A Taste of Fear
"Danny! Don't leave me!" Missy screamed, sitting on the ground with a broken leg and a sprained ankle. She felt her heart almost stop when she saw him turn around, a cold look in his eye.
"Just leave me alone, and never talk to me again!" Danny screamed, turning his back to her before sprinting down the street. Melissa felt tears come to her eyes. She hadn't meant for this to happen. None of it. All she wanted was to make her brother happy, but instead made him angry. She clutched her leg as searing white hot pain shot up and down it.
"I'm sorry, Danny. I'm so sorry," She whispered, even though he was probably home by now. She looked around her and gasped when she saw the blood hound snarling at her menacingly. She half screamed, and quickly tried to stand. Missy soon found that she couldn't, so she settled for crawling. She felt her warm tears flooding down her cheeks, and she felt her face flush. She had to get home. She just had to.
As she was trying to reach a bench, she felt the blood hound grab her ankle, causing her to cry out in pain. She started sobbing, choking on her breath. Missy felt blood seep out of her ankle, and the dog started to shake her leg. She kicked the dog as hard as she could, surprised when it yelped and let go. She started to pull her body by her arms, not caring if she over-worked herself. She didn't want to be dinner to a stupid dog. She wouldn't.
Suddenly, she felt pain in her chest, and it slowly spread to the rest of her body, making her gasp with fright. 'What's happening?' she wondered, suddenly stopping her crawling, and grabbing her chest in hopes it would stop. In fact, when she did that, it made it worse. Her head pounded, and her heart felt like it was bleeding. 'Probably is,' she thought dryly. Her dry humor quickly disappeared when she tasted blood on her tongue. She gasped, and crawled quickly to the bench. She lay down, breathing deeply, the pain never ceasing in her chest.
Melissa closed her eyes tightly before opening them. "Danny.." She whispered, looking desprately around her. At not finding her brother, she clutched the bench in hopes of comforting herself. It never happened, however, the only thing she felt was a pain so hurtful, so blinding that she blacked out, never to return to the living.
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"Hey! Wait up!" Nine year old Danny screamed, running after the bus, but once again, missing it. That was the one-hundreth time he'd missed the bus since the first day of second grade, and it was already halfway through the year. From what he gathered the last few times he'd been in school, it was pretty boring for the rest of them. Danny huffed and angrily stomped back inside the Fenton household. He threw his backpack on the floor, and took off his shoes.
His anger quickly diminished, however, upon hearing Melissa shouting down the hallway wanting assistance in getting out of her bed. Missy was now four, and getting a little better at her vocabulary, but still had to struggle out words. He ran quickly to her room, and saw her sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Dwanny! You're still here!" She exclaimed, upon seeing him enter her room and sitting on the edge of her bed. Even after she had learned to speak, she still had a hard time pronouncing his name. He smiled softly.
"Yeah, the bus left me again, and I don't think mom and dad want to take me." Danny sighed, and he stole a glance at her. She seemed to be deep in thought, having her tongue sticking out with her eye closed, the other open staring hard at the ceiling. He had to laugh. Upon hearing him laugh, she smiled and turned to face him. "So," Danny said, getting up and pulling her gently off the high bed before continuing, "What do you want to do now?" Missy stuck her tongue out once again before she smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling him to her door and down the stairs in front of the tv. She pointed to the DVD player, clearing stating she wanted to watch a movie.
Ever since their parents had bought Missy the DVD player celebrating her fourth birthday, she'd been wanting to use it frequently. Danny smiled, before dragging her to the selection of DVD's they owned. So far, the number was up to at least fifty of Disney movies. "Pick one, Missy. I don't care." He let go of her hand and went to sit on the couch to wait. She searched for a good movie to watch with her brother, and her eyes landed on a particular movie, The Fox and The Hound. (A/N: Is this movie on DVD? I'm not sure.. I have it on VHS still.) She grinned, and pulled it out of the cabinent, showing Danny her selection. He grinned, and nodded his head.
Missy walked back over to the DVD player before pausing and staring at it, lowering the movie slightly in confusion. She turned hopeless to Danny, who laughed and shook his head while getting up to help her. She couldn't read the small words on the DVD player, which seemed kinda funny to Danny. He pushed the 'on' button, and waited for the little horizontal screen to flash 'no disk' before he hit the 'open' button. Missy opened the case, grabbed the DVD and set it gently in the slot. Danny hit 'close' and walked back to the couch, Missy not far behind.
