A/N: Just to give you all a heads up, toward the middle of this chapter it gets a little... how should I put this? Gritty? It's not explicit, and not hard core. So don't worry about that. This is why it's rated M, folks and it might get worse. Don't worry though, it's not what you all are probably thinking. Just giving you some forewarning.And please review!
Chapter Eight: Following the Non-Existent Breadcrumbs
The town hall clock's bell tolled at the new hour. Danny let out a breath of cool March air in frustration. It was going on two o' clock in the morning and he couldn't find anything to help him find Sam. Jazz was sitting at home, watching the ghost portal with a Fenton fisher and plasma gun just in case someone decided to cause some trouble at the Fenton Works. She had called his cell phone a few times to try to get him home, but he didn't listen. He wouldn't give up. Not on Sam.
He rubbed one of his arms with his other hand to try and keep warm. The warm weather hasn't started up yet and he knew he would more than likely catch a cold in the up coming weeks from this, but didn't care. Every so often as the cold air stung his cheeks, he had the question if ghosts could get frostbite run through his head.
Once again his cell phone went off right beneath his suit and he sighed heavily as he knew it was going to be Jazz once again asking him to fly home and get some rest. He wasn't going to do it, of course considering he told her more than an hour ago he wasn't going to come home until he saw at least one sign of Sam. He flipped open the cell phone against his own common sense.
"Hey Jazz," he said dully into the receiver.
"Danny, it's two o' clock," she said sadly, "You're not going to find anything tonight. You might as well come home."
"I told you, I'm not coming home until I find something."
"Like what, your brain?" Jazz sighed and knew that she had hit a nerve, "Danny... I know you love her. I know you're worried, but freezing your ass off is not going to help her. Now get home!"
"Bye Jazz," Danny said as he quickly hung up the phone and put it back underneath his suit.
He took another breath and looked down at the rooftops of downtown Amity Park. He didn't even know that he had made it so far down the main street and into the business portion of the town. The rooftops were all empty and most, if not all, the lights were out in the buildings. People were home asleep and getting ready for the next morning. And here he was trying to follow a path of non-existent breadcrumbs that would lead him to his best friend. He looked away from the building to find only a few cars down on the road below him.
After hovering for a moment he settled on the edge of the city counsel building, "Give me something here, Sam. You're resourceful. You could find a way. Something… anything."
His head drooped a little and he saw a small mini van cutting through town. It looked like it was coming back from an out of town trip. He could barely make out two dark heads from the back windshield. Danny thought it was two kids by the way the two heads kept jumping up and down in the back. He smiled as he thought back to field trips and out of town trips with Tucker and Sam. They would all play in the bus and in the Fenton RV wherever they went. They would play eye spy or shout out whenever they spotted a buggy. It was a time when they had nothing to loose, nothing to worry about.
His mind was ripped from his memories as his eyes caught something from the corner street a few blocks ahead. It was a huge SUV swerving and gaining speed. Danny stood up as the out of control driver was heading straight toward the mini van. It was just after two in the morning and the bars had just closed. From the look of it, someone let their friend drive drunk on the way home.
Danny took off from his perch on the building and flew straight toward the mini van. He flew right above it and saw the SUV coming straight at them. He checked for other cars up and down the street before he began to focus. Touching the top of the van, he heard the screams of the woman driving and the two children in the back seat. His eyes clinched shut and he made the whole mini van and occupants intangible. The drunk driver rushed through the other car and drove directly into a small ditch on the other side of the road. The mini van screeched to a halt and Danny let go of the van to revert it to normal. He landed next to the driver's door and waited for the woman to settle her nerves and come out.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Phantom," she opened the door and looked at Danny.
He smiled at the fact that she referred to him as Danny Phantom and not Inviso-Bill, "Are you and the kids okay, ma'am?"
"We'll be okay," she looked in at the two children in the back seat, "Isn't that right, guys?"
