#ectoimplosion 2023

The time for Ectoimplosion is nigh! I was partnered with the extremely talented Balshumet for this event, and tbh I'm absolutely blown away by their work! (Much like Valerie gets blown away in chapter- *SPOILERS*)

Check out the fic here or here!

Jay bumped their shoulders together. “Do you think there’s a way we could steal the log book from the receptionist?”

Danny chewed his lip and considered. “Let’s go back to one of our rooms. We need to plan. Do you know where all the entrances to the restricted areas are? Maybe we can find some answers there.”

“Duh, of course I do. That’s, like, the first thing you learn.”

“First thing you learn for what? I certainly never had anyone teach me stuff like that.”

Jay hesitated. “I— I don’t know. I think I had a job. Before, I mean. There was something I did. And I had to train a lot for it.”

“So you lived in an Alley that was also a Park that was near the ocean and you had a skilled job at fifteen. And you’re bird.”

“And there’s someone waiting for me,” added Jay.

“And there’s someone waiting for you,” agreed Danny.

“What are you trying to figure out?”

“I just, if I can figure it out, I’d like to know who you were. Maybe one day I can leave flowers on your grave or something.”

Jay shook his head. “Not my grave. I remember talking to a stone statue. It had wings and was up high. A…gargoyle? That’s where you should leave anything. And not flowers. Leave something cool, like a knife or a good book.”

“A gargoyle.” Danny raised an eyebrow, knowing Jay couldn’t see it. “Another clue.”

Jay grinned at him and grabbed his hand. “Come on,” he said as he pulled Danny up the stairs at the end of the building. “Let’s go and start planning.”

“Okay, okay!” Danny laughed as he ran after Jay. “I’m coming!”

Jay brought them to his room this time. It was much messier than Danny’s, more proof he’d been here for a long time. His bed was unmade and the drawer in the nightstand half ajar.

“The nightstand always had a favorite book of mine in it.”

“You like reading, then?”

“Yeah! It’s great. I used to spend so much time in the library before. They’d let anyone in and it was always warm in winter and cool in summer.”

Danny just hummed as he filed the information away.

Jay ignored the nightstand and book, though, and ran to the desk where he pulled open and slammed drawers shut. Until he pulled out a pad of paper and a pencil with an exclamation of success.

Quickly he began sketching out what Danny recognized as the general shape of the motel.

“How are you with heights? We should check the roof for other access points, too,” Jay said as he drew. When the general shape was sketched out, he added arrows. “This one is the office, obviously. Then here”—another arrow pointed near the right end of the motel—“Is a service door, but there’s no external handle on it.”

“Ghost can fly, birdie. Heights aren’t an issue.” He pointed to the side door. “And my intangibility seems to work here, so we can start there.”

Jay nodded. “You should teach me how to do that, too. If we get trapped or you get in trouble, I need to be able to help you.”

“You’re right. And it should be instinctual, so it won’t take long. When I first died, I had a harder time staying tangible than not. Dropped so many glasses. Got banned from chem class; it was a disaster.”

“Would there be a way to get past the receptionist? It’d make sense if she’s guarding the area we really need to get to.”

Danny tapped his fingers on the desk. “I could. But it would be loud and attract attention. And something about this place makes me more tired than I usually am. The fight this morning… I should’ve been able to redirect that fire with ease. She’s no where near as strong as some of the people I fight. But it was hard.”

Jay nodded and tapped his pencil near the office arrow. “We’ll leave it as a last resort, then.” He paused, then added, “Do you need to rest? If the fight took more out of you than you expected?”

Danny looked towards the bed and chewed his lip. It was edging into early afternoon. Jazz would know he was missing by now. Possibly his parents, too. But he could also feel the exhaustion under the surface. “I just need a bit of ectoplasm. And some food wouldn’t go amiss. Anywhere to get stuff like that besides the office?”

Jay hummed and looked towards the ceiling, only to shake his head. “No, I think the vending machine is the only option.”

