Hello everyone. I, Blak-Ice, would like to welcome you to: Blak-Ice's Phantom Fall Weekend! What is Phantom Fall Weekend, you ask? Why, it is simply the greatest weekend for all my Danny Phantom stories because they are all getting updated! That's right, by the end of the day Sunday, all of my stories will have been updated.
But that's not all, for this weekend is the weekend many of you have been waiting for, for this is it: The Epic finale of 1 Human Plus 2 Halfas Equals A Family! But that's not where it ends. No, because, as promised, the premiere of 2 Parents Minus A Child Equals A Journey! So buckle up because the dramatic and epic conclusion starts now!
Chapter 30: I'm Out
This wasn't right. This just wasn't right. It didn't make any sense. She had been sure that she had finally figured everything out, only to be thrown for another loop.
Danielle walked down the quiet late morning street, mind jumping from one conclusion to the next. Yet none of it made any type of sense.
After her emotionally and physically draining fight with her parents, Danielle ran off to the hideout. The others were quick to give her shelter and food which she was grateful for. Many had asked if she was alright and tried to help treat her wounds, but Danielle refused to tell them more then the fact that she had to leave home, something that many of the sympathized with. After a full night's sleep, Danielle felt fully recharged. Or at least physically.
Though she was back to full strength, she refused to go outside of the hideout. She knew that Danny and Sam were out looking for her, not to mention the Fenton's and their friends, which meant she wasn't safe anywhere other than where she was. The second she went into the air, she'd be spotted, captured and dragged back off to FentonWorks. And school wouldn't be any better. Somehow, they had found out about everything she had been doing, and Danielle had a strong feeling that it had something to do with her school. Though she was surprised that nothing had been on the news about what had happened, she wasn't really sure she was willing to take any risk just yet.
That is until Ray had asked to see her that morning. Danielle, thinking it was just him checking up on her, shrugged her shoulder and followed him into the back of the warehouse. However she quickly realized by the look on his face that it was something else entirely.
"You wanted to see me?" Danielle asked as she took a seat on a box across from him.
"Yes. How are you feeling, Dani?" Ray asked, his voice calm and even as always. It was one of the things that Danielle really admired about him and his leadership. "How is everything? Is everyone treating you well?"
"Yeah, it's great," she said with a smile. "Everyone's been hovering over me the last couple of days trying to figure out what happened, but other than that, everything is fine."
"Good, good. I'm glad to hear it. So, it would be appropriate to assume that you are happy here?"
"Yeah, of course. I mean, I'm kinda bummed that I can't really go outside, what with Sam and Danny probably scoping the town looking for me, but other than that I don't have any complaints. It's still better then what I had to do when I was on the run."
"I see," he said, arms crossed as she paced a bit in front of her. After a few seconds, he paused, turning back to face the girl. "What would you say if I told you that I could help you solve that problem?"
"Solve it?" she asked as she looked at the serious look on his face. Danielle didn't know if it was what he asked or the way he asked it, but she suddenly felt unsettled. "What do you mean by "solve"?"
"Danielle…there are things that I haven't told you," he admitted as he walked up, kneeling in front of her so that they were eye to eye. "I've been thinking about expanding the group. Building up new sections across the country to find others like yourself and the many we have here and help them find a place to be accepted."
Danielle let out a sigh of relief before smiling at him. "That sounds great, Ray. But I don't really see what that has to do with me."
"I'm glad you think so. The reason I'm bringing this up to you is because I want you to lead the way into our expansion."
"Me!?"Danielle asked in completely shock. She wasn't sure she had heard correctly, but if she did, she was going to have to question what he was thinking in picking her for this.
"That's right," he said, raising his hand and gently stroking her cheek. Danielle tried hard not to blush, but she knew it was pointless. She, like just about every girl in the group, had fallen for Ray's charm and good looks, but restrained themselves from getting caught up in their delusional fantasies about him. "You're special, Dani. Your intelligence and abilities make you an invaluable part of our group. That was why I made you a captain. You have the type of leadership qualities that we need."
"I…I still don't understand why you'd pick me and not someone like Nick. I mean, he is the recruiter."
