Chapter 03_Frigid chill

Several minutes after the "camp setting", the duo still silently waited for their children awakening. In the meantime they had turned off both flashlights in order not to run dry the batteries and cuddled together to preserve body warmth.

Naturally the cave air was quite a few degree lower than the outside one and, being the end of winter and all, it was still too cold. However the four of them huddled together seemed to have formed a working system to resist it...

...but Danny's body hadn't the same opinion. Ever since tending to his wounds he hadn't stopped shivering. His breath was more ragged and his teeth clattered loudly in the silence, making the parents uncomfortable.

− ...Should we light a fire? − finally asked Jack, shifting slightly his daughter, who on the other hand seemed OK with the temperature. Maddie sighed.

− We don't have wood or anything else to burn. − she reminded him, making the hunter deflate. There was another long silence till the man broke it again.

− Then why Danny is shivering? Jazzy-pants isn't! − he was considered enough to shout-whisper.

Now that he pointed it was true. Indeed the air temperature was 9-10°C (48,2-50°F), however with the makeshift "nest", the generated warmth overwhelmed the frigid air. But Danny still trembled.

− Could it be the shock? − she opted, testing her cheek on her son's unruly hair. Doing so however made her notice something strange. Frowning, the matriarch gently guided the teen's head up in order to rest his forehead against her. − Wait, he's freezing cold! − she yelped.

− How is it possible? − Jack demanded, horrified.

− I don't know! Do you know an illness* that causes hypothermia? − she replied almost indignantly.

− No, that's why I asked! − he replied frantically.

The huntress tried to maintain her composure while attempting to warm her son with hand friction. Which were the evidences she had? Escaping a rockslide. Check. Legs crushed. Check. Dressed with a t-shirt and jeans, but wrapped in a blanket. Check. Trapped in a cold cave saturate with a raw ectoplasm field. Check...

Ectoplasm.

Her mind paused by itself, like it had just picked up a piece of a puzzle long forgotten. There was something at the edge of her memory that could have explained the correlation between ectoplasm and Danny, but...

− Jack, did something ever happened to Danny involved directly with ectoplasm? − she decided to ask.

− Well, yes, he did mention once when we had the annual checkup that he got a bit hit by one of our inventions and was because of that that the values were out of scale, but apart from this... − he explained helplessly.

− ...Right, now I remember. − she mumbled, deep in thought. From the checkup it had come out that he had got a much higher metabolism while keeping a lower body temperature and slower pulse, around 40-45 beats per minute. Even the blood pressure was off, almost at the edge of a functioning body. However Danny had blamed the shock, the stress for school ad pre-puberty, maybe there was something else... something she wasn't able to identify right now.

− Mads? − the worried call shook the woman from her thoughts − Could the resonance of the "Ecto-magnetic field" in this cave overcharge him? After all if the Arecibo was able to trigger the latent energy inside the copper deposits of the rocks, there must be much around... − Jack at first had been puzzled by his wife's question, however reflecting a bit during that forced inanition he had pondered about what physically had happened to cause that rockslide... and he couldn't help to think that Mads's question was somehow related with his reasoning.

− ...I don't think so, in that case he would be boiling, not freezing. − she countered. It was logical.

− ...Right. − he muttered, although there was something that sounded off from what he had thought before. − But... if he's really still tainted by that incident after three years, we won't know how much ectoplasm he'd have in his system and how it could reac-... − he began to explain his idea when a groan interrupted him. Startled the parents jumped, eliciting another groan from the source.

D ~O¤O~ Jz

− Ow, my head... − even if it was all dark through her lids, Jazz could feel everything spin around her.

What happened while she had been asleep?

− Jazz? Are you alright? − her mother whispered, worried, somewhere beside her.

− I've a headache... I feel nauseated... And my ankle hurts? − she hadn't expected the last one, when had it happened? − Why am I hurt? − she asked confused, trying to open her eyes, finding darkness.

− What's the last thing you remember? − carefully replied her mother.

− ...Going bed the day before your "alone-weekend", why? ...What happened?! − Jazz demanded, slightly panicking. Had a ghost attacked the house during the night? If so, where was Danny? Was he alright?!

− This morning we left for the mountains, but just before we were starting the research you and Danny showed up to warn us about the instability of this place, but... − started the woman, setting dread on the younger one stomach.

− The Arecibo was triggered and the ectoplasmic surge overcharged the minerals so there was a rockslide. You saved us by pushing us into the cave, but you also got injured. − explained her father above her head with a low voice that scared her more than the information itself. If he was this gentle, something was seriously wrong! − You're the first one to wake up between you and Danny... We hoped you could give us some answers, but it seems that you've got an amnesia. − Ah, a concussion. That explained the headache and nausea.

− How's Danny? − her first priority was now her brother, her probably broken ankle could wait.

− ...He's unconscious and both his legs... − her mother hesitated, scaring her more − Well, they're broken at least in two points each, but they're compounded, so he'll be alright! − Maddie hurried to explain.

