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“And here on your left are the Maws of Terror.”
Everyone oohed and ahhed at the giant floating mountain covered in teeth that they just passed inside the ghost zone. Danny stared out the window with his arms crossed.
“Lighten up, Danny.” Sam said to his left. “You like exploring the ghost zone, why’s this any different?”
“Because I’ve seen these places before! This isn’t anything new to me. I don’t get why I had to come on this stupid field trip.”
“It is required for you to get a passing grade, your majesty.” Phil said from the front of the bus where he was standing. He held the microphone connected to the bus’s speakers. “Without the attendance from this field trip it is very likely you will fail the class.”
Danny gestured toward where Phil was standing. “They even stole my guy for this field trip. He’s probably got very important things to be doing.”
“I do not, your majesty.”
“Whatever note you pull out of your pocket five days from now will probably say otherwise.”
“I don’t get what you’re so bent out of shape for.” Tucker said. “This is the easiest grade ever. All we have to do is look at stuff out in the ghost zone. It’s not like we’re gonna be landing anywhere. We’ll all be safe inside this bus.”
Then suddenly the bus was making a sputtering sound and it stopped. It floated for a few seconds before Phil spoke over the intercom.
“It appears our check engine light has come on. We will be making an impromptu stop to the Screaming Spleen Plains.”
Danny glared hard at Tucker. “I hate you.”
“Does this mean we get to go explore while we wait for the bus to get fixed?” Dash asked, pressing his face into the window.
“How are we even going to get the bus fixed?” Star asked. “There are no mechanics here.”
“I don’t know.” Paulina looked over the back of her seat and down at Danny where he was sitting. “But at least we have the ghost boy here to protect us!”
Sam made a gagging sound and Danny wrinkled his nose at Paulina. He was just about to suggest that he just pushed the bus back to the portal when he saw Phil pull a giant toolbox out of his pocket.
“Of course he’s got a toolbox in there.” Danny mumbled.
He watched out the window as the gravity of the ‘Splains’ pulled the bus gently towards it. It landed on the soft looking grass and was a very peaceful looking place. A shock, there weren’t that many places like that in the ghost zone.
“Why is this place called the Screaming Spleen Plains anyways?” Dash turned to look at Danny.
“I’m pretty sure from far away it looks like it’s shaped like a spleen.” Danny replied.
“But why the screaming part?”
Right at that moment a ghost appeared outside Dash’s window and screamed a high pitched wail at him. Dash jumped and fell down and out of his seat. The other students on the bus chuckled around him.
“This is where the banshees live.”
She continued to scream at them from outside the bus. Sam gave her an uncomfortable look.
“Uh, Danny? Why are they screaming at us?”
Danny shrugged. “Because they’re banshees.”
“No, Danny. Banshees are known to predict death. That’s why they wail. Someone’s going to die.”
The whole bus was silent for a moment before all the kids started panicking. Everyone loudly clamored around them, begging Phil to help.
“When’s the bus going to be fixed?”
“Can you get us out of here?”
“Why did we come here?”
He ignored them.
Sam looked at all of them. “Okay here’s what we’re going to do. We’re gonna try to figure out who’s supposed to die and then prevent it somehow. As long as no one leaves the bus-“
The sound of a bus window opening could be heard. The whole bus went quiet as everyone stared at Tucker. He was sticking his face out the window.
“Maybe if we just talked to them-”
Sam yanked him back in harshly as Paulina and Star closed the window back up. “They’re ghosts, Tucker. How much reason can they have?”
“Ouch.” Danny said, shooting her a glare.
Sam rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. I’ve read the books in the Ghost Writer’s library. Banshees manifest only from the grief of their loved one dying. They’re not that much higher than the blob ghosts in terms of sapience.”
“I’m just saying, Danny is technically their king. He could do a little diplomatic work here.” Tucker said, shrugging his shoulders. Sam shook him around by the part of his shirt she was still holding.
Danny shook his head. “I don’t think they’d listen to me. I’ve never been able to have a conversation with a banshee before. They just keep wailing, and wailing.”
“This would be going much smoother if this guy was any help!” Paulina gestured angrily back at Phil who had looked up from where he was looking inside his toolbox. He stood up and walked over to where the kids were grouped together in the middle of the bus.
“I’m sorry, your majesty. I had my airpods in. What were your friends saying?”
“Everyone’s freaking out because the banshees are screaming at us. I tried telling them that’s just what they do because they’re banshees but everyone’s convinced someone’s going to die today.” He shot a look at Sam.
“They’re screaming at you, your majesty. They think you’re dying.”
His gaze whipped back to Phil. “What?”
“Not all beings in the ghost zone can understand what halfas are, your majesty.” Phil started. He looked out the window at the banshees. “All they can sense is your close relations with death. They think you are simply a dying human.”
“Oh.” Danny said quietly. “I guess that makes sense.”
“We’re gonna live!” Screamed Dash. He had tears in his eyes as he stood up with his arms in the air.
“Yes, Mr. Baxter. Everyone is going to live. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to grab my tools and work on fixing the bus.”
Dash grabbed onto Kwan and hugged him tight.
Tucker grinned maliciously. “What if someone else is going to die but we just won’t know because Danny’s here?”
The bus was quiet for a few seconds before it was once again filled with the sounds of panicking teenagers.