Hello everyone! Oh goodness...it's going to be a LONG week. Working an hour over each day this week in addition to half a day Saturday. I'm not super comfortable with what they've had me do the past few days but hopefully the whole week won't be like this. Yesterday I came home and literally sat down, needing a get away from the stress and...this is what happened. :)
Hope you like it, it's a little lengthy, I know, but I figured you wouldn't mind. I'm hoping to get the next bit done by the end of the week, because I'm sure I'll need to another getaway after work one day. Please pray that I'll make it through this stressful work week, ya'll! If I don't...then I guess the story ends here! Haha, don't forget to tell me what you think!
"I think I could sleep for a week." Peter Venkman complained as he dragged himself out of the Ecto-1. Egon got out of the backseat, rolling his eyes as Venkman made a show of crawling towards Janine's desk.
"I could probably sleep for a month straight." Winston said as he opened up the back of the car and began unloading the proton packs and traps they had stored back there. Peter threw a pouty look at Winston before using Janine's desk to pull himself upright.
"Why don't we run tests like that, Egon? That'd be more fun than some of the other stuff you've had us do in the past." Peter suggested. Egon rounded the car with two proton packs, followed by Winston who held the remaining two.
"Because that's not very useful for what we're trying to accomplish, Venkman. We could instead try to test it the other way around and see how long we can go without sleep, but I doubt any of you would be up for that." Egon said smartly. Venkman flashed an annoyed look at his fellow scientist.
"And you would?" Peter asked. Egon smirked.
"I've tried it in the past. My more recent record is getting only about fourteen minutes of sleep a day. It's possible." Egon said, lugging the heavy proton packs past the dumbfounded Peter and up the stairs. Peter gaped at Ray as the last of the Ghostbusters shut the back of the Ecto-1, carrying three loaded ghost traps in his arms.
"And you've let him do that to himself?" Peter accused Ray. Ray shrugged, unworried.
"I tried to keep up with him, but I always ended up crashing after a few days. Spengler's pretty tough." Ray said with a smirk. Winston laughed as he carried the other two proton packs up the stairs after Egon.
"I don't see how you guys do it. Can't survive without my beauty sleep." Winston said. Peter scoffed.
"Then I guess you haven't been getting enough of it lately." Peter quipped.
"Hey, man…" Winston said in mock offense. Then he laughed as he disappeared into the upper level of the firehouse.
Ray chuckled as he dropped the three traps on the corner of Janine's messily arranged desk. He leaned against it and rubbed at his eyes.
"Man, I wish you guys hadn't brought that up…made me realize how exhausted I am." Ray grumbled. Peter clapped a hand on the man's shoulder.
"We all are, Ray. Janine!" Peter called loudly over his shoulder. The secretary gave him a deadpanned stare as he turned to wink at her. "Hold all of our calls for the rest of the day. The Ghostbusters are gonna sleep for the next week or so. I don't care if Egon's against it."
Peter jogged up the stairs after Egon and Winston. Ray laughed as he picked up the traps and headed for the basement where the containment unit was held.
"Oh, Dr. Stantz!" Janine called after him quickly. "I almost forgot to tell you!"
Ray hurriedly climbed back up the few stairs he'd managed to descend and turned to face her questioningly.
"There was a call earlier. Some girl was asking for you. She was hysterical!" Janine rambled. Ray frowned in thought before looking at the secretary.
"Did she give her name?" He asked, afraid he knew who it was. Janine slumped her shoulders.
"Well, you know we've been really busy…tons of calls today but that one stood out to me. I can't remember all of the names from every single call we get…" She said, waving her hands around as she talked. Ray shook his head to stop her and held out a hand.
"It's okay, Janine, that's not important. What did she say?" Ray asked.
"She said something about it being an emergency, but when I said you all were gone, she wouldn't give me a message." Janine said, ruffling a hand through her short hair. Ray looked around confusedly.
"If it was an emergency, why didn't you try to contact us?" Ray asked. Janine rolled her eyes.
