Downward Spiral by SupremeDramaOverlord

Chapter 1 - Curiosity Killed the Cat, But Satisfaction Brought it Back

Before the accident that changed my life forever, I never had to worry about ghosts. The evening when everything changed seemed just like any other. School was over, I came home to the overbearing sound of my parents screaming at each other from down in the basement, and after I stepped over the anti-ghost weapons spread across the floor, I stomped upstairs to hide away in my room. My parents arguing voices weren't as loud when my door was closed. I had paused halfway up the stairs when I noticed the divorce papers on the coffee table.

My older sister Jazz has repeatedly told me that it was perfectly normal for many children. As she put it, I'm 14 and I've already started high school. I was too old to be dramatically upset over my parents getting a divorce. I've been told by many people that while my parents are splitting up, I would still get to see them both as much as if they were still living together. That wasn't very comforting since mom and dad hardly ever have time for me anymore.

A tired sigh escaped my lips as I slowly glanced at the door leading to the basement. Even though the metallic sounds of tools being used non-stop were loud, my parents' yelling was even louder. They've been fighting over the pettiest things. Whether or not the welcome mat was ugly, what brand of toilet paper to buy, the significance of keeping the toilet seat down - heck, they even argued over the existence of Santa Claus! How they managed to work together on building inventions and machines through their screaming, I'd never know. I just wished they would stop.

I heard the front door open and closed and I turned around to see Jazz heading straight for the stairs, giving me a brief smile of acknowledgment before disappearing into her room. Despite the way she pretended to be indifferent to the whole situation, I knew it affected her more than she'd care to admit. And though she'd never confess it, she was obviously relieved to be leaving for college in just a few short weeks.

Halfway up the stairs, I almost fell over as the house shook from a thunderous BOOM! Ignoring the frequent explosions and my parents' excessive cursing- that I'm well accustomed to, I went into my room and closed the door. I dug around in my backpack and pulled out my homework. There was a lot of it, and if I wanted to keep my good grades, I'd better get to work. It also served as a way to get my mind off of certain things.

A couple of hours later, I was almost finished and was about to work on my rocket model when I could hear my parents calling for me and Jazz to come downstairs, their voices filled with excitement. Confused, I followed my sister down the stairs and into the hallway where my parents waited for us. Their jumpsuits were covered in scorch marks, something green and slimy, and there was a spot on dad's left shoulder that was smoking. This was nothing new, but what made Jazz and I stare was the excited beaming smiles they wore on their faces. This was something we haven't seen in a long time. I shared a baffled expression with my sister.

"It's finished, kids!" My mom joyfully exclaimed, "Come see it!"

I caught my sister's eye. We already had a good idea about what mom was talking about.

I followed behind my family, descending the stairs down into the basement. Mom and dad had turned it into a shabby lab before I was even born. It was their pride and joy. The lighting was dim, and most of it came from various machines which cast an eerie neon-green glow over everything. My nose scrunched up from the thick chemical fumes in the air. The lab was a mess. Always had been. Various tools and unfinished projects covered the workbenches, blueprints were scattered across the floor, jars with strange glowing green slime sat on the shelves, and ecto-weapons of every shape and size lined all the walls. Except one…

Mom and dad led Jazz and me to the farthest side of the room. Built into the back wall was a circular, metal, dead-end tunnel (no pun intended). There were thick cables attached to a metal control panel that led deep inside it, and a couple of well-used blowtorches sat on the floor.

"Feast your eyes on the greatest achievement of our lives!" Dad's voice boomed with pride. "The Ghost Portal!"

Mom and dad stared at us, waiting for us to look impressed. Instead, I nervously met my sister's eyes. While I was used to my parents' eccentric beliefs in ghosts, I was becoming a little concerned about them. Jazz, on the other hand, folded her arms across her chest with an annoyed expression.

Jazz heavily sighed with an added eye roll, "Here we go again."

"So, um," I timidly decided to indulge them, "What's it do?"

My dad beamed and straightened to his full height with pride, "With this baby, we'll finally have access to the Ghost Zone!"

"Just imagine!" Mom excitingly gestured towards the hole in the wall, "A door that can open into a dimension of ghouls! It will open a whole new window of research for us!"

"Mom, dad," Jazz's tone was sharp as she eyed the machine with contempt, "Have you two ever actually seen a ghost?"

"With this portal, everyone will be able to see ghosts!" Mom went over to the control panel and expertly pressed buttons while dad grabbed the end of a cable with a plug on the end of it.

As they set everything up, I spared a glance at Jazz. She stood watching our parents with a judgmental frown on her face, shaking her head in disapproval. "Do you two really think it's healthy to expose Danny to all this ridiculous ghost ideology? He's at an impressionable age. Besides," She waved a hand towards the machine, "This doesn't look safe for children to be around."

"Sweetie, we're experts," Mom responded as she walked over to dad. "We know what we're doing."

"Now watch and be amazed!" Dad exclaimed as he plugged the cord into the wall socket.

