Well dang. That took a lot longer than I was expecting.

Sorry. ):

My last final starts in about five minutes, so I'm gonna make this quick. The reunion is not in this chapter. Sowwie. Shooting for the next chapter on that bit.

And this chapter is much shorter than the others.

I don't own Danny Phantom. But I do love you. :D

Wide Awake

Chapter Five

December 11, 2012

Valerie led him down and out of the stadium, marching him through the grounds of the ranch. A few dozen people were still milling about, chatting animatedly about the Zack Bowl. Several people Danny almost recognized did double takes when they saw him, but Valerie did not let him pause to investigate. "We'll watch it in my room," She told him as they breezed past a group Danny was sure made up part of the marching band from his high school. "I have the only working VCR in the entire ranch."

"VCR? What is this, the stone ages?" Danny asked before thinking.

"Worse." Valerie muttered. She led him directly into a thicket of trees, swatting at stray branches in annoyance. Danny trailed along, wondering if he made the right decision in wanting to see this video before Tucker and Sam. "It's important that you see this video." Valerie tossed back at him over her shoulder, as if reading his mind. "It's gonna answer and explain a lot of questions you don't even know you have about them. And me."

The ranch was a rather small structure, something Danny was not prepared for. Knowing Paulina as well as he did, he had an image of a towering castle looming up through the forest in his mind; instead, he was greeted with the sight of a modest, one-story structure that had obviously been added on to. "This is the Sanchez's ranch?" Danny asked incredulously.

"I know. We were underwhelmed, too. It's bigger than it looks, but...not by much. I guess they didn't really spend much time inside while they were out here. At least, her parents didn't. Paulina's room was obviously a princess castle. But everything else about this house is a legitimate ranch." Valerie yanked a rusting and loudly protesting gate open and held it for Danny to pass through. He paused just inside the fence surrounding the house, waiting for Valerie to resecure the gate. She breezed past him, up the small concrete path, toward the front door. He was a little surprised to find that it was unlocked. Again, Valerie held it open for him.

The first room that he entered was very obviously once the front porch of the house, converted into a small family room. The floor beneath his feet was cobbled and worn with weather. Danny stared down at it, before glancing up and grimacing at the large stuffed deer head mounted on the walls over a beat-up leather couch. He wondered what Sam's reaction was when she first saw the abomination against such a harmless animal. A ring of dingy, mismatched chairs circled the room, and in the center a small coffee table, riddled with scuffs and rings from cool cups with no coasters stood proudly. A half-eaten sandwich on a plate was off to one corner.

"They never clean up after themselves, it's like they were born and raised in the middle of no where." Valerie muttered as she spotted the food. She sighed loudly and pushed Danny's shoulder. "C'mon, my room's this way."

She led him to the far side of the room, up a nearly invisible step (which he did not notice until it tripped him) and into a small dining room. A long table, big enough to seat eight, was in this room, which creaked loudly beneath his feet. He glanced down to find ancient wooden floors discolored from hundreds of feet trooping through, scratched from the legs of chairs being dragged back and forth across the surface. He wondered how many times Sam's feet had passed over those floors. "This way," Valerie sang, distracting him from his thoughts. He glanced up to find a second doorway, directly across from where he was standing, that gave way to a tiny kitchen, littered with dirty dishes. He felt Valerie tugging on his arm, and he turned in the direction she was pulling him.

Two other doorways stood across from each other on the opposite end of the room. One was obviously part of the original house; the bright blue paint was faded and chipping in spots, and the doorknob looked as if it would disintegrate under rough handling. Valerie was pulling him toward the other doorway, which looked new and very out of place in the rustic home. Two pristine white French doors, complete with curtained windows, were closed tight to the outside world.

Valerie opened them with little flourish, stepping to one side to allow Danny to pass through. The bedroom was spacious, considering the sizes of the other rooms he had seen thus far. A king-sized bed was pushed against the far wall, and a chest of drawers stood against the opposite wall. A large television with a built-in VCR was teetering haphazardly on the piece of furniture.

"Go sit. I'll cue the tape up." Valerie shut the doors and pushed him toward her bed, turning her back to rifle through her drawers. Danny did as she instructed, settling on the edge of the bed and pulling his feet up so that his knees were against his chest. He counted to thirty-seven before Valerie finally turned around, the television screen alive with movement as the tape attempted to start itself. She was just settling beside him, mirroring his pose, when the screen suddenly flashed from white noise to blue, to black, and then to a dark, blurry image.

Valerie paused the screen before the image could sharpen. "We were in downtown Dallas, scavenging for food. It was just me, Tucker, and Sam. We went into this really nondescript building, and we were all messing around, when this horde of Zacks came. They blocked all the exits, so we went down. We got trapped in the storage closet, just like you and I did earlier. I had a camera, and don't ask me why, but I started recording it. I wanted people to know, if we died, that we went down fighting. I wanted them to know what happened to us."

She gave him a searching gaze, imploring him to understand. And he did. He nodded, unable to break eye contact with her. She swallowed, sucked in a deep breath, and turned back toward the television. She hit play just as Danny looked back as well.

