Dani stood outside the firehouse on the corner of Mott and Pell just
watching the cars go by. She had already told three cab drivers she didn't
need a cab and they drove away after giving her a funny look. The young
woman was merely waiting for her cousin to return with Peter. After she had
heard what happened yesterday Egon's cousin had gone into room and ignored
any plea to come out. Even after a certain someone had sent Slimer in an
attempt to get her to come out. She promptly sent the green specter back
out to slime the certain someone with auburn-hair.
She had thought about the nightmare and it replayed again in her head slightly differently than it had when she was sleeping. Newton was no longer there and it was just Peter brandishing the gun and killing everyone. He kept on going about this was the only way to make it stop. None of it was real and he had to kill them to get better. Better? Dr. Venkman was a healthy man from what she knew. Well, physically anyway. Mentally all of the guys were a little loopy. You had to be if your job was to keep ghosts from taking over the world.
The young woman played with her hair. She was still kinda getting used to the fact she had cut her hair. The red streaks were there just to get a reaction, but the she cut it because Dani felt she needed a change. Egon's cousin had been able to do what she wanted for a few months since the guys had 'saved' her from Newton. She liked having the opportunity to sleep until mid-day with her boyfriend lying next to her. Of course, there were the other days when she would wake-up before Janine even got there and work out at the gym. Peter had shown interest in that idea, but she could never get him to wake up so he could actually go with her.
Dani turned to the right and saw the Ghostbusters car coming down the street. It wasn't being driven like it was on a Nascar race course. Ray did that on a regular basis, but Dani had made the mistake of being the car one time when Egon drove and wished she hadn't. His driving made Dr. Stantz's seem tame in comparison. The blonde scientist was a rather calm man, but when someone pushed his buttons in just the right way he could become rather erratic. The car approached the corner and slowed as it pulled into Ghostbuster Central. She watched as the Peter got out of the passenger's seat and walked right up to him.
"Peter, you're an idiot." He gave her a surprised look.
"Nice to see you too," Dr. Venkman replied.
"Dani, let's not start anything," Egon told his cousin as he came around the car.
"It's already started," Dani responded. "The nightmare's a vision now."
"What?" Dr. Spengler said. "Ray hasn't mentioned anything."
"Because I haven't told him anything."
"I'm not going crazy," Peter said. "I'm perfectly fine." He looked at Egon and the blonde man and everything around him began to blur. "I'm not crazy."
"Of course not, dear." Dr. Venkman found himself looking at his mother. He was no longer strapped to the bed, but sitting cross-legged on it. "You're just lost. You didn't know what to do with yourself after you lost your friends."
"Mom, they aren't really dead, are they?" Peter asked his mother.
"I'm afraid so, sweetheart," his mother answered.
"What happened?"
"You boys went out one night and crossed paths with a drunk driver. Egon and Ray died instantly. You received a nasty head wound and were in a coma for about a month. When you woke you didn't believe your friends were dead and that's about when you started to imagine they were still alive. Everything about the Ghostbusters is not real. There were no movies, no cartoons, and no people. It's just you. You were unable to adjust to the fact your friends were dead and made all of that up to keep them alive. They are alive. In your heart." Peter watched as his mother began to cry. "I just wish you'd understand that."
"Why did it seem so real?" Dr. Venkman inquired.
"Because you put your whole mind into it and ignored all real knowledge according to Dr. Romano. You didn't want to cope with real life and it was easier to create a reality in your head. For the longest time you seemed to be catatonic as you lived in that reality instead of this one. It wasn't until recently we've been able to get through to you. Hopefully convincing you to stay here with us and let go of what's inside your head."
"I don't want to," Peter responded. "I like being with my friends."
"Honey, they don't exist," his mother pleaded with him. "You made up everything. I even went so far as to look up their names. There is no Winston Zeddemore, Janine Melnitz, or Dani Pearson. Creatures like the Marshmallow Man, Samhaine, and Gozer don't exist either. There are no such things as ghosts, demons, or demi-gods."