"Though that is true, Nick doesn't have the same way about him that you do. He's a smooth talker, but he has no leadership potential to run a branch of our organization. But you do. You've proven that many times over, and I believe that you can really help to establish us in other parts of the country."
Danielle bit her lip as she averted her eyes to the ground. The offer did sound promising, and he did seem to have a lot of faith in her. But was she really willing to run away and leave her home behind? Well, it's not like she exactly had any real ties to anything here other than her friends and the group. She made that very clear three days ago when she denounced herself as a Fenton. This could be a new start for her and who knew what it would lead to?
"Well…it does sound really nice…but I don't know if I can leave all my friends here," she admitted.
"And I wouldn't ask you to. Aside from Nick and Marina, you can take anyone like with you. Including Darren, Mandy and Cassie."
Danielle could only smile at the thought of her best friends coming along with her on such an important task. Without another moment's hesitation, she nodded her head.
"I'm in."
"Excellent," Ray said, moving back to his seat across from her. "That's wonderful to hear. Now, onto other business. As I'm sure you can imagine, something as important as an expansion is very costly, and it is no secret that we don't have the best of funds at the moment."
"Tell me about it. But where are we going to get money from?"
"That is not something for you to trouble yourself with, my dear. However there is something that I need you to do," he paused, watching her. Danielle looked at him, confused, but nodded her head slowly. "Good. There is something I need you to get. There's a special gem that is worth a very high price on the black market residing below the inner most sanctums of the bank. The gem happens to belong to the Manson family, and so the security is very tight. Being that you're the heir to their fortune, I believe that it would be no problem for you to simply go and retrieve it for us."
Danielle could feel her heart beating against her chest. Ray was one of the few who knew her feelings about her lineage and her connection to the Manson's. Though it wasn't the biggest secret that the Manson's were rich, Sam had made it very obvious that no one in town knew of that. Her parents spent most of their time out of town to hang with more upper class people, meaning that aside from a select few people, no one in town knew she was rich, which meant that no one knew that Danielle was the heiress to a grand fortune. Or at least she would have been.
"Ray…you know that I can't do that," Danielle said, shaking her head. "The Manson's disowned Sam when she walked out on them, and after what happened between me and them, I'm not exactly a running candidate for grandchild of the year. Not to mention I shouldn't expect to receive an inheritance from Sam and Danny."
"All though these things are true, there's more than one way for you to get what we need, now isn't there?"
Danielle's mouth dropped open as her eyes grew wide. "Ray…what are you…you don't mean…you want me to steal it?"
"If that is what it takes, then so be it," he said nonchalantly.
"Ray, I can't do that. Stealing is wrong. It-"
"Did you not steal before you started living here?" he asked. Danielle was about to retort, but Ray continued, not letting her get a chance to. "What is the difference between stealing then and now? You're still doing it to survive. The difference is that it's not just your life on the line. There are thousands of kids just like you and me who need people like us to help them."
"Ray…I…don't know if I can do this…"
Ray could only stare into the confused and scared eyes of the young girl who sat before him. He knew it wouldn't be easy to convince her of something like this, but she was a necessity in his plans. Ray nodded, standing to his feet and began to walk away.
"I know this is not something that is easy for you to decide on. Take some time and think it over. But keep in mind that this is not only your future on the line, but everyone's. This may be your way out of your situation, but there are others who will be affected by your choices as well."
Ray didn't wait for her to respond as he walked away. Danielle watched him leave and couldn't help the hallow pit that had formed in her stomach.
There were so many things that she needed to consider that it all became too much to try and think with the constant talking, fighting and constant sounds of the few members of the group who either never went to school or who were skipping. As Danielle's thoughts pulsated against her head, she quickly hopped off the crate she was on, and headed for the door to find a place where she could get at least a bit of peace.
The floor boards creaked under his weight as Danny groggily made his way down the hall. His muscles groaned silently in protest from his movements, but Danny ignored them as he made his way toward the stairs.
