Another Way
Chapter 3: Seedling
Danny trudged down the halls of Casper High, ignoring the occasional shove from the other teenagers on their way to class as he pushed through the crowd to get to the cafeteria, a near-permanent frown set on his face. He'd been worrying about his accident throughout most of the night, when he wasn't falling halfway through his bed or suddenly losing a limb – he had a few seconds of panic before he realized that his hand had just gone invisible – and he was feeling the effects of his lack of sleep.
He'd hoped that whatever had happened to him was temporary, perhaps a crazy but scientifically explainable side-effect from the ghost portal which would wear off on its own. But it hadn't; in fact, his symptoms only seemed to get worse as he got more upset, so he'd been trying to calm down all morning in the hope that he wouldn't have an embarrassing ghostly mishap at school.
He suddenly felt a hand clasp his shoulder and he turned his head to see a pair of dark eyes and a wide smile belonging to his best friend, Tucker Foley.
"Hey, Danny, why so glum, dude?" the Afro-American boy asked with a grin, "Did your parents blow up your bed again?"
Despite his dark mood, Danny couldn't help but laugh at that, "No, they've made sure the lab is properly insulated since then… and it didn't blow up, Tuck, it caught on fire."
"Because god knows, the devil is in the details…" another voice said, as a pale, black-haired Goth girl joined them.
Danny quirked an eyebrow at her, "There's a big difference, Sam. If it just blew up, dad could maybe put it back together, but being burned to a crisp makes that a no-go."
Sam rolled her amethyst eyes with a smirk, "Yes, we all mourn the loss of your bed, Danny."
"Hey, I finally got it the way I wanted it. Took me a few years to dig that groove in it." He quipped back.
"I'm sure Sam wanted to see that groove, Danny." Tucker wiggled his eyebrows at the other two. Danny looked confused, while Sam's face grew red.
"Sam's seen my bed before, Tuck, you guys come over to visit all the time." Danny said, not really sure what joke his friend was trying to make.
Sam gnashed her teeth as she glared fiery daggers at the boy, "Tucker. Shut. Up."
Danny looked between his two friends for a moment before he shrugged, deciding that this was one of those arguments that only Sam and Tucker could understand. The two were as different as night and day and would often get into fights over things that the rest of the school thought were meaningless. Even Danny didn't always understand what they were on about, and he basically hung out with them every day.
He sighed as he turned his tired eyes to the floor, "Well, I didn't get much sleep tonight anyway, so I suppose it wouldn't really have mattered if my bed came out the bad end of a grill."
Sam's eyebrows came together in concern, "Why couldn't you sleep, Danny?"
"Yeah, dude, did you stay up all night playing Doomed? And why didn't you tell me?!" Tucker exclaimed, obviously feeling left out.
"If only. No, there was an accident in my parents' lab yesterday." he explained.
Sam's eyes widened, "What? Did anyone get hurt?"
Danny flinched and threw a look at her before focusing on the cafeteria doors, which were finally coming into view, "N-no, no one got… hurt." he stammered pathetically.
Sam obviously didn't believe him, as she sent him a suspicious look, but Tucker was completely oblivious to the badly concealed lie, "That's good, but then why couldn't you sleep? Did you have to help your parents clean up the echogoop or whatever?"
"That's ecto-goop – whatever that is – and no, that's not what happened. I was just a little… upset, I guess." at their questioning looks he finally sighed and slumped his shoulders before looking back up at the two of them, "Okay, okay. You're gonna think I'm mental, but whatever, half the school already thinks I am, anyway."
"Danny, you're stalling." Sam huffed and scowled at him.
He grinned, "Heh, yeah, sorry. It's just that… yesterday, when my dad and I were in the lab, we were … attacked by a ghost."
He waited for them to laugh or tell him he needed to see a doctor – as Jazz had insinuated several times during dinner – but they just stopped in the hallway and stared at him with open mouths and wide eyes.
"Uh… guys? You still with me?" he joked, unsure of what to make of their reactions.
Then Tucker blinked before giving him an incredulous look, "A ghost? What do you mean you were attacked by a ghost?"
"Exactly what I said," Danny replied, feeling both annoyed at the expected reaction of disbelief and relieved that his friend had finally snapped out of his shock.
"But ghosts don't exist."
Danny glowered at him, "Believe me, I know they're not supposed to exist. But there was one in my basement yesterday evening."
"How do you know it was a ghost?" Sam sudden piped up.
Danny blinked at her, "Uh … because I saw it?"
Sam rolled her eyes impatiently, "But you don't know what a ghost looks like, right? So how do you know it was a ghost? Was it transparent, intangible, white and glowing?"
Danny frowned and turned his eyes thoughtfully towards the ceiling, "Well, it was flying, and glowing…" he looked her in the eyes, "but he seemed pretty solid to, now that I think about it. He actually looked more like a vampire," he shuddered as he remembered the sharp teeth, the manic smile and those red, mad eyes.
Sam smiled, "So, obviously it was a vampire that attacked you then. Not a ghost." she started towards the cantina again, the two boys hurrying to follow her.