The machine gave out a small hum, and then to my surprise, the inside began to produce little sparks that made popping noises. I watched in growing amazement as a bright green glow radiated from the machine and the humming grew louder. Bolts of electricity fizzed and exploded… then nothing.

The noise and the light show abruptly stopped. We all stared at it waiting for something else to happen. We waited.

And waited…

...and waited.

That's when the floodgates opened. Mom and dad instantly began yelling and blaming the other for the failure of their Ghost Portal.

"What did you do?!" Mom pointed an accusing finger at dad, "You did something wrong!"

"Me?" Dad angrily fumed, "This is all your fault!"

As they kept screaming at each other, I looked over to my sister. She rolled her eyes and stomped upstairs. I heard the front door open and closed and I knew she would be gone for the rest of the evening. I was about to follow her example, but mom and dad beat me to it. Still arguing, they both ascended the stairs and I heard them leave the house. This wasn't the first time they'd done this. Normally, whenever they got so angry and couldn't stand the sight of each other, they would leave the house and go who knows where. Lately, Jazz had been hiding out at the local library and would only come home to sleep. So it was often that I would find myself home alone.

I stared at the so-called, "ghost portal". Because of my parents' interesting career choice, I always got bullied at school for it. I always hated my parents' obsession with ghosts and all the abnormal inventions they made. But now, as their frequent and angry voices echoed in my ears, a small part of me wished their harebrained portal actually worked. Not ten minutes ago they were happy and smiling at each other, just as they used to.

Slowly, I walked to the entrance of the portal. It was wide and tall enough for me to walk into. The walls that had glowed and sparkled were now dull, dark and lifeless. Deep inside was what appeared to be a control panel.

There was no way it could work since there was no such thing as ghosts. But maybe, just maybe, if I could get it to do something, mom and dad would get along better. They might even try to work things out.

Going to the closet under the basement stairs, I pulled out a white hazmat suit my parents had bought me. This was the first time I'd ever used it. I slipped it on over my clothes and pulled on the protective black gloves and boots.

I walked into the portal and carefully stepped over the tangled cables. The tunnel was longer than I had thought and when I reached the panel I was almost at the very end of it. I stared around in curiosity before focusing on the small panel. There were two buttons on it. The green one was labeled on, the red was labeled off.

Frowning, I wondered why my parents didn't do the obvious and simply pressed the on button. Was it really going to be this simple? I raised my hand to push the button but hesitated. A little voice inside me questioned if it was a good idea to be messing with things I didn't completely understand. But then the rare memory of mom and dad smiling at each other popped into my mind's eye.

I pressed the button.

And that's when my world forever changed…

Electricity and power exploded within the portal, and an intense pain I had never before experienced consumed my body. I knew I was screaming louder than I'd ever screamed in my life, but I didn't hear it. I couldn't hear anything. It was like someone turned off my senses and all I could register was the stinging agony. My body pulsed and the powerful energy shot me out of the machine. I think I might've blacked out.

When I came to, I was sprawled out on the cold, hard floor of the lab. I couldn't stop gasping and my body was violently contorting. Most of the pain was gone, but there was a horrible numbness spreading throughout my whole body. Brilliant green lights flashed before my vision. I groaned and I tried to call for help. But the only sounds I could make were pained inhuman noises. Then I realized with dread that I was alone in the house and no one would be coming to my rescue.

I don't know how long I laid there, twitching uncontrollably. It could have been minutes, or hours, or days for all I knew. When I did manage to regain some control, I opened my eyes and stared down at one of my hands. My vision danced and everything was spinning, but I did my best to focus on my trembling gloved hand. I tried flexing my fingers, and after giving it all I had, I managed to jerk it. Fighting the paralyzing numbness, I eventually managed to prop myself up on my elbows. My head was throbbing and I dizzily looked up at the portal. My mouth went dry.

No longer was I staring at a long metal tunnel, but a window of swirling, glowing colors of emerald and violet. It bathed the whole room in a rainbow of supernatural light. I thought I was going to pass out when a loud siren filled the air and a red light started flashing. Big, heavy metal doors slid shut and locked the ghost portal. Not a moment passed before the red siren shut off and the room was plunged into silence. It would have been completely dark too, but there was a faint, soft, vibrant light.

And it was coming from me!

I doubled over and spilled the contents of my stomach. There was a burning, vile taste assaulting the inside of my mouth. When I saw that my puke was thick and glowing a sickly green, I shook and trembled. I wiped the slimy substance off with the back of my hand and cautiously tried to stand up.

With legs that felt like liquid jelly, I weakly stumbled and fell several times before making it to the stairs. I crawled up the stairs, guided by the luminous light emitting from my shaking form. By the time I made it into the living room, most of the pain had faded away and I had more control over my body. Outside the windows, the sky had darkened and the city's street lights had already come on. I collapsed on the couch and fumbled with the house phone as a tickling sensation tingled throughout my hands. Not knowing what to do, I began to dial my sister's cell phone number. But before I could finish dialing the number, I the phone fell through my hands and fell to the floor.

