Danny didn't get a wink of sleep that night; his mind had raced frantically at what had happened during the early hours of the morning. Somehow, a ghost had managed to get on this island and get subsequently captured by Hunter and his men.
How on earth did they manage it? Danny thought to himself. There's no way they could have got through that energy field. Unless a natural portal just happened to open up inside?
"What are you thinking about Danny?" Sam asked, recognising the look on his face. Before answering her, Danny beckoned Tucker and Valerie over. Looking around, Danny made sure that everyone was still virtually asleep before speaking.
"There's a ghost here." Danny said finally, in a hushed voice so no one could overhear them. Without hesitating, Valerie instantly put her hand over Tucker's mouth before he could gasp and disturb the others.
"How do you know?" Valerie asked quietly.
"Last night when everyone was asleep, I heard movement outside the cell. Listening closely, I heard Hunter and his men wheel something big down the corridor; they were talking about something rare they found. Then, as soon as it passed in front of the door, my ghost sense went off." Danny said.
"Wait," started Tucker, his mouth now free from Valerie's hand. "I thought you lost most of your powers?"
"Yeah, thanks for reminding me Tuck." Danny said, the empty feeling returning tenfold at the loss of his powers. "I still have my ghost sense because it's linked to my ice powers."
"Oh yeah." Remembered Tucker.
"There's something you're not telling us Danny, isn't there?" Sam asked, scrutinising Danny, who subsequently sagged his shoulders.
"I knew something like this was going to happen." Danny finally admitted, earning glares from his friends.
"How?" Sam asked sternly.
"Clockwork." Was all Danny said. "I didn't know it was going to be a ghost, but I knew someone was going to get in trouble."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Tucker asked.
"Because Clockwork said I couldn't." Danny said angrily. "And you know Clockwork. I'm not going to second guess anything he says. I owe him too much to do that." Sam and Tucker instantly bit their tongue, knowing that they had crossed a line by questioning Danny's faith in Clockwork. Even Valerie, who didn't know the exact details about what happened with Danny and his future self, understood why the teen was angry.
"Sorry Danny." Sam said apologetically.
"Yeah, we're sorry man." Tucker said, looking down.
"Look, it's ok," began Danny, hating it when his friends got upset. "Honestly. But this means we can't leave until we break whatever ghost they've got captured out of here."
"Why?" Valerie asked. Danny knew she didn't mean anything by it; she was still getting used to the idea of benevolent ghosts in the world.
"Because Clockwork told me that whoever got captured was my ally." Danny said, his face taking on a determined look. "And I'll be damned if I let any friend of mine, human or ghost, suffer at the hands of these monsters. There's already been too much suffering as it is."
"So what do you want to do?" Sam asked; Danny thought for a moment.
"We need a plan. And I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm not going to like it very much."
It was close to lunchtime when the other members of the group began to emerge from their slumber. Waking up, the first thing they noticed was Danny, Sam, Tucker and Valerie huddled in the corner, talking amongst themselves.
"Anything you would like to share?" Mr Lancer asked, stretching out his stiff muscles.
"We were just thinking of how we can convince Hunter to turn off the generator." Danny said, expertly lying. "Though none of us could think of one."
"I am sure when everyone is awake, we can brainstorm a few ideas." Mr Lancer said, wincing as he massaged his neck. It didn't take long for everyone to wake up; it appeared that no one slept particularly well that night.
"Why don't you just Kung Fu him?" Dash suggested lamely after about half an hour of silence; thinking of ways to convince Hunter was harder than the group had originally anticipated.
"I don't really want to resort to violence straight away Dash." Danny said, even though he had thought about doing it. "If push comes to shove, then maybe."
"That would be a fight I'd love to see." Laughed Max, earning a glare from his mother and chuckle from his twin.
"They've got guns though." Paulina said worriedly, surprising Danny; he hadn't expected Paulina to start caring about his wellbeing.
"I'm sure Danny would think of something." Craig said. "He's already outsmarted several dangerous animals since we've been here. I'm sure one more wouldn't be too difficult."
"Can we get off the topic of me beating someone up please?" Asked Danny. "It's not like I enjoy doing it." Unless it's Skulker or Vlad, Danny added in his head.
"We'll save it for Plan B." Tucker said. "But for now, we need a better plan."
"I don't suppose we can butter him up somehow?" Suggested Frank. "You know, get on his good side."
