CHAPTER 14
Purple Genie
…
With the speedy release of three videos in one day, everyone had been hopeful that the pace would continue. Many were a little more than dismayed when, the next day, no new videos appeared online. Their hopes were spurred again when the day after that, the next video was finally released.
The camera was angled down, looking into the same hole that could be glimpsed briefly at the end of the previous video. Since it was daytime, and the camera lingered for more than a few seconds, the three people sitting at the bottom were in plain view. The hole was actually fairly wide. Jon was sitting on the ground, one leg stuck straight out with the other folded underneath him. Dylan and Casey were standing, eyes roaming over the walls.
"But what if we fall, and then there'd be two injured people. Or we could fall on Jon and make his injury worse," Dylan said nervously.
"I could move out of the way, I'm not an invalid," Jon snapped. "Just start climbing. The sooner we get out here, the sooner we can start heading back."
Dylan swallowed nervously and pressed his foot into the wall, as if looking for a foot hold.
"You know I don't have great upper body strength."
"What if we walk up it, back to back, like they do in that movie?" Casey suggested.
"And when you get to the top? Or if one of you slips?" Jon asked.
"Hey, that's my thing," Dylan said, and it almost looked like he was pouting.
"Then climb! I'm hungry and thirsty, and I'm sure you are too. I'd rather not die down here."
"And then Danny and the others would never find our corpses, and no one would ever know what happened to us." Dylan, understandably, looked stricken at the thought. Jon just sighed and bumped the worried boy's shin with his knuckles.
"But that won't happen, because we'll get out of here, and meet up with them," Jon reassured him. "So start climbing."
Dylan nodded and reached up for a dangling root a little ways above his head. Casey was looking for her own handholds opposite him. The climb up was slow going. Both Casey and Dylan slipped a few times, but otherwise they made it up fine. It was almost a little too easy, all things considered. The hand and footholds they managed to find always seemed to be at just the right height. They pulled themselves up out of the hole, dirt smudged across their exposed skin, and panting from the effort.
Once she recovered, Casey leaned over the hole and shouted down to Jon. "We'll be right back with something to get you out!"
"Okay," Jon called back up. The others left, and the camera stayed on him for a moment as he let out a heavy sigh. "I'm not doomed, am I?"
…
Danny, Rux, and Will were walking through the trees. Rux was chatting animatedly, her choice topic jumping from TV shows, to books, to their current situation, to a friend of hers who would apparently love what was happening on the island right now.
"Just think of everything she could make of this! It's impossible for it all to be just a coincidence," Rux ranted.
"She doesn't believe in coincidence anyways," Will added.
"Exactly! People are missing, and Danny just happens to know they aren't dead, and they're somewhere on the island." Rux gestured wildly to the raven-haired teen walking in front of them. "We don't even know how we're going to get off the island and I just realized we should probably build a signal fire, and then we have to figure out how ghosts are involved."
Danny suddenly stopped and whipped around. "How do you know ghosts are involved?"
"Oh, that's so obvious." Rux grinned. "I can't really think of anything else capable of causing a plane crash like that, without everyone dying? And being able to take away the… twenty?"
"Thirty-one," Will corrected.
"Thirty-one missing people without a trace. Not to mention the fact that you are the son of ghost hunters, and let's be honest, you probably hunt ghosts too. It's the family business." Rux smirked, and a few people watching the videos grinned at the subtle reference. Those living in Amity Park wondered why Rux would jump to such a conclusion. They had never seen Danny Fenton participate in any ghost hunts with his parents. But his friends and sister had been seen on the occasion. It was puzzling, and a few people realized that there could be more going on than they suspected.
"Why do you think that?" Danny asked the question so many people were already wondering.
"You just have to think of things like a story, it's a classic element. There's some kind of family tradition, but one member of the family, normally the newest generation, has to plans to involve themselves in it. But somehow, through some circumstance, it happens. Will uses it all the time in his stories, don't you?" Rux elbowed her friend.
"Classic," he agreed.
Danny actually looked nervous now, further spiking everyone's curiosity. "And, again, why ghosts?"
"I already said. You're a ghost hunter, so of course ghosts would be involved." Rux was grinning and her eyes shone. "You know, I never actually asked, why were you guys on the plane anyways?"
"Class trip," Danny explained.
"What class?"
"Ghosts 402, advanced lessons."
"Cool," Rux crowed, drawing out the 'o'. "I want to go to your school."
"Um, you live in Amity Park. You probably did," Danny pointed out. He had an interesting expression on his face. Either confused, worried, or defensive. It was strange how one look could be interpreted as three very different expressions
"Good old Casper High. I wonder if Tetslaff is still teaching." Rux mused. Danny seemed to give the young woman a thorough look over, like he didn't think she was real, before turning away.
