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Phantom, Danny
The story you know from the very beginning.
…and from a slightly different point of view.
Chapter 5: The Flight
-Day 13-
He kept quiet and hidden for a few days, simply watching what the humans did and biding his time. The Danny was nervous and anxious, but slowly relaxed again as time passed.
It was late Saturday night when he became bored with simply waiting. He prodded the sleeping human mind a few times, decided it was properly out for the night, and then took over the body again. His fingers slipped into the body's fingers, his feet into human feet, and he could feel again.
Over the long hours of the last few days, he'd almost started to miss the sensations of a human body. How sharp and present everything was – smells, and sights, and touch, and movement. It was almost a relief to be free to feel them again. Perhaps it was a bad sign: he was starting to get used to this human cage.
He slipped out from under the blankets and paced around the human's bedroom, changing into a set of clothes. It took awhile to find the white shirt he'd put on the last time – for some reason, it was buried under a pile of socks. Shoes went on, but he didn't bother with the ties. After carefully watching the other human teenagers, he'd decided that tying shoes was something optional.
It stood to reason, at least in his mind, that since he'd been able to turn invisible the other day, then the other abilities he'd had as a ghost should be there as well. He walked over to the door, stared at it for a second, then pushed against it with his hand. A smile flickered onto his face when his hand passed through the door with just the faintest tingling. "That's two…" he whispered, walking soundlessly through the house and then through the front door and into the darkness.
The night was dark. Shadows lingered in the corners and the wind whispered possibilities through the trees. All the bright colors were muted and tinged with emptiness. He stood on the front step, staring up at the clouds that were slowly moving in front of the moon. "And three?" he breathed, pushing against the ground.
Very slowly, his feet left the ground. He couldn't stop the delighted laugh as he felt the heavy human body free itself from the cloying gravity. He was suddenly weightless, moving through the sky effortlessly and quickly. With a single, easy thought, he shot upwards towards the clouds.
He'd never felt the sensation of speed before. As a ghost, he'd objectively known whether he was traveling fast or slow, but he'd had no form to determine what the difference in speed felt like. This…
His breath was stolen away. His heart raced in his chest and his whole body tingled with adrenaline. He ducked and wove through the sky, chasing imaginary ghosts around and imagining what it would be like to be back in his world, surrounded by the ghosts, showing off a human form, reveling in how jealous the other ghosts would be.
Up and up he flew until he was brushing against the lowest hanging clouds. They were cold and wet on his body when he blasted through them, little dewdrops clinging to his hair and clothes. Then he plummeted Earthwards, unconsciously holding his breath as the solid ground raced towards him. He pulled up at the last moment, laughing, and settled back down on his feet.
He felt lightheaded. He twirled around a few times, giggling with delight, and collapsed onto the grass. It was only then that he noticed he was missing a shoe. "Oh well," he muttered. "I'm sure it has more shoes."
It was such a relief, to know he could feel not so heavy when he wanted to, to know he could leave the lumbering humans behind and do what he wanted. The sky was his.
He lay on the grass, watching the clouds pass over the moon, until the morning light started to gleam over the horizon. It was only then than he picked himself up and flew lazily towards the human's home – stopping only when he spotted the shoe dangling from a branch a few blocks away. He made it home, undressed, and curled the body up in the bed just in time for the alarm clock to ring.
.
.5.
.
-Day 15-
For a couple nights afterwards, he took the body out at night, giving the human space during the day to live its life. He sat back and watched, waited, and bided his time. He learned quite a few new things that way.
First and foremost was a long list of disgusting human habits he wished to purge from his mind. Many things happened in a room known as The Bathroom that he never wanted to experience again. An object known as The Toilet had earned a top spot on his list of things to avoid. The Gym had brought around a new horror known as sweating. And The Paulina had created disturbing changes in his host's body. The Danny frustratingly refused to explain any of them.
