Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in forever!!! But life's put a lot on my plate now. To keep you guys busy, I've uploaded a lot of stuff that's just been sitting around on my computer for you guys to rifle through. This one I just started one day and never finished, but I still have the plot line in my head and it's libale to become something in the far future. I want your opinions.
It seemed like a normal enough day; grey skies, cold winds, depression hanging in the air like a fog that clogged the senses. Yep, a normal day in the dreary town of Amity Park. The buildings looked dull in their sandstone statures, looking like giant monsters ready to swallow up little kids at a moment's notice. Streets were busy with the morning traffic of adults getting to work, the smog from their tail pies sending black smoke into the air, making a bus full of kids choke on the emissions.
"Man," Tucker Foley said waving his hand in front of his face to get rid of the smoke. "that guy needs a new muffler."
"They all need a new muffler," Sam Manson said looking out at her window side seat.
"But I don't think that they can afford it," Tucker said. "You know who gobbles up most of the money in this town."
"Yeah, I'm sure that you're glad your dad is in good work with him," Sam said sourly, looking at Tucker's expensive PDA that he had been fiddling with.
Sam's family was better off then Tucker's family, when it came to money anyway, but she preferred to keep it hush-hush from the entire community. She was Goth and all about preserving the land and wildlife. If it showed that her parents were the richest people in most north United States, her reputation could go down the drain.
Tucker noticed her glare at his tech and he quickly put it away in one of his many pockets in his forest-green cargo pants. He adjusted his glasses, as they had slipped halfway down his nose again and looked out the window with Sam.
"Sold?" Tucker asked looking at the sign in front of a large three story house that had been on the market for years. "Who would buy this rundown place?"
It was just as rundown as the houses around it, only it hadn't been occupied for nearly three years. A large, weird looking RV was parked in the garage with a man under it. His top half was hidden from their sight, but it was clear that he was a big man. He had on black boots and some sort of tight-fitting orange pants. Sam and Tucker, as well as every other kid on the bus could hear the gears grinding in the vehicle as the man twisted something that brought a shout from him. Then a contemplating hum, another twist of something, and a shout of contemplation was heard.
The kids looked at each other in confusion. No one talked like that around here. It had been almost forever since anyone had shouted in joy or any other positive emotion.
The bus stopped in front of the house, making the kids murmur in wonder. What was going on? Were they picking up someone from here? Was it a new kid?
Their questions were answered when a boy came running out of the house, waving at the man as he crossed the lawn. The man came out from underneath the RV, his orange pants making out to really be an orange hazmat suit. He waved to the kid and then rolled back under the RV, giving off another yelp of pain and a hum of contemplation again.
The boy clambered up into the bus and said a note of apology to the bus driver. The driver dismissed the apology with a wave of his hand and motioned for the boy to sit down.
Sam looked over the boy like a metal detector at an airline check-in. He was wearing dirty brown sneakers, rumpled light blue jeans that were fraying at the ends from years of rubbing the ground, a brown shirt with a black jacket thrown over his shoulders; he was still busily trying to get his arms through the holes. He had a satchel instead of a backpack over his shoulder, the strap crossing his chest and the actual pack resting on his other hip. It was a tawny color, faded with age as well. His hands were free, but Sam noticed a ring on his right hand, around the finger next to the pinky. She finally came up to his face. He had the bluest eyes she had ever seen; pale blue like the sky blue color out of a Crayola crayon box. His hair was what caught her off guard. It was white, as white as the snow she had seen on postcards when her parents went skiing up in the Rockies. Snow in Amity Park was a pale gray color, when it snowed at all. He seemed to glow with an odd essence that Sam couldn't place, but she knew at once that some people wouldn't like him.
"Who's the freak?" Tucker whispered to her while she was still looking at the new kid.
"I don't know," Sam whispered back. "but he sure is different."
The boy scanned the seats for a free place to sit, but nothing up front was available. In fact, the only seat that was unoccupied was the one behind Tucker and Sam. He walked over to it, catching kids trying to trip him up and walking over their extended legs. He didn't seem angry with them though, okay, maybe a little, but he seemed to have forgotten about it by the time he had sat down.
Sam was able to watch the new kid by looking at the driver's rearview mirror. He was slouching slightly and was pulling his I-pod out of his bag. He played it, but at an appropriate level. Normally, kids would have their speakers blasting so loud the entire bus could hear it, that was why they were banned from the bus, but the driver seemed oblivious to the new kid as he listened to his music.
Sam turned around, catching his eye right away. He pulled one of the ear-buds out so he could hear her speak.
"Music isn't allowed on the bus anymore," she whispered to him.
"Oh," he said quickly putting his I-pod back in his bag. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."
"I know," Sam whispered back and turned away from him.
She watched in the mirror as she saw him take out a book instead and had opened it up to the middle to read. Books were banned as well since they were potential missiles when thrown by the rowdy kids. All books had to stay inside all backpacks at all times.
She turned around again and had to clear her throat to get his attention.
"No books either," she said.
He looked confused at this, but shrugged and put the book back in his satchel.
