Chapter Fifthteen
Egon and Ray stared down the corridor, the barricade was crude but effective. All of the windows along the corridor had been broken in the second wave of the attack and hastly boarded up. The flickering flourescent lighting gave the scene a unreal feeling. Officer Spencer stood a few feet away, gasping. His cap was gone, lost somewhere back in the confusion. The right sleeve of his shirt was torn, half of the cloth badge gone with it.
"God, this is a nightmare." He suddenly realised Ray and Egon were present.
"Oh, sorry Dr. Spengler. I'm sure you've dealt with stuff worse than this."
"Only on a few occasions, and please, call me Egon."
"Well Egon, Dr. Stantz we're in a real fix here."
"Please Officer Spencer, call me Ray."
"Well if we're gonna drop the fomality then you might as well call me John. Have you heard from your friends?" Ray's face changed to a look of dispare.
"No, and the longer they're gone the more likely they are..." John and Egon silently agreed.
"Ray..."cackle"...can you..."crack"...me..."fizz"..ov...r....." Ray grabbed at his radio.
"Winston, can you hear me?"
"A littl..."crack"...the trans..ition is..."fizz"...bad. I'm on..."cackle"...way."
"How?"
"The..."fizz"...Raccoo..."cackle"...cablec..."frazz"...gonna che..."cackle"...Ecto. See yo..."frazzle"...soon, over."
"Right over and out." Ray switched off the radio.
"What is it Ray?" John asked.
"It's Winston, he's still alive! He's going to use the cablecar to get down here but he's going check out the Ecto."
"Ecto?" John asked, Ray rolled his eyes.
"Our car." Ray's happy expression suddenly darkened.
"But we still haven't heard from Peter!" The Ghostbusters and the cop started moving in the direction of the staircase to
the second floor.
***
The controls of the cablecar weren't complex, just a simple matter of starting the engine, and applying the breaks when needed.
"All aboard!" The guard and Dr. Stern stumbled a little as the cablecar lurched forward. the further the cablecar moved into the heart of Raccoon, the worse the devestation became. Dr. Stern moved up to the front of the carriage to get a better view while the guard sat down to organise his thoughts.
"My God." Dr. Stern muttered as he looked out of the glass, the town was darkened and not as many lights were on as there should have been, but that was made up by the amount of fire light that filled the street. The dancing flames made the shadows in the area change shape as they continued to burn. The metal chassis of cars and broken glass of windshields and storefronts sparkled in the unusual light.
"I've lived in Raccoon for fifty years and I've never imagined anything like this happening." Dr. Stern took off his glasses to rub his forehead again.
"I can't see anyone on the streets. That either means they've been evacuated, hidden indoors, or they never made it." The cablcar rumbled on down the street. It's single headlight illuminating a small portion of street ahead of it, the glare from the lamp reflected up from the rails. A limping form suddenly appeared in the bright glow. Winston, reacting more out of reflex then experienced slammed the break handle into the stop position, the cablecar slowed to a halt and the engine coughed to a stop. Sliding the door open Winston and the guard stepped off of the cablecar to inspect the woman who had appeared in front of the cablecar.
"Excuse me, Ma'am. Are you okay?" All of the experienced Winston had learnt over the years was telling him to get back into the cablecar. The usually nervous guard suddenly had a bout of confidence.
"It's okay madame, we're here to help you." The guard moved toward the woman.
"No, get away from her!"
"Why?" The guard turned back and came face-to-rotting face with the zombie.
"Zom..zom..zom...." The zombie started to raise her hands to the guard's throat.
"Zombie!" Winston rushed forward but was too late, once he'd reached the guard's shoulder, blood started to pour onto the road.
"No!" Winston turned as he heard Dr. Stern begin to shout for Winston to get back in. Winston turned back to the guard who collapsed to the street, blood pouring out of his torn jugular. The guard's handgun was in it's holster. Winston judged whether or not to go for it. Deciding that they might need it he dealt the approaching zombie a blow in the gut, sending her to the asphalt. Unbuckled the strap on the holster and removed the gun. Winston then ran back over to the cablecar and released the break. Nothing happened. Winston glanced down to the starter button and pressed it. The engine coughed but didn't start up.
"llll...look!" Dr. Stern pointed out at the street in front of them. The street was starting to fill with zombies who had been attracted by the sounds of the cablecar's engine.
"This is not good." Winston pressed the starter button again, still nothing. The zombies were pounding on the door.
