I got this out quicker then I thought I would! Yay me! Don't forget to leave comments and like my story, the more people who comment and like it the faster I'll be pushing this out. I finally got around to writing more and I'm really liking how it's turning out. But I need to make a huge (potentially fatal) decision. Who am I going to make the real enemy of this story? Cause I have about four choices, and all of them sound so good! I'll probably do whatever is the most cliché, but if anyone has a preference leave it in the comments! And now for what you've all been waiting for... Chapter 13!
Chapter 13 (Danny's POV)
I wake up to the sound of my alarm clock ringing for the third time. For the first time in a while, there were ghost attacks in the middle of the night. I almost forgot what it felt like to be this tired… wonder what was going on…? My thoughts are interrupted by the loud crashing of what is supposedly another experiment from the basement. Fuck…
Getting dressed takes no time at all as I pull my flannel the rest of the way on, thumping down the stairs two at a time to get something to eat. Right as I'm about to pour a bowl of cereal I hear the footsteps on the basement stairs. Ditching the idea of food I scramble out of the house before my parents can see me.
"Danny! Wait up!" Tucker comes running up behind me to walk beside me on our way to Sam's house.
"Hey Tuck…" I glance over at my friend when he's silent to see him a few steps behind me. "What is it?"
"Dude… you look like death. What happened?" I try to laugh at my friends bad joke, but it comes out as more of a huff.
"Well, ghosts kept me up all night for some reason, and if that wasn't enough to be bothersome on it's own, I have no idea why there've been so many ghost attacks recently. They calmed down a lot after my coronation, I think something is going on…" Tucker rests a hand on my shoulder as he speaks.
"Whatever it is, we'll figure it out. It's all gonna be okay dude." I smile at my friend.
"Thanks Tuck. We should really get moving, Sam is gonna be furious if we're late again."
"Since when have we ever not been late?" He asks with a grin.
"That's the problem…" My grumble garners a laugh, which prompts me to smile, despite my unease.
"Hey guys! Come on! We're gonna be late!" Sam's voice filters in through the pleasant mood, causing Tucker to laugh again while I pull him along. Catching up with our goth friend we walk quickly towards the school. Maybe we'll finally be on time for once… The thought is fleeting as I hear the bell ring in the distance. Tucker laughs at the annoyed look on my face, which is mirrored perfectly on Sam's.
"When does class even start!?" Sam yells, stomping quickly towards school. You know what? That's a good question… I laugh alongside Tucker as we run to catch up.
This is seriously annoying… Is my only thought as I let myself get pushed down to the ground again. As it's still week ten, we're doing training to work on our close combat skills. Having to be bad at something I'm actually good at really does get tedious sometimes.
I've been paired up with the other kids who aren't showing any progress, also known as Mikey, Nathan, and Abigail. From the corner of my vision I see Sam flag me down from across the field. She's in a group practicing with Valerie and Jinx, so I walk over once I let Mikey beat me again.
"What's up?" Sam looks back at Valerie before turning to me with a whisper.
"We were thinking, since we're going on this trip where we'll most likely end up having to protect the class, you need to start showing some improvement. If you're doing this badly for the entire class and then suddenly start doing well when we're in the ghost zone people are going to get suspicious. The best course of action based on that would be to start getting better in class. What do you think?" Part of me knew she was trying to convince me to do better in class for my own sake, but I couldn't deny her logic. It would be kind of suspicious to protect people when everyone thinks I'm weak…
"What did you have in mind?" She gives me a mischievous grin before looking back to Valerie and Jinx.
"We thought you could use some supplemental training sessions…" I hear Valerie chuckle softly behind Sam, who's grinning evilly at the plan they cooked up. Sighing I know better than to deny a request from Sam when her mind is made up, I nod my consent and watch as Valerie walks over to my parents. Though they're standing a couple yards away I can still hear the conversation as if they were speaking right next to me. Thank you ghost hearing...
"Mr. and Mrs. Fenton? I had an idea to help train the people who aren't doing as well in the class. Since Sam, Cheyenne and I are all doing pretty well, I think it would be a good idea to mix our two groups so we can give the others pointers. Just letting them fight each other isn't going to help them improve in the long run, so I thought this might be a bit more efficient. What do you think?"
"That's an excellent idea Ms. Grey! How about you go over and talk to them to tell them the new plan?" Valerie nodded her consent and walked briskly to the group of three, still fighting badly on the far side of the field. I watch the three go wide eyed as Valerie explains everything to them before walking hesitantly back to the rest of us. Sam is the first to speak when they arrive.
