Thank you for the music

by Campi

[RGB] To the guys, going abroad on vacation seldom means relaxing...

THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS

*Thank you for the music

ACT I

"Gentlemen," Doctor Egon Spengler said when he entered the bedroom where his three Ghostbuster colleagues lay spilled out on their beds. "Pack your bags. We're leaving this afternoon."
........"Tell me it's Alaska," Doctor Peter Venkman whined and rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand. "New York in June is killing me."
........"No cigar, Peter - in fact, it wasn't even close," Egon said with an odd smug grin and opened his wardrobe.
........"Siberia?" the brown-haired Ghostbuster tried, getting his hopes up. "No, wait... with my luck, it's probably Africa. The Sahara Desert."
........"Stop being that cranky," Winston said and got out of bed. "I don't care where we're going, as long as it isn't the Big Apple."
........"Egon, it's early," Ray objected and looked at his alarm clock. "We stayed up late working on the improved proton chargers, wouldn't it be wise to..."
........"You finally decided to make them lighter, right?" Peter broke in. "That's about time, I tell you!"
........"Ray, this is a breakthrough for our business," Egon said without caring for Peter's comment and put three pink shirts on his bed, neatly folded. "We have a chance to study the folklore and myths of another continent."
........"Goodnight," Peter announced and placed his pillow on his face.
........"Now we're talking! Another continent!" Winston said, smiling in anticipation.
........"Wait," Peter said, removing the pillow again as he noticed it was too hot and he had troubles breathing. "Is this business or pleasure? Are we going on a holiday, and you already plan to ruin a promising well-deserved vacation?"
........"Since when would Egon plan a holiday that did not include a dozen daily stops concerning spooks or spores?" Winston said and chuckled.
........Egon did not care for his dark-skinned colleague's ironic joke and put two pairs of brown pants on his bed, still looking oddly amused.
........"Come on!" Ray said, putting his feet on the floor. "This sounds exciting. What continent, Egon?"
........"Europe," Doctor Spengler said shortly before his head disappeared into the dusk wardrobe.
........The other three Ghostbusters looked at one another, shrugging.
........"Well, we've already been to Paris," Peter said. "They probably don't want us back in France. We've been to Greece, too - we all know that was greasy."
........"Scotland?" Ray chirped. "Dunkeld? I'd love to go there again."
........"Iceland!" Peter exclaimed. "That sounds cold enough. Please, tell me it's Iceland!"
........"Why not set for Greenland, Pete? It's supposed to be an even bigger chill," Winston marked out.
........"You're not bringing us to meet your distant cousins, are you, Egon? I don't think I could live through the day," Peter joked.
........"No, we're not going to Germany," Egon said and put three pairs of extra glasses next to the pile on his bed.
........"What did you say 'Spengler' means, again?" Peter asked, even as he knew the answer. "In German?"
........"Tinsmith," Egon rumbled. "May I remind you we have a long line of scientists and scholars in my family?"
........"Plus a few sheet-metal workers," Peter grinned.
........"Then you tell me what a venkman is," Egon retorted and knew he had restored his family's reputation in the eyes of the venkman.
........"I think we drifted off topic," Winston reminded. "We're getting on a plane in a few hours and I have no idea where we're going. I'd like to know on which soil I step out - if I step out at all, that is." ........
........Egon went back to his wardrobe, the back of his pale blue nightshirt showing, telling them no answer.
........"Stop this guessing-game!" Peter said, not even being drowsy anymore, which he usually was in the morning. "Just tell me, am I packing Hawaii-shirts or my skiing equipment?"
........"Gentlemen," Egon said, recycling his greeting from a few minutes earlier. "We are going to Sweden."
........The Ghostbusters were not jumping off their beds, screaming and shouting - then again, Egon had not expected them to do that. Ray looked enchanted, Winston seemed not to care where he was going as long as it was not in the neighbourhood, and Peter obviously tried to remember his geography.
........"That means skiing equipment," Doctor Venkman finally said. "Oh, I know the drill: pretty girls in the Alps, offering you cheese, chocolate and cuckoo-clocks. The three major 'C:s', guys. Life doesn't get any better than that."
........"That's Switzerland!" Ray objected.
........"It is?" Peter said, scratching his head. "Great. Now you help me out. No skiing, right?"
........"No skiing, Peter," Egon said and raised an eyebrow.
........"Good," Peter said. "I can't ski. I would crash, and hope for some pretty girl with blonde braids to assist me. I'm not sure that's worth a few broken bones. Maybe if she offers me another major C, I'd think it over."
........"You could keep your eyes open for blonde girls in braids, though," Winston remarked and did not care for Peter's implication. "I know they've got plenty of those in Sweden."
........"Pippi Longstocking!" Ray interjected, all smiles.
........"No, she's a redhead," Winston reminded him.
........"I always loved Pippi!" Ray continued, diving into his closet. "Egon, is it a business trip? What are we going to do in Sweden?"
........"There was a call just half an hour ago, from their second greatest city - Gothenburg, on the West Coast," Egon said. "They need some skilled assistance, they have a few problems. I suspect they don't really need help to get rid of classic folklore supernatural beings, like I was told. It could just as well be a PR-trick, but I don't mind as long as I get the chance to study and maybe even catch their main problem."
........"Which is?" Ray asked, being too eager to pick out clothes.
........"The Neck," Egon said shortly, his deep voice making it sound as if it was as bad as Gozer the Gozerian.
........"A what?" Peter asked in suspicion. "We go to Europe to bust a neck? Doesn't it even have a head? People say I have a vivid imagination, but I can hardly picture this one - I don't see how a free-floating neck could scare anyone. Maybe if it's hairy... but it would still look like a bushy fat pork-chop."
........"No, Peter," Egon corrected his colleague and left the wardrobe in order to sit down on his blue bedspread. "You don't seem to grasp this. It is a mythic being from ancient Swedish folklore. The tales are spread outside the boundaries of the country, even."
........"Sort of like the incredibly creepy severed hand - the one that sneak up under your shirt and strangle you?" Peter said and put his arm under his beige pyjama shirt, pretending to be very intimidated as he reached for his own throat.
........"The Neck is also known as the water-sprite," Egon started his lecture, while Peter made sounds when he pretended to be suffocated. "It is widely known as being the fiddler of streaming waters."
........"How does a neck play a violin?" Peter asked, removing his arm from under his pyjama shirt. "This sounds very odd, and you know I saw a lot of things, so don't tell me I'm not open-minded. I wouldn't buy it, Egon."
........"It's not a neck," Ray broke in and everyone could hear he capitalized the following letters. "It's The Neck - a being in the form of a man, or a horse, or a bull."
........"It is known as the Nykr in Iceland, and the Nix in Germany," Egon informed in his dry manner that drove Peter nuts if he kept on for long. "In the most common tales he's said to play the violin, sitting on a rock in a river or under a bridge, making people want to play like he does - or just listen to the music."
........"Okay. I'm still not very impressed," Peter said. "A guy playing instruments? It would be a lot cooler if he played the drums, or why not an electric guitar? That would make it worth crossing the Atlantic! Hey, would this neck play requests? Sort of like Metal Witch? Could I convince him to do their 'The Final Cutdown'?"
........"You're not paying this old folklore myth enough respect!" Egon objected, his blond eyebrows dangerously close to his blue eyes. "The Neck is treacherous. It's said to be a devil, or even the Devil himself. He teaches people to play the music of the Netherworlds, and then everyone is forced to dance until their feet bleed. They might dance until they have no legs."
........"Ouch," Winston said and made a face. "That must hurt."
........"So, if we invite this neck, we could have a hell of a dance party?" Peter asked.
........"I wouldn't suggest that," Ray said. "What the Neck usually does is drowning people. Then they will haunt the vicinity."
........"He makes ghosts? That's bad," Peter said and looked at Egon with a wink.
........"Yeah, I heard enough of you guys capitalizing initial letters," Winston said. "This sounds like no holiday to me."
........"Anyway, we're leaving this afternoon," Egon said. "I expect you pack your bags. Our tickets are already paid, so there'll be no great expenses."
........"You think we should leave America's ghost problems to Janine?" Peter asked with a smirk.
........"She is a very capable woman," Egon objected with a cough. "Besides, they mistook us for being five persons, so that leaves an extra ticket. She can come, if she wants to."
........"Great, Egon!" Ray said. "She could really use a vacation."
........"Question is, what kind of vacation will it be, if spent with the Ghostbusters?" Winston said and smiled.
........"Hey Egon, how could they mistake us for being five?" Peter wondered. "Besides, don't they need names in order to book tickets?"
........The runaway glance Egon gave Peter made the rather obnoxious spook hunter smirk.
........"You told them we were this many, right?" Peter continued and showed Egon his palm with all five digits widely spread apart. "You wanted Janine to come!"
........"Of course not," Egon said and left the bedroom.


