I still own nothing.
Chapter 12: Stealing into Insanity
I was relieved that I had managed to go to sleep, and decided that my death (or existence) so far hadn't been very bad. I was determined to act like my self, and pay attention to my friends. They deserved it, after all. I walked to school with a bounce in my step, looking forward to seeing my friends. I made it all the way to the end of the block before anything weird happened. Just as I sighed in relief over having made it so far, the cold feeling in my chest began. I ran into the closest ally, and promptly sunk through the asphalt, and into the earth. I finally stopped falling as I reached the sewer system, promptly receiving a blast to my face of water. When I came back up, I was cold all over, and shivering in a sudden cold blast of air. I finally managed to phase the water on me off, and ignored the smell. I stunk, and my friends agreed when I met up with them. Of course, I had to admit that I had fallen into the sewers, and they looked appropriately grossed out. I smiled when I reached school and the bullies stayed away in all but words.
At least, I reflected, I won't get punched today. But in some ways, words were worse. The saying,
'Sticks and stones may break my bones,
But words can never hurt me'
was wrong. It was very wrong. The way I saw it, words hurt worse than sticks or stones, and hurt more people than anything else. Of course, that was just my opinion. I smiled at the jokes my friends made and tried to stay engaged. It worked, to an extent. Of course, it was sometimes hard to smile, but that was life. It was easier to think that they would be talking to the real Danny soon, and I finally left school. I might be ready to start stealing come nightfall. I fixed supper again, and washed the dishes. I went up stairs, and began.
I glided silently down the street, invisible or so I hoped. I made it past the dogs guarding Axiom Labs with only one mishap, when a dog seized my ankle and I became visible briefly. I made it to the storage with care, and about an hour's worth of fright. I had to dodge cameras, and that took a great deal of luck. I finally made it to the metal I wanted, and picked it up, weighing it in my hands. I could barely feel it, so I got more, until I had what I guessed would be enough. I slid out, carefully as before, and returned to FentonWorks safely. I bound my bleeding ankle, and looked at the clock. It was past 3:00 in the morning. I walked down the stairs, and into the lab.
I shuffled dusty boxes around, making room for the metal I needed, and hid it under piles of other junk. I made sure no one would see it, and arranged several of the tools I would need close enough by that access would be easy to obtain when I started work on the project. When I returned to my room, still in ghostform, I accidentally broke the doorknob off. It crumbled in my hand. I warily hid it, and hoped Jazz wouldn't notice.
/
I hadn't slept all night, and by the time I got to school, I was in a daze. I fell asleep during math, and English. This promptly earned detention for me again. I attended detention, and did my punishment, that of cleaning my locker, and then the cafeteria floor. I noticed Mr. Lancer's worried gaze fixed on me, and I glanced away hurriedly. I was glad when detention was over, and I could go home again, where I practically passed out on the couch. I was woken by Mom and Dad's excited emotions and yelling from below the floor. I guessed they were in the lab. I was still exhausted, but my sleep had been interrupted, and the two of them ran back up the stairs, raving about how the portal was on, and they didn't know how it had happened.
I know how it happened, thought I, I was in the lab and killed Danny when I turned the portal on. Also, I'm a ghost. That would not be a good thing to say, I reflected. At least I hadn't fried my brains out. They told me to go downstairs and clean the lab, so down I went, no matter how much I wanted to crash. I cleaned, and cleaned. Everything was spic-and-span. The metal shone, and I was starving before I turned my attention to the portal. I found myself shivering uncontrollably, and releasing bits of invisibility. Everything flashed cold and hot for a second, and I was in the portal.
/painpainpoundingcoldbeatstopsblacknesscoldheatpainburningchestpoundinggreenlight/
I took a deep breath. Jazz was standing in front of me.
"Are you alright?" she asked. I was still breathing hard.
"Yes, sister. I feel good." I was getting better at this lying-to-my-sister thing. I didn't even say 'fine'. That would have lead to disaster. She smiled.
"You can talk to me about anything, you know. Just come to my room, okay?"
I nodded. Jazz walked away, red hair swaying back and forth. I looked at the clock. I had spent nearly an hour just staring at the portal, trembling. PTSD popped into my head. Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. I smiled wryly; it fit. I was finally going insane. I walked towards the portal, and touched the frame.
/coldmetalskinnumbhot/
I managed to break out of the trance by my self. I turned away from the portal and ran. Images flashed through my head. I kept running, half never wanting to return ever again. I made it to the park, and punched a tree a couple of times. My knuckles were bloody by the time I broke away from the last of the green flashes. I took a breath in, and walked back to our house, hands in my pockets so no one would notice the blood. I made it inside, and abruptly collapsed in my room, aware that this was not good. I lost consciousness in a minute's time.