Chapter 12: Pepsi Truck

The longer the ride became the more Danny's heart slipped free from its earlier sorrow, memories fading into nothing like rain onto black pavement. Instead, a cold dark ooze of resentment and confusion slipped over his heart. What was his new life going to be like? Would his godfather make his life a living hell? Would he make lots of friends or enemies? What was with his ghost powers? Did it involve his health or was it some kind of failsafe Clockwork had made to stop Dan from ever existing? Since his family hadn't died at the Nasty Burger, could Dan even come to be? And why, oh why, was this trip taking so long? But the true question in Danny's mind wasn't any of those things. The present and most irritating question: was his new room going to be yellow or green?

Did Vlad really make a place for him in his life or was he a living accessory?

Danny rolled his eyes at the thought of Vlad's Packer's obsession and turned his attention to the passing traffic, an idea striking his brain like a brick. A small trickle of a smile spread over the teenager's face but he quickly hid it. It was time to irritate the fruit loop. Revenge for the panda pjs if you will.

"Vlad?" asked Danny in the most serious tone he could muster.

"Yes?" said his godfather as he looked up from his newspaper.

"Are we there yet?"

Vlad's concerned look quickly turned into a glare as he lowered his paper. "No."

"Okay," whispered the teenager as he started twiddling his thumbs.

And yet, not even ten minutes later …

"Vlad?" asked Danny, the same serious tone from earlier.

"What?" murmured the millionaire, slightly irritated; Danny had likely just interrupted his train of thought.

"Are we there yet?"

"No, like I told you ten minutes ago. Read a book or something. There are a few in the limo," Vlad growled as he hid his head behind his paper and resumed reading.

Danny, reaching for one of the books in the holder, sighed when he noticed they were all business books and promptly collapsed back into his seat, completely bored. This trip was going to be hell on earth.

And yet again, five minutes later …

"Vlad?" asked Danny in a most serious tone.

"What?" said Vlad as he glared at Danny. If this was another are we there yet he was going to jump to the other side of the limo and strangle him.

"What time is it?"

Vlad raised an eyebrow and looked down at his golden watch. "It's four twenty-seven."

"Oh? I just wanted to make sure it had been five minutes before I asked: Are we there yet?" laughed Danny as he jumped from his seat, a shoe flying at his head.

"That's it. I'm going to tie you to the hood!" growled Vlad as he ripped off his other expensive shoe and threw it at the cackling teenager, despite a grin pulling at his lips.

Danny continued to laugh almost hysterically as a game of dodge and detain started in the limo, Vlad trying to grab him.

"I'd like to see you try," challenged the youth.

Vlad lifted his face out of the rug after slipping in his socks, a smirk on his face as he watched the child laugh. He was half glad that Danny was messing around and laughing like a normal teenager, but he was still being a brat and deserved to be punished … just a little. Vlad finally managed to grab the younger halfa by the ankle and the teenager went down with a thud. Vlad didn't waste another moment before he was sitting on Danny's back so he couldn't wiggle away, throwing his head back as he staged a laugh.

"Serves you right," joked Vlad as the teenager struggled beneath him. "Now where are my shoes?"

The teenager struggled with all of his might against his godfather who was presently using his back as a stool to put his shoes on. Danny finally stopped squirming, digging his nails into the carpet as he barked, "Get off, fat ass! You're crushing me! I can't breathe!"

Vlad merely smirked as he flicked back his glossy, white hair. He then brought a hand down and ruffled Danny's hair, making the rat's nest ten times worse. The teenager cried out in annoyance as he renewed his efforts to escape, the youth glaring upward as Vlad mocked, "If you couldn't breathe, then you couldn't complain which you are presently doing a lot of. So quit your whining, and I might let you go if you promise to sit and behave. I really do have to catch up on the business columns."

The teenager grumbled an embittered 'yes' as he stopped his struggling. The millionaire merely smiled with satisfaction and was quickly back in his seat with his newspaper, letting Danny up.

Pouting somewhat, Danny got to his knees and started dusting himself off … the game far from over for him. Leaving that hospital had given him a feeling of freedom and he was not going to spend that good-feeling sitting quietly as Vlad read the newspaper. Tilting his head slightly, Danny decided how he was going to spend the rest of the trip and he smiled wickedly.

