Chapter 11: Scratching at the Door
Everything seemed to slow down for Danny as he watched Rhody's cleaver descend towards him, like time was moving at a crawl. As he stared at the blade, images of his family flashed through his mind, quickly running through all his memories of his parents, his sister, and their travels across the country. With a start, Danny realized what was happening. His life was flashing before his eyes. He was about to die.
Again.
However, in the end, Rhody's cleaver did not slam into him like Danny had expected. At the last moment, the blade was stopped a foot away from Danny's face with a metallic clang. His brow furrowing in confusion, Danny looked down and was surprised to discover that Rhody's attack had been intercepted by another blade.
Looking closer at the blade, Danny saw that it was an almost ridiculously large, double-edged sword. The sword gleamed despite the dull light and Danny could see that what looked runes running down the center of the blade. Turning his head towards whoever was holding the sword, Danny found the last person he expected.
"Wendy?" Danny questioned in surprise as he looked up at the redhead.
"Hey Danny," Wendy said as she grinned down at the young man, seemingly heedless to the monstrous ghost who she had locked blades with, both of her hands wrapped around the hilt of the sword. Currently, her long red hair was tied back in a loose ponytail while she was dressed in a black, fleece jacket, blue jeans and heavy work boots.
"I'll help you up in a second," Wendy said before she turned her attention towards Rhody, "I just got to take care of something first."
Grunting with effort, Wendy pushed hard against Rhody's blade, causing the ghost to lose her balance and stumble back a few steps.
Glancing around, Danny noticed that the action had distracted the creatures that were holding him down. Acting quickly, Danny pulled his foot free from one of the creatures' grasp before kicking it hard in the chest, sending the monster rolling across the floor. Having managed to catch the creatures unaware, Danny then planted his now free foot against the floor before thrusting himself up into the air. As the creatures attempted to hang on to him, Danny hovered in place before spinning rapidly in place. The creatures desperately tried to keep a hold of Danny but eventually they were flung off and sent flying towards different parts of the cafeteria.
Landing back on the floor, Danny found Wendy grinning at him.
"That was impressive," Wendy commented, her gaze focused on Danny's white locks as she rested the blade of her sword against her shoulder, "Love the hair, by the way. Very punk."
"Uh, thanks?" Danny replied as he looked at her in confusion, "Okay, Wendy, I have to ask. What are you doing here?"
"Saving your ass, it looks like," Wendy replied with a jovial grin.
At that moment, one of the emaciated creatures leapt at them, screaming at the top of its lungs as it lunged at the unsuspecting teens. Wendy and Danny turned to look at the creature in surprise, both of them realizing that neither of them had time to react. Before the creature could reach them though, a loud bang rang out through the room and the creature's trajectory abruptly changed, a blow from the side knocking it out of the air and sending the monster rolling across the floor.
Looking towards where the bang had come from, Danny found the old man that Ember had met in the Mystery Shack that day, a shotgun gripped in his hands.
"This isn't the time to flap your jaw, Wendy!" the old man shouted as he pumped the shotgun, "Look alive!"
"Sorry, boss!" Wendy called back as she turned her attention towards the other creatures as they rushed towards the teenagers.
"Who the hell is this guy!?" Danny asked as he looked at the old man incredulously.
"Daniel!" Alistair cried out in warning from inside Danny's head.
Spinning around, Danny's eyes widened in surprise as he found another one of the creatures leaping at him, its jaws open in a scream. Acting quickly, Danny went intangible, allowing the creature to pass through him harmlessly. Turning tangible again, Danny spun around and grabbed the creature by the shoulders, pulling it off its feet and slamming its back against the floor. As the creature lay on the floor, Danny kicked it hard in the stomach, punting the creature across the cafeteria and sending it crashing into a wall.