On the other hand, he learned what a poem was. The Lancer had read it during one of their classes. The Danny hadn't liked it. Its eyes had gone blurry and it doodled a picture on its paper, but he had listened. There had been something interesting about it that he couldn't quite put his finger on.
Also, he'd discovered the portal in the basement. The Danny had gone down there to bring pizza to its parents and he'd gotten to see the portal for the first time. The ethereal, inhuman green. The gentle swirling of the mist. It had been a heart-sickening reminder of his lost home. The Danny had eaten pizza downstairs that evening, doing its best to ignore its parents. He hadn't paid much attention to the eating. His focus had been on the portal.
That night – the third night – he wandered over to the park, looked around, then took off for the sky. There were no clouds. The moon gleamed bright overhead. He did several stomach-churning loop-the-loops before something new happened: the human woke up.
Deep in his mind, he'd known the blissful quiet of the night could only have lasted for so long. It was disappointing, for it to be over after only a few nights.
Unfortunately for the human, he'd been in the middle of a dizzying barrel roll when it woke up. The Danny yelped, instinctively grabbing hold of its body. He let it, trying to avoid the searing pain arguing with the human caused. The body quickly started to tumble, uncontrolled, through the cool fall air. "Stop!" it screamed. "Stop it!" -Fear!- blasted through its mind.
I am not doing anything, he replied blandly. It is you who should do something.
The tumble turned into a wild spin. Air whipped past them, stealing the human's words even as it tried to speak. "I can't! Do something!" Tears were forming in its eyes. -Panic!- had taken control of its thoughts.
He mentally shrugged and reached out for control of the body. The human mind retreated. It took only a moment for him to stop the tumble and set the body on a slow glide back up through the air.
What are you doing? it screamed in his mind. It seemed to be fixated on the twinkling lights of the human town far below. -Fear!- still clouded its thoughts.
"I am flying." He flipped over so he was staring up at the moon. He thought it would take The Danny's mind off the distant ground.
But why? It sounded almost desperate.
"All ghosts fly," he answered dismissively, arms behind his head. "I enjoy flying."
It was quiet a moment. I'm not a ghost, I'm human, it said. I don't fly. Humans don't fly. We fall.
He ran a tongue over his teeth, then stretched out and turned back over, twisting into a short dive and skidding left and right through the night air. The human mind winced at each turn. "This body flies well, for a human form."
I don't like it. The voice was nearly a whine. Humans aren't supposed to fly.
"Agreed, human." He nodded his head, happy to be in complete agreement with the human on this thought. "You may go back to sleep. I wish to fly and be alone."
But… it hesitated. But what if you fall? I'll die.
"Death is not so bad," he answered. "And falling is also not so bad. It is actually quite fun."
The Danny made a protesting noise. I don't think-
He sighed, rolled his shoulders slightly, and then took a step backwards in his mind, pushing against the human mind. It took over the body again with a start – and instantly started to fall. Arms and legs flailed. It screamed.
We are several thousand feet up, he commented, leaning back to enjoy the feel of the air rushing past them. Although falling is fun, I would suggest learning to fly before you hit the ground.
"Don't do this!" it begged as its fall started to turn into a slow tumble. "I don't want to die!"
Yet your death would free me from this form. A short burst of pain in exchange for a return to my home. The thought had merit, actually. He eyed the ground slowly rotating below them.
The comment didn't seem to make the human any happier. Its flailings grew, turning the slow tumble back into a wild spin. "Help!" it screamed. A new emotion, -Terror!- screamed though the human's body, making him wince in surprise.
He eyed the ground again, then dismissed the idea of letting the human die. It very clearly didn't want to, and he wasn't that determined to return to his home yet. There were several things in this world he still wished to understand. Then fly.
"I can't!" it choked out between screams.
He poked at the human mind. You have few other options available. Feel the wind in your fingers. Forget the pull of the ground. You are ephemeral and cold and nothing but energy.
"But I'm not," it cried. "I'm made of stuff! Matter! I can't!"
Matter and energy are the same. It does not matter which you are made of. Now fly.
