their uncle Roger. With Roger, there was no true form of tolerating him; when he was sober, he was a creep that attempted to flirt with any female in sight and, when drunk, would lay around like a rock. The only excuse the old kook had was that he was pushing 80 and wanted to enjoy the twilight years of his life.
"Hey Danny," Snapped Ella while using the review mirror to look in the back at her sibling. "Remember, Tony, Sydney, Rodney, and Kevin are coming tomorrow at 3:00 pm when your school lets out with all our things. I'll need you home by then to help with the unpacking and keeping an eye on Janet. I know Irma is going to want to take you to all sorts of places in Heatherfield, but I need you home ASAP. Got it?"
"Yes, Ella." Replied Danny while packing away her Walkman. Now her hair was even shorter than before and was now sporting a pixie-cut, which gave her even more of a boyish look than she already had. "Is there anything you want me to pick up on my way home?"
"Are you deaf? I said come home right away." Replied Ella, her annoyance and fatigue sounding in her voice and her amber-brown eyes looking like she wants to throw everyone out of the bus.
"Oh, common Ella." Mike sounded from the back of the bus. Mike was a tall, blond, man, built like a brick shed, and friendly to the point of appearing slow. "We ain't got any food at the house. Danny can pick-up a few things." He was keeping Katja on his lap and was petting the old bobcat as though it were a kitten.
"She can pick me up a few cigars." Added Roger, finally waking up from another hangover.
"And Jack and I want some ice-pops!" shouted Gwen from her seat behind Danny.
"We ain't got the cash for cigars, it is too cold for ice-pops, and we got bread and milk in the cold-box. We will be fine until Tony and the others get to us tomorrow. With the house we got, we are gonna need all the hands we can get." Replied Ella through grinding teeth. This happened all the time; she would make plans, one of her siblings would make a suggestion, and then she would have to play the role of the party pooper because they couldn't do it.
"Guys, Ella is right. We will survive until tomorrow evening and we will have a lot of work ahead of us. Plus, I don't remember where all the stores are, so I doubt I would be able to find anything decent by the time our brothers arrive. I just wanted to have something to say." Replied Danny and slouched deeper into her seat. She knew what can of worms she had opened and regretted it.
After another five hours in Heatherfield winter traffic, the small family finally reached their new home. To say Danny was crushed at the sight of the dinky rowhouse would have been an understatement. They lived in the area for lower-income families, the front of the house was overgrown by vines, the roof looked like it was leaky, the wooden floor of the front porch was splitting, and the pain of the front door was chipping. Even the porch swing looked like it was giving up on life. The inside of the building wasn't much better. The carpet floor was worn thin in some areas, use to be an off-white but now looked yellow. The wood paneling sported a thick layer of dust, smoking grime, and smelled as though someone once pissed on the wall. The kitchen, which was open to the living room and entryway, was covered in dust and grease; a short investigation into the refrigerator revealed that a mouse had died in it. The bathroom was in an equal state of disgustingness. The mirror to the medicine cabinet was cracked, the floor was greasy, the bathtub was caked in lime, the toilet sported a mysterious black rim just above the water line, the sink was rusty, and of the three lightbulbs above the sink, only one worked. This was more than just a 'fixer-upper', this was Satan's dumpster on Earth. At least the heater was working.
Still, this was going to be their new home, so might as well make the best of it.
Besides, thought Danny. We have had worse.
At the sight of the place, no one wanted anything from the cold-box except Roger, who helped himself to a can of soda and a few slices of bread. Then again, he survived both World War II and the Vietnam War, so he could stomach anything life had to throw. For a bed, Mike blew-up three large air mattresses in one of the rooms that would soon become a bedroom. Janet, like Roger, didn't seem to mind the state of the place, as she immediately sought out a dim corner and lay down on the dirty carpet like a dog in the hot sun. Katja chose the cleanest place in the house, which was the lime caked bathtub, to sleep in. Meanwhile, the six humans of the house shared the air mattresses and used old army field blankets to cover-up.