ACT II

"Okay," Winston said and turned to Egon. "I had enough of these white knuckles of mine. When'll we be there?"
........"In approximately twenty minutes, calculating with the current wind speed and the..."
........"I recognize this," Winston inserted and squeezed his armrests even harder. "The next thing that happens is that we bump into too many ghosts and you forget about Uncle Cyrus."
........ "Excuse me?" Egon asked, his voice almost cracking - he was still ashamed he forgot to pick up his uncle a year ago, thus pretending he did not remember the incident.
........"Don't be so hard on him," Janine said, sitting on Egon's other side. "No one is perfect - that makes me like you even more, Egon."
........The redheaded secretary smiled and tried to catch Egon's glance, but he looked in Winston's direction and out the window.
........"As I said, it's a calm day, the wind is blowing in the right direction, we should land in nineteen minutes," Egon said much too fast - almost blabbering.
........Janine gave up her tries. She had been unusually inventive during the long ride - pretending to fall asleep on Egon's shoulder, offering him her peanuts and the thin mint, saying they should swap seats so he could put his long legs out the aisle when he did not know how to avoid bruises on his knees. Egon might have let her join their free trip to Europe, just like Peter told her, but Egon was as unapproachable as ever. In spite of that, he had unwillingly succeeded to charm the stewardess, while Peter managed to do the exact opposite even as he tried to be the man of her dreams. The girl was Norwegian and not very impressed by the loud-mouthed American in his brown coveralls.
........"Tell me," Peter said to Ray, "Norway is next to Sweden, right?"
........"Yes, Norway is westwards," the auburn-haired Ghostbuster replied. "They share a long boundary. Actually, they share a whole lot. The languages are similar, as long as you stick to..."
........"Yeah, yeah," Peter interrupted, looking for the stewardess. "They look pretty alike, don't they?"
........"That's right," Ray said, wondering what Peter meant.
........"I'm really going to enjoy Sweden," Peter sighed with a smile. "So many tall, blonde, pretty women."
........"Well, they're not all tall and blonde - or pretty," Ray said, almost blushing. "They can have dark hair, they're not stereotype."
........Ray thought Peter was not serious about thinking of women and their looks all the time - he could see Peter was smiling in a somewhat ironic manner. Sometimes Ray wondered why Peter kept up his frantic hunt. In that sense, Ray and Peter were not very comparable.
........"Something just struck me," Peter continued and looked at Egon's hair sticking up above the seat in front of him. "Is Sweden a place full of men looking like our tinsmith?"
........Ray raised an eyebrow and chose not to answer that question.
........"That could be scary," Peter continued.
........Doctor Venkman was silenced by a shrill speaker voice, announcing they must put on their seatbelts and stop smoking. Peter interjected he never started smoking, but he could begin and stop instantly if that was a must. The announcement continued by informing them they were going to land in approximately ten minutes. Afterwards, the message in English was followed by a strange series of words, sounding a bit like a song.
........"Don't tell me that's Swedish," Peter whined and sank down in the chair, the seatbelt stopping him. "It sounds like gibberish."
........"I can teach you a few words," Ray offered. "A better suggestion is that you could ask Egon, he knows more languages than I can even tell you the names of. He ought to know a few useful phrases in Swedish."
........"Yeah, like 'How do you breed that fungus?'" Peter muttered.
........"Come on, this will be fun! Say 'köttbullar'," Ray started.
........"Do I even want to know what that is?"
........"Meatballs! Didn't you never hear of Swedish meatballs? It's like some sort of national dish."
........"Ray," Peter said and leaned toward the chubby colleague, pretending to be threatening him. "I do not want to speak of any meatballs. That is of no use, unless you are starving. Useful phrases are 'Would you like a drink?' or 'You look really pretty, sitting naked on the beach here with me in the moonlight'. Those are phrases getting you somewhere."
........Doctor Raymond Stantz stared at him, wondering what got into Peter. He was unusually provocative and had his mind set on girls at a rate that Ray thought was not even healthy. Maybe the heat of Manhattan had gotten to him, or he had his own sarcastic fun, not being honest.
........"You have to question Egon about that," Ray said. "I know meatballs."
........To Ray's surprise, Peter actually leaned out the aisle and looked at Janine, asking her to get Egon's attention. She tugged his sleeve and made Egon turn his head in order to look at Peter.
........"Ray says you know Swedish," Peter said, his pointy fringe sticking out just as it always did, moving some as he spoke. "Do you? It would come in handy, 'so to speak'."
........"Sorry," Egon said. "I could have read through an English-Swedish dictionary on the way here, but I couldn't find any on such short notice."
........"Har, har," Peter laughed cynically to reward his dry humour. "Say, do you really? Not that Swedish is any common language, but it would be more useful than your Sumerian."
........"I strongly disagree with you on that point, but the phrases I know in Swedish are scarcely sufficient for me to say I 'speak' Swedish."
........"But it's your hobby!" Peter reminded. "You collect languages, like other people collect stamps or bugs."
........"Or unsuccessful rendezvous," Egon remarked with a thin smile.
........"Or stamped bugs," Winston broke in, wondering what made him come up with that kind of bad joke.
........"Well, don't look at me," Janine said and shoved Peter's nosy head away, when she got tired of his green eyes so close to her. "I'm sure we don't have to speak Swedish."
........"It's polite to know at least one phrase," Winston said.
........"I'm sure Ray can make an excellent conversation about meatballs," Peter said before he retrieved his head and sat up straight in his chair, Ray wondering what the chat concerned, because all he heard was that is seemed to be about meatballs.
........Winston may not have clutched his armrests during the whole flight, but he clung on to them for dear life when they were about to land. His main fear was small aircrafts, but the big one they travelled in had encountered a set of nasty air-pockets and he did not trust they were to reach terra firma in a controlled manner. The sensation of being in an elevator, reaching ground level fast enough for Winston to believe he experienced zero gravitation, was still fresh in his mind.
........"It's so nice of you to let me join, I really needed a break," Janine said and turned to Egon while they dove through a cloud, bound for earth. "Do I have to pretend I'm a Ghostbuster, or what?"
........"I'm afraid we all have to 'pretend' we are Ghostbusters," Egon replied. "It is not certain we'll get our equipment within reasonable time, thinking of Swedish bureaucracy."
........"Marvellous," Winston muttered.
........"How long is 'reasonable time'?" Janine wondered.
........"Oh, no later than Christmas," Egon said without a smile.
........"Don't tell Peter that. Well, there are two reasons not to tell him," Winston pointed out.
........"We're not staying until Christmas, right?" Janine asked, wondering if Egon was serious after all.
........"No, just a week, like we said already," Egon reassured her. "Maybe shorter, if we don't behave. The equipment, on the other hand, will probably enjoy Swedish hospitality for the rest of the year."
........"So we'll go back tomorrow," Winston suggested and grinned.
........"Say, is there going to be a big delegation waiting for us?" Peter asked, his head popping up next to Janine again.
........"Don't count on it," Egon said. "It is the public administration of Gothenburg having called us in. They won't hire a brass band to welcome us."
........"Something tells me you know things I don't want to know," Peter said and got back in his chair when the Norwegian stewardess told him to.
........Winston was aware Gothenburg had vast waters to the west, but yet he was surprised when he got his first glimpse of Sweden. It seemed as if it was completely covered in pine forests, with a cliffy seaside and deep blue waters reaching all the way to England.
........"Is this place inhabited at all?" he wondered.
........"Of course it is," Egon said in a dry way.
........Winston got preoccupied waiting for the landing, which seemed to be awfully close at hand. They swiftly reached the airport from above and he could see little houses, fields and more pine forests. When the voice in the speaker thanked them for using the air company in British English and then switched to that odd language, which was the twaddle of Swedish, Winston wondered what an American kid like himself was doing in the domains of the Vikings.
........He gulped several times when his ears started buzzing, and before he knew it they had landed - twice. Winston always hated when they skipped up in the air from the lane, when they had landed once already. The plane braked and he dared to unbuckle his seatbelt.
........"Hello, Sweden!" Winston could hear Peter holler from behind and he wished they had not worn their jumpsuits, so that he could pretend he did not know Peter.
........"I'll just get my handbag," Janine said and got up from her seat, Egon not knowing where to look when her short skirt was so close to his face. "Egon, did you put anything up here?"
........"No," the tall scientist replied, leaving his seat in a way that gave away he was a bit stiff. "They wouldn't even let me bring my PKE-meter."
........"They have Coke here, right?" Peter wondered and rubbed his back, standing up. "This dry air makes me so thirsty. The first thing I'll do, is buying the biggest sparkling drink anyone ever saw."
........"What time is it?" Winston wondered, feeling he was up for a jet lag.
........"Four in the afternoon," Egon said. "That goes 'fyra', by the way."
........"Great, Egon teaches us how to count meatballs in Swedish!" Peter said, jabbing Ray.
........The four Ghostbusters and their cocky secretary walked down the aisle, went through the short drafty metal corridor, and into the Landvetter airport. They set for collecting their luggage and listened to the many languages, mostly Swedish, which obviously intimidated Peter some.
........"I really don't understand one word," he persisted and waited next to the belt conveyor for his suitcase. "It sounds like absolute nonsense."
........"What did you expect?" Winston asked. "You weren't born with a babel-fish in your ear, were you?"
........"There are a few words in English, coming from Swedish," Egon said. "Smorgasbord, ombudsman..."
........"This sounds like bureaucracy around a table full of meatballs," Peter objected.
........"Maybe that's Sweden in a nutshell," Janine tried.
........"We are obviously not getting our equipment," Egon sighed when he saw their luggage on the belt conveyor. "This will be harder than I expected. I was hoping to use the traps, at least the PKE-meter."
........"We'll come up with something," Ray said and patted Egon's shoulder.
........"Janine! What did you put in your suitcase?" Peter panted and tried to get it off the belt conveyor. "Your whole apartment, brick by brick?"
........"If you're a good boy, I'll let you carry it for me," Janine said and blew a kiss in his direction.
........"Okay," Winston said when they had gotten their baggage. "Now what?"
........"Let's go to the main hall," Egon said and picked up his suitcase. "I know we are expected."


