This is either madness or brilliance. Will Turner
Strange how often the two coincide. Captain Jack Sparrow
DPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDP
The schedule had an hour of free time after lunch. Abigail waylaid the others as they left the dinning hall for a meeting to plan for that evening's conflict with the ghost.
They met under a massive oak near the lane. The shade was a welcome respite from the stifling heat of the beach. There was a cool breeze coming off the lake. The eight kids sprawled under the tree in an interesting series of sub-grouping. Abigail took a commanding position next to the tree trunk. Sid stretched out near-by and Aetheria dropped down next to him, resting her head on his stomach. Danny, sitting with Sam and Tucker, was struck by the realization that just the day before she had gone out to Make-Out Point with some kid who was not Sid. For Danny who had never "made out" with anyone, the casualness with each Aetheria went from boy to boy was ... disorienting. T'Keisha was sitting next to Tucker, while the other Sam was sitting by himself.
"The first thing we need to do is inventory our weapons," Abigail began.
Faced turned towards Danny.
"What?" he demanded. "I came here to get away from ghosts, not to chase them like some people here."
"You didn't bring anything?" Abigail insisted. "Nothing at all?" Her tone implied that Danny had acted criminally negligent.
"I brought a thermos," Danny said sullenly
"Wow, now we can have hot soup while we're waiting to die," Abigail laughed.
"You don't put soup in a Fenton Thermos -- ," Sam began.
"There was that one time Danny did, but then Klemper was being very annoying -- oww!" Tucker looked under the table where something had sharply kicked him in the shin, then at Sam's angry face. "Uh," he muttered. "Nothing."
"The Fenton Thermos is a containment device. You won't see it on the market or demoed to the Guys in White," Danny explained. "If we're lucky we will be able to suck the ghost into the container before anyone gets hurt."
"Why didn't you bring it along last night?" Abigail asked.
Danny's face colored. A muscle in his cheek quivered as he ground his teeth.
In the awkward silence, the other Sam spoke up. "I suppose he wasn't thinking straight. I know if someone important to me were missing or in danger I wouldn't be thinking too clearly."
"I should have remembered it." Danny whispered.
"Water under the bridge, dude. Water under the bridge." Sid advised.
"Well, I was hoping for another blaster or something but this Thermos might be useful if it works like you say it does," Abigail said. She fumbled in her carryall for a moment and brought out something small enough to fit in her hand. "I also brought along this but outside of having the word "Fenton" printed on its side, seems to have no purpose at all." She laid something on the table that looked for all the world like a Yo-yo,
Danny's eyes bugged out. "Where did you get this!" He reached across the table and snapped it up, felt around the rim for a catch and popped open a control panel on the inside. He flipped a switch on the panel shutting down several small lights that had been on. Snapping the panel shut he sank back in his chair. His face, surprisingly, was beaded with sweat.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble your father is in for even letting this out of his sight?"
"A stupid Yo-yo?"
"Yes, a Fenton Yo-yo. It's a proto-type, it's not even in production. This was lent to the Guys in White agency for evaluation under so many layers of Non-Disclosure Agreements... If I were to tell my parents where I found this you father would be in such a world of trouble!"
"Stop making stuff up!" Abigail snapped. "Your stupid toy doesn't do anything."
"It forms a concussive explosions when it makes contact with ectoplasm. No ghost, no explosion. But it has a tendency to short out and cause explosions even when ghosts are not around. That's why it's still in prototype. It's too dangerous to use in the field." Danny was red in the face from anger, something Sam had never seen before. "I don't know who's more irresponsible, you for stealing anything you want from your father's office, or your father for not keeping his office more secure! Arrgh!" With a growl Danny jumped up and stalked away.
"Wait here," Sam advised and went after Danny.
The others watched as Sam argued intensely with Danny but he shook off her hand from his arm and struck off down the lane to their cabins. Sam came back and dropped down beside Tucker. "Perhaps you ought to talk to him," she said. "he'll really honked off."
With a pat of T'Keisha's hand Tucker got up and took off after Danny.
"So we have," Abigail continued as if Danny hadn't just stalked off, "one can of Fenton Ghost-be-gone, one Fenton Lipstick blaster, a Fenton Finder that doesn't find much and a "Thermos" that may contain ghosts. It's not much but I think we can make it work."
"I think you are in over your head," Sam criticized. "Your lipstick didn't have much effect last night. I think you ought to call in professionals."
"I'm not calling my father."
"Isn't there anything else we can do?" asked T'Keisha in a small, nervous voice.
