Author's Note: Thanks for all the feedback of the last chapter!
Attention: I'm still looking for someone to help me with my story Extrinsic Souls. Let me know if you are interested!
Chapter 7: A Ghost Portal
Although Valerie and Tucker seemed to be over the whole situation, I wasn't. Sparky almost killed us, but the other ghost stopped him. If it weren't for Smokey, we would've probably been killed. But now Sparky was out for Smokey's blood... and Danny's. Being a hero sure does have some serious disadvantages.
I wonder if Danny Phantom has a history with the other ghost that was hunting for him. Why else would Sparky be searching for him? I wanted to ask Valerie and Tucker of their opinions, but they were too engrossed in choosing a movie. Tucker wanted to watch Transformers, but Valerie wanted to watch The Notebook.
Hmm, action versus romance. Decisions, decisions. Not.
Neither is exactly my cup of tea (I'd rather watch a horror movie, say, like, The Woman in Black), but I didn't want to add to the argument.
"You saw that movie more than five times, Tucker!" Valerie moaned.
"You saw The Notebook a hundred times! Danny and I couldn't wait when it when it was over while you and Jazz were crying your eyes out." Tucker rolled his eyes in disgust.
"How did you think I felt when you and Danny practically forced me to watch Transformers for my first time? It was pure torture."
"Let's ask Sam then." Oh, isn't this just grand.
She whips around to face me. "Which movie do you want to see, Sam? Transformers or The Notebook."
Neither actually, but if I have to choose... "Transformers." Sorry, Valerie.
"Hah! Two against one! Victory!"
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever..."
Tucker cheered and slide the Transformers DVD inside his DVD player.
While it was queuing up, I decide to ask my question. "Why do you think that ghost wants Danny?"
"He has a lot of enemies that are like that," Tucker answered airily, skipping through the trailers. "Most of them never succeed in actually finding and doing any damage to him."
"What if this ghost does find him? What if he actually kills him?"
He looks at me, narrowing his green eyes. "Why do you care so much about him anyway? You don't even know him."
From the corner of my eyes, I see Valerie, hoping she would get me out of this situation like she usually would. Instead, she's not and is watching the TV screen like nothing is happening with me and Tucker. I'm on my own here.
It's true. I don't know Danny, but that shouldn't matter. Tucker and Valerie were his friends, and I had the strangest feeling that ghost was going to stop at nothing to find him and end him. How can that disturb me, but not Tucker?
"You guys were friends–"
"A long time ago," he interrupted. "Besides, we're humans and he's a ghost with powers. Danny can take care of himself. What can we do? We don't have our weapons anymore. We can't fight back."
"How did you get the weapons in the first place?" I asked with interest.
"Danny's parents are scientists and ghost hunters. They made the weapons – which don't work half of the time, but after I made some alterations to them seemed to function properly. We used them to get rid of the ghosts."
"Why don't we ask them if we–"
Tucker almost laughed. "What? If we could use their weapons? I doubt they still have them." I was surprised that he knew what I was going to ask. It's only been a month since I've lived here and been friends with them; we act like we've known each other forever. "Like I said, Danny can take care of himself. He doesn't need us. If he would, he'd still be here now. But he's not. Case closed."
I wisely decided to keep my mouth shut for the duration of the movie. Valerie ended up getting all cuddly with Tucker (eww), watching the movie with genuine interest. My eyes glaze over as I watch the screen.
Our stomachs startled rumbling as the credits began to roll, so we decided we needed to get something to eat. After a quick raid of Tucker's kitchen, we discovered there was nothing there that would please us. First world problems. We agreed on walking to the Nasty Burger, but we stopped ourselves from leaving once we took a glance at the clock in the foyer. Nearly curfew. We gathered back into the kitchen and pulled out some cheese and crackers which Valerie expertly sliced up and served in a matter of seconds.
Assembling on the living room floor with our sustenance, we began chatting. A few moments later, a soft rap sounded on the wall. I turned to see Tucker's parents standing in the doorway. His father and Tucker could be twins, but his father was noticeably older, he wore no glasses, and he had a receding hairline peppered with gray hairs.
"Valerie, Sam, it's almost time for you to leave," Tucker's father said with a smile.
"It was nice seeing you again, Valerie," Tucker's mother said. She had wavy black hair that fell well past her shoulders and green eyes hidden behind red rectangular glasses. "And it was nice meeting you, Sam."