"I wuv this movie.." Missy said, staring in awe as the bright blue screen turned black once the disk was read. Danny laughed and grabbed the DVD remote.
"I know you do. I know.." He whispered, staring at her before turning back to the movie.
After the movie had ended, Missy had fallen asleep during the end. Danny couldn't blame her, since she was always tired. He jumped slightly when he heard his father yell.
"Maddie! Get me a Fenton bandade, STAT!" He rolled his eyes, and felt Missy jump at the sudden noise. She groaned and sat up slightly.
"What bwew up this twime?" She asked, her voice groggily.
"I don't know. With them, I just don't know." Danny said. Missy, knowing this was ture, laughed at her brother's statement, and looked to the screen.
"Aww, the movie's over.." She said, her eyes downcast. He frowned.
"Well, we could always watch it some other time... I guess.." Danny said, running his hand through his hair. He got up and pressed the stop button, and took the disc out, putting it back in it's case and setting it back on the shelf. Jack suddenly came up the stairs with his entire left hand covered in a 'Fenton' towel. Maddie came up soon afterward, yelling at him.
"Jack, I need to properly bandage your injury!"
"Never in your life, woman!" Danny burst out laughing at his father's statement, causing Missy to stare at him confusedly. He turned to her, his eyebrows knitting once again in worry. Ever since she was hit in the head by the Fenton Ghost Toothpick, (which was as big as a chainsaw), he was worried she'd gotten some damage done to her brain. She was constantly forgetting things that were on her mind, and she never paid attention hardly anymore. Almost as if she had a short term memory, or was in deep thought. He shook his head. 'She just must be tired. Nothing's really wrong with her.' Danny assured himself. But casting a glance over to Missy caused his theory to come back to him like a boomerang.
"Uhm.. Missy?" Danny started, walking over to her. He winced when he heard a loud crash from upstairs. Maddie must be trying to bandage up Jack. He shook his head upon seeing Missy turn her gaze to him. "What's wrong? You seem distracted." He sat beside her on the couch, watching and waiting for a reaction. Any reaction that'll tell him she's alright. She closed her eyes, and wrung her hands.
"I'm.. scared.. Dwanny.." She admitted, closing her eyes even tighter, clenching her hands. He quickly grabbed her hand in hopes of calming her down. He'd never seen her look so frightened before, so alone and vulnerable. She was shaking slightly, and when she finally opened her eyes, they were full of tears. She seemed to be fighting with herself before she finally flung herself onto Danny, hugging him very tight, as if afraid he'd go away. "Don't weave me, Dwanny! Don't weave me!" She sobbed, clutching his shirt tightly. He winced slightly when she pinched his skin, but instead of telling her to let go, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer.
"What's wrong, Missy? I'm not going anywhere." Danny said, once he gained back his ability to speak. She seemed really scared, sobbing like she'd had a bad dream. In retrospect, she probably did. He heard her breath in deeply before she exhaled, shuddering. When she finally spoke, it was barely above a whisper.
"I had a dweam.. that you got mad at me.. and weft me." She took a shakey breath before she continued, "And I died because you didn't welp me." She felt Danny's arms go limp. She slowly raised her eyes to see him staring down at her, his eyes wide.
"Melissa," Danny began, swallowing the lump in his throat, suddenly a feeling of deja-vu over-coming him, "Please don't say that. Even if you have dreams like that, just know they aren't true."
"But-"
"Missy, I would never, ever get mad at you, and even if I did, I wouldn't leave you to die." Danny told her, his vision blurring. He wrapped his arms around her tighter, resting his head on hers. Melissa slowly opened her eyes, and glanced up at Danny. 'He's crying.. for me..' She thought, then she closed her eyes tightly again, and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer. She suddenly felt silly for thinking her dream was real, although it felt real after she'd woken up. She was almost sure that she could still feel the dog's teeth in her ankle. She slowly released Danny, him doing the same. She looked up at him, smiling.
"So," Missy started, much in the same fashion as Danny does, "What now?" She saw him smile mischeviously before he looked over at her. He slowly got up, and her eyes widened at what he was doing. "Dwanny.." She warned, slowly backing up. Before he could even do anything, Jack came bounding down the stairs with a towel still wrapped around his hand.
"Run, kids! You're mother has anti-biotics!" He paused upon seeing Danny. "Why aren't you in school?" Danny pointed behind him, out the door.
