"Changes"
By GirlX2
Chapter Five
As always, I own nothing, except this new computer. :)
-
Peter paced the firehouse. "There's supposed to be a call, Goddamnit. What haven't they called with their demands!"
"Easy man." Winston laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Its all my fault." Ray mourned, shifting the icepack on his neck. "I should have stopped him."
"We're not gonna play the blame game." Winston said firmly. "We are going to stay calm. If we don't, we're not going to be able to help Egon."
Ray nodded. "Zedd's right."
Peter's green eyes narrowed on the auburn-haired man. "Egon is at the mercy of some ruthless kidnappers. I can't be calm!"
"Dr. V, if you don't calm down I'm gonna slug you." Janine staggered into the room.
"Janine, please, get some sleep. You've been up fifteen hours straight!" Ray pleaded.
"Not until Egon is safe." Janine said stubbornly.
'I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to him.' Peter thought, tears welling up. He blinked them back, anger replacing fear. 'If they hurt him, I swear, I will not rest until they pay.'
-
Egon shivered in the dark. His kidnappers had tied him to a chair, mouth still duct taped shut. His face was dirty from the sack, except where tears had cut a trail. One of the men looked at him with a slight hint of pity.
"Time to make the call." The second man dialed. "Ghostbusters? I wanna talk to Peter Venkman."
"Mmph!" Egon struggled.
"Quiet." The man growled. Egon shrank back. "Dr. Venkman? Good. I believe I have something that belongs to you." He paused. "Yeah, sure, you can talk to him. Un-tape the kid."
The tape was ripped from Egon's mouth.
"Ouch!" Fresh tears welled up.
Joe held the phone to his face. "Talk."
"Spengs?" Peter's voice wavered. "Are you okay?"
Egon's nerve broke.
"I want to go home!" He wailed.
Shh, Spengs, its okay." Peter's voice cracked over the line. "You'll be home very soon. I promise."
"I'm sorry about running away, I'll never do it again, I'm sorry!" Egon broke into loud sobs, his composure abandoned.
"Egon, please don't cry-" Peter began.
The phone was jerked away.
"See? He's still alive. And if you want him to stay that way-Shut the kid up!" The man snarled at Joe. Joe quickly taped Egon's mouth shut again.
Egon twisted, trying desperately to free himself. His chair tilted dangerously, nearly tipping onto the floor.
"We don't want to kill you, but we will if you make this difficult." Joe said quietly.
Egon sniffled and stopped rocking.
"-You got that? Okay. You bring the stuff, and you get the kid back. Alive. Yeah, yeah, alive and unharmed." The man nodded and hung up.
"Its a go?" Joe asked.
"Yeah, midnight at the park. You might be home tonight kid." The man leered at Egon.
Egon whimpered, fear glazing his azure eyes.
"Leave him alone Ed." Joe said softly. "He's about to wet himself."
"Sure thing Joe." Ed grinned sadistically.
Egon shook in the chair. He was alone, and helpless. He hung his head, cursing his cowardice with Janine.
'If I'd only told her I'd still be home.' He tried desperately not to cry again.
-
"Well, what do they want?" Janine pounced as Peter hung up the phone.
"They want a proton pack!" He said incredulously. "We're supposed to meet them in Central park at midnight with a proton pack."
"What would a bunch of criminals want with a proton pack?" Winston mused.
"Probably planning on breaking into fort Knox." Ray said darkly.
"It doesn't matter, because we're giving it to them." Peter said firmly. "What time is it now?"
"Its only nine." Janine said.
"Well, I'll just load go the spare pack into the Ecto-1..." Peter said quietly and left.
"I'm going to see about the antidote Egon was making. Maybe I can finish it so we can administer it when he's home." Ray left.
Janine said nothing. She was staring intensely at the door.
Winston shook his head slightly. "We need to stop the guilt trips. They're not gonna help anything."
"Easy for you to say, you're not the one who chased him away." Janine muttered.
"Damnit Janine, you didn't know. It was a natural reaction."
"It's my fault he's in danger." Janine's eyes locked on his.
"Its no ones fault! We all made mistakes over the last few days." Zedd growled. "If Egon had gone with you, it never woulda happened. If we'd told you, same thing, and on and on. We all need to stop re-hashing the past and concentrate on getting Egon home safe. That's the only thing that matters now."
Janine sat still. "You're right Winston, but its not gonna make a bit of difference to anyone."
Winston sighed. "I know."
-
Ray shifted a pile of paper from Egon's desk.
"He's usually so neat." He muttered.
Something caught the scientist's eye. He pulled a long piece of paper from the mess.
-
Peter sat listlessly in front of the TV. A familiar image flicked onscreen.
"Are you troubled by strange noises in the night?"
"Do you experience feelings of dread-" He shut the commercial off.
"Venkman!" Ray yelled as he slid down the pole. "Look at this!"
"What is it?" Peter's eyes stayed on the blank television.
"Its a brain scan Egon did earlier today. Look at the waves!" Ray shoved the paper into his face.
Peter's eyes flickered over the sheet.
"This is very abnormal for an adult..."
"But not very abnormal for a pre-pubescent child! Do you realize what this means!"
"It mean's that Egon really is regressing all the way back into a child." Peter paled.
"Yes, so even if the antidote doesn't work, he'll eventually grow up!" Ray grinned, "Isn't that great!"
"No!"
The grin vanished off Ray's face. "Why not?"
"Because Egon is rapidly losing his ability to think like an adult! Pretty soon we're going to have an eight year old Egon on our hands. We might not be able to change him back with the antidote without causing serious brain trauma! Add to that he's still with the kidnappers-" Peter cut himself off.
"Egon is still with those guys, and he's just going to get more and more scared as his mind shuts down." Ray said slowly.
"This is bad Ray, and its rapidly getting worse."
-
Egon shook helplessly as Joe carried him to the car.
"Calm down kid, we're taking you back to your dad." He said.
"Just put him in the trunk and lets get moving." Ed growled from the driver seat.
"I was going to put him in the backseat."
"And have somebody see him? The trunk." Ed glared at him.
"Ed, I don't think-"
"No you don't. Either he goes in the trunk or you do."
Joe shook his head. "I'm really sorry about this kid."
He gently placed Egon into the trunk and closed it.
'They're taking me to the guys...I'm going to be home soon and everything will be alright.'
Egon shifted, trying to get comfortable. Sad cerulean eyes locked onto the sliver of light the lid let in. He felt the car vibrate all around him as the engine started, and braced for impact. To his surprise, the car shifted gently from park to drive.
'Maybe some luck is finally going my way.'
The vibration soothed his tense body. He was so tired...
-
Peter got out of the car. "Where is he? He said be here at midnight, and its almost a quarter past."
"Easy." Winston joined him. "Remember calm?"
"Zedd-"
"No Pete," Winston's voice had an edge. "You're staying calm or I'm gonna knock you out. Getting angry could get Egon killed, and I'm not about to take that risk."
Peter was taken aback. "Okay Zedd. You're right."
Winston breathed deeply. "So, we just wait for them to hand Egon over, or what?"
"We've already put the Pack at the other end of this clearing. They're going to put it in the car, then let Egon go." Peter swallowed. "At least, that's the deal."
The rumble of tires moved towards them.
"This is it." Peter clenched his jaw.
-
END OF CHAPTER FIVE