Trying not to make his escape route too obvious, Danny then made a jump for the front seat with the driver, planning on bringing the window down and sneaking over before Vlad could stop him. Then he would mess with the conditioning and radio. Of course, Vlad, already guessing Danny's escape route, quickly grabbed him by the ankle again, ending the leap of faith with a teenager sized clunk.

Danny faintly cursed as he was suddenly buckled into his seat (which faced the back window) like a terrible two-year-old that needed to be watched diligently. Only once Danny was secure did Vlad sit down on the opposite side, slightly surprised the teenager had yet to go intangible.

"Leave the driver alone. We don't need to get into an accident," said Vlad to himself as he picked up his newspaper, glaring at Danny as he murmured, "We'll stop for a break shortly if you are this stir crazy. Until then, sit there, and don't you dare ask: are we there yet."

Danny crossed his arms and pouted, grumbling to himself, "I can't believe he sat on me."

Not that he minded much. He did it mostly to irritate Vlad and congratulations, he succeeded. He was still bored though.

Sighing, the teenager pulled at his seatbelt but gave up when Vlad gave him a look. It was a mocking grin which Danny couldn't help but hate.

With a heavy sigh, Danny flopped back and turned his attention to the back window. There was a Mustang, a Hybrid, and a Harley located near them on the four-lane highway, but what attracted his attention the most was a black and yellow semi, which was steadily gaining on them. He didn't know why he was drawn to it, the Mustang was far more visually pleasing, but he couldn't stop staring at it. And then Danny felt a shiver run up his spine and a sting in his arm as it got closer and closer. Soon, Danny could make out the shadowy outline of the driver. Why was the driver in such a hurry? There's never a cop around when you need one apparently.

The teenager was just about to turn his attention to the bridge they were about to cross, but for some reason, the semi driver started waving. Danny looked to the left and then to the right. The other vehicles had turned off, so … whom was he waving at? Out of habit, Danny pointed to himself and the driver nodded his head. This would have been completely reasonable except for the fact that the windows were tinted to prevent this very thing! How did he even know Danny was in the limo? Danny looked over at his godfather with pleading eyes. Should he say something or was he just being paranoid?

HONK! HONK!

A raging horn sounded from the semi making both Vlad and Danny jump. Vlad swore slightly as he stared at his torn newspaper and turned to glare back at the truck behind them. He then stared at Danny who now held a petrified look on his face.

"Daniel, calm down. It is just a semi in a hurry. He will go around us," stated Vlad as he stared at the yellow and black eighteen-wheeler with a frown of distaste. He then picked his paper back up, trying to salvage it. He obviously wasn't giving the semi a second thought.

Danny wanted to believe his godfather, but his gut was crying something entirely different. His insides were twisting and his muscles were taut. He felt like he was about to go into battle. The feeling did not dissipate as the teenager watched the semi draw nearer and nearer until the young half ghost could just see the wicked smile plastered on the driver's face. The smile looked so familiar, but to whom did it belong?

The teenager's eyes widened with fear as he realized who it was, his mouth going dry as he croaked, " … Joed?"

Vlad's head titled up somewhat in surprise. Wasn't that the name he mentioned the other day from his nightmare? Is Joed a real person?

And yet those thoughts did not compare to the horrified expression on Danny's face which caused the older half-ghost to place his paper down and ask carefully, "Daniel, what's wrong?"

"Are we –"

"Oh, don't start that again."

Joed's teeth glimmer like razors and Danny finally found his voice, able to cry out to Vlad as he grabbed onto his seat, "Are we going to be hit!"

Vlad's head quickly turned to see the semi a second before it rammed into the car's rear end.

The harsh cry of metal being bent and ripped into echoed in everyone's ears. Immediately, glass sprayed everywhere as the back window was blown out. The limo driver tried to straighten his trajectory, but an overcorrection sent the vehicle into the bridge's railing. The force of the sudden impact sent Vlad's unbuckled body through the window and out onto the highway's unforgiving surface as if he was nothing more than a rag doll. Danny could only cry out before his breath was stolen from him, his body forced back against the seat by his tightening seatbelt. The limo driver, Rodger Smith, was only allowed a bark of surprise before his head was slammed against the steering wheel, effectively rendering him unconscious. The sound of rearing metal didn't stop until the limo was completely embedded into the bridge's railing. In fact, this hard impact with one of the main support beams was probably the only reason the limo hadn't fallen over the edge, one of the tires dangling haphazardly.