"We saved the world," Peter said. "We risked our lives."
"It was all in your head."
"No. No, it couldn't have been."
"It was, dear. I'm sorry, Peter, but it was."
"No!" Peter shouted. "No!"
*****
Dr. Venkman shot up in his bed and looked around. He was in the bedroom he shared with the guys in the firehouse. His mother was no longer at his bedside. Peter touched the bandages and felt a slight pain shoot up in his head.
"It seems real," Peter muttered. "Why would I make up all this stuff?"
"Peter, you're up." Dr. Venkman looked toward the doors and saw Ray standing in the doorway. "You scared Egon and Dani. The three of you were talking and you passed out."
"Is it really a vision?" Peter inquired.
"We aren't sure," Ray answered as he went over to his friend. "Dani is positive it is since she's seeing it when she's asleep and awake. I've been trying to find something on the thing we caught, but I keep running into dead ends. The problem is that the other guy who got hurt is in the psych ward and you're not. That makes doing research that much more complicated."
"Don't worry, Tex. I'm sure you'll figure it out." Peter patted his friend's hand and thought about what his mother had said.
Dead? Ray and Egon were dead? That didn't make any sense. Sure he remembered that night, but all three of them had walked away with minor injuries. Maybe he had hoped they were minor injuries. Maybe it was all in his head. It still didn't compute. Why would he make up all of this stuff? He was the one that didn't believe Egon and Ray in the first place when they started talking about ghosts and the fact they were real. How come he was creating it all in his head?
"Hey, Peter, are you okay?" Dr. Stantz asked his friend. The psychologist shook away the cobwebs of doubt and gave his friend a smile.
"Yeah, I'm great," Dr. Venkman replied. "We don't have any jobs today or anything else do we?"
"Nothing we really need you for," Ray responded. "Egon said we should let you rest today. Tomorrow we'll run you ragged again."
"One of those rare reprieves for me, huh?"
"Yup."
"This also includes no Slimer?"
"Slimer's with Dani. She asked him to come along when she went out for the pizza."
"You're lucky your girlfriend actually likes the spud. Most people take one look at him and run the other way."
"Dani's actually been able to do more with him than I've been able to. Of course, having a ghost read you a bedtime story isn't as fun as it sounds. He likes to stay afterward."
"It's not like you and Dani do anything," Peter replied. "Egon did lecture you after all." Dr. Venkman noticed the young man's cheeks start to turn a pinkish color. "Ray Stantz, you gotta be kidding me. After all those years of blushing at every pretty woman whoever said hi and you're now playing Mr. Suave with Egon's cousin. I shall never underestimate you again."
"Raymond, are you bothering Peter?" Egon asked as he joined the two.
"No," Dr. Stantz answered. "We were just talking." Dr. Spengler gave his young friend a look. "Did you get anywhere with the research?"
"I ran into obstacles much like yourself," Egon answered. "I'd like to try out the orb, but I'm afraid it might escape. I haven't had any successful tests with Slimer."
"The orb?" Peter repeated. "What the heck is the orb?"
"It's kinda looks like a crystal ball," Ray told him. "Except it should hold ghost within a force field of positive particle beams. With the ghost inside we can observe it and easily take ectoplasmic samples for testing." Dr. Stantz looked back at the physicist. "If we did do that we'd have to get the ghost back out of the containment unit. That's never easy."
"Precisely the reason we ordered an extra pizza," Egon responded. "We'll have Slimer go in and retrieve it."
"Than we should make sure the orb is running," Ray replied. "It takes at least half an hour to get it warmed up. We should also set up a few traps just to make sure if it does get out that we can capture it before it gets loose."
"Excellent idea. Let's get started." The two men walked out of the room. Peter leaned against the headboard of his bed.
