Chapter 11
Ray stood in the doorway of the dimly lit room. Echo was in a hospital bed, hooked up to every kind of monitor that the nurses could find in the place, Ray had decided. His friend Egon sat next to the bed, with his body in a chair and his head on the bed, right under Echo's left hand. Egon had his eyes closed and was finally sleeping Ray knew. Ray needed sleep as well, but would have to wait until Peter and Dana arrived in half an hour. Leaning on his cane in his right hand, Ray let out the breath he had been holding in. What a morning it had turned out to be for him, his niece, and his best friend.
Ray had closed his shop late on Friday night. He usually liked to be home by eight, but something had made him stay open longer. He had blamed it on that darn ghost in the basement that he just couldn't bring himself around to trapping. So when he had finally had enough of the pipes banging from his ghost friend, Ray closed his store and went to the firehouse to see if anything was going on before he went home.
Ray hadn't expected to get involved with the rescue of his niece from a four story drop down a hole. When they had all gotten to the hospital Sal had filled them in on when Doctor Echo Spengler's line had snapped.
"There was nothing I could do. The line just snapped as I watched Doctor Spengler land on her back, with her proton pack still on, her leg then snapped, and because of the momentum, bounced back up and landed on her right side, hitting her head on some rocks." Sal told the group.
Sal had been the first one by Echo's side, after he had found another rope to get down to her, and had never left her.
"Thank the Lord that she carries that 'med' kit with her." Sal said.
"Why?" questioned Ray.
"Because I was able to use it to get a catheter into her right away." Sal replied.
Sal had taken Ray and Egon into the trauma room at the hospital where they were working on Echo. Roland and Garrett had been taken to another room where Garrett received new stitches, because he had pulled the old ones out chasing after the demonic entity. Ray smiled remembering how Garrett had told the nurses and attending doctor that their stitches were not as neat as Doctor Spengler's were.
Ray closed his eyes and let his head rest against the left side of the door frame. It had been touch and go for his niece for awhile. Ray remembered that as soon as Echo had gotten into the hospital's trauma room she had seizured again. The attending doctor ordered blood work and radiographs immediately while he brought her seizures under control. While this was going on a nurse was cutting her jumpsuit off of her and an attending doctor was placing a central line.
When the radiographs came back, five minutes later, Echo was taken for a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), a Computed Tomography (CT) scan, a Computed Tomograph Angiography (CTA), and a spinal tap, to detect blood in the spinal fluid, right away. What the staff found caused everyone to kick it into high gear. Doctor Spengler had a brain aneurysm that was putting pressure on her cranial nerves causing the seizures. Echo would need a sensitive surgery right away to relieve the pressure and stop the blood clot. Ray had signed the consent form for his niece's endovascular coiling surgery as his friend Egon was paralyzed with fear. Ray had seen Egon like this only one other time. That was the time when they were developing photographs of Vigo the Carpathian. When the photographs had suddenly burst into flames and they couldn't get the fire out, Egon had plastered himself to the wall with fear. Winston had busted down the door, with fire extinguisher in hand, and soon the fire was out. No one had been hurt however, it had taken Egon two weeks before he would go back into that room again.
The surgery for Echo wasn't without its pit falls either. Because of Echo's condition the hospital decided that Doctor Spengler couldn't be put through two operations a few days apart, which was their normal protocol. So a first for the hospital was that the two surgeries would be done one right after the other. The neurosurgeon, Doctor Henry Moyle, would do an endovascular coiling. This procedure involves the insertion of platinum coils through a microcatheter into the aneurysm. These coils would form a ball that would exclude the aneurysm from the normal vessel. In some instances, a small flexible stent would be placed in the vessel to hold the coils in the aneurysm. His niece also needed an orthopedic surgeon to do an "ORIF". "ORIF" stood for Open Reduction and Internal Fixation. A two part surgery Ray knew. The first part of the surgery was when Echo's broken bone was reduced or put back into place where the tibia belonged. The second part of the surgery was for Doctor Elton Strauss to place a internal fixation device into the bone. In Echo's case this was a titanium rod. Doctor Strauss had been in practice for over 30 years and had dedicated himself to the treatment of the most difficult cases involving fractures and joint replacement. He was the same doctor that had replaced Ray's knee many years ago.
