The night air was cold and stiff. The only source of light for the entire night was the streetlights that merely showed the road and which way it was going.

Danny decided to leave the road and instead travel through some trees or bushes. He didn't know where he was going, just as long as he could find somewhere that he thought would be far enough away from his house so he could keep his family out of danger.

Danny was feeling very cold running through these dark streets as his hair blew backwards over his head in the breeze he created for himself as he ran. He was breathing heavy and his heart was racing, but he had to ignore both of them if he wanted to stay away. At least, that's what he thought he had to do.

Danny stopped running for a while and started thinking to himself about what is was he planned to do next. Would he try to run away and stay close to school so he could still attend? Or would that only risk endangering his fellow classmates?

"I'm definitely not going anywhere near school grounds," Danny thought to himself. "I'd hate to think anyone would get hurt by Compton or Horrick just because I was close. I need to keep as low a profile as possible."

Danny continued walking down the lonely paths that he was choosing. The stiff air sent shivers down his spine, but he ignored them. The entire time he couldn't stop thinking about how much he would miss all of his friends and family, but that it was for their own good.

The boy continued to walk through the dark night, not knowing what he was getting himself in to. He walked off the road now and was hiking through some thin forests. The only sound that could be heard was the crunching of the dirt as Danny walked over it. The rest of the night and the forest were quiet.

Danny suddenly stopped when he felt something cold brush against his leg. It seemed to be moving fast, and Danny knew what it had to be. He was standing in a stream.

"A stream?" Danny asked. "Well, I guess I'm sleeping here tonight."

Letting out a huge yawn, Danny sprawled himself across the grass that was lying next to the stream. It was dark, so Danny couldn't really see what was around him too well. His eyes had gotten a bit more adjusted to the dark.

The cold grass actually felt relaxing on him for some reason. Danny could see the dew sparkling in the moonlight, same with the light sparkling in the stream.

Danny lay flat on his back with his arms behind his head. No, it wasn't the most comfortable sleeping position he had ever been in, but he thought it would pass for the night.

"I wonder if my parents already know I'm gone," Danny asked himself as he lay awake, looking at the stars. Everything seemed so peaceful that he even forgot for a moment or two that he was running from home to protect his family from Compton and Horrick. "I hope they don't freak out when they see my note in the morning. I hope they understand that I'm doing this for them…"

Danny just let out a soft sigh as all these thoughts raced through his head. He continued staring up at the stars, not blinking once. He was deeper in thought than he had been in a while. He had so many things to worry about now.

"They'll understand, won't they? They'll definitely know that I'm doing this for them. Won't they?"

Danny tried his best to forget about what was going on, but it was impossible. He simply just rolled over onto his side and did his best at falling asleep. After a little while, it actually worked.

Danny slowly drifted off to sleep, with his mind temporarily forgetting the difficult situation he was in now. Horrick and thirst for Danny's blood, and Compton had apparently set up some partnership between the two. That sounded like it would make one deadly combination to go up against.

Danny slept peacefully through the night. He woke up the next morning to the sweet smell of morning dew. He yawned and slowly sat up, and everything seemed so perfect. He felt like he was living in more of a utopia for some reason.

The sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly. The stream was sparkling with light from the sun, and the birds were singing merrily without a care in the world. Danny felt more like he was camping out in a beautiful place instead of running away from home and trouble.

"Wow, it's pretty nice out," Danny said. For the first time since he found himself in Horrick's mansion, he was smiling. But that smile quickly turned to being grossed out when he looked at himself.

"Heh, I'm a mess," Danny thought to himself. His clothes had gotten pretty dirty from having to sleep on the grass all night. Plus, he hadn't taken a shower for a while now. He was definitely not someone you'd want to be around without a clothespin to pinch your nose closed. "Well, I got a stream right there. Maybe I'll clean myself off in it."

Danny sat up and kicked his shoes off. He then took his socks off pulled his t-shirt off. He put his socks inside his shoes and stuffed them under a bush, but left his shirt where it was.

He began taking little baby steps into the water, which was surprisingly cold. It took him a few seconds, but he got adjusted to it. After a little while, he was now completely in up to his neck. For some reason the cold water felt really good on him. It almost felt like it was washing away not only his body odor, but also his problems. It felt really relaxing somehow.

"Ah…maybe living on my own won't be so bad," Danny thought to himself. "If it means being able to relax like this, maybe running away was the best solution for me and my family."

Danny continued to just relax for a while in the water before he got out, feeling much better. He dried himself off with his shirt, and just as he was about to put it back on, he heard something. Curiously, he checked where it was coming from.

Danny's heart actually stopped when he saw where it was coming from. It was Compton! Trying not to make any noise, Danny took cover and hid behind a tree, hoping that Compton wouldn't walk in the direction Danny thought he would.

After breathing heavily and looking out from behind the tree to see where Compton was headed, Danny quietly put his t-shirt back on and considered making a mad run for it. But that idea was quickly dashed when he saw Compton take something out of his pocket. It appeared to be some sort of radio.

Compton put the radio up to his mouth and hit a button on it. A small static sound was heard coming from it. "Horrick? Come in, Horrick."

"Oh great," Danny moaned. "He and Horrick have walkie-talkies? Sheesh, they're insane!"

"I'm getting a clear sending from you," Danny heard Horrick respond to Compton's walkie-talkie, despite the loud static sounds and the running stream. "Any idea on Danny's whereabouts?"

"His family says he ran off," Compton said into the radio. "I'm looking for him right now, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's all a…hey, what's that!"

"What is it?" Horrick inquired through the walkie-talkie.