Turning back to Wendy, Danny found her facing off with the other two creatures, her sword at the ready. As one of the creatures leapt at her, Wendy slashed her sword at it, slicing the creature in two horizontally, a surprised look spreading across the creature's face as its two halves flopped to the floor. Turning to the other creature, Wendy thrust her sword forward, stabbing the creature in the chest. As the creature looked down at the blade protruding from its chest, Wendy lifted her foot before kicking the creature off her sword, causing it to collapse to the floor.
"That is no ordinary blade," Alistair observed.
Danny, for his part, looked at Wendy in surprise for a moment before his attention was grabbed by Rhody letting out a monstrous scream. Looking over at the murderous ghost, Danny's eyes widened as Rhody rushed at them with her cleaver raised. Wendy had just enough time to raise her blade to block that attack as Rhody brought her weapon down on her. Grunting with effort, Wendy held the attack in check, Rhody snarling as she put more of her weight behind her cleaver, causing Wendy to slowly begin sliding backwards.
Suddenly, the struggle was broken as another shot rang out in the cafeteria and Rhody stumbled back, howling in pain as she clutched at the hole that had just been dug out of her shoulder, what looked like a translucent, green-tinged goo splattering onto the floor around her. Looking back, Danny found the old man quickly reloading his shotgun, his gaze focused on the injured ghost.
"Damnit, Mike!" the old man shouted as he looked over his shoulder at the door that led into the cafeteria, "Where the hell are you!?"
A moment later, Mike Penderghast came running into the room, his eyes wide and wild as they focused on Rhody.
"Stan, are you seeing this!?" Mike exclaimed, watching as the wound in Rhody's shoulder began to knit itself back together.
"Yes, I'm seeing it!" Stan bellowed as he glared at Mike, "Now do something!"
Seeming to snap out of the daze he was in, Mike's eyes narrowed as he focused his gaze on Rhody O'Brian.
"Get back!" Mike yelled as he thrust his hand at the ghost, his fingers splayed. The action seemed to strike Rhody like a physical blow and she rocked back briefly before she began moving forward.
Furrowing his brow in concentration, Mike gritted his teeth and thrust his hand forward again.
"I said, get back!" Mike roarded. This time, the command sent Rhody flying through the air and slammed her against the far wall, her arms splayed as she was held in place by an invisible force.
Danny looked at Rhody's pinned form in shock for a moment before turning his attention towards Wendy, who had fallen to one knee.
"Wendy, are you okay?" Danny questioned as he moved to her side, offering to help her back to her feet.
"I'm fine, man," Wendy replied breathlessly, waving off Danny's help as she rose back to her feet on her own, "Don't worry about me."
Nodding, Danny turned his attention back to Rhody, who was still being held in place by Mike.
"Release me!" Rhody snarled as she struggled in vain to escape.
"No," Mike replied firmly, "I'm going to send you back to Hell where you belong."
With that, Mike closed his eyes and seemed to concentrate even harder, sweat starting to form on his brow. After a few moments in which nothing happened passed, an ugly grin crossed Rhody's features and she chuckled darkly.
"Mike?" Stan asked as he looked at the larger man questioningly.
"I can't!" Mike suddenly gasped, his eyes shooting back open as he began to pant heavily, "I can't….banish her…."
"Of course you can't," Rhody stated in her slobbering voice, "The words that brought me back were much stronger than anything meat like you could accomplish."
At that moment, Rhody lurched forward, trying to break free of Mike's hold. Mike hissed in pain before he thrust his arm forward again, pushing Rhody back against the wall.
"I might not be able to banish you back to Hell," Mike said, his voice strained, "But I can still cast you out of this building."
"I will be back, little shaman," Rhody snarled.
"I cast you out," Mike said firmly.
"You will die screaming as I feast on your entrails!" Rhody screeched.
"I cast you out!" Mike repeated, his voice rising.
"You're all nothing but meat!" Rhody roared, her voice taking on a note of panic.
"I CAST YOU OUT!" Mike bellowed, heedless of Rhody's threats.
