A/N: Hi everyone! Dang, I've been on a writing spree these past couple days! I already finished this chapter - and it's a week early! I'm posting it now because I love you all so very much! Thanks to everyone who has stuck with my story so far.
DUN DUN DUN! Everyone... This is the chapter you've all been waiting for... This is when we find out who gets hit by the car! YAY! So, here you go:
Chapter Four
In the middle of sixth period…
However much she wanted to avoid her, Valerie knew that she would inevitably meet Karli at the nurse's office.
Valerie was already there when Karli came in. Strangely, it seemed like the shorter girl had completely forgotten about their argument, for she was wearing a rapturous grin on her face.
"What made you so cheery?" the ghost hunter asked bitterly. It would be quite a while before she would ever speak kindly to the other girl again.
"You don't want to know," Karli replied, still smiling. "It would just worsen your attitude."
"Whatever," Valerie muttered. This girl seriously confused her.
"So, I'm guessing you didn't find Sam, right?" Karli said, with no trace of hostility in her voice at all. It was like she had forgotten the whole dispute.
Valerie opened her mouth to reply, when the intercom came online and answered the slightly rhetorical question for her.
"Students of Casper High, this is your principal speaking. I have a very important announcement to make. Two freshmen have gone missing: Sam Manson and Tucker Foley. We're not sure whether they've simply skipped class, or whether they have been taken forcibly. Please keep an eye out for these students."
"Tucker's gone missing too?" Valerie questioned.
"Yeah. It's really strange, huh?" Karli replied. Then, the nurse came and attended to their burns. The two girls were both silent the entire time, only answering the nurse's few questions.
Just as Ms. Bachert finished with them, the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Karli and Valerie walked out of the nurse's office and to their lockers. As they headed out the door of the school they parted ways.
Valerie quickly found a spot away from prying eyes, and summoned her new ghost-hunting suit. She had no time for the bus today; she would fly home on her glider instead. Figuring out the ghost kid's identity was her number one priority.
Little did she know that someone else was in a hurry to get home as well…
"Hi. Is this 555-1221?"
"Um… Yes," Danny answered the woman who had just called his cell phone. "Why? Who are you?"
"I'm Nurse Mendoso, from Amity Hospital," she said. "And to whom am I speaking?"
"Uh… My name's Danny. Danny Fenton," the half-ghost replied. "Why did you call me?"
"Well, right now, we're wheeling a young woman into the hospital. She was hit by a car on Oak Street," Nurse Mendoso explained. "She regained consciousness for a brief period in the ambulance, and muttered 555-1221. So we called."
Danny gasped. Someone he knew… got hit by a car… He was torn between finding out who it was or just staying in the dark for the sake of his sanity. Danny made a quick decision, choosing the former possibility.
"W-what does sh-she look like?" he stuttered, his heart pounding in his chest. He involuntarily held his breath waiting for the answer.
"Well, the only thing I can distinguish is that she's got long, red hair. Do you know anyone like that?"
"Jazz," the half-ghost said hoarsely. "Oh… my… god…" Never had he said that in his life before. But right then, he felt it was the only thing that described this situation.
He wanted to deny it, to say that there could be dozens of other redheads in the city. But he knew that she was one of only three people who knew his cell number (not counting his parents).
"Excuse me? Danny? Do you know who she is?"
At first, Danny couldn't bring himself to answer; he was absolutely traumatized. Suddenly, a few seconds later, the sane part of his brain jerked into action.
"H-her name is Jasmine Fenton, she's my sister," Danny blurted out rapidly. "And I'm sure you know my parents, Jack and Maddie Fenton, they're ghost hunters." Now his mind was basically running on autopilot. He was saying the right things, but wasn't quite consciously doing so.
"Yes, yes, I know them. Thank you for your help. Good – "
Hearing that she was about to hang up, the other half of Danny's mind, the half that was panicking, took over.
"How is she? Please, please tell me she'll be alright! Please tell me she's not going to – "
"Calm down. Your sister is in bad shape, but we'll do our best to help her. We're going to call your parents now. Goodbye." She hung up the phone.
