Me: Chapter 8 which is kind of late.
Danny: Hayden isn't very clever; she just did the worst rhyme ever.
Me: Ha ha ha very funny.
Danny: Thanks for all your reviews and stuff everybody.
Me: If it's anything to you guys, I was listening to the album Volume 1 by Future Boy while writing this. Seriously, It's amazing. BUY IT NOW. I MEAN IT. Or look it up on YouTube. Either will do. My fav is Hoping For Disaster :) And on a sad note, I went downstairs, turned on the TV and DANNY PHANTOM WASN'T ON! What's wrong with the world? Oh well, we have Toonsurfer.
Danny: Disclaimer time. Hayden doesn't own me. Ugh, I'm getting sick of saying this.
Me: I can tell. Anyway, replies!
The monkey girl: O my gosh! You review every time :) I loves you :)
324n: Awww really? Thanks :) Then you are a-mazing for reviewing :)
Son of wind: Is this soon enough? I hope it is!
Genie: I'm not even sure what's going to happen to everyone. I write what I think should happen next. I don't follow plans XD
GhostGirl36: But he does call him Danny sometimes, I just didn't want to give it away. Wait, I just did *double facepalm*
Lolxxx: I think frostbite kind of brought it on himself. He was all like "If you need anything, just ask," in the show.
Phanfan925: I do too! Let's find out XD
BlackRose979: Yes! I'm not the only person who uses that word! I spell it as anyhoo though XD LOL thanks for reviewing :)
DPraven: There will be more Valerie and Danny stuff. Valerie just has to escape first XD. Not in this chapter, but soon – I promise!
Note: I don't know that much Esperanto, so when someone speaks in that language, it will be written in English in italics.
EXILE, Chapter 8
(Tucker's P.O.V)
"I think that's it," I said, relieved. "Twenty bandage changes later, and I think Wulf's paws have finally stopped bleeding."
"How can you tell?" Jazz asked me.
"I can't see any ectoplasm being absorbed in the dressing," I told her. I turned to Sam, who was finishing off the small meal that was put in our cell through the gaps between the bars. "Any luck finding a way to escape?"
Sam shook her head and spoke through a mouthful of bread and butter, "No. I think Valerie's idea of a 'switch to turn off the human shield' isn't the best ever. They'd probably have it in a more secure place, like Walker's office."
It had been a week since Walker had caught us and put us in his jail. Time was travelling unbelievably slowly, and what's more, he'd taken my PDA away. I was truly bored. Valerie hadn't been much help. She only talked to us through the wall once in a while, and when she did she never told us why Walker had arrested her. It just made it even more suspicious. I was starting to think that there was some link between her and Wulf's ripped-out claws (which had still shown no sign of growing back).
"We need to find a way to escape soon," I said, "Wulf may have stopped bleeding, but his wounds are still infected. They'll just get worse and his claws might not be able to grow back at all."
Wulf hadn't said much since we had first found him at the back of our cell. He mostly moaned slightly when we accidently touched a particularly tender part of his cuts, or gave a sigh of relief when we cleaned them with what little water we had been given. But now he was finally starting to speak.
"I may have a way to get out of here," he said quietly, wincing as he spoke.
"Really?" I replied, "What is it?"
"Every now and again the guards swap over, and there's a ten minute gap where they're sorting it out. We should try and get out then. Maybe you could steal their keys just before they leave?"
"Wulf, that's a great idea!" I said happily.
"Ssshhh, not so loud," Jazz whispered, "I have no idea whether or not you're talking about escape plans, but blurting things out like that will arouse the guards. Try to quieten it down a bit, alright?"
"Ok," I replied. I turned back to Wulf, "When do the guards swap over, buddy?"
"A few minutes after the next mealtime, I think," Wulf informed me.
"That would be in about half an hour," Sam, unlike Jazz, knew a few words of the artificial language along with me.
I nodded and told Jazz our conversation. She quickly agreed with Wulf's idea and we spent the next ten minutes or so devising a plan to get ourselves out of Walker's Ghost Jail.
(Normal P.O.V)
"Sir, I'm sorry. I can't find the Ghost Boy. He's just… gone." Skulker told his client.
"I'm afraid that's not good enough," the smartly-dressed man replied to him, "But I don't want to take matters into my own hands yet. Did Ember see anything?"
The hunter shook his head, "no. She was too busy watching TV."
"Well, then I'm afraid I'm going to hire another hunter…or two."
"Are you firing me?"
"No. I'm simply just turning this little chase into a competition." The man smiled and picked up the landline phone beside him.
