Author's Notes: Just so I don't get any complaints from people who like to complain, in this story Amity Park is in Illinois. So I don't want to hear anything about that in any reviews GOT IT?
Chapter IX
And so the Journey Starts
It must have been at least five hours since Danielle and I escaped the GRC. Because we had flown so many miles since then, our energy was drained, causing us to have to stop and camp out. I manage to make a small fire by grabbing twigs and loose wood while using my ghost ray to ignite it. Not how they taught us in Boy Scouts...but it worked, nonetheless.
Danielle quietly led us to a small rock cave, surrounded by a thick forest of trees. There seemed to be no possible way for anyone who was bound and determined to catch the two of us to catch us.
I noticed Danni caressing her knees in her noticeable fear. I approached her, dragging my feet on the dirt covered ground, but before I even had the chance to sit next to her, she spoke in a soft and hoarse voice.
"Well, we got out...so now what do we do?"
I sighed as I walked a few more steps until I was at her side. I kneeled down so I could see her face, but she immediately turned her head away, sniveling slightly.
Danielle had brought up a very good point though. Now what do we do? Here we were...stranded in the middle of a forest, thousands of miles away from Amity Park with no map or any idea whatsoever on how to get back home. I didn't even know if we were headed in the right direction to being with!
Danni's cries became louder as if she had heard my thoughts. I reached my arm and placed my hand on her shoulder to comfort her; to let her know I was there for her. She turned her head back to me, eyes welled up with more tears. I almost wanted to cry for her. She was scared.
"Danni, it's gonna be all right," I said in attempt to ease her pain, even though I had my own to cope with.
"How can you say that…?" Danielle sobbed, burying her face in her hands.
"Trust me," I muttered. "We'll get out of here in no time." Though I doubted whether my words were true or not.
Silence fell over our hideout, with the exception of the crackling bonfire and wind in the trees. From the mouth of the cave, I noticed it was beginning to darken. Nighttime was approaching. Our light would need to be limited to just the moon and stars so we wouldn't attract any attention.
I began to concoct a plot to get ourselves out of the Washington forests and find our way to Amity Park. Many ideas came to mind, such as raising money for plane fare or simply asking for directions. With the government on our tails, the best bet was to travel by foot (or flying, in our case).
GRC probably would have thought of every possible thing to ensure our recapture. Whatever the circumstance, we needed to have essential provisions such as food, water, shelter, and proper clothing.
To get those necessities, we needed money.
"Say…Danielle…you wouldn't happen to have money on you right now would you?" I said, breaking the silence.
"I can check, but I doubt I do," Danni answered, reaching into one of her pockets. She shook her head as she reached into another. A smile spread across her face as she pulled out a few pieces of green paper. In other words...money.
"Perfect! Do you know how much there is?" I asked eagerly.
Danielle quickly counted the funds she had just found, but her bright expression turned dim in a matter of seconds. "I've only got twenty-three dollars here."
I heaved a sigh in disappointment. "It'll have to do for now."
With the limited currency, we could probably only buy us very few things. Only three days worth of food tops, and I did not trust we could make it to Illinois in just three days by flight. If we were going to survive, we were going to have to do something extreme, something irrational.
"What do you need the money for, Danny?" Danielle inquired, placing the money back in her front pocket.
"So we could buy some of the provisions we're gonna need," I mumbled, a depressed tint in my voice. "I don't know how to say this, but if we're gonna live…we might have to steal."
Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Well…" I started off, trying to utter the words I meant to say. "Never mind Danielle…we don't need to worry ourselves about it yet."
The hours passed and not a word was spoke by me or Danni. I believe Danielle fell asleep at least an hour ago, as she hadn't even stirred a slight bit. I let her have her rest as I tended to the fire and kept a look out for predatory animals or GRC officers. I had not the slightest clue if we were being hunted, but we couldn't be too careful.
It was kind of lonely being out here, with the exception of Danielle. I now realized, I shouldn't have done all this in the first place. If I had only just let my self centered parents be taken away, I would be home…with Tucker, Jazz…and Sam. Though I knew it was impossible to know what would have happened if I hadn't of let myself be captured, I still wished I hadn't been.
Then again…if I hadn't…I wouldn't be able to experience the breath taking views of Washington. While Danielle and I were flying away, I spotted mountains, streams, and forests abound. They were as beautiful as one could imagine.
I did wish I could share this with Sam.
I tried to comfort myself by reminiscing all the good times I've had with my friends and family, but it seemed like none of those times ever existed. As hard as I tried, I couldn't remember. The only memories that came to mind were the ones that occurred the night I was confiscated from my own home by the GRC officers.