"How would we do that?" Danny asked, fearing he already knew the answer. As if to confirm his suspicions, all eyes turned to him.
"Like we've said before, you're our best chance of convincing Hunter. Like it or not, he's got a soft, albeit warped, spot for you." Ellie said.
"Are you saying I should do anything he asks?" Danny asked doubtingly.
"Within reason." Mr Lancer said. "We just need him to trust you enough to show you where the generator is."
"Fun stuff for me then." Danny said in a resigned voice. "I guess I'll talk to him about it when he takes us outside for lunch."
"When will that be anyway?" Asked Tucker, looking at the door. "I'm starving."
"Nothing new there." Sam said, causing everyone to chuckle lightly.
"What are you trying to say?" Tucker huffed.
"You're always starving." Sam stated.
"Hey, I've never been this long without a Nasty Burger. I think I'm going through withdrawal." Tucker said, defending himself in a dramatic manner.
"I would have thought that the scarcity of meat on this island might have done more to promote the benefits of eating fruit Tucker." Mr Lancer said, causing Tucker's jaw to drop.
"I think that's a no." Valerie said, stepping in when Tucker seemed unable to formulate a sentence. Whilst everyone was chuckling at Tucker's expense, Danny felt a tugging on his arm; looking down, he saw Megan with a very confused look on her face.
"What's a 'Nasty Burger'?" She asked.
"It's a teenage hangout spot in the town where we live. It's like a restaurant where we get together when school ends." Danny explained. "It used to be called the 'Tasty Burger', but someone scratched out the 'T' and replaced it with an 'N'. It's been the Nasty Burger ever since." Before she could question any further, Danny felt something strange coming from under the floor; it felt as if the ground was pounding, and getting steadily stronger. By this point, everyone became silent as they too felt the ground begin to quake violently. Just as the group began to start panicking, many of them had already jumped into the arms of the people closest to them, the trembling began to subside; the only pounding which remained was the pounding of their hearts.
"What was that?" Asked Paulina, tentatively getting down from Dash's arms.
"Was it an earthquake?" Dash asked pathetically, his cheeks red from embarrassment.
"Can't have been." Sam said. "We're nowhere near any fault lines."
"Samantha is correct." Mr Lancer said, when everyone gave Sam confused looks. "Whatever it may have been, an earthquake, it was not."
"It wasn't an earthquake." Danny said, realisation hitting him like a freight train.
"What else could it have been though?" Kwan said. "It definitely felt like the earth was shaking."
"It wasn't the earth that shook, it was the island." Danny said, looking everyone in the eye, then up to the ceiling. "The portal. It's started."
"Get off me you fool!" Shouted Hunter, pushing Striker off of him.
"Sorry sir." Striker mumbled, getting back to his feet.
"What in blazes was that?" Hunter demanded as he got to his feet, looking at Striker.
"I don't know." Striker said uncertainly. "Earthquake?"
"Maybe." Hunter said, but he didn't sound convinced. Truth be told, the tremor had scared him; in the thirty years they had been on the island, not once had an earthquake wanting to sound weak, he put on a hard face and turned to Striker. "Take the brothers and see to the cages. Make sure none of them are breached. Then get yourself to the labs; make sure there aren't any spills, especially the explosive ones. Once you've done that, radio Sniper and see if any of the walls have come down. We don't want anything coming in or getting out, do we?" Watching Striker turn and walk away, Hunter looked down at the fallen trolley of food he had been wheeling to their captives.
"I guess I should see how the kiddies are doing." He said, picking it up. "Don't want them to think we're not in control." After checking the underside of the trolley, he began to wheel it down to the cell and gave a nod to Brawler who was still stationed outside the door.
"Everything alright in there?" He asked.
"No one injured from the sounds of it." Brawler said, the tone of disappointment evident in his voice. "What was that anyway? An earthquake?"
"Maybe." Said Hunter. "Anything else?"
"Yeah, I'd keep an eye out for that Danny kid."
"And what makes you think that?" Hunter demanded, curious as to why Brawler was ordering him to do something. As if sensing this, Brawler chose his next words carefully.
"The kid's not letting on everything he knows Hunter," Brawler started. "I've only heard the odd parts of conversations, but the kid definitely knows something about what's going on here."