ACT III

Peter lit up when he saw a long skinny man, looking a bit like Walter Peck, with a small hand-held sign that carried their logotype - the white Fatso ghost from 'Casper' being stuck in a red stop symbol.
........"There's the brigade!" Peter announced and dragged Janine's suitcase along, having her carry his much lighter suitcase.
........"You are the Ghostbusters?" the man asked, sounding like Björn and Benny of ABBA. "Welcome to Sweden!"
........"Thank you," Peter said and reached out a sweaty hand, putting down Janine's suitcase. "My name is Peter Venkman - well, Doctor Peter Venkman."
........"I'm Allan Johansson. The car is waiting," the man said and tossed the sign in a dustbin, making Winston frown.
........"Where are we going? To the hotel?" Peter wondered as they followed the man out in the sun.
........"No, today is Midsummer Eve," mister Johansson replied.
........"The day you can't go to your hotel?" Peter tried.
........"I assumed you gentlemen would like to see the true face of Sweden," Allan Johansson said and unlocked a big black Volvo.
........"Is that a good or a bad thing?" Winston mumbled to Janine.
........"He says 'gentlemen'," Peter said to Egon when Johansson had entered the car and they still were not inside. "You must have something in common. You talk to him."
........"Is that a promise?" Egon wondered and slumped into the car.
........"I know the 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' piece, by Shakespeare," Winston tried, sitting in the front seat next to the driver, being mister Johansson. "Has that got anything to do with your Midsummer?"
........"Well," Johansson started, trying to find the words and looking amused in a way that remembered Winston of how Egon had acted that morning. "It is a very old tradition. No one knows how far back it goes - at least a thousand years, probably more."
........"See? The old monsters are the worst! Take Cthulhu," Peter interjected.
........"Please, Peter - Cthulhu or the Necronomicon has absolutely nothing to do with this Midsummer tradition," Egon hissed.
........"Tell me more!" Ray chirped, eager to know. "What do you do during this evening?"
........"Oh, we eat - dance - socialize," Johansson responded. "You will appreciate it, I am sure."
........"As long as you don't have me eat raw meat," Peter said.
........"Peter!" Egon said and looked almost angry.
........"Actually, we eat raw fish," Johansson said and suffocated a chuckle.
........"That's it! Let me out at this turnpike here!" Peter said and reached for the door handle, not minding the car moved fast.
........"You have to respect old rituals," Ray tried.
........"I suppose you do more than that?" Janine wondered. "I... I'm a vegetarian."
........"No, you're not," Egon said and looked at her in surprise.
........"Shut up," Janine hissed. "Today I obviously am."
........"Okay," Peter said. "It's sort of like a sushi evening. Any other interesting events?"
........"To honor the day, we dress a pole in flowers and leaves, and dance around it. It symbolises the god Frö - his manhood, actually. 'Frö' means 'seed', he is also known as 'Frej'."
........"Now it's getting interesting," Peter said and leaned forward. "You sort of like bounce around a big fertility symbol, paying your respect to a Viking god? I thought you were Christians here. I can't wait to hear what happens when it gets dark."
........"Well, a lot of old rituals live on in our seemingly Christian traditions," Johansson said. "Christmas is mainly a surviving part of the pagan 'Midwinter Bleed' - spiced up with the German Saint Nicholaus, of course."
........"Ouch," Winston said. "I'm glad we're crashing the Midsummer party, not the Midwinter one."
........"You Ghostbusters ought to like the Easter - that's when we have witches running around, begging for candy."
........"We don't do that until Halloween," Peter said.
........"You seem to know a lot about old traditions and folklore," Egon said. "Could you please tell us more about the case?"
........"There will be time," Johansson said. "It's a big attraction right now, we haven't planned for you to deal with that until tomorrow - Saturday."
........"You mean there's no emergency?" Ray asked. "No people being drowned?"
........"No need to worry," Johansson assured them. "Let's have a good time today, won't we? You Americans have to see our Midsummer feast."
........"Great idea!" Peter agreed. "Can I skip the raw fish, do you think? My stomach gets all wonky when I eat sushi."
........"Surely," Johansson said. "Though, you ought to know that the fish - well, the 'sill' - goes very well with the 'nubbe'."
........"The what?" Peter wondered. "The noubb-eh?"
........"Snaps," Johansson tried.
........"Hello Sweden," Peter said, just like he did in the aircraft, feeling he saw the true face of the country after all.
........After awhile, Johansson stopped in the middle of a field were many Volvos were parked, seemingly for no reason. He asked the Ghostbusters to step out and Janine followed them, wishing she was not wearing high heeled shoes. When she noticed Egon actually agreed to hold her arm to prevent her fall, she knew she made the right choice anyway.
........"Nice weather," Winston said. "Sunny, but not hot."
........"There's nothing like the Swedish summer," Johansson said and went to an open place where about a hundred persons had gathered.
........The Ghostbusters had to stop and gasp when they saw what was going on. A very high pole had been erected, decorated in leaves and flowers just like they had been told, and around it a set of dancers moved in intricate patterns reminding of square dance, all dressed in colorful old-fashioned clothes. A fiddler and an accordionist played a fast joyful tune while the children danced around in a wider circle outside the set of professional dancers.
........"You can join later," Johansson said. "This is old tradition."
........"Old tradition doesn't approve of Ghostbusters spicing up the show?" Peter said. "You're probably right, let's spare everyone that."
........"The fiddler isn't the Neck, is he?" Winston wondered.
........"Of course not," Johansson said. "Come, let's sit down!"
........Allan Johansson introduced them to a number of persons, saying they were his family and friends. They seemed not to think it was odd that five Americans showed up in the heathen ritual, wearing coveralls in different colors. Most people were sitting on blankets in the sweet smelling grass, so were also the Johansson family, and they handed the Ghostbusters two blankets. Ray and Peter spread them out and they slumped down, tired from the trip. Egon got a bit worried when he saw how his colleagues used one blanket, Janine the other, patting it - waiting for him to sit down.
........"This," Peter said, laying flat on his back, "is great. A perfect moment to croon Presley's 'I'm in Heaven', you know."
........"I don't see when that would ever fit," Winston remarked and took off his shoes. "Not with your ghastly singing-voice, anyway."
........"Fly agarics, just like I expected," Egon said and looked to his left, away from Janine, as he sat down.
........"Would you like something to eat?" Johansson's wife asked, whom they had learned was Ingrid.
........She looked at Peter from above, and Peter felt he had to sit up again before he rapidly answered:
........"Well, no sills and no noubbehs. My doctor says that's not good for me."
........Ingrid laughed and said he did not have to, wondering if he would like a plain sandwich with fried eggs. The Ghostbusters and Janine felt they were getting a bit hungry and enjoyed the sandwiches, accompanied with a sweet non-sparkling strawberry tasting drink in plastic cups. When Ray asked what it was, he found out it was something called 'saft', which he added to his small number of Swedish food-concerning words.
........"Dansa med mej!" the young girl in the Johansson family told Ray and grabbed his hands. "Kom!"
........"You go ahead, dance with her," Winston chuckled and sipped some of the lemonade drink. "This will be amusing."
........Ray got up, eager to learn the dance, when Peter noticed the boy in the family watched him. He saluted him with the almost finished sandwich, still chewing, and heard the boy ask in stuttering English:
........"You ghosts bust?"
........"Yes," Peter said, not knowing how to speak with a twelve-year-old foreign boy. "My name is Peter. What's yours?"
........"Jonas. My sister Emma."
........"She's dancing with Ray," Peter said and grinned. "Look!"