For a long while, Danny lay awake staring at the ceiling; she was trying to ignore Roger's smoke and alcohol reek, Ella's chainsaw-like snoring, and trying to figure out if the water stain on the ceiling resembled the country of Germany or Albert Einstein in side profile. Then Roger turned onto his side and flung his arm over Danny while his wrinkly hand fell on Ella's melon-sized breast. Did Danny want to scream and burn the entire place down? Yes. Did she want to use her spear on her bracelet and impale her great grandmother's brother? Yup, but the family needed his military retirement checks. Was she excited about tomorrow and seeing her new school? That was the only thing keeping her sane at the moment. At some time, probably around 2:00 am, Danny finally managed to drift to sleep despite Roger's smoky beer burps.
XXXXX
Morning came all too soon, furthermore, Danny had to wake up at 4:00 am since Ella had to run to the local Home Depot for paint and Mike had to start cleaning the place. Roger wasn't going to do anything but smoke on the front porch while keeping an eye on Jack. It was Danny's job to wake up her little sister Gwen and get them both ready for their first day at school. Despite still feeling disgusted about the house and sleeping arrangements, Danny forced town two slices of bread and a grew gulps of milk from the gallon jug from the cold-box. Gwen, like any young child, took ages to wake up and get dressed, despite only wearing dresses. Even in the cold, Heatherfield winter, Gwendolyn Downing always wore dresses. Danny, on the other hand, threw on whatever she could get her hands on before rushing out into the cold with her sister.
As the two Downing siblings walked down the dark, cold, and wet Heatherfield streets Danny tried to remember as much as she could about her childhood home, but a lot of places have changed; it was to the point Danny wasn't sure if this was still the same Heatherfield.
"That place use to sell the best strawberry ice-cream." Said Danny, pointing to a scented candle store. "You used to really like it, even if you only ever gummed the cone to death."
"Danny, all this was years ago." Replied Gwen, readjusting the straps of her pink, flower power, backpack. "Besides, I don't even like strawberry ice-cream."
"Geeze, you are acting like a crab today." Danny pointed out the sting in Gwen's young voice. "I was sure you slept just fine."
"Jack breathed his milk breath on me all night and I feel like my face is caked in grime. I hate that house and I hate that we moved here. Why couldn't we stay in Canada?" asked the 10-year old with her arms crossed and her blond hair seemed to dull with her mood.
"Hey, this wasn't my choice." Started Danny, knowing no amount of humor would lighten her sister's mood. "If it were my choice, we would be in Hawaii right now, sipping drinks from coconuts, decorated with tiny umbrellas. But, we have a job to do and, if Sydney is right, there are five Skin-Crawlers located here in Heatherfield."
"I hate those nasty things too. Why do we have to keep an eye on those things anyway?"
"I don't know Little Sparky, but we do. If you don't want to deal with those things, I can understand. Ella wants to keep you and Jack as far from the family business as possible…"
"Then why can't I stay with Tony?"
"Look, I don't make the rules in this family and if you keep this attitude up, you can sleep next to Roger tonight and endure his beer breath."
"Eww!" Shrieked the 10-year old. "That is even worse!"
This continued until the two saw the Sheffield Institute where Gwen became quiet. Despite loving her sister, she didn't want to be associated with her on their first day at the new school because of Danny's atrocious fashion sense. While Gwen wore a pink and white flower print sundress with brown boots, a wide brown belt, and a fitting brown jacket. Danny, on the other hand, wore her worn combat boots, Roger's old camouflage army pants, a neon-purple plaid button down shirt with silver tubing on the seams, and her old leather jacket. How they could be related, Gwen could never figure out. In the courtyard of the school, a group of four girls was waiting as if expecting them; Gwen recognized one of them from a family photo as her cousin Irma, but she had no idea who the rest were.