“Think it’ll be safe to go back?”

Jay considered his question, then shrugged. “She calmed down at the end and then didn’t seem to give us a second glance. If we don’t try and cross her, it’ll probably be okay.”

“And I do need the ectoplasm…” Danny sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Let’s go.”

Jay nudged him with his elbow. “It’ll give us a chance to scope it out again before we have to attack later.”

“If we’re lucky, we won’t have to.”

Jay snorted. “Yeah, luck never works out like that. But we’ll do the other areas first. Now, intangibility?”

Danny laughed. “You just want superpowers.”

“Duh!”

“Intangibility and flight are easy. You’re a ghost. Ghosts don’t belong on Earth and don’t have to follow the physics of this universe. So just… remember that gravity is optional and your physical body doesn’t really exist here unless you want it to.”

Jay blinked at him. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Huh.” Jay looked at his hand in wonder. Then he touched the desk. His finger was stopped by the wood. Jay scowled and jammed it again to the same results.

Danny shook his head with an unseen grin. “Let me show you.” He took Jay’s hand and extended his intangibility to the boy. “See how that feels? You’re not really here unless you want to be. So let go.” He plunged both their hands through the desk before withdrawing his and leaving Jay’s.

“What the fuck!” exclaimed Jay as he tugged at his hand, solidly encased in the wood of the desk.

“Focus, birdie,” said Danny. “If it’s hard to think that you don’t exist, imagine it’s the desk that doesn’t exist instead. After all, for you, it doesn’t. You’re not from the same dimension, the same universe. The laws that govern the desk don’t apply to you.”

Jay glared at him, but then closed his eyes and focused. A moment later, he successfully pulled his hand out of the desk.

“There you go! Told you you could do it.”

Jay looked at his hand in wonder. “I did, huh? That’s so cool! It’s like I’m a Martian or something.”

“Not really,” said Danny. “When I first died, I looked into how Martian phasing works. It’s totally different to ghostly intangibility. Even if the end results are the same.”

Jay stuck his tongue out at him. “Shush. Let me have this.” He plunged his hand back through the desk and out. Then he turned to the wall and ran through it into Danny’s room.

Danny laughed and flew through the wall after him. “See told you it was easy!”

Jay grinned. “And I can fly, too? Like you are?”

“Yep. Gravity only applies if you want it to. Just, now that you’ve mastered intangibility, try not to sink into the ground. It can be hard to figure out which way is back to the surface if you’re not tuned into the gravitational force of the Earth.”

Jay nodded with a thoughtful expression. Then he jumped into the air, only to fall back to the floor. “Give me your hand,” he ordered. “Let me see what flight feels like.”

Danny obligingly reached out and took his hand, raising him up until they were both floating a few feet in the air. “See, no gravity. You don’t feel that pull towards the ground at all. In fact, you might as well be on solid ground.” He flipped them upside down. “And even like this, there’s no blood rushing to your head. It feels no different than having your feet oriented towards Earth’s ground.”

“Huh. I do see.” He pulled on Danny’s hand until they were floating over the bed, then turned right side up again. When he let go, he remained in the air. He grinned. “Damn, this is so cool. I’ve always been jealous of those who can fly!”

“Flying is my favorite power. I like to just fly high above the town and look up at the stars. Plus it’s way faster than walking and easier than running.”

“I can see why.” Jay landed on the floor and took a few steps before rising back up until he was level with Danny. “This is so cool! But, come on. Let’s go get you that food you want.”

“I want one of those ectodrinks more,” commented Danny. “But yeah, let’s go, Birdie.”

“What is ectoplasm, anyway?” Jay asked as he opened the door.

Danny shook his head. “You really don’t know anything, do you? I’ll have to ask Frostbite about it next time I see him. These things are supposed to be instinctual. Ectoplasm is what ghosts are made of. It’s what everything in the Ghost Zone is made of. Those plants growing through the asphalt in the parking lot? Ectoplasm. Your body? Ectoplasm.”

