WHEN WE LAST SAW OUR HEROES: The ropes broke, sending the teenagers plummeting towards the ground.
Jaz screamed. She could have been anywhere right now: the mall, a nice restaurant, the art museum, the mall... the list went on and on. But noooooo! She was here, running around and trying to save three screaming teenagers hurtling toward the ground. And the worst part was no one else shared her concern! They weren't doing anything except dancing to some stupid song! What was this world coming to?
Sam landed safely in Jaz's arms. "I suppose I should thank you now," Sam said. "Uh, yeah, I would appreciate it," Jaz answered. She set Sam down. Danny crashed into Jaz next. "Thank you, sis," Danny said. "Don't mention it," Jaz said, struggling to hold her brother. He wasn't that heavy when he had been five, that was for sure! Jaz set Danny down and waited for Tucker to fall, but he never did. Tucker's bungee cord had become trapped on the guard that kept you from falling off the balcony, suspending him a few feet off of the ground. Tucker, who noticed this, unvelcroed the jacket he was buckled into, falling onto his knees. "Ow," he said. "Okay, this is enough!" Danny shouted. "I'm tired of whoever is doing all this stuff to us!"
"It could have been the rope," Jaz said. "Maybe it frayed. That happens sometimes, you know." "It's a bungee cord!" Danny yelled. "It could probably hold all four of us combined! Plus, look at this", he argued, pointing to the unfrayed end of the bungee cord. "This end is unfrayed. That means that someone cut the rope!" He examined the smooth, unfrayed edge. The bungee cord was cut halfway through, and the thinned-out cord couldn't hold Danny's weight. The same thing had happened to Sam's bungee cord, and he guessed that the same thing had happened to Tucker's bungee cord as well. "This is so scary it's not even funny!" Sam said. "Whoever cut these bungee cords must be the same person who spooked us in the auditorium."The music ended, and another usher grabbed the DJ's microphone.
"Attention! Attention, please! We are sorry to say this, but the doors are locked. However, we do have a backup exit. All ushers please report outside for further instruction. The exit is in the auditorium."
The partygoers wasted no time in stampeding to the door. Danny started to follow, but Jaz held him back. "Jaz, what are you doing?", he said in disbelief. "Danny," Jaz explained, "We have a mystery on our hands, maybe even a crisis. Don't you want to find out who's behind this?" Not really, thought Danny. Suddenly, a clinking of glass was heard. Odd, he thought. It sounds like someone is messing with...
The chandelier. He looked up at the massive crystal ornament hanging from the ceiling. The chandelier was swinging slightly, ever so slightly, but then he noticed the rope suspending it.
The rope was fraying.
"Guys, RUN!" Danny shouted as loud as he possibly could, running as far away from the doomed chandelier as possible. The chandelier swayed and made clinking noises, attracting Jaz's attention. She looked up just in time to see the huge decoration, now hanging by a small braid of rope. She screamed, grabbed Sam and Tucker, and ran out of the way. The chandelier shattered as it hit the floor with a tremendous crash, sending an explosion of crystal in all directions. Slivers of crystal, sharp as razors, hit the teenagers, cutting their arms and legs. "Man, someone has a major grudge against us!" Tucker said, frightened that they had nearly gotten killed. Sam and Danny looked at each other. Sam started making a creepy high-pitched growling sound, as if she were sick. "Uh, Sam?" Jaz said. "Not that kind of grudge." Sam stopped making noises. This was not a time to be laughing. Someone – or something - wanted them dead, or at least out of the way.
"Wait a second..." Sam said, deep in thought. "The story! Jaz, that legend you told us earlier tonight, the one about the Phantom... There's a connection to what has
happened tonight." "What do you mean, Sam?" Danny asked. "The story says that the Phantom will sometimes choose a group of people for his next victims," Sam explained. "Don't you see? The creepy voice, the bungee cords, the chandelier... Somehow, we've provoked the Phantom, and now he's chosen us to haunt." "But why would the Phantom come after us?" asked Jaz. "We didn't do anything that someone would perceive as threatening." "The story also says that the Phantom tends to go after people that have to do with ghosts or performing on stage," Sam added gravely.
Ghosts? Jaz got weak in the knees. She only knew of one person that had to do with ghosts, and that was her brother. She knew she couldn't hide the fact that she knew about Danny's powers forever. It was now or never.
"Danny?" Jaz asked uncertainly. "Yes, Jaz?" Danny replied. "I have something very important to tell you." She took a deep breath. "I know." "Know what?" Dannv asked. "Your secret", Jaz said gravely. "What secret?", Danny asked, ill at the thought of what Jaz might have meant by 'His secret'. "It's okay, Danny," Jaz comforted. "You don't have to pretend anymore. I know about your powers."
Well, well, she finally told him. How will Danny react? Who is the Phantom, and why is he after them? You shall be granted that knowledge in the next chapter.