........The dark-blond youngster turned his head when Peter pointed at his stocky colleague in the beige coveralls, who was mysteriously bouncing up and down on all four, chanting syllables that was his interpretation of the song attached to the charade.
........"Små grodorna," Jonas said and laughed.
........"The 'smoh-grohd-ohr-nah'?" Peter tried. "Is that heathen? I can't even say what it looks like. Some fruitfulness dance?"
........The professional dancers were leaving and the fiddler stemmed up a merry tune, making people leave the blankets and stand up in a big circle around the pole. The girl and Ray had already joined, and the Johansson family told the Ghostbusters it was time for the 'little frogs'.
........"Egon, come! Let's dance!" Janine said, kicking off her shoes and pulling the still sitting Ghostbuster to make him stand up.
........"Absolutely not," Egon grumbled.
........"It is a tradition," she tried to convince him.
........"So was the ritual burning of women in the Mid Ages, saying they were witches," Egon countered.
........"Are you willing to sacrifice the chance of trying a pagan cultural expression, because it looks like a dance?"
........"Definitely," Egon said and was the only one remaining sitting when the Ghostbusters, Janine and the rest of the Johansson family joined the circle of people.
........"Små grodorna", Jonas told Peter again. "See!"
........"Ah, so this is smoh-grohd-ohr-nah," Peter said and looked at the people as they simultaneously huddled on the ground, then bouncing up and down just like he had seen Ray do. "Mister Johansson, is that 'small frogs'? Could you please explain the lyrics?"
........Peter was highly amused, getting down on his hands and feet, jumping like a deranged frog as he followed the forward movement of the crowd. Allan Johansson was next to him, saying the lyrics simultaneously as everyone sang them in Swedish. Winston did not mind he got grass stains on his knees, Janine was very entertained, and Egon looked like he was missing his Sartre 'Nausea' paperback.
........"Little frogs! Little frogs are funny to see! Little frogs! Little frogs, no tails they have! No ears, no ears, no tails they have! Ri-ribbit, ri-ribbit, ribbit!" Peter sang as he learned the English translation of the Swedish lyrics, making Winston fall on his nose because he was laughing too hard.
........"What's frogs got to do with anything?" Janine giggled. "I'm glad Egon didn't join this, he'd be on the next flight home."
........Egon could barely watch everyone act such a fool, so he lay down on his back, looking up at the clouds. It was a perfect summer evening. A fly landed on his glasses and he shooed it away, just before he saw a girl lean over him. She was a few years younger than him, having long blonde hair, and a pretty dress. He coughed in surprise.
........"Vill du inte dansa?" she wondered.
........"Uh, uhm..." Egon stuttered and realized he knew no suitable phrases for such events.
........"Jag vill inte heller dansa," she continued. "Jag har inte sett dig tidigare. Var bor du?"
........"Well, I'm sorry, I don't speak Swedish," he said. "I'm an American."
........"Oh," the girl said, suddenly very interested and not as shy anymore. "I'm sorry."
........She could have been his sister - she had blue eyes and thick blonde hair, just like Egon. When she asked if she could sit down he must have done something wrong, because he thought he told her in body language she should go back to her friends, but she stayed.
........"I wondered why you don't dance," she said with a grave Swedish accent. "I could teach you. It's not very hard."
........"Thank you, I prefer to study it from a distance."
........"My name is Anna. What's yours?"
........"Egon," he said before he had a chance to regret it.
........To his surprise, she started to giggle.
........"No, come on," she said. "That's funny, but be honest."
........"Doctor Egon Spengler," he persisted, hoping the title would make her go away or at least stop questioning his name.
........"American's are never called 'Egon'", she said, pronouncing it quite differently. "The Egons we have, are eighty years old. You seem to lack fifty years, and..."
........Anna silenced when she saw how Egon frowned.
........"Oh. Fasen. Du... I mean, you aren't kidding me?"
........Egon put his glasses higher up on his nose and desperately wanted her to leave.
........"Excuse me?"
........Like an angel, Janine stood beside them. Egon had seldom felt so grateful to see her, and he was glad she took care of the situation.
........"Are you an American too?" Anna asked, looking at the brash girl being her own age, wearing pointy green glasses and an orange skirt.
........"Yes," Janine said. "Mind if I join?"
........"I was just going to ask if you could go with us later, we're having a midsummer party."
........"Sorry," Janine uttered shortly. "Thanks anyway. Maybe you feel like it, Egon?"
........Egon shook his head and saw the girl wave them goodbye as she went back to her friends, being a number of eager young women and a few somewhat jealous males.
........"Upptagen," Egon heard her say before he realised his female company had simply altered.
........"I like Sweden, you know," Janine told Egon. "I could never have guessed it's so pagan."
........"It is a very interesting ritual," he said and looked up the pole, wanting to bite his tongue off when he remembered what it represented.
........"Do you know what I just learned from Ingrid? She said, if you pick seven different flowers, being silent, you will dream of the one you shall marry. It's another old Midsummer Night's Eve tradition. Doesn't that sound exciting?"
........Egon wished he had not met her blue eyes and could actually hear the clicking sound from his throat when he swallowed.
........"That sounds rather pointless. I don't believe in destiny, and..."
........He had to clear his throat and look away, toward the fly agarics.
........"Egon!" Peter said, having left the circle of dancing people. "I made some very interesting research about this traditional Midsummer dance for you!"
........His face was sweaty, knees having grass-stains, and he rubbed his hands on his thighs as he approached the two. Peter slumped down on the other blanket and grabbed his plastic cup, emptying it in one gulp.
........"See, it's something about frogs having no ears and tails."
........"Frogs have tails in their fry stadium, and they do have ears, though no auricles," Egon said, welcoming the chance to flee the situation by diving into scientific lingo.
........"Well, you tell them that," Peter grinned and pointed at the people, obviously singing another song, not concerning frogs anymore.
........Ray sat down next to Peter, followed by the eight-year-old girl, and then Winston made them company. Peter got back on his feet, even as he had sat down for merely two minutes, whispering to Winston he had to take a leak in the woods.
........Peter left the Ghostbusters and went in between the proud trees, being oaks and birches at first, but the woods shifted character and consisted of pines before he felt safe enough. Peter did what he had to do, turned around and made a sound in surprise, resembling an "Eeeep!"
........A pretty woman had sneaked up behind him, leaned against a tall pine tree, and winked at him.
........"Hello Sweden," Peter said again, mostly to himself.
........She was wearing some sort of dress, looking almost like a grayish toga. Here bare feet seemed not to be affected by the rough ground. When she smiled, her perfect teeth and deep blue eyes enchanted Peter.
........"Hi," he tried. "I didn't see you do the smoh-grohd-ohr-nah out there with the rest of us."
........She still did not say anything, and Peter supposed she did not speak English at all. He was not certain how common it was Swedes spoke English, so he scratched his head and wondered how he was to make a good impression, using words like 'meatballs' and 'little frogs'.
........"Me Peter," he appraised. "You Jane?" he added, glad she did not catch his lame joke.
........The woman, having long copper hair and a fair skin, walked all the way to him and he could see the sun sprinkle spots of light on her shoulders and hair. She touched his hand, still smiling, and said something he did not understand at all.
........"Well, I think you're cute too," he said and wondered what was going on - if it was a dream, he did not want to wake up.
........She spoke again, saying the same thing as before, but Peter did not stand a chance to understand it.
........"We could do the smoh-grohd-ohr-nah, just the two of us," he suggested and gasped when she reached for his head and kissed him.