He gaped at her, "What, seriously?"
She scoffed, "No, Danny, it couldn't have been, because vampires don't exist either." Tucker snorted in response as they walked.
He groaned in annoyance, "Look, would you guys please listen? I'm telling you there was a – something – in the lab. And I'm sure it was a ghost."
"How can you be sure?" Tucker asked curiously.
Danny shrugged, "Well, I just can." he wasn't about to tell them that he knew because the ghost's appearance had been eerily similar to his own 'ghost self' – and in some way, he just knew that he wasn't 'alive' in that form. I suppose a vampire is technically dead, too, he mused to himself, but he didn't really believe it. Something told him that it was a ghost – perhaps it was the cold core that he could still feel in his chest, pulsating with a power that had nothing to do with biological life; despite being him as much as his current form was, it felt almost completely removed from his living, human self.
He pinched his eyes shut and shook his head, no, I can't think like that. I'm human, totally, fully human. I'm not something else, it'll go away… the core in his chest thrummed in response and seemed to fade even further as he willed it more strongly to the back of his mind, although it still remained, emitting a soft and comforting sense of coolness.
"Danny? Hello-o?" he suddenly noticed that they'd stopped again, and that Tucker was waving a hand in front of his face with a bemused expression. When Danny focused on him, the dark-skinned boy pushed his glasses further up his nose as he gave him a worried look, "Dude, we thought you got possessed by a ghost or something."
"Ah, no, I was just… thinking." the memory of the blue-skinned ghost popped into his mind again and he took a deep breath, trying to hide his anxiety.
Apparently he didn't do so well with that, because Sam put a comforting hand on his shoulder and asked him seriously, "Danny, were you really attacked by a ghost?"
He looked up at her, and realized that both she and Tucker were looking at him in a way that told him they were going to believe whatever he said. He smiled appreciatively, "Yeah. It kept talking like it knew my dad and it seemed like it only came to try to kill him." Sam and Tucker gasped and he hurriedly waved his hands dismissively, "Don't worry, he's fine. The ghost left before he got really hurt."
Sam lifted an eyebrow, "But if it came to kill him, then why did it give up?"
Danny wondered at that. With all that had happened to him, he hadn't thought about why the ghost was suddenly gone, when it had seemed so insistent on murdering his dad last he saw it. It had even ignored him and thrown him into the portal… hold on, how'd I get into my bed in the first place? He realized that he couldn't remember how. He'd been in pain, and he vaguely recalled threatening the red-eyed spectre afterwards, but it had only stared at him like he was a rare kind of animal. I must have been in my … ghost form. That's why it stared at me like that. Wait a minute… is that why it left? But why would it leave because I turned into a ghost? He rubbed his temples in confusion. Had the ghost put him in his bed? But why? Hadn't it just tried to kill his dad? It was even the ghost's fault that he turned into a ghost himself, for heaven's sake! Even without the whole 'bone-searing agony and turning into a spectral entity'-thing, he could still have been hurt when he got thrown into that portal! He wasn't even quite sure that he was still … no, it wouldn't just start to care about my wellbeing all of a sudden. Maybe I was just so groggy from the accident that I don't remember going to bed.
He shrugged noncommittally, "I don't know. I got shocked by the ghost portal and when I woke up, he was gone. Mom and Jazz came home a few minutes later."
"Wait, what ghost portal?!" Tucker exclaimed.
"You were shocked unconscious?!" Sam cried, "As in electrocuted?! You said no one got hurt!"
Danny bit his lip and looked at her sheepishly, "Ah-ha, yeah, well, I wasn't seriously hurt…?" he tried, only for her to scoff and scowl at him, as though him getting injured and not telling her was a personal insult.
"Yeah, yeah, Danny's fine, Sam." Tucker interrupted impatiently before he focused his attention on Danny, "So, what was that about a ghost portal?" he asked eagerly.
Danny blinked at him before catching on, "Oh, right. Remember how I told you guys that my parents have been working on something big for, like, two months now? Well, when I got shocked by it, it turned on for some reason, even though they couldn't figure out what was wrong with it."
Sam forgot her indignation and stared at him, wide-eyed, "You mean it works? It's a real, working ghost portal?" she nearly whispered, dumbfounded.
He grimaced, "I don't know if it works or not. Even though they spent so long on that invention, they told Jazz and I not to play around with it. I don't know why they wouldn't try it out, since they spent so long on it in the first place, but seeing as I've actually seen a ghost now, I don't see why it shouldn't work."
Sam seemed to be in awe of the prospect, "Wow, guys. Don't you get what this means?"
"That the monster under my bed when I was ten was real?" Tucker asked in an honest reply, voice slightly pitched, making Sam roll her eyes in hidden amusement.
"No, Tucker. It means that there's probably a whole ghost realm, and that insinuates that the supernatural actually exists! Oh, I have so many books on old legends about ghosts, I wonder…"
"Uh, it's called a ghost zone, not ghost realm, apparently." Danny corrected without much conviction.