"We are allowed to look out of the window right?" he asked as a joke, twisting his lips up into a smile that made his eyes even brighter.
Sam's face remained unmoving as she said 'yeah' and turned back to face her own window. She saw his confused (and hurt?) face in the mirror and she felt bad. Had she been rude to him? Maybe he wasn't use to Amity Park yet? After all, he must have moved in during the three day weekend they had. It was Monday yet again, and the start of yet another boring school week.
The school came before her eyes too soon; its ugly gray walls making her frown and groaned inwardly. Casper High was one of the worst places in Amity Park to any teenager, right next to the doctor's office and the dentist. Its tiny rooms prisons for the boys and girls, a punishment harsh for any man to endure.
The students flocked off of the bus, none too hurriedly. The new kid stood behind Sam, waiting to get off the smelly vehicle. He stood at a respectable space away from her, which was a surprise. Any guy would make the most stupid of excuses to be near her, climbing over as if she was interested in him. There was no man in the entire world that would ever be right for Samantha Emily Manson.
Tucker was just a friend.
Once she got off, she joined Tucker by the steps and hung out until the warning bell rang. The new kid walked past them, glancing at Sam over his shoulder before he headed into the building.
"Freak," Tucker murmured to himself, but Sam heard it.
"Be nice! How many new kids to we get anyway?" she said to him.
"Did you see him?" Tucker asked, hooking his thumb over his shoulder at the closed doors. "His hair is the weirdest thing I have ever seen, and his eyes! There is something that is not normal about that kid."
As much as Sam wanted to deny it, Tucker was right. There was something about him, not in a bad way. There was something, mystic, spiritual, something that Sam couldn't really describe about him.
It fascinated her, but why exactly was what scared her.
The first part of the day went without seeing much of the new kid, although rumors about him were circulating like mad. He had been in some accident and that was why his hair was white. Radioactivity had somehow gotten his eyes to glow like they did. His parents were evil scientists and did experiments on him. Sam didn't believe a one of them, but they made her wonder who this kid really was. Unfortunately, none of the rumors led to a name.
At lunch, Sam and Tucker took up their usual spot and ate their respective meals. Tucker's tray being piled with that day's meaty surprise and Sam's bag lunch of her vegetarian style methods. Tucker cringed at the sight of the burger, the patty looking like it was a slab of grass.
"How can you eat that stuff?" he asked.
Sam looked at his tray, which she was sure, just winked at her.
"How can you eat that glob?" she asked pointing at it. "The entire school is avoiding it, except for you."
Tucker stuck some of the glob onto his fork and shoved it into his mouth. Sam cringed at the image and looked down at her own lunch. It was then that she noticed another tray beside hers that hadn't been there a moment ago. She gasped in surprise when she saw the new kid sitting beside her.
"Sorry," he said looking down. "I'm kind of quiet."
Tucker coughed into a napkin, as he had choked on his food when he saw the new kid appear out of thin air beside them, or at least that was what he thought he saw.
"You okay?" the kid asked, concern in his blue eyes.
"Fine," Tucker said gasping for air. "Don't do that again man."
"I can't make any promises," the new kid smiled somewhat sadly.
"So, um, I'm Sam," Sam said to break the ice. "This is Tucker."
"Danny," the new kid said with a smile that was more genuine. "Who's the showoff?"
Danny was looking at the table that had been stamped as the popular table. The particular person in question was a large blond jock that was obviously flirting with some of the cheerleaders.
"That is Dash," Tucker said looking where Danny had questioned. "He's bad news to kids like us, especially new kids. Stay clear of him."
"Noted," Danny said changing his view back to Sam. "Any other warnings?"
"Yeah," Tucker said. "Don't mess with the mayor dude."
Danny looked confused at this and lifted an eyebrow at the African-American.
"He runs the town with an iron fist," Sam elaborated. "He's been in office for as long as I can remember."
"Doesn't he have office for only four years?" Danny asked holding up four fingers to advance his point.
"People are too scared to go up against him," Tucker shook his head. "In this town, you're either working for him, or you're scared out of your mind because of him. My dad works for him, for example. Because my dad works for the first richest man in America, he gets a good bonus every now and then and I benefit from it."
"Vlad Masters is the mayor of Amity Park?" Danny asked shocked.
"How did you know his name?" Sam asked.
"My parents went to collage with him, I've met the fruit-loop a few times, and I can tell you that he didn't get his money the right way. The last time we visited, he showed his true colors and we never saw him again. Now we moved into his town. My dad is going to flip when he finds out about this."
"Are your parents like, rich?" Tucker asked, glancing at Sam as he said the question.
"No, just lucky I guess. My parents are inventors, for the government. You know, super spy stuff, military weapons, that sort of thing. They don't get much funding, but it keeps us in the black."
"Cool!" the tech geek said. "Can I come over some time and see their stuff?"
"Maybe, they're reconverting the basement into a lab right now. It will take a little while."
"So, why did you move in the first place?" Sam asked.
