Danny Phantom - The Next Chapter

Chase

Danny was woken by a painful grumble in his stomach. He winced and slowly sat up, peering around owlishly and scanning his immediate surroundings. It was still night, and there was no sign of the Guys in White, which was a tremendous relief.

His stomach grumbled again and he turned his attention to the cans he had snagged from the shack. A thin beam of ghostly energy was all it took to take the top off one and he examined its contents. It was definitely food which was a relief, but he had no idea what kind. He figured beans of some sort, but his Spanish was terrible as Mrs Lopez knew.

But at this point, he didn't care and quickly tossed the can back, taking a mouthful of food. Surprisingly, it didn't taste terrible and before he knew it, he had finished the can and started on the next. He knew he should save some for later, but his stomach was not going to let him, and before he knew it, he had finished every single one.

Hunger still gnawed at him, but it was more manageable now. The next thing that needed to be done was finding somewhere safe.

He quickly transformed and rose into the air, cautiously making sure that there were no Guys in White around before he scanned the horizon. There in the distance, there was the faintest trace of yellow light signalling a town or city of some sort. Hoping it wasn't a trap, he headed towards it, settling in for a long night.

The hours passed by painfully slowly, the light on the horizon slowly getting brighter, but it was taking longer than he had thought it would. The landscape below was offering little distraction, the same dusty, scrubby, earth passing by below. He started to get excited when he came across a road, but it looked just as dusty and abandoned as the surrounding area. But it led towards the lights which was more than enough.

He quickly ascended again, making sure he wasn't immediately visible from the ground, and followed it.

Sure enough, a town appeared, and Danny was ecstatic to see the streetlights that indicated there were people around. It was only small, just a collection of houses and stores along the main street, but it was enough.

He quickly landed and transformed back, suddenly highly aware that he still didn't have any shoes. Ignoring that problem for now, he hurried into town, but given the late hour there was no one around he could ask for help. He considered knocking on the nearest door, but he didn't think anyone would hear it if they were asleep. Instead, he turned for the shops, noticing a small gas station that looked to still be open.

Much like those cans had been, the words above the door were entirely Spanish, and he suspected he might not be in the US anymore. He ran to the door which thankfully opened and he blinked in the brightly lit store.

'¿Estás bien?'

He turned to the counter where a young man was standing, staring at him with concern.

'Uh…' Danny replied, scouring his memories for those Spanish lessons he was awful at. 'Hablas inglés?'

He knew his accent was terrible, but the clerk seemed to understand. He made a vague motion with his hand that indicated 'a little.'

'I need help,' Danny explained, making his way over and trying to speak slowly, despite the way his heart was pounding. 'Telephone?'

'¿Teléfono?' the clerk replied and
Danny nodded rapidly.

'Yes. Telephone to America.'

'America?' the clerk repeated, pausing before finally nodding and rummaging around under the counter and pulling out an old landline. He set it down and Danny quickly picked up the handset and dialled his home number. For a moment, he feared it wouldn't connect, before it began to ring.

After only a single ring, it was answered and the crackly voice of his father said, 'Hello?'

'Dad?' Danny asked, immense relief making it hard to form words.