“Does that make you a cannibal if you eat it?”

Danny rolled his head to show he was rolling his eyes. “First of all, I will be drinking it. And second of all, no.”

“Seems like it would.”

Danny just ignored him and kept walking. When they got to where Matt still sat playing jacks, he stopped to watch.

When Jay joined him a moment later, he was frowning. “Hey, Matt,” said Jay.

Matt ignored them. Danny and Jay exchanged a look and Danny repeated the greeting. Matt still didn’t respond.

“Let’s just get something to eat,” said Danny after a moment. When they reached the door, took every ounce of will power he had to keep from hesitating before reaching out for the doorknob. Just as it had that first time, it stuck slightly under his grip, but opened easily enough.

Inside, the ghosts on the couch had changed out again and now there was someone else standing and staring at the coffee bar.

The receptionist didn’t react to their presence, and Danny let out a low breath. “What do you like?” asked Danny as they made their way to the vending machine.

“I’m gonna take a Zesti,” said Jay, punching in the code. Again, the machine activated without Danny putting any money in.

Danny got himself an ectodrink, bag of chips, and a packet of m&ms. “Okay, that should be good. Let’s go.” He shot another wary glance at the receptionist who was still frozen in place.

“Give me just a sec,” said Jay. He opened his can and looked around the room. “Who chose the wallpaper here, do you think?”

Danny shrugged. “How should I know? Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Jay looked around one more time as he sipped from his drink. “Fine. Let’s go.”

Finally being able to close the door between him and the receptionist helped, though he knew walls and doors didn’t mean much to ghosts.

“Let’s go check out Matt’s room,” said Jay.

“What? Why?”

“Why not? We learned he was staying in room 117 and apparently we can still phase into other people’s rooms. After all, we got into yours from mine. Maybe he and Alan were staying together and just never checked Alan in. Would explain why he won’t talk about him.”

“Huh, it would. Let’s do it.”

Jay grinned at him and sprinted down the sidewalk. Danny outpaced him easily by flying and laughed when Jay scowled at him and called him a cheater. Neither bothered to knock before phasing through the door.

At first, all they could see was blackness. Then the room seemed to form around them as their eyes adjusted to the low light that the drawn curtains allowed through.

It was empty. Obviously it had a bed and desk and dresser. Really, it was just a carbon copy of Danny’s room. The bed was neatly made and every thing was in its proper place. If Danny didn’t know better, he’d have assumed no one was staying in this room.

“Do you think more people leave their rooms like this or messy like mine?” asked Jay.

“Only one way to find out,” Danny replied, grinning.

Jay laughed and ran through the wall into the next room. For a moment, he thought he saw a cape flare behind his friend.

The next room looked more lived in, though not by much. The bed was still made, but a book sat on the nightstand and the TV remote was on top of the sheets rather than the dresser.

In the third room, the resident was sill present and Danny walked in on Jay already stammering out apologies.

The woman barely glanced up from her book before looking back down and flipping a page.

“What book is that?” Jay asked.

She lifted it up so they could see the cover.

“Oliver Twist? I read that book. Love and hate it, to be honest. Lotta weird feelings about that one.”

She looked up and actually made eye contact this time. She tilted her head as if to ask why.

Jay shrugged. “Did the musical one year at school. Too many people tried to compare me to Oliver. Do you know how annoying it is to have people look at you and ask ‘Please, sir, can I have some more?’ in a fake British accent every lunch period?”

Her mouth twitched into a faint smile.

Danny’s Midwestern manners meant he had to give his own apologies as well. “What’s your name, Ma’am? I’m Phantom and this is Jay. So sorry for barging in on you.”

She looked back at her page, but said, “Sylvia.”

“Sylvia? Cool name,” said Jay. “Is this your first time reading Oliver Twist?”

She shook her head slightly. “It’s my favorite.”