During Echo's neurosurgery her heart had stopped. His niece had been legally dead for eight minutes before the doctor and nurses had gotten her back. Egon, Ray, and Sal had been allowed in the observation room to watch the surgery. Egon had nearly went insane when his daughter had gone into cardiac arrest. Sal had bodily removed Egon from the room and they had gone for a long walk outside. Ray had been left to watch the life and death struggle for his niece.
Ray knew what Egon was going through. Losing a family member was never easy and to see it happening before your eyes was even harder. Ray had just lost his sister three months prior and now he was having to live it all over again with Echo.
Ray opened his eyes and stretched his left arm above his head. He then switched the cane to his other hand and repeated the motion. Everything had turned out good from both surgeries. Echo's aneurysm was dealt with and her leg was set and in a cast. Sal told them that she would now be setting off the airport detectors because of the metal in her leg. Only one thing was wrong. Echo had never woken up from the surgeries.
As Ray saw Egon stir, half on the hospital bed, he was worried. The doctors had run another MRI and CT scan to see what the problem was now. Ray and Egon were just waiting for the results of those new tests to see why Echo wouldn't respond. As of this moment, the doctors had told them that his niece was in a coma.
Ray felt someone tapping him on the shoulder. He turned around to see who it was. Peter and Dana stood before him with worry etched into their tired looking faces.
"Peter! Dana! It's great to see you." Ray said as he pulled Peter into a bear hug and then after releasing him hugged and kissed Dana on her check.
"How is she?" Peter asked quietly.
"Right now the doctors say stable, but in a coma." Ray replied.
"Oh, poor Egon." Dana said as she walked past the men and into the room.
Very softly she tapped Egon on his shoulder and whispered, "Egon dear."
Egon stirred and muttered, "Eden?"
"No. It's Dana. Peter and I are here now." Dana replied as she knelt in front of Egon's chair stroking his arm with her right hand.
Peter looked to Ray and knitted his brows together. He was worried about Egon. Something was not right with his friend. Egon hadn't spoken Eden's name aloud in their presence in ten years. Peter hoped this wasn't the start of a mental breakdown because of what had happened with his daughter.
"Dana?" Egon said opening his eyes and raising his head up from the bed.
"Yes! It's me Egon."
"Good morning sleepy head." Peter said to Egon.
Egon's face turned from Dana to Peter. As Egon looked at Peter his whole demeanor changed in an instant. If looks could kill Egon was sporting a devil of one.
"You!" Egon nearly shouted at Peter. "Where have you been Peter?"
"Dana and I were in upstate New York, in Buffalo. We were…."
Peter never finished his sentence. Egon cut him off as he rose from his chair, his hands balled into fists ready for a fight.
"You were suppose to be the one on call!" Egon now shouted at him. "Not us! This is all your fault!"
Egon's shouting brought the attending doctor, nurses, and security guards on the floor running into the room. Ray and Dana watched as the security guards escort the two arguing men out of Echo's room and then off of the floor.
"Well," Dana said to Ray, "that went well."
"I'm sorry Dana." Ray replied as he helped her up off the floor. "Egon's finally gone off the deep end. He has been building up emotionally over the last six hours and I am afraid that Peter just set him off."
"I do hope Egon will be fine." Dana said as she sat down in the chair that Egon had left and took Echo's left hand in hers. "I know how Egon feels. Peter has been beating himself up on the drive down here. He refused to let me drive so he could get some sleep. Kept saying it was his fault because he forgot about Echo's concert."
"Dana it's no one's fault. It's just the luck of the draw. It comes from the business we are in. Echo knew that going in and still she went with the team. Hell, if she had not been with us that one day in January of 2007 I wouldn't be here today." Ray finished.
"Your right Ray, but Peter is the one that needs to hear this not me." Dana said as she took her left hand and placed a lock of Echo's hair back into place.
"I know," Ray sighed. "I just hope they talk to each other and don't try and kill each other first."
