A Fallen Hero

I stand around a coffin smashed between my mother and older sister, listening to the mayor give a eulogy for the former hero, Jason Baxter. Behind me, I can hear sniffling sounds and look up to see my father towering over me with tears dripping down his cheeks as he quietly sobs while my mother stands beside me clasping my arm, trying to prevent the tears from escaping her eyes, though they escape anyways, leaving trails of water down her cheeks. My sister stands strong on my opposite side, though it still seems to effect her as much as it does my parents, if her knitted eyebrows and clenched fists are any indication.

Me on the other hand, I can't quite explain why I don't feel the sadness that everyone around me does. The pillar of our community... Amity Park's protector... the Ghost Slayer... he's gone now. My parent's partner... the man who ate dinner with us on Saturday nights... my old friend's father... he's never coming back. And yet I can't feel anything. My gaze floats over the crowd, settling on the tall blonde haired boy who stands mere feet from the coffin, his father's body just inside the closed lid. Looking at his red puffy eyes, messy hair, and clasped hands, I feel my heart throb in my chest, an overwhelming sense of sympathy overcoming me.

Dash turns away, a new line of tear streaming down his face, when his eyes settle on our group, scanning the four of us before his eyes land on me, staring at me with a look I've never seen him wear before. His glassy eyes gaze into my own, confusion and heartbreak covering his expression as he slowly turns away from me and turns his gaze towards the ground, not looking up for the rest of the ceremony.

Mayor Montez wraps up his eulogy, which I completely tuned out, though I assume it talked about how Jason was a hero and he died a brave death protecting the city. That he will be dearly missed and the community will not be the same without him. That he is thankful for his service to the town. Hollow words from a man who saw Jason as a pillar of peace before a human being. After they've lowered the coffin into the ground and covered it with dirt, Dash steps forward, placing a small key chain on the dirt in front of the tombstone. As he drops it, I notice the bottom of it has a decorative X on it, the same one as the symbol his father wore when fighting ghosts, and can't help but wonder what the story behind it is, though I seriously doubt that Dash will ever tell me.

After the ceremony ends, most people file out of the cemetery, but Mayor Montez stays to talk with Dash, while my parents settle in front of the grave to leave flowers and mementos for their old partner. "Danny." Jazz tugs on my sleeve. "I'm gonna head to the car." She doesn't look at me as she speaks, instead staring after our parents, who grip each other in a tight embrace as they sob over his grave.

"Okay," I respond, watching her as she turns to leave, fully expecting that she will break down when she gets to the safety of the car. When I turn back around, I see that the Mayor and Dash have wrapped up their conversation, and I try to stop Dash to talk before he leaves. "Dash, wait." I step towards him, but he doesn't even look at me, his eyes no longer empty as they were before. "Dash..." He continues his march as he passes by me, narrowly missing the opportunity to shoulder check me like he always does. Dejected, I turn back towards my parents with a frustrated sigh, watching from afar as they talk with Montez. When they return to my side, we all walk in silence back towards the car. I slip into the back seat next to Jazz, whose eyes are rimmed red and her sleeves covered in tear stains, but I don't say a word as we drive solemnly back towards the house.

The next day, I wake up early to help make breakfast, whipping up some blueberry pancakes for the family, when Jazz descends the stairs and wanders into the kitchen, chasing the smell of my cooking. "You're up?" She asks.

"Yeah," I reply. "I woke up an hour ago and couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to help mom and dad." Jazz comes up and rubs my head, while snagging a handful of blueberries.

"You're a good kid."

"Alright, that's it," I say. "Now you don't get any blueberries in yours."

"Wait, no I'm sorry!" She cries, tossing the uneaten berries back into the carton. "I won't steal anymore! I promise."

"Fine," I tell her, sprinkling a small handful into her pancake.

"More than that!"

"Stop back-seat-cooking!" While we bicker, mom and dad enter the kitchen with tired expressions on their faces, my father sitting down at the table while my mother comes up to hug us.

"Look at my two wonderful children!" She squeezes us tightly in her arms, gripping my shoulder so forcefully that it might leave a bruise. "You are so responsible Danny. Thank you for making breakfast for us."

"Of course," I say, flipping the pancake over in pan before adding it to the plateful of them, then taking them over to the table, while Jazz brings the whipped cream and chocolate sauce. The four of us grab at the toppings lain out on the table and scarf down our pancakes, almost contented, if not for the deep void within our hearts. After we finish eating, Jazz goes to grab the plates but mom stops her.

