Back together at last, the band played an upbeat march. Their leader, a harmonica-playing Blues Brother reject named Blues, informed Danny that it was "When the Saints Go Marching." He never would have guessed otherwise.
"Did you ever figure out what they wanted?" he asked the nearby bed sheet.
Ghost Master shook his head. "Not a clue, but we did find them samples they took from you. Ole Gramma Marna smashed them up good."
"Thanks." He sighed heavily. "Listen, thanks for helping Mom, too."
The ghost fixed him with an interested stare. "She's your mom?" he asked, sounding on the verge of laughter.
Danny smiled slightly. "Yeah, that's my mom. She, uh…doesn't know about me. You won't tell her, will you?"
They stared at each other for a long time. Finally, Ghost Master tilted his head and asked slowly, "Is this to reference that you will not be trying to kick us out?" At the boy's nod, he seemed to grin. "Well, then. Consider your secret safe with old Ghost Master."
They shook, a very strange experience since all Danny could feel was a dull pressure where the ghost's hand should have been. "But don't think this mean you can just do whatever you want," he warned. "I have ground rules."
Ghost Master groaned comically. "Of course, he does! They all does! Fine, then, Mr. Ghost Master Danny."
Danny snorted and wondered how long it would take him to regret this as the debate began.
It was a large grey stone building, the sort of place where one expected to see dark clouds and flashes of lightning overhead. The sun seemed remarkably out of place as it shone brightly into the courtyard.
The orderly led him through the winding halls that he suspected were designed to confuse, paying little attention to his surroundings until they reached the required door. He stepped into the gloom, hesitating only to ensure there were no obstacles in his way.
"Monsters…" the inmate whispered. "Horr…horrible…horrible teeth and fangs and the SOUND! Oh, the screams…"
"What did you see?" the man demanded.
"Monsters! Horrible monsters! And the dark and the screams…and the teeth…oh, the teeth…and eyes in the darkness…" He babbled on at some length while the man simply listened. That wasn't what he wanted to hear. "…and breaking glass…but I fooled them. I fooled them!" he began to laugh hysterically. "I took one with me! I fooled them!"
The man narrowed his eyes and stepped back out. "Did you take anything from this patient?" he asked.
The orderly checked his file and nodded slowly. "Looks like he had a glass vial full of some green and red liquid. Is that all you were looking for?"
The man sighed slightly to mask his delight. "Well, it seems to be all I'm going to get, doesn't it?"
A/N: And now for a disclaimer, which I didn't want to start with lest I accidentally spoil something. I'd like to thank the wicked awesome computer game Ghost Master for the (extremely roundabout) contribution to the character of the same name, and the idea behind haunting teams. I wouldalso like to thank the (not so great, but still kind of fun) game Ghost Hunter for the "alligator merged with human" idea.
Additionally, as I was writing the part where Danny resolves not to get as rude and abrupt as Kat, I realized that I myself and guilty of the same. I have been totally forgetting to thank my reviewers. So, thank you to all of you who have taken the time to review. I live for your feedback.
Next up: Dance of Bone