The Amity Park Haunting

Raising Your Spirits Part 3: Lowest Point

After being chased around by Skulker for most of the afternoon, I wind up resting between two inconspicuous buildings on the bad side of town, though the events that lead me to wind up here are a bit hazy. It's a strange feeling, being tired when you're dead; it's not as though I'm out of breath or that I'm sore, my body just feels like it is being slowly drained of energy the more that I move. To make matters worse, my wound only seems to be draining my powers faster, though it seems to be healing relatively well for how deep it was. In a desperate attempt to further protect my self by escaping from this endless cycle of fleeing Skulker and his arsenal, I try to come up with a plan. Skulker doesn't know that I can transform back into a human, so now is the perfect time. I just have to make sure that he isn't around here anywhere. As I scan my surroundings, careful not to be spotted by anyone, I hear a strange giggling sound come from behind me and startle in place, worried that Skulker, or my parents for that matter, might have found me.

"Ffff..." the voice coos and I spin around, terrified, eyes landing on a slumped over figure in the corner of one of the buildings, the bright blonde hair an unmistakable feature.

"Dash?" My eyes widen in concern as he whips his head up to look at me, as if he hadn't realized that I am here. For a moment, he just stares at me, a blank expression on his face, but something washes over him and his face transforms into over-exaggerated shock.

"Fenton!" He gasps, but I'm the one left shook to my core. Forcing myself to stay calm, I try to come up with an excuse as I float closer to him, but he cuts me off. "What are you wearing? Some kinda costume? You got green eyes man!"

Hold on... does he not recognize me?

"Uh, Dash are you alright?" I ask him as I take in the surrounding area, dropping out of my tail and onto the ground with my human legs. There are bottles of beer scattered around him, all of them empty, and his breath reeks of alcohol. "Did you drink all of these yourself?"

"Fenton," he doesn't respond but his demeanor is so casual and friendly compared to how he normally is that I can only assume that he is completely wasted. He reaches up to grab me, pulling me down to his level and staring me in the eyes. "Are you wearing contacts? Your eyes are glowing man."

"What are you doing here, Dash?" I try to push him off of me but he holds me down with the strength of bodybuilder.

"I needed to come here to buy alcohol," he admits. "Never been here before and got lost, so I just started drinking."

"Dash, you shouldn't be wandering around down here, especially if you don't know where you're going. Someone could try to mug you, or murder you, or kidnap you."

"Ha!" He bellows right in my ear. "I would love to see them try that."

"You're the new symbol of hope for Amity Park, you can't be running around recklessly like this," I scold him, making his eyes change into a sad, darkened shell of their former selves.

"I know," he admits, surprising me a little. "Ha. I thought maybe I could escape you Fentons for a bit. Your parents are so damn obsessed with ghost hunting!" He hangs his head, covering his face with his hands as he continues to ramble, and I can do nothing but watch the events unfold, equally confused and troubled by this side of Dash that I've never seen. "Why'd it have to be me? Why do I have to replace him? Damn. He'd be so disappointed in me right now, would probably knock me upside the head and tell me to suck it up. It's my responsibility now." He goes silent and for a moment, I can do nothing but stare at him with wide eyes, genuinely shocked that he feels comfortable enough to tell this to me, of all people. "Danny, you—"

A thunderous clanging sound cuts him off, and we both look back towards the main road, trying to deduce what's going on, when I quickly realize that I'd been chatting away my opportunity to escape from that psychopath. I whip my head towards Dash, who looks at me with droopy eyes, as he is clearly on the verge of passing out. I can't transform back in front of him. He'll definitely notice something's off if I do.