Chapter Eight
Danny didn't know it, but he had taken at least ten steps away from the house and from Mia. He could feel a lump growing in his throat as he took a hard swallow. Mia still wasn't looking at him, and it now looked like whatever she was scanning the house for, she may have just found.
"Mia, what the fuck are you talking about?" Danny asked shakily. Mia did not stop staring at the house. Suddenly, Danny could hear a voice in his head.
"Shhhh…we shouldn't be talking about it now. I would suggest that you go ghost, though. And quickly."
Danny recognized the voice as Mia's, and his questions were now just piling on, one after another. But his ghost sense was beginning to freeze every breath he was taking, and he could sense a massive danger approaching. He closed his eyes and took a deep, frigid breath and began to concentrate on going completely ghost for the first time in years. While his breath was ice, he could feel his cheeks begin to twinge with heat; he really hoped it wouldn't take him long to change as he felt he had already embarrassed himself enough in front of Mia. Out of nowhere, he felt a sudden jolt of wind and heard a metallic snap! He opened his eyes to see Mia in full ghost form, still staring at the house with unyielding scrutiny. Danny felt himself grow a bit weak: he had never seen Mia in full ghost form before. He couldn't help but feel slightly mesmerized; she stood before him in a jumpsuit relatively similar to his own, but with small differences. The suit unwaveringly gripped her body. The cuff of her suit did not wrap itself around her slender neck, but rather the front zipper of the suit only made it to just above her breasts. The gloves of her suit wrapped around her upper arms and her boots stopped right at her inner thighs, with the other end of the boots having a slight wedge heel. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun of glittering white strands, some falling over her concentrating face. Her eyes were the most piercing green he had ever seen, as if she were almost brimming with pure, unbridled power. The urge was beginning to return to him. The deep desire he harbored for her was growing more powerful each day and seeing her like this wasn't helping matters. But Danny could feel an energy, regardless of whether it was lustful or not, channeling through his body now. He again closed his eyes and with one breath, he could feel the energy radiating over his body, changing his form from human to ghost. He felt his clothes grip him, as he felt his muscles fill his suit. As though someone was running their fingers through his hair, he felt it change from black to white. He opened his eyes and felt the ectoplasm fill his irises, staining blue with green.
Fully transformed for the first time in two years, Danny exhaled, almost a sigh of relief. He looked at Mia. She was staring at him, her dark red lips were parted again as she was lightly biting them. For a moment, her eyes met his and time was lost just for a split second. A shift in the house broke them from each other, and Mia's attention violently snapped back to the house. Suddenly, in the corner of his eye, Danny saw a black blur rush past him. He turned quickly but saw nothing. He could feel darkness growing around him, filling the air like a smog. It was entirely nighttime now. Danny shot a look at Mia, who was looking in his direction and her eyes were glowing green. She wasn't looking directly at him, but rather, right past him. Danny felt pure iciness fill the air just behind him. Rather than allow the fear in his gut to control his actions, he instead allowed anger to fill him. Suddenly he heard words fill his mind.
You're an interesting one. The darkness in you is hard to resist….so appetiiiiiizing.
Danny curled his fingers into a fist, igniting his hand, and engulfing it in plasmic fire. He moved with inhuman speed and drove his fist into the entity that was looming behind him. A shrill screech filled the area, massively powerful and causing the entire place to vibrate with shattering power. The black, shadowy mass dispersed, and Danny could no longer see it. His eyes vibrated, trying desperately trying to see the dark creature in the midst of night. Almost instantly, black, pulsating power rose from the ground behind him before he could react. Just as quickly, Mia flew down from above, landing and driving her ghostly, fire-engorged fist into the ground, causing the thing to release another unearthly scream. Danny could feel his ears ringing. Suddenly silence filled the air just as thickly as the screams had. Danny turned to face Mia. He saw her reach her hand out into emptiness. He turned toward the direction she was motioning to and saw a backpack rushing toward her, as though it was magnetically drawn to her. She caught it and instantly drew out a very odd-looking thermos from it. She dropped the bag and removed the lid from the thermos.
"Danny, get close to me." She said suddenly. He looked confused but took a step closer to her. She reached out and grabbed him, yanking him almost directly into her. "This one is easier than I thought. But, just in case…" she paused, looking around, her eyes still glowing. "Slide your hands up my waist." He was taken aback by this and hesitated. But he couldn't hold back for long, and soon his hands were gripping her waist. He could feel the energy again. It made his fingertips tingle. He felt himself pulling her closer into him, and with every movement of his hands, he felt his power increasing. Suddenly, the eerie silence broke and it felt as though something had hit the sound barrier surrounding them. Instantly, Danny and Mia were ripped from each other and thrown, reeling backwards. Both hit the ground hard. Danny panted, desperately trying to refill his lungs with the wind that was knocked out of them. He turned and saw Mia sprawled on the ground, the creature rushing towards her with sickening speed. Danny felt a pang of gut-wrenching panic sear through him, but in a split second, Mia turned, thermos aimed at the entity and absorbed it into the container. It let out one last chilling scream as it was pulled into the thermos, and then all was quiet. Mia sealed the container and placed it on the ground. She stood up, cleared her throat, and patted the dirt from her gloves. She walked over to Danny and offered out her hand. His eyes glued to her, he slowly slipped his hand into hers. She pulled him up quickly and the force of her pull now placed their faces only inches from each other. Instead of instantly pulling away, as he worried she might do, Mia linger there for a bit. He could feel her icy breath coming out in quick puffs. Wait, why is her breath still so frigid? He wondered. His face contorted in confusion, and he looked toward the house. There in the darkness were four, darkish outlines, all different sizes. He squinted and realized they looked like the outlines of people. They were feature-less, and it sent chills up his spine. Mia moved from him and walked over to the area he was staring at. He looked at her in shock, as she gently raised her hand to the shadows. Slowly, all the shadows reached out back to her and touch the tips of her fingers. Light emulated from her to them and suddenly Danny could see them just as clearly as he could see her. They were intangible and translucent, but he could them. There were two adults and two teenagers. They wore clothing that looked to be from the turn of the 20th century. They looked at Danny, nodded, and smiled. Then they looked back at Mia. One of the adults said something to her, who then nodded back and suddenly all four of them disappeared. Once they were gone, Mia dipped her head slightly toward the ground, and Danny wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a tear fall from her. After a few moments, Mia looked back at him and gave him a small, gentle smile. The massive, unbridled energy that he usually felt when he was near her shift within him a bit. No longer did he feel a power that he had to actively hold back, but now, in the pit of his chest, he felt a flutter: an essence within that he was having trouble identifying. His eyes locked with Mia's. Her eyes glistened in the now prevalent moonlight. Suddenly, Danny knew. He smiled back at her, never wanting to tear his eyes away from her again.