Yet, even in the darkest night, there may be a light.

Darkness
A Danny Phantom FanFiction by Cordria

Chapter 10: Freedom

Four day later, Madeline Fenton was sitting in her own kitchen, staring down at her cold cup of cocoa. The tiny marshmallows had long since melted, leaving odd swirls in the dark, thick drink. Emotionally drained, she wasn't thinking; she wasn't feeling; she wasn't anything. She was just staring. The cocoa was an infinitely more desirable a subject to contemplate than the thoughts that were warring in the back of her mind.

She leaned back against the counter, feeling the dull edges press into her flesh, her gaze locked on the liquid in her cup. Unbidden, memories swirled through the cocoa, shimmering into her mind. A tear trickled down her cheek as she remembered…

Maddie had stumbled through the woods for over a mile until she had found the highway. She had been extremely bruised, bloodied, and scratched by that time. Vaguely amazed that the men hadn't followed her and beaten her to death yet, she had flagged down a passing car to call for help.

After being trucked off to the hospital, it had taken hours to find out what had happened to the lady and her associates. The entire time the doctor had prattled on about dehydration, nutrient deficiencies, and infections, she had been staring at the door, waiting for someone to come in with news.

Jack and Jazz had basically flown through the door, both of them embracing her in a huge hug, demanding to know what had happened. Maddie had just shaken her head, silent, her eyes glazed. The doctor had taken the two away to talk to them when the police officer walked in the door.

The lady, Jessica Oscura, and her six men had all been found and taken into custody. Somehow, they had all been knocked out and tied up when the police arrived. Maddie had gazed into the man's blue eyes and demanded to know if her son or Phantom had been found. The man had shaken his head, his mouth moving, asking questions. She hadn't heard a word of it.

Later, when she had been questioned, the lady in green had only smiled, refusing to talk. "Danny Fenton? Phantom?" she had finally said, "What does it matter? He's dead by now."

Searchers had combed the entire area multiple times. Every small store room and shed had been meticulously turned upside down. As time passed, the thoughts of finding either of the boys had dwindled. Last night the phone had rung: they were calling off the search. They wanted to declare Danny Fenton legally dead. He had most likely starved to death in a dark room with no way out.

The paper this morning had declared Phantom a hero, giving him credit for Maddie's survival. After setting the paper on the kitchen table, Jack, Jazz, Sam, and Tucker had cornered her. They had made her talk, made her bring back memories. So she told them. She finally told them everything.

She told them about the dark, that terrifying blanket of shadows. She told them about the deafening silence that had tried to drive her insane. She told them about the ghost that had changed her life. She told them about the sacrifice, and about how the boy had died to save her.

By the end of the tale, Jazz, Sam, and Tucker were crying just as hard as she was. Jazz hadn't even made it to the end of the tale, she had fled to her room and locked the door, sobbing. She was probably still there. Sam and Tucker had stood there, tears trickling down their cheeks, until the very end. Then, holding each other up, they had walked out the back door, silent.

Jack had waited until it was just the two of them before scooping her up in an enormous hug. He just held her, rocking back and forth, letting her cry. When she had cried herself out, he had made her the cup of cocoa and had gone down into the lab.

And so she stared into the cocoa, her mind reeling with the events of the past few weeks. My baby… she whispered to herself. He's dead. Is it true?

Finally raising her head, she glanced around the dimly lit kitchen. I need to get out, I need to go someplace. Her mind whirled. I want to see the light.

Carefully setting her untouched cocoa on the counter, she picked up the keys to the RV and headed out the door. She moved as in a daze, her mind blank and swirling. Where to go? she wondered. Not having an answer, she slid into the driver's seat and pulled out of the driveway. Anywhere… her mind replied after a few blocks. Drive until you get there.

Streets passed by her fogged mind. She breezed back several parks and sunny grassy knolls. Still she drove, miles clicking away softly on the odometer. Over and over she traversed Amity Park, searching for something her heart was telling her was out there. Somewhere.

The RV's engine finally sputtered to a stop in a rather down-trodden section of town. With a sigh, Maddie tapped the gas gauge. Empty. She sat back in the driver's seat and closed her eyes. Is this where I want to be?

Her eyes flickered open at an odd beeping noise. For a few moments, she sat still, listening to the mechanical beep. "That can't be…" she whispered. Slowly she leaned forwards, her eyes searching out the ghost radar among the many devices hotwired into the dashboard. There, just at the edge of the screen, there was a tiny blip.

Eyebrows wrinkled as she gazed at the radar. "This is set up to track Phantom's ectosignature." She blinked down at the blip on the screen, then reached out and tapped it with a fingernail. The blip didn't go away. "It's picking up Phantom." The gears in her mind churned on this thought for a second.

Suddenly her eyes sprang wide open. "Phantom's alive!" She yanked her seatbelt off, snagged the survival kit and the portable ghost tracker out of the back, and jumped out of the RV.

"Beep, beep, beep," the tracker announced as it tuned in to Phantom's ectosignature. Stumbling a bit from her still-sore leg, she raced across a parking lot towards a set of abandoned apartment buildings. "Beep, beep, beep," the tracker picked up speed as she neared the ghost's position.

Maddie gazed at the building before her. Ignoring the "condemned" sign, she ducked through an opening and headed down the hallway. The tracker led her up a set of crumbling stairs to the second floor, and then down a slowly rotting hallway. "Beepbeepbeepbeep," the tracker chimed incessantly when she pointed it at a closed door with an ancient, brass "7" nailed to it.

Whatever the tracker was picking up on, it was in this room.

Her arm refused to move to grasp the door knob. What's in there? Phantom's remains? Something better? She shivered, something worse?

Finally, her hand trembling horribly, she pushed open the disintegrating door and walked into the dark room.

To be concluded…