Chapter 9: Dark Dreams
Vlad had curled up on the visitor's chair by the window, his hair glaring softly in the moonlight. His eyes where closed and his breathing was calm. He looked peaceful and it was a strange look for the millionaire. So much so that one might have mistaken him for a heavenly being with the way moonlight was reflecting off him.
Danny stood in the middle of his hospital room looking at the floor. He had to make sure he didn't step into the moonlight. His toes hung dimly on the borderline as he watched from the darkness, wondering why Vlad hadn't woken up yet.
"Vlad," he whispered, his voice echoing over the walls and through the hospital halls. No one was around, the hospital still as if Danny and Vlad were currently the only beings in the residence. Danny swallowed as a sense of panic wallowed up in his throat. He wanted to run over to Vlad and wake him up! … But he couldn't step into the light.
He didn't know why he couldn't. He just knew he shouldn't.
Danny continued to look longingly at the moonlight and the figure lain within it. He took a silent step forward allowing his toes to be washed in the moonlight … and then a soft giggle came from behind him. The teenager quickly pulled his foot out of the ghostly light and peered over at the door. A small little girl, no older than five with jasmine red hair, hid in the shallow shadows of the door way. Her huge glassy eyes stared at him with such intensity that Danny wanted to look away.
"Who are you?" Danny's voice hung heavily in the air.
The small child merely giggled as she disappeared into the hall unable to shake off her ghostly charm. Despite himself … Danny quickly followed.
Her soft footsteps filled the silent halls as she tracked past the empty waiting rooms and nurses' offices. It was so deafly quiet that Danny started to become unnerved. Out of desperation he took the small child's hand when she offered it to him.
Smiling his touch, she looked up at him with her huge ghostly eyes and stated in a soft breath, "Childish as usual Danny."
Danny almost drew away from her, but she held tightly to his hand.
"How did you know my name?" the boy asked wearily.
"The question is how could I forget?" she then pulled gently on his arm and led him forward.
Soon they emerged within what could only be the morgue, time seeming to skip as Danny looked around confused wondering how he had gotten here. Swallowing, he figured he had bigger problems as he felt the chill of death crawl up his spine. He stalled in his tracks wanting to look around, but his form seemed to be paralyzed. He couldn't move on his own!
The girl looked up at him with a frown when she noticed how stiff he was. Sighing, as if it was merely a minor nuisance, she yanked roughly on Danny's arm and forced him to stand before one of the stainless steel morgue tables. A glossy black body bag lay lifelessly upon it. The orange tag labeling the body bag grimly reflected his father's name: Jack Fenton. Danny swallowed and tilted his eyes down upon the little girl with a begging glance. What was he suppose to do? He couldn't even move on his own!
"Open it … Sometimes we must face what we can't accept," whispered the girl as she let go of Danny's hand, his form almost stumbling as he reestablished the ability to move on his own.
Rubbing his wrist, a part of him knowing his stiffness had been the red-head's fault, he turned his attention to the body bag. He really didn't want to open anything and yet he knew he had to. And he had to do this alone… No one could help him.
Standing over the bag, hand floating over its smooth blackness for what felt like an eternity, Danny could no longer take the red head's waver-less gaze. His hands shook violently as he put his fingers on the zipper. Giving a meek tug, the zipper came down with far too much ease and he found his eyes snapping shut. And yet, before his eyes closed, he caught sight of the burnt figure. Jack's lower jaw had burned away into nothing and the skin of the chest had been charred to the bone. And yet, wanting to see his father if even for a moment, Danny reopened his eyes … to find nothing but an empty body bag.
Despite the disappearance, a sigh of relief escaped Danny's throat, but then his gaze fell upon the next body bag on the next table: Maddie Fenton.
Not wanting to be led by the strange little red head, the teenager's body shook violently as he walked over to that body bag. His hand wasn't as shaky this time, but he still closed his eyes imagining the worst: his mother's pale face burned away to nothing and her red locks scorched black. But when he opened his eyes there was once again … nothing. Swallowing, almost disappointed, Danny truly recalled how much he missed her. She might have been a bit crazy, but she was his mother. She was the one who held him when he was scared or lonely.
