Chapter 2

Jazz wasn't quite sure what to think when she received a message at eleven O'clock in the evening from Valerie.

Danny's friends all had her number, just in case of emergencies or any sort of help, but Valerie very rarely texted her, usually just preferring to speak in person. Ever since Sam, Tucker and Danny had told her that Valerie was the Red Huntress, she had made sure to keep an extra look out, if not only to make sure she didn't hurt Danny but to also ensure that Valerie took care of herself.

Her parents had left a while ago, and she'd seen Danny fly off before them, so it was highly likely this had to do with a ghost.

EMRGNCY. PLS GET OVR HER.

The message was short and rushed, a location attached to it. Dread starting to settle deep within her. Rushing to grab her keys and coat, Jazz leapt down the stairs, out the door and into the car.

She knew she shouldn't be driving so fast, but honestly? It was the middle of the night and she couldn't give two flying fucks about what anyone else thought at the moment. Her mind was spinning with all the possibilities of what might have happened, if Valerie was ok or hurt or… or someone else was.

When she reached the destination, she slowed to a stop parking the car by the pavement and quickly got out. The area was dark, with few houses around, and no lights. She turned on the torch on her phone, letting it give her a bit of sight.

"Valerie?" She called out. "Val, are you there?"

For a few moments, she was met with silence, and she was prepared to call again before a voice reached her.

"Jazz?" Valerie's voice sounded over. She sounded like she had been crying. "I- we're over here."

We? She jogged over to where she heard Valerie's voice coming from, a small alleyway, ignoring how her heart pounded in her chest. The gladness she felt upon at least hearing Valerie's voice vanished as soon as she turned the corner.

At the end of the alley sat Valerie, still dressed in her red suit, covered in a mixture of blood and ectoplasm. In her arms was an unconscious figure that Jazz recognised immediately.

Danny, her little brother.

A choked cry ripped from her chest as she ran towards them, kneeling on the ground as she placed a hand on her brother's bloodless face. The fact that she could even tell that he was looking pale was never a good sign. Ever since the Accident, Danny had been getting paler and paler as the months had gone by, no matter how much he stood in the sun.

His shirt was completely drenched in red, with splotches of ectoplasm also covering parts of his body. It was a gruesome sight, and it made her want to look away, but she couldn't- not now.

Next to her, she could hear Valerie breathing heavily, her whole body shaking. The poor girl was going into shock, and Jazz couldn't blame her. It wasn't everyday one of your half-dead friends decides to go and bleed out all over you. She would have pressed for an explanation to what the fuck was going on, but Jazz doubted that Valerie would be able to get out more than a few words before completely breaking down.

She heard footsteps behind her as she was searching for Danny's weak pulse, but she relaxed once she heard Sam's voice.

"Holy shit." the dark haired girl breathed. She approached closer, and Jazz could see Tucker coming up from the other side, reaching out to put a steady hand on Valerie's shoulder. Thank god for these two.

Jazz continued to feel for Danny's pulse, and she soon found it, though it was faint and barely there. It was better than not having one at all, she supposed.

"How is he?" Sam asked, worry etching her features.

"It- well, it isn't looking too good." If that wasn't an understatement.

"I saw your parents driving around earlier." Tucker spoke. "They weren't too far from here."

That wasn't good. If her parents arrived now, she didn't exactly have a convincing story to what was going on aside from the truth, and like hell she was gonna explain this without Danny's permission.

"We need to get him inside, somewhere that would have supplies." She suggested. "We- we can't go to mine, obviously, do you guy's know anywhere that's safe where no one will find us."

"My parents aren't home for a few day's." Sam said. "We'll be fine there."

And that was that.

Jazz and Sam took Danny into their arms, heading to the car as Tucker helped Valerie off of the ground. She held a tight grip onto the boy, swaying on her feet a bit, before promptly fainting back onto the ground, taking a shocked Tucker with him.

"Ow!" He yelped. "Little help over here, guys?"

{~}

The side to Sam's house was silent.

Tucker and Sam sat in the back, Danny laid across them so they could make sure the ride did not jostle his wounds too much. They had put Valerie in the front next to Jazz who was driving, and she had yet to wake up.

The air was tense the entire way there, and still no one spoke until Jazz had finally stopped the car at the big house.

Sam and Tucker brought Danny inside, moving to get any supplies that they might need. Although Jazz wanted to stay with her brother, she wasn't sure how long she would be able to keep her composure before it snapped.

So, instead she lifted (quite a light) Valerie into her arms, taking her up to one of the many spare rooms that Sam had guided her to in the large house. She lay the unconscious girl on the large, comfy bed, making sure that she wouldn't be in an uncomfortable position. She would have taken her boots off, but Jazz had no idea how the armour worked and she didn't want to accidentally break something.

Quietly, she slipped out, making sure to turn the light off before she left, and then made her way to where Sam and Tucker had taken Danny.

She knocked quietly on the door, only entering once Tucker looked up at her and smiled slightly.

"How is he?" She made her way over to the bedside.

"Much better than before, I can tell you that." Sam answered quietly, rolling up a bundle of bandages.

And it was true. His whole torso had been bandaged up, with a few flecks of blood still staining it, but it didn't appear to be bleeding any further. His face was still extremely pale, but then again, it always was nowadays. The thing that comforted Jazz the most, though, was that she could actually see Danny's chest rising and falling, if ever so slightly.

She let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. "That's good. And, thank you, both for helping him. Not just this time, but all the other times. I really am grateful."

Tucker huffed a laugh. "Of course! Danny's our bro, y'know? It's the kind of things friends should do, right? Patching up your best friend after he bleeds out all over the place…"

"He'd be completely dead without us." Sam simply stated.

Jazz just nodded her head silently. "You guy's should get some sleep, I can stay with him a while."

The two looked like they wanted to argue, but she gave them her stern 'you'd better do as you're told or I will be very disappointed in you' look. Quietly, they shuffled out of the room, closing the door behind them as Jazz made her way over to the bed.

Oh, Danny, will you ever get just a moment's rest?

She took his cold, pale hand in hers and simply focused on his breathing, content that he did not seem to be in any pain by the look of his peaceful face.

She stayed there all night, until, eventually, she too drifted off into a dreamless sleep.