GHOST PROTOCOL {JLU/DP}

• ESCAPE•

HER HEART POUNDED IN HER chest as she ran.

Past her door.

Past her grandmother.

Past everything.

Because she couldn't loose him, too.

Sam slammed her hand onto the doorframe the split second before she hit it, swinging herself out, terrified tears starting to gather in her eyes, but she pushed them down, swiping her goggles over her head and slamming her wrist blaster on and securing the Velcro with practiced ease on her lipstick blaster's arm holster. Her finger instinctively ran over the button on the bottom of the cuff, a gun quickly popping up and unfolding itself.

Sam ran down the streets, towards where Tucker should've been, screaming his name, unbidden tears gathering one by one as her calls weren't answered, heart pounding so hard and fast Sam thought she had a gaping, aching hole where a heart should be.

From her belt dangled a beat up, scratched up thermos that looked like the dinged cap had seen better days.

"TUCKER!!"

"S-SAM!!" Coughs. "O-OVER H-HERE!!"

Relief floods every vein as she darts through rubble and wreckage, scanning for her friend. "Tucker, keep calling!"

"Sa-m! Sam, o-ver he-re!" Another coughing fit.

Sam's shoulders slumped as she found him, the tension falling as she saw him.

He was fine.

Couple scratches, some spots that were already bruising and his foot was pinned, but Sam would take that any day over dead. Tears pooled in her eyes as she jumped down and started pulling. She grunted. "Tucker! Move!"

As soon as Tucker's foot pulled clear Sam dropped the slab with a SLAM. She turned to her friend, concern flashing in her eyes. "Are you okay?"

Tucker, voice stuck in his throat as he stared numbly at the slab, nodded. His eyes widened in horror-- "The Fe-ntons! Their- house! It bl-ew!"

Sam's eyes widened and she spun around, ready to go charging off again when she saw a blur of green shoot out, and against her better instincts, she hoped against hope that it was Danny.

The figure wasn't entirely her Danny, but right now, a clone was close enough. "Dani!" She called, but the clone didn't notice, instead scanning her surroundings before freezing on the sky.

Sam and Tucker looked at the girl (well, now more of a woman) in confusion before following her gaze. Both froze.

"Ghosts." Sam murmurs fearfully. "Millions of them. This is what Danny meant. He knew this would happen."

Tucker could only nod, his rough voice stuck in his throat. 

For the first time in a long time, Tucker's voice escaped him without his permission.