He couldn't understand how none of this wasn't real. Peter had spent a long time running around New York and other various parts of the world capturing ghosts and saving the world. Everything he could remember seemed to fit on the timeline. Sure they were a few questionable happenings, but that occurred with everyone. He probably had one to many the night before or something. Peter just couldn't fathom this world wasn't real.
She had thought about the nightmare and it replayed again in her head slightly differently than it had when she was sleeping. Newton was no longer there and it was just Peter brandishing the gun and killing everyone. He kept on going about this was the only way to make it stop. None of it was real and he had to kill them to get better. Better? Dr. Venkman was a healthy man from what she knew. Well, physically anyway. Mentally all of the guys were a little loopy. You had to be if your job was to keep ghosts from taking over the world.
The young woman played with her hair. She was still kinda getting used to the fact she had cut her hair. The red streaks were there just to get a reaction, but the she cut it because Dani felt she needed a change. Egon's cousin had been able to do what she wanted for a few months since the guys had 'saved' her from Newton. She liked having the opportunity to sleep until mid-day with her boyfriend lying next to her. Of course, there were the other days when she would wake-up before Janine even got there and work out at the gym. Peter had shown interest in that idea, but she could never get him to wake up so he could actually go with her.
Dani turned to the right and saw the Ghostbusters car coming down the street. It wasn't being driven like it was on a Nascar race course. Ray did that on a regular basis, but Dani had made the mistake of being the car one time when Egon drove and wished she hadn't. His driving made Dr. Stantz's seem tame in comparison. The blonde scientist was a rather calm man, but when someone pushed his buttons in just the right way he could become rather erratic. The car approached the corner and slowed as it pulled into Ghostbuster Central. She watched as the Peter got out of the passenger's seat and walked right up to him.
"Peter, you're an idiot." He gave her a surprised look.
"Nice to see you too," Dr. Venkman replied.
"Dani, let's not start anything," Egon told his cousin as he came around the car.
"It's already started," Dani responded. "The nightmare's a vision now."
"What?" Dr. Spengler said. "Ray hasn't mentioned anything."
"Because I haven't told him anything."
"I'm not going crazy," Peter said. "I'm perfectly fine." He looked at Egon and the blonde man and everything around him began to blur. "I'm not crazy."
"Of course not, dear." Dr. Venkman found himself looking at his mother. He was no longer strapped to the bed, but sitting cross-legged on it. "You're just lost. You didn't know what to do with yourself after you lost your friends."
"Mom, they aren't really dead, are they?" Peter asked his mother.
"I'm afraid so, sweetheart," his mother answered.
"What happened?"
"You boys went out one night and crossed paths with a drunk driver. Egon and Ray died instantly. You received a nasty head wound and were in a coma for about a month. When you woke you didn't believe your friends were dead and that's about when you started to imagine they were still alive. Everything about the Ghostbusters is not real. There were no movies, no cartoons, and no people. It's just you. You were unable to adjust to the fact your friends were dead and made all of that up to keep them alive. They are alive. In your heart." Peter watched as his mother began to cry. "I just wish you'd understand that."
"Why did it seem so real?" Dr. Venkman inquired.
"Because you put your whole mind into it and ignored all real knowledge according to Dr. Romano. You didn't want to cope with real life and it was easier to create a reality in your head. For the longest time you seemed to be catatonic as you lived in that reality instead of this one. It wasn't until recently we've been able to get through to you. Hopefully convincing you to stay here with us and let go of what's inside your head."
"I don't want to," Peter responded. "I like being with my friends."
"Honey, they don't exist," his mother pleaded with him. "You made up everything. I even went so far as to look up their names. There is no Winston Zeddemore, Janine Melnitz, or Dani Pearson. Creatures like the Marshmallow Man, Samhaine, and Gozer don't exist either. There are no such things as ghosts, demons, or demi-gods."
"We saved the world," Peter said. "We risked our lives."
"It was all in your head."
"No. No, it couldn't have been."
"It was, dear. I'm sorry, Peter, but it was."