ACT IV

"Egon?"
........Peter leaned over Egon, a dry leaf falling from Doctor Venkman's hair, and the blond Ghostbuster looked at him in surprise.
........"I was wondering where you went. We're going to the hotel in awhile."
........"Something really strange happened," Peter continued in a low voice. "Can I talk to you?"
........"Certainly," Egon said and was happy to leave Janine for a few minutes, even if it obviously was in order to talk to Peter about some new distorted experiences of his.
........They walked to a big windy oak, leaned against it, and Egon waited for Peter to speak. The dark-haired colleague removed a petite twig from his hair and nibbled his lip.
........"See, I was in the woods over there, minding my business," Peter started. "When I turned around, this girl was in front of me. She didn't know English, and... and..."
........"Yes?" Egon said to encourage him to keep on telling what had happened, being a bit suspicious.
........"She was telling me stuff, but I didn't grasp one word."
........"Peter," Egon interjected when he noticed Peter was too reluctant to get to the point. "Did she have a tail?"
........"Yes! I didn't notice at first, but... hey, how did you know that?"
........"Midsummer Eve," Egon sighed. "I should have warned you. This is the night when supernatural beings are really moving. You didn't climb up on any big rock, did you?"
........"No, that was just about the only thing I didn't do."
........"Then you haven't disturbed the earth-gnomes. That's... wait, what did you mean? What did you do to the siren?"
........"Nothing that she didn't do to me," Peter whined. "A siren? Is that what she was? I should have guessed, she really put a spell on me."
........"That was a siren of the woods, known as the 'rå' or the 'huldra' here. She has a tail she can't hide, and..."
........"...and a back being hollow like a tray," Peter filled in. "What did you say they call her, a 'raw'? Good expression."
........"Never mind," Egon exhaled. "She's out for men - that's her aim."
........"Neat spooks they've got here. Do I need to say I noticed that was her goal?"
........"When she gets impregnated, she haunts the man forever, wanting him to take care of the baby. She's doing the right thing, in that sense, I guess."
........"Gee!" Peter said. "Good thing I didn't go that far, then."
........"You didn't?" Egon uttered in a surprised manner, raising his eyebrows.
........"No, I don't get involved with chicks having no back, and a tail. Besides, this is the eighties - not the sixties."
........Egon grabbed Peter's shoulder, a man-to-man gesture, seeing Peter smile in an oddly shy way.
........"Excellent," Spengler said and removed his hand again. "No harm done, then. I would like to study the supernatural being, though - is she still there?"
........"No, she got pissed off when I asked her about the tail. She threw me into a bush and ran away."
........"I'm impressed," Egon stated. "That is exactly what you should do to scare her off."
........"Are we going to the hotel now? It's been a long day," Peter sighed.
........"Janine is out picking flowers," Egon frowned. "We have to wait for her."
........The two Ghostbusters returned to the celebrating people, some sitting down and others dancing. The mosquitoes buzzed in the fresh air - filled with smells from grass, trees and flowers.
........"Did you enjoy Midsummer Eve?" Allan Johansson asked Peter. "It isn't over yet, but I see you must be tired."
........"It was... interesting," Peter said and thought of the incident in the woods. "Yes, I enjoyed it a lot."
........"There she is!" Winston exclaimed, waving at Janine when she came running bare-foot from the other side of the grass field.
........"I got the flowers, and I didn't say anything," Ghostbusters' secretary told Ingrid and showed her a bouquet consisting of seven flowers, then looking at Egon with a wry grin. "Now I just have to put them under my pillow tonight."
........"You'd better tip the cleaning lady," Egon said and turned around.
........"Oh, you don't tip in Sweden," Allan Johansson said. "Are you hungry? Should we go to a restaurant first?"
........The Ghostbusters said they weren't all that hungry, mostly tired. They set for the black Volvo in order to go to the city of Gothenburg. As they travelled, the spook chasers were surprised how much it looked like an outback, even as they were close to a big city - well, 'big' if compared to other Swedish cities. The pine forests and fields seemed to give way for buildings when they really had to, no sooner than that. When they went over a bridge, crossing the Gota River, seeing the buildings rise up in the sky on the other side, they agreed Gothenburg was an appealing city.
........There wasn't much traffic, but people were flocking on the streets. Johansson told them that was because of the Midsummer Eve, many giving up the old traditions and rather setting for a night in the city. Peter nodded, thinking he would have enjoyed that, if he had not been tired and sensed the jet lag. Even Ray was quiet, wanting to hit the bed.
........"I'll see you tomorrow," Johansson said when he stopped in front of the hotel. "I hope you are prepared to take care of Naken then."
........"What's that?" Winston wanted to find out.
........"An uncommon Swedish name for the Neck," Egon explained and removed his suitcase from the back of the car. "A more suitable name in English would actually be the 'Naked'."
........"Don't tell me that means he's actually wearing no clothes?" Peter spat out.
........"Well, yes," Egon said casually.
........"A naked fiddler in the Gota River?" Peter persisted. "We travel across the Atlantic to deal with _that_?"
........"I want to see him," Janine giggled, loving when Egon gave her a peculiar glance.
........Winston was waiting outside the doors of the hotel, waving Johansson goodbye when the man slumped back in the driver's seat. Ray and Peter struggled to get Janine's suitcase out of the car and she went to Winston, whispering something to him. He listened carefully, nodded with a smile and went inside.
........"Winston's getting our keys," Janine said to Peter and raised an eyebrow in amusement when she saw how he fought the heaviness of her suitcase.
........"Janine, I'm not carrying this monstrous luggage one more inch," Peter threatened. "You'd better hire another bus boy."
........"Certainly. Remember, no tipping in Sweden. Thanks for carrying it for me, Doctor Venkman."
........She smiled sweetly and smelled her flowers when Peter stared at her in a vain try to look angry. Janine turned to Egon, hiding the flowers behind her back, gazing up at him from under her big red fringe.
........"Egon?"
........He sighed and grabbed her suitcase, knowing there was absolutely no use in getting tangled up in an odd conversation, which was only going to make him feel awkward. She grabbed the handle of his suitcase, being far lighter than her own, and hoped no one noticed her triumphant smile as she followed the three men inside the hotel.
........"Okay, guys," Winston said and approached them from the reception. "Here are our keys. This is mine," he said and put it in the corner of his mouth. "Diss isch for Peter... diss isch for Egon... diss isch Ray'sch... and yousch, Schanine."
........"Thanks," the redheaded girl replied and winked at Winston when he removed the key from his mouth, his hands being free again.
........He smiled, his dark brown eyes being warm. Janine turned to Egon, asking him to help her carry the suitcase to her room, and he agreed to do so without a word. The three Ghostbusters entered the elevator, taking off before Egon had been able to catch up with them, and Janine pressed the button to make the other elevator reach ground level.
........"It's on the fifth floor," she said when the elevator announced with a 'dong!' that it was at their service.
........They stepped inside, Egon almost jumping back when he caught a glimpse of himself and Janine in the big mirror inside the elevator. He swiftly adjusted his big tumbling hairstyle before he noticed Janine was looking at him, and he wished elevators were as big as football stadiums, so he would have somewhere to run. His laboratory was much snugger - Egon wished he were there.