The human screamed loudly when one of its spinning flips took it within sight of the lights of the town. Its falling body was maybe four hundred feet above the ground.
You have little time left, he commented.
It made no move to fly. It made no move to even try. So he waited, patient and unending, until the body was mere feet from the ground. It was only at the last moment that he reached out and took over, jerking the body out of its dead spin. His fingers traced over the blades of grass as he flattened out their dive.
The human mind was sobbing. It seemed to be trapped in memories of its life – several of which spilled over into his mind. He shook his head sharply, dislodging some of the sharper ones.
While it calmed down, he flew gently and sedately through the park's trees, weaving cleanly around the trunks. "I do not understand your fear of falling."
It's not the fall, it's the abrupt stop at the end, the human said furiously. And now I really want you out of my head!
He let out a heavy sigh. "You do not understand," he said gently. "Watch."
The next tree in the park was a big one with a thick trunk, scraggily bark, and winding, shadowed branches spread into the sky. He flipped onto his side and aimed straight for it.
The closer he got, the more the human panicked. I don't want to die! it screamed. Stop!
He ignored the demand, refusing to change direction. Suddenly the human started to grapple for control of the body. Pain flooded his head, distracting him just at the wrong moment –
There was the sound of breaking twigs as he slammed into the tree's branches. His head spun and he felt lightheaded as he slowly moved his arms and legs and worked out which way was up. "Ow," he hissed, surprised at the amount of pain. He hadn't thought he was going very fast.
I told you, it snapped.
"No," he said angrily. "I only hit the tree because you distracted me. Now watch." He jerked himself into a sitting position, unwrapped his fingers from the tree branches, and then pushed his hand right through the tree trunk.
He could feel the blankness that filled the human mind. -Stunned- It couldn't find anything to say.
"I cannot hit the tree," he said furiously. "I will not hit the tree. I will not hit the ground." He wiggled his fingers, enjoying the strange, slightly tingling sensation of having his human hand phased through the tree. "I am a ghost. I can go where I want and through what I want."
The Danny shuddered inside of his mind. There's something wrong with this.
He sneered slightly. "Get used to it, human, if you will not free me."
Can you please not have my hand inside the tree anymore? How can you stand it?
With a sigh, he let his hand drop to his lap. "I am a ghost," he repeated, stretching out his legs. There was a twinge in one of them from where it had hit the tree. "It is something ghosts do."
It's unnatural.
"There is something wrong with you, human." He got to his feet with a shake of his head, carefully balancing on the branch. One of his shoes was missing again. "Do you really know nothing of ghosts, after professing your parents are the world's leading ghost scientists?"
The Danny felt small in his mind. It must be curled up and trying to stay away from the sensation of height. I don't listen to them, it admitted after a moment. I… It broke off with a swirl of -Frustration- That was a stupid way to prove a point.
"It would not have been," he replied as he pushed himself out of the tree and back into the air in search of his missing shoe. "If you had not distracted me, I would not have hit the tree." He hovered a moment before seeing it lying on the ground – the collision with the tree must have knocked it loose. After dropping down to grab it and carefully fit it back onto his foot, he took off towards the clouds.
Can't we go back to bed? I don't want to fly. It shuddered in his mind.
He picked a twig out of his hair and twirled in a slow loop. "Then go back to sleep," he muttered. The wind took his words away, but he knew the human mind would hear them. "If you are to keep me trapped here, I will fly."
I can't sleep anymore. It poked at him – a curious feeling that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He wondered a moment if the human felt that sensation when he gabbed at its mind. Can we fly lower?
With a roll of his eyes, he rocketed upwards, peaking out at just above the low clouds, and did his best to ignore the pestering human mind.
.
.5.
.
-Day 16-
He walked into The Danny's house after school the next day, stopping at the doorway in confusion. The two human adults were standing on tall ladders. The inside of the house was a mess – the couch overturned, things scattered across the floor, and what appeared to be a large box of wires sitting in the middle of it all.