None of this impact seemed to halt the semi though until it came to a halt on top of the limo, the truck's front tires crushing the trunk and part of the back roof of the limo. Danny, sitting there covered in pieces of glass, could only struggle to recover his breathing as he watched the limo's roof start to buckle.

Cursing the loss of his powers, the teenager fought against the seatbelt's strangling grip. He knew that he had to get out before the limo either crashed down into the river below or was crushed by the eighteen-wheeler. If that wasn't bad enough, fuel was now pouring from the semi's engine, pooling into the limo. Great, now he had one more horrible way to die.

The teenager struggled almost uselessly against his seatbelt as he fought to breathe, fumes now hitting him. If he had his ghost powers, he'd already be free. A darker part of him though couldn't help but ask if this might be Clockwork's grand scheme of things. Perhaps this accident was why the timekeeper had not worried more about Danny becoming Dan this time around, because he was always destined to die here on this bridge.

Closing his eyes, tears suddenly dripping down his cheeks, the teenager wondered if he should just accept his fate. It was best for everyone if Dan was never allowed to exist. And yet, his body was terrified by this prospect. It was still trying to think of something, clawing at his seatbelt as gas fumes started to choke him.

It seemed that he would not be able to save himself this time … someone else would have to save him or not at all.

"Vlad!" finally screamed the teenager in desperation, the semi's sputtering engine probably canceling his voice out. "Someone! Anyone! Please, help me! I'm stuck!"

But Vlad didn't suddenly appear and no one else came to his aid. Not that he was terribly surprised. The driver was out cold in the front from the look of it and Vlad hadn't been wearing his seatbelt. There had always been something so indestructible about the older halfa that a car crash seemed like something he should just be able to walk off.

Apparently not.

Not knowing what else to do, Danny began to panic. He was powerless and stuck in his seat. The river was right below him and the hood was slowly crushing him from above. He was going to die here.

Besides himself, the teenager started to sob. He wasn't ready to die yet. He wasn't ready to go.

Given his own panic, Danny almost didn't know how to react when the semi's engine suddenly turned off. Any relief he had was quickly overshadowed though when he heard the truck's door squeak open, the sound of heavy boots crossing the limo's hood. Instinctively, he knew that whoever was above him was not a savior, especially when the steps stopped perfectly above the frightened teenager's head.

Something was hunting him.

SCREECH!

Suddenly, a pair of boney digits pierced through the limo's metal roof as if it was nothing and with a groan, the metal was slowly peeled back as if the roof was little more than a sardine can. Light and smoke immediately rained down on the teenager, causing him to cry out as he was blinded. He didn't need to see to know who was above him. It was the body of Joed and the Demon that had taken up residence inside him.

With animal-like reflexes, Joed's flesh jumped through the ripped-open roof, and he landed heavily next to Danny. The teenager could only watch in terror as the smoke cleared just enough to show off Joed's pale, yellowish face. That face spoke of death, but the worst and most horrifying thing was those eyes. Those dark, endless pits.

Despite himself and his pride, tears slowly started to run down the teenager's face again as the Demon drew near him, his breath rank. Danny knew he was going to die. But this seemed so much worse than the other options that had been presenting themselves just seconds ago.

Joed only seemed to smile wider at this prospect, apparently happy with the scent of Danny's fear.

"Oh my, what a treat. All tied up like a present for me," the Demon's voice was cool and clear, not harsh or grinding at all. Too bad the rest of him wasn't that way. Dried blood was still on his KFC uniform and small cuts now littered every piece of showing skin, especially the face. The worst of it though was when the monster ran a bony finger across Danny's creek, cutting into the soft flesh with his sharpened nail. "What young, palatable flesh you have."

The monster then knelt forward and licked the blood from the whimpering teenager's face despite the youth's attempt to reel back. The seatbelt was keeping him in place, like a prized pig tied up for slaughter. Joed even had the audacity to cup Danny's chin in his hand and inspect his face before adding, "And what a lovely face. Your skin is almost as delicate as a maiden's."

Then, in almost a mocking motion, he leaned forward and kissed Danny gently on the forehead, gleefully laughing when Danny slammed back against his seat in revulsion.