"My dad wanted a new location for his new project and this was the best place to be for it," Danny answered looking out of the window. "My parents are professional ghost hunters. The wall here between our world and the Ghost Zone is thinner and Dad wants to build a Ghost Portal. Once he heard about the haunting, nothing could keep him from coming."
"So, you moved here because of the ghosts?" Tucker asked in shock. "We've had people move away from here because of them. Your parents must be messed up to want to live here."
Danny shrugged his shoulders in indifference at the subject of his parents' sanity.
"There's another reason why we moved," Danny said mysteriously.
"Really, what is it?" Sam asked, sensing that the answer would solve a few of her questions about his weirdness.
"I'm not allowed to say. My parents want to keep it a secret," Danny had a smile on his face as if he was enjoying their confusion and frustrated fascination.
Before they could interrogate Danny any further, the bell rang.
"You want to hang out after school?" Tucker asked as they walked down the hall together. "Sam and I hang out at her favorite bookstore after school before going to the Nasty Burger for a snack."
"What's the bookstore?" Danny asked.
"The Skulk and Lurk," Sam said in a dramatized voice to make herself sound like a vampire.
Danny looked unsure when she mentioned the name. There was a look of want, but also of something else. Sam wasn't sure what it was, but did she see fear on his face?
"My parents want me home right after school," he said suddenly. "But I can come to the Nasty Burger later. Just call me to say when."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a card with a number already printed on it. Sam took it and read it over before looking at him again, but he was gone.
"Where did he go?" she asked looking around the hall that was becoming empty really fast.
"What kind of kid has his number already printed out on a card?" Tucker asked taking said card out of her hand. "He just disappeared into thin air, like a ghost."
"Don't kid Tucker," Sam said shoving him to the side. "Ghost jokes aren't funny around here and you know it."
Sam had English next with Mr. Lancer, a balding over-weight teacher that probably had more hair on his back side then common sense in his head. The man looked around the room, looking down on each of them. Then a familiar face appeared at the door. Danny walked in, handing a piece of paper to the teacher. Mr. Lancer had an odd look on his face after he read the paper then looked at Danny. It looked like surprise and sympathy, all at the same time. That made Sam wonder about Danny even more. What was he hiding?
She kept an eye on him the entire time in class, the only weird thing was that he didn't take notes, but maybe he had a good memory. Then class was let out and he was the last to leave the room. Sam saw Mr. Lancer pass Danny something right before he entered the hall. It looked like a cassette tape.
"Are you sure you saw that?" Tucker asked Sam as he walked her home.
Rain had dampened their plans for that afternoon, and Tucker, being the guy that he was, wanted to complain to someone that wouldn't sock him in the mouth about it. Sam was so use to him that she could just ignore his babble; besides, she broke three fingers the first time she socked him in the mouth.
"I'm sure I saw that Tuck," she said holding her coat over her head to keep the rain from soaking her head. "It was kind of odd."
"Everything about him is odd," Tucker said scowling. "First he appears out of nowhere, and then he disappears just as easily and mysteriously. He has his number already printed out on a card and the meanest teacher in the history of Casper High is being nice to him and handing over a cassette tape, with probably nothing on it."
"Plus the way he acted when we asked him over to the Skulk and Lurk," Sam added climbing up her stoop. "I think he was scared of going there with us."
"Why? And how does he know the mayor?"
"He said how he knew him," Sam said slipping her key into the lock of the door.
"I think he was hiding something," Tuck mumbled as Sam opened the door. "See you tomorrow."
"See ya," Sam said closing the door.
The next day at school, the two were dropped off by the bus, as usual, but Danny hadn't been at his house to be picked up.
"What happened? Did he get run over by a car last night?" Tucker asked himself.
"No, look," Sam pointed over to the front of the school building.
A compact car drove up to the curb, letting out a very grumpy Danny. The white-haired boy turned back around to talk to the driver for a few heated moments, and then he slammed the car and stomped up to the front of the school.
"Who was that?" Sam asked Danny as he almost past her.
He stopped when he heard her talk and turned back around to face her and Tucker.
"My mom," he said rolling his eyes. "I had… forgotten a few things yesterday and she wanted to make sure that I didn't forget today."
"Like what? Extra tidy-whities?" Tucker said laughing.
"No," Danny said flatly and turned back around to climb up the steps.
"See what you do Tucker?" Sam hissed in the tech geek's face before she turned around to follow Danny inside.
"Why do you care?" Tucker asked.
"I don't know, but you have no excuse for acting like that to him," Sam said turning back around.
"There's something about him Sam," Tucker said, his voice filled with warning.
"Yeah, something that you don't like," Sam said turning around for the third time to get into the school.
The beginning of the day had passed by normally. When lunch came around, something was wrong, Sam could feel it in the pit of her stomach.
"Where's Danny?" she asked Tucker as they sat down.
Her question was answered when a white haired boy was thrown through the doors and into the cafeteria. Dash Baxter right behind him as he had been the motivation for the boy's flight.
"You're going to get it you blind twerp!" Dash yelled.
Danny got up and dodged the bully's fist before it had been planted in his face.
"It was an accident," Danny was saying, but Dash wasn't listening.