Chapter 19:
~~~SAM'S POV~~~
"Danny!" I cried, running into the thick smoke. "Danny, where are you?!"
I coughed as the smoke entered my lungs. I covered my mouth with my arm in hopes to filter it out. Corpses and skeletons have been a fascination of mine, but was I ready to see the burning remnants of my best friend?
The smoke cleared and I gasped.
Danny still laid on the ground, curled up in a ball and trembling. A large, thick green shield created a three feet radius around him. I reached out and laid my hand against the shield. A shock of frisson traveled down my spine.
Whatever this is, Danny's ghost powers didn't produce it.
"Danny!" I said, placing both hands on the mysterious shield. "Danny, it's me, Sam!"
Danny slowly looked up and shrunk against the wall when he saw the shield.
I reeled back when I saw his eyes. They were the same colors as Saralyn's when she attacked him: one white and one gold.
Whatever power compelled Saralyn, the same saved Danny.
"What... what's doing this?" Danny said.
"I think... you." Aaron said, his face paling.
Danny took some shaky breaths and the shield melted away into the ground. He blinked a few times and his irises restored to their baby blue state.
"Danny, are you okay?" I said, offering him my hand.
"Okay, that's it! I'm going back to class!" Tucker said, taking off down the hallway.
"Uh... I'll go and make sure he doesn't have a panic attack." Aaron said, following Tucker. "Good luck."
Danny winced and gripped his side.
"Why?" he said. "What made Sara act like that?"
I set my jaw and turned to him.
"Are you kidding me?" I said. "You don't have even the foggiest idea of what ticked her off?"
"No... what?"
I growled and smacked Danny in the arm. Danny yelped and clutched his arm.
"Hello?!" I cried. "Gosh, Danny, I swear you are the most clueless boy on earth! You are too oblivious to see that Sara loves you!"
An eerie silence fell around us. I winced and covered my mouth with my hand.
"...What?" Danny whispered.
I cleared my throat.
"It's true." I said. "Saralyn loves you."
Danny's eyes widened as realization punched him in the stomach. He buried his face in his hands and collapsed against the lockers.
"Oh no..." he groaned. "And I... I hurt her. I broke her heart."
"Yes. Yes, you did." I said. "But I know how you can fix it."
"Really? How?"
"Tell her you love her too."
Danny's head snapped up. He opened his mouth to defend himself, but I crossed my arms and stared at him. His facade crumbled and he stared at the ground.
"Do you really think you're gonna find another Saralyn?" I said. "You've got to fix things with her. If you don't, who knows if you'll ever have a future together?"
"A future..." Danny said.
He looked up again, looking alarmed, and grabbed my shoulders.
"Wait a minute! What's another word for future?!" he said.
"What? Have you totally lost it?" I said.
"Just answer my question!"
"Um... fate? The time to come? Destiny?"
Danny looked away. "Destiny..."
His eyes lit up, showing flashes of determination. But the biggest thing I found in them was a deep affection, a yearning. Something about that seemed familiar. He smiled and dropped his hands back to his sides.
"Thanks, Sam." he said. He turned away from me. "I gotta go. I've got a destiny to find."
"Hold up, mister." I said, planting my hand on his shoulder. "Sorry, but you can't just walk out of the school."
Danny huffed an impatient breath. "Fine. After school." he grumbled.
He turned around and power walked down the hallway, passing by Aaron.
"Did everything work out?" Aaron said.
I watched Danny disappear down the hall with a flabbergasted look on my face.
"I think so..." I said. "What is the world was he talking about?"
~SARALYN~
I phased through the wall of my bedroom and collapsed at the side of my bed. I buried my face in the blankets and let out a flurry of heaving sobs.
What have I done? I thought. I killed Danny. I killed him... I'm a monster.
"...Saralyn?" a voice called.
I gasped as the door opened. Aunt Rebecca poked her head in.
"Aunt Rebecca?" I said. "What are you doing home?"
"What are you doing home? Second hour just started. You should be in school." Aunt Becca said. She studied my face and hers drooped with concern. "Sara, what's wrong? What happened?"
I shook my head in despair.
"Sara..." Aunt Becca said, kneeling beside me. "There's something you need to know."
"What?" I asked.
"Well, we got a letter from your parents." Aunt Becca said. "They're coming back today."
"So?" I said bitterly.
"They're on their way here." She bit her lip, hesitating to internally question herself if now was a good time to share the news. "They're taking you home."
"WHAT?!"
"Your parents vacation trip ended early. There was some nasty weather reports around the Bahamas. They left this morning and they'll be here in a few hours."
I couldn't hold it in. I covered my mouth with my hands and let out a sob. Aunt Becca collected me into her arms and stroked my hair.
What am I going to do? I'm losing everything... My friends, my aunt and uncle... Danny...
I stopped myself. My insides felt like they were in a compactor, filling my soul with bitter remorse.
Get over yourself! He didn't care about you! I... I never did either. I don't love him. I never did!
I peeled myself away from my aunt and stood up to look in the mirror. My face contorted into an array of sadness, blotchy, red skin, and puffy, wet eyes.
Then why do I still feel this way?
I wiped my eyes with my hands and turned around, putting on a brave face.
"Doesn't Carmen know?" I said.
"Yes." Becca said. "I called her earlier today. I gave her permission to come home at lunch."