"I did try. That mobile phone thingy you have in the car doesn't half work if you aren't actually in the vehicle, you know." She said, crossing her arms across her chest. Ray sighed.
"How long ago did she call?" He asked. Janine glanced at her watch and raised an eyebrow.
"Um…maybe a little over an hour ago. She said she was going to head over here herself, but I haven't seen anyone come in here since then." Janine said.
Ray pinched the bridge of his nose, wishing the secretary was a little more organized.
"Was there anything else that you remember, Janine?" Ray asked wearily. Janine paused for a moment in thought.
"Yeah…there was something else that stood out to me from that call. She said, 'If I don't get there soon, they'll know what happened' or something along those lines. Very odd." She said slowly. Ray looked up hurriedly.
"Was it Keira Jackson? The girl who was in here yesterday?" He asked quickly. Janine snapped her fingers.
"Yes, that was it! She was-"Janine exclaimed but Ray cut her off as he rushed up the stairs where the other three Ghostbusters were congregating to review the busts they had completed that morning.
"Guys, we've got to go back out!" He blurted out breathlessly as he reached the top of the stairs. Egon looked up from the computer he was working at, a surprised look on his face.
"What happened?" He asked, straightening up. Ray set the loaded traps on the table in the center of the room.
"Keira Jackson called earlier. Janine said she was hysterical about something." Ray said hurriedly. He glanced up as Peter and Winston entered from the bunkroom.
"Ray, there had better be a good reason for keeping me from my nap." Peter said, annoyed. Winston shook his head at the man next to him and looked questioningly back at Ray.
"What did she say?" Egon asked, ignoring Peter. Ray shook his head.
"Janine said she didn't tell her much, but that she decided to come over here on her own. That was over an hour ago." Ray said worriedly. Egon quickly picked up his PKE meter.
"The ghost wouldn't have let her come back here…" Egon said thoughtfully as he reviewed the previous scans in the meter.
"I know, that's why we've gotta go find her. There's no telling what exactly that ghost did to her!" Ray said quickly. Peter walked across the room, stopping Egon and Ray as they rushed to collect the equipment they would need.
"Woah, woah, woah, okay let's just breathe. I thought the girl said she wasn't possessed." He said. Ray and Egon exchanged glances as Peter waited for an answer.
"I theorize that the ghost has a distinct measure of control over Keira by now. That could have been what pulled her away from the firehouse yesterday. And that would account for the strange behavior she's been noticing lately." Egon said. Ray nodded.
"Periods of amnesia…multiple personalities…I'd definitely say those were side effects." Ray said as he grabbed a few of the gadgets on the lab table. Egon grabbed a small bag to put all of their equipment in and helped Ray to pack it quickly.
"How do you know all this? She wouldn't admit anything in front of us yesterday." Peter said. Ray sighed.
"I just have a feeling. When I walked her out yesterday, she seemed on the brink of telling me something but she wouldn't. We've gotta find her, Pete." Ray said as he threw the bag over his shoulder. Egon flicked through the PKE meter in his hand as he followed Ray to the stairs. Peter hurried to keep up.
"Are we all going?" Winston asked. Ray glanced at his watch as he descended the stairs.
"Well, it might take a while. Maybe you two should stay here in case Janine gets a call." Ray said. "We'll take a cab."
"Wait a minute, where are you even going?" Peter asked. Ray stopped as he crossed the garage towards the door. He paused then turned and looked back at the trio of Ghostbusters staring back at him.
"I…I guess I was going to go to the library. But would the ghost really take her back there?" Ray asked, scratching his head thoughtfully. Egon looked up from the meter.
"We could get her apartment number from the other librarian. Check there if she isn't at the library." Egon suggested. Peter shook his head.
"I'm coming with you." Peter said quickly as he grabbed the meter from Egon's hand. Egon frowned at Venkman as he walked to Ray's side.
"Are you sure?" Ray asked, glancing to Egon for help.
"Hey, this girl has a connection with me, I can feel it. If she needs help, I'll be there." Peter said dramatically. Winston and Egon scoffed as Peter clapped a hand on Ray's shoulder and spun the man around towards the door.
