Haunted libraries sounded a lot cooler in theory than in application, as it turned out. The idea of something haunting a place of books was romantic and exciting: the possibilities were nearly untold, considering just how many pages of stories there were to draw inspiration from in this place. In theory, a ghost could just inhabit a book and absorb its information, then conform its projected manifestation to that inspiration, taking on the form of a dragon, or a mad scientist, a romantic leading man, or a rabbit. It could literally base itself, and its attacks and plots, on any book in the place, and give the Ghostbusters a real run for their money.
Or, as this ghost opted to do, it could just levitate books off of shelves and hurl them at the heads of the four women trying to catch it in a box.
Jillian Holtzmann was hiding behind a fold out table she had kicked over to form a barricade, leaning back against it and listening to the thumps and bumps of different books bouncing all over the room. This was going to be a hell of a mess to clean up but, thankfully, that was not going to be their problem. They were just here to catch the ghost, not reshelve an entire library's worth of mixed up books. The hardbacks were the ones she was doing her best to avoid, particularly the leatherbound ones. There were also very large compendiums from the reference section that had no business flying through the air, and could easily do some damage when thrown with enough force.
Struck with a joke, after fittingly ducking under a joke book that went sailing over her head, Holtzmann turned to the woman beside her, grinning broadly before even sharing her genius thought.
"Hey, Erin! Taking a dictionary to the face sounds like something only you'd enjoy," she said triumphantly, grinning at Erin so broadly it made the dimples on her cheeks stand out, her blue eyes all but shimmering in delight. Her companion, and Ghostbuster in arms, could only stare at her in shock and confusion, not following her line of thought and finding the joke to be poorly timed and a bit inappropriate, all things considered.
"Stay focused, Holtzmann!" Erin Gilbert yelped, holding up her proton gun as if reminding the other woman what they were there to do. Holtz tipped her finger up from her forehead, saluting quickly and then gripping her gun as well. She peeked back over the table, spotting Abby across the room. Patty was unaccounted for at the moment, though they would have known if something hurt her. She was not exactly the kind to go down quietly.
Erin moved to the end of the table, keeping low and peeking out from around the side. A book came flying at her head, and she snapped it back just in time to keep from getting nailed right in the nose. The ghost's aim was improving, and the longer they goofed around, the better it was getting at anticipating them. She looked over at Holtzmann, who had taken her spot at the other end of the table, though she was smart enough not to stick her face out where it could be a target. The two made eye contact and nodded at one another, then both moved around the edge of the table to open fire with their proton guns.
Beams of energy burst from each other their guns almost at the same moment, lancing toward the ghost and encircling it like a chain. It pulled against them, tugging the beams, almost ripping the gun out of Erin's hand. Holtzmann had a firmer grip on hers, digging her feet against the carpet of the library floor stubbornly and pulling back against the gun like on a leash with a very stubborn dog at the end. A third beam leaped forward from behind the ghost, and the two saw their forth friend, Patty Tolan, appear from behind a book shelf.
"Abby!" Erin yelled, knowing a fourth chain would immobilize the ghost, and Abby was the one that brought the trap this time. Abby heard the call and was doing her best to move, tossing the trap out and dropping the foot trigger in front of her before drawing her proton gun. She lifted it to aim and got greeted by a young adult adventure series, seven books slamming her in the head. It was unfortunate that the special collector's case was made of a thick wood approximation, making it look, and feel when thrown at high velocity, like a solid wooden treasure chest.
She had enough time to look surprised by the contact, jerk violently to the side, then crumple to the floor. All three of her friends cried out in surprise, though it was Holtzmann that shut off her gun and took a run toward her.
"Holtzmann, no!" Erin yelped, suddenly being pulled even harder by the ghost, who had more leeway to wiggle and use its powers to throw more and more books around. It was pulling hundreds of books off the nearby shelves, spinning them around it. As they collected, they interrupted the beams, some bursting into flames, others falling out of the air, but they just kept coming. The proton guns shut off, the ghost breaking the chains, encircled almost completely now by its shield of words. Erin ducked back behind her table and Patty dove behind the bookshelf, though the ghost had pulled most of the books off of it and the bare shelves offered little protection.
Holtzmann was able to reach Abby, kneeling beside her and wincing at the blood running down the side of her head. She was breathing, though, and that was enough of a comfort for now.
"Come on, Abby," the nuclear engineer groaned, grabbing her by the arms and dragging her as best she could away from the immediate battle field, able to pull her behind a bookshelf. She disconnected the ghost trap, taking it for herself as quickly as she could. Seeing Abby get hurt was enough to snap her into a more serious attitude, no longer as interested in jokes and goofing around with the job at hand as she had been before. Her friends were her family: they were all she had, and she would do everything she could to protect them.
Carrying the trap, Holtzmann ran back toward her previous cover, wanting to get to Erin so they could form a plan. The ghost responded, bursting free of its book shield, each one becoming a violent, forceful projectile. The room became engulfed in a rain of heavy, painful ammunition, books slamming into shelves and tables, through windows and, of course, into any Ghostbuster not properly shielded. Erin braced herself behind the table, books slamming into it with enough force to almost break it. Holtzmann came flying over the top of it, pelted by books and slamming down onto the ground behind the table with a groan of pain, the trap still cradled against her protectively. It had not taken any hits, at least.
