The Ghost Boy (A Danny Phantom Fanfiction)

Chapter Five

JAZZ'S POV

We all stood with bated breath. A spark jumped in the portal, and then...

Nothing.

I sighed and shook my head. I knew it wouldn't work. I think my parents knew it too, otherwise they wouldn't have tried so hard.

I looked over to my parents, who were staring at the portal, almost ashamed. The next thing I knew, my Dad was speaking, "Well, that's it, I guess... I knew it was too good to be true..." he looked up. "We're sorry, son... We failed."

My breath hitched. My parents knew the subject of my late little brother was just as much a sore subject for me as it was for them. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't... Could I? Would it be weak of me to cry?

Dad trudged out of the lab, and Mom left with him after a minute, but I stayed. I looked up at the ceiling. I could feel tears falling down my cheeks, but I didn't make any effort to subdue them. My tears fell in increasing numbers as I spoke,

"I hope you can hear me, Danny... I miss you... We all do..."

It was miraculous I still remembered his name, but I wasn't thinking about that at the time. My legs moved all on their own and I found myself crossing the room to the basement stairs. Before I knew it, I was in the kitchen, still walking almost without purpose. I didn't care what was happening around me, or where I was going, but I had a rough idea where my legs were taking me.

The next thing I knew, I had collapsed on my bed.

Everything was different since... The accident. Somehow, I had grown used to it. My parents brooded a lot, but initially tried to be cheerful, for my sake. Whenever they thought they'd come up with the "big break" invention, nothing could stop them. They worked on it for hours on end and only ever stopped for bathroom breaks, and that was only for five minutes, where they would go to the bathroom and then grab a snack from the fridge before going back dowm to the basement. Usually this was more Dad's case than Mom's.

It was almost like they had a bathroom schedule or something. They would only leave the lab at allotted times. Either one of them would leave, or both of them would leave. Usually one would leave and the other would keep an eye on the equipment.

Their idea of a "big break" invention would always be some device or thingymajig to get revenge on ghosts with, or something to deal with their emotional pain. Ever since Danny's death, they had been trying to compensate for it in some way or another. One time they even conspired to build this invention to somehow bring him back to life.

How they planned to do that, I had no idea. All I knew was that they always told me that Danny must have a spirit or whatever, and he was most likely watching over us, silently assuring us that he was in a better place.

That was the only thing they told me about ghosts that I ever believed.

I wasn't sure how long I was laying there. All I knew was that I was thinking about nothing but my little brother and constructing silent prayers to him, should he have been listening.

Oh, what the heck was I doing? Ghosts didn't exist, and Danny was gone. There was no way anything was going to change that... Not even one of my parents' stupid inventions. And no matter how many prayers and wishes I made, he wasn't coming back here any time soon.

Silent tears rolled down my cheeks as I jided myself on my stupid, hopeful thoughts. There were times like these I believed myself to be the only person left in the world...

BANG.

I jumped about half a foot in the air. What the heck was that?! It was louder than my alarm clock in the morning, and that was loud. I only had it so loud to make sure I woke up every morning. There was no way I was ever going to miss a day of school. My one hundred percent attendance wouldn't be blemished by the fact I'm a heavy sleeper. I had grown used to my alarm clock being so loud now; but if this can make me jump out of my skin, then it must have been ear-splitting.

I immediately leaped off my bed and sprinted downstairs. I had vaguely seen my parents in the living room out the corner of my eye as I went upstairs, but now they weren't there. Not an orange jumpsuit in sight.

I knew where they were, and now I knew where the bang had come from.

I ran into the kitchen and straight to the basement stairs. The stairwell was narrow, but I still kept caution in case I slipped and fell down them.

That wouldn't have been good. Going from bang in my house to beep in a hospital bed? No thanks.

I eventually appeared at the bottom, and the first thing I saw was an inimical cloud of smoke, and amidst it all, a blur of blue and orange.

"Mom?" I called out nervously. "Dad? What happened down here?"

No answer. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion - and now worry - and slowly followed the source of the foggy smoke. As I delved deeper into the mass of greyness, I began to cough and everything became slowly blacker.

I was soon at the scene of the crime. The first thing I consulted was the blue mass to the side of me. "Mom?" I asked anxiously. Cough. "What-" It was then that I faced forward.

What I saw made my heart stop in its tracks.

Quick glossary:
Inimical - seeking to cause obscurity or harm
Conspire - to plot or collaborate
Lethargic - slow; at "snail pace"
Affliction - a cause of pain or harm
I can't think of any more. XD

OHMYGOOOOSSSHHHH. Cliffhanger! I'm so sorry about that! I really hope you enjoyed this Chapter though! With my new schedule, I'll most likely create less cliffies for your benefit. I am really sorry about this one though. XD Also, I'm sorry I wasn't able to update yesterday, I was REALLY REALLY caught up with coursework. :)
See you later, alligator! XD
~ Marli x