The two kids looked at Danny and laughed. It was a boy and a girl, bout around five years old. They had huge smiles on their faces and the boy was clapping as if he was watching the circus.
"Let's do it again!" he shouted and the girl laughed again.
"Let's not," the woman smiled nervously, "Thank you again, Mr. Phantom. You saved our lives."
"No problem at all. You guys should be getting home, though."
"Right," she turned and got back into the car, "Let's get Lillith home now."
"Can't she stay the night?" Danny heard the little boy whine as his mother shut the car door.
The van slowly drove off and Danny went to examine the SUV in the ditch. He looked in the diver's sweat to find the driver passed out. Danny used his intangibility and pushed the SUV to the side of the road and out of the ditch. He took the keys out of the ignition and took off for the Police station. He left a note with the car keys on the front desk of the station. He was in and out, invisible of course, without anyone seeing him. The drunk would be picked up before he even woke up.
Once again, Danny was flying over the city looking for his clues. Once or twice he felt himself faltering in the air from the lack of sleep and concentration. He shook his head a few times to clear the sleep and landed in central park. As much as he hated to admit it, Jazz was right. He couldn't stay up all night. Especially after using that much energy to help that van. He would have to go home and try again tomorrow. Turning his head to the side to crack his neck a little, he noticed the swing sets and jungle gym a few dozen yards away. He dropped his head and flew back home.
Sam could feel herself nodding off to sleep. For the first time in hours there was some piece and quiet. From listening to the screams and pleading, Sam had figured out that they had a pattern. She's all ready been in her tiny room for about two days and each day was almost like they had a solid routine. The silent portions of the day meant that the two men were either sleeping or they left to do whatever job they needed to do. Sometimes, Sam thought that they had brought back another girl, or she would hear them sneak into another room to torture another innocent woman. The screaming and pleading would begin again soon. In just a few moments.
Sam shook herself out of her sleep. She didn't want to nod off and give them a chance to catch her off guard. She promised herself that she would be awake and able to fend them off if needed. She wouldn't give them a chance at her. Wouldn't let them get the pleasure of torturing her too.
She turned her head to the empty paper plates and party cups that they push into the room every morning just to make sure she stays alive. It wasn't all that much to eat and she could still see the pieces of meat still laying on the plates. She may be hungry, but she wasn't going to turn back on her beliefs that easy. Turning her head to face the door, she slowly lowered her head to her knees and began to take in the silence.
It was nice. No screaming. No pleading. No anything. Just piece and quiet. It was a place in this Hell to reflect. As Sam thought more about it, it could be just another way to torture her and the others. In the quiet they could remember their family and friends. The people back home who were worried and looking for them would fill their mind and plague them with guilt and fear. Would they ever see them again? Would they ever be able to go home and feel safe once more? Would they die here? Would she ever be able to see her parents or Jazz again? Would she ever see Danny? Suddenly the peace and quiet became her enemy and she wanted it to stop. And it did, just like it always does.
Sam began to count off the moments before the screaming would occur again, 'They should be coming back in three… two… on-'
Sam snapped her head up from her knees when she heard the heavy metal door of her room open. She stood up and shielded her eyes from the dim lights coming from the other side of the door.
"Ah, so you're awake," one of the two men said. He was the taller one and as far as Sam could remember, he was the one she gave the bloody nose to. He cleaned it up since then. The other man was about five inches shorter than the other man and had a scratchy voice. Sam pushed herself against the far wall opposite the two men.
"It looks like she's shy," the second man said and took a few steps toward her.
"What do you guys want?" Sam snapped at them.
"You sweetie," the first man chuckled and the second rushed toward her, grabbing her arms behind her back. She struggled against him and felt something on her lower back. She clenched her eyes as she all ready knew what it was and gritted her teeth. He lowered his lips next to her ear and whispered, "We're going to enjoy breaking you."