"Bad Rux, you scared him off," Will whispered. "And why did you say all that?"
"Because." Rux gave Will a sideways glance and winked. "I know something you don't know."
…
Sam was standing beside an evergreen that had vines draped across its branches. If the viewers hadn't already seen the strange combinations of foliage on the island, they would have been surprised. But as it was, a banana tree next to a willow had sort of ruined it for them. Sam had one of the vines in her hand and was giving it a scrutinizing stare.
"No sap," she mumbled to herself. Those knowledgeable in survival skills immediately recognized what she was doing, while others watched in mild interest. Sam let the vine slip from her hands and grabbed a thicker one. She slipped a knife from her pocket. How she had gotten the knife onto the plane was cause for worry, but since it could probably save her life on the island, most people didn't bother to think about it. Sam gripped the vine and sawed through it just above her fist. She grabbed it again lower down, holding both ends in one end, and made another cut so that she had a decent sized section of vine.
She ran her thumb across one of the openings, sniffing it experimentally. Then she licked the liquid off her thumb and paused. Apparently satisfied, Sam tipped her head back and poured what little water there was into her mouth.
When she was done, she lowered the vine and looked around.
"You checked it first, right?"
Sam yelled and jumped away in surprise, whipping around with the camera to see Danny.
"Geez! I thought you only did that to Tucker?" Sam asked defensively, giving Danny a half-hearted punch.
Danny shrugged in response. "I couldn't resist."
"Right. And yes, I checked the water, just like you're supposed to. Where's Rux and Will?" Sam looked over Danny's shoulder.
"They'll come stumbling through in a second. I went ahead." Danny actually sounded annoyed.
"Of course you did. What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Danny, we've been friends for years. I know when something's wrong. So what is it?"
"Rux is really observant," Danny said.
"Lots of people are really observant."
Danny rolled his eyes and gave her an intense look. "But she's really observant. She knows ghosts are involved, and she's decided that I hunt ghosts."
"But you do hunt ghosts," Sam pointed out, unknowingly confirming what Rux had said for everyone watching.
"Yeah, but no one's every actually figured that out before. People in Amity are supposed to be stupid and oblivious," Danny hissed, immediately insulting anyone from Amity Park who was watching. Their conversation dissolved as Rux and Will emerged from the bushes behind them, although Danny continued to give Sam a meaningful look.
"Hey Sam!" Rux grinned and waved enthusiastically, despite being only a few feet away. "Where's everyone else?"
"A ghost snake attacked, we were separated."
"Ooh, I told you ghosts were involved." Rux poked Danny's shoulder. "Was it a Ming snake? Or a spider snake?"
"…No." Sam shook her head.
"Was it in someone's boot?"
"It was a little big for that."
"Hmm. Real life can be so boring sometimes." Rux sighed and shook her head. Her comment seemed a little ridiculous, considering their current situation. Danny and Sam seemed to agree with that train of thought, since they both gave her odd looks. Will, however, was nodding in solemn agreement.
Danny was looking off into the trees with narrowed eyes, and Sam followed his line of vision. She looked from Danny, to the young adults with them, and back to the trees.
"I know the way back to where we separated. I'll lead you."
The others agreed and set off. Rux and Will didn't seem to notice, but the viewers could just see that Danny was a fraction ahead of Sam as they returned the way she supposedly came.
…
It would seem that the video skipped a decent portion of the day, because the lighting under the trees seemed to have changed and the shadows looked to be a little longer. The sight of a familiar tree and hole was all the explanation needed as to whom the focus had returned. An echoing hum drifted up from the hole, followed by an exasperated shout.
"If you guys are dead, forget haunting Fenton. My ghost is going to annoy you for eternity!"
"… So you guys better become ghosts too if you are dead! Or else that wastes a perfectly good threat."
"…Damn it…"
While Jon had been talking, Casey became visible through the trees. A few moments after he fell silent, she came close enough to speak to him.
"Jon, I'm back," Casey called.
"Good, because I'm really bent on haunting Fenton when I die."
"Um, what?"
"Never mind. Can you get me out?"
Casey crouched down next to the hole and shook her head. "I couldn't find anything. There weren't any vines strong enough in the area. Dylan might have had more luck."
The camera was hovering over Casey's shoulder now, so Jon's crestfallen expression could be seen.
"But I found these." Casey held out a small bit of cloth tied into a bundle and dropped it. Below, Jon hastily untied it and a handful of raspberries spilled across the dirt. Jon stared at them in disbelief, then proceeded to scoop them out of the dirt and drop them into his mouth.
"I never thought I'd be so happy to see a raspberry," Jon said between bites. When they were all done, he stared stricken at his hand, as if he only just realized those berries could have been his only source of food for the next however many days he would be stuck down there. He looked up almost pleadingly at Casey.