"Comeon you son of a..." Winston thumped the control panel, suddenly the dials lit up and the engine spluttered into life.
"We are out of here!" The cablecar lurched forward again. At first the zombies were up to keep up with the slow moving carriages, but as soon as the cablecar started to move downhill it picked up speed. By the time it had moved two blocks it had left the zombies behind.
"I can't belive it, never even knew the guy's name." Dr. Stern put a hand on Winston's shoulder to reassure him.
"It's not your fault Mr.Zeddmore, there was no way he could have known she was a zombie. It wouldn't have been humanly possible to get to him quicker." Winston sighed and the two men remained in silence for a long time.
***
Peter was in the Main Hall, he hadn't been able to find Egon or Ray yet and was getting worried. He sat at the empty reception desk and stared at the telephone. Something inside of him wanted to pick up the handset and call someone. Someone who could tell him it was a dream, some weird parody of his safe world that had been induced by a bad drink.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Peter swivelled round in the desk chair.
"I was just thinking."
"Uh-huh, that's a good start." Lt. Viota sat down in another empty chair.
"I was just thinking, if I used that phone over there. I could phone up someone who could tell me this was all a bad dream, a dream induced by too many drinks or maybe some bad food. Seems that human beings try their best to cling onto things that make sense, things that don't shatter that fragile piece of work that is their world."
"I totally agree with you Dr. Venkman, I wish I'd stayed in bed, called in sick. But I drove my car to work, stepped through that door, and realisied that no matter how bad it gets out there, there would have to be someone around to make sure that some people survive. People who can continue on after the disaster. They mightn't be able to make it go away, but I'm sure that if you use that phone then there will be someone who can make surviving a little easier." Lt. Viota got up again.
"It makes me wonder if it would be better for us to switch jobs." Lt. Viota chuckled again.
"Sometimes you have to look at things like a physchiatrist just so you can deal with the things you see on the job. But if neither of us survives, I'd just like you to know it has been an honour to meet you Dr. Venkman." Lt. Viota and Peter shook hands.
"You're welcome." Lt. Viota finished his coffee, pulled out his gun and readied it for action. He then walked off towards the East Offices.
("Goodluck.")
Egon and Ray stared down the corridor, the barricade was crude but effective. All of the windows along the corridor had been broken in the second wave of the attack and hastly boarded up. The flickering flourescent lighting gave the scene a unreal feeling. Officer Spencer stood a few feet away, gasping. His cap was gone, lost somewhere back in the confusion. The right sleeve of his shirt was torn, half of the cloth badge gone with it.
"God, this is a nightmare." He suddenly realised Ray and Egon were present.
"Oh, sorry Dr. Spengler. I'm sure you've dealt with stuff worse than this."
"Only on a few occasions, and please, call me Egon."
"Well Egon, Dr. Stantz we're in a real fix here."
"Please Officer Spencer, call me Ray."
"Well if we're gonna drop the fomality then you might as well call me John. Have you heard from your friends?" Ray's face changed to a look of dispare.
"No, and the longer they're gone the more likely they are..." John and Egon silently agreed.
"Ray..."cackle"...can you..."crack"...me..."fizz"..ov...r....." Ray grabbed at his radio.
"Winston, can you hear me?"
"A littl..."crack"...the trans..ition is..."fizz"...bad. I'm on..."cackle"...way."
"How?"
"The..."fizz"...Raccoo..."cackle"...cablec..."frazz"...gonna che..."cackle"...Ecto. See yo..."frazzle"...soon, over."
"Right over and out." Ray switched off the radio.
"What is it Ray?" John asked.
"It's Winston, he's still alive! He's going to use the cablecar to get down here but he's going check out the Ecto."
"Ecto?" John asked, Ray rolled his eyes.
"Our car." Ray's happy expression suddenly darkened.
"But we still haven't heard from Peter!" The Ghostbusters and the cop started moving in the direction of the staircase to
the second floor.
***
The controls of the cablecar weren't complex, just a simple matter of starting the engine, and applying the breaks when needed.
"All aboard!" The guard and Dr. Stern stumbled a little as the cablecar lurched forward. the further the cablecar moved into the heart of Raccoon, the worse the devestation became. Dr. Stern moved up to the front of the carriage to get a better view while the guard sat down to organise his thoughts.
