Chapter #11 The Dream and The Discussion

Ray's point of view

"Ray, are you sure you're feeling ok?"

I looked up at Peter as I was getting ready for bed in annoyance. He was laying on the top bunk in his pyjamas, looking at me in concern. Every since Sally proformed the ritiual, guys were asking questions of how I was feeling and the experience of a another spirit entering my body while I was laying on that old cot. Usually, I'm excited about these things, but now I just want to go to bed and catch up on some sleep.

"For the last time, Peter. I'm fine." I said. "Would you stop asking me?"

"Ok, ok." Peter said. "I'll stop. But Ray."

"Yeah?"

"If I see you tossing and turning, I'm waking you, alright?"

I sighed. All I wanted to do was sleep. I haven't slept in days because of those dreams. Now, thanks to Sally and this dream guardian, I might be able to if people would leave me alone.

"Alright."

"Thank you."

I stifled a yawn, got into bed and fell asleep. I groaned as I suddenlly felt my head throbbing and I was on something hard and flat instead of the soft mattress of the lower bunk. I woke up to see sagging rafters and damp wood above me. I sat up and looked around. I wasn't in the bedroom in the Preciosa's bed and breakfast. I was in a room that was lit by one candle that stood on a table near the window. That was nailed up and broken along with all the doors. I was trapped. I carefully stood up, my body aching and stiff. I sneezed and coughed a couple of times. The room was filled with dust and it flew into the air as I moved. Irritating my senses.

"Ahh, there you are."

I froze as I heard the familiar female voice in the air. It wasn't Sally, Dorothea or the other women in the Raspberry House. I turned to see her. The one who haunted my dreams and to kill me eariler. The Black Widow Bride. Still in her wedding dress and holding a bouquet of dead flowers. Just like she did in all of my dreams. But is this one different from the rest? Will there be a guardian with me now? If there were, where is it?

"There's no escape for you, Evan." she said as she raise her hands, the bouquet turning into a steel ax as she did. "I have you where I want. And no one, not even that meddling witch, can save you."

Evan? Who's Evan? Why is she calling me that?

"Look Constance, I don't understand." I said, trying hard not to panic. "Why are you trying to kill me? Why are you in my dreams and who's this Evan?"

"Don't be cute with me, Evan." Constance snapped, "You know what you did. And now you'll pay."

"No, I don't know. I'm Ray Stantz. I use to be a Ghostbuster. I can help you move on. Just tell me who this Evan is and..."

"No! You are Evan! I know your face and voice anywhere! Now, prepare to die! Liar!"

Before I could react, the floor below me swallowed my legs and trapped me in the damp wood. I looked up to see Constance walking towards me, fingering her ax and smiling at me evilly.

"Oh, don't fret, my dear husband." she said softly as she tousled my hair. I shivered as her cold skin made contact with my scalp. "It won't hurt a bit."

"No, but this will."

Then a white beam shot out of no where and hit Constance in the back. Senting her flying into a sagging stairwell. She landed in a pile of broken planks and spider webs. She shook the dust and planks off and glared at me in hateful rage.

"You!" she snarled.

"What?" I looked over my shoulder to see who Constance was talking to.

Standing near the closed off doorway was a man in late-40s with greying chestnut brown hair, brown eyes and pale skin. He was dressed in grey tousers, black shoes, and a grey shirt under a black jacket. The style of the clothes made him look like he was from the nineteen century or eighteen century.

"Constance Black." he said. "I should've known."

"And I should've known that witch had summoned a little help." Constance said as she stood up. She turned to me. "I'll leave. But know this: When I'm done with you, I'll get your little witch friend and her entire family!"

She shrieked in rage as she disappeared. Dust and debris fell from the ceiling as the room shook from the vibrations. When the dust settled and the room stopped shaking, I slowly opened my eyes and shifted my weight, noticing my legs were free.

"Are you ok?"

I rubbed my head and shook the dust out of my head. There was still a cold spot where Constance's hand touch.

"I think so." I answered as I stood up and brushed off my pajamas. "Who are you? Are you the Dream Guardian Sally summoned?"

"I don't know any Sally." the man answered. "I'm Detective John Stein." he reached into his jacket and pulled out a badge. "And yes, I'm the Dream Guardian Sasha summoned. You must be the one she wants me to protect."

I blinked in confusion when he said. He didn't know Sally by her given name. Then I remembered some Wiccans change their names when doing their ritiuals to protect themselves from supernatural threats or from Non-believers. I have to remember that. I thought. I remembered was Sally is afraid of being discovered. It's been a while since I read this stuff. Since my college days at Columbia.

"Uhh, yes. I'm the one." I said, flatly. "I'm Ray Stantz."

"Stantz?" Detective John echoed. "You're a Stantz?"

"Yeah. Is something wrong?"

Silence hung in the air for a second before he answered.

"I should've known this day would come." he said, sadly.

"What?" I asked confused. "What's going on?"

"Come on, Ray." Detective John said as he placed a hand on my shoulder. "It's time you know something that was kept from your family all these years."