It had been obvious the fruits of his and Sam's labor had been anything but fruitful. Three days straight of almost none stop searching, and the two were beyond tired, so much to the point that their friends and family were on constant watch to be sure that they didn't hurt themselves.
As he came to flight of stairs that would lead him to the first floor of his house, Danny could only stare at them. As the seconds ticked by, the stairs just seemed to get longer and higher from his point of view, and knew without a doubt that there was no way he was going down them.
"Screw this," he mumbled before turning intangible and slipping through the floor. As he slowly fell, his molecules moving around the solid matter of the floor, he found himself hovering above his family and friends in the kitchen. No one took their eyes off of their task as the ghost boy landed soundlessly on his feet and solidified. Looking around the kitchen, Danny wasn't surprised at what he saw. Jazz was looking over a map with Tucker and Valerie of all the possible places that Danielle could be, Maddie and Jack were tweaking the Booomerang in hopes that it could actually track Danielle instead of smacking Danny in the back of the head, and Sam…
Was passed out cold with her head on the table and an untouched cup of coffee next to her. Danny could also hear a light snore coming from her. Looking over, Danny held in a sigh at the empty seat that had been designated Danielle's seat before walking over to his friends and sister.
"Ok, so we've checked all of her usual hangout spots. Where should we look next?" Jazz asked, looking over the map of the town. "Do you think she could have found a way into the Ghost Zone?"
"I doubt it," Tucker said, pointing to Fenton Works on the schematics. "The only working available portal is here with us. Only way she could get into the Zone without being able to make a portal herself would be to get through the security system which would be near impossible with all of us here. Someone would hear the doors opening, and that if the Ghosts Defense System didn't attack her first."
"That's true. Not to mention that Danny's allies in the Ghost Zone are on constant look out. This would be easier to find her is we could have more eyes looking around town," Valerie said.
"We can't, Val," Danny said, making his presence known as he took a seat next to Sam. "The Town already thinks that Danielle's some type of misbehaved child. We go out and tell them that not only can't we find her but that she ran away from home and that she joined a gang, the media will eat that up, we'll never get a moment of peace and it'll only tip Danielle off. The last thing we need is for her to become even harder to find."
"Well then what else can we do?" Jazz asked as Sam's snoring finally reached her ears. Turning with a groan, Jazz placed a hand on the sleeping girls shoulder and shook her slightly. "Sam! Wake up! I know you're tired, but we have to focus so that we can find Danielle."
Sam groan as she sat up, eyes half opened as she began reaching for her coffee. Danny grabbed her hand lightly and placed it on the steaming mug. Bringing it up to her lips and taking a long, satisfying gulp, Sam turned to her boyfriend.
"Thank you," she said gratefully before looking over the map in front of her. "Anything?"
"Nope. We've eliminated all the possible places we can think of, and Mr. and Mrs. F aren't any closer to getting the Booomerang to not crack Danny in the head," Tucker replied.
"That's still not funny, Tuck," Danny grumbled.
"That's because you haven't seen yourself get smacked in the head with it. I bet if you saw it happen to someone else you'd be laughing."
"Focus, people," Valerie said. "We have a half ghost girl to find, and sitting here trying to track her down with broken equipment that is attracted to Danny isn't going to help."
"Sorry kids," Maddie said as she lifted her goggles and walked up to them, Jack in tow. "But we just can't seem to figure out the problem. Everything we try isn't working."
"I just don't understand," Jack said, rubbing the back of his head. "The tracking matrix works, but as soon as we set it to go, it's like the circuits are getting crossed. At this point it almost like the Booomerang is going the opposite direction. Like its switching directions and trying to track things that have been around Danielle instead of Danielle herself."
Danny's eyes flew open as his tired mind began to process what his father had just said. It all seemed to be so simple, yet too simple that no one but his father could have come with it because they were all over thinking it. Anyone could mock his father all they wanted, but Danny would be damned if he didn't admit that the man was a genius.
"That's it!" he shouted, jumping up in his seat and startling everyone.
"What's it?" Sam asked.
"Dad, you're a genius!" he shouted as he ran over and hugged the older man.
"I am?" Jacked asked in surprise.
"He is?" everyone else asked in both unison and surprise.