She had loved him like no other.
Next was Sam, a cold aching occurred in his heart. Remembering her grating voice and soft hands was the most painful thing he could imagine. He had been gathering the courage for the past three months to ask Sam out on a date, but now that option was beyond him.
Trying to push back the tears blurring his vision, Danny pulled the zipper down with his eyes closed again. Her perfect face still held its uncanning beauty, but her hair had burned away to the scalp as if her entire back had been burned away. Wiping away tears at the thought, when he opened his eyes … again there was nothing. A sick part of himself was half wishing that she was there, if only to touch her cold flesh one more time.
Next was his best friend in the world: Tucker. Tucker the computer geek. Tucker the weirdo. Tucker … the most wonderful friend in the entire world. Danny swallowed roughly as a choking pain tried to escape his throat. The zipper cried in protest as Danny's eyes dimmed, his vision blurred by tears. In his mind, Tucker's glasses were burnt and blackened, and his chocolate skin had taken on a blacker tint, but yet again there was nothing in the body bag.
Enraged that he couldn't even look at Tucker, Danny stormed to the next table with the next body bag. The tag stated: Jazz Fenton. So this was the bag for his kind yet a bit over-protective sister. Hands shaking in rage, Danny pulled the zipper down without a hint of uncertainty. But there was something in the body bag. It was a …
"A ribbon?"
"Oh! I've been looking for that!" cooed the little red head as she ran over taking the item before she tied said ribbon into her glossy hair. "Okay … I'm bored. Let's go."
The child then quickly skipped away and out of the swinging door that bore the word 'morgue'. Danny could hear her soft humming slowly fade away as she moved farther and farther down the hall.
Not wanting to be left behind he quickly stormed after her, but when he faced the morgue door a soft electric humming caught his ear.
ZZZZ … zzzith
Beside himself, Danny slowly turned and looked for the sound's origin. In the far corner, lost in a misty haze, was a ceiling lamp that flickered unsteadily. One last body bag hung in its gloom.
Ignoring the feeling in his gut, Danny silently made his way to the far corner of the room. And soon the teenager looked down on the immobile object. A combination of fear and dread bit down on his nerves when he saw that there was no tag. He slowly grabbed the zipper and pulled it down, expecting to find nothing or at most another hair garment … but no. There it lay. Correction, there he lay, a fleshy corpse pale with death. Its skin had gained a yellow clammy glow and its hair was limp and lifeless. Danny couldn't help but whimper as he stared at his lifeless copy ... a dead clone of himself.
Sorrow over came his heart and his fingers were silently reached forward. He wanted to touch this dead copy … this death. And though he knew he shouldn't, his warm fingers soon laid upon the dead flesh of the cheek and then over the eyelids. The figure was cold as a winter eve. Was this a sign? Was he truly meant to die? Or was he already dead? Had everything up to this point been a flash before his eyes? An earthly flash before death? Had he really died with his family?
Danny stared at the flesh before him … unable to tell what truth was and what was a dream or what was reality. Touching his corpse's cheek once more Danny slowly started to zip up the body bag though he had to stall long enough to stare at the corpse's face. It had the same brow, the same lips, the same everything. It was him.
Sighing, not knowing what else to do, he started to zip it back up.
"Wait… I'm not done with you yet."
Danny jumped back with a choked scream at the voice, the corpse having just parted its blue lips to speak! The frightened teenager took a step back in fright only to crash into the table behind him. The lifeless copy merely grinned at this as it lifted itself out of the body bag. The corpse then landed on the floor in a hunched position; perfectly concealing it's face behind a wall of black hair. Danny could only stare at the grotesque figure with fear as he slid backwards against the metal table, backing himself into a corner quite effectively.
The corpse's smile widened at this as it stood up straight and then with too-quick limbs he was suddenly placing an arm on either side of Danny's head, trapping him against the wall. Danny could only stare at the corpse with a silent terror, unable to scream or even move.