Sam blinked at him, "Why would you call it a zone? That doesn't make sense."
He held his hands up in defeat, "Hey, I don't know. You could ask my dad yourself."
He was surprised when she smiled at him and said, "That's a great idea! Tucker and I'll come home with you and see the portal."
He frowned at her, "Are you sure, Sam? We were just assaulted by a ghost, it may not be all that safe at home, you know? If that portal works, it may just let in more ghosts…"
Sam's eyebrows flew up, "Don't tell me it's been open since yesterday?" when he gave her a blank look, she sighed, "What are your parents thinking, jeez…"
Danny chuckled, "Now you sound like Jazz." then he matched her sigh, "But she doesn't believe that we were attacked by a ghost. She thinks that someone broke into the house and that I'm hallucinating from the shock."
"Then what about your dad?" Tucker asked.
"What about him?" Danny said in confusion.
"He was there too, right? How does she explain that he thinks it was a ghost, too?"
Danny laughed humourlessly, "Tucker, it's my dad. If he's not constantly talking about ghosts, he's making ecto-weapons to use against them. I'm not even sure I would believe him if I hadn't seen it myself." he blushed and scratched the back of his neck when his friends laughed.
"I imagine Jazz spent all day trying to get your parents to change careers – again?" Sam asked with a knowing smirk.
But Danny shook his head, "No, actually she hasn't said a word about ghosts since. She glared at mom and dad at dinner and kept insinuating that I should go see the school psychiatrist, but apart from that, nothing."
Sam looked incredulous, "That doesn't sound like Jazz."
"Yeah, and it gets weirder. She even drove me to school today!" he exclaimed, waving his hands above his head for emphasis.
"Wow, something must be seriously wrong with her if she's willing to be seen with you. Someone might think you're related." Tucker said in a tone of mock seriousness, but the corners of his mouth curled upwards.
Danny slumped and scowled at his friend, "Very funny, Tucker." he grumbled as they moved to get their lunch, only to stop as Tucker let out a strangled cry.
"Wh-what is this?" Tucker breathed fearfully and although Danny thought he was overreacting, he couldn't help but want to ask the exact same question - though preferably with less stammering.
Instead of the usual burgers, fries and sparse salads available for lunch, it seemed like all of the serving trays were filled with grass and mud. For a moment, he wondered if the biology class had confused the food with garden fertilizers – the school menu sure didn't taste much better – but when he saw the satisfied smirk and relaxed expression on his Gothic friend he got a sinking feeling in his stomach.
Oh, now she's done it…
"Where is all the meat?!" Tucker cried, sounding more panicked than Danny had been when he suddenly realized he had glowing eyes and didn't need to breathe anymore, "What has happened here?!" he finally noticed Sam's smile and turned on her, eyes vivid, "What did you do?!"
Sam smiled wider and her eyes half-closed in triumph, "I convinced the school board to try a new menu. It's much healthier than our usual options, and it's recyclable!" She added the last part with a barely suppressed chuckle and waved a hand towards the banner above them, which clearly stated that this week was 'Ultra Recyclo-vegetarian' week. Danny's stomach dropped as he saw Tucker's expression - this meant war.
He sighed and went to the lunch lady with a tray, deciding to try it out before chucking it into the trashcan. She slammed what looked like grass on a bun onto his tray and he eyed it sceptically. He didn't mind Sam's lifestyle – he even found it somewhat impressive on some level – but he doubted anyone could live off of this.
Tucker was still staring at Sam lividly, but when Danny came back towards them with his new, Ultra Recyclo-vegetarian meal on his tray, he stared at it in alarm. Sam nodded approvingly at Danny when she saw his meal, but Danny only lifted a bemused eyebrow, projecting a silent well, it's not like there's anything else to choose from, now is there? at her. She simply shrugged at his look.
"Don't you think this is a little extreme, Sam?" he asked her cautiously. He'd been in the middle of one of Sam and Tucker's arguments before and he wasn't keen on trying that again. He purposely avoided eye contact with his bespectacled friend, not willing to be drawn into a 'whose-side-are-you-on'-argument again.
"Well, yes. It's supposed to include other kinds of food, but I think the staff took the chance to shift the funds from the student's lunch to their own,"
Tucker seemed to forget about his anger with her for a moment, "What, you mean that rumour about the teacher's all steak-buffet is true?"
She growled, though Danny could tell her annoyance wasn't him them in particular, "Yeah, why else do you think those meat-lovers would try a vegetarian menu of any kind? Even the salads had animal products in them! I have to pick them out every…" she seemed to shake herself out of her anger as she smirked again, "At least this gives the student populace the chance to sample a different, less harmful alternative to their usual bloody midday meal."
Suddenly Danny felt a strange, cold tingle travel up his spine. It spread from his chest like icy tendrils and made his lungs constrict slightly, before the grip let up, and he let out a misty breath. Hey, it's not that cold in here, is it? He could have sworn the mist had a blue tinge to it, but it had disappeared too quickly for him to get a proper look at it. The cold feeling in his chest remained, however, but it didn't feel jarring or obstructive – if anything it was invigorating and he felt strangely elated. He glanced over at Sam, wondering if she'd felt anything, when he saw someone approaching over her shoulder and froze for a second before he commented, "I don't think the populace appreciates your sample, Sam." He nodded towards the jock behind her and she scowled as she turned and saw who he was referring to.