"I'll bear that in mind." Hunter said. "For now, just unlock the door." Thankful that he wasn't about to do anything to him, Brawler turned and unlocked the cell door.
"Afternoon folks." Hunter declared to the group, putting on a fake, cheery voice. "Time for lunch. Same deal as before; single file and no talking." Walking down the familiar corridor behind Hunter with the trolley, Danny was surprised to see that there was hardly any damage caused by the tremor; the old prison was sturdier than he gave it credit for. Leading the group to the outside area, Hunter turned and left them to it. Looking around, Danny was impressed to see that the fence had held up well too. Then Danny broke a smile as he realised something, surprising and confusing everyone.
"What's there to smile about?" Craig asked.
"Didn't you notice that?" Danny asked, wondering why no one else saw it.
"Notice what?" Mikey asked.
"Hunter." Was all Danny said, still smiling.
"Yeah, what about him?" Star asked.
"C'mon," started Danny, chuckling. "How could you not notice? There was no sarcasm, no patronising tone and no warnings about escaping."
"I would have thought no escaping was obvious by now." Max said, growing frustrated with Danny.
"But that's the point." Danny stated. "Ever since we got here, Hunter has never failed to warn us what will happen if we try to escape. Every time he leaves us, he always tells us something horrific that Brawler or any of his men will do to us if we even think about escaping. But he didn't this time, meaning?" Only Sam seemed to click on what Danny was talking about.
"He's scared." Sam said with a smile.
"Exactly," Danny said excitedly, bringing Sam into a hug. "And if he's scared, he's more likely to listen to what I've got to say. He's bound to turn the generator off."
"That means we can leave." Valerie said happily, putting all the pieces together. With this, everyone cheered and flocked to the picnic bench, helping themselves to food, feeling that for the first time in almost a week that there was still some degree of hope. Eating his share of food, Danny couldn't help but smile at the amount of enthusiasm and excitement being shown by his friends. However, his smile was short-lived when his nagging feeling returned as he remembered he still had to rescue the captured ghost as well as turn off the generator; he didn't even know where either was being kept.
"Stop being so grumpy." Sam said, nudging Danny's shoulder with hers. "This is good news, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is." Danny said, giving her a small smile.
"But you're still fretting, aren't you?"
"Always," admitted Danny. "It's only a matter of time before they realise what they've captured. Once they do, there's no telling what they'll do to it." Before Danny could continue, Sam placed her hand on his mouth.
"And that's why we shouldn't publicise it." She said, breaking into a grin at Danny's lack of tact.
"Oh yeah." Danny said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"You really are clueless, aren't you?"
"Not as much as I used to be though." Danny said, winking as he placed a kiss on Sam's cheek.
"Only took you the best part of four years to realise though." Sam chuckled, reciprocating the kiss.
"You can't afford to be that clueless when talking to Hunter, Fenton." Dash chimed in when he got uncomfortable at the displays of intimacy; Danny just smiled.
"It's alright Dash," started Danny. "After what happened this morning, I reckon Hunter will listen to whatever I have to say." Unbeknownst to the celebrating group, someone was listening in on their conversation.
"Is that what you think Danny boy?" Hunter asked himself aloud, removing the listening device from his ear. "Looks like we'll be having that conversation sooner than I expected." Leaning back in his chair, Hunter thought about what he was going to do about the mysterious teen. If Hunter was being honest with himself, he had been suspicious of the information, or lack of information, from Danny ever since their first night in his office; he had already considered keeping a watchful eye on the teen before Brawler even mentioned it. Now, after what he had just heard and what Brawler had told him, he knew he was right to place the bug on the underside of the trolley of food he had delivered to the group. After much deliberation, Hunter finally leant forwards and reached for his radio.
"Get the kid. Bring him to me now." Hunter said bluntly into it. "It's time we had a chat."
Just as Danny was beginning to enjoy himself, the door to the outside area opened with a bang, silencing everyone. In the doorway stood Brawler, grinning roguishly at the group with his ever faithful machete hanging at his hip.
"Hey Brawler," said Danny, waving at the man. "Fancy some fruit?"
"Cute, kid." Brawler said. "But lunchtime's over. You're coming with me to see Hunter, whereas the rest of you are going back to your cell. I'm not going to say please or repeat myself."
"Sounds like fun." Muttered Danny, getting up to go and turning to Sam. "Looks like I'm about to get my chance."