........They walked down an aisle, took a turn to the right and ended up in front of Janine's room. Egon put down her suitcase, grabbed his own and looked at the envelope that was still attached to his key. It said '512', and he knew that meant his room was on the fifth floor, just like Janine's was. When he looked at the number on the door she unlocked and opened, he gasped and looked again at his envelope.
........"Janine," he said. "There is something terribly wrong."
........"It is?" she replied, sounding much too concerned. "What?"
........"My key goes to your room," he said, sounding dumbfounded. "How can that be? Isn't this a single room?"
........She peered into the room, shaking her head as she looked at him again.
........"But..." Egon uttered, trying to unravel the riddle. "I said I and Ray should share a room, Peter and Winston another, and you were getting..."
........He bit his tongue when he realised he had just admitted he had arranged for Janine to come. She grinned, but did not comment on it - they both knew already, and he felt dizzy.
........"They must have messed up the reservations," Janine said and remembered her agreement with Winston.
........"Don't worry," Egon said and felt like wanting to sprint down the aisle. "There must be a way to work this out. One of the guys got your room. We just switch."
........"And they have which rooms...?" Janine reminded, not finishing her sentence.
........"I forgot to find out," Egon said and bit his lip.
........"You can't ask in the reception," Janine said, faking to feel sorry for him. "They won't reveal which room number a guest has."
........"Then they'll have to give me another room," Egon pondered, knowing the receptionist was not going to fulfil that request.
........"Well, I'm tired," Janine said and yawned. "Good night, Egon."
........"Wait!" Egon cried out and put his foot in the door before she closed it. "You can't do that! Where am I supposed to sleep?"
........"Here?" she tried. "It's your room too."
........Egon sighed heavily - twice, and then he opened the door and refused to look at Janine. He knew she was smiling, even as she tried to hide it.
........"Just for tonight," he said. "I'm switching tomorrow with whoever got my key."
........"Of course," Janine said.
........She went to the bathroom and had just closed the door when she heard him turn on the light. In the very same second, he gasped, and she knew he had discovered the double bed. Winston had done exactly what she asked him to, and she suffocated a vicious happy giggle.
........Janine stayed in the bathroom for at least ten minutes, to make him adjusted to having to sleep in a double bed next to her. She almost bounced up and down in anticipation, contemplating if she should keep her makeup, then washed her face to freshen up. When she stepped out, having brushed her teeth, she was pleased to see he had put his clothes in the wardrobe.
........"Oh, gosh!" she said, hoping she sounded surprised. "Is that a double bed? They really must have messed up the reservation."
........"Janine, this is... I don't..."
........Egon almost started pacing back and forth next to the bed, but Janine opened her suitcase casually and put some clothes in the other wardrobe.
........"Don't worry, I'm not going to bite you," she assured him and hoped she was wrong.
........"First thing tomorrow, I'll put things right," he said and Janine almost started to laugh when he thought of another interpretation. "I'll talk to the guys."
........"Mmmmh," Janine hummed, wishing he were going to forget that. "I think I'll go to bed now. I'm really tired. Thanks for letting me join your trip, by the way." ........
........She sat down on the bed, seeing Egon shying away - then he gathered himself and admitted:
........"Well, I had a chance to give you a free ride to Europe. Why shouldn't I do that?"
........"It is very sweet of you to think of me," Janine purred.
........"I would appreciate if you act as if you are a part of the team. I, uhm, kind of gave mister Johansson that impression."
........"You mean, I should assist you catching that naked guy in the river?"
........Egon started to cough and Janine took her chance to put her flowers under the pillow. When Egon saw that, he looked like a deer in a headlight, before he rushed into the bathroom.
........Janine picked up a negligee from her suitcase, put it on and looked in the mirror above the desk that it was not see-through. When she had spun around twice, looking at herself, hoping he was not going to think she was too bony, she removed her earrings and placed them on the desk. She tugged the negligee and saw it reached as high up on her thighs as her skirts usually did. In the mirror, she saw Egon step out of the bathroom, freezing in his position for two long seconds.
........"Tired?" she asked and turned around. "Well, I'm hitting the bed anyway. Sweet dreams."
........Janine felt his eyes resting on her when she removed the covers and tucked herself in. She kept her glasses on, in order to be sure she could see in the corner of her eye what he was doing. Egon was bending down, digging in his suitcase - spending three minutes on doing so. Then he sighed, and she had to ask what was wrong.
........"Nothing," he hurried to state. "Nothing at all."
........"Forgot something?"
........"My nightshirt, actually."
........He spoke reluctantly and she hid her mouth behind her hand, so that he would not see her smile.
........"Don't worry. You guys usually wear a tee-shirt under that jumpsuit, don't you? Use one of them."
........She thought she heard him grunt, but was not sure. He went back to the bathroom, obviously brushing his teeth. The next time she saw him, he was wearing a black tee-shirt and boxers. His hair looked even blonder when he wore that dark piece of clothing, and she bit her lip in order not to gasp. Egon sat down on his side of the bed and seemed not to know what to do. Janine wondered if he was going to wear his hair down - she had never seen him do that, but assumed he never did so when he went to bed. He probably was not using hairpins anyway.
........"Come," she said and patted his side of the bed, knowing she was teasing him. "You must be tired."
........"Janine..."
........He uttered her name almost as a whine and she retrieved her hand, afraid he would sleep in the bathtub, or something like that.
........"Good night," she said and turned around.
........She heard the bed creak when he lay down and sneaked under the covers, and he weighted down the mattress to the right. Janine felt her heart beat so fast that she thought he could hear it. It was a thrill and she loved every minute of it, loved playing the charade, fantasizing about the outcome.
........Egon put the glasses on the nightstand and turned off the bedside lamp. The darkness was sudden, but not complete - when Janine had taken off her glasses and carefully turned around, she could see his hair. When she had waited for a few minutes, she saw the contours of his nose and chin. Egon was looking up in the ceiling, one arm up over his head.
........"Are you sleeping?" she whispered.
........"No," his deep voice rumbled softly in the silent room, yet very noticeable.
........"Me neither," Janine said, just to have something to utter. "How are you going to take care of the Neck tomorrow, when you don't have any equipment?"
........"I was hoping to speak to Ray about that tonight," he said - Janine knew he scolded her a bit.
........"Oh, you'll figure something out," Janine flattered him. "You're the brain of the team."
........He was not answering, but she could hear him breathing in the darkness. Her hand wanted to touch him; sense if he was real or a chimera, but she knew that was taboo.
........When Janine finally turned around, Egon looked at her, feeling a smile reach the corners of his mouth. He decided to lie on his side, facing the back of her head, as far out on the edge of the bed as he could. When he closed his eyes, he could clearly smell her sweet aroma and hear her serene respiration, telling him she slept. His hammering heart had calmed when he finally noticed how tired he was, falling asleep.


