Glimpse of the Past

Chapter 1

The sound of an alarm pierced the air. A strong heat filled the room as bodies lifted themselves from their slumber. Groans and moans echoed through the floor.

It's terrible to wake up in the middle of the afternoon.

"Mrph…5 more minutes," Garret mumbled into the pillow from his sleeping place on the couch in the living room of the Ghostbusters fire house.

Roland slowly sat up from his spot beside the couch, slamming a hand down on the alarm, since he was the closet. Without a word, he was up and moving towards the door of the bathroom, his smiley face pajamas not reflecting his current mood in the slightest.

Kylie kicked around as she tried to get a little more sleep from her spot beside the coffee table. However, she fully awoke when her foot struck something soft. The strike was followed by a yelp of pain as Eduardo was up and swearing up a storm while holding his nose.

"I'm so sorry, Eduardo. Are you okay?" she voiced her concern at the injury she had caused.

"I'll live," he mumbled through his hand, covering his nose as he gathered his bedding from the space between the coffee table and the couch, "Why are we even bothering to set an alarm? And for 2 pm, when we only got back at like 9 this morning?"

"Cause we have to go pull the Ecto out from under that piano. Egon's going to talk to the client about getting a new car, but still have to drag the old one back to salvage the gear off of it," Roland informed him, as he walked out of the bathroom, before sticking a toothbrush into his mouth.

Eduardo just waved it off with his hand that wasn't gripping his nose as he walked for the bathroom. Reaching the door at the same time as Kylie, he paused before offering an overly dramatic bow at his waist. "Ladies first," he offered, giving the smoothest tone he could, but given his nose injury, he wasn't even close. She accepted.

Eduardo moved back over to sit on the edge of the couch as Garret got himself situated and ready to move to his chair, when the smell of coffee wafts into the room. The wafting comes from the tray being carried by Janine. "Just how you guys like them," she offered the tray out. Roland passed, having just cleaned his teeth, but handing Garret's mug to him as Eduardo grabs his and Kylie's.

"So, give it to us straight, Janine. How furious is the Professor?" Garret questioned the Ghostbusters secretary.

"Not too bad. He's not very materialistic, and I think he's surprised that it lasted as long as it did. It was a piece of junk when Ray bought it back in the 80's. And considering that the client is paying to replace it, I don't think he really has much he's going to complain about.

"Well, I'm sure the others will feel differently when they find out," Kylie added as she walked out of the bathroom in a knee length black skirt and gray tank top. Eduardo handed her coffee over as he downed his before passing his empty mug to her too, and taking his turn in the restroom to get ready. She walked over to join the rest of them.

"Well, once Garret is ready, we can go. Egon said he was going to call for a flatbed to get the bulk of the Ecto 1, and anything left behind can be put in my trunk," Roland offered.

Everyone quickly finished their morning rituals the best they could away from home before heading out. Summer break had hit, and it felt like it outside. A little over 90 degrees in the shade, and surface of the sun in direct light, it was a blessing that Roland's AC was working. The flatbed was already there by the time they arrived, and with a team effort, the remains of the piano where lifted off and put into the trash. With that task done, and an uneventful return trip to the fire house, they were set upon by a task as soon as they entered the front door.

"We just got some calls. A guy in Queen's who's dead uncle has come back to beat him with a belt, a woman who says she saw her dead twin sister, and a kid who's freaking out about his English teacher who's back from the grave," Janine told them, passing the slips with the information to Kylie.

"Sounds like a lot of unwelcome reunions," Garret smirked, "So let's go lay some problems to rest."

Quickly emptying the debris from the trunk of Roland's car and putting their gear in its place, they quickly headed out, making way for Queen's first.

Pulling up to a small home, the Ghostbusters quickly unloaded and pulled their equipment out and put it on. It was a small, blue, 2 story with a white fence. Pretty standard for the area. Piling out of the Mustang and pulling their packs out of the trunk and onto their backs, they move to the front door. Just before Roland can knock, a shrilled scream carries through the house, more than loud enough for them to hear. Checking the knob and finding it unlocked, Roland opens the door as they all rush in. Finding their way to the scream brings them into the kitchen. Cowering on the floor, next to the stove is a lanky, blonde man. But nothing else is around.

The Ghostbusters unhook their proton guns, sweeping the room. "Where is it? Where's the jerk uncle?" Garret asked him.

The man lifts his head and glances around the room, and relaxes a bit as he pulls himself up off the floor. "He's gone. Oh thank god, he's gone," the man sighs in relief.