"HEY DANNY!" Cheered Irma and waved at her cousin. Immediately, Danny grabbed Gwen's arm and dragged her up to her friends Irma, Taranee, Hay-Lyn, and…Will? Danny couldn't understand why Will was there; wasn't she 18? She remembered what Irma had told her in the woods and had, to some extent, accepted that her cousin could do trick with water, but she was sure no 15-year old could marry. Surely her cousin had exaggerated on that part.
"Hey, folks. Irms, I hope you remember this little pipsqueak here." Replied Danny, trying to keep from staring at Will too long and gestured to her little sister Gwen. Gwen felt like crawling into a hole and hiding; now everyone knew this death to fashion was related to her.
"Of course, I would remember your little sister Gwendolyn." Replied Irma and bent down to be more at eye-level with the 10-year old. "How have you been?"
"Fine. Can I leave now?" Gwen asked while trying to wrestle free from her sister's grasp.
"Aw, come on now Gwenny. I wanted to spend our first day at Sheffield together." Replied Danny and wrapped her arms around her little sister like a boa constrictor. "I want everyone to know just how much my little sister means to me."
"Gross!" yelled Gwen, finally managing to pull herself free from her sister's grasp and ran off, hoping her reputation was still salvageable.
"She is still as cute as a button." Said Irma before wrapping her cousin in a crushing bearhug. "It is so good to see you. But, what about your training?"
"Great to see you too Irms…" squeak Danny, sure that her ribs were now bruised. "Ella is going to train me, and I can't stay after school. Tony and the rest are coming and are helping us move in; the place we moved into is a real mess."
"Aww, but I wanted to show you all sorts of places after school." Irma pouted, but Will was there to save the day.
"Then save a day this weekend so we can all hang out." Danny agreed to Will's plan and soon, the small group was chatting and laughing as though they had been friends for years. However, their reunion wasn't going unnoticed.
From the entrance of the school, Matt stood and watched his former girlfriend talk and laugh with her friends when a strange boy approached the group with a little girl in tow. From what he could see, Irma recognized the boy and they appeared close, but the little girl couldn't help but get away from, what he guessed, was her older brother. Furthermore, and this surprised him, Will seemed to know this boy as well. This made him wonder who many other boys his ex knew. From what he could remember about their days together, Will was a tomboy but wasn't around a lot of boys. Matt couldn't remember this boy either, so she must have met him after their break-up. Why would Phobos allow his wife to interact with other boys?
Back outside, Danny sense eyes on her and followed the sensation until her mismatched eyes met a set of blue ones. When their eyes met, Matt retreated away from the door's windows and into the hallway. Danny only furrowed her brow; why was that boy looking at her? It was probably because of the outfit; which Irma was quick to comment on.
"What are your wearing and what did you do with your hair? You look like a boy! How are you going to get a boyfriend looking like this?"
"What makes you think I am looking for a boyfriend?"
"Girlfriend then?" asked Irma, unsure of what to do with Danny's response.
"Nope, just here to train and go to school. The most I'll do outside of that is hang with you folks and get a job." Replied Danny, much to Irma's dismay.
"There is a job opening at the local pet shop." Said Will before Irma could start an argument with her cousin.
"Will, are you sure about that. I mean Matt is still really salty about you and Phobos getting together." Asked Hay-Lyn a little worried about the whole situation regarding Matt.
"I have problems with Matt, not Matt's grandfather. That old man could really use an extra hand and the pay is decent." Replied Will and Danny smiled at the talk of pay.
"Great, a job application lined up and I didn't get crapped on by a bird. This day is great so far." Replied Danny and, with that matter settled, the girls went inside the school building. Inside, they were immediately greeted by the Vice-Principal Mrs. Knickerbocker. In her high pitched, snobby voice, she addressed her new student.
"Morning Ms. Downing. I am glad to see that you are on time for your first day." She then hands Danny a sheet of paper with her schedule printed on it. "These are your classes and please be on time. Do you need someone to escort you to your classes?"
