Walker and The Heartbeat
âYou know fellas, Iâm very capable of flying on my own.â Danny said, glaring up at the ghost who held him. The thin green specter was clad in some kind of uniform, like a cop or maybe a guard. He wasnât alone either; there were at least six of these ghosts, all identical.
âSilence, punk,â The ghost began. âYou know what youâve done is wrong, and you should know where youâre going.â
Danny thought back to what got him in this situation. A routine patrol through the Ghost Zone found that some of his parentâs belongings had flown through the Fenton Portal. The lab supplies probably got blown or sucked into the portal by some mischievous spirit, Danny thought. As he gathered them up, he thought nothing of the danger he was in in spending prolonged time in the ghost zone. He was almost done when he heard a voice yelling. A ghost man glad in a prisoner outfit ran past Danny, and before Danny could figure out what was going on, he was surrounded by the guard ghosts. They used some strange stick that shot out ectoplasmic based cuffs that quickly bound Danny. Now he was in their clutches, getting taken off to who knows where.
âI didnât do anything! You were clearly chasing that other guy,â He paused to nudge his head towards the prisoner ghost, who was being carried by another guard. âAnd for some reason, you nabbed me too! I wasnât doing anything wrong!â
The guard seemed amused by Dannyâs protests. âWell, try tellinâ that to Walker.â Danny wanted to speak up, to protest further and question who the hell was Walker, but he was distracted by the large dark building they were quickly approaching. A massive wall surrounded the building, with the only opening in the wall being where an even more massive gate was. Windows were few and far between, and the ones he could see had bars over them. Danny knew it; this had to be some kind of prison.
The gate opened with a heavy, loud heaving sound. More guards identical to the ones that snatched him awaited inside, and they all seemed pleased to see Danny, as if it didnât matter what crime he committed, if any, and they were just happy to have another prisoner. Once he was inside, he was brought to a small room and given a prisoner uniform. He tried to protest, demanding a trial, demanding to know what heâd done, but under threats of getting beaten with the guardâs nightsticks, he complied. A single guard stayed in the room with him, releasing the restraints on his hands to let him put on the shirt, and then held the stick that made restraints to Dannyâs neck as he put on the pants. Danny wasnât about to take off his other clothes infront of the guard, so he put these on over his normal outfit. Once done, he was bound again, and brought through the halls of the prison. He expected to be tossed in a cell at any second, but curiously, they brought him into an office. He was dragged down into a chair, and tied to it, his feet tied to the front legs, his hands behind the back of the chair. As the guards left him, his eyes caught that the front of the door had letters on it. âWardenâ. This was the office of the prisonâs warden. Danny struggled in the chair, but it was no use. He tried to think of a way out of this. He shifted out of his ghost form and into his human form. The bindings did not release his hands or legs. He shifted back, groaning. How the hell was he going to get out of this?
It felt like a good ten minutes had passed before he heard footsteps. Strong, heavy sounding footsteps. A shadow cast itself over the door, and it opened. A man stepped into the office with a firm, yet confident stride. He was pure white in skin color, and he wore a suit and shirt that were just as white as him. The only other color on him, save for his green eyes, was the black of his hat, boots, gloves, and necktie. In one hand he held some large tome labeled âThe Rulesâ. He sat down slowly at his desk, and finally his eyes were on Danny.
âDanny Phantom, is it?â He spoke in a rich, low southern accent. As Danny replied, the man opened his book up, turning the pages loudly.
âHow the hell do you know who I am?â This question only made the Warden smirk.
âYour name has been dropped a few times here in my prison. Skulker, The Lunch Lady, Desiree, they all want a piece of you.â Danny tried not to shudder at the idea that some of his enemies were inside the walls of this very building, itching to get their hands on him.
âHow can you arrest me and lock me up, when Iâve done nothing wrong? If anything, Iâve helped you lock up some bad ghosts.â Danny argued.
âI can do what I want, boy. My name is Walker, and Iâm the warden of this facility. What Iâm doing is having you arrested and charged with the crimes youâve committed, and before you go pipinâ off tryinâ to argue that you havenât committed crimes, Iâll save us both the trouble, and read out the list of your offences.â Walker cleared his throat and began to list them. âTrespassing, loitering, creating a disturbance, and possession of human world contraband. Quite the list of crimes, for a first timer. However, since it is your first time, Iâm willinâ to be more lenient with your sentence. A thousand years should be enough for you to learn your lesson.â
Danny said nothing, but his eyes widened, and his mouth hung agape. A thousand years?! His human life would be over long before that! And what about his friends and his family? What would they think happened to him? And who would keep them safe? He felt his heartbeat quicken, and he realized he was shaking. His eyed focused on Walker, who was staring at him, but not in the way Danny thought he would be. When he looked up, he expected the warden to have some air of confidence about him, to give Danny some smug smirk or something of the like. Instead, Walker was staring at Danny as though he was confused or puzzled. Finally, the warden spoke up.
âWhat is that? That beating sound? Did you slip in here with more contraband? Thatâs another two hundred years if you did.â He stood up, quickly walking around his desk and over to Danny. He pressed his powerful hand to Dannyâs chest, as if feeling for something under the shirt. âWhatâŠwhat is that?â Now he sounded frustrated.
