Danny Phantom - The Next Chapter

Escape

Luis insisted that Danny stay for the rest of the day and night, and while Danny was uncertain about whether or not he should put the family at risk by staying, he was ultimately swayed by the kids who seemed absolutely fascinated by him. Luis tried his best to have them leave him alone, but their enthusiasm for having a superpowered teen in the house was stronger than his exasperation. Despite the fact that he spent most of the day lying on the couch dozing and napping as his energy started to recover. He woke every couple of hours to find them staring at him as if they expected him to suddenly start floating. On the third time this happened, he had mustered enough energy to make his eyes flash green at them and they shrieked with laughter as they bolted.

When Luis invited him to their table for the family meal that evening, he was starting feel almost like himself again. Sure, he was being hunted down in a strange country with no backup, but being here, surrounded by such a loving environment made all that seem trivial. When he woke the next morning, he was genuinely sad he had to go, but he knew if he dared to stay any longer, he would be placing the whole family in danger.

So as the sun started to rise the next morning, he reluctantly said goodbye to the family, with Luis trying to push a full backpack into his arms.

‘No, I can’t,’ Danny insisted, stepping back.

Luis shook his head forcefully and pushed the bag towards him again, speaking rapidly in Spanish.

‘He says he isn’t letting you leave without taking it,’ Irene explained with a small smile. ‘It’s not much but it’s what we can give you.’

‘You’ve already done so much,’ he protested, ‘And I have no right to take even more.’

‘You aren’t taking anything from us,’ Irene translated, ‘We’re giving it willingly. Now take before he gets angry.’

Danny looked at them, the kids blinking tears away from their eyes, Irene’s smirk, and Luis’ determination to give him more help.

He sighed and accepted the backpack, shrugging it onto his shoulders as Luis nodded and smiled.

‘Thank you,’ Danny said, ‘Truly. When I make it back home, I’ll make sure that you get some kind of reward.’

‘We didn’t do it for the reward,’ Irene explained, ‘Be safe.’

Danny nodded and transformed, the children gasping with delight and Irene and Luis beaming. He quickly turned invisible and phased through the ceiling, rising into the morning air and racing away to the north.

It was incredible what roughly twenty hours of sleep and some decent meals could do. Danny was almost enjoying himself now. The wind on his face and the exhilaration he always felt when flying at such speeds far above the ground. There was nothing like it anywhere else in the world. Sure he was being hunted down, but without any ghosts popping up, it was almost relaxing.

He encountered no problems throughout the day, and as he came in to land amongst the scrub that evening, he rifled through the pack and found three water bottles, some non-perishable food, and a thick, waterproof jacket. He felt a pang of guilt as he pulled on the jacket against the falling temperatures and began to eat some of the food. Once he got back home, he was determined to repay the kindness everyone had shown him.

He sighed heavily and stared up at the stars, picking out the constellations he and Sam had seen that night in the woods and trying not to let his homesickness take him over.

-----
 
He suspected the Guys in White had predicted his next move when he approached the city of Monterrey and found a suspicious number of unmarked SUVs slowly meandering their way through the streets. He considered bypassing the city altogether but the next stop after this would be well beyond the border and he wasn’t sure it was a good idea to push himself so hard again when he was sure to meet even more resistance in the days ahead.