"Just don't mess it up." Joked Sam as they re-entered the compound behind everyone else.
"Thank you for the confidence." Chuckled Danny.
"Hey, what are girlfriends for?" Sam asked, laughing. As they came to the T-junction, Danny kissed Sam on the cheek and carried on going straight with Brawler, whereas the rest of the group turned off right where Raider was waiting for them. Brawler didn't speak for the rest of the journey to Hunter's office which unnerved Danny slightly; normally Brawler would make threats about what would happen if he got any wise ideas and who he would hurt first.
It seems the tremor freaked everybody out, Danny thought to himself as they got to the office door. Knocking to make their presence known, Brawler opened the door and shoved Danny in before closing it behind him. Looking around, Danny saw that many of the ornaments and files which had adorned the shelves on his first visit were now all on the floor; only Hunter's desk remained in its usual immaculate condition, with the man himself sat behind it. They stayed like that for a few moments, Hunter at his desk and Danny stood in front of it, just looking at one another.
"Do you take me for a fool?" Hunter finally asked, breaking the silence.
"I don't understand." Danny said, fearing that he now may have more trouble convincing Hunter than he originally thought.
"Do you think I am stupid?" Hunter reiterated.
"Not in the slightest." Danny said honestly. "I think you're a bit sadistic and insane, but I don't think you're stupid."
"No, just scared enough to do anything you say?" Danny was momentarily confused until it finally clicked that he had said that to Dash no more than half an hour ago.
"I had been curious ever since arriving here whether or not you had any bugs laying around." Danny said.
"Not until today Danny boy. Not until day." Hunter said, sounding almost disappointed in the teen. "There wouldn't happen to be anything you wanted to discuss with me, is there?"
"As a matter of fact, there is." Danny said. "I know why the animals are going nuts and why we had that tremor earlier."
"So a teenager thinks he knows more than the adults, does he?" Hunter asked condescendingly. "Go on then Daniel. Please, enlighten me." Taking a deep breath, Danny carried on.
"There was something I never told you the first time we spoke in this office." He said, causing Hunter to sigh.
"Figures as much. I thought you were holding something back that night, but I thought it was just my imagination. Carry on."
"You said that twenty years ago you went to a university and stole experimental ghost technology from three students there. Two of those students are my parents. They, along with their had been best friend, are the world's leading scientists in ghosts and ecto-technology." This caused Hunter to lean forwards in surprise.
"Are you kidding me?" He asked incredulously. "We stole from your parents? Huh, it is a small world after all."
"You're telling me." Danny started. "Anyway, the technology you stole was only a prototype; ridiculously unstable. Then you combined it with more prototype technology which caused it to become even more unstable."
"Yeah, so what's your point?"
"It's your energy-field which is doing all this." Danny said exasperatedly. "It's changing the currents, freaking out your animals and caused the tremor earlier today."
"And just how is it doing that?" Hunter asked, clearly not believing a word Danny was saying to him.
"The technology you stole's only purpose was to create a ghost portal; a doorway, if you like, to another dimension where all the world's ghosts live. What you've done here, is created a massive ghost portal generator, which is about to succeed. We've only got a little over two days until it happens. The animals are scared because they know something is happening; it changed the currents because it's pulling in as much water as possible and the using the energy created as fuel; it caused the tremor today, which means the portal is about to open."
"Then what happens if this 'portal' opens?" Hunter asked; leaning forwards, he put his elbows on the desk and rested his chin on his hands.
"When this portal opens," Danny said, putting emphasis on the word. "One of two things will happen. Either this entire island falls into the Ghost Zone and we're lost forever, or something falls out of the Ghost Zone and lands on top of us. You need to turn that generator off before all hell breaks loose." Danny slumped into the chair, the ranting having taken its toll, and awaited Hunter's answer. Then, all of a sudden, Hunter burst out laughing, much to Danny's annoyance.
"Did I say something funny?" Danny asked Hunter, who was wiping tears from his eyes.
"No, not funny." Hunter started, composing himself. "Absolutely hilarious. Do you honestly expect me to believe that cockamamie story? Do you really think I would believe something like that?"
"It's the truth." Danny said in earnest. "You need to turn it off before we all die."