"Tonight is the anniversary of its death," Abigail said. "Anniversaries are important to poltergeist like ghosts like this one. It will come back tonight because it has to come back. And since this is Friday the 13th, always a powerful day for ghosts, and a full moon, which my research suggests is also a power boost for ectoplasmic manifestations, it's going to be even more powerful then it was last night. But ghosts are the spirits of the dead who for some reason haven't move on to the Ghost Zone. Something has pinned or anchored it to this world. If we could find what it is anchoring the ghost to this world, to this camp, and destroy it," Abigail answered, "If we can destroy that anchor point then usually the ghost is immediately pulled into the Ghost Zone, never to return."
"What would anchor a ghost?" T'Keisha asked.
"It could be anything, as long as it was important to the ghost and important to its death." Abigail continued.
"So our best hope is to find and destroy this anchor?"
"If we knew what it was," the other Sam added.
"It's either a childhood sled or it's skull," Aetheria suggested. "Since it's not wintertime I suspect it's its skull."
"Sled?" Sid whispered to Aetheria.
"Rosebud," she whispered back. When he continued to look confused, she added, "later."
"That's right, they never did find it's head." Sam nodded. "But if they couldn't find it fifty years ago when it was first hidden, how are we going to find it today?"
"Never trust the police to do as thorough a search as they think they're doing." the other Sam said with the attitude of someone who knows these things.
"It's probably in the lake, where they dumped it's body," Aetheria suggested.
"Why didn't they find it then?"
"Well the body is large and nearly buoyant so it's easy to find, but the skull is small and heavy so it would lie close to the bottom of the lake and get passed over the by usual dredges."
"How do you know that," Sid asked.
"I watch a lot of CSI," Aetheria explained.
Sid shuddered. "Man, I like it too, but you, like, study it!"
"If I had a decent ghost-detector instead of this piece of junk Fenton Finder that came so recommended, we could do a sweep over the lake and find where the skull is located," Abigail complained.
"That's a lot of lake to cover,"Aetheria objected, and we only have this afternoon to search it. We need to really narrow our search area down."
"And it's going to be a little hard to explain why we've ditched the Games this afternoon, and gone canoeing without permission," the other Sam added. "I like the idea but I don't see how we can pull it off."
"I don't think the skull is in the lake," Sam said, quietly. "The other day, when we were up at that abandoned cabin Danny had a powerful vision of the ghost hanging in one of the building."
"Eww," T'Keisha put her hand to her throat and looked a little faint.
"We all had strong reactions to being in that cabin," Sam went on. "I'm sure that's where the ghost, or rather that boy, Ben Green, died."
"Right, and he hung himself which makes him a suicide, and suicidal ghosts are real nut jobs," Abigail interrupted.
"But I think it's more than just that. I think that's where the skull is." Sam insisted.
"It could be anywhere up there?" Abigail objected.
"It could be anywhere in the lake. But if it the skull were hidden somewhere up there by the abandoned cabins that would explain why the cabin's were abandoned, while the lake wasn't and isn't even considered haunted."
"So what?" Abigail questioned. "It would take us two hours to get up to those cabins with no guarantee we'd find the skull."
"There's no guarantee we'd find the skull in the lake, either," the other Sam suggested. "And I don't think we're going to be free any time today to go hunting. I think we ought to plan on fighting the ghost when it shows up tonight."
"Exactly," Abigail agreed. "I don't have enough Ghost-Be-Gone to spray the whole camp so I think what we're going to have to do is wait to see who the ghost is targeting, then while I distract it with the lipstick blaster someone has to rush in and dose the victim with Ghost-Be-Gone, then hope that with the ghost softened up some we can suck it into the Thermos, assuming Fenton's going to bring it down with him and not have a snitfit."
"Snitfit!" Sam snapped. "Snitfit!"
"Stop it!" T'Keisha cried out. "How are we ever going to stop this, this...ghost, if all you do is fight among yourself. "Just stop it!" She leaped up and race off towards the cabins.
"So much for Team Fenton," the other Sam said. "In fifteen minutes time you've knocked the team down by a third, and I'm not sure I want to hang around here listening to you put people down." Despite what he said, the other Sam made not effort to get up.
"T'Keisha's right, we can't keep fighting among ourselves," the real Sam said. "As much as I hate to say it, Abigail's plan seems like the best we've got. I'll make sure the thermos is there when the ghost shows up. Who's going to carry the Ghost spray? That's going to be pretty risky."
"I'll do it," the other Sam said. "I'm used to getting knocked around from playing football.
"I'll be there protecting your back, Dude," Sid offered.
