Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.
The house was dark; without the lights, night made the shadows stick out against the faint glow of the moon and stars. And it creeped Jazz out.
Their parents were gone; her father had gotten a kidney stone and so her mother rushed him to the emergency room. She couldn't drag her kids along; Danny had a cold. So she left Jazz in charge while Danny sat on the couch, sniffling and wrapped up in a blanket.
They were both pretty much minding their own business until the power went out. Jazz looked around the suddenly dark living room, and sighed when she realized she wouldn't be able to finish her novel. Danny looked around with bleary, dazed eyes and then looked back at the now blank television.
"...Did you turn off the lights, Jazzy?" Danny asked in a quiet, raspy voice.
"No, it's a power out. We'll just have to wait until the lights turn back on."
"Oh," Danny said and he paused to yawn. "Okay."
It really weirded Jazz out whenever her brother got sick. Most of the time, he dedicated every waking moment to driving her insane; but now, he just didn't seem to care. She appreciated the calmness that went with it, however.
"I'm gonna go to be-" Danny choked on his last word, suddenly shivering violently. He sqeezed his eyes shut and curled in on himself under his blanket. Jazz shivered too; it had gotten very cold all of a sudden.
Jazz got out of her armchair, placing her book on the coffee table. She walked over to her brother, rubbing her arms. Her teeth chattered. "W-why's it so c-cold?"
Danny didn't answer; his teeth were chattering adn he was trembling. His cold felt worse.
"M-maybe the h-he-heat went out o-or s-s-something," Jazz said. She knew that couldn't be, since it was summer and not even this cold outside. "Let's g-" she cut off, her voicebox feeling as if it shrunk to the size of a dime in her throat as she felt the change in atmosphere.
The air felt thick; like it turned to liquid nitrogen. The air was cold, yet burning...burning with rage.
She had only felt something remotely like this was wehn the town marched to boycott a decision the mayor had passed. The people were like a mob she sees on T.V.; livid and uncontrollable.
Danny was frozen, his terrified eyes wide. Jazz seized him in an embrace, not quite sure if it was for his comfort or her's.
A low, echoing voice rang through the room, filled with bitterness and rage.
...Children? Of all he has taken from me…
They had started to nearly hyperventilate, but all they could do was listen to the chilling voice with no source but the ill will it emanated.
...Miserable oaf...Should kill them now…
Jazz let out a whimper and hugged Danny closer.
...Yes…
A loud knock on their door made Jazz scream and Danny jerk violently.
The knock came again, followed by a woman's voice. "Jasmine? Danny? Open the door, it's Ida!"
The two children sat there on the couch, frozen.
"Maddie is staying the night at the hospital with your father; she called me to look after you."
The children remained silent and frozen. The voice, however, did not.
...Madeline...my love…
The voice paused for a long moment. About a minute later, the rage left the air. The chill lessened, and the evil presence faded.
...My children…
With those last words, the presence was gone. Jazz let out a shaky breath and looked around the dark house.
The knock came again, and the siblings slowly turned toward the door.
"We've gotta let M-Mrs. McDevitt in," Danny said in a shaky, raspy voice.
Jazz nodded and let go of her brother. When she opened the door to let in their elderly neighbor, she immediately and almost involuntarily rushed in for a hug.
Ida hugged the girl back, though she was surprised. "Hey there, Jasmine. The black out scare you?"
Jazz, still buried in Ida's chest, nodded.
Ida smiled and led the girl back to Danny, who was still sitting on the couch.
"Let's light some candles then, alright?" Ida said as she smiled through the dark at the two shaken children.
Jazz sat on her bed, with her bear clutched tightly to her chest. She kept telling herself that it was a dream, a hallucination. But she couldn't get that chilling voice out of her head…
A soft knock made her nearly jump out of her skin. Before she could reach the door, it opened, revealing her little brother standing there with his pillow. In his free hand he had a handmade lock pick/skeleton key that he'd uesd to unlock her door.
"Danny? What is it?" she asked.
Danny looked at the floor, his face set in a pout. You could see the fear in his eyes, however.
"Jazzy...could I-er, would you…" he trailed off.
"What?" she said after a pause.
"Could I stay with you tonight?" he said in a fast whisper.
Jazz stared. She had certainly not expected that. She contemplated for a second, then said: "Alright, but no pranks, okay?"
He nodded, then jumped on her bed. He wobbled a bit, which made her giggle as she climbed in after him. They settled under the covers, glad for the warmth.
"No wetting my bed, you hear?" Jazz told Danny with a playful smile.
"Jazzy! I don't do that!" he whined, but the whine soon turned into a cough. Jazzy bit her lip and sighed.
"Just go to sleep, baby bro," she said as she closed her eyes, and Danny followed suit. They both fell asleep, and were both convinced the next morning that what happened was an ecto-weenie induced hallucination.
The next chapter. Not gonna say much about it. Hope you liked it, review please, yadda yadda yadda.
Until next time.