In the Dead of Night You Went Dark On Me

But It's Only My Echo

Mr. Lancer looked at the boy who had previously fallen onto his classroom floor, and there was a surprising lack of fear in his eyes where it was expected to be. Daniel was always known for his fear of ghosts, so it was expected that when presumably a ghost was now in the classroom with them that his pupil would be terrified. Papers and writing utensils began flying around the room in no particular pattern, narrowly missing everyone who had ducked near their desks.

"You've been avoiding us!"

The voices came from everywhere, sounding nothing like anything the English teacher had ever heard. There was static (similar to how Phantom sounded when he spoke through his gas mask) and random screeching interwoven in the noise making it hard to concentrate. No ghost had appeared yet, which made Lancer nervous.

The papers suddenly all fell flat on the ground, but the ghosts weren't done with whatever tirade they were on, because moments later Daniel was being picked up out from Kwan and Dash's arms, and being suspended midair. There was a slight edge to his voice, almost like a growl, when his student said, "Let me go."
A figure suddenly flickered into view for a brief moment. It had on some sort of clown costume on, hair sticking up in all kinds of directions, some sort of face paint on it's face like a marionette doll (or maybe that wasn't paint, maybe it was just the ghost's face. That's a sad thought). A shrill laugh escaped its lips, and it lifted Daniel higher into the air. "Soon, soon. But first, my friend, a token of our interaction, and an ingredient for our potion."

Another specter appeared behind them, looking surprisingly like a medieval peasant, and took one of its claws and plucked out several hairs from the top of Daniel's head. "Your time is running out, princeling. Be ready."

As quickly as they had appeared, they vanished. Daniel fell to the floor with a crash, hitting his head on one of the chairs as his body broke several of the desks. A high pitched scream from Miss Manson yelled out his name, and Mr. Lancer stirred into action. He quickly made his way over to his fallen pupil, and with the help of Dash and Kwan they moved most of the broken wood from behind the fallen boy.

Everything went by in a blur, and he felt like a failure of a teacher. He was supposed to protect his students, and when he was needed most, he was not the first to react. He should have been helping Daniel when he began seizing, and he shouldn't have allowed his student to be attacked like that by some random ghosts. Sure the teachers weren't allowed to carry any ecto weapons in and around the school yet, but he still should have done something. Pulled the ghost alarm or something. Gotten ahold of the Felton's. Something! He might not have been able to help his student then, but he'll be damned sure he helps his student now when he needs it.

Dash and Kwan moved the pieces while Mr. Lancer checked the failing student's physical health. He'd taken enough health classes to know not to move a body when there's a chance of head or neck injuries, and a fall from that high hitting a desk from that angle, it would be a miracle if he doesn't have a neck injury.

"Someone needs to call an ambulance."

"Someone should call his parents."

"I thought I heard a snap."

"I think that was his neck."

"Did he break his neck?"

"Is he breathing?"

"His chest doesn't seem to be moving!"

"What's happening?"

There was crying and screaming in the classroom, so many voices asking questions, making observations. Lancer heard someone calling the police, he ushered everyone away from the unconscious boy, and did his best to calm them down. He could maybe remember seeing Dash giving Danny CPR, but maybe it was Kwan. He heard the two boys talking, heard the phrases "try again", "not breathing", and "not working".

In all his sixteen years of teaching, Mr. Lancer has had to deal with the death of students. Whether it was medical issues the student had been dealing with, unforeseen circumstances, or suicide, he'd seen it and known how to deal with it. Every death he learned of broke his heart piece by piece, but he was able to figure out what to do in the circumstance. He would allow himself to grieve, allow his students to grieve, and offer his ear to anyone who needed it along with professional help as well. Yes, William Lancer had dealt with his fair share of unfortunate early deaths in his time as a teacher, but he had never had to deal with a student dying in his classroom, on his watch.

He was supposed to be the protector, making sure they are able to learn in a safe environment. He wasn't supposed to fail them and watch them die in his classroom. Kwan and Dash had been doing everything in their power to save Daniel, but he was probably already dead. The force in which his head hit the chair, he was probably dead the second he hit the ground.

William didn't remember doing it, but at some point he had called in the principal and sent all his students away with him, presumably to the library. Or he had tried to send them all out. Paulina, Star, Valerie, Sam, and Tucker had fought tooth and nail to stay in the room, and eventually the teacher and principal agreed, as long as they would stay out of Dash and Kwan's way, and the way of the paramedics when they eventually came through.

Sam sat on the ground next to her (ex-best friend. Lancer hadn't seen them hang out together for quite some time), clutching his hand hard in her own, and Valerie did the same to his other hand. Dash and Kwan eventually stopped trying CPR, and they just stared at one another with a haunted look in their faces. Mr. Lancer should have fought harder to make the students leave. They shouldn't be forcing themselves to watch their classmate die.
"Son of a fucking bitch!" Came screaming out of Daniels lips as his body suddenly bolted upright. His breathing came in and out in large gasps, his body heaving, seeming to not have had enough air for the past few minutes. All of the students that had remained in the class screamed and stared at the heaving boy in shock. He should be dead. He was dead. Daniel Fenton had died, yet here he was.

"Easy Daniel. Deep breaths, with me." This was something he could do. He had knelt in front of Danny and began helping him with his breathing. This would not be the first time he'd helped Daniel get enough breath in his body. There were several times he calmed this particular student from a panic attack or anxiety attack. He knew what helped calm the boy down, and what helped him get enough air.

Several minutes had passed until Daniel was breathing properly, his skin color returning back to its normal pale color, lacking the new twinge of blue he'd acquired for a few moments. His hands were shaking badly and his eyes were not as focused as they could have been. Lancer watched as his student took his hands from the girls at his sides, and buried his face with them. He scrubbed his face wildly with his hands, beginning to scratch at his cheeks. The only consolation was it seemed as though his nails were cut exceptionally short, shorter than most.

Daniel put one hand to his neck and turned his head. Everyone in the room heard the loud pop that came from it, not sounding like a normal neck popping, although maybe it was. "What the hell? What the hell? What the hell?"

The voice asked from beside him, and Lancer turned to look at Miss Manson's tear stained face. "What the hell is going on?"

He could only wish to have an answer for his students. But he genuinely had no clue what was happening. There were never this many ghost attacks at one time, not since that one apocalypse they'd all experienced close to a year after the attacks began. "Shut up."

It was almost a silent whisper, but Lancer heard it. The sound was raspy, with almost an echo to it. Miss Manson let out a loud gasp, but covered her mouth with her hands. Daniel looked at her with an apologetic look, but it didn't mask the agony that was left on his face. He gently lowered himself back to the floor, Miss Manson and Miss Grey helped him. Tears were flowing down both of their faces, and Mr. Lancer saw tears begin to fall down Daniel's face as well. "They couldn't have just waited until I was out of school. They couldn't have fucking waited and let me die in private."