"So here's how it's gonna go. I'm gonna pair up with Danny, Cheyenne is going to take on Nathan, and Valerie is going to work with Mikey and Abigail, can we all agree on that?" I watch as Nathan begins to complain before receiving a glare from Valerie, everyone nodding nervously afterwards. We all pair up in our small groups and I watch amused as Sam gestures me over to her.
"This'll be the first in a while huh? Me losing to you in a fight?" Sam laughs as I wink at her. Coming over to 'instruct' me.
"Just do what I tell you to do for once, would you?" I laugh and nod, copying her stance.
"Okay, I'm gonna punch at your stomach, try to block me." There's laughter in her eyes as she speaks loud enough for almost the whole class to hear. I block her punch, just barely, still letting her hit my side. Feigning pain, I watch as she returns to her previous stance.
"Okay, that was almost good. When you block you don't have to stop the punch, it's easier to redirect it. Try doing this next time." She grabbed my hand and placed it in a faux punch in front of her. Using her opposite arm, she turned sideways around my arm while pushing my hand to the side.
"Ready?" I nod, copying her movement sloppily when she throws her next punch. This time I avoided the hit, if only barely.
"That's better! Keep trying to block like that. An important aspect to fighting is being light on your feet. You have to be able to maneuver around your opponent in order to keep from getting hit. Try standing like this." She moves into a position where her feet are placed one slightly in front of the other, resting most of her weight on the balls of her feet. I taught her that… I want to laugh at the irony of the situation.
"Like this?" I say instead, copying her stance.
"Exactly!" Her tone probably sounds proud to most people, but I can tell she's holding back laughter. "I'm gonna throw two punches at you this time, using the same type of block as before, try to avoid it." I hide a smirk and get into position. This time when she comes at me I block the first punch easily, just barely letting the second punch hit me. I see her smile genuinely for a moment, proud that I was letting myself show some improvement.
"Great job. Let's keep practicing this for a bit." For the next twenty minutes I pretend to practice dodging a hit, letting myself get gradually better each time. By the end of the period I realize I've been letting myself successfully avoid each of her punches, even without returning any of my own. I grimace at the thought that someone might have noticed, but a look around tells me no one is paying attention. The whistle blows for the end of period clean up. But before everyone stops I see Mikey and Abigail doing remarkably better than before, and Nathan starting to be able to dodge punches regularly. Guess this really was a good idea…
"Okay Class! Let's head back in so you can get your stuff for next period. Great work today!" I follow my friends at the back of the line headed back to the school. Tucker comes up to me and nudges my shoulder.
"I see you've been improving." He smirks at me lightly.
"I see you haven't." I laugh at him. His pout makes me laugh harder, garnering the attention of Sam.
"That reminds me, Tuck, you need to start improving too. If we're going to protect the class on this trip, we all have to be decent at fighting before we go, otherwise people are going to get suspicious." Tucker grows serious for a moment as he nods.
"That's a good point. I was wondering how we were going to protect everyone as we are. Do you think we should get up to 100% or should we try to keep our abilities still somewhat hidden?" He looks at me as he asks this. I rub my eyes to give myself some time to think.
"...Well, we probably need to be at least at half capacity… If we start doing markedly better on the trip then we are here then I think-" a gasp cuts me off. I stare in confusion at the blue mist hovering briefly in front of my face, a knot of tension wrapping it's way around my body.
"Danny? Who is it?" Sam is concerned as she watches me, tensing in a similar fashion and looking around. Tucker clicks the small button on the side of his glasses, scanning for an ecto signature.
"I don't know… I don't recognize the energy…" I realize we've stopped walking with the class when I look out and see they're gone. "Go to the classroom and grab our bags, I'll be right back." Sam nods hesitantly and drags Tucker, who's still looking at the sky in confusion, by the arm back towards our class. I watch them go for a minute before walking behind a nearby tree and turning invisible. Letting the cold rings wrap around my body I quickly transform into my alter ego, taking off into the sky to look for any ghost activity. It's almost ten minutes later when I still haven't found anything. Returning to the school to catch up with my friends, I spare a moment to think worriedly about what might be going on. Something isn't right, but… What is it…?
It's when I catch up to my friends that a thought occurs to me. One that makes my stomach clench and throat tighten. What if this has to do with what Frostbite was asking for help with…?
There were two ways I could've ended this, but this is what I decided to go with. I hope everyone loves the continuation of these cliffhangers! They just keep getting better... trust me... I'll see you all next time on "To Be Lost"!