Jay nodded in agreement. “The motel is good about always having your favorite on hand, isn’t it?”

She nodded and turned her page.

Danny shifted from foot to foot. “Look, not to interrupt or anything, but have you met any of the other guests here?”

She shrugged and didn’t look up from her book.

“It’s just, I’m looking for a kid named Alan. He was one of the two playing jacks over near the office. And a man named Tom. I met him the night I checked in, but he disappeared in front of me just a few hours ago.”

“People always leave. Oliver’s mother left. His friends abandoned him.”

Jay nodded. “But his grandfather didn’t. And Phantom here, he won’t leave either—not until he can confirm they’re safe.”

She just shrugged again. “I don’t know. Guests come and they go. No one comes here intending to stay for more than a night or two.”

“But they do stay for longer,” said Danny.

Sylvia shrugged and turned her page.

Danny let out a groan of frustration—the mask made it sound even more angry and Jay glared at him.

“Sorry,” said Danny. “How long have you been here, Sylvia?”

“Just a night or two.”

“Where are you in the book?” asked Jay.

“Oliver is with Fagin.”

“Have you ever seen the musical? Or the movie?”

Sylvia didn’t reply and kept reading her book.

“They’re like NPCs in a video game,” said Danny. “Once you complete all the dialog options, they stop interacting.”

Jay couldn’t quite hold back his snort. “Enjoy your reading, Sylvia. It’s a good book, even if it’s not one of my favorites!”

She didn’t react and the boys left. Through the door, this time.

“We should probably not go into random rooms anymore, should we?”

“Probably not,” agreed Jay. “Besides, I think we’ve confirmed that none of the other ghosts know anything about the other guests. Continuing to chase them down is pointless.”

“Let’s go back to our rooms. I need to eat my snacks and then we can pick back up with our investigation.”

Danny flew up to the second floor, forcing Jay to follow him, rather than waste time walking to the stairs.

“You’re getting the hang of that,” he commented. Jay grinned at him with pride.

Once in his room, Danny took off his mask. “What?” he asked when he noticed Jay staring at him.

“You look so different without the face mask.”

Danny raised an eyebrow at him. “I look different when you can see my face instead of safety goggles and a respirator?”

Jay waved off his sarcasm. “You know what I mean. You feel more human this way. Why don’t you take it off more?”

“The mask is part of me now. I have to focus on keeping it off or it’ll reform over my face.” He pulled out the ectoplasm first and frowned when he noticed it was much more watery than he was used to seeing. “That’s odd…”

“What’s odd?”

“Ectoplasm doesn’t usually look like this.” Danny carefully unscrewed the cap and sniffed the open bottle. The scent burned, ozone and garbage and dirty toilet all in one. Danny gagged and quickly screwed the cap back on. “What is that?”

“How am I supposed to know?”

“It was rhetorical! That’s rancid. Gross.” He sighed. “Looks like we’re doing this while exhausted. Not my first time, won’t be my last.” He opened his bag of chips and practically shoved his nose into it to overpower the smell of the not-ectoplasm.

Jay sat on the bed. “So where are we going first? The side door with no handle?”

“Yeah, might as well. That and the roof are where we’re planning to start, right?”

“From what I’ve seen, yeah. Only other place is behind the desk in the office.”

Danny shuddered remembering the receptionist’s transformation. “Hopefully not.” He shoved a handful of chips in his mouth. Enough ghosts liked to attack during his lunch period at school that he’d learned to eat fast. In no time, the chips and candy were gone and his mask was back in place.

Jay stood. “Let’s go, then.”

“Hang on a sec,” said Danny. “I want to go through my bag. See what supplies I have handy. Might have a weapon for you.”

“Ooo! Weapons! Let me see!” Jay bounced over to peer at the closed bag.

Danny laughed. “Hold on a minute!” Before touching his bag, he pulled the ectoknife out of his pocket and passed it over. “Have you used a knife before?”