The CA chuckled at his expression. "There were lots on the bush. I can go back to get more."
"Oh thank god." Jon sighed in relief and rested his head against the dirt wall. "Do you think Dylan's okay? He could have gotten lost, or—"
"I could been chased by another ghost, or attacked by some vicious predator, or fallen down another hole. There was probably a seventy percent chance you two would have never seen me again," Dylan interrupted as he came into view.
"Yet none of those things happened."
"Yet they could have, and you still sent me out there," Dylan protested.
"I went out there too," Casey pointed out.
"Exactly. You went out there away from me. I thought we were gonna stick together."
"Oh. I'm sorry, then. Did you find anything we could use to help Jon?" The camera zoomed in on Dylan's empty hands, emphasizing his failure to do just that.
"No."
"Now what?" The desperation in Jon's voice was evident, and understandable. He was stuck in a deep hole for the foreseeable future, his ankle was sprained, and who knew exactly how sturdy the dirt surrounding him was.
"We'll have to go out looking again. If we find nothing today, we'll look again tomorrow." Casey shrugged.
"Unless either you or I go to look for the others, or just someone that could help us," Dylan suggested. All three of them seemed to contemplate it for a moment, then shook their heads almost simultaneously.
"There's no guarantee we'd find anyone, or by able to find our way back here. And then there'd only be one person to help Jon," Dylan conceded, arguing against his own idea.
A heavy sigh drifted up from the hole. "Being stranded sucks."
…
On the beach by the plane, Andy was standing in the shallow water with a makeshift spear. The shaft was a narrow branch, stripped of its bark, and sloppily tied to the top was a supposedly sharp shard of metal. The spear tipped in his hand as he tried to keep it steady, which probably would have been much easier if he had the use of both his arms. He was watching the water intently, eyes roaming over the forms just underneath the surface.
"Aha!" Andy shouted and plunged the spear downwards. The fish that he had been aiming for swam away in a frenzy, along with any others that had been close by. Andy groaned and stuck the spear in the sand.
"Catch anything?" Paulina's lilting voice came from out of sight, and the camera swerved around so that she was in view. Her hair had been tied up messily, and several stray strands framed her fac.
"No." Andy practically growled, and it became obvious to those watching that this wasn't the first time the Latina had asked.
"Hmph. Dash would have caught something by now," Paulina moped.
"Well Dash isn't here!" Andy shouted and spun around. "He's missing, just like Nathan, and Lester, and Kori, and twenty-seven other passengers on that stupid plane! And now everyone else is gone too, and if they don't come back, we'll probably starve."
Paulina looked like she was about to cry. Andy just glared at her and stormed past. While many people didn't want to sympathize with the overbearing girl, the passengers' situation was a stressful one, and Paulina obviously wasn't handling it well. Or at all. She almost seemed to be in denial.
Andy left her standing on the beach and went inside the plane, dropping into the first available seat. A few seconds later, Leo popped up behind him.
"Did you fight with the pretty girl?" The little girl asked innocently.
"Yeah. And she's not that pretty," Andy answered.
"I think she is. I think everyone's pretty, even you. I like your hair, it's fluffy." Leo's fingers disappeared into Andy's shaggy locks, and the teenager smiled. "I hope Danny comes back soon. I miss him."
"You miss him? You don't even know him."
"I don't care. He's like a hero, and I love superheroes. Robin is my favourite. I think you like superheroes too." Leo hummed in a satisfied way and removed her hands from Andy's hair. She disappeared for a moment, then reappeared in the aisle next to him. She waved her hands and Andy obediently moved a seat over so that she could sit next to him.
"Phantom's not your favourite hero?"
"He is, but he's real. Robin is my favourite not real hero. Do you have a favourite hero?" Leo asked.
"Probably Phantom, like most other people in Amity Park," Andy said.
"Has he ever saved you?"
"He's saved everyone in Amity at least once. My whole class? He's saved us a bunch of times. Ghosts attack Casper High all the time."
"Whoa." Leo's eyes widened and she started bouncing excitedly in her seat. "Then, if we stay in Amity Park, I want to go to your school. Then I could see all of you guys, and I could see Phantom, and he could save me!"
"I don't think you're old enough for high school yet." Andy chuckled.
"Mom said that too." Leo pouted and crossed her arms, sinking into her seat. But she recovered quickly. "But the purple man said I was a big girl and could go to high school, and I could go on adventures all on my own."
"The purple man?" Andy's brow furrowed in concern.
"Uh-huh. I saw him. He has four arms and a really big mouth, like he could swallow a cat whole. But I hope he doesn't, because I like cats. And his eyes were black, which was sort of scary, but he sounded really nice." Leo hummed again and closed her eyes, bobbing along to a tune of her own design, and singing nonsensical verses about a purple genie that would help her grow up faster.
…
'See' you next time!