"Dash," she groaned, "He wouldn't appreciate good food-culture if it slapped him in the face.
A mischievous smile slowly crept unto Danny's face. Tucker, who had cheered up a bit by the idea of an all steak-buffet, looked curious at his expression, "Danny, what are you thinking?"
The smile grew wider, and Danny felt that coldness in his chest spread as he shivered and let out another misty breath, "I'm thinking…" he said slowly, trying not to clatter his teeth as the cold passed his lips, "that it's time that Dash met some culture." He twisted his upper body and brought his arms back, still holding the tray, and before Sam and Tucker could do more than gape at him in shock, he threw the lunch tray straight at the blonde teen and yelled, "Hey, Dash! Look up!"
The result was what you'd expect; one high-strung, screaming athlete, whose attempts to throttle him were only interrupted by the many squealing kids, who apparently took the situation as an excuse to use their new lunch for something it was much more suited for.
Some kid in the back yelled "Garbage fight!" at the top of his lungs, and in a matter of seconds there were bits of mud and buns flying through the air like shooting stars and strewn across the ceiling. By the time Danny had gotten a hold of his friends and pulled them down under the tables, the air was filled with flying grass and screams. "Come on," he said to Sam and Tucker, who were staring at him wide-eyed for what must be the fiftieth time that day.
"Danny, did you really just-?" Sam began.
"Dude, you owned Dash!" Tucker exclaimed, laughing loudly and patting his shoulder.
"What's gotten into you today?" Sam asked, but her tone seemed more impressed than scolding and her eyes were lit with a rebellious fire, "You know you just pissed off the school quarterback, right?"
Danny sent her an uncertain half-smile, "Let's get out of here before anyone sees us," he whispered urgently as he began crawling towards the kitchen. The odd mischievous confidence that he'd felt a moment ago was all but gone, leaving him to wonder if it hadn't been a sudden brain haemorrhage that had inspired him to ignite the impromptu food-fight.
When they were out of sight they got up and dusted off the worst of the mud from the ongoing garbage fight back in the cantina.
"Dude, that was radical!" Tucker was still laughing.
Danny let out a breath, "I bet I'm going to regret this tomorrow," he moaned, "what was I thinking?"
"Uh, guys…" Sam's anxious whisper reached them and they turned around to face her.
"What is it, Sam?" Danny asked warily, afraid that she was going to start scolding them for mistreating her new menu.
"I-it – it's a – a …" she swallowed and gave up on answering him, instead pointing at something behind him. He turned again and his eyes widened in shock.
There, in the school kitchen, stood a woman, dressed in lunch lady-garbs and fussing over the stove, evidently looking for something. They could faintly hear her muttering about sausages with a desperate fervour. But that wasn't what had Sam tongue-tied.
The woman's skin was green, she was glowing and when she turned around towards them with a surprised look in her red eyes, her feet rose to hover several inches above the floor.
Danny stared at her, wide-eyed. This was the second time in as many days that he'd seen a ghost. He'd gone from believing they were only scary stories that his parents obsessed about, to basically meeting them on every corner. What is happening to my life? He thought despondently.
He felt a shiver run up his spine and a misty breath escaped his lips. It was the same feeling as he'd felt just a minute before, only stronger this time. It's her, he realized with a start, it's the ghost. That's what's making my ghost-core so excited… and he felt excited, in a way he couldn't remember feeling before; it wasn't a happy feeling, but he felt ready to move, run, fight.
He stared at the plump lunch lady-ghost while his insides clenched together in preparation for something…
Sam didn't believe her eyes. Or rather, she did believe them and that was the problem. She knew Danny wasn't a liar, and despite his parents' obsession, he wasn't one to imagine monsters around every corner. And yet it wasn't till she saw this eerie spectre standing in the school kitchen that she truly believed him.
She swallowed when the woman – the ghost – turned her glowing eyes on her for a second. The fact that they were lit like a Christmas tree wasn't what truly unnerved her; it was that feeling they protruded, a glaring aura that pierced her to the bones and made every one of her five senses scream, This isn't natural! And yet, it was. Or she was – the ghost, the lunch lady. Whatever.
The ghost turned so her piercing red stare could encompass all three of them and suddenly broke out into a wide, kind smile that seemed to shock the two boys as much as the girl herself, "Why, children, what are you doing in the kitchen?"
Well, that was anticlimatic, Sam thought to herself; she'd expected… she didn't know what she'd expected, but it definitely didn't involve the ghost being polite. Shouldn't they be, like, vengeful or something?
Upon not receiving an answer from any of the three, the ghost looked around the worn-down kitchen with mild concern, as though something important was out of place. Then she turned her gaze back to the kids and asked, "Oh, children, I wonder if you could help me. Today's lunch is meatloaf, but I can't seem to find the meat… it is really quite mysterious."
