Chapter 10
Vlad and the 'Ghost Getters' strided hurriedly down the dark sidewalks of Amity Park, breath coming out in thick fog. Their footsteps echoed off the empty and frost-lined streets. "Now, I will search from the skies while you kids search from below." Vlad said, handing them each a Fenton Thermos. "Wait a minute, who put you in charge?" Sam questioned crossly, ripping the thermos from his hands. "I did." He said simply, continuing to walk; leaving Sam glaring after him, looking ready to kill. "Come on then." Vlad called smoothly over his shoulder.
Tucker waited for her to catch up. "Just let him do what he wants for now, Jazz is right, it can be useful to have a ghost's help." she scowled at this. "Even if it does mean putting up with this jerk." He added. Sam nodded reluctantly and jogged over to Jazz and Vlad, who were staring over the upcoming hedges, stopping abruptly when she saw what they were looking at.
An important looking vehicle was parked in the snow by the entrance to the woods, caution tape was strapped along the trees, but worst of all, the Guys in White were patrolling the area.
"It looks like we're not the only ones looking for a werewolf." Vlad muttered. Without warning, he whipped around and ordered, "Hold hands." "WHAT?" Tucker asked in disbelief. "Do it." He snapped back. While the kids did what they were told, Vlad changed to Plasmius and roughly grabbed Jazz's wrist. The group turned invisible. "Now follow." He said quietly but sharply, leading them though the bushes and into the trees.
Once they were far away from the government search teams, Vlad changed them back to normal. Tucker pulled his hands back gratefully and wiped them fretfully on his jeans. "Now, you kids remember to do exactly as I say," Vlad said importantly, handing Jazz a map with instructions. Sam rolled her eyes and turned away, it didn't go unnoticed. He turned to her. "and I don't want any attitude," I'm going to kill him." Sam thought to herself. "you will show respect," "control yourself…" "loyalty," "hold it…" "gratitude," "I can't take it…." know how to treat your superiors….. Sam lost it, swinging around; she punched him square in the face.
Vlad recoiled in surprise. Jazz held Sam back, "What are you doing?" she asked in shock. Sam had a demon-like look in her eyes. "Danny was right, that feels really good." She snarled .Vlad recovered and stepped forward, wiping blood from his nose. Jazz released Sam and stood protectively in front of her "Why you filthy little -" he stopped quickly at the sound of a charging ecto-gun. Tucker was aiming directly at him. Vlad sighed and closed his eyes, a muscle twitched in his neck. "Now let's calm down, we're all a little moody." Sam made a doubtful sound. Snapping his eyes open, Vlad said, "ANYWAY I'll meet you kids at my house in an hour."
"I still don't see why we couldn't have used the BOOmerang," Tucker complained, pocketing the gun. Jazz looked impatient, "Because, if you had been listening to me earlier, you would have known that Danny had taken it out of the lab to find the wolf and never told me where he left it!""Right!" Tucker said, pretending like he remembered. "Let's go." Sam called, already trudging through the frosted leaves. The kids followed her while Vlad took to the air, making sure his cape whipped in Sam's face before taking off.
Breaking above the trees, he paused to take in the moment. Flying felt wonderful after so many days of worry, but the enjoyment soon faded away, the air was too cold to be happy for long, not to mention he was speeding through it miles an hour. Vlad slowed down and scanned the area more carefully. Thick branches were making the ground harder to see, even though their leaves had been stripped clean off in the last month.
After several minutes he began to feel discouraged. "Come on Vlad, you knew this would happen, this is exactly why you came crawling to the teenagers for help." He flew faster; suddenly a different thought came to mind, making him stop altogether. "If Daniel doesn't want to be found, he's probably going to make himself difficult to see from the skies…" now Vlad was feeling thoroughly frustrated. "BUTTER BISCUITES! He yelled, finding that replacing swearing with food-related words helped with his anger issues.
"Stay calm Vlad, being mad all the time isn't healthy." He thought, taking a deep breath. A noticeable gap in the trees caught his attention. "Why didn't I notice that sooner?" He flew closer; the branches looked like they had been burned off. "It looks like the kind of damage an ecto-blast would do… Daniel was here..." he picked off a piece of scorched bark and crumpled it thoughtfully between his fingers. "and I'll bet he's still close by…"
Vlad sank down to the ground, staring at the black powder in his hand. The evidence looked promising. He turned around, sure enough, a werewolf Danny was curled stiffly up against a nearby tree. Vlad sighed in relief and walked over to the boy. As he got closer, the relief washed away. The teenager's appearance was noticeably different now that Vlad has a better view. Danny's chestnut pelt was matted down in feverish sweat, getting little protection from what looked like a filthy and torn hospital gown. The cast on his shoulder looked about ready to fall off, and he looked very disturbed in his sleep, flank rising and falling in quick shallow breaths.