My eyes drifted to my mother and father, huddling close to each other, their eyes peeled open. Biting the inside of my cheek, I tapped my foot anxiously as I awaited for the GRC employees to cuff me.
"What are you waiting for?" I asked with an aggravated tone. "Hurry it up already!"
This seemed to make the men move faster. They ambushed me by slamming me to the ground. I didn't struggle as no more than five of the officers were piled on top of me.
I thought of being snagged out of the air by my parent's invention. The physical pain couldn't even equal to the agony I went through at the GRC and the lingering pain that still lives in my entire body. The mental pain…though horrible as it was, it still cannot be compared to now. Combining both was tearing my whole being to shreds.
As I was plummeting to the ground, I could vaguely see my father running into the ghost assault vehicle. I gulped as he raised a weapon that I recognized as the Fenton Snatcher.
"Shock him Jack! Shock him!" My Mom demanded.
My muscles tensed up, my heart began to race, as I watched my father press a bright yellow button.
The memory of revealing my identity to my mother came next. Seeing the tears in her eyes…it was pure horror.
I softly closed my eyes as the bright neon blue ring that I had used so very often appeared at my belt's height. It split in half horizontally, changing me from the ghost to boy in a few mere seconds. I caught my mother's eye with my crystal blue ones that were easily recognized underneath my solid, long, raven black hair.
My mother's gaze rested upon me for the eternity of a second, her hand softly touching her lips. Her eyes welled with tears as I remained in my spot, not shifting a muscle.
Then I remembered the kiss Sam and I shared. Our first real kiss. The feeling then was indescribable. And the indescribable feeling was called love. It was simply that which was going to motivate my return to Amity Park. Nothing more, nothing less.
I leaned in foreword to Sam until her lips touched mine. This was no fake-out-make-out. This was real. Her eyes were filled with a bit of shock before she read what my lips were saying. Sam softly closed her eyes and leaned in closer, accepting my kiss.
My vow…the one I knew I was going to stick to no matter what. The vow I gave to Sam, and the only thing that would give her hope.
"But I promise you this…I'll escape, I-I'll find my way back to here. If it takes days, weeks, months, or even years, I'll make sure that I'll come back. No matter what it takes."
That took me back to another occurrence. I reached into my front pocket to pull out the squared piece of paper that had Tucker, Sam, and me on it. I stared at it longingly. I didn't want this picture…I wanted to see my real friends.
"Here…Take--take this, okay? Whenever you're feeling...feeling alone up there...scared...jus--just look at the picture. Maybe...I don't know...maybe it'll feel like we're there...with you."
As much as I wanted to believe they were with me in my heart, that's not what my heart desired. I closed my eyes, feeling a small trickle down my cheek. I thought it was a tear, but it was too cold to be a tear. I looked up at the now pitch black sky to see drops of rain falling from it. Shoving the picture back in my pocket, I jumped up quickly and ran for the cave.
More and more painful memoirs poured into my mind as I took shelter next to Danielle. The soft patter of the rain seemed slightly soothing, but not enough.
"Why didn't you tell us Danny?" A shrill voice to my right asked. I looked over to see Sam's hands on her narrow hips arising from the couch.
"Yeah man, what is your deal? You're in total danger and you can't even let us know about it!" Tucker shouted from my left.
All these memories…why were they coming to me so suddenly? Why the worst ones?
"I want..." I panted. "...I need..." My voice was scratched and low.
"No yeh don't," The man to my left said, pushing me farther into the GRC.
"NO!" I hollered. "I need...I have to go back!" My voice was now in hysterics.
I tried to make these memories go away.
I clenched my eyes and turned my head, tears almost falling from my eyes. I felt the needles soft touch for a moment.
Without regret, he jabbed the needle into my arm. I screamed bloody murder at his sudden attack. I could feel the liquid enter my veins slowly, but uncomfortably.
…but they wouldn't…they kept coming…
"I have had it ghost boy! You've only been here one day and I'm already willing to destroy you!" He scolded. I had no remorse for what I was about to do.
I lunged myself towards him, punching him in his gut. He obviously didn't take that well. Robert threw a punch to my head that made mine seem like nothing. I fell to the ground barely conscious.
"That's it! Guards! Take this ghost and throw him in the high security cell!"
I begged my mind to cease recalling these heartbreaking occurrences. My pleads were ignored as a massive headache rang through my skull. The agony began to grow and grow until soon it was too overpowering
"No! Stop it please! I can't stand it!" I shouted gripping tightly to my head.
