MindEscape

Prologue

Rain poured down mercilessly and without end on the fifteen year old boy as he stumbled through the darkness. Every drop of rain sent another spike of pain through his battered body. He had more cuts and gashes than he had skin, bandages covering up the worst of his injuries around his stomach and chest. He didn't know how long he had been running. Time was blurring in with the nightmare he was now living, making it nearly impossible to focus on anything. A while ago, he had fallen from the skies, lacking the energy to remain in his unnatural form. Struggling for breath, the boy leaned heavily on a road sign, blinking the rain out of his eyes. He was glad for the rain...it hid the other drops running down his cheeks. One of his hands never left his side. It was always clutching his stomach, and he feared that if he relieved the pressure on it, the pain would return...the unbearable agony... How was he even alive? His very innards had been uncovered and stirred like a pot of stew, yet, somehow, he was managing to cling to life. The boy shook his head and began stumbling along once more. Seeking at least slight shelter from the torrent of rain that was storming from the black sky, he entered the forest. He slipped and skid on mud, the hard roots of the massive trees battering him any time he stumbled. One of his feet hooked under a root and the boy slammed into the ground. The jolt sent a wave through him that pulled a cry from his throat. He felt blood on his lips. The taste made him sick to whatever remained of his stomach. The rain wasn't as vigourous under the trees, so there was nothing to hide the tears that were pouring down his cheeks. Why...how could I have let this happen...? The boy wanted to curl in on himself and give up...but that wasn't his style. He had never given up before, and he didn't plan on starting now. Groaning, unsuccessfully wiping the mud and blood off his face, the boy used the tree to pull himself up. He bit back the protest he felt growing within him and forced his feet to move. He could see lights in the distance, but whether or not he would be able to reach them... No, he couldn't think like that. He would ask for a place to rest his head, if only for the night, maybe a bite or two to eat, a clean bandage, since the one his sister had given him was already soaked in red and green, then he'd figure out where he was and move farther away. He could never go back...no matter what... The lights were getting closer, but with every step he took, the boy was slipping further under. He couldn't tell if he was walking in a straight line or not. The ground seemed to be moving beneath his unstable feet, which were dragging in the mud. His vision was blurred and dotted with black. His sight impaired, he ran right into the edge of a set of wooden stairs, but the pain hardly registered. It was nothing...nothing compared to...

"H-Help..." The boy tried to call out, but his voice wouldn't work. He pulled himself onto a porch, on his hands and knees, no longer able to stand. He tried to grab the handle of the door, but he was seeing double, and his hand was shaking so badly, it was practically impossible. He let his hand drop, every breath sending spikes of agony through his stomach and chest. Why...why didn't...I should've...I could've... Danny Fenton called forth all the energy he had left and raised his fist. He swung it forwards and slammed it into the door. He tried to hit the door again, but he couldn't find enough energy. His hand fell to the ground and he squeezed his eyes closed. I should've...told...them... He was lying on his stomach, his chest pressed up against the cold and wet wood. He tried to stop crying, but he couldn't. Silently, tear after tear poured down his cheeks, carving a trail in the blood and dirt. I can't...can't give...up.... Danny clenched his jaw and began to raise his head. He felt his eyes change colors, could see the green glow in the darkness. He was trembling uncontrollably as he put his hands underneath him. It took all he had to push himself up so that his arms were straight. He was beginning to pant with the effort, but his eyes continued to glow, determined. However, his will wasn't enough. Danny's muscles gave up, and he went limp, collapsing back onto the hard porch, soaked in rain, blood, and ectoplasm. The unyielding wood struck him flat across the chest and stomach, and he gasped in pain, crying out in agony. He couldn't breathe for the excruciating pain throughout him. Finally, he slipped from consciousness, and, for a moment, he hoped that his eyes would remain closed, that his mind would remain silent. Anything to escape the nightmare that had come to life around him...

A/N: Amber here. Silver wrote this particular chapter, but all the other ones are a combinations of us. I do the Gravity Falls Characters and she does Danny Phantom. Well, anyway, as Silver says, I'll howl to you later!

~Amber