Vlad felt panic rise in his chest, even with a partial college education, he could recognize the symptoms when he saw them. Danny was falling into a hypothermic state. For a moment, Vlad considered going back to fetch the 'Ghost Getters' (If that really is their real name.) He shook his head, "No, the kids can wait; Daniel needs help NOW," Vlad eased Danny into his arms, careful to avoid waking him; the last thing they both needed was a fight…"
Several minutes later, Vlad landed them in the lab of his mansion. Danny had started shivering on the ride back. "It could be worse." He walked Danny over to the table. As soon as he rested him down on the table, Danny's eyes flickered open. "Oh fudge…" Vlad muttered. "Vlad?" Danny stared at his arch enemy in a mix of horror and surprise. "Don't move Daniel, you're very ill." He replied in a commanding tone, not ready to put up with the younger halfa's attitude. Danny glared defiantly at him and sat up shakily, immediately, the glare was replaced by a sickened look. Vlad placed a firm hand on Danny's chest and pushed him back down on the metal surface, "I said don't move!" "I feel fine!" "You're suffering from hypothermia! Do you even know what that means?" "It means I'm cold, which I'm not!" "Look at you, you're shaking! Don't tell me that's natural!" "Well, I FEEL warm!" Vlad sighed impatiently, "That's not a good thing! I don't think you understand how serious this is!"The younger halfa protested and struggled. "Don't make me tie you down Daniel!" He felt the werewolf reluctantly go limp under his hold, but that didn't stop him from throwing the older halfa dirty looks while he got supplies out. One in particular included a clear mask attached to a hollow tube.
Vlad noticed his patient stiffen as he held it over him. "I'm not going to hurt you," he told the teenager gently. Danny didn't look convinced. Vlad strapped it on anyway. His panicked expression increased when the older halfa attached the opposite end of the tube to a small machine and flipped the switch. Hot air blew in Danny's face, a few seconds later, he felt himself losing a grip on consciousness. "Vlad…" He said weakly, fighting to stay awake. "Yes?" "I … hate you… sooo much…" Vlad smiled sadly and tousled the boy's hair. "I know Daniel, I know." With that, Danny fell into a shuddering sleep.
While he rested, Vlad covered the younger halfa in thick layers of blankets. Once that was done, he turned out the lights. "Goodnight little badger." He said softly before closing the door behind him.
The next morning, Vlad came back to check on Danny, finding him as completely out as ever. Older halfa put a hand to the child's forehead. "At least he stopped shivering." He thought, checking the temperature that flashed on the monitor. "In fact he's well enough to move into his room…" Vlad removed the mask picked the boy up with little trouble at all. Danny hung there like a ragdoll, muttering something in his sleep. "If only he were awake, I would never be able to do this."
Vlad carried the younger halfa to his new room, resting him on the bed. Danny didn't react as the covers were pulled over him. Vlad watched the teenager, listening to his slow, steady breathing. After some thought, he ran downstairs and returned, placing some clothing and water by his bed. Then he left Danny in peace.
Just as he settled down in his office, the phone rang. "Just what I need." Vlad let it ring ……"Vlad?"……. "Vlad pick up! I know you're there!" He gave up. "What is it Jasmine?" "You know what! How's Danny?" Vlad sighed; he did at least owe her a bit of respect. After he knocked Danny out, the kids had arrived at his door, and it was Jazz who helped convince them to let him keep their friend at his house. "Yes, he's sleeping," Vlad replied, a bit impatient sounding. Jazz ignored this, "Well anyway, Sam and Tucker wanted me to tell you that they were stopping by to check on him after school." "Wonderful." "Good, then I'll talk to you later then." Jazz was starting to sound a little irritated. "Bye." Vlad placed the phone back on its receiver. Glancing at the clock he thought, "Daniel will want to be awake so he can see his friends."
He stared at the pile of papers before him with little disappointment. "I guess I won't be getting much work done today." Again, he headed up to Danny's room. "I guess it's better not to let him sleep in so long anyway." Vlad paused at the door, various sounds could be heard. He stepped inside, Danny wasn't in bed.
Vlad started to become frantic before he noticed the bathroom door was open, running water could be heard inside. Having relaxed, he walked over. A human Danny could be seen with his head in the sink. "Daniel?" Vlad asked curiously. The boy jumped in surprise at his voice and hit the faucet. "Ow…" he looked up to face him. "What do you want?" Danny demanded, running the sleeve of his newly borrowed clothing across his mouth. "You know, if you were thirsty, I had left some water on your nightstand." "Yeah, like you didn't put some type of drug in it!" Vlad looked stung. "Am I really that hard to trust?" he thought.
"Daniel, if I really wanted to hurt you, wouldn't I have done it by now?" "How should I know? I'm not the fruitloop around here!" Vlad sighed, "Fine, but just know that isn't really sanitary water." Danny rolled his eyes, "If I can eat squirrels, I'm sure I can handle the water from your faucet." His enemy looked a little disgusted at this statement, but didn't question it. "Okay, suit yourself; your friends are coming over in about an hour." Danny watched Vlad distrustfully as he left the room, then he turned and saw the window...