Jay grabbed it and flicked the blade in and out. “Duh. You never left home without at least two weapons where I grew up. Been handling knives since I was a toddler.”

“Right. I’m not touching that one.” A quick feel around his pockets revealed nothing else useful. Turning to the bag, he quickly discarded most of the clothes he’d shoved in the top, though he paused on the socks.

He stood and grabbed the not-ectoplasm from where he’d left it on the desk and wrapped the bottle in the socks as protection before putting it in a pocket of his suit. At Jay’s confused look, Danny explained, “I can study it when I get home. See how it’s similar to and different from normal ectoplasm.”

Jay nodded, but asked, “Why do you even have clothes, anyway? I haven’t seen you change at all. And I know I haven’t.”

Danny shrugged. “I told you—I’m weird for a ghost.” Under his clothes, he unearthed a thermos which he immediately clipped to his hip.

“What’s that?”

“A containment device.” Although the answer clearly didn’t satisfy Jay, he didn’t ask any further questions. Unfortunately, Caspar High had banned blasters after some of the students had begun shooting each other with them, but he did find a lipstick laser he’d been meaning to give to Sam. For over a month now. “Here. Take this, too.”

“Lipstick?” asked Jay as he removed the cap.

“Wait! Don’t do tha—”

A laser shot from the tip and burned a mark in the wall. “Dude! What sort of movie-spy shit is this? Why do you have it?”

“My parents are ghost hunters. They like making stuff like that.”

“Ghost hunters? But aren’t you a ghost now?” The concern was practically oozing off Jay and it made Danny grimace.

“Look, it’s fine. My sister and friends know about me and my parents have a ton of useful things I can use to help fight ghosts.” He continued rummaging through his bag. He found his phone, but it was dead. Which shouldn’t have been possible since he’d switched to an ectoplasmic battery that should’ve kept it powered for years. Nothing he did would get it to work, though, so he shoved it back in his bag. He and Tucker would figure it out later.

“What’s that?”

“My phone. But it doesn’t seem to be working right now. And I don’t have anything else remotely useful on me. I need to figure out how to sneak a blaster into school or something. This is pathetic.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s better than I had before. And we’re just doing reconnaissance, right?”

Danny huffed out a half-laugh. “How often does reconnaissance stay reconnaissance?”

“Touche,” agreed Jay. But he still grabbed Danny’s hand and pulled him out of the room. “But that’s what makes it exciting.” He jumped over the railing, stopping their fall a few feet above the ground.

“You’re really getting the hang of flying.”

“I’m used to jumping off tall buildings. Even easier now that I can fly!”

“You jumped off tall buildings? Why!”

Jay grinned at him. “Yep. Don’t remember why, but I did it all the time. Now, let’s go!” Without waiting for a reply, Jay flew towards the end of the motel, leaving Danny to follow.

The area along the side of the motel hadn’t been cleared in a long time. The bushes, their leaves a bit too luminescent to be native earth plants, were overgrown and the grass reached halfway up their calves. Right in the wall where Jay had said it would be sat a solid, metal door without a handle. Jay didn’t hesitate before moving towards it, but Danny grabbed his arm to stop him.

“I’m gonna look in first. I’m better able to defend myself if things go wrong.”

Jay groaned. “Fine. But I can look after myself.”

“I’m realizing that, but this is my area of expertise.”

Jay pouted but didn’t argue, so Danny turned just his head invisible and looked through the door.

Only to be faced with pitch black. Absolutely no light made it’s way into the area behind the door. With a mental curse, he brought a hand through and pulled up an ectoblast for a bit of light. Dusty, cement stairs led down into a cellar. Wires hung from the ceiling and green ectoplasm, or maybe that not-ectoplasm—his mask effectively blocked scent so he wasn’t sure—dripped down the walls.

Danny pulled out. “I don’t see anyone. But there’s a steep stairway, so be careful.”

Jay nodded his agreement and the two stepped through the door. Danny used an ectoblast for light again, and the two picked their way down the stairs.