"It is alright. I got my cousin and my friends to help me out. Besides, you know I use to attend this place, it couldn't have changed that much since I left." Replied Danny and Mrs. Knickerbocker nodded in response before huffing off to do her job. Danny leaned closer to the nearest friend, which was Taranee, and asked in a hushed tone. "Was that human-peacock that we just encountered really Mrs. Knickerbocker?"
"In the flesh." Replied Taranee and Danny shivered remembering all the times she was in detention with Mrs. Knickerbocker supervising her. At the very least the old woman changed perfumes. From there, the day went by relatively normal for Danny, with the exception of sharing some classes with Will, which perplexed her. She had been trying to tell herself that Will was really 18 and probably served as a teacher's aide, but that began to dwindle when she saw her in both History and Biology. Will noticed Danny's staring and hoped to come up with a good explanation for her presence at school. Sure, she couldn't keep the truth from Irma's cousin forever, but she could keep the charades going for a while.
By the time lunch role around, Danny didn't care about Will or what her cousin had confessed to her back in the woods; she was starving. Sure, the slices of bread and milk had kept her satiated for a while, but they didn't last forever, and she hadn't had the chance to pack any lunch. The lunch at the Sheffield Institute hadn't improved in quality since she last attended. She was sure the thing on the plate in front of her was supposed to be meatloaf, but it jiggled too much for that to be the case and it smelled strange; like bread mixed with old butter.
"This thing looks suspicious." Muttered Danny, poking at the food in front of her. Even if she was starving, there was no way she would let this stuff into her body.
"Well, I planned on taking you somewhere special." Said Irma with a mischievous grin. Taranee, seemingly knowing what Irma had planned whispered.
"You are not planning on taking her to the Inbetween, are you?"
"It is cool, she knows about us. I told her back at the cabin." Replied Irma, which earned her a collective gasp from the rest of the group.
"You did what?" hissed Hay-Lyn, unsure if Danny could be trusted enough with their secret.
"I told her about us and our power and Will. She is my cousin and she understood everything. She is cool with it. Besides, the food here is going to make anyone sick, so why not take her to the Inbetween to get something decent."
"Do you think it is alright to barge into Diana's home just to feed your cousin?" asked Will, equally shocked and a little angered at what Irma had done. It took her ages to come out to Matt about the W.I.T.C.H. so it felt a little wrong that Irma just blew out their secret to the rest of the world.
"What is the Inbetween?" asked Danny, only having heard half of the conversation.
"It is only the best place in existence." Replied Irma, knowing how to spin the situation to her favor.
"It is a great place, but we can't just walk in on our friends Diana and Henry. Furthermore, Sophia is a bit dangerous to be around." Replied Taranee, trying to come up with good excuses to keep Danny away from more of their secrets until the time felt right. However, Irma would have none of that; she was going to force this to happen.
"Taranee, you are overacting." Replied Irma before turning her attention back to Danny. "Sophia likes to mess with food and drink that she hands to people, so just don't accept anything she offers you and you should be fine." With that, and despite the objections of her friends, Irma grabbed Danny by the arm and began to drag her towards the exit of the school. Danny only let Irma drag her around; she had been through stranger things before. Besides, anything would be better than Sheffield food.
Danny was surprised that, instead of leaving school grounds, that Irma was leading her to the back of the school. How could there be food back here? Was there a student-run food cart that she didn't know about? Nope, Irma was heading for a brick wall. Stopping just in front of the hidden portal, Irma stopped and smiled at Danny while the other caught up. "Danny, close your eyes and don't open them until I tell you." Danny did this without questioning; this was probably a secret club that Mrs. Knickerbocker wasn't supposed to find out about. Irma glance at her friends, who shook their heads in protest, and then stepped through the portal, dragging Danny with her. When she and the rest of her friends reached the front door of the Inbetween, Irma nudged her cousin. "Alright Danny, open your eyes."