At that, Rhody let out a piercing scream, forcing everyone else present to cover their ears. A moment later, the remain windows shattered outward, sending glass spraying across the school grounds. After that, Rhody seemed to break apart, bits of her turning into misty strands that flowed out through the now broken windows. Eventually, Rhody's entire form disintegrated, turning into a cloud of green mist that flowed out of the room and disappeared, as did the creatures she had created.
Silence fell over the room as the last echo of Rhody's scream faded away. There was a moment where everyone seemed frozen in place as they all digested what had just happened. Then, letting out a choking gasp, Mike fell to his hands and knees, clutching his chest.
"Uncle Mike!" Norman's voice suddenly called out.
Turning towards the door, Danny saw Norman and Neil come rushing into the room, a concerned look on Norman's face.
"Norman!" Danny exclaimed, running over to where the boy was kneeling next to his uncle, "I thought you guys got out of here?"
"We did," Neil answered, "That's when we met Norman's uncle and the others. They helped us get Ember and the janitor out and then Tucker called an ambulance. We were going to stay out there and wait but then we heard the explosions and the screaming and came to see what was happening."
"You know that's….kind of dumb of you, right?" Wendy said as she walked up next to Danny and quirked an eyebrow at Neil.
"Yeah, I'm starting to think that's kind of Neil's M.O.," Danny commented.
"What's wrong with my uncle?" Norman questioned with concern.
"Mike's not the young man he used to be," Stan said as he walked over to Mike and laid a hand on the larger man's shoulder, "You okay?"
"I feel like I just went ten rounds with a pick-up truck," Mike replied, huffing and puffing as he continued to clutch his chest.
"Can you stand?" Stan questioned.
"Not on my own," Mike replied with a shake of his head.
"You," Stan said as he nodded at Danny, "Help him up."
"Not before you tell me who the hell you are," Danny replied as he narrowed his eyes at Stan.
"I'm one of the people who saved your goddamned life, kid," Stan replied sternly, "But if you really need an answer, the name's Stanley Pines, and unless you want to explain all this to the police, you better help my friend up and come with me."
Danny took in what Stan said for a moment before turning his gaze towards Wendy.
"What? You already know my name," Wendy stated with a shrug, "Plus, I don't really want to explain any of this to the police either."
Sighing, Danny turned his attention back to Mike before leaning down, looping the large man's arm around his shoulders and helped him back to his feet. Looking towards the others, Danny gestured for them to lead on before the group made their way out of the devastated cafeteria. A few moments later, the group exited the school, where they found Tucker helping Ember back to her feet.
"Hey, look who's still among the living," Danny joked as he helped Mike down the school's front stairs.
"Happy to be here," Ember replied as she rolled her shoulder and grimaced in pain, "I take it since we're not all dead we-"
Ember paused as she caught sight of Stan, causing a look of confusion to sweep across her face.
"Wait a minute," Ember said as she pointed at Stan, "Ya're dat weird old man from dat tourist trap!"
"Yeah, I'm really happy to see you again too," Stan deadpanned before he looked at the others, "Now come on! We need to get the hell out of here!"
With that, the group followed after Stan as he led them away from the school, leaving the janitor laying on the grass as the sound of emergency sirens approached.
Running down Blithe Hollow's empty sidewalks, Stan led the group towards the center of town before ducking down the small street on which the Mystery Shack sat. Unlocking the door, Stan quickly ushered everyone inside. Once the group had entered the building, Stan took a moment to stick his head out and glance around before closing and locking the door.
"Where are we?" Danny questioned as he glanced around at the cluttered gift shop, still supporting a wheezing Mike.
"It reminds me of the abode of an old warlock I once knew," Alistair commented.
"Welcome to the Mystery Shack," Wendy replied as she produced a chair from somewhere and brought it over to Danny and Mike, "My home away from home."
"You live here?" Danny asked as he lowered Mike into the chair.