"Right, and she'll be so glad to have you as her hero, Venkman." Egon called. Ray grabbed the meter from Peter's hand as he exited the firehouse. Peter narrowed his eyes at Egon and stuck out his tongue as he followed Ray out the door.
Like they had suggested, Ray and Peter headed to the library first in search of Keira. As Ray had dreaded, Cindy Drummond told them that Keira hadn't shown up for work that morning. There had been no phone call from the girl, which had worried the older librarian. She had no second thoughts as she quickly jotted down Keira's address and apartment number on a scrap sheet of paper and handed it to Ray.
"I hope she's alright. She's such a sweet girl." Cindy said as she looked hopefully at the two Ghostbusters.
"We'll figure it out. She can't be in too much trouble if she's survived this long in New York." Peter said jokingly, but the humor didn't lighten the mood hanging over them.
Ray thanked the head librarian with a half-smile and then turned to lead Peter out of the library and out to the sidewalk to hail a cab.
When they'd reached her apartment, Ray paused at the door as he silently hoped she would answer. Peter stared at him questioningly before Ray looked up and sighed.
"Here goes…" Ray said as he knocked on the door. When there was no answer for a few seconds, Peter knocked a little louder.
"Keira, darling! Your knights in shining armor are here!" He called. There was silence on the other side of the door.
Ray turned to Peter dejectedly as his shoulders slumped. He looked down at the scrap sheet of paper with Keira's name and address on it, confirming for the tenth time that it was correct.
Peter dug into the bag on Ray's shoulder and found the PKE meter which he quickly switched on. Lights and a whirring sound immediately started up as Peter scanned the door and walls. Peter raised an eyebrow as Ray knelt next to him to peer over his shoulder at the screen.
"Excuse me, are you looking for the girl who lives in that apartment?" A voice sounded from behind them. Ray and Peter both turned in surprise to see a young man in his early thirties peeking out from his own apartment down the hall.
"Uh, yes. Have you seen her today?" Ray asked as he stepped towards the man. He nodded quickly.
"It was awful. She was screaming and there was blood everywhere. She had the whole hall in a frenzy trying to help her. I called 911 and they took her to the hospital a few hours ago." He said. Ray's eyes widened as he glanced worriedly at Peter.
"Thank you for telling us!" Ray said as he hurriedly followed Peter back towards the elevator.
"Wait! There was something else. I don't know if it'll help or not, but…her fiancé was here before that happened. Do you think he had anything to do with it?" The man asked, a concerned look on his face. Ray frowned in thought.
"Hard to say. But we're gonna check it out." Ray said as he nodded thanks at the man.
The two frantic Ghostbusters entered the hospital, looking around scanning for Keira Jackson. As Ray stepped up to the front desk, he pulled out his PKE meter and flicked it on.
"Can I help you?" The nurse acting as secretary asked as she smiled at the two Ghostbusters. Peter leaned across the desk and pursed his lips thoughtfully at the blushing woman.
"Uh…yeah. We're looking for a young lady who checked in about two hours ago." Peter said softly. The nurse smiled and looked down at her computer.
"Name?" She asked. Ray glanced up from the PKE meter which didn't show anything out of the ordinary.
"Keira Jackson." Ray said. He glanced at Peter who had starry eyes for the young blonde nurse in front of him. Peter smirked at his colleague good humoredly and then turned back to the woman as she looked up at him after searching in her computer.
"Yes, she was checked in around eleven this morning." She quickly scribbled Keira's room number on a piece of paper and handed it to Ray. She also handed Peter a sticky note folded in half. He smiled at her flirtatiously as he followed Ray to the elevator.
"What do you think happened?" Peter asked as they waited in the elevator, silence hanging over them as they passed each floor. Ray shook his head.
"I don't know." He said softly. He glanced at the PKE meter as it flickered in his hand briefly. When the elevator stopped and the doors slid open, the meter went wild.
"Wow. She must definitely be here." Peter said, trailing after Ray as the man followed the meter in his hand.