"No!" Peter shouted. "No!"
*****
Dr. Venkman shot up in his bed and looked around. He was in the bedroom he shared with the guys in the firehouse. His mother was no longer at his bedside. Peter touched the bandages and felt a slight pain shoot up in his head.
"It seems real," Peter muttered. "Why would I make up all this stuff?"
"Peter, you're up." Dr. Venkman looked toward the doors and saw Ray standing in the doorway. "You scared Egon and Dani. The three of you were talking and you passed out."
"Is it really a vision?" Peter inquired.
"We aren't sure," Ray answered as he went over to his friend. "Dani is positive it is since she's seeing it when she's asleep and awake. I've been trying to find something on the thing we caught, but I keep running into dead ends. The problem is that the other guy who got hurt is in the psych ward and you're not. That makes doing research that much more complicated."
"Don't worry, Tex. I'm sure you'll figure it out." Peter patted his friend's hand and thought about what his mother had said.
Dead? Ray and Egon were dead? That didn't make any sense. Sure he remembered that night, but all three of them had walked away with minor injuries. Maybe he had hoped they were minor injuries. Maybe it was all in his head. It still didn't compute. Why would he make up all of this stuff? He was the one that didn't believe Egon and Ray in the first place when they started talking about ghosts and the fact they were real. How come he was creating it all in his head?
"Hey, Peter, are you okay?" Dr. Stantz asked his friend. The psychologist shook away the cobwebs of doubt and gave his friend a smile.
"Yeah, I'm great," Dr. Venkman replied. "We don't have any jobs today or anything else do we?"
"Nothing we really need you for," Ray responded. "Egon said we should let you rest today. Tomorrow we'll run you ragged again."
"One of those rare reprieves for me, huh?"
"Yup."
"This also includes no Slimer?"
"Slimer's with Dani. She asked him to come along when she went out for the pizza."
"You're lucky your girlfriend actually likes the spud. Most people take one look at him and run the other way."
"Dani's actually been able to do more with him than I've been able to. Of course, having a ghost read you a bedtime story isn't as fun as it sounds. He likes to stay afterward."
"It's not like you and Dani do anything," Peter replied. "Egon did lecture you after all." Dr. Venkman noticed the young man's cheeks start to turn a pinkish color. "Ray Stantz, you gotta be kidding me. After all those years of blushing at every pretty woman whoever said hi and you're now playing Mr. Suave with Egon's cousin. I shall never underestimate you again."
"Raymond, are you bothering Peter?" Egon asked as he joined the two.
"No," Dr. Stantz answered. "We were just talking." Dr. Spengler gave his young friend a look. "Did you get anywhere with the research?"
"I ran into obstacles much like yourself," Egon answered. "I'd like to try out the orb, but I'm afraid it might escape. I haven't had any successful tests with Slimer."
"The orb?" Peter repeated. "What the heck is the orb?"
"It's kinda looks like a crystal ball," Ray told him. "Except it should hold ghost within a force field of positive particle beams. With the ghost inside we can observe it and easily take ectoplasmic samples for testing." Dr. Stantz looked back at the physicist. "If we did do that we'd have to get the ghost back out of the containment unit. That's never easy."
"Precisely the reason we ordered an extra pizza," Egon responded. "We'll have Slimer go in and retrieve it."
"Than we should make sure the orb is running," Ray replied. "It takes at least half an hour to get it warmed up. We should also set up a few traps just to make sure if it does get out that we can capture it before it gets loose."
"Excellent idea. Let's get started." The two men walked out of the room. Peter leaned against the headboard of his bed.
He couldn't understand how none of this wasn't real. Peter had spent a long time running around New York and other various parts of the world capturing ghosts and saving the world. Everything he could remember seemed to fit on the timeline. Sure they were a few questionable happenings, but that occurred with everyone. He probably had one to many the night before or something. Peter just couldn't fathom this world wasn't real.