"So," Aetheria said, sitting up from Sid's lap, "before we break out into another fight, let's agree to met down at the amphitheater before the ceremonies start tonight. Abigail will bring we stuff and Sam will bring this thermos thingy and we'll all do our best to kick butt when it comes." She stood up and dusted off her shorts. "Do you think Scooby Doo's mystery crew had this many fights when they were fighting their ghosts?" she wondered.
Tucker found Danny already far up the lane towards their cabins, walking at a stiff pace. He jogged to catch up, but seeing the set expression on Danny's face decided to not say anything. When they got to the cabin Danny threw himself on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. Tucker sat down on his bed but Danny wouldn't acknowledge his presence.
After a while Tucker finally asked, "What's the matter, Danny? I've never seen you like this?"
Danny sighed. "You ever see that old western, High Noon?"
"No offense but I don't watch western. There aren't too many blacks in them."
"Yeah, true. -- In this movie there's this old man, the sheriff of the town and he's about to get married when he gets a message that a man he had sent to jail years ago has been released and is coming gunning for him. He's going to be there at high noon, you see, to have it out."
"What's the difference between high noon and regular noon?" Tucker quipped.
"I don't care. The point is that this old guy goes around trying to find people who will help him and no one will. It's all up to him. All up to him."
"You know Sam and I will be there for you. And the others, too."
"I know. I appreciate it. But seriously, Tucker, what can you do? This is my fight. I'm the one with the ghost powers. I feel like that guy in the movie. I don't want to do this but I've got to, it's my responsibility. And like that guy, all I can see if a big clock ticking off the minutes. Tick tick tick."
"So how did the movie end?"
"Doesn't matter. Look, all the other times I've fought ghosts they've jumped out at me unexpectedly. It was all react and fight. I never had time to think. I can't stop thinking about this, though. It's getting me down, and Abigail's going on how we need to plan -- as if there's anything we can plan to do that will have any effect." Danny sighed and closed his eyes.
Tucker stretched out on his cot as well. "I never thought of it that way before," he said. He stared up at the ceiling like his friend for a minute or two. "Dude, you can't keep thinking about this, it's just going to drive you crazy."
"How can I not think about this?" Danny asked.
"Think about something else. Think about the games this afternoon. Think about what a jerk Dash has been? You've got to stop thinking about the future since there's nothing we can do to change it."
Danny sat up on his cot. He ran his hands over his face squeezing it as hard as he could. "Yeah. Yeah. I guess I'd better go out and face the music."
The beach was filling up with kids returning from lunch when Danny and Tucker got there. A number of canoe had been dragged out to the shore of the lake. Dash and a counselor from the Blue team was waiting. Far out in the lake were a couple of small boats anchored well away from each other. A bouy with an orange and white striped pennant had been moved into about a hundred feet from the pier and even with the pier's end. Tucker drifted off to find his first afternoon activity.
After a time Dash came by and asked who Danny was partnering with for the canoe race. Danny hadn't even thought about it so took a quick look around to see who his choices were. The first person he saw Abigail. She's tied a knot in her T-shirt hem exposing her midriff. With a shudder Danny turned away before she had a chance of spotting him. On the other side of him was the other Sam. "You got a partner?" Danny asked.
The other Sam shook his head, "You want to do it?"
"Yeah."
"Ok, we're a team."
And that was that. Abigail ended up paired with a boy from Oak cabin that Danny didn't know. It didn't matter so long as he didn't have to go anywhere near her. Danny was trying hard not to think about the future but he was having a lot less success not brooding on the past.
The race was straight-forward enough. Six canoes at a time lined up on an imaginary line from the end of the pier to the near-by buoy. When the whistle blew they would take off as fast they could for the motorboat on the north side of the lake, round it, steer for the other motorboat and then come racing back to the pier. The first one back won, as long as they correctly passed around both motorboats.
When their turn came, the other Sam let Danny steer in the back, since as he said Danny "seemed to know what he was doing."
It took a while to get the canoes lined up to the judge's satisfaction. Canoes would drift forward then had to be backed up. But finally the refs whistle sounded a shrill note. And with that everyone dug their paddles into the water.
The other Sam's first stroke threw a huge string of water behind him as he jerked the paddle out of the water and plunged in again. The water splashed over Danny in an irritating slap. Danny tried to wipe the water off his face only to have another splash land on him. So much for his intent to stay dry!
They were pulling out in front but Danny worried that the race would be too long for the other Sam to keep up the pace. He called for the other Sam to slow down, to pace himself but partner just laughed. "I can keep this up all day!" he replied. Danny said nothing but wondered if he would have to start bailing before they got back to the finish line.
