Chapter 7

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Our new house was two stories and tudor style. Lush ivy grew up the sides and curled around to the front, surrounding windows and the front door. The bright green covered up the dull beige and stood out against the dark brown trim. The garage was lined by bushes and connected to the kitchen. The entire property was surrounded by a thick, healthy green forest and a creek babbled through the yard. The road was a quarter mile away and the driveway was long, winding and gravelly. It smelled like rotting leaves and wet dust during the summer months.

I attended the school up in town. It was a good school, full of small town farm kids. Everyone knew everyone, and soon enough, so did I. Dad set up another lab in the basement so he could continue inventing, while Mom worked at the Vet's practice, working on larger animals as much as small animals. Danny went to the remedial school at the community center, for adults who didn't get an education for whatever reason. We had a bit of trouble getting him in at first, but when we explained that he hadn't had any formal schooling and only barely knew how to read, he was accepted in quickly enough.

He's been doing very well in school. He's up to the equivalent of fourth grade now, I think, and I've been giving him culture lessons. We basically just sit around watching documentaries about people and humans and I explain everything. We also watch regular TV, so he gets more popular culture as well.

We don't know how far his ghost half has affected what he can do, though. Dad did do a little bit of spectral research in college, but he never ran with it. He's been doing some tests with Danny's blood and cells and whatever to see what's going on in there.

Danny gets skittish whenever Dad takes a test or gets results back. He has enough reason to, but I also suspect that he gets scared of the results because they used to punish him whenever he got unexpected results. It's not like he could help the results, though. I'm guessing they just got angry that he disproved a theory and they took it out on him.

Danny has gotten a lot better around strangers. He won't jump when you touch him or flinch when something is loud. He's almost a normal teenager.

Except for one thing.

Apparently, he was supposed to be a soldier or a weapon. The only education he's had is how to fight and kill things. One day, our last day in Amity Park, we had a break in. None of us but Danny had heard the guy come in, but what we did hear was a crash.

Danny had thrown the thief into a wall. We all rushed downstairs to see what was happening, but we only got there in time to see danny expertly incapacitate a man almost three feet taller than him. We kicked the guy out on the street. It was too risky to call the cops on him.

Danny is who we were more worried about. We asked him where he learned how to do that, and he said that he just knew. He automatically knew the man's weak points and how to exploit them. Dad had said that ghosts were naturally violent, so it could be an instinct, or Danny was trained at the facility.

That's why, when he was almost tackled by an overly playful four year old a few days ago, he nearly broke the kid's arm.

Other than that and a few mental scars that I doubt will ever go away, and a few physical ones too, Danny is almost completely normal.

That's why the conversation I was listening to was so weird. Especially for my parents. It was late, almost midnight, and my parents were down in the lab, whispering to each other. Danny was long since asleep, and I was up doing some studying and they were supposed to have gone to bed hours ago. They usually go to bed at eight.

"He's dangerous, Mads. We can't keep this up unless we send him in." my Dad said, sounding like he was trying to make Mom see sense. Mom quickly snapped back.

"Yes, Jack, he's violent, but remember what happened last time we let someone know about him? We're in Canada, Jack. CANADA! I don't know about you, but I'm not a big fan of hockey or moose! I probably won't be able to see my parents and sister again because of him! No, he's staying put. In fact I might just pull him out of the community center. It's dangerous!"

"Mads, he needs to have a life. We can't just keep him here because you think it's his fault we're here. He needs to learn and grow. He needs to be independent at some point in his life! We can't just push him off onto Jazz when it's time! What if she has kids and a family? And we WILL be sending him. He needs it, Maddie. He needs to talk about it to someone professional. Jazz is great, but she doesn't know everything."

"We can't risk it, Jack! He'll be shipped off back to the Facility, and we'll be sent to prison. It's too dangerous!"

"Maddie, I know you think that but remember Jazz's first day of school? Remember what you said? You said 'It's dangerous. I don't want her to go!' and if we had listened to you, our daughter wouldn't be on the same track she is now. She's going to be a psychologist, and who know what Danny could be?"

"He couldn't be anything, he's an experiment. He's not an actual person. He was never born, he doesn't have an identity. He'd be running from this his whole life. What if he gets married, Jack? He'd have to tell his spouse to just pack up their lives and leave."

My jaw dropped. I knew that Mom was resentful for moving, but to this extent? She wasn't willing to allow him to go to school, or to- I think, a psychologist, from the sounds of it- she wasn't willing to let him fall in love, just because of what he is and his past. She didn't think of him as an actual person.

It hit me like a bomb. Mom was growing to hate Danny. She may have loved him before we left, but being away from her family and friends was taking it's toll. She was short with everyone and hasn't made any friends here. It was a slow, faltering road to an abusive relationship. Every day, everything she sacrifices for him, everything she does, everything he does will add and add until she retaliates. After months of simmering, it's going to be violent when she boils over.

Dad stared at her with an open mouth and wide eyes. He blinked at her a few times and shuffled his feet. "Maddie, you-you don't really think that? He's the son we've always wanted. So what if he's not necessarily ours, and maybe a little more than human? It's our responsibility to take care of him, and that means making sure he gets the care he needs. And he needs to go to school and go to a shrink, because if he doesn't it will ruin him. We can't just lock him up, Maddie! He needs to go out and live his own life. If we keep him from this, we're no better than the Facility."

"Jack, we-" Dad interrupted, his voice stern and angry.

"No, Maddie. He's going to keep going to school, and he's going to go to the doctor. End of Discussion."

I ducked behind the door and watched as Dad stormed past me, his footsteps heavy with restrained anger. Mom stared after him, a look of shock and indignation on her face.

I hadn't ever seen my parents fight before. And over something so small, taking Danny to school and to a doctor? From what I've read it's things like this that are the downfall of a relationship. It starts with the small things. He leaves the seat up, she chews too loudly. He wants kids, she doesn't. He wants to send the kids out to school, she doesn't. I could see it now. In a few months, maybe a year, Mom would probably file for a divorce. Dad would be heartbroken. Mom would want me, but reject Danny, Dad would take him in, but wouldn't play, read or watch TV with him. Mom would be broken up over Dad and she wouldn't notice when I'd graduate High School and leave for college. All of these scenarios ripped through my mind, faster than bullets from a gun.

My family was in shambles.