ACT V

"Did you sleep well?" Peter grinned, sitting at the breakfast table in the hotel restaurant together with Ray and Winston.
........"Very," Janine replied, while Egon decided to go for a stiff face.
........"You're late," he continued. "What took you so long?"
........Egon sat down, putting his bowl of cereals on the table, not looking at Janine when she did the same.
........"I was using the shower for too long," Janine said and smiled, wanting to see Egon look at her.
........"Egon!" Winston pretended to gasp. "Is that... is that lipstick on your cheek?"
........"What?" Egon said, putting his fingers on his cheek before he realised the accusation was an impossibility, raised his eyebrows and stared at his colleague. "Winston!"
........Peter laughed, Winston smiled and Ray pretended to eat a sandwich, hiding his amusement. Janine giggled and Egon felt like disappearing through the floor.
........"I see you know what happened," he said, trying to sound adult. "Our keys got switched, or the whole booking got messed up. I don't see what's so funny about that."
........ "Okay, Janine. Let me hear who you dreamt of tonight," Peter asked and leaned his chin in his cupped hand. "Me?"
........"The magic of the Midsummer Night!" Winston said, looking at Egon, who dipped his spoon in his cornflakes and violently drowned a raisin. "Oh, I can't wait to hear if that actually worked."
........"It's a secret," Janine said, watching Egon decapitate the tip of an egg. "If one tells, it might not come true."
........"I know you dreamt of moi," Peter persisted and blinked several times in a row.
........"Doctor Venkman - in your dreams."
........"That's what I said, practically," Peter remarked and ate some cereals.
........"Gentlemen," Egon said, hoping to avoid further comments regarding him sleeping in the same room as Janine. "We will be picked up at half past nine. There is not much time to come up with a plan. We don't have any equipment, not even a PKE-meter. Ray?"
........Doctor Stantz swallowed his mouthful and said:
........"Sorry, Egon. I haven't even been able to do much research."
........"Me, then?" Janine interjected. "I'm supposed to be a Ghostbuster, right?"
........The four men looked at her, not knowing what she insinuated.
........"We could steal his fiddle," she said. "That would make him cranky, probably go away, too."
........They frowned, but Egon stopped eating his egg, saying:
........"That is not a bad idea, actually. It could be a case of ecto-symbiosis - the fiddle and the fiddler having to remain together."
........Janine lit up, munching her cereals, looking at Egon.
........"We always need a plan B," Peter reminded. "Not the usual plan B, running away, of course. We might end up dancing our legs off. That could be a fun death, but for one having saved the world a number of times, it's not very heroic."
........"I can't see how to catch the Neck," Egon said. "Banning him at best, maybe stalling him, but I need an ionising field - technology. The only technology they allowed me to bring was my electric shaver."
........"I never busted a ghost using that," Winston chuckled. "It would be a new experience."
........"The Neck is water-bound," Ray said. "What if we remove him from the water?"
........"How's that supposed to happen?" Egon wondered.
........"You could always stick your shaver up his face!" Peter suggested.
........"I have a hairdryer," Janine filled in, catching the moment.
........Egon shook his head, keeping the planning to himself. It was far safer that way.
........They finished eating and got up from the table. Mister Johansson was already waiting for them when they walked out of the hotel. He had not brought his car.
........"We'll walk," he said to them. "It's not very far, and that would let you catch a glimpse of the city."
........There were seagulls flying over the buildings, pedestrians wearing shorts, a not very teeming traffic. When they had ambled for some fifteen minutes, they reached the piers, a proud ship with small flags anchored in the calm river. The Ghostbusters stopped and stared when they suddenly saw a banderol saying "Welcome Ghostbusters! Välkommen Spökjägarna!" peacefully hanging in the air. A crowd had gathered under it and a man with a megaphone announced something that included "Ghostbusters" and "USA".
........"Yeah!" Peter said, loving the new turn of things. "A welcome committee, after all!"
........"Doctor Venkman!" the man with the megaphone said, waiting for Peter to grab it and introduce them.
........"Hello Sweden!" Peter started, as soon as he had climbed up the small podium. "We've come to save you! The expertise has arrived!"
........Winston hid behind his hand, turning away, not wanting to be represented by Doctor Venkman. When he removed his hand, he saw a white horse standing on the pier. It was such a surprising sight that he had to blink and tilt his head.
........"Hey!" he said. "Man, check that out! A stallion!"
........Ray heard him, looked at the horse for a second and decided to go get Egon. The tall scientist joined them, followed by Janine, and said:
........"That must be the Neck. He can take the form of a horse..."
........"...or a bull!" Ray continued.
........The crowd had noticed the white horse and was fleeing, leaving Peter alone with his megaphone, wondering if that was the worst speech he ever held. When he noticed what had intimidated his audience, he joined his colleagues, still holding the megaphone.
........"That is Naken!" Allan Johansson said. "He has tried to drown people, that is why they ran. Actually, I'll let you take over."........
........He backed off and was gone. Peter scratched his head with the megaphone, looking at the horse, which was impatiently scraping a hoof.
........"How do we steal the fiddle, when it doesn't have a fiddle?" Winston wondered.
........"It's not in the water, even," Ray said.
........"Janine," Egon said, sounding worried. "Stay behind me."
........Winston looked at Janine. Her eyes were a bit blank, he thought. It could be because he helped her bunk in the same bed as Egon, but he suspected there was another reason.
........"She shouldn't have come," Egon said to Ray. "The Neck attracts women in its animal forms. I didn't remember that until now."
........The horse sniffed, paced back and forth, shook its mane and obviously looked at Janine - eyes being black. When the creature closed in on them, they noticed it smelled like putrid seaweed.
........"Hey! Back off!" Peter said in the megaphone, making them put their hands over their ears. "Shoo, horsie!"
........"Are you planning to make us deaf?" Winston grunted.
........"Well, that's..." Peter started in the megaphone, removed it from his mouth and continued: "...that's pretty much all I can do, huh?"
........The horse whinnied, moved its tail, making seaweed fall from it. Janine looked at the white stallion, took a step and was caught by Egon.
........"Janine, listen to me," he said. "I'm taking you away from here. Don't look at the Neck."
........She blinked as if she had a fever, stared up in Egon's face and tried to make him let go.
........"No," he rumbled. "Don't even think about it."
........"It was him I dreamt of," she mumbled and looked at the horse. "I want to follow him. It is why I came."
........"No! I made you come. I know it was wrong, I'm sorry. We're going back to the hotel. Janine!"
........She shook her head, not listening to Egon.
........"You chase off the Neck," Egon told his three colleagues. "Everything is under control. I'm bringing Janine to..."
........His words ended in a yelp when a sharp high heel hit his toes, and he almost dropped Janine. Peter whacked the horse in the forehead when it came rushing into the small crowd, which was made out of four men and a woman. He noticed it was a very solid apparition, if it was an apparition at all. The next thing he noticed, the group was no longer five persons, but four. Egon got back on his feet, looking like he had seen the Bogeyman, immediately running after the white horse.