"Missed bus."
"Ahh.." Jack turned around when he heard his wife.
"Jack! You're gonna get an infection!"
Jack didn't have time to respond, for he was so rudely tackled by her. Maddie, being the ninth-degree black belt that she is, had no trouble in tieing up Jack, one foot resting on top of him like she'd just caught a bull.
"Kids, I suggest you go upstairs. This could get violent." She sighed as she watched Danny and Missy walk slowly around them before bounding up the stairs. "Men.." She muttered before turning to her husband.
Upstairs, Danny locked the door to his room, still bugged about the violent show he'd been treated to.
"Well," Missy spoke up, "That was uh.. entertwaining." Danny laughed at her sarcastic remark, before he turned and walked to sit beside her on his bed. Since his bed was shorter than her's, she had no trouble getting on top of it, but she still got red-faced.
"Yeah, who knew Mom could beat up Dad." Danny chuckled at his own statement, turning to Melissa. "So, what now?" He repeated her earlier question, having had forgotten he was about to treat Missy to a tickle fight. She shrugged and turned her gaze out the window. Then she spoke.
"Dwanny, what's it like after wou die?" He seemed taken aback by the question, for he fell off the bed in the process. He quickly jumped up, and scrambled back on the bed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Wh-why do you want to know that?" Danny asked, attempting to look casual while at the same time concerned. She shrugged, and turned to wait for his answer. "I.. I-I really don't know, Missy. But, I do know that there's a heaven and a firey pit that Mom says is a bad word.. so I won't repeat it, but I guess if you're a good person you'll go to heaven." He shrugged. "That's the best I can come up with." She smiled, then chuckled. "What's so funny?" Danny questioned.
"I bweat death." She said, causing Danny to freeze on the spot. He was surprised by the statement, but even more surprised a four year old would say something like that. He cleared his throat.
"What do you mean you 'beat' death?" He air quoted the word 'beat', emphasizing his confusion. She sighed.
"Did you not tell me that Mom thought I wasn't gwoing to live past a month?" She waited until he nodded before continuing. "And when wou told me I wouldn't wive past two wears?" Danny nodded, sulking in his own trick. "Well, I bweat death." Missy smiled at her own irony. Danny gulped, and frowned heavily. He was starting to worry about what she was thinking all the time.
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After Jack had a huge bandaide on his finger, (where Maddie got it is beyond me), they went back downstairs to work on their latest project that they've been working on since Melissa was two. Called it the Fenton Door, the name proudly offered by Jack. Maddie seemed to think something was wrong, so they renamed it the Fenton Portal after carefully making sure it'd turn out to actually be a portal to the Ghost Zone. It was this huge hole in the wall with wires coming to it and from it's entrance.
Somehow, Jack hadn't watched where he'd put the drill, and had drilled the nail through his finger. Thus needing a bandaide to start with. So after his little accident, they continued to connect wires and plug them in. It'd be probably another six years before they actually got it to work properly. After Jack got inside the portal, he heard a slight scream that sounded vaguely like Danny. He hit his head again, cursing before scrambling out of the hole after his wife upstairs to their son's room. Without even knocking, Maddie opened the door, gasping and putting her hand to her mouth in what looked like a silent scream.
"Jack.." Maddie's voice came out strangely mysterious, like she couldn't find what emotion to pick. She reached out and grabbed the front of his hazmat suit, pulling him to her. "Call 911.." Jack slowly digested the information before he scrambled off to find the nearest phone in their house. Maddie looked back in Danny's room. Danny sat on the floor, holding Melissa in his arms, rocking her back and forth with his face pressed to her neck. Danny looked up slightly choking back a sob before he spoke in a whisper.
"She's not breathing, Mom. She's not breathing.."
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Okay, now this just came to me, so please don't hurt me! I'm not saying if Melissa's gonna be fine or not because it'll ruin the fifth chapter! (grins sheepishly.. again) So.. sad.. (sniffles) I'll work on a picture of Missy and Danny for those of you who want to see it. But, I think I should hurry if I want to keep a mental picture of what Missy looks like in my head before she vanishes! (hurries off) But here's a short comment.
I CAN'T BELIEVE DP'S GONNA GET CANCELLED! Okay.. to the disclaimer.. O.O
Disclaimer: DP isn't mine, but his cute little sister Missy is. MINE! Still regreting.. but hoping..