"Too bad, I'm going to disappoint you," Sam flung her head back and crushed her head into the man's behind her. He dropped her and she walked away from him and kept an eye on the other.
The first man began to chuckle and watched the second one grab at his lips which were going to become swollen, but they didn't bleed, "I told you she was tough."
"Yeah, yeah," the other said and shook his head, "You're going to pay for that one, bitch."
Sam glared at the man and noticed that her earlier assumption was right. Both of them had erections and she knew what they intended to do with them. She kept a fighting stance that Danny had shown her a few years ago. He told her it was easier to either roll away or jump from the position and if she had either one to use, she was going to. Both of them began to close in on her and the one with the now fat lip was steaming.
"I'm going to enjoy this," the second one growled and Sam had to turn away as he was trying to undo his pants, "I hope you are good at licking."
Sam's stomach turned at the statement and she saw an escape route to give herself a little more time. She turned back at the two men and sneered, "You even try to stick that vile thing anywhere at or in me and I will bite it off."
"You bite it off, bitch, and I will kill you," the second man said, knowing perfectly well that this one means what she says.
"At least I'll go knowing that you will no longer be known as a man," Sam stared him down and the other man stopped him from rushing at her again.
"Remember, we can't kill this one," the first man whispered, "He said we needed to keep her alive."
"He who?" Sam shouted.
"The one who gave us all this," the first man said.
"But who?"
"Some one that is fighting your little boyfriend and needs him out of the picture. He gave us all our wants and in return we do as he says," he grew impatient with Sam, "Now shut the fuck up or we will kill you!"
"He gave you…" Sam thought for a moment and then her eyes widened and she whispered to herself, "Desire…"
"If we continue with this I will fucking tear her head off!" the second man said.
"Then we will do this another time," the first one said and looked at Sam at the side of the room, "I bet our little guest will enjoy a day with out food. Have a good rest, Samantha. We'll be back."
Sam watched closely as the two men exited the room and she heard the locking mechanisms on the door slid into place. The footsteps echoed a little as they walked away. Her legs finally gave out and she dropped to the floor from exhaustion. She was more tired than she had thought, and they could have taken advantage of it. She looked at front of the room and saw the dull light from the bottom of the door. They forgot to turn the outside light off.
As her eyelids began to close, she began to hear more screaming down the hall. She covered her head with her arms and covered her ears with her hands. They were abusing another girl, another woman instead of her. They were screaming instead of her. They were the one dying inside instead of her. And she wept for them. On the inside and out tears flowed. And this time, in the midst of all the screams, she finally found a way to sleep.
"Danny?"
I know that voice. Where is she? I need to find her, "Sam?"
"Danny! Please help me… Get me out of here. Find me."
"I'm trying… I can't see…"
Darkness… a deep fog… I only see an outline of her. Just out of me reach. I need to reach her. I got to find her.
"Danny?"
"I'm coming!" I'm so close, Sam. I can almost reach you.
"Ahh!" a bright light suddenly burned my eyes and flashed of a building flew in front of me. It seemed so familiar.
"Danny?"
"I'll get to you!" Danny shouted as he sat up straight in bed.
"Whoa! Slow down, little brother," Jazz sat down a plate of food by his bedside. She pulled his chair to his bedside and tried to hand him some juice, "Nightmare?"
"You have no idea," he brushed his hair back with his hand and tried to catch his breath once again.
"Maybe you should stay home today," Danny took the juice from her, trying to avoid her worried glance, "It's a Saturday. You can just rest for the day. Get some energy back."
"No dice, Jazz," Danny sipped on the juice and stuffed some pancakes into his mouth, quickly swallowing them down, "I gotta find her."
"At least get some warmer clothes on and finish eating," she sighed, got up and walked out of his room, knowing she wasn't going to change his mind. Not about this.