Danny reached out a gloved hand to touch the green fluid on the walls—it had the same consistency of the not-ectoplasm.

“Can you smell anything rotten?” asked Danny.

Jay sniffed. “I don’t know if I’d call it rotten, but it smells like old blood and fire.”

“Try not to touch anything, I don’t know if it’s dangerous to ghosts or not.”

“Trust me, Phantom. I had no intentions of touching it. Nothing good comes of weird, glowing liquids. Everyone knows that.”

Danny huffed a laugh. “Not in Amity. We’re used to it there.”

They fell silent as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Pipes ran along ceiling, and the floor was made of cheap linoleum. He still couldn’t see any light fixtures. The hall went on for a few dozen feet before ending at another solid metal door.

The breathing from Danny’s suit seemed to echo in the hallway. And his boots were nearly impossible to walk silently in. Each sound made him wince internally, especially since he had to look back to confirm Jay was still with him. When they reached the door, it was locked. Danny turned intangible again and tried to stick his head through, only to bang it hard on the door. “Ow,” he muttered under his breath. He shook his head and, more cautiously, tried to stick his hand through instead. It also hit resistance.

“What’s wrong?” whispered Jay.

“It’s warded against ghosts,” Danny replied. “Can’t phase through.” With his hands intangible, he started at the center of the door and reached outwards, then up to the ceiling, then to the floor. When every inch seemed to be blocked to him, he moved to the walls bordering the doorway, only to have the same problem.

“What do we do now?” asked Jay, who had reached out to try as well. His attempts were no better.

Danny worried at his lip. Even just maintaining the ectoblast for light was requiring constant focus. And the pull was taking far more energy that it should. “We’ll have to go back. Or figure out where the shield is generated from. If we can disrupt that, we may be able to get through.

“Damn. How would we know what the shield looks like?”

Danny shrugged. “I know what the ones my parents and the GIW use. But those designs were invented in the last two years. I’ve no idea how old this place is or what technology they’re using to ward off ghosts. Let’s go back outside and we can reassess.” Maybe something would come to him if he didn’t have to focus on making their light.

Jay nodded and the two navigated their way back out. Danny kept his hands on both walls, but at no point did the shield break. Not until they reached the exit door which only allowed them back outside.

“That was pointless,” Danny said as he collapsed on the ground. If he’d been human, he would’ve been panting.

“No it wasn’t,” argued Jay. “We know there’s something important down there now.”

Danny groaned. “But we can’t get to it. If only we were back in Amity. If I had access to the full Fenton arsenal, I could maybe do something.”

“What’s the Fenton arsenal?”

“My parents’ weapons vault. You have the laser. The thermos”—he gestured to his hip—“is another invention of theirs.”

“They have an entire weapons vault? And they just let you access it?”

“They’re ghost hunters and scientists,” said Danny with a shrug. “It’s my normal. Part of my chores growing up were to help clean the lab.” Danny groaned as he pushed himself up.

He swayed once on his feet and Jay helped steady him. “Woah, are you okay?”

Danny yawned. “I’m more tired than I thought.” He was close to transforming unwillingly, but he had enough control to force it back. “This place is doing something to me. Let’s go back to my room. If I can’t get any ectoplasm here, I need to nap for an hour or two. My core needs to recharge somehow. Then we can check out the roof.”

“Will I get tired like you if I keep flying and using intangibility?”

“Normally I’d say no. But I’m also never this wiped out from a minor fight, so…” He shrugged. When they reached room 114, he flew to the second story and walked through the wall into his room and collapsed face-first onto the bed.

Only to let out a grunt of pain when his mask pressed awkwardly against his face and his goggles dug into his eyes. He rolled to his side. “Sometimes I really hate that I died in this suit. It is not comfortable.”

Jay laughed and poked him in the back. “Get some rest, sleeping beauty. I’ll wake you up in a bit.”

“Thanks, birdie. Night.”