Peter and Egon had been escorted out of Mount Sinai Hospital and across 5th Avenue to Central Park. Both men were exhausted, having gotten in a few good punches between security guards dragging them down the halls, stairwells, and finally out the front doors. As they stood facing the East Meadow, Egon put up his hands and then threw them down in disgust as he turned and walked away from Peter. If Peter followed him Egon didn't care, he only wanted to be left alone. It was Saturday morning and Central Park was starting to fill with people. Egon had only gotten a couple of hours of sleep. His daughter had died right before his eyes that morning and now she was in a coma, unresponsive to his calls. Egon lifted his head towards the sky and cried, "It's just not fair!"
As Egon dropped his head to the ground so did his spirits. "Oh," he thought "I'm going to loose Echo too."
Egon spied a park bench not too far off and headed for it. As he sat heavily down onto it he placed his head between his legs and started to weep. Peter had followed Egon when he had walked away from him. While Egon was sitting on the bench Peter came over and sat down next to him. After letting Egon have some private time Peter hunched over and finally spoke to him in a quiet voice.
"Egon. I'm so sorry for what has happened. I feel it's my fault. I forgot about Echo's concert yesterday. If I could trade places with Echo right now I would do it in a heartbeat and deep down I think you know that."
Egon raised his head and looked up at Peter. Peter looked just as tired as Egon felt right now. Looking into Peter's eyes, Egon saw that he truly meant what he had said.
"I'm the one who should be sorry Peter." Egon spoke. "Sorry for loosing my head. Sorry about hitting you. Sorry for blaming you."
"Yea we need to talk about that," Peter said as he sat back on the bench.
"About what?"
"The blaming game. Are you still blaming yourself over Eden's death?"
Egon looked shocked. Sitting up, he turned his head away from Peter. After Eden had been lost Egon had gone to Peter to find solace. But after telling Peter that he felt it was his fault that Eden had died, Egon came away with nothing but guilt.
"Egon?" Peter gently asked.
Egon sighed. Peter was right. He was still blaming himself ten years later over the loss of his wife. Egon couldn't speak the words, he only nodded his head yes.
"I thought so when I heard you call Eden's name in the hospital when Dana was talking to you. Egon, you have to let Eden go. You know that right? We talked about this ten years ago and you had promised me then that you would."
"I can't." Egon cried, looking up towards the sky again. "I keep hearing her voice call to me."
Peter hadn't heard this from his friend before. It puzzled him.
"For how long?" Peter asked gently.
Egon dropped his head. Could he confide in Peter? His heart was deeply troubled and maybe if he talked about it Peter could help him. He didn't know what else to do.
Egon heaved a sigh. "Oh, on and off for a couple of years now. Her voice gets louder the closer to 9/11 each year. At first it was only whispers, thoughts, and then last year she spoke to me. At least I thought she spoke to me. It was barely a whisper. I figured it was only me hearing her, but then yesterday at the house Eden's voice was audible and at NJPAC Echo said she heard her mother also."
"Echo really misses her mother more then you know Egon."
"I got that feeling last night from her at the concert. Oh Peter, you should have heard her play her heart out for Eden."
"I'm so sorry that I missed it, but work called and I had to go to Buffalo on short notice. Paranormal investigations with the crew of Ghost Hunters is always interesting."
Egon nodded his head. Since the new team had taken over the "Ghostbusters" business in New York City, Peter had gotten a job with the reality television show Ghost Hunters. He was part of the investigations crew with Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson. A safer line of work than what Ray, Winston, Peter, and he had done when they were younger. He had taken a position with the university and Ray had opened his occult book store. Winston had joined the Air Force and was a pilot now.
"Peter." Egon said to his friend. "I feel hopeless, like everything is out of control. I can't help thinking that if I had put my foot down and told Eden not to go she would still be here."
Peter sat listening to Egon express his thoughts. After Egon had finished he paused before he spoke next.
"Egon you feel guilt over Eden, while your daughter feels like she has to save her."
"What? Echo has to save her mother? Where is this coming from?" Egon accused Peter.
"Echo has been coming to talk to me for many years now over the death of her mother."
"You? Why you? Echo knows she can talk to me."
"Echo feels that you wouldn't understand her." Peter swallowed and then continued. "I had promised Echo that I would never tell you this, but under the circumstances…." Peter trailed off.