Danny took quick gulps of pancakes and juice and jumped out of bed. He pulled on his white shirt and sweatshirt, which was on the ground from the night before. He found a semi-clean pair of blue jeans and stuffed his wallet in his back pocket. He carried his plate and cup down to the kitchen and deposited them into the kitchen sink. Jazz stood just under the kitchen doorframe, waiting from him.
"You want me to come with you this time, Danny?" Jazz asked.
"I need you to watch the portal," he said, getting some plasma rays and some Fenton gear and stuffing them in his pockets.
"Nothing is coming out of that portal anytime soon, Danny. We both know that," she walked up next to him, "You've been going out every night for the past week and a half. Flying over the town, you always come back empty handed."
"Are you saying that I need your help to do my job?"
"Danny… Sam needs all the help that she can get," Jazz frowned.
"I'll be home late, don't wait up like last night," Danny stepped around her and was about to walk out the front door when he looked back at her, "Thanks anyway, Jazz. But this is something I gotta do on my own."
"I understand," she nodded and heard the door close. She quickly picked up the phone and dialed, "Valerie? Hey, you want to go looking with me today? … Okay, I'll be over in ten."
Danny took a deep breath and began to walk down the street. He wasn't going to go flying yet; he always did that under the cover of night. With the portal closed he didn't have to worry too much about the ghost problem. Which meant that all of his extra time was spent looking for Sam.
He walked down to the corner coffee shop and got a little something to completely wake him up and continued down the street. He had no idea where he was going, and he didn't really mind. Sam and he always had that psychic connection and in the past he could just be thinking about seeing her, or meeting up with her later and after a few moments of walking his feet seemed to take him directly to her. Maybe they would do the same thing today. Maybe that's what he was missing.
Unfortunately, his feet didn't lead him to Sam, but to a place he has visited many times lately. It was the Central Park playground. Not too many kids were playing on the equipment, one or two were taking turns on the slide, but most of the kids were probably at the new playhouse, fun center in the center of town. It just opened up and many of the kids wanted to try it out. It was all the better for Danny, that meant more time for himself.
He walked over and sat himself on one of the swigs by the jungle gym. He kicked a little at the ground, swinging ever so slightly, back and forth. He held on to the chain and looked at the jungle gym, almost reliving the past that took place over fourteen years before. He smiled a little, but soon began to break down. Tears began to fall and he held his head, leaning forward in the swing.
"Help me find you, Sam. Please…"
"What's wrong, Danny?"
His head snapped up fast and he looked around to find no one around him. That voice had to come from somewhere. It just had to. It was a small voice of a little girl, a little girl that he had known when he was four years old.
"I'm just little sad, Sammy," he whispered and looked to his side where he could almost see a faint outline of a four year old Sam swinging beside him, "I… I feel a little lost."
"Then I'll help you find your way home."
This voice was a little older, maybe ten or eleven. The little outline grew to fit the new age of his best friend. She was more mature.
"I can find home. I just can't find you," he began to choke on the tears and words.
"You'll always find me, Danny. 'Cause you'll never loose me."
Fourteen. He was sure of it. The swing seemed to slow down and she was just lightly swinging a few inches back and forth beside him. Her hair still up in a little ponytail and the rest framing her face; he could see it in his mind.
"I wasn't there for you and they took you from me," he took a deep breath and looked at the ground, "I don't know where you are."
"Then find me…"He looked back at the growing phantom Sam and found the same Sam that he knew today. She was looking so intently at him, as if she was waiting for him to do something. Her purple eyes reaching deep into his soul and into his heart. He reached out a hand and as soon as he touched the surface of the outline, she disappeared, and he was left alone once again.
Was he going crazy? Maybe. But the funny thing was that the hallucinations made him stronger, and more determined than ever. He was going to find her. No matter what it took.
He wiped at his tears and got off the swing. He took a few steps to the side of the grass and picked a small, white tulip from the large garden by the playground.
"Find me."
"Don't worry, Sam. I'll find you. I'm coming."