Something has gone horribly wrong, and young Camry Dowell can't help but be in the thick of it all. A freak happening in her own home sends her hurtling through the walls of dimensions and time, and with no way to stop it she's helpless to the effec...
It's strange to go from sitting on a rooftop in a wintry world far beyond your own, to the floor of Clockwork's tower in less than an instant. Sam, Tucker, and Danny dropped to the floor from a few inches above it and yelped upon unexpected impact, nearly losing their balance. The shock of higher temperatures sent goosebumps flaring up across their skin.
"Welcome back," Clockwork intoned a short distance away, where he stood next to a bored Kitty examining her painted nails.
"Clockwork..." Danny muttered. "We ran out of time?"
"It was time for the three of you to return," was all the ancient ghost would say on that topic. "Just as it is time you all returned home before your curfews."
"Curfews?" Tucker echoed, pulling out his PDA and looking at the time syncing up with his own dimension. "Oh, crud! You guys, it's twenty 'til ten! We gotta go!"
The three teens scrambled to their feet and raced out of Clockwork's tower, throwing back waves and calling out "Thanks for everything!" over their shoulders. When they were out of sight, Kitty turned to Clockwork and held out the photographs she didn't want. "What do you want me to do with these?" she asked, uninterested.
His answer was to reach for them, and she readily relented the pictures to him. Clockwork took one last look at them; the smiling friends of the ghost boy and his two human best friends as they crowded close together; the shyer smile of the ghost girl as she tried not to look too awkward, posed by herself in the frame. Clockwork's expression didn't change in the least bit as he set them alight with little more than a stare.
The flames were silent, hardly more than wisps of heat, and sent shadows dancing across his face. "It's best if there is little evidence that she was here," he stated evenly, clenching his fist to extinguish the flames and crumble the pictures into ash. "Your effort is very much appreciated, Kitty. You should go back to Johnny and start by explaining how what he said made you feel. Don't worry-- he will understand."
Everyone in the Ghost Zone knew not to take Clockwork's advice casually. On that note, she left to do just that, already forming her opening lines in her head as she flew past the floating purple doors and endless green void.
Clockwork watched her go, then let out a gentle sigh when he was once again alone in his clock tower.
"That should be enough. Given a few more years, their destinies will come to light at last."
He turned to stare into a window of the distant future, where a scene of burning buildings and armored men on horses made for a chaotic sight. "History truly does love to repeat itself."
~~~
"You're coming in with me?"
Camry's hand had already popped open the passenger side door of her mom's shiny cyan Porsche when she realized her mom had turned the car all the way off. "Of course I am!" Sadie Dowell answered cheerfully. "I need to have a talk with the counselors about what we're going to do about your classes. You missed so much of the school year already, and I don't want to see you falling behind."
'All the other kids are technically behind, too...' she thought in a grumble. "You're not gonna be late for work?"
Sadie smirked and ruffled her daughter's hair, which had been trimmed to its usual length just barely past her chin in the two weeks between her rescue and the first day of school. "They already know I won't be in until noon today. There's still a lot to do around the house, after all. Now, come on! Let's not be any later than we already are."
When Camry finally had her class schedule in her hands and the 'okay' to jump into the middle of first period, she kissed her mother goodbye on the cheek and hurried out of the counselor's main office as fast as she could. Nothing about it had ever seemed comforting to her with its simple pictures, fake cheeriness, and desperate need for a new paint job. "See you at home, Mom!"
"Have a good day, honey!"
First period American Literature was in the middle of an icebreaker game when the teacher's computer dinged insistently, calling him over to look at the new notification. He sighed at the header of the message: New student added to roster. "I guess this is to be expected, since it's like the first day of school all over again," he murmured, opening it to accept the change to his class lineup.
A moment later, a short shadow passed over the lower part of the door's window, and the handle turned slowly, almost hesitantly. The new arrival poked her head in first, quickly checked her schedule, and nodded to herself before stepping in all the way. Her entrance had grabbed the attention of everyone in the room, much to her embarrassment, and before Mr. Myers could ask if she was lost a number of her classmates started talking all at once.
"Wait-- you're not dead?"
"Oh my god, I thought she was, like, gone for real."
"So did I! No way..."
"Aw, yes!" Dude cheered from his seat by the far wall. His hand shot into the air and waved Camry to the empty seat in front of him. "We have this class together!"
Camry's wide eyes relaxed when she saw him smiling at her, beckoning for her to sit nearby even as the rest of the students stared and chattered like baby birds.
"There's no seating arrangement today, so sit wherever you want," Mr. Myers said even as she made her way to the spot Dude indicated. Camry nodded to the teacher and set her backpack down, then slid into the chair so her back was pressed against the wall.
"Sorry for interrupting," she said with a glance at the sea of faces staring back at her. "And no, I'm not dead."
Okay, THERE'S the epilogue. Woohoo! I'm finally done! What a relief... I managed to finish the Sunday before school starts for me, so I'm definitely cutting it close ^_^'
Let's celebrate! Comment your thoughts down below, because I'd love to hear from all of you dedicated readers~ WUVS!!
An art commission of Camry and Danny by rochichan on tumblr (still can't stop squealing over this, and it's been months since she completed and sent it to me):
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