Now Egon was alert. He and Echo never kept any secrets from one another. He wondered what was so bad that she had confided in Peter to keep it from him. Egon waited for Peter to continue.
"That day on 9/11 you know that Eden had dropped off Echo in the morning so she could head to the Twin Towers and her meeting. You also know that my apartment's windows faced the Twin Towers."
Peter turned towards Egon and saw that his face had turned white. Realization was dawning on Egon but Peter had to speak the words to his dear friend.
"Egon. I am so sorry. Echo saw the plane hit the North tower. The tower where she knew her mother was. Echo watched helplessly as it fell to the ground."
"Oh shit!" Egon said.
Egon took a moment, then slowly rose to his feet. Egon's heart broke at that moment. He started walking north. Why didn't it occur to him that Echo may have witnessed the tragedy first hand and not off of re-runs from the television? Now he knew why she hadn't wanted to go to "Ground Zero" on the first year anniversary and he had made her go. What had he done? Oh Hell, now he knew why she had cried through the ceremony and why Dana had taken her away. Egon knew Echo was upset over her mother, but now he saw it was more than that. Echo didn't want to be where her mother had lost her life. Helpless at nine years of age when it had happen. Damn. Egon had just realized why, after loosing his wife, Echo had turned towards anything medical. Echo would ask for bedtime stories of search and rescue tales. She would read any first aid books she could get her hands upon. Now Egon knew why at the age of twelve Echo volunteered to ride along with the EMT's and paramedics. That was where she had met Sal. Sal who had taken the young teenager under his wing and taught her everything that he knew.
Peter had risen from the bench and was following behind Egon as he walked north through Central Park. It had been hard living with the secret for ten years. Peter was finally glad it was out and in the open.
"Peter?" Egon asked.
Peter quickened his pace to walk beside Egon. "Yes."
"Thank you for telling me this. Now the last ten years of mine and Echo's lives makes sense. We are both still holding onto Eden in our own way. Somehow we need to find a way to let her go. Can you help me Peter?"
"Yes Egon I can, please tell me what Eden says when she speaks to you."
"Eden spoke to me at the house when I was upset over forgetting about her death. She told me 'It's fine', and then at the theater Eden spoke to Echo 'Well done daughter. Well done.' Echo told me she thought she heard her mother singing to her as well. Then, when we were at the firehouse and I was alone in my old lab, Eden told me to listen to my own advice."
"What advice was that?" Peter asked. The pair was coming into view of the Conservatory Gardens now.
"I was telling Kylie that Eduardo's disappearance was no one's fault."
"And it isn't Egon. I think Eden is trying to tell you something. Have you spoken back to her and asked what she wants?"
"No. I'm afraid to."
"I suggest that the next time Eden talks to you, you ask her what is wrong. I believe she is still here for some reason and only you can help her."
"I'll try Peter."
The pair walked in silence past the Conservatory Gardens and on towards Harlem Meer in the far northeast corner of Central Park. Somehow Egon was drawn to the place and had to see it in the daylight. As they came into view of the place where Echo had been hurt, Egon came to a halt. He sat down in the grass next to Peter and watched as the backhoe was now at work, filling in the hole so that no one else could get hurt.
After scooping a shovel full of dirt out of a dump truck, the driver of the backhoe turned the shovel towards the hole and dumped the dirt down into the opening. Back and forth the machine went until the hole had been filled.
"That's what you and Echo need to do." Peter pointed out to Egon. "Fill in old holes. Make things right again in your lives. Start anew."
"I just hope Echo pulls through this." Egon told Peter. "Parents shouldn't have to outlive their children."
Echo opened her eyes. It was pitch black. She couldn't see anything, not even her hand in front of her face. She reached out with her hands and took a tentative step forward. Nothing stopped her, no walls, no light. Echo took another step. Still no wall. No way of knowing where she was. "Stupid." Echo told herself. "Turn on your pack."
Echo remembered she had been wearing her proton pack when she went looking for Eduardo. As she reached back to turn the proton pack on, all she felt was her own back. No pack was there. Wait? Where was her father's proton pack?
Echo's head hurt so much. She couldn't think straight. What had she been doing right before this? Eduardo. She remembered finding Eduardo. He had been hurt. Yes. That was right and he was trapped where…. A sharp pain hit Echo hard. She put her right hand on her head. Why did her head hurt so much?