Danny paused, quiet, as he put it together. âItâsâŠ.my heartbeat.â Of course Walker would be confused by it. Normal ghosts didnât have a beating heart. But Danny was half ghost. In his human form, his heart worked like any normal human heart would. In his ghost form, it pumped slower, but it was still there. Walker, with his heightened ghost senses, must be hearing it.
âThatâs impossible, youâre a ghost, we donât have beating hearts.â Walkerâs gloved hand gripped at Dannyâs shirt, and in one powerful tug, ripped it and the shirt underneath, off, baring his chest. He knelt down, finally eye to eye with the prisoner.
âIâm not a full ghostâŠIâm a halfa. Half ghost, half human. So I have a working, beating heart, and youâre hearing it beat now.â Danny tried to explain.
Walker was memorized by the sound of it. How long had it been since he had heard a beating heart? The quick but rhythmic pumping of it soothed him in a way he didnât fully understand. He removed his hat, and brought his head closer to the prisonerâs chest, and just, listened. Danny said nothing, confused, yet curious. Maybe he could use this time to think of a way out of all this mess.
Walker was enamored with the sound of the boyâs heart. But as the prisonerâs stress levels faded, his heartrate slowed, and the sounds quieted. He had to bring it back somehow. He smirked as he poked and prodded the boyâs sides, trying to stimulate the heartbeat back up.
Danny jumped, and then let out a giggle he was incredibly embarrassed off. His cheeks turned pink as he laughed and gasped, struggling in the chair side to side. Just as Walker planned, the heart rate increased, giving him that sweet music to listen to. However, after a while, it dissipated once more.
Walkerâs hand found Dannyâs neck, and squeezed it. âBoy, Iâm gonna enjoy lockinâ you up, so I can hear that precious little heart beating for me for the next thousand years. And thatâs assuminâ you donât do anythinâ dumb in that time, and I donât find a way to extend your sentence.â
A thought occurred to Danny as he struggled in the chair, feeling the thick leather of Walkerâs glove choking him. He had just enough air to speak up. âW-what if you had to let me go?â He managed, before making a small choking sound. Walkerâs hand let go and listened to Dannyâs heart again for a few more seconds, savoring it.
âI canât just let you go, thatâd be against The Rules.â Walker said. Danny knew it; this guy was a stickler for rules. So maybe this could be used against him. Danny tried not to look too confident when he replied.
âWell, I donât want to put you in any trouble, you seem like youâd never break the law.â He tried to continue, but Walker interrupted him, getting in his face.
âSon, I AM the law. Iâd never do anything against The Rules. Ever.â Danny bit the inside of his lip to keep from smirking.
âWell, I think you might be accidently breaking a law right now. You see, itâs totally illegal to capture a member of an endangered species.â
Walker paused, blinking twice, slowly. âWhat?â He finally said, confused. Danny knew he had him.
âI told you before, Iâm a halfa. Half ghost,â He paused, to shift between forms, âand half human. And as far as I know, thereâs just me, and one other guy like me. That means Iâm a member of an incredibly endangered species.â Â
Walker looked stunned. He turned and grabbed his book of rules and flipped endlessly through its pages, skimming some passages, and slowly reading others. After he turned through the book twice, reading the same passages to himself, he confirmed it. Danny was right. He slowly closed the book and put it down on his desk.
âYouâre right. I canât legally hold you, not like this.â He reached into his jacket and pulled out one of the sticks that could make the restraints. He walked over to Danny and deactivated the bindings on his arms and legs. âYouâre free to go.â Danny almost felt bad for the guy, he sounded so defeated and upset with himself. âI knew youâd see it my way, Mister Walker. I wonât intentionally bother you again.â He quickly turned and left, leaving the defeated Warden there. As the door shut behind him, he could see the ghostâs green eyes staring at his chest. He was listening to his heartbeat one more time. He stopped at the end of the hall, and turned around.
Walker was back at his desk when Danny opened the door. Clearly he was expecting a guard to check in on Dannyâs claims of being let go, as he began with âLet the boy go. We canât hold him. I-â He paused, seeing the halfa in the door way. âWhat do you want now, boy?â
Danny stepped inside and shut the door. He thought about the experiences of fighting the villains that were currently locked up in the prison building, and the idea of them ganging up on him. He thought of never seeing his friends again. He thought of everything that made him nervous or anxious or afraid, and his heartbeat hummed its tune for Walker to enjoy one more time. He stood and walked over to the boy, towering over him. He leaned down and buried his face in Dannyâs chest, listening to his heart. Danny swore heard the warden utter a quiet thank you. After a minute or two of this, he left, not turning back.
As he left the prison he thought more and more about Walker. Infact, thoughts about the man wouldnât leave his mind even after he arrived home safe and sound. As he lay down for bed that evening, he was still thinking about Walker. During the next day, throughout it all, a thought of Walker would slip its way into his mind from time to time. Danny walked home and made his way down into the lab in the basement. He stared at the Fenton portal, and thought about Walker again. He knew he had to see the warden again, as much as it would complicate things. Oh well, I think he needs me, he thought to himself. He approached the portal and sighed, looking over his shoulder to make sure he was alone.
âIâm goinâ ghost.â