"No it's not," Tucker said suddenly, his fear apparently forgotten at the reminder of what he thought was the greatest betrayal of all times, "she changed the menu! There isn't any meat!" he told the ghost, pointing an accusing finger at Sam who scowled back at him.
At his claim the ghost turned its unnerving stare at her, and the eyes only seemed to become more piercing. Green flames erupted around her with a frightening 'woosh' and collected above her head in a flaming inferno. Even as the lunch lady's ghost stared her down, all Sam's shocked mind could register was that the flames didn't seem hot and didn't burn anything. Huh, she thought, shouldn't that be physically impossible?
"YOU CHANGED THE MENU?!" She roared, "PETULANT CHILD!"
"Holy-!" Tucker exclaimed in shock as the ghost only seemed to get more riled up.
"THE MENU HASN'T BEEN CHANGED IN OVER FIFTY YEARS!" the ghost screamed, completely losing its kindly demeanour from before.
Sam felt a sudden tide of indignation at the ghost and forgot all about the unnaturalness of the situation – and by extension, her own self-preservation – and glared darkly at the enraged entity, "Then it's about time for a change, wouldn't you agree?" she spat with an authoritative tone, which only seemed to ignite even stronger flames around the ghost.
A terrifying head-splitting scream tore through the ghost's throat and Sam swallowed thickly as she realized what she had just done. That ghost was going to kill her, and she had a sinking feeling that there was nothing she could do to defend herself. She took a step back with rapidly widening eyes trained on the formerly-living lunch lady and allowed herself to wonder faintly why anyone would be this obsessed about the lunch menu at a small-town high school, and post-death, even.
The ghost lifted its hand and the dishes in the sink glowed green and lifted themselves into the air, hovering there for barely a second before throwing themselves at Sam. She gasped loudly – out of surprise, of course, it wasn't like she was afraid – as they neared, and closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the pain of having a dozen porcelain plates ram into her body. When she instead felt a pair of arms around her, she didn't completely register that she'd been pushed out of harm's way before she felt her elbow hit the tiled floor – hard.
She let out a strangled cry and held her arm close to her. Even with the shock of the collision tearing through the rest of her body, she heard Danny's frightened voice apologizing profusely. Did Danny just save me? She thought numbly, and then, with a touch of annoyance, and why is he apologizing for it? The pain forgotten, she twisted from where she lay on the cold floor and turned her head towards Danny's voice, only to find that he wasn't looking at her anymore. He was glaring at the ghost with a furious expression that she'd never seen him wear before; but what left her speechless was the glowing green colour of his eyes as he sized up the ghost.
"D-Danny…?" she stammered, not quite sure what to make of this new development.
But Danny seemed to be completely focused on the spectre in the room with them. He pointed an angry finger at it with almost as much stubborn determination as Sam usually showed, "You! Leave us alone!" he cried, but then he blinked and Sam noticed the scary eyes were back to their natural blue as he peered pleadingly up through his fringe at the fiery ghost, "…please?"
Before Sam could roll her eyes at his failed attempt at bravery, the ghost sent another wave of dishes at them. Danny let out a squawk that would have been amusing to her if their lives hadn't been in imminent danger. She quickly got to her feet and shot upwards, throwing all her weight into the jump, pushing both her and Danny to safety. They landed next to Tucker, who was still staring at the female ghost in terror. He seemed to have forgotten how to close his mouth.
Sam got up and shot him an impassive glare before she brought her fist back to deliver a decisive punch onto Tucker's jaw. The boy squeaked and jumped back in surprise, but her impromptu wake-up call seemed to have done its job since he felt well enough to yell angrily at her, "What was that for?!" as he massaged his bruising jaw.
She smirked with more calm than she actually felt at that moment, "That was for sic'ing a vengeful, paranormal creature at me," she chided. Of course, she also had to snap him out of his stupor and could probably have done so more gently, but he couldn't rightly blame her for taking her own revenge for what his thoughtless comment has brought about.
Danny put a hand on each of their shoulders and pushed them slightly further apart with a terrified look in his eyes, "Uh… guys? Could you maybe do this later?" he said, his voice quivering.
Sam glanced over her shoulder at the ghost and her mouth went dry the sight. It was focusing on the stoves by the wall, a green aura lighting them up as they tore themselves away and into a big, bone-crushing, flying formation, and she felt pretty sure that she knew where they were going to land.
"We have to get out of here," she gasped, gripping Danny's wrist without thinking, "It's going to kill us!"
The boys stiffened at those words, as the truth that none of them wanted to admit was forced on them. Tucker swallowed as he stared at the ghost.
"Um, uh, miss lunch lady, we, uh, really liked the old menu, so maybe you could, you know … not kill us?" He squeaked the last bit as the ghost turned its red eyes at him.
Suddenly it relaxed visibly and the flames died down considerably. The ghosts smiled kindly at them as though it hadn't just tried to kill them, "Do you children truly like the menu?" she asked happily.