"Yes! We've been going about this all wrong! Think about it; we've been trying to track her down, but everything we tried so far has been a bust for a lot of different reasons. We can't find her because she's good at hiding, and has been hiding out somewhere that we don't know. She probably hasn't even gone outside with us out looking for her. Obviously we're not going to be able to go through every building in town looking for her, but, if we could narrow it down, we could find her, right?"
"Right," they all said.
"Now take what Dad said. We'd have to find things that have been around Danielle, or more accurately, people!" Everyone's eyes grew wide as they too started to piece the puzzle together. "We just have to find someone in this gang, and find out where the hideout is. We do that, we find Danielle."
"Danny…that's brilliant!" Sam yelled, jumping up and hugging him. "How did we miss something so simple?"
"Because we've been going about this all wrong. We never thought that the simplest way to finding her is through someone else by asking about the hangout."
"But how are you going to know who to ask?" Jazz asked.
"Yeah, it's not like you can go up to any kid and know if they're part of the Renegades," Tucker added.
"We may not know who is, but I bet I know someone who does," he smiled as a new wave of determination washed over him.
The ringing of the bell shook Danielle out of her stupor. Looking around her, she watched as her classmates made their way toward the cafeteria for lunch. The shuffling of papers, the scooting of desk chairs…she somehow found it a lot more relaxing then she thought possible.
After leaving the hideout, Danielle wandered around town, trying to figure out what she should do. Everything Ray had said had been true, and yet she couldn't get past the fact that something just didn't fit together properly.
Yes, she had stolen in the past, but it was for survival, so that made it ok, right? Of course that wouldn't have mattered if she had talked to an authority figure because no matter how they looked at it, she was still a thief. But if that were true, then why was this any different?
Yes, she was, technically, the heiress to the Manson fortune and assets. She could say that she had a right to be able to access their accounts and records. Of course she knew it wouldn't be that easy. First there was the problem of the fact that she would have to convince them that she really was the grandchild of the Manson's who only had a teenage daughter. Even then, they'd still have to get in contact with them for conformation and there was no way that that was going to end well for her. They could easily have her arrested for attempted robbery.
Maybe she could just use her ghost powers? She could get in and get out, but that's only if the security system wasn't designed by Axion Labs, and if there was one thing that everyone in town knew, it's that Axion was the ONLY security provider anywhere close to them, meaning that she had no chance if it was ghost proof. And chances are that it was.
As Danielle continued to walk down the street, she found herself pausing to look up at the building in front of her. A quick glance was all it took for her to recognize the antique shop that she and a small group had marked. The large, poorly sprayed on representation of their logo stood out against the light red brick that made up the wall. Thinking back to that night, Danielle could vaguely recall that some of her subordinates had taken a bit longer then they usually did to finish up. Danielle recalled scolding them for doing so because she had been worried about the security that-
Ray had warned her about when he had sent her there.
Shaking her head, Danielle walked off, not even realizing she had made it onto school grounds until she was stopped by the security officer that had been appointed after her little rampage.
"Sorry, kid. But you know the rule," he said in a burly voice as he held up the Specter Deflector. Danielle could only stare at it in a daze as he held it out to her. The cool white metal felt both familiar and foreign in her hands as she strapped it around her waist. With a quick locking sound and a beep, the belt became active, and Danielle was allowed to move forward, though she didn't seem to be paying it much attention.
"Why did Ray send me there?" she whispered to herself. "What possible reason could he have had to pick that place? Or any of the places for that matter…"
The bell ringing in the background jolted Danielle as everyone made their way to their classroom. Without even thinking about it, Danielle too made her way to her classroom.
The chatter in the room came to an immediate stop as she crossed the threshold. All eyes fell on her, everyone stunned that she would even show up. Looking around, Danielle, for the first time in she didn't know how long, felt a blush of embarrassment come to her cheeks as she surveyed not only the shocked looks on her classmates faces, but also the still very obvious signs of her battle with Liana. Tilting her head down, Danielle made her way to her desk and sat down without saying a word to anyone.