"Enough is enough Danny boy." Hunter said, waving his hand at the supposed absurdity of Danny's story. "Do you think I don't see what you're trying to do here? You just want that generator off so you and your little posse can leave my tropical paradise. Well here's a newsflash for you kid. That generator stays on; that force field is the only thing keeping unsavory individuals from reaching this place. If we turned it off, we'll have officials from four different continents knocking on our front door, let alone what would happen if Richardson got his hands on us."
"Hunter," Danny said, standing up. "We will all die if you don't-."
"Enough!" Shouted Hunter, interrupting Danny. "I thought you were smarter than this. Clearly, I was wrong."
"So you're going to do nothing?"
"You got that right. But you, on the other hand, are going back to your cell." Hunter said, standing up. "Raider, get in here. Now." The door opened and Brawler walked in.
"Take him back to the cell, then come back with the others." Before Danny could utter a word, Brawler had grasped him by the shoulders and practically threw him from the room.
Ten minutes later, all of Hunter's men aside from Raider and Sniper once again, were in his office standing before their boss.
"I have come to a decision boys." Hunter began. "Danny boy is far too troublesome to be kept alive. It's time we got rid of him."
"Please boss," started Brawler, moving forwards. "Let me be the one who guts him."
"Hold your tongue Brawler." Said Hunter. "I will be the one who gets rid of him. But I'm not a harsh man Brawler. When I give the word, you get first kill of anyone else in that room."
Stupid, stupid idiot, Danny thought to himself as Raider led him back to the cell. How could he be so thick to ignore everything in front of him? Danny was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he barely noticed them arrive at the cell. Scarcely waiting for Raider to unlock it and open the door, Danny barged passed him and entered the room. Slamming the door behind him, Danny closed his eyes and leaned back against the door, taking deep breaths as a headache began to form.
"Danny?" Asked Sam, moving towards him. "You alright?"
"No Sam, I'm not." Danny answered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "He didn't listen. He refuses to believe me and reckons I've made the whole story up just so we can leave." Everyone, upon hearing this, hung their heads in sadness and disappointment.
"You're kidding me?" Exclaimed Dash.
"Is he really that much of a moron?" Asked Frank.
"He must be." Responded Danny. "He thinks every little thing is within his control and there is nothing which can go wrong."
"So we've lost then." Star said dejectedly, mirroring everyone's thoughts.
"Let's just hope we fall into the Ghost Zone rather than something falling on us." Joked Tucker, trying to lighten the mood. "At least we have a chance of making it back home that way."
"What makes you think that?" Ellie asked. Before Danny or his friends could reply, Paulina jumped in.
"Because Danny Phantom will come and save us." She said, entering her own dream world. "He would never let any harm come to me." At this, Danny couldn't help but moan in annoyance, physically cringing at what Paulina just said, which didn't go unheard by certain members of the group.
"But there is also the fact that the whole town was stranded in the Ghost Zone for a couple of days." Valerie chimed in, to save Danny from embarrassment.
"That's right," Max said, remembering when that had been worldwide news. "The whole Pariah Dark incident, wasn't it?"
"Yeah," confirmed Bradley. "You should have seen it when we saw Phantom fly off to face him."
"It was like the coolest thing ever." Nathan said, earning nods from his fellow classmates.
"Hang on a second." Said Frank. "What happens if something falls out on us? We're dead, aren't we? So we still need to think of something to turn off that blasted generator."
"Does anyone have any ideas per chance?" Asked Mr Lancer, gazing around the group.
"We can only ever do it when we're being moved from place to place." Craig said, thinking out loud.
"The trouble is, we're always under constant armed guard by Hunter's wackos." Alice said.
"We could always knock them out, take their gun and find the generator?" Suggested James, earning a few snickers.
"Then what, we run into the jungle and head back to the beach and hope that the rescue boat is there?" Eric said sarcastically. "Just a few problems with that. One, we don't know how long the generator will be out for, assuming we do it right; or whether Hunter and his men can fix it quickly. Two, we're more than likely going to be followed, with guns at the ready. And three-."
"Alright, that's enough Eric." Danny cut in, taking a worried look at Megan who had begun to look terrified. "We need optimism, not pessimism."
"If we could find out where they keep the chemical explosives, that might give us the edge we need." Sam suggested, resulting in nods of agreement.
"That way, we can rig the thing to blow and be out of here. They wouldn't be able to fix that in a hurry." Mikey said.