Danny hung up as well, just staring at the small device with an odd sort of smile on his face. First, it was Sam being all miserable. Then, Valerie had found out that the ghost kid was half human. Next, Sam and Tucker went missing. After that, Lancer started questioning him about his identity. And now, his sister had gotten hit by a car. What a glorious day.
As Danny was thinking about all this, he wondered if it was all just some sort of insane, cruel dream. Maybe none of it was real?
And then, it all sank in: it wasn't fake; it wasn't a joke. His secret, his friends, and his sister were all in jeopardy.
Danny's breaths become faster, and yet deeper as his whole body went into a state of panic. Soon, he felt rather light-headed, and his arms and legs were convulsing, causing him to fall to the floor. The last thing he saw before he passed out was the door to Lancer's classroom opening.
When Valerie got to her room, she immediately deactivated her suit and turned on her laptop, intent on doing more research about ghost hybrids. While she waited for her desktop to load, she converted her room to ghost hunting mode and worked out for a few minutes. It helped to pass the time.
Soon enough, the familiar collage of wanted posters was loaded, and Valerie opened the Internet explorer. For at least a half hour, she searched and searched, but found nothing else about ghost hybrids besides the one article she had read the day before.
Sighing, Valerie clicked the link that led to the "Theory: Ghost Hybrids" article. It was the only thing she had on the subject. She printed it out.
(A/N: Yes, I know she's on a laptop, but please work with me here people. Somehow, she printed it out. That's what's important.
Valerie reread the article, just to refresh her memory. That's when she spotted something that she knew hadn't been there the previous day:
A half-ghost's voice sounds almost the same in human and ghost modes. But, in ghost mode, it has a bit of an echo to it.
Strange, Valerie thought. The author must have updated it. Then the ghost hunter realized what she had just read. So the ghost kid's voice stays the same, except for the echo as a ghost.
Valerie smiled at this new revelation. This article was incredibly helpful; it was almost like it was made just for her. I wonder who wrote it?
She looked carefully all over the pages in her hand, but saw no name. Intrigued, she went back to her laptop and searched for nearly ten minutes. No author. While still curious, Valerie pushed this oddity to the back of her mind so she could concentrate on her first priority: finding out the ghost kid's identity.
The ghost hunter searched around her room for a piece of paper and a pen. She then started to record the mental list about the ghost kid that she'd begun to form during school.
He's about my age, 14 or 15. So he must be a freshman or sophomore.
His hair is messy and he's about my height, if not an inch or two taller.
But what about his voice? She couldn't remember exactly what his voice sounded like. Valerie made a mental note to close her eyes the next time she met him so that she could concentrate on his voice.
She was frustrated, though, that he was so hard to figure out. "If only I could take this out on something!" she exclaimed. After fighting ghosts, beating up a pillow didn't really do it for her anymore.
"I AM THE BOX GHOST! BEWARE!"
Valerie jumped in surprise and looked out her window. And there on the ground, in all his overall-wearing glory, was the ultimate outlet for any and all misplaced aggression: the Box Ghost.
Smiling wickedly, Valerie activated her ghost-hunting suit. "He's always there when you need him," she said, jumping out the window to the ground. Then, she summoned her glider and pulled out an ecto-gun. "Time to kick some ghost butt!"
A/N: WOO! Wow, I feel so happy to finally reveal who got hit by the car. Tell me what you think! Please review, and voice any and all comments, concerns, and/or questions!
POLL: Okay, everyone. How fast do you think Valerie should find out that Danny's the ghost kid? Here are your choices:
a. Danny finally breaks down and tells her.
b. Valerie finds out by herself in the next couple chapters.
c. Valerie doesn't find out for a really long time. (Like, until the third installment. Oh, yeah, I forgot, to mention, I think I'm going to make this a trilogy.)
d. Valerie never finds out.
e. Other (please specify).
That's all! Thanks for reading, now please review!