For a time two other canoes were keeping up with them or were slightly ahead. One was crewed with a pair of muscular older kids who were churning through the water with a lot of energy and little finesse. The other canoe was moving almost silently and without splashing by a pair of boys whose technique was beyond any other campers there.
Danny risked a look back and saw that a couple other canoes were close behind them while the rest were spread out while behind them. Danny was astonished that they were doing so well but when the two older boys started pulling ahead Danny stopped thinking and put his back into matching the other Sam stroke for stroke.
The older boys made the first turn a full length ahead of the others. It was a long haul to the next motorboat. For a time the older boys were pulling farther ahead but as the second motorboat neared their splashing became slower and less vigorous. The change in their pace was small, barely noticeable to the cheering crowds on the shore but Danny could see them slowing pulling up even, then passing them. When they came up to the second motorboat it was just the two canoes.
Danny found himself in a curious bind. The other canoe had the better paddlers. They looked to be as fresh, two-thirds of the way through the race as at the start. Danny himself was getting tired. His shoulders and back ached and his breath was coming in ragged gasps. But he knew he had enough strength left to get back to the shore. The other Sam seemed to be going on and on like the energizer bunny. It can to Danny that if they could just get a canoe's length lead on the others they could possible hold the lead all they way back to the finish line.
The realization was slow to dawn on Danny who never won races, but for once there was a chance, a real chance he and the other Sam could take this race. All he had to do was get in front of the other canoe.
And Danny knew how.
It wouldn't be sportsmanlike but it wouldn't be fair but it would be legal -- unless the refs disagreed. Sam would not like it, but Sam was not here.
Danny decided to go for it.
He called for the other Sam to start paddling on the right, which would push the canoe to the left. Danny himself shoved his paddle into the water on the left side and back paddled. Their canoe lost a lot of forward momentum but veered sharply left. They cross close to the motorboat, cutting off the other canoers, forcing them to give way. Danny and the other Sam passed around the motorboat with inches to space. The other canoe followed a moment later several feet behind them.
"Let's go!" Danny called to the other Sam, and dug in his paddle. He started calling "Go! Go! to set up a pace for them. Water flung from the other Sam's paddle laced far out over the lake.
For a long time it did not seem like the shore was ever going to get closer. Danny wondered whether he had miscalculated. Soon it was getting harder and harder to move his paddle but when he looked up again the pier was looming close.
Danny bore down again, pushing himself harder.
Abruptly their canoe slammed onto the beach, throwing Danny and the other Sam forward and nearly out of their canoe.
Danny laid down his paddle and slowly crawled out of the canoe. His legs were rubbery, threatening to collapse under him. But suddenly burly arms caught him up in a massive bear hug. The roaring in his ears that Danny thought was from being on the edge of passing out, turned out to be cheering fans. Someone was thumping him on the back in exhilaration. Danny forced open his eyes and looked at who was giving him such a bone-crushing hug.
He was looking to the face of Dash Baxter.
The stared at each other for a moment, then Baxter dropped Danny to the ground and stepped back awkwardly. "Good job, Fenton," he murmured, backing away. Danny didn't have time to worry about how embarrassing the thing was. The other Sam had turned around and grabbed up Danny in a hug, followed by a succession of others, boys and girls. It was enough to make Danny's head spin.
Then it all came to a crashing halt, as a couple refs came over and asked Danny and the other Sam to come with them.
The other team was claiming that Danny's sharp turn had fouled them. They demanded that Danny and the other Sam be disqualified. The refs questioned Danny about the race, whether he knew there was another canoe behind them and more. Danny answered truthfully. Yes. he knew another canoe was behind them. Yes he had turned unexpectedly knowing that he was forcing the other canoe to slow down to avoid hitting them. Then the counselors from the other team argued with the refs for a long time.
Dash was hovering near Danny and the other Sam. He seemed to be mad about the possibility that Danny and the other Sam would be disqualified. But finally the refs called them back and announced that they were ignoring the complaint. Danny and the other Sam were the winners.
Danny and the other Sam staggered back to the Green Team's pavilion where they collapsed on the sand. Someone handed them bottles of Gateraid (™) which Danny drain in one gulp. He laid back and closed his eyes.
It seemed only moments latter that someone bumped his shoulder waking Danny up. "You're wanted over at the relay race," Booger told him. Danny realized with a start that an hour or maybe two without him knowing it. As he staggered over to where Booger had pointed, Danny wondered if he would have the energy for the race.
