'Lo, peoples! Thanks for the reviews. Don't worry, the Box Ghost will be fine. Mostly.
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Chapter Three: Claustrophobia
Danny sighed and sat up in his sleeping bag, glancing up at Sam. He had given up his comfortable bed so Sam could sleep well, a small sign of his love for her. He shook his head, stood, and walked over.
"Sam? Time to wake up." he said softly. "School, as much as I hate it."
"Where . . ? Oh, hi Danny." she said, wiping sleep from her eyes. She glanced up at the raven-haired boy and smiled. "School, you said?"
"Yes, he said school. We have to go now!" Tucker yelped, tearing out of the bathroom and making a dash for the door. Danny caught his shoulder.
"What are you talking about, it's only six thirty!" he said, glancing at the clock.
"Danny, when was the last time you reset that? It's a hour behind!"
"Normally, you would be thankful for a reason to miss school. What's up?" Sam asked, standing and stretching, already dressed.
"If I'm late again, my parents are going to ground me." he explained. Danny winced and leaped for the bathroom, shirt and pants in hand. The two outside heard him say;
"Don't worry. I can fly us in. Well, I can fly Sam in. . . Tucker, you should start running now." Danny laughed behind the door and Tucker took off, blazing by Jazz.
"What's the rush?"
"Can't talk, must go!" he yelled as the door slammed shut. Jazz rolled her eyes and knocked on Danny's door.
"If you need it, I can give you two a ride. . ."
"No, we're covered!" Sam called, catching hold of Danny's waist. Danny went ghost and jumped out the window, towing Sam next to him. A few minutes later, they landed on the school roof. The two heard screaming from below and peaked over the edge.
"I am Joanna Nightshade! Fear my incredible power!" The strange woman from last night was on the ground, black mist rising around her. Students were running in every direction, trying to escape. Lancer stood in the middle of it all, trying to restore order. A wave of mist engulfed him, and he quietly disappeared.
"Oh man, not her again!" Danny breathed. "Sam, stay up here. Signal Tucker if you see him. I'm going down there." Despite Sam's frightened face, Danny launched himself over the edge.
"Be careful, Danny!" Sam called. Danny flashed her a thumbs up before disappearing into the crowd. Sam backed away from the wall and sat, hugging her legs close against her chest. She glanced around the rooftop, catching something out of the corner of her eye.
Something silver.
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Danny swooped down through the crowd, invisible. He didn't want to make even more of a panic from the appearance of 'Inviso-Bill', but he had to help the students somehow. Who could he find, on short notice, that would trust him? Sam was up in safety, Tucker was God knows where, Jazz might believe him. . . Paullina. He watched the Latino girl run by, shrieking. He caught her hand and pulled her behind a tree.
"Inviso-Bill! You're here! Nombre de Dios, thank God." she said. Danny hushed her and spoke quickly.
"You need to tell everyone to get somewhere safe. Somewhere. . ." He looked at the black fog, noting how it stuck to the ground. "Somewhere on high ground. Go to the park and hide."
"Okay, Inviso-Bill. Whatever you say!" Paullina fawned. Danny shook his head in disgust, and flew off to find Joanna.
Not like that would be very hard.
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Paullina ran through the crowd, yelling for everyone to hide in the park. Most everyone was following her directions, but some lagged behind. She shrugged off the instinctive kinship with them as the dark smog enveloped them. She stopped running, her eye caught. Dash and Valerie were right in the path of the smoke!
"Dash! Get away!" she yelled. Maybe he would date her again if she saved his life. . . She ran over, only to be stuck fast by the advancing mist. Valerie yelled in disgust as it rose around them. Paullina tried to grab onto Dash, but found that she was alone.
So very alone.
The darkness slipped away until it revealed tall, metal buildings. Paullina wandered among them, whimpering softly. No one was there. No crowds, no groupies, not even any losers. Paullina shivered and kept walking. Someone had to be there.
After a few hours, Paullina saw something, someone, flying through the air. The person set down in an alley and Paullina ran over. "Inviso-Bill!" she cried. "Thank God. . . huh?" Bill ignored her, back to her face. Paullina watched as light surrounded him and she smiled. She was going to find out his secret identity. . . She walked foreword, gripped the boy's shoulder, and turned him around.
Oh no!
It was that horrible geek Danny Fenton! Her heartthrob was no more than a dork. . . Paullina immediately sat down and began to cry.
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Dash wasn't faring much better than his would be girlfriend. He was in the middle of Casper High, surrounded by his peers. Danny Fenton stood in front, sneering. Dash lunged forewords, only to miss a simple hit. He grunted.
"Stand still, Fentina." Danny had such an annoying grin on his face. He would wipe that smirk off. . . Dash's nose began to hurt and he realized that Danny had just punched him. And everyone was laughing! No shouts of 'Fight, fight, fight!', only laughter.
And they certainly weren't laughing with him.
Dash curled into the fetal position, sucking his thumb.
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Valerie raced through the halls, flying along on her Hover Board. The Box Ghost was ahead of her, the hunt coursed through her veins. She reached and. . .
THUD!
Valerie smashed into the wall. She slammed into the floor, groaning. Ouch. She rubbed her forehead, blinked, and stood. Her head hit the ceiling.
What the hell is going on here? Valerie wondered. She reached out and touched the walls on either side of her. They moved, slowly but surely, inwards. They were going to crush her. But, first, she was going to have a panic attack. Valerie had never revealed this to anyone, but she had extreme claustrophobia. Even in a bathroom stall, she would freak out. Val whimpered softly and sat, closing her eyes.
