Danny Phantom - The Next Chapter

Sanctuary

The sharp sound of a gun cocking dragged Danny from oblivion and he blinked blearily up at a man pointing a rifle down at him.

‘Who’re you?’ he demanded in the thickest southern drawl Danny had ever heard.

‘Ugh…’ was all he could manage in return, his head falling back again.
Before he could slip away once more, a sharp kick on one of his injured legs made him groan and look up once more.

‘I asked you a question,’ the man snapped, still pointing his gun.

Danny summoned what little strength he had and rolled onto his back and the man swore and stepped back. Danny struggled to lift his head and he could see why the man had reacted so violently. His tattered white shirt was now stained a deep reddish-brown with splotches of green at the edges. His legs too bore burns and now that he was aware of them, the pain was starting to register.

‘Dear Lord in Heaven,’ the man breathed before turning and running from the barn, shouting, ‘Maree! Get the first aid kit. And Ashton, get over here!’

Danny tried to sit up but that was far beyond his capabilities at the moment. Even trying to call on his ghost energy enough to transform was eluding him. He gave up and fell back against the hay which at that moment was the most comfortable thing he had ever slept on. If he could just lie here forever he would have no complaints.

But far too soon footsteps approached and the man appeared with a younger man who Danny assumed was Ashton whose eyes widened at the sight of him.

‘What’s your name, son?’ the older one asked as they knelt beside him.

‘Danny…’ he whispered, the most he could manage.

‘Okay, well Danny, we’re gonna carry you inside and Maree is gonna have a look at’chu, alright?’

‘No…’ Danny protested. The idea of being dragged away from his pile of hay seemed too much at this moment.

‘Sorry, kid,’ Aston replied, ‘You ain’t got much of a choice in the matter. Here we go.’

A ragged gasp escaped Danny as Ashton scooped him up, the pain unbearable.

‘I got’chu kid,’ Ashton said in what was probably intended as a reassuring voice but all Danny could hear was the roaring in his ears and the screaming pain all over.

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‘I’m tellin’ you, Dad. He looks just like that kid with those freaky powers.’

Danny flinched at the voice that seemed to echo in his ears. He cracked open his eyes to see a spinning ceiling fan above him.

‘If he is, I don’t want none of that demonic crap in this house,’ a woman’s voice replied. ‘It ain’t natural and it sure ain’t what God intended for His people.’

‘He’s just a kid, Maree,’ the older man’s voice replied. ‘I ain’t happy about it either but you’ve seen the news. He was kidnapped and dragged to Mexico by some feds. That definitely ain’t right. And he doesn’t look older than fifteen. I know you wouldn’t want no harm to come to a kid.’

He shifted slightly and gasped at the burning pain that was once more assailing him. Rapid footsteps approached and he found an older woman looking down at him, both concerned and wary.

‘I’ll go,’ Danny mumbled, struggling to lift himself and falling back down again as the pain became too much.

‘Don’t be dumb,’ the woman replied, ‘You ain’t getting very far with those wounds on ya. You just lie there and rest.’

‘I’m not… a monster…’ he mumbled and the woman sighed as Ashton and the older man also appeared around him, the latter handing her a damp cloth.