Chapter Two
The sound of the insistent groaning was what brought him back to the real world. From his dream like state, it was soon however, that he discovered the groaning was his own. Opening his baby blue eyes he took his first few looks around.
He was sitting, bound he guessed in a large room, underground he would guess, since it was rather cold down there, above him and to his left and right were windows, he quickly figured it was probably a basement in some sort of building. Continuing to look around he noticed a cot, not far from him, with a moldy looking mattress that was probably crawling with overtly disgusting containments that Egon would prefer to study than get near and touch. He also noticed a small bathroom like area, a small sink that was dirtied to blackness, and an old fashioned chamber pot. There were a set of stairs off to one side, leading up somewhere, but Egon didn't much care.
"Nice of you to join us in the land of the living Dr. Spengler," hissed the familiar booming bass voice which belonged to David Austin.
"Where are my friends!?" Demanded Egon, he knew this man, he was a sick and twisted freak, who took pleasure in other's pain.
"Wouldn't you love to know," snickered Austin as he stepped down the stairs towards Egon, who was sitting in a corner, curled up, bound at the feet but no where else.
"What are you going to do?" Egon asked, quieter this time. His voice was steady, void of emotion, unwilling to show fear this man placed in the very pit of his stomach.
"To you? Not a damn thing. I was to get revenge against Ray and Peter, not you, although you are an added bonus."
"What did you do to them you bastard!" Egon yelled, he wasn't a very emotional man, but when his friends were involved and possibly in danger he quickly became slightly high strung.
"Ah, Dr. Spengler, you've been holding back. After all these years I thought you were still that quiet and calm one. I suppose things can change a person, make them want things badly. Maybe even drive them to kill for something."
"I wouldn't kill anyone, no matter how much I hated them, I'm not you."
"Yes, well, we shall see, you're friend Venkman, on the other hand.he's different. He and Zeddemore shall live, I imagine, I don't believe the bullet was very harmful to Peter. As for Stanz, he's currently undergoing out beginning stages of a very special program."
"If you hurt.."
"Don't worry Spengler, you shall see him in time, meanwhile, just relax, you're going to be here for a very long time," with an evil cackle the man headed upstairs. Egon watched him leave and groaned; he brought his arms in front of him and gently untied the binding on his ankles. Then continued to look around; the walls were made of stone, the floor solid concrete seemingly glazed to make it smooth.
Looking down at himself he quickly assessed what he looked like, he was wearing a pair of jeans from the day of whenever he had been taken, and a undershirt. Looking over himself he saw no blood, nothing looked to be protruding from his skin, he looked pretty healthy minus a few bruises and aching muscles. His mind could only wander from here, leaving him with nothing better to do, he tried not to imagine all that his friends were going through.
Fear gripped his heart when his thoughts turned to Raymond. What were they doing to him, Egon knew they were probably hurting him, and knowing Austin, it was probably with drugs. He knew that would destroy Raymond, Ray was a good man, a good young strong man, he had no desire to lose what he had, and drugs might do that to him. ****
Peter's first thoughts when he woke up was that it had all been a dream, he looked around and groaned aloud as he felt a hand touch his brow, at first he was sure it was Egon, his best friend, the person who's touch could calm him in moments. Then he realized the hand belonged to someone else, looking up he met the jade green eyes of Janine Melnitz. She looked worried about him. That was strange because Janine rarely worried about him, she loved Winston, Peter and Ray like brothers, but she adored Egon, differently.
"Peter, how are you feeling?" She inquired gently.
"I'm okay, I guess, my head hurts, what happened? Oh.where's Ray!" He said suddenly sitting up, instantly regretting the act, as his world began to spin and his stomach churned.
"That wasn't smart," he murmured as he held his head in his hands and watched a basin put in front of him. A second later he was throwing up any breakfast he had left from whenever the accident had happened. He felt the comforting hand on his back, rubbing up and down, much like Egon would if he had been there. She seemed to know for once what he really needed.
"You okay?" Janine asked gently as she helped him lean back against his pillows. He took a deep breath, the color in his face gone.
"Ugh, I feel horrible.where's Ray, and Winston and Egon?" He asked weakly, more than usual. Janine sighed, and gently wiped his head with a wash cloth.
"Winston is two rooms down sleeping right now, his father is with him, I'm here."
"What.what about Iggy and Ray?"
"We don't' know right now. The police are looking for them. We don't think they've been hurt but we're not sure yet. Peter, I'm sorry I didn't want to have to tell you, but I know you would want to know."