Lin looked at the girl next to her, not sure what to think. After her anonymous phone call to FentonWorks, she couldn't stop thinking about Danielle and what the possible outcome would be for her actions. But having not heard or seen anything in the three days, she was starting to think that maybe she had done something wrong. Seeing Danielle walk in was a huge relief, but the distracted look in her eyes told Lin that something still wasn't quite right, and that frustrated her. Was there no way for her to fix this and get her friend back to normal!?
But Lin wasn't the only one who noticed the off disposition of the young Phantom. Darren had taken immediate notice of his commander, surprised that she would show up at school. As she made her way to her desk, he could tell that she was distracted by something. Throughout the entire class, she never said a word, never looked up from her desk. Nothing. Even him calling out her name seemed to do nothing, which only seemed to add to his suspicion.
Danielle's thoughts just couldn't seem to come to a single plausible answer to the questions in her mind. Why was it that when Ray gave her a place to mark, it was always a place of business? Did the others know something that she didn't? Was there something she wasn't seeing?
Well whatever the hell it was, she was going to find out, and she was going to get to the bottom of this. Now.
Pushing her seat out, Danielle made an instant beeline for the door, and took off down the hall of the school, ignoring anyone who called out to her and shoving people out of her way. Pushing her way out the front door, Danielle ran straight for the hideout, determined to get a straight forward answer from the only person she could.
She was going to get Ray to tell her what she wanted to know.
Touching down on the grass, Danny looked up at the middle school with a bit of distaste. All his problems seemed to stem from this place as of late.
"Man that's really unsettling," he mumbled before checking his Fenton Phone. "Everyone clear on the plan? How's everything on your guy's end?"
"Everything is set over here," Tucker said via his earpiece. "Jazz and I are here at the police station, standing by and waiting for your signal so we can go and shut these guys down."
"Your parents, Valerie and I are standing by with some containment equipment. As soon as you tell us where to go, we'll set up a perimeter and I'll then I'll come to help you talk some sense into Danielle," Sam said. In the background, Danny could hear the sounds of Fenton grade equipment as it was checked and powered up for maximum effectiveness.
"Good. We're going to find this place, get Danielle, and shut these guys down," Danny said as he made his way toward the door. "I'll radio you guys once I've got the location. Phantom 1, out."
Danny strode up the stairs, eyes focused in front of him. As he grasped the handle and pulled the door open, Danny began to scan the hallway. However, his vision was blocked by a large body. Looking up, Danny found himself eye to eye with the security guard.
"Can I help you?" he asked with a snarky tone in his voice.
"Probably not," Danny said, crossing his arms. "I'm looking for someone, and don't really have the time for this, so I'll just be on my way."
Without another word, Danny turned intangible and walked through the guard who let out a violent shiver. Danny continued down the hall, looking over every kid that stood there. Many looked on in both awestruck shock and in fright at the powerful ghosts. Just as Danny was beginning to get frustrated, his eyes fell upon a blonde whose back was turned to him. Walking up to her, Danny ignored the stammering of the brown haired boy who looked at him in fear while his shadow casted over the girl.
"Jordan, are you ok?" Lin asked, still not noticing Danny.
"Actually, I think he's broken," Danny said. Lin gasped as she whipped around to find the town hero looking at her with his arms crossed and a slight smirk on his face. "Long time no see, Lin."
"Danny? What are you doing here?" she asked. As she asked this, the smirk quickly fell from his face as he decided to get down to business.
"I need your help. I know it was you that had called the other day, and as much as I appreciate your call, we've got another problem that I think you can help us with."
"I can?"
"Yes. We need to know where the Renegades hideout is," Danny said, kneeling down and looking her in the Lin. The hall grew silent as many who were watching the exchange stood, dumbstruck, at what Danny was asking for. With her mouth agape, Lin shook herself back into reality.
"I'm sorry, Danny, but I can't tell you that. If I knew, I'd tell you in a heartbeat."
"You may not, but you know who does, right?" he asked to which she nodded her head.
"If you want to find out, then you need to talk to-"
"Us."
Danny turned around to find Darren, who was pushing his glasses up on his face, Mandy and Cassie, who looked almost as tired as he did.