Her cloudy mind was trying to focus. "Think Echo." she told herself. "Eduardo was trapped…"
Down something, somewhere, far below… yes there it was. That thought that had been eluding her. Eduardo had fallen down a hole. Dislocated his shoulder. Sal had come. Helped her pull Eduardo to the surface and then Sal had come back to help her. But why did her head hurt so much?
"Ouch!" Now something hit her in the chest. Something was now on top of her pounding on her chest. Echo found she couldn't breathe. The pain was excruciating. She fell to the ground into a fetal position and closed her eyes wishing, willing the pain to stop.
"Echo."
Someone was calling her. She tried to call back. Wanting to ask for help but was not able to speak. She was not able to breathe at all. Gasping for breath between the pain in her head and chest, she felt as if she was being killed.
"Echo." the voice called again. "Open your eyes and the pain will be gone."
Somehow Echo knew that voice. She remembered hearing it before, so long ago. Could she trust it? She didn't see how opening her eyes was going to make her situation any better, but the pain she was feeling now was unbearable. Echo decided she was going to try and do as the voice suggested. She figured she had nothing to lose and if it didn't work she could always close her eyes again.
Echo opened her eyes. Immediately the pain was gone. Another thing she noticed was that it was light. Bright in fact. As she sat up she had to shade her eyes from that light. Where was she?
"See. That's better now sweetheart."
There was that voice again. Echo had to blink her eyes. The light was brighter than the noonday sun and tears were forming in the corners of her eyes because of it. Who was calling her? Sweetheart it said. Only two people in the world had called her that. Her father Egon and her mother Eden.
"Echo. Can you see me?"
Echo closed her eyes and rubbed them. She felt that her glasses were gone. What had happened to her? Carefully, very carefully, she opened her eyes again. Someone was standing before her. A little blurry at first and then to her surprise became clearer, as if she was wearing her glasses. How was that possible?
Echo was staring at the ground as she finished opening her eyes all the way. Brown ankle boots under a blue pair of pants was before her. As she followed them upward she could now see that the person was a woman wearing a blue pant suit with a cream colored blouse. The kind you would wear if you were a business woman. As Echo's eyes came to the woman's face she stopped. No it couldn't be? Not a day older than when she had been left at Dana and Peter's apartment in September. The woman was dressed the same as the day that she had died.
"Mother?" Echo choked out.
"Yes sweetheart! It's me."
Echo tried to stand up but couldn't make it, falling back onto her hands. How could her mother be here? Echo had seen her die. Was she also dead? Now she remembered why her head had been hurting her. Echo had fallen when she was being rescued. The rope had snapped and she had fallen to her death. Yes, that must be right.
"Mother?" Echo tried again.
"Yes?" Eden said as she knelt down beside her daughter.
"Am I dead?" Echo asked softly.
"Yes." came the reply.
Echo's head was spinning now. She was with her mother. But something wasn't right with the picture. Something, someone was missing. Oh that's right.
"Mother, is father here?"
"No little one. He is still among the living."
As much as Echo loved and missed being with her mother, how was her father going to cope? He had already lost the love of his life, could he lose another?
"Mother."
"Yes?"
"What about father? I don't think I can leave him yet."
"I know and I don't want you to either."
"But I'm dead."
"Yes and no. Echo you have a choice. You can choose to stay with me or you can go back and stay with your father."
"I don't understand."
"Here, let me show you." Eden reached out and took her daughter's hand in hers.
Eden helped Echo get to her feet and started walking with her towards a white brick wall a few feet away. Eden sat down on the edge of the wall and beckoned to Echo to do the same. Echo sat down facing her mother and looked over her right shoulder into the abyss below.
"Below us is the world. Present day." Eden explained. "Every action of ours has an equal and opposite reaction."
"I know this. It's Newton's third law of motion." Echo told her mother.
"Correct! Everything we do can go one of two ways. We can choose for ourselves right from wrong. We can choose to stop the hating, or we can hate and grow miserable within ourselves. We can use weapons to hurt others or we can choose to drop the knife and end the hurting and pain. Echo you have that choice right now but before you make your decision, you are allowed to see the consequences of your actions."