"Thank you Janine, um, could you call my mother?" He asked gently.
"I already did Dr. V, she's unable to get out here right now, but she says she'll be on the first plane when she can. I also called Mrs. Spengler, and spoke to her, I wasn't sure if you would feel up to calling her, and I wanted her to hear it from one of us before she heard it from TV." Janine explained. Peter looked at her, tears threatening to over flow, crashing down her face. He reached out and gripped her hand gently.
"I'm sorry Janine, we'll get him back, I promise," she looked at him and nodded gently, a few tears escaping. Peter sat up best he could, much slower this time and leaned over, enveloping her in a tight and secure hug. He was hurting he knew that much, but so was Janine, because not only did she love Ray as a younger brother, but she loved Egon, more than life itself.
"Thank you Dr. V."
"You're welcome Janine, if you'd like a day off, I'd understand,"
"No, I want to help you two, you can't look for them alone, and I want to be there when you find him. They're my friends to," she said, her voice catching slightly. Peter smiled and touched her cheek.
"Don't worry Melnitz, we'll find them, I promise you that." She nodded softly.
"Janine, please just stay here for awhile, I don't feel like being alone," he asked gently. Janine felt more tears in her eyes but said nothing. She gripped his hand and sat down in a near by chair.
"I'm always here." ****
Egon found himself pacing quietly around the small foul smelling room, which currently incarcerated him. It was the lack of noise that would drive him mad first, he wasn't big on silence. When working in the lab he would often have some type of music playing, or Ray would be there to keep him company.
Egon guessed by the sun light, streaming through the window, it was probably nearing seven in the evening, if he had to guess it had only been a day since they had been taken probably. Least it felt like it, although he had no way to account how long he had slept, but his guess was awhile.
Egon found himself wishing for Peter's dirty laundry instead of the dirty mattress lying over in the corner, it reeked of god only knows how many foul smells and he had no desire to touch it, let alone use it in any form. If he had spent as much time as he believed pacing the room, then he was quickly becoming worried for Ray, and wondering whether he was still alive or they had injured him. Suddenly the door from upstairs swung open, shielding his eyes from the light filtering down he glared up, to see who it was coming down.
"Brought you're friend thought you might like to see him," came the rough voice, one Egon didn't recognize, a second later there was a groan as he saw a heavy set form pushed down the last four steps. Landing hard on the concrete below him.
"Jesus Ray! What have they been doing to you," Whispered Egon as he knelt beside the fallen figure of his best friend. From what he could see, Ray was pale, his breathing labored, and coming in gasps, he seemed to be in pain, his eyes glazed over, he was shivering, but as Egon placed his hand to Ray's head he was running a fever.
"Ray, buddy, talk to me," Egon said softly, like Peter would, hoping to get something out of his friend.
"Raymond, its Egon. If you can hear or understand me, answer me. Raymond, I'm not joking respond right now," he was very worried about Ray's lack of response.
"He won't be waking up any time soon, Dr. Spengler," came the booming bass voice. Causing Egon to jump, he glared at the evil man who had done this to his best friend.
"What did you do to him!?" Demanded Egon. Anger surging through his veins, he wouldn't ever kill, but the feeling he had right now was probably as close as he'd ever get.
"Testy aren't we?" Egon looked at him, this man was out of his mind, and dangerous.
"What did you do to my friend!"
"Just a little experiment, my friends and I were wondering how long it took to get someone addicted to PCP so we tested it. I guess not long, but it really screws the person up, did you know that PCP is so addicting that most people only need two doses and they're hooked. It's amazing what you can reduce someone to. You're friend there isn't big on pain, watch his ribs, I think my goons may have broken a couple, or maybe just cracked them," the man said laughing. Egon said nothing, trying to control all his ragged emotions.
"We'll be back, you're friend is in for another dose of our program in an hour or so, but as you can see, he is alive." With that the door closed behind Austin's retreating form.
"Raymond, please, if you can hear me and understand me, blink once," Egon waited, as Ray continued to try and breathe. Egon didn't realize he had been holding his breath as well until he saw Ray's eyes slowly close then open.
"Ray, are you cold, blink once for yes, twice for no." Again there was a long pause, then Ray closed his eyes and reopened them.
"Ray, can you sit up?" this time he got no answer as Ray just continued to look at him. Sighing Egon gently levered Ray up slightly, so he could place Ray's head in his lap.
"I'm here Raymond," whispered Egon as he ran his hand through Ray's sweaty hair. He didn't know what else to say to his youngest friend, what else would calm him, and help him feel safer.