Battered, but not badly hurt, Holtzmann dragged herself toward Erin, looking up at her as the other woman protectively bent over her.
"Are you…?"
"Fine. Abby's hidden. We gotta trap this thing before it takes out another 'Buster." Holtzmann's tone made it clear that she expected Erin to tell her what to do, and that she was determined to do it to the best of her ability. Erin considered Abby the leader of the group, though they both had forged this strange alliance through their lives together. She hesitated, finding herself unsure of what to do without Abby there with her endless confidence and optimism to reassure her. Abby believed everything could, and would, work, which really helped with their effectiveness in a battle. Erin, meanwhile, tended to have her doubts…
Which, at the moment, there really was no room for.
Patty, across the room for the conscious duo, and not knowing where Abby was, got fed up with waiting. She stepped out from behind her bookshelf, which failed as protection anyway. She had more bruises from being hit by knowledge than she was okay with, as she rather liked reading and was not happy that something was forcing books to betray her. Plus, it hurt one of her friends and coworkers, which was absolutely unacceptable.
"What are you guys doing?" she yelled, drawing the attention of everything in the room, including all the books hanging in the air. "Get your asses in gear and trap this damn ghost! Don't make me come over there and do everything myself!"
She opened fire with her proton gun, the beam breaking through a small defense of books, since the ghost had dropped its shield and had opened itself up to an attack. It was a chance they had to take, and Patty, at least, saw the window for what it was. Erin winced, an expression Holtzmann saw, but nodded and leaped to her feet. She joined Patty once more, using her proton gun to tie the ghost from the other side. It struggled, moving to break free in the same manner it had before, gathering books into the air.
"That's good, Patty! Hold him! Holtzmann, get the trap!"
Holtzmann moved, throwing the trap as close to the ghost as she could, the heavy contraption slamming down with a loud clang. She did not bother hitting the button with her foot, holding on to it and punching it with her closed fist instead. The trap sprang open and, as Holtzmann used her own proton gun to provide a third chain around the ghost, it began to pull the paranormal jerk into it. The ghost put up a fight, throwing books in every direction, but the pull of the trap was too strong, and the proton beams did not break this time. The trap snapped closed and fizzled, sealing the ghost inside. All the books it had lifted in its defense fell to the ground at once, thumping down in a sudden rain. It ended as soon as it began, though, and for a moment everything sat very still.
Erin breathed a sigh of relief, dropping her arms and letting her proton gun hang idly in her hands. Holtzmann put her gun away, over her shoulder, looking over at Erin with a nod before trotting to the ghost trap and checking it out. Patty hurried over to Abby, who was sitting up and looking around in a daze. Erin came over to join them, putting her hand on Abby's shoulder as she got to her feet slowly. Patty was supporting her, but she seemed to be able to stand on her own.
"Remind me to nail all the books at home to the shelves," Abby grumbled, and Erin smiled, relieved, but shook her head.
"I think Kevin's already done that. He didn't like them sliding down when he pulled one from the shelf."
Holtzmann joined them, holding the smoking ghost trap and nodding at them proudly.
"Good work, ladies," she said, though her eyes came to rest on Abby. She looked concerned, at least for a moment, though her emotions were always fleeting and jumbled at the best of times. It was always hard to know exactly what she was thinking, as she was very good at hiding any real emotion behind her jokes and her erratic behavior. She much preferred being impossible to read and understand, because it kept her real feelings safe. The girls knew, however, how much she cared about them, and Abby offered her a warm, reassuring smile. She reached out and patted Holtzmann on the arm, telling her without addressing it directly that she was fine. Holtzmann patted Abby's hand with her free one, still holding on to the trap with the other.
"Alright," Erin said, feeling anxious but not because of any remaining danger in the area. She looked around the all but destroyed library, though there was very little they could do about it. The ghost would probably not be amenable to putting all the books it pulled from the shelves back in their proper places. Anyway, being thrown around like cannon balls had severely compromised the integrity of a lot of the bindings. It was a shame, really, but at least the human casualties were minimal. "We should get that thing back to the firehouse. Abby, let's get you to the hospital."
"It's just a bump," Abby protested, but Erin would not hear her, and they all knew it. Erin was the practical one, and since Abby was bleeding from the head she had very little room to bargain. The hospital was the clear choice. Patty stayed beside Abby, helping her to walk just in case, though her steps were sure and she did not even wobble when she stepped. Erin fell into step on the other side of Abby, likewise just in case, despite Abby rolling her eyes at the two of them.
Holtzmann lingered behind, looking at the ghost trap. It was rumbling angrily, though they had never experienced a ghost being able to break free of it before. Green smoke was seeping out from the very few joints. They were meant to be sealed, and looked as though they were shut cleanly, but somehow the smoke was escaping. It did not hang in the air for long, wisping around the container idly before vanishing, only for more to seep out.
"Holtzy, come on!" Patty's voice came back to her, though they were all the way at the entrance to the library at this point. Holtzmann snapped out of her daze and tucked the trap under her arm, jogging to catch up with the others.