Sorry guys! I got a little writer's block on this chapter, but I'm hopefully back on track now! Hope ya'll enjoy! :D
"Hi, Ray Stantz." Ray introduced himself to the visitor waiting in front of Janine's desk. Egon had already greeted the man and waited politely as the man shook Ray's hand nervously and nodded a greeting. He looked to be a few years older than Ray, with scattered flecks of grey in his dark hair. He was also a bit taller than the Ghostbuster, nearly matching Egon's height next to him.
"John Bennett." He said stoically. He looked around and smirked. "I've never been in here, surprisingly. It doesn't really look like what I'd pictured."
"Well, we like it." Ray said. "What can we help you with?"
"I…well, I can't believe I'm actually saying this…but I think I saw the ghost of my dead fiancé last night."
Ray and Egon both nodded at each other as they confirmed what they had speculated. The man scratched the back of his head as he slowly continued.
"At least I think it was her. This strange girl came up to me at the bar last night and sort of started flirting with me…I thought it was weird at first but then when she kissed me…" John ran a hand through his prematurely greying hair and laughed nervously. "You guys must think I'm crazy."
"We've heard stranger things than that before." Ray said lightheartedly. John let out his breath and smiled in relief.
"Well…can you help me out?" He asked. Ray threw another glance at Egon who discreetly nodded once. Ray turned back to the man and opened his mouth to answer.
"You know…it's actually kind of funny that you came in today. We-" Ray stopped as he noticed both Egon and John staring up at the staircase behind him. He turned to see Keira peeking out from the doorway, her eyes frozen on the visitor. "Keira."
Keira stepped out from the door and stood on the landing hesitant to join the group of men downstairs. She smoothed her dark hair down self-consciously as Ray gestured for her to come down. She slowly descended the stairs, her eyes darting around the room fearfully as she tried to avoid looking at the man who was staring intently at her.
"Mr. Bennett, this is Keira Jackson. She's also been having some problems with the paranormal lately." Ray said as he wrapped a hand around Keira's stiff shoulders. Keira smiled awkwardly at the man as he stared questioningly at her.
"That's…that's the girl from the bar last night!" He said, slightly surprised. Keira felt her heart skip a beat.
"You saw me at the bar?" She asked in disbelief. He nodded and then tilted his head to the side thoughtfully.
"At least, I think it was you. Your hair seemed lighter last night though…" He said slowly. Keira's eyes widened and she looked back to Ray and Egon.
"She must have gone to the bar and then when she returned to my apartment, that must have been when she dyed my hair!" She said excitedly as she pieced together what she had been unable to remember of the previous night.
"…who?" John asked, taking a hesitant step back from the girl.
"Lucille-" Keira started, but Ray quickly intervened.
"What she means is…technically, yes you saw her at the bar but who you saw really wasn't…Keira." He said slowly. John's eyes widened and he looked back at Keira.
"What did you say?" He asked her. She opened her mouth to speak when Egon answered for her.
"We believe that Keira is possessed by a ghost that's been trying to get in touch with you. That is who you saw at the bar last night." He said. John's eyes locked onto him skeptically.
"Lucille." The man said. Egon nodded once and then John's gaze drifted back to Keira who also nodded in confirmation. John took a deep breath and backed away another step.
"She's been possessed for about a week now." Ray said. John looked back and forth from the three other people in the room, even throwing a glance at Janine who was watching the conversation from over the top of her magazine.
"Right…" He said. Keira shook her head as she could see that he wasn't taking them seriously.
"I know it's crazy but-"
"Yeah, it's crazy. You guys really must be some kind of nuts to make something up like this! I loved Lucille…but this…this is just too weird." He said as he turned to leave.
"Wait!" Keira shouted as she impulsively reached out to grab his hand.
"Keira-" Ray said under his breath as he grabbed her shoulder to stop her.
Keira gasped as a shock of pain went up her arm from where her fingers brushed John's hand. She quickly jerked her hand back as the man whirled around to glare at her. She clutched her right hand to her chest with her left, her heart hammering. Without another word, he turned back and headed for the door. Keira jumped as the door slammed shut behind him, echoing throughout the garage.
"Well…that went well." Janine said as she went back to her magazine.
"Keira…it's alright. Some people just don't react well to the thought of life after death. It may take some time for him to adjust to it." Ray said, ignoring Janine's sarcasm.
"You were skeptical too, until you first encountered the spirit in the library." Egon added. Keira still stared at the door, her chest tight.
"I don't understand why Lucille didn't show up for him. Is she trying to drive me crazy or something?" She finally said, her voice hoarse.
"Maybe. Some ghosts get more of an advantage that way." Egon said, giving Ray a knowing look. Ray cleared his throat.
"Don't worry about it, Keira. He'll be back, just wait." Ray said.
Keira was about to disagree with him when suddenly the door flew open.
"We're back! Hi there, Keira! Feeling any better?" Peter called out as he and Winston burst dramatically through the firehouse door.
"Wow, this is some welcome home party. What's going on?" Winston said.
"Who was the weirdo we passed outside?" Peter asked, thumbing over his shoulder. "He looked really pissed off."
"You just missed a visit with Lucille's old fiancé. He didn't really take to the idea that his ex was possessing Keira." Ray said gloomily.
"We've been sort of piecing together Keira's interesting evening she had last night." Egon explained.
"Well, it's about to get even more interesting tonight-look at the clothes we brought back for you from your apartment!" Peter exclaimed as he handed a suitcase full of clothing to the girl. She nearly dropped the suitcase from the weight of what felt like her entire wardrobe.
"I thought you were just going to get one change of clothes! How long am I staying here?" Keira asked, her mood slightly changed as she peeked into the bag. When her eyes landed on the bright combination of clothing, she threw an amused look at Winston, "You let him pick it all out?"
"Yeah…he just went nuts. We figured maybe it would lighten you up a little bit. You were looking a little sickly upstairs earlier." Winston said. Keira lifted a bright lime green colored blouse from the midst of other colors overflowing from the bag and winced.
"Geez…some of this is from years ago. I don't wear half of this stuff anymore!" She laughed as she pulled an inky black lace shirt from the depths of the suitcase.
That looked really good on you last night, Keira.
Keira nearly dropped the blouse as Lucille's icy voice came to her suddenly. Her eyes drifted down to the garment confusedly.
"I wore this last night." Keira said. Ray and Egon looked at her in surprise.
"You remember that?" Ray asked. She shook her head quickly.
"No. Lucille just told me." She said.
"She's back?" Egon asked. Keira nodded.
"I would never wear this though. I prefer lighter colors, I just got this as a gift a few years ago and threw it in the back of my closet." Keira said.
"Maybe that's Lucille's personality coming out in you." Egon said thoughtfully. Keira stared at the garment as he continued. "If her traits are dominating yours, then we may not have as long as we thought."
"But…I'm still me, aren't I? At the moment, at least?" Keira asked worriedly as she dropped the shirt back into the open suitcase and wrapped her arms around herself as Lucille sent another cold chill through her.
Not for much longer.
"Not for much longer if we don't do something." Ray said, unknowingly echoing Lucille's response in her head.