The sound of the insistent groaning was what brought him back to the real world. From his dream like state, it was soon however, that he discovered the groaning was his own. Opening his baby blue eyes he took his first few looks around.
He was sitting, bound he guessed in a large room, underground he would guess, since it was rather cold down there, above him and to his left and right were windows, he quickly figured it was probably a basement in some sort of building. Continuing to look around he noticed a cot, not far from him, with a moldy looking mattress that was probably crawling with overtly disgusting containments that Egon would prefer to study than get near and touch. He also noticed a small bathroom like area, a small sink that was dirtied to blackness, and an old fashioned chamber pot. There were a set of stairs off to one side, leading up somewhere, but Egon didn't much care.
"Nice of you to join us in the land of the living Dr. Spengler," hissed the familiar booming bass voice which belonged to David Austin.
"Where are my friends!?" Demanded Egon, he knew this man, he was a sick and twisted freak, who took pleasure in other's pain.
"Wouldn't you love to know," snickered Austin as he stepped down the stairs towards Egon, who was sitting in a corner, curled up, bound at the feet but no where else.
"What are you going to do?" Egon asked, quieter this time. His voice was steady, void of emotion, unwilling to show fear this man placed in the very pit of his stomach.
"To you? Not a damn thing. I was to get revenge against Ray and Peter, not you, although you are an added bonus."
"What did you do to them you bastard!" Egon yelled, he wasn't a very emotional man, but when his friends were involved and possibly in danger he quickly became slightly high strung.
"Ah, Dr. Spengler, you've been holding back. After all these years I thought you were still that quiet and calm one. I suppose things can change a person, make them want things badly. Maybe even drive them to kill for something."
"I wouldn't kill anyone, no matter how much I hated them, I'm not you."
"Yes, well, we shall see, you're friend Venkman, on the other hand.he's different. He and Zeddemore shall live, I imagine, I don't believe the bullet was very harmful to Peter. As for Stanz, he's currently undergoing out beginning stages of a very special program."
"If you hurt.."
"Don't worry Spengler, you shall see him in time, meanwhile, just relax, you're going to be here for a very long time," with an evil cackle the man headed upstairs. Egon watched him leave and groaned; he brought his arms in front of him and gently untied the binding on his ankles. Then continued to look around; the walls were made of stone, the floor solid concrete seemingly glazed to make it smooth.
Looking down at himself he quickly assessed what he looked like, he was wearing a pair of jeans from the day of whenever he had been taken, and a undershirt. Looking over himself he saw no blood, nothing looked to be protruding from his skin, he looked pretty healthy minus a few bruises and aching muscles. His mind could only wander from here, leaving him with nothing better to do, he tried not to imagine all that his friends were going through.
Fear gripped his heart when his thoughts turned to Raymond. What were they doing to him, Egon knew they were probably hurting him, and knowing Austin, it was probably with drugs. He knew that would destroy Raymond, Ray was a good man, a good young strong man, he had no desire to lose what he had, and drugs might do that to him. ****
Peter's first thoughts when he woke up was that it had all been a dream, he looked around and groaned aloud as he felt a hand touch his brow, at first he was sure it was Egon, his best friend, the person who's touch could calm him in moments. Then he realized the hand belonged to someone else, looking up he met the jade green eyes of Janine Melnitz. She looked worried about him. That was strange because Janine rarely worried about him, she loved Winston, Peter and Ray like brothers, but she adored Egon, differently.
"Peter, how are you feeling?" She inquired gently.
"I'm okay, I guess, my head hurts, what happened? Oh.where's Ray!" He said suddenly sitting up, instantly regretting the act, as his world began to spin and his stomach churned.
"That wasn't smart," he murmured as he held his head in his hands and watched a basin put in front of him. A second later he was throwing up any breakfast he had left from whenever the accident had happened. He felt the comforting hand on his back, rubbing up and down, much like Egon would if he had been there. She seemed to know for once what he really needed.
"You okay?" Janine asked gently as she helped him lean back against his pillows. He took a deep breath, the color in his face gone.
"Ugh, I feel horrible.where's Ray, and Winston and Egon?" He asked weakly, more than usual. Janine sighed, and gently wiped his head with a wash cloth.
"Winston is two rooms down sleeping right now, his father is with him, I'm here."
"What.what about Iggy and Ray?"
"We don't' know right now. The police are looking for them. We don't think they've been hurt but we're not sure yet. Peter, I'm sorry I didn't want to have to tell you, but I know you would want to know."