He watched quietly, poking at the human mind to see if it would wake. He had wanted to walk home on his own, and the Danny had taken the opportunity to get in a nap, claiming, of all things, that he'd kept it up all night with his 'stupid flying stunt'. The human ignored his prodding.
He'd generally assumed the humans liked their house somewhat clean and organized. The Danny complained about needing to clean its room often enough. Not wishing to disturb whatever strange human ritual this was, he stood quietly and watched.
"Oh, Sweetie, you're home."
Flinching slightly, he looked up into one of the human's gaze. It was the red-haired one. "Yes," he said in reply.
It climbed down the ladder and threw an arm around his shoulders. He flinched, but kept himself from pulling away. "We had a little problem today," it said slowly. "But your father and I are taking care of it and making sure it can't happen again."
"What happened?" he asked, hoping he sounded enough like The Danny to prevent it from asking too many questions.
It hesitated. "A very troubled young man wanted to get into our lab while we were out shopping today," it said. "He got quite a few of our blueprints before we walked in on him." It sighed and looked around the destroyed living room. "Made a bit of a mess on his way out, I'm afraid."
"Oh," he said. He still wasn't quite sure what the human was talking about.
"But!" It pointed at the wires and at small things all over the house. "We're installing a new state of the art security system. Cameras. Sensors. Even a panic button!" It pulled him over to the stairs and pointed out a bright red button, thankfully removing its arm from around his shoulders.
The other human put in, "I'm installing them all over the house. And we're ghost-proofing the whole deal while we're at it." It seemed to puff up a little, standing at the top of its ladder. "We'll have the safest house in the city. Safe from ghosts and humans!"
"Ah," he said, when the humans seemed to be looking for him to add to the conversation. He shifted, trying to find something interesting to include. "It looks complicated."
"Extremely," the red-haired human said with a grin. "We'll be working on it all night." It gave him a push towards the stairs. "Why don't you work on your homework while your father and I clean this up?"
He accepted the excuse to leave the humans behind. He hurried up the steps, glancing back once he reached the relative safety of the upstairs landing. Poking at the human mind – a bit harder – he stalked towards its bedroom.
The third human poked its head out of a door. "You hear what happened?" it asked.
He paused with a sigh, not wanting to get caught in another conversation. "Yes."
"And did you notice that our parents seem almost happy that our house was broken into by a crazy person?" it pressed, eyes narrowing.
He shrugged, looking towards The Danny's bedroom longingly.
"We could have been killed," it said ominously. "Or worse!"
He rolled that around in his head a moment. "What is worse than being killed?"
The human scowled at him and pulled its head back through the open doorway. The door slammed shut loudly.
"Should I have known that?" he asked softly, poking at the human mind one last time. It batted sleepily back at him. "Fine," he muttered, stalking into the bedroom and closing the door behind him. "I will go ask the humans that question."
The human mind woke up slightly. No, you won't.
"I wish answers to my questions," he told it.
Just because you're a ghost and don't need sleep, doesn't mean I don't need it.
"The humans are installing cameras and wires all over your house. I wish to know why." He crossed his arms.
The human mind yawned sleepily. Why should I know? My parents are crazy.
"What did they mean when they said that a human had broken into their lab?"
Very suddenly, the human mind was awake. What?
"They stated that it wished some blue pants, or something."
Blue pants? The human shook its head, confused. Nobody'd break into our house for pants. It reached for the body.
He let it, happy to allow the human to deal with the problem of the blue pants. Will you explain the cameras?
It poked its head out of its bedroom. "It's a security system, I guess. It keeps other humans out of our house." With a shrug, it closed the door and grabbed its backpack.
He contemplated that. A way to keep the many other humans in the world out of this house? It sounded extremely prudent. The fewer disgusting creatures to deal with, the better. Why was there not a security system installed before this?
The Danny pulled out its homework. "Dunno. You gonna help me with math?"
He scowled and retreated deep into the human's mind. Numbers made his head hurt.