Chapter 17:
~~~SARALYN'S POV~~~
The next morning, I pretended to be sick so Aunt Becca would let me stay home. I laid my arm over my eyes as Aunt Becca came into my room.
"I'm heading off to work. Are you going to be all right by yourself?" she said.
"Yes, Auntie." I said.
Aunt Becca kissed my forehead and closed the door behind her. I laid there in silence until I heard the sound of her car's engine revving up. I sat up and threw the covers off my body and jumped out of bed. I walked downstairs as the doorbell rang. I went and opened the door, but no one was there.
Probably just some hooligans and their shenanigans... I thought.
I closed the door behind me, turned around, and paused.
Oh, man, I'm sounding like an old person!
I groaned and made my way into the living room, where I heard a voice. I strained my ears against the air. A chuckle. A scowled formed on my face.
"Daniel Mary Fenton!" I said. "Show yourself!"
Danny appeared on my couch and let out a gut-busting laugh.
"Okay, first things first, that's not my middle name." Danny said through his laughter.
I growled and threw a pillow at him, but he reached out and caught it. I crossed my arms.
"Why are you here?" I said.
"You were gone today from school." Danny said, laying on the couch and tossing the pillow up in the air and catching it. He looked at me upside-down. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."
"I'm fine."
Danny raised his eyebrow at me.
"So, why were you gone today?" he said.
"I don't have to share that information with you." I said.
"The FBI's not gonna come busting in if you tell me. Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine."
"You keep saying that. I don't think it means what you think it means." Danny stood up and approached me. "I know why you're upset. Because of last night with the SC1."
My arms tightened across my chest. Danny mimicked my pose.
"I'm sorry." he said.
Danny handed me the couch pillow. I held it in my hands for a few moments before whacking him in the head with it.
"Hey-!" he cried.
I handed the pillow back to him with a playful smile.
"Now we're even." I said. "I'll see you later."
"Wait, but I-"
I pushed Danny towards the door.
"Do you want me to tell everyone your middle name is Mary?" I said.
"Ouch. Someone's still grumpy." Danny said, a silly grin on his face. "Fine, fine. See you later."
I closed the door behind him, leaned against it, and let out a frustrated breath through my nostrils.
Why does the life of a 15-year-old half ghost have to be so hard?
~THIRD PERSON POV~
"Oi! You get back here now!" a voice cried.
Vlad and Rudy made a wild dash across the plain of snow. Behind them, a dozen Far Frozen warriors chased after them, chucking spears, ice, and rocks at them. Vlad pulled out the Infi-Map and opened it.
"Are you sure this will get us where we need to go, sir?" Rudy said.
"Of course!" Vlad said. His hungry red eyes sparkled as symbols popped up on the scroll. "And those ice-for-brains rodents thought they could get in my way."
Rudy looked uncomfortable. "Where to now, sir?"
Vlad and Rudy stood at the end of the snowy plateau. The Infi-Map began to glow green. Vlad chuckled.
"O, powerful map of the universe..." Vlad said. "Take me to my destiny."
A green portal opened in front of them. The green subsided, revealing tall skyscrapers and stores crowded together and stacked on top of one another. The sidewalks had tens of thousands of people shuffling in a zombified manner to their destinations and the streets plugged up with blaring horns and taxis that blurred together into a giant, yellow blob.
Vlad smiled to himself.
"New York City?" Rudy said. "Why are we going there?"
Vlad was oblivious to the cries of the Far Frozen that grew ever closer to them. He approached the portal.
"An... old friend lives here. He must be expecting me by now."
Vlad and Rudy jumped into the portal, closing just as the Far Frozen warriors caught up with them. As they murmured among themselves, Frostbite pushed himself through the group to the front. He scowled.
"Vlad Plasmius..." he said to himself. "What in the world are you up to?"