If he replied, Danny didn’t hear it.

---

“Jus’ five m’r minutes, Jazz,” mumbled Danny as he tried to shift away from the person shaking him awake.

“Phantom!” called out a male voice.

Not Jazz. Tucker? But he wouldn’t call him Phantom. Danny yawned and opened his eyes to see a black-haired, blue-eyed boy staring at him and an unfamiliar ceiling.

“Finally! I’ve been trying to wake you for ages.”

“Birdie?” Danny pushed himself up until he was leaning against the headboard.

“Yep! Since you were sleeping so hard, I went to the roof. There was a vent up there I was able to climb into. And guess what? It leads to an area over Ms. Creepy Receptionists’s desk! Could probably jump down from it and land behind her, giving us access to the forbidden area.”

Danny blinked a few times, his brain struggling to shake off the his nap. “What time is it?” he asked.

Jay rolled his eyes. “Are you even listening to me? It’s like six or seven or something. Not quite dark out yet.”

Danny yawned. “Sorry I slept for so long.”

“It’s fine. I figured you needed it. But come on! We have to get going now. There’s people waiting for us.”

“Right. Tom and Alan.”

Jay rolled his eyes. “Them, too. I guess.”

Danny yawned again and lifted his goggles to rub at his eyes. “So a passage to the receptionists office? You shouldn’t have explored without me.”

“I’m not some untrained kid. Besides, you gave me two weapons. I was perfectly safe. And aren’t you the one who said we had to hurry?”

Danny rolled out of the bed and stretched. “Yeah, yeah. I need to get home. I’m sure there’s already people looking for me.” He closed his eyes and reached for his core. He didn’t have as much power as usual, but he had enough. More than before his nap at least. He let it’s coolness center him. “I’m ready.”

Jay grinned and held open the door, following Danny out.

This time, Danny led them towards the stairs rather than flying down. Evening had settled in and the the overcast skies were darkening, though the horizon was still light. “Let’s try talking to Matt one more time. I’d like to avoid fighting the receptionist if at all possible.”

“But the kid doesn’t remember anything!” protested Jay.

“Then it won’t take long.”

Jay groaned theatrically, but he followed Danny to where Matt was still playing with his jacks.

“Hey, Matt,” greeted Danny. The boy didn’t react and Danny sat across from him on the ground. “Mind if we join in?” he asked.

Matt still didn’t respond, but he caught the ball and picked up all the jacks before tossing them back out. He handed the ball to Danny.

Jay took a seat between them. “Sweet, another round! Hey, Matt, how’s Alan doing? We’ve been all over the motel today and haven’t seen him.”

Matt looked at Jay and Danny tossed up the ball to play the onsies round. Matt never verbally replied, though Jay continued to ask more questions. He asked about Matt’s mother, where he lived, what classes he took in school. All of it was met with silence. Though the few times Danny was able to look up, Alan was staring at Jay rather than the game.

When he finished his round, Danny let out a celebratory, “Yes! Got it!”

Jay clapped his hands slowly. “Good for you. You managed to complete the easiest round,.”

“Shut up,” said Danny. “I’m still learning. Just for that, I vote Matt goes next. What do you say, Matt?” Danny held out his hand with the ball.

He didn’t say anything but did take the ball.

Danny and Jay watched as he tossed the ball up and let it bounce once before grabbing a jack and catching the ball.

He’d repeated the action twice when Jay asked, “Matt, are you feeling all right?”

Danny looked over at Jay in surprise before turning his attention back to Matt. The kid was pale, but not an unusual color for a ghost. Though… he rubbed his goggles. Was he blurry around the edges? A quick glance at Jay proved his goggles were fine. Matt was a bit faded around the edges.

“Are you turning invisible on us?” asked Danny, forcing his tone to be light and joking even as his core thrummed in fear.

Matt, as expected, didn’t reply to either of them. Jay and Danny exchanged a look, but neither could stand to take their eyes off the boy for long. With each toss of the ball, Matt looked more and more out of focus.