At first, the only things his senses detected were fast movement and loud noise. He could hear a large, swelling moan, which made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He could see blurry figures moving like waves in the ocean.

And then, as his eyes grew accustomed to the way the film was done, he started picking out other things. He heard a high-pitched whine, from one of the girls fighting off her sense of panic. He saw a flash of red, far too bright to be blood, that he assumed was Tucker's beret. "Faster, faster!" that was Sam, he was sure of it. "They're right behind us!"

"On your right!" Tucker's voice was deep, far deeper than Danny remembered. Suddenly there was a sound of scuffling, Valerie's voice breaking as she cried out, and a slamming door. The screen went pitch black, and for a moment the only thing Danny could hear was labored breathing and muffled moans. And then a faint click, and the closet was flooded with light.

Sam was on the ground, her heels digging into the floor, her back flush against the closet door. She was gasping for air, a light sheen of sweat coating her face and neck, and she was staring at Valerie through wide, panicked eyes. "You're recording this?" She demanded through her gasps.

Valerie did not seem to have time to answer. There was a great thundering crash as something outside the door rammed into it, and even through the fuzzy quality of the image, Danny could see Sam's entire body lurching under the force.

"Help me!" Sam shrieked. The picture was blurred with jerky movements as Valerie propped the camera up on a shelf, and suddenly she came into view as well. She dove down beside Sam and threw her body weight into the door, holding it back from the onslaught of attacks from the outside. "Tucker!"

"I found a vent, we might be able to get out through there!" He suddenly appeared on the right edge of the screen, gazing down at the girls through a haze of terror. "Just hold on a little longer, I'll pry the cover off and we can get out of here!"

"Hurry...up!" Valerie grunted. Tucker vanished again, and for a few seconds, the only thing Danny could see was the girls, faces creased with determination, holding the door closed as Tucker desperately dug for a way out.

"I got it, come on!" Valerie scrambled to her feet, diving toward the camera. She turned the lens back on Sam just in time to capture a rotting hand bursting through the wooden door and closing on Sam's throat.

Valerie screamed. Tucker released a strange, strangled shout. Sam's eyes were bulging, her hands scrabbling against the fingers locked in a death-grip around her windpipe. Her mouth was wide in a silent scream. Despite the camera quaking violently as Valerie panicked, he could see the zombie's nails slicing through Sam's neck, four thin red trails dribbling down her neck.

Tucker was suddenly on top of her. Danny could see just enough to understand that he had seized the zombie's wrist and was yanking it into the room. The zombie's forearm was suddenly exposed, and with a caveman-like roar, Tucker swung his fist down right on the crease of the zombie's elbow. The zombie's arm snapped like a dry twig, falling uselessly to the floor of the closet. Sam was gasping, her eyes streaming, as she held her neck. Tucker yanked her away from the door as another hand appeared, nails scraping against wood and thin air as the three made their escape. He saw Tucker and Sam disappear into the vent, followed quickly by Valerie. Suddenly the image sped up. He glanced to his right and saw Valerie fast-forwarding. "Nothing special. Just crawling." She muttered, her eyes glassy and fixated on the screen. She pressed play when the video showed the trio on the roof of the building.

Sam was doubled over, on her knees, her shoulders quaking with sobs. Tucker was right beside her, his arm strong and tight around her shoulders, his face close to hers as she wailed.

"Are you okay, are you okay?" Valerie asked repeatedly, rushing to Sam's side. The camera shook again, at first showing nothing but the texture of the roof, then Sam's scraped and bloodied knees, and then Sam's face, buried in her hands. "Sam!"

Sam gazed up at Valerie, her face red and puffy with tears. In her hands, which were stained red with her own blood, sat a mangled black necklace. Her trembling fingers closed on the jewellery as her face bent with tears. The screen went black.

"I still don't know what was so special about that necklace. I can't get her to talk about it." Valerie muttered, tossing the remote to the side.

"I gave it to her." Danny's voice sounded strange, hollow, after seeing the video. "It was a gift for her fifteenth birthday. She never took it off."

Valerie was silent. She placed a single consoling hand on his arm. They sat very still for a moment, Danny still processing everything he had seen. It did not seem real. He wondered where he had been at that moment. He wondered if he had been flying directly over them when that happened.

"She has scars on her neck, now." Valerie said gently. "She doesn't try to cover them up. They're her battle scars, and she wears them proudly. And that was when Tucker started being particularly protective of her. He won't let anyone touch her. That's part of the reason why Lars left."

"Can you explain Lars to me?"

"It's a long story. Too long to start right now. Besides, I figured you would rather see Tucker and Sam now than listen to me explain why Lars is a douche."

His heart leapt into his throat and expanded, cutting his speech off. He simply nodded, knowing his eyes were wide enough to rival an excited cartoon character. Valerie chuckled, stood, and stretched her back.

"Alright, then, midnight. Let's go."

Ack! Last final of the semester. Wish me luck! (:

Stay tuned!

- Tori