"What about Constance?"

"She won't come here when I'm around."

Kylie's point of view

I yawned as I walked from my room to the bathroom at the end of the hall, feeling tired and miserable. I was worried about Dr. Stantz. I can't stop imagining horrible things that could happen to him while we were sleeping and there was nothing we can do to save him. I always admired Dr. Stantz growing up. He was like my hero.

I stopped in front the door when I heard running water coming from inside. I leaned against the wall and waited. I looked up when I heard footsteps from the third floor. Where the Preciosas, the owners of The Raspberry House, rooms are. Speaking of the Preciosas. Their daughter Sally, who's Wiccan, just summoned a dream guardian from the spirit world to protect Dr. Stantz while he's sleeping, but I had a feeling it won't be enough. Constance, or the Black Widow Bride as Sally and her parents call her, sound like she's a powerful ghost. I'd say a Class Six, a Class Seven or more. Oh, I hope it's not more and I wish we hadn't left our packs and traps back in New York. Then again, we had fought ghosts without our equipment before, so how is this any different?

I jumped when the door opened and Janine walked out,dressed in a green bathrobe and a towel wrapped around her head.

"Oh, morning Janine." I said.

"Good morning, Kylie." Janine said. "Sleep well?"

"No." I said, lamely. "You?"

"Me either." Janine admited. "Is something bothering you?"

"Yeah, it's this ghost Sally told us about."

"Constance Black?"

I nodded. "The way Sally and her parents talked about her, she sounds like she's a powerful being. Almost a Class Seven or higher. But I can't tell without a PKE meter. I wish we brought our equipment with us."

"I know, Kylie. I know. But Sally said she can help us."

"Yeah, but why did Dr. Stantz go to her anyway?" I asked. "Wouldn't he go to Egon, or Dr. Venkman or Winston?"

"Yes, he would go to the guys if there's problem. I'm not sure why he go to someone he barely knows. Maybe there's something about Sally he feels he could trust."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, Kylie." Janine said. "I don't know."

Sally's point of view

I walked out of my bedroom, dressed and looking better then I did when I got up. Today's outfit was a pair of black sweatpants and a blue T-shirt with the white scales (Libra is my birth sign) on the front, grey sandals and my hair tied back a white bandana.

Usually, I feel drowsy when I wake up in the morning, even on this day, but not today. I felt so energized. Anyway, I went downstairs to the ground floor to see Kylie, Raymond, Peter, Janine, Egon, and Winston sitting at the dining room table, drinking coffee and talking. They stopped when Winston noticed I was in the room.

"Good afternoon, Sally." he teased.

"Ha, ha." I said. I smiled when I saw Raymond was looking better then yesterday.

"What?" he asked.

"You look better." I answered. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, thanks." Raymond said cheerfully. "Best sleep I had in weeks."

"That's good to know. Where's everyone else?"

"Still in bed." Kylie said. "That was some storm last night."

"And my parents?"

"They said they're going to Thunder Bay to help Robert set up a yard sale or something." Peter answered. "They told us he went to the same college you did."

"Yeah." I said. "He graduated last year. Robert was a genus in Bio-Chemistry. I was interested in the arts. Mostly acting and drawing."

"Huh, sounds great."

"It is." I said. "Anyway, Raymond, how did it go last night?"

"How did what go?" Raymond asked.

"Your Dream Guardian. Did you two get along well?"

"Oh, yeah we did." he said, nervously. "Sally, do you know anyone by the name of Detective John Stein?"

I felt the color in my face drain upon hearing that name.

"What's wrong?" Kylie asked.

"Detective John Stein was the detective assigned to the Black Widow Bride's case after she disappeared." I explained. "Detective John was friends with Greoge Parsons before he died. He was also assigned to the Parsons case a few years before the Black Widow Bride disappeared. He died of food poisoning in 1870. But, I don't know why he's Raymond's Dream Guardian. Dream Guardians are almost like Spirit Guides. They're often people the person has known since their childhood, or people their ancestor have known. But, I don't remember any Stantz living here."

"That's because I don't have family here." Raymond said. "My family came to America in the nineteenth century."

"Yeah, around the 1860s, right?" Peter added. Then his eyes widened.

"Peter, I don't like that look." Winston said. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking about what Sally said. Constance's killed her last husband in the late1650s, right?"

"Yes."

"What does that have to do with Ray's family tree?" Janine asked.

"He's saying that one of Ray's family members could've came here at some point after arriving in America." Egon clarified.

"That makes sense." Winston said, "But which one?"

"She kept calling me Evan." Raymond said. "And I know why. Last night, after Constance vanished, Detective John told me what happened before she disappeared years ago. It turned out one of my ancestors is Evan Stantz, a college student from New York. He came here to do some research for World History class when he met Constance and the two fell in love at first sight. They married a years later and settled in the Parsons house."

"I knew there was a sixth husband." I said.

"If Constance married six times." Janine said. "How come only five husbands were mentioned?"

"We'll do some research on it later." Peter said. "I'm up for some grub."

"I know a great place we can go." I said.