Kylie pulls her PKE meter from her belt and sweeps the room. It lets out low electronic sounds as energy arcs from the tips of the antennae. "I'm only getting traces. And only of a class one."

Roland returned his gun to his pack. "Garret, you sweep the first floor. Eduardo and I will take the second. Ky, you interview the client."

Garret gave a nod before rolling out of the kitchen, and Roland found the stairs with Eduardo, going up to the second floor. Kylie took a seat across from the client at the table in the kitchen. A sweep of the house only revealed the same trace as the signal from the kitchen, and even going out into the yard gave nothing more, with the signal going out completely around the fences. Finding that, aside from one threat from the ghost, all it did was roam, all they could do was tell him to call if it shows up again, but there isn't much they can do. The man thanked them for at least giving him the peace of mind that he wasn't going crazy as they left for the next two stop.

The next two became the next two dozen as more calls came in while they were out. Each person saw someone that they personally knew who was dead. Some had been to the funerals, others didn't know about it till years later. Some were family member, others family friends, just friends, or acquaintances. Getting back to the fire house at midnight, they were exhausted, considering their long day yesterday and only 5 hours of sleep earlier. Not even having the energy to properly bed down, the sleeping arrangements were much more haphazard this time. Garret passed out in his wheel chair, Roland in the easy chair, and Eduardo and Kylie found their spots at opposite ends of the couch. However, in their exhaustion and dead sleep, none of them awoke to the PKE meter on the coffee table going off. Nor did the faint blue glow that covered each of them wake any of the others up. Then, the PKE meter fell silent as the glow left.

The next morning, Kylie eyes shot open as she awoke with a start. Still laying down she didn't see Garret or Roland, who should have been in plain view. She tried to move, but she was so comfortable, it was difficult. She was just glad she at least shed the body armor last night. But she didn't remember the couch being so warm. Or that it moved. When she heard a groan, her mind was fully awake as she realized why the couch felt different. Quickly and gently, she pulled herself up and saw that she had shifted to lie on Eduardo, who had apparently also shifted to lie fully on the couch. Feeling her face heat up, she quickly extracted herself, and bolted for the restroom, quickly closing the door as she heard her unexpected sleeping partner start to wake up.

Eduardo woke up from the sudden sensation of it getting a lot colder. Uncomfortably cold. That was strange, given that it was boiling outside. Shrugging it off, he did his best to work the kinks in his neck out from sleeping strangely as he got up and stretched. Seeing that the bathroom was occupied, he went to find the saving grace of anyone who's not a morning person. A nice hot cup of coffee. Finding himself in the kitchen, he stared at Roland and Garret, who were digging into what looked more like a lunch then a dinner, he glanced at the clock to find it to be just after noon. Shrugging, he set to work on starting a pot of coffee.

"So, you sleep well last night, goat boy?" Garret asked between bites of what looked like a nice sized sandwich.

"Not too bad. I've had better," he responded, still half asleep.

"I doubt it," Garret chuckled, a little deviously, but Eduardo just shrugged.

Finding some clean mugs, Eduardo went about fixing two. One with just 6 sugars, just the way he likes it. The other with a dash of cream and 2 sugars. As soon he had finished, Kylie walked in. Eduardo took a sip from his mug as he handed the other to her.

Her face no longer burning, Kylie took a sip, and was clearly surprised. "Who made coffee?"

"You like cream and 2 sugars, right?" Eduardo asked, testing the waters.

Kylie nodded as she took another sip, letting the caffeine wash over her, though the wake up was no longer needed after what happened earlier. "And people say I don't pay attention," he spoke with pride.

Kylie just wandered out of the room, disappearing from view. Eduardo sighs before shrugging and moving his way over to the table. "Don't let it get you down buddy. She'll notice you one day," Garret reassured him.

"You think so?" Eduardo asked, hopefully.

"Yeah, as soon as you become handsome and intelligent, and capable of traveling the world," he said, almost laughing in his face.

Eduardo just glared at him as he began to talk out of the room, right before the alarm went off. Everyone downed any drinks as they made their way downstairs, and got to work.

Eight hours later saw them in the same state they were in the previous night. Exhausted and nothing to show for it. They only changed into their normal cloths, and crawled into Roland's car before being dropped off at their homes. Garret first, followed by Kylie, then Eduardo, before Roland got himself home. Everyone quickly finding their way to bed began to turn in. However, some of them would not be getting the sleep they were looking for.

-End Chapter 1-