Chapter 5-Pain and Guilt

Everyone at the table was still shocked over by Egon's sudden bursts of aggression towards Peter and Winston. Egon almost never yelled at them, or say mean things to them. Well, if he was mad enough, then yes. But other than that, no.

"Ok, I know we're all worried about Ray, but we're getting kinda worried about Egon as well." Peter said.

"Yeah." Winston said, "He's never acted like that before. Not to mention he's been a little distant lately."

"How long has this been going on?" Dana asked.

"Since the fire." Kylie said, "And it seems to be getting worse."

"Yeah, Egon hasn't been eating or sleeping." Peter said.

"Peter, do you think you know what's going on?" Dana asked.

"Dana, I may have been friends with Egon for over 20 years, but I don't know. He's kinda of...complicated. There is still a little bit about him that I don't know." Peter said.

"Plus, at the hospital on the day Ray was admitted, Egon passed out." said Jenny, spooning her some more salad.

"Really?" asked Dana with a surprised look.

"Yeah." Janine said, "We went to the room to see Ray for a minute, and all of a sudden, Egon just...collapsed. He passed out from shock."

"Yeah." Winston said, "And the reasons for Egon's behavior, it's either he's just shook up, or it's something else."

And he hasn't said anything to ya'll?" Dana said.

"Of course not." Peter replied, "Earlier today, I made a small joke about his appearance, and he snapped at me."

"Yeah, but with all that's been going on, you should know better than going around and messing with him, Pete." Winston said as he got up to put his plate in the sink.

"Don't worry." Dana said, "Egon will open soon. You just need to be patient with him. Anyone, I gotta get home."

"Thanks for dinner Dana." Jenny said as she helped put the leftovers in the fridge.

"You're welcome." Dana replied, "Anytime. And don't worry, Ray will wake up soon." she said as she gave Jenny a hug.

"I hope so." Jenny replied.

Dana then left, and Janine, Jenny, and Kylie all went home as well. Peter and Winston were trying to figure out what to do with Egon. But after what went on at dinner, they decided not to take the chances of Egon going ballistic on them. The two then showered and got ready for bed.

Meanwhile, Egon had come down from the roof and into the lab. He was beginning to get a headache and his chest was hurting a little as well. Egon wished it was all a dream. He wanted to wake up to find Ray home, uninjured, and ok. But unfortunately, it was no dream. He wanted to see Ray badly, but the courage he had was gone.

"I don't know how much longer I'll be able to hold this in. It's getting harder." Egon told himself. He then thought about his past. He remembered the day he met Peter and Ray. The truth was, it was the best day of his life and his first, real, happy memory.

All the incidents over the last 20 years played out in his mind, leading up to the building fire. Egon rubbed his head trying to hold back the emotions.

The next morning, Peter and Winston woke up and headed downstairs. Janine, Jenny, and Kylie had just arrived.

"Hey guys." Janine said.

"Hey." Peter said.

"Have y'all talked to Egon yet?" Kylie asked.

"No." Winston replied. "Considering what happened last night, we didn't want to risk him going ballistic."

"Ok, that's it." Peter said, "Janine, Winston, come on. Let's go have a talk with him. I've had enough of his behavior."

The two Ghostbusters and Janine then headed upstairs to get answers. Surprisingly, the answer they'll get is not the one they expected.

To be continued...