"Stop touching me," hissed Danny as felt the demon run a hand through his hair as if feeling its texture. Even though he knew it would probably kill him faster, he slapped the hand away while shouting, "I am not afraid of you, and I refused to die for you!"

And he wasn't afraid ... he was terrified.

The Demon's smirk was slowly replaced by an unimpressed snarl like he was insulted by Danny's reaction.

With a snap of his wrists, he grabbed the teenager's hair and gave a mighty tug. All Danny could do was cry out in pain as his own hands reached up while trying to bat the grip off.

"So, you'd rather live? You should be begging for death, boy. You are a failure and unworthy of the warrior's call. You should be begging for a quick merciful death," growled the beast, and yet his face fell with a sudden realization. "… Who or what has changed your mind?"

Danny whimpered as his eyes strayed away from the Demon and towards the direction where Vlad's motionless body probably laid outside, his form having flown out in that direction. The demon quickly caught on and followed the teenager's gaze. A sinister smile spread over his face as it stared at the billionaire's still form, his vantage point much higher than Danny's.

"Oh, I see," cooed the best as he let go of Danny's hair. He then ran his hand over Danny's cheek almost lovingly and brought the teenager's gaze up to his own. "I will make you beg for death on this day. I will break you and steal any hopes you may have."

He then dropped the youth's head without a second thought and grabbed for the car door. When it would not open, he kicked it, knocking the very door off the hinges and right into the highway. His strength was monstrous.

Joed's body then sauntered out of the limo almost lazily as he made his way to the unconscious billionaire. Danny could only watch in horror through the doorway as the monster drew nearer and nearer to his godfather. He couldn't let it kill Vlad. Yes, he might be a pompous jerk, but Danny didn't want to lose him. Especially not when Vlad was just starting to become tolerable to be around.

"VLAD! Get up!" yelled the teenager, his struggles renewed.

The demon merely waved backward at the teen's yells and continued to walk down the center of the highway. Apparently, no one ever taught him to look both ways.

The sound of squealing breaks was the only warning of what was coming when suddenly a Pepsi delivery truck barreled through the smoke of the accident. The driver obviously was trying to stop but didn't have time to react to the demon just stepping out into the street.

The impact was wet sounding and yet hollow like a log as the demon was thrust up into the truck's grill. The impact should have run the demon down, but instead, there was the sound of metal being blown apart. The truck immediately reared out of control, the side doors bursting open and thrusting cans everywhere like spraying and spurting missiles.

Danny actually had to pull his legs up to ignore some of the missiles as they scattered everywhere across the bridge. He honestly couldn't believe it. Had he just been just saved by Pepsi? If so, Pepsi was now replacing water in his diet as far as he was concerned.

The scent of Pepsi must have kicked his brain into overdrive though because he was now grabbing one of those broken aluminum cans and folding it into a crude blade. He didn't think twice as he started to cut into his seatbelt, some of the jagged edges of his can-knife digging into his flesh. It hurt, but he had to get out of this car and get Vlad off the road before he got hit as well.

"Vlad! Vlad!" cried the teenager as a minute later, his bloody palm held to his chest as he tripped out of the limo and across the two lanes of traffic without slipping on a Pepsi can.

The whole jaunt was graceless, but soon Danny was on his knees next to his godfather. Vlad looked terrible, the man unconscious thought luckily he was still taking in shaky breaths. Cuts littered his entire body from his crash through the window and there was some road rash on his arms, but the most horrible thing was the blood dripping from a head wound he had sustained. The wound wasn't fatal looking, probably due to Vlad's halfa side taking the brunt of the damage, but Danny still didn't know if it was safe to move him. He knew very little about spinal injuries.

Sitting there for a moment in silent panic, Danny finally got the idea to start digging through Vlad's pockets. He had to find his cell phone.

The teen searched until he was nearly in hysterics. Where was Vlad's cell phone?! It was basically glued to his ear some days. The younger halfa was ready to scream in frustration when he looked back at the limo. It probably was still on the seat or maybe the driver had one.

Tripping back over to the limo, his adrenaline starting to waver, Danny stalled when he heard the crunching of metal. He immediately turned to look at the semi and its precarious parking. Was it ready to finally crush the roof in?

Surprisingly, the semi was still.