"But I'm dead Mother. How can I have a choice?"
Eden took her left hand and waved it over the abyss. The scene changed from the green-blue world of planet earth that they had been looking at to a young woman in white on a table. Someone was on top of the woman pounding on her chest. As Echo looked closer she now understood. The young woman was her. She was on a surgery table in a hospital operating room. Her heart had stopped and she was being given CPR to try and start her heart again. She recognized the doctor performing the CPR. It was Doctor Henry Moyle the neurosurgeon at Mount Sinai Hospital.
"Where is father?" Echo asked her mother.
Eden swept her hand back the other way and the scene changed again.
There was her father, Ray and Sal looking down from the observation room above the surgery suite. Echo knew the place because she had watched other surgeries there often.
"No!" her father was screaming. "Not Echo too!"
Sal was physically removing her father from the room as Ray looked on with a white face.
"Fight Echo! Fight!" Ray said down to her.
The scene went back to the green-blue world of Earth.
"Mother?" Echo asked. "Is that going on right now?"
"Yes." Eden replied. "That is why you can choose."
"What if I choose to stay here?"
Eden again took her left hand and waved it over the abyss. Echo now saw her father sitting in a chair in their living room at the house. He was sporting a beard now and his hair was longer and unkempt. As long as Echo had known her father he was always clean shaven and kept his hair in a ponytail. But it had never been this long before. When she was growing up it was a little shorter than shoulder length if he ever had his hair out of a ponytail. Now her father's hair was down past his shoulders and it was white.
The house was gloomy and unkempt too. Egon looked sickly to her and it broke Echo's heart. An eight by ten picture frame stood on the end table next to the chair. On one side was a picture of her mother in her wedding dress and on the other was her picture that she had taken with the "Batta" for NJPAC. The phone ringing startled Egon in his chair. He made no attempt to answer it and finally the machine picked up. Peter's voice could be heard on the machine.
"Egon I know you're home. Pick up the phone. We need to talk about Eden and Echo. You have to let them go. They need to be released. Egon! Pick up!"
As Peter continued to talk to the machine, Egon could be heard yelling at the machine and Peter.
"No Peter! I will NEVER let them go!"
The scene changed back to the green-blue planet of Earth once again.
Echo was confused. Why would her mother show her this?
"I still don't understand." Echo told her mother.
"Your father has refused to let me go. He believes it is his fault that I died. If you stay, this is your fate too."
Eden now waved her right hand, not over the abyss, but out over the empty room. As Eden's hand came down, Echo looked to her left to see a room full of people that had not been there before.
"We are here because, there are those of our family members on earth that can't let us go. We all want to move on with what we have to do in this afterlife, but we all have to be released by someone first."
As Eden was speaking Echo saw a man start to change before her eyes. His blue jeans and red top started to sparkle and dance with light. Before Echo knew it he was dressed all in white. Echo looked to her mother for an answer and saw her smiling.
"He has been released." was all she said.
As Echo turned back to look, the man was gone.
"We are destined for greater things in the afterlife Echo." Eden started to explain, "But when we die, if we are not given permission to go, we have to stay here to walk among the wounded until such time we can go on to the next level, so to speak."
"Do you still need to be released?" Echo asked, realizing now what was going on.
"Yes."
"Am I holding you back too?"
"Yes."
"If I go back, how do I release you?"
"Echo, find the words in your heart. They are there and then tell me it is O.K. if I leave. Let me know that everything will be fine without me."
"Father too?"
"Yes."
The scene changed below them again to the hospital room.
"Doctor Moyle, I'm going to call it." a nurse was saying.
"Echo you must choose now." Eden said.
Echo looked at her mother. How she missed her all these years. Tears came to her eyes realizing she would never see her mother again. Echo took her mother into her arms in a farewell hug.
"Echo sweetheart. I will always be with you." Eden said as she broke the embrace. "In here." Eden took her right hand and placed it over Echo's heart.
"Doctor Moyle! I have to call it." the nurse said again.
"Echo, my daughter, choose now."
Echo smiled at her mother. She now knew how to save her.
"I choose life." And with that she was gone.