"Can any of us actually make a bomb though?" Chelsea asked; proudly, Tucker stuck up his hand, earning a withering glare from Mr Lancer.
"And just how would you know that Tucker?" He asked the teen sternly.
"I'm a techno geek sir." Tucker said, gulping loudly. "You can find instructions for just about anything on the internet."
"Careful Tuck. You're starting to sound like a terrorist." Valerie said, earning a few chuckles from the group.
"Sorry." Tucker said. "But I do know how to take apart any type of machine and remake it."
"Even with chemicals?" Queried Michelle.
"That would probably be where I come in." Danny said, earning him looks of surprise from everyone. "Believe me, I know how to make things explode. I've done it enough in Chemistry to last a lifetime." Danny knew he had convinced them as all his classmates casted their minds back to the period of time when Danny kept dropping things inexplicably.
The group spent the rest of the day planning on just how they could make an explosive damaging enough to take out the generator permanently. Just as they were about to put on the finishing touches, the door to their cell opened, followed by Hunter and Striker, the latter of which was holding a gun.
"I believe I acted rather rashly earlier Danny." Hunter started after a moment of silence. "I'm here to make amends."
"And how would you do that?" Danny asked, disconcerted by the sudden change in mood.
"We're going to go on a little moonlit walk." Hunter said simply. "But we're going to take little Megan with us."
"Why?" Danny asked, becoming instantly protective of the little girl.
"I have my reasons. So comply, or Striker here opens fire." Looking around at his friends, Danny once again acquiesced to Hunter's demands. Walking first over to Sam, he whispered something long into her ear, which caused her to gasp ever so softly, being heard only by Tucker and Valerie. He then walked over to Hunter who was grinning.
"I should want you Hunter. I never kiss on the first date."
"Danny, I'm scared." Whimpered Megan as they entered the jungle, the dark trees looming ominously over them. The weather had worsened considerably since lunchtime; dark storm clouds stretched across the sky. Feeling his heart tug at the terrified little girl, Danny held out his hand to her.
"Here," he softly said. "Just hold my hand, and everything will be alright."
"Promise?"
"Promise." At hearing this, Megan took Danny's hand and squeezed it tightly. Half an hour later, Danny was convinced they were walking around in circles; every now and again, Danny would take a glance over his shoulder to see whether or not they had lost Striker in the trees due to the continuous twists and turns they were taking. The glint of metal reflecting the small amounts of moonlight from the barrel of Striker's gun was enough to know he was still there.
"Where are you leading us Hunter?" Danny demanded, still holding on to Megan's hand. "This isn't another one of your sick hunting games, is it? Megan doesn't need to see that." This caused Hunter to laugh.
"Quite frankly, I couldn't care less about little Megan's mental wellbeing." Hunter said wickedly as he continued to forge a path through the undergrowth with his machete. "But to answer your question, yes. We are on a hunt; in manner of speaking." That answer didn't sit well with Danny; the only thing stopping him from throttling the answer out of him was the fact that he was trying to comfort Megan, who was becoming more afraid the deeper they delved into the jungle. There was also the fact that Striker was aiming a gun at the back of their heads; one wrong move and there would be a bullet with their name on it before they could utter a word. As time passed, Danny was becoming increasingly worried by the second; it didn't help that Striker had begun to whistle an annoying, high-pitched tune, which then became stuck in his head. Just as Danny was about to whistle back, Hunter spoke from the front.
"I wouldn't whistle back if I were you." He said in a patronising tone. "We wouldn't want anything bad to happen now, would we?"
"What are you talking about now Hunter?" Asked a frustrated Danny.
"As a student, you should probably read more." Hunter said sarcastically. "Legends tell of an evil spirit that haunts any and all jungles and terrorizes people who have desecrated its land with an eerie, whistling sound. Some say he's an amalgamation of all the souls that have perished in the trees, whether it be from exposure or killed by the wildlife. Personally, I prefer death by wildlife. Other stories describe it as a ghost of a man who became lost and died in the jungle. Those who answer his call are sure to meet a hideous death." Danny couldn't help but chuckle at the word 'ghost', which didn't go unheard by Hunter.
"Did I say something funny?" He asked.
"Kind of." Said Danny, struggling to wipe the smile from his face. "Let's just say I'm not too worried. I have kind of a good relationship with ghosts." This caused Hunter to stop and turn to Danny and Megan.
"What are you talking about kid?"