"Wait," she says, her voice serious. "The memorial service... it's today. The mayor asked us if we would give a speech, so we'll be going, but you two don't have to."

"No we'll go," Jazz says for the both of us, speaking my mind without hesitation.

"You kids shouldn't be forced to go," Dad says, holding back his sobs.

"I think it would be nice to see them commemorate Jason," I pipe in, unintentionally setting the somber mood that would follow us for the rest of the morning.

"Okay." Mom rests her hand on my own, giving me a nod of approval before helping Jazz clean up the dishes. We all depart from the kitchen, going our separate ways throughout the house to get ready for the service. After an excruciatingly long car ride due to traffic, we make it to the memorial site, where we are ushered into a tent next to the unveiling site. I look around for Dash, wondering if he is going to speak during the ceremony, but don't see him anywhere. After a few minutes, we hear the mayor cue my parents up to the stage and they leave Jazz and I in the tent to watch.

"Firstly," mom starts. "Thank you for being here with us today to mourn the loss of our dear friend and protector, Jason Baxter. But we are also here for another reason, to celebrate his life and his legacy. This isn't easy for any of us, as we all loved and cherished Jason for the wonderful man that he was. I can remember the day that Jack and I met Jason. We were such huge fans of him, and he came by our home to commission some equipment from us, a ghost particle disintegrator, but when he used it the first time inside, it blasted a hole right through our bedroom wall." The crowd lets out an amused chuckle. "He begged us to let him pay us back but we refused. After that, he came by almost every day for new equipment. Eventually, we became partners in the ghost hunting game." She paused a moment, tears welling in her eyes. "He was a wonderful ghost hunter, well deserving of the name Ghost Slayer, but... to me, he was just a friend." She pauses again, tears streaming down her cheeks. When dad goes to comfort her, he starts crying to, then the crowd below them breaks into sobs as well. Beside me, Jazz turns away, walking towards the other side of the tent to get some water.

"Fenton," Dash's voice is unmistakable when he calls out to me. I turn around to see him dressed in his father's old leather flight jacket with his Ghost Hunting symbol on it, reminding me of the keychain Dash left on Jason's grave.

"Dash, what are you—"

"You're in the way Fenton." He pushes past me towards the stage, where mom and dad have recollected themselves to the best of their abilities.

"But now that Jason is gone, we need to look towards the future," she says, turning to look at Dash as he steps up on the stage. "That is why we would like to give the stage away to Jason's son, Dash." The crowd claps courteously as Dash takes the mic from mom with a smile.

"Hello everyone," he greets the crowd, his distress from the previous day vanished completely. "Loosing my father has been incredibly rough for me. I'm honestly surprised that I made it out here today. And I don't know if I will ever fully heal. I'm sure all of you feel the same way. When you loose someone that you love, it leaves an emptiness in you that nothing can truly replace. But we can't dwell on the past if we want to move forward, no matter how hard that might be. And even if it doesn't seem that way, Jason Baxter will be with all of us so long as we remember him." There seems to be more that he is supposed to say, but he doesn't finish.

"With that said..." Mayor Montez rushes up and takes the microphone from Dash, who steps to the side of the stage, close enough for me to notice how tightly his jaw is clenched. "The unveiling of the memorial!" Montez turns back towards the giant statue, and as the curtain falls away, it reveals a shiny, gold statue depicting Jason shooting a ghost into oblivion. While the crowd cheers, I glance over at Dash, who stares up at the statue with furrowed brows.

After the crowd dies down, Montez takes to the microphone again, "It's beautiful, right? Beautiful." He lets the crowd cheer some more. "I know that we are all saddened by our loss. I also know that as we look into the future, we can't help but wonder what will happen to our fair city now." I look over at Dash, who can't even stand to face Montez because of how angry he is.

Oh no.

"Who will protect us?"

You've got to be kidding me.

"Who will take up the mantle of Ghost Slayer?"

Goddamnit, he's serious.

"That paragon of heroism is here with us ladies and gentlemen," Montez pauses. "Our second generation Ghost Slayer, Dash Baxter!" The crowd let's out a roar of applause while Dash tries and fails to look excited.

Dear god, he's fucked.