Little Conversations (DP)

Little Conversations

The low humming of her hoverboard, vibrating against her feet. The wind on her helmet, the exhilarating feeling of flight, of freedom. The trees zipping underneath her, blurring into a mass of green and brown.

Usually, all of these feelings would give her a sense of thrill, excitement, trepidation, cautiousness and righteous anger as she holstered her guns. She would be prepared to blast some idiotic ghost's butt to the Ghost Zone, back where they belonged.

But today was not one of those days.

Setting down on the grassy park, Valerie tiredly pressed a button on her right arm, her suit folding in on itself until it was almost nonexistent, fitting comfortably inside her backpack. Falling to her knees, her long hair spread across the grass, Valerie pressed her cheek against the dirt and just inhaled the smell. Her head was spinning, her consciousness colliding in on itself. Her head swirling with thoughts and plans and logical meeting unlogical, her beliefs and anger meeting her logic and evidence.

Carefully sitting back up, Valerie rubbed her temples with her fingers, trying to make the ache go away. It all hurt, so much. She just wanted it all to go away so she could rest. But she couldn't.

Vlad Masters, the kind old man who had given her a purpose, a way to defeat the evil ghost freaks who inhabited their plane, was also Plasmius? The Wisconsin Ghost? The ghost so hell bent on destroying Dani that he would literally destroy anything in his way?

The mere thought alone that the person she trusted the most could have used her like this was earth shattering. She felt used, dirty, dirtier than the dirt that she was laying on, her clothing ripped and her hair covered in mud and twigs. She probably looked like a freak. A small, weak smile played onto her lips at the thought. Dirty little Valerie, finally looking like the slums she lived in.

Putting her head in her hands, she tried to make sense of it. Vlad Masters was a ghost, but he was also a human. Just like Dani was. What did it mean? How did it even happen? How could it even be possible?

Thoughts like these only led to darker, more terrifying thoughts. If Plasmius (no longer would she give him a name of any respect) and Dani had been half- human, did that mean all of the ghosts she had hunted were somewhat human too? How many times had she blasted them, sucked them into her gun, treated them like scum? How many of them were human, just trying to get along with their half dead lives? How many? HOW MANY?!

"HOW MANY?!" She screamed, her voice echoing through the empty park. Gasping, she put a hand to her mouth, green eyes looking wildly around the green space, hoping to whatever thing was up in the sky that no one heard her. She couldn't draw unneeded attention to herself.

Though lying in the middle of the grass looking like you had just come back from a war probably wasn't a better alternative.

But it felt good to scream, to let that anger out, to finally let all of those pent up thoughts and frustrations out into the night. Now, however, she felt drained and sick, nausea and exhaustion taking their toll.

"Val?"

Looking wildly around again, Valerie was blinded by a bright ray of light emanating from some sort of vehicle, a shadow operating it. Some part of her realized how terrible she looked, hoping to god it wasn't anyone she knew. She would never live it down at school.

"Valerie?" The voice sounded again, familiar and yet not at the same time. Her head was swimming, her eyes wide and bulging, her chest heaving as she backed slowly away. The figure jumped off of the vehicle, slowly coming towards her, and for a moment Valerie saw white hair and a flash of green, black and white and colors mixing together until it was all a blue of confusion and horror.