"Nothing of importance. It would take far too long to explain."
"Well that's a shame," Hunter started, facing forwards once again. "Oh well, I suppose it's for the best. We're near the end of our journey anyway." That's when Danny heard it; the roaring of rushing water.
He was whistling so we wouldn't notice it, Danny thought to himself. "Did we really just spend nearly an hour wandering around in circles?"
"Umm, pretty much. Yeah." Confirmed Hunter.
"So what was the point in bringing Megan?" Danny asked, wondering where all this was leading.
"She will be acting as my Hermes." Hunter said theatrically.
"Hermes?" Queried Danny, thinking that Hunter had finally lost it completely. "You think you're Zeus now?"
"I might as well be. As a certified narcissist, I already believe I am a god. So why not pick a powerful one." Hunter said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Now, little Megan is going to come stand by me whilst you Danny boy are going to stand at the edge of the waterfall."
"Now why on earth would I do that?" Danny asked, not letting go of the little girl's hand.
"Look, I am giving you the chance to do as I say." Hunter said, getting impatient. "Because if you don't, I am going to make you let go of her with either my machete or a bullet. The choice is completely up to you." Reluctantly, Danny released Megan's but she continued to hold on tight.
"Hey, it's going to be ok." Danny said, bending down to her level. "You'll be able to see me the whole time. Just go with Hunter for a few minutes and then I'll be right there." Hesitantly, Megan let go of Danny's hand and slowly walked over to where Hunter and Striker were standing. Patting her head and smiling, Hunter smiled and turned to Danny.
"Your turn." He said cheerily. "Go to the edge and tell me what you see." Danny's nagging feeling kicked in with full force as curiosity set in at what Hunter was planning. Cautiously getting closer to the edge, Danny looked out at the jungle before him. Despite its many dangers lurking in the shadows, he couldn't help but marvel at the astonishing sight of what appeared to be thousands of trees spread out before him. That was until he looked up, and what he saw made his stomach drop; the energy field, what was usually only a slight shimmering in the sky, had now taken on a green hue and with his expert vision, Danny could just about make out a small crack in it.
"See Hunter," said Danny, pointing into the sky. "This is exactly what I was talking about in your office. You need to turn that generator off before everything blows up in our faces."
"Come now Danny, what do you take me for?" Hunter asked, laughing at the teen. "That proves nothing. It's green because there is an ecto-filter in the generator; nothing less, nothing more. Now, I am about to do something which I should apologise for. However, I would be lying if I did that; I've been looking forward to it all day." That's when Danny heard the sound of a gun being cocked; turning, he saw Striker aiming his gun, from the looks of it, at his head. Danny instinctively raised his hands and took a step back, but faltered when his foot didn't touch the ground. Just about regaining his balance, Danny looked over his shoulder at the roaring waterfall and gulped.
"It really is a shame that it must end like this Danny." Hunter said in an almost sad tone. "You could have been a magnificent addition to our group. I gave you every opportunity to see things from our perspective, but you threw it back in my face."
"I threw it back in your face because you're sadistic psychopath!" Danny shouted, taking a step forwards, but retracting it when Striker stepped forwards, gun still at the ready. "Did you really think that after the amount of pain and torture you've put me through since we've been here, that I would join you?"
"In my defence, you healed pretty damn perfectly and quickly." Hunter said. "You're a medical marvel Danny, and you were lucky that I didn't strap you down on that table and cut you up."
"Thank you so much for your concern." Danny said sarcastically. "It's really touching."
"You see, that's what I'm going to miss the most." Hunter chuckled. "Our witty banter was something I always looked forward to. But as they say, all good things must come to an end. Striker, when you're ready." Danny closed his eyes and tensed as Striker readied himself. Just as Striker was about to shoot him in the head, a bolt of lightning lit up the sky and the island began to shake, even more violently than it had done that morning. Cracks appeared in the ground at their feet, causing Megan to scream in fright as the trees began to sway wildly around her. A sudden downpour of rain made visibility and hearing minimal; Danny could just about make out Hunter and Striker shouting something unintelligible to one another as he struggled to move forwards and away from the edge. Without warning, Striker shot at the teen as the ground beneath Danny's feet began to break away. The last they saw of Danny, as Megan screamed in horror, was Danny recoil as the bullet hit him and toppled over the edge of the falls, into darkness below.