I nodded. I took a deep breath, and I was certain that I was all cried out. For the first time in my life, I felt at peace with myself.
That is... I think it was peace...
"Oh, that's right, I almost forgot." Becca said. She hoisted herself up to her feet and pulled out a small card. "I found this birthday card underneath the dining room table. I guess it slipped underneath there and you didn't notice it."
I took the card from her and studied it. This wasn't the card I got from Sam, Tucker, and Carmen.
I gulped and put it in my back pocket.
When Carmen came home, the four of us worked together to get things packed. Carmen and I carried our luggage downstairs to the front door. We waited patiently on the couch in the living room. Minutes felt like sixty-second eternities as we listened to the haunting tick of the clock. We heard the HONK! of a car. We glanced at each other before running to the door. There, standing by a small maroon car, was my mom and dad. They stood with wide smiles and glistening eyes.
"Mom!" I cried.
"Dad!" Carmen cried.
We ran over and plunged into their open arms. My mom's caramel hair fell into my face, tickling my cheeks. Carmen and I both resemble our mother when it comes to physical appearance, but personality-wise, we are definitely the spawn of our father. My mother pulled away, looking at us with her deep, green eyes that were wet with tears of joy. My dad had short, black hair, and brown eyes. They both wore casual clothing, a nice break from the suit-and-tie wardrobe they often wore.
"So, are you guys ready to move?" Mom asked as Dad gave me a bone-crushing hug.
"Yeah!" Carmen cried.
Dad packed our things in the trunk. Carmen sat in the car, waving to Aunt Rebecca and Uncle Carl as they waved goodbye on their doorstep. My arms felt too heavy to lift them up. I looked to the Fenton's house and my eyes ached from lack of moisture.
"Sara, are you okay?" Carmen asked.
I reached back and touched an envelope that stuck out from my back pocket.
Why should I bother? He'll never get to read it.
But still, I took a deep breath. "I'll be right back." I said.
I ran from the car towards the Fenton's house. I jumped over their fence and transformed into my ghost half. I looked up at the three-story building and flew up until I reached Danny's window. I quietly opened the window and snuck into the empty room. I scanned the room, looking for a good place to put the letter, as well as a chance to memorize every detail of this room. I slid the envelope into one of his jackets that hung from the desk chair. I walked to the bedroom door. I reached for the doorknob and slowly opened the door.
I gasped when I saw her standing there. The sight of her made my arm ache, even though the scratch had long since healed and disappeared. She stood there, looking extremely annoyed with her arms crossed and her foot tapping impatiently against the ground. The girl from my dream.
"What are you doing?" she said.
"What are you doing here?" I said. "You're not supposed to be real! Am I dreaming again?"
The girl rolled her eyes and reached out to give my arm a hard pinch. I yelped and pulled away.
"See? You're definitely awake." she said. "Are you really going to give up on Danny? On the life that you have?"
"Why not? Danny's dead because of me!"
The girl snorted, shaking the multicolored hairs rested around her face.
"No, he's not." she said. "He's very much alive. A little shaken, I must say."
My eyes widened. "He's still alive?" I lowered my voice. "But what about the attack?"
"That power will take some getting used to. Learn it from the best. But I'm impressed with how soon it kicked in... even though its use had been for improper reasons."
"Wait a minute... you did this?"
The girl curtsied with a smile and placed her hand on her hip.
"My gifts to you and Daniel. I have yet to find the others, but when I do, I will bestow my power on them as well." she said. "Hopefully they will use it for more... appropriate moments."
"What are you talking about?!" I said. "Who are you, anyways?"
"Who I am is not important to you. For now, that is." the girl's expression grew serious, like when I inadvertently insulted "Muh-doo-bla Ba-mot-kus"... or whatever that place was called. "You can't leave. You need to be here with Danny."
"In case you haven't realized, he wants nothing to do with me." I said, feeling my cheeks grow red. "All I am is his partner in crime. Now if you'll excuse me..."
I turned around and stepped towards the window.
"Wait!" the girl cried.
She reached out and grabbed my hand. A choked cry echoed in the air. I turned around to see her suddenly jerk into a fit of painful spasms.
"Are... are you okay?" I said, fright filling my soul. Is she having a seizure? Am I about to watch her die?
Her heterochromatic irises were almost completely consumed with a bright light, save a small ring around the edges. She fell to her knees, grasping my hand tightly as her breath grew labored and heavy.
"Should I call 911? Are you all right?!" I said.
The air suddenly grew silent. The girl released my hand and let her arms drop to her sides. She lifted her head and stared up at me, and I watched the bright light fade, revealing her multicolored irises once again.
"I guess I mustn't interfere with destiny." she said monotonously. "Go. The chips will fall where they may."
I stepped back slowly as a shiver of fright crept down my spine. I ran to the window and phased through into the outside air. As I turned around, the room was empty again. The girl was gone. I flew to the ground and walked back to the car.
"What's up with you?" Carmen said, wiggling her eyebrows teasingly. "You looked like you've seen a ghost."
I looked down at my hands and I wondered if my eyes were tricking me into seeing the blue power course through my fingertips.
"You... don't even know the half of it." I whispered.
"Okay, ready?" Dad asked.
I took a deep breath and said, "Yes."
The car began to move forward.
I looked back at the Fentons' house and I felt a single tear fall down my cheek.
My mouth said yes, but my heart said no.