........"It got Janine!" he screamed.
........The three remaining Ghostbusters were so surprised that they did not start to run until they saw Janine was riding the horse, clinging on to the white mane. Egon ran like he was chased by Death itself, but it was a hopeless hunt. The horse jumped off the pier and dove into the greenish water, Janine disappearing together with it. The Ghostbusters could hear Egon cry a "No!" before he leapt into the water just about where the horse and the woman had vanished.
........When Ray, Peter and Winston reached the spot, they could not see anything but the peacefully streaming water. It was not clear, so they did not stand a chance to discover anything unless it was just below the surface. Peter shouted "Janine! Egon!" in his megaphone, sounding distorted because he was screaming. Winston asked Ray in a rather stressed manner if they all should jump into the river, but Ray said that could make the situation even worse, so Winston took off to the left in order to get the life-buoy and attached rope he had spotted.
........"That's it!" Peter hollered and removed his shoes. "I'm taking a dive!"
........"Peter!" Ray objected, but Peter had already plunged ten feet through the air down to the waters.
........It barely splashed when Peter split the surface. He felt it was a bit cold, but not very cold - above all, it was surprisingly wet. Peter noticed he could scarcely see his hand in front of his face, moving arms and legs to reach back to the dim light he assumed was the surface. The fringe was stuck to his forehead when his head left the waters.
........"I can't see a damn thing!" he sputtered.
........"There!" Ray called out, pointing at something behind Peter. "That's Egon!"
........Egon looked strangely unlike himself, hair hanging down to his shoulders, his eyes being big and startled. He disappeared back under the surface after taking a deep breath, not minding Peter was shouting at him. The next time Egon reached the surface, he fought to get Janine's nose above the water. Peter crawled to the rescue and helped him stabilize their secretary. She started to cough, looking surprised.
........"Where's the Neck?" Peter asked, peddling with his feet, wanting to avoid kicking any of the others.
........"I don't know," Egon said, and Peter remembered how he hated when Egon uttered those infrequent words.
........"There it is! The horse!" Winston said when he saw the white stallion swim away.
........He picked up the megaphone, and shouted to his three wet friends where the Neck was. They looked in the direction he announced, Egon leaving Janine to Peter and swimming in that direction.
........The horse reached a stone sticking out a bit from the rest in the wall, transformed to a man with a fiddle and sat down. His feet was still in the water and Winston saw Egon put his middle fingers in his ears when the Neck began to play. At the same time, Janine started to fight Peter and managed to swim away from him, being successful because he was taken aback.
........"Janine!" Egon screamed when he saw Janine swim past him. "What are you doing?"
........She set for the naked man with the violin. Reaching where he had settled, she stayed afloat in front of him, enchanted. Egon took a deep breath, dove with his middle digits still in his ears, not removing them until he was under the surface. He swam with powerful movements, spotted Janine's kicking legs and grabbed her by the waist. When she got pulled down, he faced her surprised countenance and realised he had no idea what to do next. One thing he knew for sure was that he needed oxygen in less than thirty seconds.
........"Don't listen to the music!" Ray told Winston, but it was useless - the Ghostbuster in the white coveralls had already his fingers in his ears.
........They ran to where the Neck sat, just below them on a stone in the wall, and Winston wished he still had the life-buoy. Then he remembered he still carried the megaphone. With a swift thrust he pinpointed the fiddle, saw it depart from the Neck's hands when the megaphone crashed into it and almost hit Egon in the head, as he came up from under the surface. Doctor Spengler reacted fast, got the fiddle and threw it to Ray.
........"Destroy it!" Egon bellowed. "Cut off the strings!"
........Ray was already jumping up and down on top of the fiddle, flattening it. Winston got the hold of the fiddle and showed it to the water-sprite, joyfully waving the broken instrument. The Neck hissed, squealed something in Swedish and dove into the water.
........"He's gone," Ray said. "Janine was right!"
........The wet secretary coughed in Egon's arms, soon being in the company of Peter. Winston went to get the life-buoy and the rope, tying it in a lamp post and helping the three get back on the pier. Janine had lost her shoes, Egon had lost his glasses and they looked overall like drenched puppies.
........"Is it over now?" Peter wanted to know.
........"Yes," Egon said. "I don't think the Neck will return."
........"See, you can be a Ghostbuster without a lot of equipment!" Ray said with a sunny smile.
........"I judge the water-sprite could have been dealt with a lot easier if we had our particle throwers," Egon said. "I didn't even get to measure its psychokinetic energy. I was hoping to bring it back to the headquarters in a trap, to study it."
........"Well, at least it could have been dealt with in far dryer manner," Peter said. "Can we please go back to the hotel now? I desperately need to change. Where are my shoes?"
........"Egon, I'm sorry," Janine said and did not know if she dared to look at him. "I don't know what got into me."
........"No, that was my fault," Egon said and dared to hug her. "I forgot the ability the Neck has to attract women."
........"Well," Janine said and faced the tall physicist. "He's not the only one."
........"Okay!" Peter said as he walked in his wet red socks along the pier of Gothenburg. "So, this is Sweden! What's up for the rest of our week here?"
........Ray and Winston followed him, not noticing Egon and Janine were not joining. They still hugged, Janine leaning her forehead against his wet shoulder.
........"We could watch a movie tonight," he said. "I'm sure they've got an Ingmar Bergman film somewhere - without English subtitles. Maybe even 'The Seventh Sail'."
........"You owe me that," Janine said, looking at his wet limp hair. "A depressing black-and-white Swedish movie to top this - it would be perfect."
........"First, we could go see the rock-painting in Torslanda," Egon said as they slowly followed the three Ghostbusters. "It's thousands of years old, there's nothing like it for hundreds and hundreds of miles."
........"Mmmmh," Janine said. "I'd think I'd enjoy that."
........"They've probably got rock-goblins there," Egon continued. "If we're lucky, we might see some. Even an old classic shy gray puck!"
........"Egon," she said and smiled at him. "This is my _vacation_, remember?"
........He looked at her, saw she had green seaweed in her hair and had to reward her smile.
........"You had enough of supernatural folklore for one day?"
........"One can say a lot about the Neck, but he was a great musician. Hey - 'Thank you for the music'! That's an ABBA song, you know."
........Egon and Janine met up with the rest of the team, when they had stopped to wait for the two. They could all sense there still was a lot to discover in Sweden. When they passed under their welcome banderol, Peter could not help but to step up at the podium even as he was soaking wet, calling out:
........"Little frogs, you better watch out! The Ghostbusters are here to have a well-earned vacation!"

END

Written by Campi
May 21 and 22, 2000

English isn't my first language and I'm sorry
about the odd phrasings in the story.

Visit the site http://www.egon.spengler.as