"You're the one who've been hanging around Danielle?"
"Yeah, we have. She's our captain," Mandy said.
"And our friend," Cassie added.
"I find that hard to believe," Danny said, standing to full height once more.
"Whether or not you believe is not important right now," Darren said. "What is important is that Danielle is in trouble and is going to need your help."
"And why are you helping me?"
"Because Danielle is our friend. She was not like the others. She is good, deep down and she has got a better life then most of us. We would hate to see her give all of that up. So we are going to tell you where to find her."
Danielle pushed the door open with a great amount of force, ignoring the angry calls from the doorman as she stomped into the hideout. Her feet carried her quick over the concrete flooring as she headed straight for Ray who sat nonchalantly on a box, watching a few kids workout their problems in the ring.
"Ray!" Danielle cried out.
The boy in question turned to her, a smile on his face as he hopped off his seat and made his way over to her.
"Dani. Glad to see you back so soon. Have you thought about my offer?" he asked.
The angry look never left Danielle's face as she crossed her arms over her chest, eyes narrowed at him. Looking past him, she observed the crowded ring as people cheered on the two combatants. Danielle quickly moved past him and shoved her way through the crowd.
"Everyone, get the hell out, now!" she screamed. Everyone stopped and just stared at her, but Danielle was in no mood to deal with them. "I said, NOW!"
Everyone quickly gathered whatever few things that they could and made their way toward the exit. Danielle stood by, watching as they all filed out, many grumbling about her, but she didn't care. She had more important things to worry about. Once the last person had filed out, Danielle turned her attention to Ray who still looked calm as ever.
"Alright, Ray. Enough is enough," she said, standing in front of him. "I want to know what's going on, and I want to know now."
"What do you mean, Dani? If this is about-"
"Cut the charismatic crap, Ray," Danielle said, finally becoming fed up with him. "I want to know what it was that everyone else seemed to know that I didn't. What was it that you told the others every time you sent us to go mark something?"
Ray grew silent as he stared at the dark haired girl. The large room seemed to suddenly shrink in size at the tension and anger coming off the girl. Her icy stare never seemed to surprise him with how cold her irises were and her gaze could be.
Finally, Ray nodded his head, deciding that there really wasn't much of a point now.
"Yes, Dani. It's true that I gave the others specific orders when they went out with you."
"Why?" she asked, teeth clenched.
"Now you should be able to figure that out pretty easily, my dear," he said, walking up to and towering over her. Ray reached a hand out to touch her, but Danielle would have none of it as she quickly stepped back and out of his reach. Ray sighed, letting his hand fall back to his side. "As I said to you earlier, Dani, an organization as large as ours needs funding, but no one is going to just willingly hand over money to fund us. Keeping this place in order and keeping these kids safe and happy takes money. So, every so often, I'd have you go to certain locations, and would assign some of your subordinates to the task of finding valuables that we could sell and make some money."
"So you were using me?" Danielle asked bluntly. But she didn't need to hear the answer to something she already knew. Danielle could feel her heart breaking as she stood before him, yet she refused to cry. If there was one good thing that she had gotten out of all of this, it was getting her confidence back. Of course confidence could only go so far when it came to being used and betrayed by people you thought cared. "Why? Why would you do that?"
"Don't be so naïve," he said with a wave of his hand. "If I had told you that I brought you in here because you were able to make it easier for us to steal when we needed to, what do you think you would have said?"
"I would have said no."
"Exactly. And is it really all that bad? You've said yourself that you've stolen before. This is no different. Besides, everyone wins here and gets something, right? You get your confidence and friends; we collect items that we can sell for high prices."
Danielle could feel her fists shaking as she struggled to hold back the tears that wanted to come. She had been foolish and had gotten used again, and the worst part about it was that she had brought it all upon herself. She had been the one who had fallen for his snake like words. She had been the one to blindly follow what he told her to do. And now, she was the one who was going to hurt the most from all of this.
"So you mean to tell me that all I was to you was a means of getting stuff? Nothing but stupid kid that you could use for whatever it is that you so choose? Is that all that we are to you?"