Danny did so and was surprised to find a pretty wooden door with a stain-glass window in it in front of her. Her spider scenes were tingling, and she was beginning to believe everything Irma had told her at face-value. She could feel her sanity crumble. There was no way that, with a single step, that they could have gone far from the school. Grabbing her cousin by the arm, she managed to smile at the others. "Hey, I ain't got a clue where we are, so I'll let you guys go ahead. I need to speak a word with my beloved cousin."
"Danny are you alright?" asked Will, she could see the panic on her friend's face.
"Yup, I just need to talk with Irms before I enter Alice's Wonderland." Replied Danny, lightly shaking Irma's arm. Inwardly, she was wondering what insanity that girl had dragged her into. Will, Taranee, and Hay-Lyn understood and knocked on the door. As always, they were immediately let in by Diana who, because of where Irma and Danny stood on the porch, didn't see the extra guests. Once Danny and Irma were alone, she laid in on her.
"Irma, where the Hell are we?"
"I told you where we are going." Replied Irma, a little confused why her cousin was acting so strange.
"You said we were going to the 'best place in existence' and then led me to the back of the school. THIS IS NOT THE BACK OF THE SCHOOL! What Houdini trick did you pull?" Danny asked, frantically looking around in the hopes they were still on school grounds; surely with was a prank that the drama-club was in on. That hope dwindled away when she saw the void just beyond the porch banister. "WHERE THE FUCK ARE WE?"
"Danny," Irma started in a calm voice, catching on to her cousin's confusion. "Everything I told you back in the woods is true." At this, Danny froze and simply stared at Irma; surely she was dreaming.
"I have been trying to tell myself that I was on drugs or that you pulled an optical illusion on me. There is no way that everything you told me is true…" that is when she put the pieces together. The lights she saw in the woods during the crawler attack, the stuff with the water that Irma showed her, the presence of Will at school, the fact that they were in the middle of nowhere right now. It was all true. At the realization that all this insanity was true, her mind could only come up with one word. "No."
"Yup." Was Irma's reply. "It was all true."
Danny had to rest against the porch banister for support; her knees felt like they were made of the same meatloaf substance that the school was trying to serve her as food. Mentally, she went to blue-screen, then reboot, then anger. "ALL THIS SHIT IS REAL?"
"I don't know how often you want me to say yes to that?"
"Even that part about Will and that eyebrows guy?" panic edged her voice at the thought of having housed a pedophile.
"Yeah, but they are the epidemy of the 1920s. Separate rooms and everything." Replied Irma, knowing what Danny was thinking and hoping the explanation would calm her. Danny had a very dim view of pedophilia and would not accept any form of it even if it was allowed by other cultures from other worlds. Phobos nearly died twice in one year; Danny would make sure he didn't survive a third attempt.
"Bullshit to that!" snapped Danny. "You honestly think married folk don't frick-frack?" she then sat on the banister, feeling her knees completely give-up on her. "And you risked your life fighting that creep! How can you be so chill about all this?" she asked swinging her arms wide to take in the entire Inbetween and the whole situation they were in.
"Will said there is nothing going on, so there is nothing going on." Replied Irma, crossing her arms; she was becoming fed-up with her cousin's attitude. "Besides, your family risks its' life researching monsters. So, you are one to argue."
Danny gave-up. Irma was right. What leg did she have to stand on in this argument? There is no shred of normal left in her life; there never has been and that realization hit Danny like a tone of bricks. Winded, Danny sighed and swung her arms out wide in a dramatic, sweeping motion and tossed back her head. "This is it! I surrender to the insanity!"
It was this combination of movements that caused Danny to lose her balance on the porch banister. She realized too late that she was falling backward and tried to catch herself. Irma tried to reach out for her cousin, but she too was too late. Without anything to catch her, Danny fell backward into the pitch-black void.