"No, Danny, I mean I work here," Wendy answered as she looked at Danny through narrowed eyes.
"Oh right," Danny replied as he straightened back up and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, "Sorry. What is it that you do here?"
"Well, normally, I spend my weekends here as the cashier making minimum wage," Wendy explained before she held her sword up, "But sometimes, I get to use this."
"What's up with that thing anyway?" Danny questioned as he looked at the sword, "It doesn't seem like a normal sword."
An excited smile spread across Wendy's face as she opened her mouth to explain, only for Stan to cut her off.
"Hold your horses there, ghost boy," Stan said as he placed his shotgun on the store counter, "Before you ask any more questions, I think I'm entitled to some answers of my own."
After Stan spoke, Danny turned his attention towards Tucker and Ember, looking for advice, but only received shrugs from his friends.
"Alright," Danny relented with a sigh, "But if we're going to talk, you need to let me power down first."
"What the hell does that mean?" Stan questioned as he quirked an eyebrow at Danny.
In response, Danny bent over, resting his hands on his knees as he focused his gaze on the floor. After a moment, Danny began making guttural noises, sounding as though he was on the verge of vomiting. Then, with a terrible wretching noise, Danny's jaw distended impossibly and he disgorged Alistair's spectral form onto the floor as his hair and eyes returned to their normal color. As this happened, everyone present watched with various expressions of horror and disgust.
"Oh, dat's vile," Ember commented, looking like she might be sick as well.
"Trust me, it feels worse than it looks," Danny huffed as he stood up straight and worked to catch his breath.
"It is not an enjoyable experience for me either," Alistair groused as he righted himself.
"What the hell was that!?" Stan exclaimed as he gestured emphatically at Danny, "Did you just ghost vomit all over my floor!? That had better not stain!"
"It's fine," Danny replied with a roll of his eyes as Alistair began to float around the room.
"God, I'm going to need a drink after all this," Stan sighed as he began walking around the counter, "Now, where did I-"
Stan suddenly stopped talking as he stared down at something behind the counter. A silence fell over the room as Stan continued to stare while everyone else looked at him in confusion. Danny was about to say something when two children, a boy and a girl, slowly rose up from behind the counter, their wide-eyed gazes locked with Stan's.
The first thing Danny noticed was how similar in appearance the two children were, quickly leading him to conclude they must be siblings, possibly even twins. They were both of identical height, standing slightly shorter than Norman, with pale complexions, and slim builds, as well as the same shade of brunette hair and brown, almost black eyes.
The boy's hair was short, but shaggy, held in place by a blue and white baseball cap with the picture of a blue pine tree on the front. He wore a navy blue vest over a red t-shirt, grey pants and black sneakers. The girl's hair, on the other hand, was long and straight, hanging down to the small of her back and held out of her face by a pink headband. She wore a pink sweater with rainbow following a shooting star emblazoned across the front, along with a purple skirt and black mary jane shoes.
"Well, hey there, Grunkle Stan!" the girl greeted as she flashed a wide grin at the old man, showing off the braces encasing her teeth, "What are you doing up at this hour on a school night?"
"How much did you kids hear?" Stan questioned, looking thoroughly unamused.
"Um, everything?" the boy answered nervously before pointing at Danny, "I'm pretty sure that guy barfed a ghost or something too."
"Hey wait a minute, I know these guys," Neil spoke up, a look of recognition on his face, "You're the new kids at school. Uh….Dropper and Maple, right?"
"Wow, I don't even know these kids and I can tell that was wrong," Tucker commented with a shake of his head.
"It is," Wendy confirmed as she gestured at the children, "This is Dipper and Mabel. They're Stan's grand niece and nephew."
"And they should be asleep," Stan grumbled angrily.
"Well, sorry, Grunkle Stan," the boy, Dipper, apologized sarcastically, "But it's kind of hard to sleep when you storm off into the night with a shotgun."