(Still Normal P.O.V, just from somewhere else)
"I think we can safely assume that Danny's kidnapped out daughter," Jack decided, "she's been gone for a week and we've had no luck finding her."
"I agree," Maddie said to her husband, "but now we need to work out where he could have possibly taken her."
"Well, we've checked all Danny's friend's houses, so they can't be there."
"But Tucker wasn't in," Maddie said.
"Don't you think that his parents wouldn't recognise a ghost if it was living under their own roof?"
"We didn't," Maddie pointed out. "In fact, Phantom was in our house for 14 years and we didn't even know…" she paused, clearly thinking. "But wait, Phantom is a 14-year-old, and ghosts don't age. How could he possibly have grown up?"
"I don't know," Jack confessed. Suddenly an idea lit up in his mind, "what if Danny is being overshadowed? What if Phantom did this to get Danny away from us and kidnap Jazz?"
"Jack honey, you're a genius!" Maddie exclaimed.
She was about say more when Jack shouted, "I'll get it!" Maddie saw him run off and then realised it was because the phone was ringing.
A few moments later she heard him call "it's Vladdie! He wants to speak to you!"
Maddie sighed. She hated Vlad. She got up hesitantly and walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. Jack handed her the phone.
"Hello?" she spoke down the landline.
"Maddie, I'm afraid I'm not calling to express my love for you. But anyway, I'm in need of some ghost-hunting assistance. I'll pay you of course"
Maddie suddenly became excited, "who do you need us to track down for you?"
"Danny Phantom."
(Danny's P.O.V)
"Danny, could you come and help me with this?" I heard Frostbite call from his kitchen (A/N again, does Frostbite have a kitchen? *shrugs* oh well)
"Ok," I called, getting up out of my chair. I walked into the kitchen to find Frostbite sat over a table with something in his hand. It was clear that he was confused about what it was.
I walked up to him, "what did you need help with?"
"Can you identify this object for me? I can't tell what it is," Frostbite asked me.
"Yeah, sure," I took the object from him and turned it over in my hands.
A sense of dread washed over me.
"Are you OK, Great One?" Frostbite must have seen my eyes widen.
"This…this is…" I could hardly get the words out.
"This is What?"
"This is the Boo-ooo-merang," I said, a sense of foreboding building inside me. I turned to Frostbite, "It's my parents – they've found me."
(Valerie's P.O.V)
Tucker had gone through the details of them plan with me, but I was starting to worry about the fact that their guards might not have my keys. They weren't guarding my cell, after all. I explained my concerns to the techno-geek.
"I wouldn't worry about it. We'll come back for you if they haven't got it," Tucker promised.
"Ok," I agreed half-heartedly. For some reason which I still didn't know, I found it hard to trust them. "What's my part in the plan again?"
This time Sam spoke, "If you see any guards while we're breaking out, you need to create a distraction."
"And how am I going to do that?" I asked her.
"That's up to you – we've got bigger things to worry about right now."
"Like what?"
"We need to find the Spector Speeder. It's our only way off this island."
"Fair enough," I said, "so how long until the switch?"
"Any minute now," Sam said.
I positioned myself near the front of my cell. The guards who were watching Sam, Tucker, Jazz and Wulf's cell looked at me for a moment, but they ignored me after they decided I was no threat.
After thinking of him again, I remembered that they still hadn't told me who Wulf was. It was too late to ask now anyway, I could see Sam's small hands reaching through the bars of her cell and towards the key ring in one of the guard's pockets.
She managed to hook it on her finger and pull her hand back gently without the guard noticing. Until I let go of it, I didn't realise that I was holding my breath.
I saw her hand slide back through the bars and the guards walked past me down the corridor, oblivious to what had just happened.
I could hear the soft jangling of the key chain and the metallic sound of a key being placed inside a lock. This was it now, we had ten minutes to escape, ten minutes to find the Spector Speeder and ten minutes to get off the island before Walker and his goons found us gone.
Danny: Well that's it for today- *sees me* Hayden, what are you doing?
Me: Making a mocktail!
Danny: Yuck… what's in it?
Me: Blackcurrant Ribena, orange juice, lemonade and a little bit of that Crusha liquid milkshake mix. Trust me, it's good.
Danny: Why don't we get our readers to leave a review with a mocktail recipe?
Me: Great idea! *to readers* I'll try each recipe and choose the best one (no tea or coffee please), and the winner will get a piece of artwork of their choice. Danny Phantom or Warriors only though. I suck at everything else XD
Danny: In case you're wondering, mocktails are mock cocktails, or those that do not contain any alcohol.
Me: Good luck guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of EXILE!