All three of them nodded quickly, both shocked and relieved that the ghost had calmed down so inexplicably. For a moment, Sam dared to hope that they were going to make it out of there with all their limbs intact.
But then the flaming anger returned to the ghostly Lunch Lady, and she grinded her teeth, apparently even more enraged than before the brief exchange with Tucker, "Then why did you go and change it, you ungrateful brats!" She brought her hands back and then forth in a quick motion, making the stoves fly towards them.
Sam let out a shaky gasp, while Tucker outright screamed and ducked his head, his hands covering his eyes. Then she felt a hand clasp around her forearm before she and Tucker were pulled back towards the wall. She only had time to realize that they were now pinned against a hard place and several flying projectiles when she felt an unsettling cold tingle on her skin, and the wall passed through her.
They dropped to the floor of the hallway on the other side, all three still breathing hard from the shock. They heard a loud sound from the other side of the wall as the stoves slammed into it. Sam looked from the floor, to the wall and then to her friends in complete and utter bewilderment. For the love of all that is dark and unholy, what just happened? She noticed that though Danny still seemed scared, he was looking significantly less shocked than her and Tucker – and his fearful eyes were on his own hands, which he was clenching and unclenching, as if he didn't recognize them.
Did Danny do… whatever just happened? She thought, but she immediately shoved the thought away. There was no way a human could do something like that. It must have been the ghost. But why would she save us from her own attack?
"Danny, 'you alright?" she asked worriedly.
He started, and then looked up at her with wide eyes, nodding unconvincingly and apparently speechless.
She was about to force him out of his shock – preferably in the same way she had helped Tucker out of his– when she felt a significant fall in temperature and turned to see the ghost floating out of the wall. It seemed a little surprised at their abrupt exit, but its eyes were still gleaming with its wrath as it turned their fire on Danny and grinded her teeth.
"You~! First you change my menu and then you refuse to accept your fair punishment!" it was clearly readying itself for another attack, so Sam got up quickly and dragged the two dumbstruck boys with her. Before any of them could freeze up again, she pulled them with her as she broke into a run. The ghost followed them with a cry of outrage as they sped down the hallways of the school. When the other students saw the trio and their ghostly pursuer they froze, gaping, for a fraction of a second, before a bespectacled kid with a couple more IQ-points than the rest of them screamed, "It's a ghost! It's going to eat us and possess our computers! Run for you lives!" and the rest of the teens decided to follow the wise, although odd, advise and started running around in circles, screaming for their parents, the teachers, and the ghost busters.
It all served as an excellent distraction for Sam and the two boys, especially since the latter were starting to pant from the exertion of running. Sam sighed as she forced herself to slow the pace, this wouldn't be a problem if they actually participated in P.E., she thought to herself in annoyance. Spying a janitor's closet to the left of her, she ripped the door open and kicked her friends inside before quickly getting in herself and closing the door, thankful for the Hispanic girl who was standing in the middle of the hallway, pointing and screaming at the ghost, "That apron does not go with green skin!", causing the ghost to frown in confusion.
Sam peeked out of the window in the door, and when she saw the ghost fly by, she decided they were safe enough for the time being and turned around to face Danny and Tucker, who were still on their butts on the floor, looking nervously up at her.
"Don't worry," she told them with a voice so calm one would think she was chased by ghosts regularly, "It's gone." they breathed a sigh of relief at her assurance and sagged their shoulders as they relaxed their tense muscles.
"What was that?!" Tucker cried out a second later, his eyes still panicked even though he was finally starting to calm down.
Sam sent him an impassive look, "Obviously, it was a ghost."
Tucker mouth fell open as he stared at her, before he composed himself and exclaimed, "How do you know it was a ghost?! It was solid and commanding killer dishes of doom! And it was green, it could have been an alien!"
Sam scoffed at his last remark, "Why would an alien break into a school kitchen and bother high school students? Besides, it mentioned that the menu had been unchanged for the past fifty years and that's true – it's part of the reason I thought it was about time for something a little different. Why would an alien know that." she shrugged, "And how do I know it was a ghost?" she looked over at the blue-eyed boy, "Well, the same way Danny did yesterday, I suppose. It's like an instinct."
Tucker looked like he wanted to argue, but then he let it drop. Sam suspected he'd known that their attacker was a ghost as well and was simply letting off steam; they'd all been pretty shocked, and if she wasn't so good at keeping calm, she might have been panicking a bit herself.
She looked over at Danny and noticed that he was looking down at his hands again, "Danny," she called, getting his attention, "What happened back there?"
He flinched visibly so even Tucker knew he was hiding something, "Who, me? Happened? Did something happen? I haven't done anything. Nope."
Sam rolled her eyes at his pathetic attempt to lie. She couldn't understand why he even tried when he was so obviously bad at it, "Danny, we went from nearly being sandwiched by the wall and several flying stoves, to sitting in the hallway next-door. Someone did that and I think I know who."
Tucker frowned, "What are you saying, Sam? That Danny did that? But how could he have?"