"My God." Dr. Stern muttered as he looked out of the glass, the town was darkened and not as many lights were on as there should have been, but that was made up by the amount of fire light that filled the street. The dancing flames made the shadows in the area change shape as they continued to burn. The metal chassis of cars and broken glass of windshields and storefronts sparkled in the unusual light.
"I've lived in Raccoon for fifty years and I've never imagined anything like this happening." Dr. Stern took off his glasses to rub his forehead again.
"I can't see anyone on the streets. That either means they've been evacuated, hidden indoors, or they never made it." The cablcar rumbled on down the street. It's single headlight illuminating a small portion of street ahead of it, the glare from the lamp reflected up from the rails. A limping form suddenly appeared in the bright glow. Winston, reacting more out of reflex then experienced slammed the break handle into the stop position, the cablecar slowed to a halt and the engine coughed to a stop. Sliding the door open Winston and the guard stepped off of the cablecar to inspect the woman who had appeared in front of the cablecar.
"Excuse me, Ma'am. Are you okay?" All of the experienced Winston had learnt over the years was telling him to get back into the cablecar. The usually nervous guard suddenly had a bout of confidence.
"It's okay madame, we're here to help you." The guard moved toward the woman.
"No, get away from her!"
"Why?" The guard turned back and came face-to-rotting face with the zombie.
"Zom..zom..zom...." The zombie started to raise her hands to the guard's throat.
"Zombie!" Winston rushed forward but was too late, once he'd reached the guard's shoulder, blood started to pour onto the road.
"No!" Winston turned as he heard Dr. Stern begin to shout for Winston to get back in. Winston turned back to the guard who collapsed to the street, blood pouring out of his torn jugular. The guard's handgun was in it's holster. Winston judged whether or not to go for it. Deciding that they might need it he dealt the approaching zombie a blow in the gut, sending her to the asphalt. Unbuckled the strap on the holster and removed the gun. Winston then ran back over to the cablecar and released the break. Nothing happened. Winston glanced down to the starter button and pressed it. The engine coughed but didn't start up.
"llll...look!" Dr. Stern pointed out at the street in front of them. The street was starting to fill with zombies who had been attracted by the sounds of the cablecar's engine.
"This is not good." Winston pressed the starter button again, still nothing. The zombies were pounding on the door.
"Comeon you son of a..." Winston thumped the control panel, suddenly the dials lit up and the engine spluttered into life.
"We are out of here!" The cablecar lurched forward again. At first the zombies were up to keep up with the slow moving carriages, but as soon as the cablecar started to move downhill it picked up speed. By the time it had moved two blocks it had left the zombies behind.
"I can't belive it, never even knew the guy's name." Dr. Stern put a hand on Winston's shoulder to reassure him.
"It's not your fault Mr.Zeddmore, there was no way he could have known she was a zombie. It wouldn't have been humanly possible to get to him quicker." Winston sighed and the two men remained in silence for a long time.
***
Peter was in the Main Hall, he hadn't been able to find Egon or Ray yet and was getting worried. He sat at the empty reception desk and stared at the telephone. Something inside of him wanted to pick up the handset and call someone. Someone who could tell him it was a dream, some weird parody of his safe world that had been induced by a bad drink.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Peter swivelled round in the desk chair.
"I was just thinking."
"Uh-huh, that's a good start." Lt. Viota sat down in another empty chair.
"I was just thinking, if I used that phone over there. I could phone up someone who could tell me this was all a bad dream, a dream induced by too many drinks or maybe some bad food. Seems that human beings try their best to cling onto things that make sense, things that don't shatter that fragile piece of work that is their world."
"I totally agree with you Dr. Venkman, I wish I'd stayed in bed, called in sick. But I drove my car to work, stepped through that door, and realisied that no matter how bad it gets out there, there would have to be someone around to make sure that some people survive. People who can continue on after the disaster. They mightn't be able to make it go away, but I'm sure that if you use that phone then there will be someone who can make surviving a little easier." Lt. Viota got up again.
"It makes me wonder if it would be better for us to switch jobs." Lt. Viota chuckled again.
"Sometimes you have to look at things like a physchiatrist just so you can deal with the things you see on the job. But if neither of us survives, I'd just like you to know it has been an honour to meet you Dr. Venkman." Lt. Viota and Peter shook hands.
"You're welcome." Lt. Viota finished his coffee, pulled out his gun and readied it for action. He then walked off towards the East Offices.
("Goodluck.")