"Where are you going? Leaving so soon?" the corpse spoke in a harsh scratchy manner as its shark like teeth glimmered in the fading light. "You can't leave. It's not polite and … I won't let you."
The corpse's left hand quickly wrapped around Danny's neck, holding the teenager still. Then with a small laugh the corpse's free hand began to change: mutate. The nails slowly started to grow and expand into six-inch long daggers of flesh. Its eyes widened with excitement as it seemed to ready itself to scoop out Danny's heart… "Good bye."
"Danny?"
Danny suddenly fell to the ground in a huddle, his heart intact and the corpse no longer above him. He coughed as he struggled for breath, his mind racing. Why wasn't he dead?
With shaking breaths Danny lifted his head looking around in a slight panic for his would-be murderer, but the corpse was gone. The only other occupant of the room was the small little girl with red hair and ghostly eyes. Her voice almost made him cry in joy.
"What are you doing in here silly? It's unwise to linger in the dead's playground."
Danny slowly nodded at her with a sigh of relief. Then, with a huff, the half ghost stood trying to encourage his brain that it was all an illusion or something.
Noticing the boy's shaking nature, the child took his hand once again and led him out of the morgue, a hum in her throat. And despite the fear of being frozen, Danny did not let go of his small savior's hand.
…
The two seemed to have walked around the empty corridors for hours until the tiny girl's humming came to a halt. She stopped and then stared at the shadows in front of them … at the waiting room to be exact.
"What? Is it the corpse?" ask Danny, his voice cracking as his spare hand came to rest on his throat.
The red head looked at him for a moment and then turned her attention to the chair in front of them, static playing silently over the small waiting room, casting an eerie light. In the television's soft glare, Danny couldn't help but noticed that on top of a waiting room chair sat an ancient looking box the size of a jewelry box. It looked like something that belonged in a Greek museum. Its surface was delicately carved in gold and a shiny black stone. Greek symbols skillfully adored the lid as it glimmered in the faint light. Despite his worry about the morgue, Danny found himself letting go of the red head's hand as he walked over to it, mesmerized. With daring fingers he even found himself reaching outward ready to open up the glossy lid, but the ghostly girl slapped his hand to the side at seemingly the last moment.
"I wouldn't if I were you," she hissed.
And yet, before Danny could ask her why not, a dinging noise filled the eerily quiet hospital. Ding … Ding … Ding: the strike of midnight. The town's impersonation of Big Ben was calling.
"I'd hate to say it, but in the words of Cinderella: I'm sorry. I must to go. Goodbye!" whispered the girl as she stumbled onto a waiting room chair and pecked Danny softly on the cheek; she looked at him one more time with her ghostly eyes before she whispered, "Love you … baby brother."
"… Jazz?" choked Danny as he took a step back out of shock, memories of old pictures coming to mind.
The red head merely giggled, jumped off the chair and stormed down the hall without answer. Danny could only stare at her fading form with a shocked expression. Was that really his sister? Maybe he was already dead after all.
"It doesn't matter. I am not letting her go this time," growled Danny in a determined tone, his bare feet soon following the little girl.
But she was seemingly gone. He had been looking for her for about twenty minutes, but Danny still couldn't give up on the search. Every fiber of his being seemed to rest on two questions. Was that really Jazz? If so, was he really dead? Danny shook off his worry and stormed down the next hall. He had to find her.
Giggle…
Danny turned around violently, ready to race after the sound, but there was no need. There, not even two yards away, stood the girl.
"Jazz?" whimpered the teenager feeling the hunger of sorrow well up in his chest. The child merely giggled in reply before she ran into a nearby room.
Danny took a hurried step forward and Bam! His feet fell forward from under him and with a huff he fell onto his back. Danny sat up quickly with a groan praying that it wasn't sporks again. The hospital seemed to be infested with a prankster obsessed with sporks. Luckily, it wasn't sporks, but something equally intriguing.
"A book?" whispered Danny was he picked up said item with ease and stared at the golden titling… mythology? Intrigued, he tilted the book to catch the title in a different light. Why was this book here?