It was only then that Danny realized that the crunching noise was coming from behind him ... from the stilled Pepsi truck. The youth staggard backward as he watched the blue truck shake once and then twice. Slowly, a bloody hand rose from the front of the truck and landed heavily on the hood. Danny, shell shocked, could only stand there. He wanted it to merely be the driver, a person hopefully with a cell phone, but his prayers were dashed when Joed's scruffy hair lifted into view over the hood. He was smiling. Smiling!

Danny could only watch as the Demon slipped out of the truck's metal embrace and stutter onto the playing field again like a bloody marionette. He was acting like being hit by a truth meant nothing!

Then, as if reaffirming himself, the Demon turned and looked right at Danny. He winked once and in a blink he was running towards Vlad's unconscious form. Danny shouted out in rage and raced over towards the older half-ghost as well, but the beastly being got their first. The demon didn't even waste a second before he was grabbing Vlad by the neck and shaking him as if he was nothing more than a dead chicken. He even gave a howling laugh as he lifted the billionaire up higher by the neck so his shoes barely scraped the ground.

Master's coughed once but merely remained unconscious, unable to defend himself from certain death.

Danny slid to a stop in front of the dead thing. He knew he couldn't fight him, but maybe he would be able to save Vlad at least. The demon wanted him, not the other halfa.

The teenager swallowed back his fear and spoke in a demanding yet calm voice, "Put him down. It's me you want, not him."

The demon turned his glee filled grin away from the choking Vlad and towards the teenager, "My, my. You certainly are a brave one. Almost worthy of a hero's story. That's what I love about humans. They're ill witted and carry nothing but dumb pride."

The demon stared at him with his glossy, unwavering gaze as if trying to look under the youth's skin.

"I said," Danny continued, swallowing down his fear, "Let him go. Take me. I'm the one you want after all."

"Yes, you are the one I want, but this man must go first," blatantly said the demon, reaching out his spare hand so that he could almost lovingly touch Danny's cheek as if he was a possession.

Danny resisted the urge to flinch away, his tone unflinching, "Why. You all but have me. Just leave Vlad alone."

"But do I own you? Completely without question?" asked the demon, his grip tightening on the billionaire's throat. "To own you completely, I must make it known that you are nothing, which is why this man must die."

Then, without even an ounce of sympathy, he threw Vlad with a grunt, the billionaire's body bouncing several feet before landing near the limo.

Seeing this, an enraged cry escaped the teenager and he threw himself at the fiend. They both went down in a pile of limbs. Danny was half surprised that his outburst had worked, a part of him wondering if the monstrosity was holding back from damaging him. The Demon obviously was strong and a simple tackle shouldn't have worked.

Regardless, Danny fought with all he had. He didn't see the glow forming on his fists or the light reflected in his pupils. All he knew was that he couldn't stop punching. Rage was rising in Danny's gut like a dragon. He swore he even felt the dragon's flames rise in his throat. That monster wouldn't kill him or Vlad. That thing would die. It would pay for what it had done!

Danny finally lost the upper hand and ended up on his back. He didn't even flinch at this and instead reacted. He kicked out, every once of fire seemingly gathering in his legs as an unknown blue. The demon barely even got out a bark of surprise before he went fly from the impact, his form smashing back into the semi. The force was so strong that it actually indented the door, sending the semi teetering towards the edge of the bridge.

The teen didn't know where that energy came from. It wasn't any of his normal powers, but all he knew right now was that the demon looked enrage, his vocals hissing, "That no longer belongs to you."

Confused, Danny was about to demand what he meant by that, when the truck screeched again ... the weight of the semi finally too much. The demon, form partially embedded in the truck's crumpled metal, tugged at his upper body only twice before he knew he was trapped. His words were like arctic waters as he growled, "I'm not done with this yet mortal."

And then he was gone in seemingly the blink of an eye, the whole truck falling over the edge of the bridge. Danny was merely left standing there asking himself if this was actually over, that he had avenged his family.

Seemingly in answer, an explosion sounded from below, the truck hitting a sand bridge instead of water. The blast was impressive in an announcement of flames and black smoke. Danny was completely unprepared for this backlash of explosive energy and was thrown away from the bridge's edge, landing on his back and hitting his head on the blacktop behind him.

XXX

Paw07: It was originally a Coca-Cola truck in the story … but I like Pepsi better. I also added about 1,200 words of additional description and flowing phrases. Not much changed. Enjoy

(Revisions December 2020)