"I see someone's shoes sitting under a bush around here," Compton answered. Danny looked from behind the tree and saw Compton bending down to where Danny had put his shoes before he went to clean off.

"These are definitely his," Compton said with a disturbingly high amount of certainty in his voice. "Horrick, get down to the stream on the southern edge of town. He left his shoes here, so he can't be far away."

"Nice work, Compton," Horrick said through all the static. "I'll be over in a few minutes."

Compton hit a dial on his walkie-talkie and shoved it into his pocket. He immediately pulled what looked like a firearm used for ghost hunting out from his vest and started acting like he was a guard trying to patrol a fort.

Danny's heart was pounding. He felt now like he was a hunted animal in a jungle or something like that. Compton's rifle or whatever it was used for was probably a lot more sophisticated and dangerous than anything Danny's parents ever came up with, so he had to be very careful to make it away from Compton without getting spotted. If he got caught, game over.

A minute later, Danny heard a whooshing sound. He turned to where Compton was and saw that Horrick had just landed there. The two of them started talking about what they were going to do and how they were going to capture Danny. It was evident that they planned on splitting up and heading into different directions, therefore making it impossible for him to get away.

Danny looked at the pattern Horrick and Compton were making as they circled through their specific areas, trying to head him off.

"All right, I think I got it," Danny said softly after observing the sequence for a moment or two. "Compton always makes once circle around the oak tree, then heads into the bushes and circles those for a while. At the same time, Horrick goes and makes a figure-eight between those five trees right there. If I wait until they've made the pattern enough times, they could be far enough apart so I can make a run right through the field without them catching me."

Danny waited a few more minutes, and then when he thought the time was right, he made a break for it. He ran as fast as his legs would allow him to. "I'm doing it!" Danny thought to himself happily. "I'm gonna make it past them!"

"Hey! There he is!" yelled Compton from behind.

Danny stopped and turned around, and Compton was standing there, arming his rifle and getting ready to fire it at him. "…or not," Danny moaned.

Danny was no longer running. Now he was sprinting. He was pushing his body way past his limits, but he got some extra energy from the circulation and adrenaline of knowing there was a guy with a gun right behind him who wasn't afraid to fire it.

Compton fired his rifle. The scary part was that it didn't look like a regular rifle. It looked very silver and long and looked more like something out of a science fiction movie. But that only made Danny think it was worse than a regular rifle.

The sound of the rifle firing sounded more like a small cannon being launched. It made a loud splooshing sound when it hit the water as Danny was running through the stream. Danny glanced to his side and saw the large splash the bullet (or whatever was being fired) made when it hit the stream.

The fourteen-year old continued running for his life after Compton fired shot after shot at him.

"Horrick!" yelled Compton. "Come over here and give me a hand!"

Danny turned his head as he continued running and he saw Horrick was standing on the other side of the stream with Compton.

"I'll fly over to the other side to head him off!" Horrick yelled. He ascended into the air and started flying after Danny, so now Danny was in a bit of trouble. Thinking fast, he made a quick turn and started running up the stream rather than through it.

Danny had no idea what good that would do him, but he would rather get beaten by Compton than by Horrick.

Compton made one last shot with his rifle, and it hit Danny dead-on. Instantly, a strong net erupted from the fired capsule and trapped Danny in it.

"Ha! No net's gonna bring me down!" he yelled. He morphed into his ghost half and started to break out of it, but he had no success. "Oh great, a ghost net…"

"That's it, Horrick!" Compton yelled with delight. "I got him!"

No matter how hard Danny tried, he couldn't break free of the net. Apparently, the technology the Comptons used to make ghost hunting equipment was a lot more sophisticated and powerful than the kind used by Danny's parents.

Danny nervously scrunched up in the net as Compton began walking towards him. "Horrick!" yelled Compton. "Why don't you take Danny to your house? I believe we have something special to show him."

Horrick started chuckling in a low tone, then grabbed the net that encased Danny and started flying into the air with him. Danny was now very worried about where Horrick was taking him, and Compton also seemed to be tagging along, except following on foot.

The flight seemed endless. Danny could only think about where Horrick was carrying him, and he soon got an answer. As Horrick flew through the air, something caught his sight, which was apparently where he wanted to land. The disturbing thing was that the landing spot was right in front of his house!

Horrick let the net drop to the ground as Danny landed hard on it. He hit the ground with a hard thud, still tangled in the net and not able to move. Compton came over and cut the net around Danny, freeing him of the net, but put handcuffs on him as soon as the net was off of him.

"Follow us, Danny!" Horrick commanded. He and Compton went into Danny's house while Danny had no choice but to follow. The creepiest part of all was that his house was completely deserted.

"Where is everybody?" Danny asked himself as he was being led through the empty house.

Compton and Horrick led Danny downstairs and into the basement. Everything seemed normal, but the portal was active.

"I don't like the looks of this…"

Without warning, Compton shoved Danny through the portal, and he was now floating through the Ghost Zone, with Compton and Horrick keeping a close watch over him. The path the two were leading him down through the Ghost Zone was a long one, but Danny thought he knew where he was going.

His worst thoughts proved correct when he saw he had been led right to the front door of Horrick's mansion. He was shoved inside the door and was led down into a dungeon like room.

The room was a large and empty one. The only thing that was in it was one giant ball in the center of the room, and the ball was glowing.

"Take a look inside that glowing ball, Ghost Child," Horrick ordered, "and tell me what you see in it."

Danny squinted into the massive ball as it glowed a soft shade of cerulean in front of him. When he realized what was inside, he was filled with horror.

"N…NO!" he yelled in disbelief.