"Danny? Danny, what's wrong!" Danielle asked frantically as she jumped up from the ground. I had wakened her with my screams of pain.
I didn't answer her. Involuntarily, I transformed into my ghost form.
Danny?" She repeated in a shaky voice.
I felt my muscles tense and thunder lolled over head. My breathing staggered as I tried to fight the pain away.
"Danny, please tell me what's wrong!" Danielle shouted, her voice scratched.
I sensed a soft touch on my shoulder, putting my emotions into a fever pitch. In a blindingly fast motion, I turned to Danni angrily. Her cerulean eyes were filled with terror as I stared at her with intention to attack.
"What's wron--" She began, but I cut her off by raising my arm and shooting her with my ghost ray. She shrieked as she was thrown into the back wall of the cave. Danielle slid to the floor with a groan.
"What am I doing!" I asked myself as I threw an energy blast to another wall.
With no control, I blasted away at the cave in blind fury. I tried to make myself stop, but my body wouldn't listen. I continuously took my pain out on the rock cave, causing Danielle to huddle in fear where she had landed.
"Danny, stop it! You're gonna make the cave collapse!" Danni screamed at the top of her lungs.
Suddenly, I regained control over myself, now taking notice to the ceiling where chunks of rocks were falling. I dodged one that nearly hit my head.
"Crud..." I mumbled under my breath. "Danni hurry up and get out of here before it's too late!"
I didn't have time to fetch Danielle myself. I ran for the exit, turning every which way to dodge the falling stones. As I neared the entrance, I jumped past another falling rock, landing in cold and damp mud. Breathing hard I looked back to the cave.
The rest of what happened was blurred in a cloud of dust. I heard three things: The cave breaking down, a crack of thunder, and a blood curling scream.
"No…" I thought to myself as I stared at the collapsed cave. I attempted to get on my feet, but my body had become weak.
"Danielle!" I shouted to the remains. "Please, can you hear me?"
No answer came as the dust began to clear. A quiet thunder and rain was all I could heed.
Though still lightheaded from before, I managed to get to my feet and ran to the shattered cave. Desperately, I dug through rubble in hopes to find her still alive.
"Oh God, this is all my fault…" I said to myself, throwing a large rock out of the way. I couldn't believe I had done this. Danielle could be dead, and I'd be to blame. "Please be in here somewhere!"
Frantically, I dug through pile after pile of rock and stone. There was no sign of Danielle. I was loosing hope of finding her fast.
The rain began to cease, as did the thunder and lightning. It had become a mere cold shower. It felt as if my fingers were beginning to freeze.
I started to cry while still plowing through the thick earth that had encased Danielle's body under it.
"Please…please be in here…please be alive," I sobbed, my voice low and scratched. I scooped a pile of rocks up and threw them to the side with difficulty.
I was going to give up soon. I reached into the rocks once more and gripped tightly onto something with a peculiar feel. Not hard like a rock, but not soft like dirt. I gasped as I began to tunnel faster than before.
"Danielle!"
As if I had been gifted with twice my normal strength, I anxiously dug through the remaining rocks. I had no clue if the sight I was about to see would be joyful or depressing, but all that mattered was I found her.
When I cleared enough rocks to pull her out her eyes were not open. She did not move. Fresh blood dripped from her lips and right leg, mixing the blood with the icy rain that fell upon us. I checked for a pulse. To my relief, her heart was still beating, but slowly.
"Danni…" I muttered as I held her in my arms. "Please, don't die."
Without any thought, I took of into flight in search of someone's...anyone's help. I couldn't help her myself, but if I didn't find someone quick, Danielle was going to perish.
My white gloves were beginning to stain with Danni's blood, inducing more tears to my eyes. I picked up speed. My anxiety to keep her alive gave me power to go faster than I thought imaginable.
From the corner of my left eye, there was a dim light coming from a small log building. In no time, I changed my flying pattern to go towards the cabin in hopes someone there could help.
I landed on the ground, soaked with water, mud, and blood. I changed back into my human self and ran for the door, pulling Danielle tightly to my chest. It was a matter of life and death. Were the people in this cabin friends…or foes?
I know what you're all thinking…"SERENITY THE FALLEN YOU EVIL LITTLE B----." No cussing now. I would tell you if Danielle lives but a lot of you wont like the answer. So deal with it. I hope you like this chapter though!
Thanks to Lisa once more! Her favorite editing thing this time was the commas. She named them peeve.
Keep Reading………………………Please?
-Serenity the Fallen-