The younger redhead let out a relieved shaky breath. At least "uncle Vladdie" or other ghosts weren't involved this time. And about compounded fractures... From these two years and half knowing about Danny's halfa state, she had learned that nothing could really keep her brother down for long: his accelerated healing rate would repair the damage in one or two days if left alone. The problem usually was that the ghost attacks were too often so the more frequent broken bones (AKA cracked ribs) took at least a week to be mended with all that jostling.

− Jazz, there's a thing we'd like to know. − her mother interrupted her thoughts. Her tone seemed still a bit tense, even after sensing her daughter calm down a bit. The younger redhead hummed in answer to let her know she was paying attention. − Lately you've been closer to Danny, so maybe you know if he had been involved with ectoplasm...

At those words Jazz tensed: where were they going to?

− With all the one in the lab I doubt he couldn't. Why? − the older teen replied vaguely, trying to see what they were implying.

− The cave we're in works like a capacitor. We don't know how ectoplasm could react in an energetic environment like this. − supplied uncomfortably her father whose arms tightened a bit around her.

− How is it related with Danny? − she tried to play dumb, but her stomach was churning with dread and nausea. There was silence, as if her parents were pondering how to explain it to her, however that made possible for her to hear teeth chattering near where her mother was. An if she was held by her father... − Is Danny cold? − Jazz accused, making her parents flinch.

− Yeah, his body temperature is getting lower even if he's a Taco-Danny − answered hesitantly Jack.

− That's why I thought it could be related to that lab incident he had mentioned almost three years ago during that annual checkup. We don't know any illness that could cause hypothermia. − explained Maddie worried.

Oh. So it was just Danny's ghost powers acting up again. It made sense given the place they were in. Her dad had said freezing? Even with the headache her brain found the reference she needed: her brother had mentioned after the out of nowhere invasion of already dead plants that he had manifested ice powers, but the morning before the event he had been shacking and was cold without apparent reason. The details had been spared and scarce, but one thing had been sure: his ghost core was ice like Vlad's was fire. Maybe this "ecto-magnetic field" was overcharging it (like her father had implied), making its effect tangible on his human form.

− How much lower are we talking about? − she asked, wondering what she could say without revealing too much.

− He's almost like a block of ice now. − Maddie's voice trembled from worry and panic.

Right, of course her brother would turn into a popsicle while she was passed out! Okay, no need to panic. Even if Danny's a half-ghost and his core is ice, it could still damage his human half. ...But just de-frosting him won't be enough, the ice will reform! The only solution possible is to remove him from this overcharged environment as soon as possible. Jazz thought.

− I think... I've got half-idea of what is happening, but we have to go out of here as soon as possible. − she compromised with herself.

− Why? − asked immediately the huntress.

− I'll explain later, but it's this cave fault if Danny is freezing. Do you have something to dig us out? − Jazz tried to move, but was blocked by what the identified as a blanket around her.

− Sweetheart, we don't know how many rocks are blocking the way out. And even if we do, only two of us won't be able to move the larger boulders. − countered her mother.

− How did you plan to get out of here then? − Jazz asked skeptically, while her father helped her out the cover.

− Hear if you two had contacted the S&R before coming here and wait for them or... − her mother hesitated, conflicted.

− Or? − the older teen pressed, trying to stand up on her good leg, leaning a hand on her father's shoulder, blanket hanging on her back.

− I guessed that at the other side of the cave there could be a natural portal to the Ghost Zone. We could use it to go back home through the Fenton Portal. − answered her father, standing and holding her up. After a wave of dizziness passed, Jazz found her coherence again.

− That's... actually a good idea − the girl tightened her grip on her father, to stabilize herself − 'cause the more we stay here, the more we'll get a Danny-cycle. − she said authoritatively. I can't believe I'm saying this... − You're right. It's an ectoplasmic reaction to this... "ecto-magnetic field"? − the question note was added at the neologism as if unsure it could be accepted.

− Are you asking us or are you sure? − asked her mother severe, misunderstanding.

− I just don't know how to call this phenomenon, okay? But beside the name, I'm sure. − she replied firmly. − It's better risk the trip and the ghosts. In the Ghost Zone at least we won't be helpless.

− I understand your argument, but it's still an hypothesis and we don't have proves. Also the cave is a labyrinth of tunnels, we could lose our way! − replied in a no-nonsense tone the huntress.

− Well, the Arecibo did trigger the rockslide, but it could still have done a scan. − objected Jack, beginning tinkering with the wrist-pc which came to life, projecting eerie green light in the tunnel. The sudden flash hit hard Jazz's retinas, worsening her condition caused by the concussion.

Her stomach churned more violently and the next thing she knew was that she was kneeling, turned away from her family, and throwing up her breakfast.

* Later I checked and there are several causes for hypothermia, though clearly none of them are involved here. xD

A/N. I know most of you expected Danny to wake up first, but there's a combination of factors that are keeping him down longer. They'll be surely explained in the next chapters, so no need to worry. u_ù Plus this situation could make things more interesting... At least I hope so! xD

Thank you very much for all the reviews, they make me so happy! =3

Last but not least, there's the thing with the "−". I noticed that's not commonly used in dialogues, but after being taught for several years in school to use it, the habit stuck a bit too deep to get rid of it... ^^' But I assure you that looks/works better in texts written by hand! xD

Hope you liked it and type ya next week!