It's only a bad dream, it's only a bad dream, it's only. . .
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Danny lighted down in behind an overturned picnic table. People surged around him, taking no notice in their terror. Every once in a while, someone's screams would die out. Danny peeked out, looking for Joanna. He found her, shining gold in the morning sun. She noticed him and smiled, the grin of a demon.
"Come so soon? I usually enjoy a hunt, but I'll make an exception." she laughed, ceasing the flow of mist to float over. "Where's the witch?"
"No where near you." Danny shot back, jumping into the air. Joanna tutted.
"Darn, I was hoping to make her watch you die. . . Oh, well. Shall we fight?" She smiled again and shot two golden blasts at Danny. Danny shielded and returned fire. Joanna took the hits without a flicker, and sent them flying back. One glanced Danny's foot, and it burned merrily before dying out. It also hurt like hell. Danny saw another blast headed his way, and took off running.
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"Who's there?" Sam called softly, afraid to raise her voice. Nothing moved, no response came. Sam sighed and turned away. Fingers brushed her shoulder and she jumped. A girl, clad in a silver-gray dress, stood over her.
Don't be afraid, said a soft voice. I am a friend.
"What the hell. . ? Sam breathed, looking into cloudy eyes half covered by quicksilver hair. The voice was only in her head, she realized. Kind of echo-y and it seemed like it was coming from the girl. The girl nodded and turned, fingers still on Sam's shoulder.
Your friend needs help, as will you. I fear. . . I fear that it is more than I can do, she continued. You must help him. Look, to the street. Sam turned and saw Tucker by the parking lot.
"Thank. . ." she began, but the girl was gone.
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Tucker ran onto the grass, only to be struck by the emptiness. He wasn't that late, was he? Tucker shook his head and slowed down. Something gold when shooting by and he heard Danny yell. His halfa friend struck the ground next to him.
"Oh, hi Tucker."
"Hi, Danny. Mind explaining. . ."
"Joanna's back. Any ideas?" Danny stood up, brushing himself off.
"Uh, you could catch her in the thermos while she's distracted by something. . ." Tucker began. He stopped short when he saw the look in his friend's eyes. "Oh no. Danny, no way am I going to. . ."
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"Oh, man! Me and my big mouth!" Tucker yelled, racing away from Joanna Nightshade's golden blasts. He screamed as one hit him in the foot, and dove for cover in the woods. "Danny, hurry up!"
"No one will help you, puny mortal, least of all that bug of a ghost!" Joanna yelled, priming herself for a capture. Without her noticing, Danny rose up like smoke behind her.
"Oh, really? This 'bug of a ghost' begs to differ. . ." Danny said, kicking her in the stomach. Joanna grunted and flew back a few yards. Danny appeared next to her, dealing a swift blow to the face before dashing away. "And, finally. . ." he muttered, twisting around and kicking on the side of the head. Joanna fell. Danny smiled and reached behind his back. "Well, Joanna, looks like the bug beat you. What are you going to say now?"
"I'd say you were missing something." she forced out through gritted teeth. Danny's brow creased in confusion as he reached and found that something was missing. His eyes widened.
"Oh shit, the. . ."
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"The Fenton Thermos!" Sam screamed, staring at her feet. The thermos was lying there, serene. She picked it up and looked back at Danny. He was too far to throw it to, but. . . Sam took out her phone and hastily dialed a number.
"Sam, we're kinda busy now. . ." Tucker's voice shot out through the tiny speaker.
"Tell Danny to get his butt up here. I have the thermos!" she yelled. Tucker hung up, presumably to relay the message to Danny. Sam watched in horror as Joanna stood up. She could hear the laughter from here, a low sound that brought no joy to the world. Danny swooped down, grabbing Tucker by the arms. The two hightailed it for the roof of the school.
"Sam!" Danny yelled. "Throw it!"
"Don't! Danny can't carry me and catch the thermos!" she heard Tucker yell. She stood back as Tucker face planted onto the hard surface.
"Here!" She tossed the thermos and smiled, watching it arc through the air. But a hand reached out to grab it. Danny swore.
"Still using that little thing, boy? While, let me show you. . ." Joanna caught the thermos and crushed it. She dropped the twisted metal, watching it fall with an amused expression on her face. "Now, where were we? Ah, yes, I remember!" Joanna punched Danny in the chest and he rocketed back, slamming into the roof of the school and immediately turning back to human. Sam ran to his side, only to be pushed away.
"Stay back, Sam." he warned. "There's no telling what she might do."
"No telling? She said she was going to kill you, Danny. . ."
"SHUT UP, TUCKER!" Danny and Sam yelled. The threesome stepped back with a gasp as Joanna rose before them.
"Tsk, tsk, fighting among friends? Now that's not very nice." she pouted.
"We're not afraid of you." Danny said, hands balled into fists.
"Speak for yourself." Tucker muttered. Joanna smiled.
"You will be, children, you will be." With that, she raised her arms and shot the black mist at them. There was no escape now. . .
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Sam opened her eyes, looked around, and found that she was in bed. She knew something was wrong, but couldn't quite place it. She thought about yesterday morning, about Joanna and the fight, how they had been out cold for most of the day and Danny. . .
Oh, shit!
Sam sat straight up in bed. Oh, Danny! she thought, choking back tears. Danny Danny Danny. She screamed, high pitched and keening.
Danny Danny Danny, she thought.
Daniel Fenton was dead.
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Heh heh, boy am I evil. I love writing cliffhangers. Schoolwork has slackened a little, so the next chapter will be up sooner, I hope.
Grey R. North