"Now, now. Don't take this the wrong way, my-"
"Don't call me that!" She screamed, voice echoing as it bounced off the walls of the warehouse. "I'm sick of your lies, Ray! I'm sick of you, I'm sick of being used, and I'm sick of all of this! I'm done with it all!"
"Done?" he asked with an eyebrow raised at her. "And what exactly do you mean by that?"
"I mean that I'm leaving you and your stupid gang once and for all. I won't help you to steal or to draw more innocent kids into this. I'm going to the police and I'm having this entire place shut down!"
Danielle moved passed him, but made sure to shove him with her shoulder on her way out. However, she didn't make it very far before he grabbed her by the shoulder. Danielle could feel as he applied pressure to it and dug his nails into her. Danielle whipped around to try and free herself, but was instantly smacked to the ground. Her head swam as she turned and fell on her stomach. She raised a hand to her face, and winced at the horrible stinging that she felt. A loud click caught her attention, and as Danielle looked up, her body completely froze.
Ray stood over her, face remaining as calm as ever as he pointed a small black glock directly in her face. Danielle stared at the dark metallic object pointed in her face, and could feel her body shaking as she backed up into a box. Ray moved slowly before kneeling down and looking her directly in the eye.
"You won't be going anywhere any time soon, my dear," Ray said, sticking the gun under her chin and forcing her to look up at him. Danielle's mouth hung open as she shook in fear, but no words came as tears built in her eyes and fell down her face. Ray remained unmoved by her crying as he gently rubbed the cool metal across the bruise on her cheek. Shaking his head, he gave a few clicks of his tongue. "Such a shame that such a pretty little face like yours is going to bruise up. But I guess it's a necessity now, isn't it?"
Danielle watched as his hand came up and roughly grabbed her head, knocking her denim beanie off her head. She nearly screamed in pain as he twisted her dark locks and began to drag her across the floor. With a quick flick of his wrist, Ray threw her back to the floor as he walked around her, making sure the gun remained in view.
"You know, it's really a shame, Danielle. I liked you. You were smart, had great leadership skills and had so much potential. You could have had so much. I could have given you anything you wanted. But I guess that's not going to happen, now is it?"
Danielle watched him carefully as her body continued to shake. How could she not know that he was this crazy? How did she not know he had a gun!? She needed to get out of there as soon as possible. Calling upon her inner power, Danielle attempted to transform, only to let out a horrific scream as her body was flooded with electricity that set every one of her nerves on fire. Relinquishing her hold on her inner power, Danielle fell flat on the ground and twitched as Ray shook his head at her.
"Poor, sweet little Danielle. You've forgotten already, haven't you? That belt really is annoying when you try to use your powers, isn't it?"
More fear pumped into Danielle as she pushed herself up onto her knees and stared at Ray who had stopped pacing and now stood in front of her. Her body was shaking beyond belief, and Danielle could honestly say that she was beyond scared out of her mind. If she had been even the slightest bit younger, she wouldn't have been surprised if she would have peed herself. As she tried to think up a solution, it was becoming increasingly obvious that there was no way out of this.
She was going to die for her stupidity, and there was no way she could stop it.
Fresh tears ran down her face as she watched Ray pull back on the slide and raise it to point directly at her. Squeezing her eyes shut, Danielle could only squeak in fear as her life flashed in her final moments. Clarity seemed to decide that it was a good moment to mock her as the only thing she could think of as she waited for death were the two people who would undoubtedly miss her. Even after all she had said and done to them, Danielle could only hope that they could forgive her in death.
"Mommy…Daddy…" she whispered so low that almost no sound came out. "I'm sorry…"
A loud bang rang throughout the building as the trigger was pulled, the sound echoing off the walls before fading out into nothing.
To Be Continued…
I know. You all hate me because of the cliffhanger and all that. And you know what's funny is I was gonna write more, but then decided that since it Phantom Fall Weekend, and you're going to get the finale of the story this weekend anyway, that I'd tease you a little (or a lot). Lol. So, like I said, the finale is COMING THIS WEEKEND! ARE YOU READY!?