"Thank you Janine, um, could you call my mother?" He asked gently.
"I already did Dr. V, she's unable to get out here right now, but she says she'll be on the first plane when she can. I also called Mrs. Spengler, and spoke to her, I wasn't sure if you would feel up to calling her, and I wanted her to hear it from one of us before she heard it from TV." Janine explained. Peter looked at her, tears threatening to over flow, crashing down her face. He reached out and gripped her hand gently.
"I'm sorry Janine, we'll get him back, I promise," she looked at him and nodded gently, a few tears escaping. Peter sat up best he could, much slower this time and leaned over, enveloping her in a tight and secure hug. He was hurting he knew that much, but so was Janine, because not only did she love Ray as a younger brother, but she loved Egon, more than life itself.
"Thank you Dr. V."
"You're welcome Janine, if you'd like a day off, I'd understand,"
"No, I want to help you two, you can't look for them alone, and I want to be there when you find him. They're my friends to," she said, her voice catching slightly. Peter smiled and touched her cheek.
"Don't worry Melnitz, we'll find them, I promise you that." She nodded softly.
"Janine, please just stay here for awhile, I don't feel like being alone," he asked gently. Janine felt more tears in her eyes but said nothing. She gripped his hand and sat down in a near by chair.
"I'm always here." ****
Egon found himself pacing quietly around the small foul smelling room, which currently incarcerated him. It was the lack of noise that would drive him mad first, he wasn't big on silence. When working in the lab he would often have some type of music playing, or Ray would be there to keep him company.
Egon guessed by the sun light, streaming through the window, it was probably nearing seven in the evening, if he had to guess it had only been a day since they had been taken probably. Least it felt like it, although he had no way to account how long he had slept, but his guess was awhile.
Egon found himself wishing for Peter's dirty laundry instead of the dirty mattress lying over in the corner, it reeked of god only knows how many foul smells and he had no desire to touch it, let alone use it in any form. If he had spent as much time as he believed pacing the room, then he was quickly becoming worried for Ray, and wondering whether he was still alive or they had injured him. Suddenly the door from upstairs swung open, shielding his eyes from the light filtering down he glared up, to see who it was coming down.
"Brought you're friend thought you might like to see him," came the rough voice, one Egon didn't recognize, a second later there was a groan as he saw a heavy set form pushed down the last four steps. Landing hard on the concrete below him.
"Jesus Ray! What have they been doing to you," Whispered Egon as he knelt beside the fallen figure of his best friend. From what he could see, Ray was pale, his breathing labored, and coming in gasps, he seemed to be in pain, his eyes glazed over, he was shivering, but as Egon placed his hand to Ray's head he was running a fever.
"Ray, buddy, talk to me," Egon said softly, like Peter would, hoping to get something out of his friend.
"Raymond, its Egon. If you can hear or understand me, answer me. Raymond, I'm not joking respond right now," he was very worried about Ray's lack of response.
"He won't be waking up any time soon, Dr. Spengler," came the booming bass voice. Causing Egon to jump, he glared at the evil man who had done this to his best friend.
"What did you do to him!?" Demanded Egon. Anger surging through his veins, he wouldn't ever kill, but the feeling he had right now was probably as close as he'd ever get.
"Testy aren't we?" Egon looked at him, this man was out of his mind, and dangerous.
"What did you do to my friend!"
"Just a little experiment, my friends and I were wondering how long it took to get someone addicted to PCP so we tested it. I guess not long, but it really screws the person up, did you know that PCP is so addicting that most people only need two doses and they're hooked. It's amazing what you can reduce someone to. You're friend there isn't big on pain, watch his ribs, I think my goons may have broken a couple, or maybe just cracked them," the man said laughing. Egon said nothing, trying to control all his ragged emotions.
"We'll be back, you're friend is in for another dose of our program in an hour or so, but as you can see, he is alive." With that the door closed behind Austin's retreating form.
"Raymond, please, if you can hear me and understand me, blink once," Egon waited, as Ray continued to try and breathe. Egon didn't realize he had been holding his breath as well until he saw Ray's eyes slowly close then open.
"Ray, are you cold, blink once for yes, twice for no." Again there was a long pause, then Ray closed his eyes and reopened them.
"Ray, can you sit up?" this time he got no answer as Ray just continued to look at him. Sighing Egon gently levered Ray up slightly, so he could place Ray's head in his lap.
"I'm here Raymond," whispered Egon as he ran his hand through Ray's sweaty hair. He didn't know what else to say to his youngest friend, what else would calm him, and help him feel safer.