"Oh goodness! You guys certainly have prompt service!" A nurse exclaimed as she rounded the corner of the hallway and nearly bumped into Ray who was crouched over the meter. Ray quickly glanced up at the woman who pointed down the hallway. "We called you not ten minutes ago! How'd you get here so fast?!"
"We're…looking for Keira Jackson. She's on this floor, isn't she?" Ray asked.
"Oh, is she! Follow me." The woman gestured towards them and the two Ghostbusters followed her to a room at the end of the hall.
"We checked her in a few hours ago. Attempted suicide. The paramedics had to sedate her quickly and as soon as she reached the hospital we had to sedate her again with a larger dose." The nurse quickly explained. Ray glanced confusedly at Peter who was looking equally intrigued.
"Attempted suicide…?" Ray said softly. He glanced into the room and could see a large bed in the center of the room occupied by a small figure. A heart monitor beeped slowly every few seconds, signaling that the girl was sleeping. The nurse paused as she stood in the doorway of the room, blocking a good portion of the room from Ray and Peter's view.
"She had slit her wrist. But that's not the main problem…" The nurse slid out of the Ghostbusters' way as she gestured into the room. Ray's eyes widened as nearly every object that wasn't nailed the ground was levitating in midair.
"Woah…" Peter said, voicing Ray's amazement. Ray slowly stepped into the room, careful to avoid the floating chairs and side table around the bed. Ray peered at the girl in the hospital bed and blinked as he did a double take.
"Are you sure this is Keira Jackson?" Ray asked, glancing at the nurse. The woman nodded quickly and Ray looked back at the girl.
She was deathly pale and, instead of her long blonde locks framing her face, her hair was jet black.
"We'll take care of this." Peter said as he shooed the nurse away from the room and closed the door. Once she was gone, he turned to see Ray who was inching closer to the girl with the PKE meter.
"It's odd…the meter keeps flickering between sensing an abnormal entity and sensing nothing." Ray said thoughtfully. "This is a pretty tricky ghost…"
As Ray neared the sleeping girl, the objects on the floating bedside table started to tremble. A glass of water and a blue vase with white flowers quivered in the air next to Ray's shoulder.
"Creepy…" Peter commented as he took a step forward, watching eagerly as Ray stared at the girl in front of him.
Keira's eyebrows were pinched together in her sleep as if she were dreaming. Ray's gaze trailed down to her left arm which was bandaged up tightly from her wrist nearly to her elbow. Her breathing grew rapid as Ray watched her and suddenly the heart beat on the monitor across from him started to speed up.
"…Keira?" Ray asked, thinking that she was waking up. Peter edged towards the door as Ray glanced briefly at him, ready to call the nurse back in if needed.
As if she could hear him, the glass of water on the table floating next to Ray shattered and water droplets flew through the air, suspended by the telekinetic energy in the room. Ray shielded his face as the shards of glass flew towards him in slow motion. He looked up as the vase started to shake violently, the water in it spilling out with the tremors. Ray grabbed for the vase quickly and with his other hand, he reflexively grabbed for Keira's bandaged hand.
The vase fell into his grasp as gravity took over, sending the floating furniture and various objects tumbling to the ground. Ray set the vase back on the now stationary table, noticing that a note card had fluttered to the tabletop. He reached for it to read what it said, but was beat to the chase as Peter scooped it up in his grasp.
"Just says it's from Matt. The fiancé?" Peter asked. Ray nodded.
"He must have visited her earlier. That's kind of odd though, don't you think?"
"What? The guy wanted to visit her when he heard she was in the hospital. What's odd about that?" Peter said.
"Well…what about the floating arrangement we just walked into?" Ray said. Peter shrugged.
"The nurse did say they had to sedate her pretty heavily. Maybe he came as soon as they got her settled in here, sat with her for a while and then left before we got here. That could've given her time to burn off some of those meds." Peter said, glancing at the chart on the end of Keira's bed.
"…And it could be the ghost trying to wake up. So that would mean…" Ray started. He glanced down at Keira and was surprised to see that her eyes were wide open, staring straight at him, her fingers curled tightly around his.