"You too, Mr. and Mrs. Foley," I said cheerfully, rising as I did so, Valerie following suit. "Thank you for having me over," I added politely.
"Anytime, dear. Anytime," Mrs. Foley said beaming.
After Valerie and Tucker's parents exchanged hugs we went outside and walked together for a few minutes and then went our separate ways to go to our houses.
Right when I walked through the front door, I was bombarded with a million questions from my parents. My mother wanted to paint the nursery pink, while my father wanted to paint it yellow. I racked my brain and then simply said lavender. My parents looked at each other and a silent agreement passed between them. I had always wanted an older sister, but obviously that wasn't going to happen. A younger sister would have to do instead.
I begin feeling giddy about the fun my baby sister and I are going to have together. I hope she acts a little bit like me though. If she is all flowers and sunshine ...ugh, that would be a nightmare.
Because of the new curfew, there is nothing for me to do. I'm trapped inside my house like a caged animal.
I find myself thinking about the ghost fight earlier that day. It really bothers me that Tucker and Valerie don't care about Sparky hunting for Danny. Wherever Danny is, I hope that he's safe. As for Smokey, I hope that he returned my cloak. Since I was just sitting in my room, I decided to go check the basement for the cloak. I hoped off my bed and went over to a door in my room. I swung it open and pressed the down button on the elevator door. It took a few seconds for it to come to my level, but once I stepped inside, I punched the basement option.
I hear the familiar ding and then I step out. I cough from the dust, and feel my way for the lights. Several bar lights pop on, revealing a ton of boxes in a silvery-white room. It's kind of suspicious – the room looks like it could have been a lab. The only time I've been down here is the first day we were in the house. We put all of our junk down here and never came back.
Luckily, my mother was a neat freak, so all of the boxes were stacked neatly and labeled with a thick black sharpie. I spotted the one marked "Sam's Halloween Costumes" and pulled it down without much difficulty. I thrust my hands into the depths of the box, digging around to see if the cloak is there. It was folded neatly in the bottom. A glint of silver catches my eye. I pull it from the cloak and examine it carefully. Shrapnel. From the train yard. This was the cloak I saw Smokey in. But the ghost had put it back, so now my worries were over. I spun around and started heading for the elevator to go back to my room.
But something made me stop dead in my tracks. I had never noticed it before, although I don't know how you could've missed something this big. A large circle (maybe fifteen feet in diameter) made of metal is on the wall, faded black and yellow stripes down the middle of it. I tilted my head with curiosity. Edging towards it carefully, I spot a huge red button beside the weird circle thing. Impulsive me decided to press it. A large grinding noise sounded, and the circle's doors budged open a fourth of an inch, but then they slammed shut. I kept pressing it, hoping the black and yellow striped doors would open more, but nothing happened except for some grinding and clicking noises. Like when you're trying to start a car, but the transmission slips.
My brow furrowed in frustration. I scanned the area looking for clues as to what this thing is. By some miracle, I found something. A large blue print depicting the circle, but with the words Fenton-Portal above it and the words Ghost Zone below it. The red button is supposed to activate it. I look more closely at the blue prints. It has all of the details of the construction of the portal.
The gears in my brain started turning. I could repair the portal to the Ghost Zone.
During supper we all chat about our day. My mom told us how she went to the doctors that day for a check-up on the baby. She was now three months along in her pregnancy, and all was going smoothly. My grandmother said that she and her friends had won a lot of money in bingo (wee), and Dad announced that his business was doing well. When they all turned to me, I told them about my visit with Tucker and Valerie.
I told them nothing of the fight or of the Fenton-Portal.
After supper, I headed back up to my room to finish my history homework, but I ended up drifting into a peaceful, dreamless sleep in the middle of writing my argument for the benefits of a constitutional democracy.
A bright yellow flash of sunlight woke me from my sleep. My parents had opened all of the blinds in my room. They had started doing this when I was in elementary school. Apparently, the sun caused a hormone to release in your body that wakes you up in the best way possible. Like. I. Care.
"What...?" Before I could half mumble another word in my dazed sleep, my parents exclaimed cheerfully in unison.
"Happy Birthday!"
It's... my birthday? How could I have forgotten that today is my own birthday? I suppose the ghosts in this town have kept me busy.
Needless to say, I'm not upset with my parents this morning. I am officially sixteen!