The phone fell through my hands.

Holding down the burning bile from coming out of my mouth, I swallowed thickly and stared at my now transparent hands. After a moment, the ticklish feeling went away, and my hands materialized and solidified in the blink of an eye. I slowly stood up. As calmly as I could, I walked up the stairs and into the bathroom. I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I just stared. I couldn't scream, I couldn't cry, I couldn't panic. I could only stare.

The otherworldly boy in the mirror couldn't be me. It wasn't possible! My reflection's hair color was the purest snow white I'd ever seen. My once-pale skin was now a proud brown tan. The hazmat suit I was wearing had somehow reversed its colors, so now it was black with bleach white gloves and boots. But the most terrifying change I noticed was my eyes. My eyes were no longer blue. The iris of my eyes brightly radiated and glowed, the emerald colors dancing with ghostly movements. My eyes were wide as saucers and filled with terror.

That couldn't be me. But it was.

I leaned heavily on the bathroom counter as another dizzy spell washed over me. I gasped when a chilled tingle ran up my spine and a pair of brilliant silvery-blue rings formed around my middle. In one quick movement, they split apart and vanished.

I had completely changed again. Now, as I anxiously observed the mirror, I was perplexed to see that I was back to normal. I had raven hair, baby-blue eyes, pale skin, and was completely hazmat free. I wore my NASA T-shirt and my regular jeans. And as a bonus, I was no longer a human nightlight. I eyeballed my reflection, wishing it would tell me what was happening.

From downstairs I heard the front door shut, and the muffled voices of my parents. I took a shallow breath. Everything was going to be ok now, they would know what to do.

I turned towards the door to leave as a ticklish feeling spread in my legs. I gasped in fright when I sank down into the ground. Looking down with horror, I barely repressed a scream at seeing I had sunk into the floor from the waist down. Frantically, I tried to push myself out of the floor, my legs kicking around in panic. Unfortunately, the ticklish tingle traveled up my waist and through my whole being. I shut my eyes tight as I fell through the floor. Blurs of colors flew past me as my limbs flailed, my hands gripping air in a useless attempt to stop my fall. Time seemed to slow as I cringed into myself, anticipating to crash. But it never came.

My eyes flew open and I gaped. While I had completely phased through the bathroom floor, I hadn't crashed like I expected to. I was floating, suspended in the air. Amazed, I gradually uncurled from the fetal position I had been in. My trepidation was replaced with a jubilant excitement that sent butterflies fluttering in my stomach. I felt lighter than air! It was like gravity had completely shut itself off! I didn't even try to hold back my euphoric laughter. This was so cool! It was like being an astronaut!

It ended too quickly. Without warning, gravity spoiled my fun and I fell onto the tiled kitchen floor. I had only been suspended about three feet in the air, so it didn't hurt too much. The weightless sensation was gone, and it left me feeling strangely heavy. Shaking from the buzz of excitement, I got to my feet and walked into the living room to search for my parents. They weren't there and I walked over to the door leading to the basement. I could hear my parents talking to one another, and they sounded delighted about something. I was about to descend the stairs, but I hesitated.

Before now, the basement had always just been my parents' makeshift lab, filled with crazy and interesting devices. I'd never had a problem with going inside and exploring the kooky inventions mom and dad would create. But now, as I stood in the doorway, an uneasy feeling wiggled its way inside me and twisted my stomach into knots. Ignoring the unsettling awareness that there was something to mom and dad's ghost obsessions, I descended the stairs and walked to the back of the lab. I stopped in my tracks.

My parents were kissing.

Normally I would yell, "Gross," and run away, but I was too shocked to say anything. It's been nearly a whole year since mom and dad have shown any affection towards each other, much less making out. Mom was the one who noticed me, and she quickly turned towards me with the biggest smile I've ever seen on her.

I nervously stepped forward, "Mom? Dad? I need to tell you something-"

"Danny!" She rushed towards me and wrapped her arms tightly around my form. "It works! Sweetie, it really works!"

"You mean the portal?" I hesitantly inquired.

"You bet!" Dad beamed as he proceeded to enthusiastically explain that when he and mom came home, they discovered the emergency door was closed. When they had opened it, they were ecstatic to see that their machine had successfully created a door into the Ghost Zone. They had quickly closed the heavy metal doors on it, intending to reopen them when they were properly prepared and equipped with the necessary tools.

I stared at mom and dad when they lovingly glanced at each other. That was something else they haven't done in a long time.

"Oh, sweetie," Mom then turned her attention to me, remembering I had tried to tell them something. "Was there something you needed to tell us?"

Mom and dad happily gave me their full attention, something I rarely ever had. I cast a glance at the sealed metal doors of the portal, then back at their overjoyed expressions. There was a sparkle in their eyes. A sparkle I didn't want to dim. I gave them my answer in a quiet voice.

"No."