"I'm saying, Tucker," she began, speaking slowly, "That Danny experienced more than just a simple electrocution yesterday," she winced slightly when she mentioned the electrocution.
Danny bit his lip, "No, Sam, I just got a small shock! It's fine, really! It's not like I've suddenly developed ghost-powers or something," he chuckled nervously.
Sam sighed, "No, but maybe being exposed to the portal caused some sort of temporary effect. Not that I'm complaining; whatever it was saved us."
Danny seemed a little relieved for some reason, "Yeah, I think it did something, but I feel fine now. Whatever it was is gone now." He assured her.
"I don't think something that can make you walk through walls would just disappear like that." Sam insisted, "Have your parents taken a look at you? Maybe you're possessed or something."
Danny's eyes widened and Tucker looked horrified, "Possessed? You mean he's got one of those apron-wearing ghosts inside him?!"
"I'm not possessed! … and I didn't walk through any walls!" Danny yelled red-faced.
"Calm down guys," Sam said in a bored voice. She was used to these kinds of 'arguments' and knew that they weren't going to start making more sense at any point, "I was just suggesting an explanation. Besides, Danny doesn't seem murderous or has glowing eyes," she sent the boy a confused look when he looked away, "so I think he just needs to have his parents check him out, even if it wasn't Danny who got us out back there. If there's a ghost inside him, I'm sure they'll get it out and 'rip it apart, molecule by molecule!'" she smiled when she referenced her friend's father, but faltered when she saw his expression. He looked positively nauseous and had his face screwed up strangely, "You sure you're alright, Danny?"
He nodded too quickly and forced an obviously fake smile on his face, "I'm fine Sam. I'll ask my parents when I get home. Yep. When is class starting, by the way?"
She cocked an eyebrow at him, "Uh, class started ten minutes ago."
"Drat! Then what are we still doing here?"
"Dude, were you not here a few minutes ago?" Tucker piped in, "When we were about to become minced meat?"
"Oh, right." he grinned sheepishly, "Well, we should get going now, right?"
Sam rolled her eyes. Sometimes she didn't understand why she put up with these knuckleheads. Although she was pretty sure Danny was just trying to turn her attention away from his ghost-problems.
"A big part of Casper High's student body just saw a ghost rampaging through the halls. I doubt we're going to have any classes for the rest of the day, even if no one got hurt. Which reminds me…" she smirked, "You may not have to wait until you get home to talk to your parents, Danny?"
Her smile seemed to make her friend nervous, "… why not, Sam?"
Her smile grew into a creepy grin, "Well, your parents are the best known ghost hunters – in town at least - … who do you think they're going to call after this?"
Danny looked more panicked than when the Lunch Lady had burst into flames.
Danny was ready to die –or, at least crawl into a very deep hole and fill it in afterwards, so no man could find him. It had taken the school all but ten minutes to declare martial law (or the high school equivalent in any case) and demand that all students evacuate to the auditorium (an order which was unanimously ignored, until Mr Lancer locked the front doors and threatened any deviants with a month-long detention) and another ten minutes before his parents had arrived, waving ectoguns and bright, maniacal smiles around the room.
Although most students had gone into a state of complete panic upon seeing – or hearing of – the ghost, it had taken them a remarkably short time to settle into their usual mindset of ignoring everything around them and looking bored. A few were still discussing the Lunch Lady, but the rest just seemed peeved that they had to suffer through both Lancer's and the Fentons' speeches before they were allowed to skip school and go to the Nasty Burger and pass out from overindulgence of Nasty Sauce.
His mother stood at the podium, holding the mike with an intense expression, looking for the entire world like a general about to warn her troops of an incoming alien invasion, "Students of Casper High! Today you suffered a ghost attack!" she began, making Danny groan in resignation.
Oh really, I didn't notice. He knew his sarcasm wasn't fair, but the situation was getting to him.
"Studies show that these ectoplasmic entities are pure evil! But don't worry, children, as long as you follow the ghost-invasion guidelines, you'll be just fine." his mother sent them what was supposedly a reassuring smile, but she simply looked like she was out of her mind, standing there in the dubious lighting of the podium, dressed in a full-body hazmat-suit and red goggles with a matching ectobazooka held loosely in her hands.
"Yeah, we'll get that spooking spectre, kids, dontcha worry about a thing!" his dad cut in, lifting his gun and accidentally letting off a beam right into the audience. The kids screamed and ducked to avoid the green light and instead it hit the wall behind them, leaving a black scorch mark.
His dad blinked as the room fell quiet. His eyes fell to his gun before popping back up to the damaged wall with a goofy grin, "'Guess I must have turned off the safety by accident,"
His wife glared at him before turning back to the mike, "If you see a ghost, you must find a place to hide – don't try to fight them without the proper weapons or defences! Jack and I intend to make a club for young ghost-hunters-to-be," she and her husband shared bright smiles, "but until then you should all be careful of these unnatural phantasms. If you have any questions, you can ask us – or one of our children, Jazz and Danny!" She suddenly started scanning the crowd for her kids and Danny felt a sudden dread fill him at the prospect of being pointed out by his coddling mother in front of the whole school.