"So, seriously, did they guy really just hurl up a ghost?" the girl, Mabel, inquired as she pointed at Danny, "Because that was both the coolest and most disgusting thing I've ever seen."
Rolling his eyes, Danny turned to look for Alistair, only to find the ghost floating nearby and staring intently at the door leading outside.
"Alistair?" Danny questioned, catching everyone else's attentions, "What's wrong?"
"Something is coming," Alistair stated, his gaze never wavering.
"What's-" Danny began to question.
Danny was cut off as Ember let out a loud gasp and stumbled backwards into one of the store's displays. Whipping his head around to look at Ember, Danny watched as his friend slumped to the floor, her eyes black with inky tears streaming down her face.
"Oh my God, is she okay!?" Wendy questioned in shock as Danny rushed over to Ember's side.
"Ember-" Danny started before Ember suddenly reached out and grabbed the young man's shirt and turned her black eyes towards him.
"Don't open de door," Ember hissed.
Confused, Danny looked as though he was about to ask Ember to clarify.
Then a knock came from the door.
A tense silence immediately fell over the room as everyone turned their attentions towards the door. After a moment, another knock echoed through the quiet room.
"Knock, knock," a muffled, multilayered voice said from the other side of the door, "Anybody home?"
A thud brought Danny's attention back to Stan, who was now gripping the side of the counter in an effort to hold himself up, a look of absolute terror on his face. Glancing at Mike, Danny saw that the older man had gone deathly pale, his eyes looking like they threatened to pop out of their sockets.
"Stan?" the voice continued, Danny practically able to hear the sneer in its tone, "Are you in there, Stan?"
"It can't be," Stan whispered, "Not him. Anyone….anyone but….Him."
"Is Mike still kicking around?" the voice asked, causing the large man to grip his chest tightly, "How's the old ticker treating you these days, Mike? How much mileage do you think you have left on that thing?"
Danny looked around at the room, seeing that his friends wore the same anxious expression as he did, even though he assumed that they, like him, did not understand what was happening.
"Is nobody going to let me in?" the voice inquired before sighing, "How rude."
What followed was a deep scratching noise, as if whatever was on the other side of the door was gorging a chunk of the wood out of it.
"I guess I'll just cut to the chase then," the voice said nonchalantly, "What happened tonight was just the start. The closer we drawn to Samhain, the more I will draw back. You might think this will go like it did before, but I assure you, it will not. You're old, and worn out now, and what allies you had are scattered. And what you have now? These children?"
Another deep scratching noise came from the door, causing everyone inside to start in surprise.
"I'll eat them alive," the voice stated, "So, why don't you just sit this one out? Lay down the sword? Maybe take that shotgun of yours and shove it in your mouth."
Another scratch from the door sent a chill down Danny's spine.
"It will be quicker that way," the voice stated matter of factly.
A hush fell over the room as the voice finished speaking, the occupants of the Mystery Shack barely able to breath, let alone move. Eventually, Danny turned his attention towards Alistair and quirked an eyebrow at the ghost.
"I believe that it….or he….has left," Alistair stated wearily.
Turning his attention towards the door, Danny took a calming breath and walked towards it.
"Danny," Wendy whispered with a warning tone as the young man grabbed the doorknob, "Be careful."
Danny nodded at her before looking back at the door, squaring his shoulders and pulling it open. The street on the other side of the door was completely empty and eerily still. Sticking his head out of the doorway, Danny glanced up and down the street, but saw no signs of life anywhere.
Danny began pulling his head back in before he glanced at the door and paused. Turning towards the door, Danny opened it fully, allowing everyone inside the Mystery Shack to see the smiley face that had been carved into the wood.
"Alright," Danny said as he focused his gaze on Stan, "I definitely think we need to talk now."
A/N: A lot of fun with this chapter. Some surprise introductions and we've finally reached the point where I can start expanding on the overall story. Hope you guys enjoyed it! As always, feedback and critiques are welcome, so please review! Later!