Giggle…
Danny jumped remembering his earlier pursuit. He got to his feet with stumbling speed and started after the innocent laughter, leaving the book behind.
Her laugh led him back … back into that haunting room. He stared at the moonlight that still softly glared off his godfather's sleeping form. From behind Vlad's chair came a giggle and out popped the head of his supposed sister. Her soft red hair floated gracefully on the moonlight, yet the teenager found his fear of the moonlight only intensified.
A minute or two quickly passed before little Jazz stuck her head back behind the comfy chair, Vlad still snoozed softly. Only after gathering what little courage he had left, Danny stepped into the moonlight … and nothing happened. Courage restored, Danny took the next few steps forward trying to choke down the fear in his stomach. The teenager's shadow soon loomed over his godfather and Danny slowly reached forward ready to wake the sleeping millionaire. But instead of waking the man, a pale-fleshed hand intercepted and wrapped its cold fingers around Danny's wrist. Before Danny could even gasp, a form rose from the shadows.
It was the corpse.
Breath catching, ready to grab at his only protector in the world, Danny barely had time to choke as a hand was slammed into his chest, the force throwing him several feet backwards!
Danny flew across the room with a gasp and landed with a thud against the neighboring wall. A few bones cracked in protest, but through gathering tears of pain Danny was able to look up. It was definitely his dead copy. Its cold waxy flesh was even glinting dully in the fading light as it stalked toward him.
Panicking, the teenager tried to lift his beaten body up to escape the beast, but he was too slow and a deep part of him knew he couldn't go ghost. With a snap, the corpse had once again wrapped its cold dead fingers around Danny's neck, cutting off his breathing. Kicking his feet out, the teenager struggled for a single breath as the corpse's copycat fingers transformed into daggers once more. The beast then lifted his elbow up and targeted Danny's heart. A high-pitched laugh quickly floated past the corpse's shark like teeth and with sickening precision … it plunged the daggers into Danny's chest.
A splash of crimson spread over the floor in a river of blood in an instant as it seeped away from Danny's gaping wound. Blood dripped from the monster's face like dark tears as he watched Danny's last flailing moment. Then, as Danny's last few breaths struggled forward, the corpse leaned forward and kissed Danny's forehead, wiping Danny's bangs out of face as his murderer slowly stood up. Danny's cry was a gurgling noise in his throat as the corpse pulled its sharpened digits out of the teenager's rib cage. His bones cracked and broke under the touch as his lungs stalled their life giving force… His body was dieing.
Ba Bum … the heart beat once.
The corpse's flesh peeled away in a burst of flames, revealing the monster that had taken his family!
Ba Bum … the heart beat twice.
The creature's cold black eyes then turned on the Jazz imposter and Vlad.
Ba Bum … the heart beat three times.
The creature laughed as he gave Danny a dark grin throwing a hail of fire at them. The two were barely allowed to scream out in agony before their flesh was burned away and their lungs suffocated by smoke.
Ba Ba Bum … and the heart beat no more.
XXX
Paw07: Bwahhh! You all hate me don't you? I can hear you crying, "No! That bitch just killed off Danny!" Well, you'll just have to wait for the next chapter to see what happens. Later. … And if you're confused, this chapter will totally make sense once I publish the next one. Plus, this chapter is big on the foreshadowing.
PS: You know the only good thing about living in the middle of nowhere in the Midwest? Snow days! No school for eleven days people and no work either! Bwahhhh! But I also didn't have electricity for two days. No running water or television! Oh the humanity! But to keep my mind from sinking into utter insanity I wrote this chapter. So some good came of it. Thanks for the reviews.
Edit: This chapter used to be called 'I Dream of Sugar Plum Fairies' but I changed it because I don't think it foreshadowed what this chapter was really about. As for the edits, the chapter remained pretty intact except I added about seven-hundred words worth of supporting descriptions and flowing vocabulary. This one was an easy proofread and now I recall why I loved the horror in this story so much. To the next chapter!
(Revisions September 2013)