The world seemed to slow as every head stared turning towards him. He'd sat in the very back for exactly this reason, but it seemed to do very little to hide him from the other students' eyes. He slumped in his seat and blushed, wishing with all his heart that he was somewhere else. Right before the first set of eyes found him, he felt a coldness emanate from his core and envelop the rest of his body, leaving him feeling strangely non-existent.
When the teen sitting in the row before him turned around, fully expecting to find the Fenton-freak sitting between his two friends, he frowned in confusion, his eyes skimming over the area as though he couldn't see him.
That's it, Danny thought in shock, he can't see me. I'm invisible. He realized that his new ghost core had somehow responded to his wish, hiding him from the condescending eyes of the Casper High students. Sam and Tucker had been doing their best not to look at him when his parents called his name, but noticing how the other students' gazes skipped them, they chanced a look in Danny's direction. Both lost their cool appearance when they couldn't find him, and the blue-eyed boy saw them exchange a glance through him –god, this is so weird.
A wave of exhaustion hit him suddenly and he barely bit back a groan. Why am I feeling so tired all of a sudden? He thought, but then he felt his core shiver slightly, not unlike a heart under duress, and he realized that the strain of keeping himself invisible was too much for his young core. Maybe it's not so surprising; it didn't exist before twelve hours ago, after all.
"Danny?" he heard Sam whisper as she looked around them and Tucker checked under the seats. The boy, still hunched forward on his seat, met the Goth's worried eyes.
"'You think he went through the floor, like with the wall in the kitchen?" he asked her in a whisper, horror evident in his voice, "What if he's falling towards the centre of the Earth as we speak? I don't want to lose my best friend! Who am I going to play Doomed with?!" his voice was steadily rising and Sam shushed him.
"Quiet, Tucker, don't give us away. Besides, there's a basement. I'm sure he's fine." she added, her calm voice at odds with the frown on her face.
At the podium, his parents had apparently given up on finding him at were instead bothering his sister, who had been foolish enough to sit in the front row. He could hear his dad's enthusiastic voice and her clipped answers.
Danny felt dizzy. He was feeling an all-consuming need to change into his ghost form, but the thought of being a full ghost frightened him; what if he couldn't change back? What if he was stuck like that, a simple ghost that his parents would hunt and his friends would look at with terror, like when they met the Lunch Lady… but he couldn't ignore it any longer. He'd been trying since last night, forcing his body to stay human – living – instead of turning. But it was growing harder with every second, especially after he activated his core earlier in order to save the three of them from the crazed ghost. But now, having his core continuously active to keep him invisible, he knew that he couldn't keep it up much longer. His core was starting thrum with an unpleasant warmth – probably because I'm losing so much energy – but what was worse was that his human body was responding as well; his heart was beating a faster, a little out of rhythm, and his breathing was becoming laboured. He had to change before he was either forced to, or passed out from the exertion of fighting it.
But I can't change here! He thought frantically, his eyes darting around the room, settling on his parents who had gone into a long speech about the devious nature of ghosts, Mr Lancer, looking shocked and his friends, who had gone quiet with worry. They'll see me if I stay here. I have to get out, but how?
The answer came to him quickly however, and he closed his eyes, trying to remember what he had felt when he walked through the wall earlier; how his core had responded to his urgent request. Slowly, he got out of his seat and opened his eyes, his gaze flickering to Sam before the growing discomfort in his chest forced him forward.
Walking through people felt completely different from passing through stone; the wall had just been an object, something that was inconveniently placed in his path. Passing through humans was… different. In one way, it felt exactly like the wall, a collection of mass that he chose to ignore for his convenience, but there was something else too; something like a force, meeting his core when he walked through it. It didn't try to stop him; in fact, he was pretty sure that it couldn't. But it felt his presence, and he could sense its panic as his signature passed through it, like a deer caught in headlights. The teens he passed through shivered and wrapped their arms around themselves protectively.
"Did it just get colder in here?"
"Someone should fix the air-conditioning…"
"We have an air-conditioner?"
The experience, although not really unpleasant to him, was extremely off-putting, and he increased his speed, leaving the rows behind him and phasing through the auditorium doors, hoping he could make it to the toilets to change, before his new core forced him to.
*(Aargh, I always mess up on the linebreaks the first time I make them!)*
A/N: I really didn't expect this chapter to become this long. It's not even finished yet! When I realized that I was only about halfway through, I decided to cut it in half; mostly because, at the pace I'm going, it's going to be a while before the next part is done, and I think you readers deserve to get something after a month :/ in my defence, I had a school assignment that took a bit too long to complete, hehe.
Thank you all for the reviews! Oh, and;
DarkSeer: I hope I didn't butcher it! :)
As usual, I'd be happy with any kind of critique, but here are a few things I've been wondering about;
Is the story going too fast or too slow? Are the characters OOC (Out of character)? Are the descriptions too long?
Thank you for reading!