Then, when he was down to the last jack, his body disappeared entirely when he threw up the ball. All that remained visible was his shining core. Danny lunged forward even as the core and ball both fell to the ground.

His fingers only just brushed Matt’s core as it hit and shattered into sparkling dust.

The sound of the ball bouncing on the cement next to his head echoed in his ears as he stared.

The dust from Matt’s core flickered with light, though it kept getting dimmer and dimmer. Danny grasped at it, trying to gather it up in his hands. Jay joined him. But there was nothing they could do. The dust fell through their fingers and disappeared faster than they could gather it.

But Danny kept trying until the last speck faded and nothing of Matt remained. The ball finished bouncing and came to a rest against the wall.

“What just happened?” asked Jay.

The question was enough to jolt Danny back to motion. He snatched the bouncy ball and shoved it in his pocket then jumped to his feet. He grabbed Jay’s hand and pulled him up as well.

“We have to leave. Now.” He ran, dragging Jay behind him.

-----

Chapter 4

The air basked in light and bird song, the world made anew in the heavy lidded eyes of the fading night. Rime dusted the ground and hoarfrost clung to the underside of freshly fallen leaves, making the whole world glitter and shine in the rosy dawn light. As the influence of Nox gave way to Aurora, she tucked her arms tighter against her body and slanted away from the touch of the wind’s chill. The sharp scuffle of her footfalls against the glistening concrete, newly citizen salted, cut through the press of silence that cocooned her on her solitary march to school. 

Finally, ahead of her, the light of the school’s warm interior glinted off the frost on the front lawn, its glimmer called forth from the dying strands of grass still fighting the oncoming sleep of winter like a toddler rolling about to avoid a nap. She pulled loosened hair away from her face as a big gust snatched at her curls, clawing away the neat style she’d spent the morning designing. I should have worn a beanie. Sure, she’d have to take it off right after entering school—the No-Hats policy remained even in the cold—but at least her hair would be intact. 

She stood off to the right of the entrance, just inside the double doors, and reached into her backpack to pull out a compact and her emergency brush. The other students brushed past her without comment, briefly sliding in and out of view on the edges of the mirror, as she carefully redid the style. Maybe more hairspray would have saved it? She’d consider it next time. The good stuff was expensive, and with her meager savings—

“Wow, did you fight a bear on the way here?”

“Is that what happened to you?” Valerie continued brushing her hair, eyes never leaving the mirror.

“Excuse me?”

The smell of the rotisserie hot dogs made his mouth water. Danny and his friends were milling around the inside of a certain gas station, not a mile from Fentonworks. Tucker worked the freezie nozzles in the back with a large cup in hand, trying to design his newest frozen masterpiece. Beside Danny stood Sam, crafting hotdogs together, a disapproving downturn to her lips. The station had great tofu dogs; she just hated his choice in toppings. 

“Come on, Sam, you have to try it.” He waved his dressed abomination just in front of her face. It had onions and relish, classic hot dog condiments, but also hot sauce and peanut butter. He reached over to squeeze some honey mustard over the top, and her face truly scrunched up.

“Danny, you are actually going to eat that, right? That poor animal didn’t die just for you to turn it into garbage.” 

He raised his eyebrows, eyes going wide in shock. “I know they say this is made of pork, Sam, but I’m pretty sure this was never an animal.”

“Maybe not one with hooves, anyway.” Tucker joined them by the hot dog station, clutching his newest freezie mixture. 

“Besides, how could I not try it? I’ve done so much work to craft the best hot dog ever.” He grabbed another off the rotating grill, deciding to change up the toppings this time. Sweet and hot peppers, ketchup and honey went on this one. “You think this is good?” “I think it needs caramelized onions.” Tucker traded places with him in front of the rotisserie grill, reaching in to grab a few deep-fried mini burritos. “Maybe try to think of what would go best with your freezie.”