Mrs Doi was waiting fot him when Danny got to the starting line of the track, Another heat was already in process. Kids were running around the oval marked out in the sand with white strips of lime. Another set of kids were waiting along a slanted line across the several tracks, waiting for the runners to catch up with them and hand off the baton they were carrying. Kids were standing along the lines of the track cheering the runners on.
The elderly counselor lead Danny over to three other campers who would make up the Green Team for the next heat. Danny recognized Adam, a tall, angular kid from Oak cabin and Sue, a stocky girl from Sumac. With a shudder of distaste Danny realized that the third member was Abigail.
"Are you, like, stalking me?" he asked.
"I wanted to play soccer but that dumb counselor of yours stuck me here."
"You, Soccer?" Danny asked incredulously. He couldn't imagine Abigail running non-stop for five minutes, let along for the length of an entire game.
"Yes, me! I like kicking balls around."
Adam snorted.
"I mean soccer balls!"
"R-i-g-h-t..."
"Children, children," Mrs. Doi interrupted. "We are here to win! And a team can not win if it is fighting among itself."
"Sorry," said Danny. Adam and Abigail chimed in as well. Danny was surprised that Abigail had apologized but there was something about Mrs. Doi that did that.
The relay was set up boy-girl, boy-girl to even out the times. Adam would go first, followed by Abigail, then Danny and Sue. After a few words about handing off the baton, mainly that the receiver starts running before the carrier gets there so they are going at half speed by the time they get the baton. Mrs. Doi emphasized that the carrier had to be sure the receiver had a firm grip on the baton before releasing it. Because if they dropped it they'd have to stop and pick it up before finishing the race.
The other race soon ended with a victory for the Red Team. After a few minutes if congratulations, the track was cleared and the runner for the next race took their places on the track.
When the whistle sounded Orange Team took off to an early lead. Adam lumbered around doggedly in third place. As they rounded the track the second runners set themselves in a narrow space next to the main track. When Adam passed a line drawn about twenty feet away Abigail started sprinting. Adam caught up with her easily and laid the baton in her backwards stretched hand. She seized on it and put on speed.
Danny was surprised to see that she could run well. He had put her down as one of those girls who never did anything more active than brushing her hair. As she neared the end of her section Danny got ready. The instant she passed the twenty foot line Danny took off. He was getting up to speed, glancing behind to see where Abigail was. He stretched his hand back, palm up and open waiting for the slap of the baton. It brushed over his palm once, siding away before he could grab it. Again he felt it brush his fingers, but not where he could wrap them around the stick. "Come on" he cried. A third time he felt the baton touch his hand. He closed his hand but even as his fingers curled up he could feel the stick slide through them.
Danny heard the thudding of Abigail's feet change their pace and knew she had stumbled. He risked another glance behind and saw her sprawled on the ground, the baton laying near by. Danny skidded to a stop and raced back, grabbed he baton from off the sand and turned to finish the race. The other three teams were far in front of him.
He ran as fast as he could; till he could feel a cramp growing in his leg. He closed the gap with the third runner by the time he crossed the twenty foot warning line and handed off the baton. Sue took off with a spray of sand. He vaguely heard a roar when she passed the third racer and another when she pulled even with the second place racer. But Danny was too busy gasping for breath to really pass attention. He staggered off the track so the runners wouldn't crash into him when they came in to finish.
Danny was standing on the sidelines, hands on his knees, still panting when a pair of large white sneakers planted themselves in front of him.
"You moron!" a too familiar voice bellowed at him. "You miserable piece of spit, You worthless boob! How could you drop the baton!"
Danny looked into Dash's inflamed face. "I didn't drop the baton, she never got it into my hand."
"Don't whine your excuses to me. I saw you drop it. You ..."
"Shut up, Dash," Danny said. "Just shut the ---- up!" Danny dropped the F-bomb. He couldn't believe he had said it even as he was saying it. Danny tried never to swear. But he had said it and it felt good. He stood up and walked around the big, blond counselor and kept walking.
"The game's aren't over, Fenton. You get your ass back here right this minute!"
Danny kept right on walking, off the beach and up the trail to his cabin. He throw himself on his cot and lay there. Soon he napped.
Vaguely he recalled voices filling the cabin later on. They were laughing and shouting happily. Showers were run, lockers opened and slammed. No one stopped to talk to Danny. It was like he wasn't there at all.
Soon the voices faded away, leaving the cabin again in silence. Supper time, Danny figured. He closed his eyes and slept some more, the weight of the world grinding down on his shoulders.