Ghost Slayers

Chapter Fifty-eight

By Relm

Mayor Sailune felt a sense of pride as he neared his floor. Aside from just a few of his co-workers still lingering in the building it was clear. All he had left to do was check his floor and then he would get out of there.

As Mayor Sailune walked a few feet beyond one of the many phones in the building it started ringing. But the Mayor was too focused on his task at hand and a little too far away to hear the phone so he didn't stop to answer.

...

On the other end of that ringing phone stood Officer Zangulus Zoanna praying that this time someone was going to answer it. But like the last few attempts he got nothing. With a defeated sigh Zangulus hung up the phone again wondering what the heck he should do.

Since Officer Zoanna was aware of what was really going on he was trying to be ever diligent about getting everyone out of City Hall. He already knew that the book wasn't in the community center or the firehouse because Lina had called and told him so. The book had to be in city hall and that meant it was very important that the building was completely empty.

However as Zangulus scrambled to get confirmation of the emptiness of the building he discovered from a few late leavers that Mayor Philonel Sailune was still inside doing sweeps. The mayor was known to be a stickler for safety so in that respect Zangulus admired the guy. There weren't too many men that would be so selfless to put themselves at risk to ensure everyone else's safety but in this instance it was a hindrance.

Zangulus had tried numerous times to get through to Mayor Sailune's cell phone, work phone or any number of phones within City Hall. He had been unsuccessful on all counts. Zangulus even got a hold a megaphone they used for hostage situations and tried to It was getting the point that Zangulus just wanted to run into the building himself, grab the mayor and get out. That was something that Zangulus couldn't do however because as far as his fellow policemen were concerned this was a real bomb threat situation. The only people that were going to be allowed into the building from this point on were from the bomb squad which Zangulus wasn't apart off.

Because of the three spot bomb threat the bomb squad was stretched a little thin heading to the three locations. Even though they had police sirens at their disposal the traffic was an issue for them. One could assume that the traffic was caused by the commotion the potential bomb threats created but that wasn't the only thing tying things up. Increased traffic had caused a number of car accidents tying up roads all together. It was a perfect storm for a real city wide disaster with the police stretched thin trying to contain it. In fact there were only a handful of officers outside City Hall managing the crowds.

Ultimately this was all pointless as there was no real bomb to begin with. It was extremely frustrating but there wasn't much he could do. Even if Zangulus could tell everyone the truth that it wasn't a bomb that was the threat was an evil person eating book it wouldn't matter. There was no way anyone would believe him. This put Zangulus in a compromising position. He just hoped that Lina and the other Ghost Slayers would get there soon though he was dubious as to how he was going to get them through.

In his conversation with Lina on the phone the head Ghost Slayer had assured Zangulus that she had that part of the plan covered. He didn't know what it was but he had a feeling that he didn't want to know.

"Chief we need to get in there! Mayor Sailune is still inside the building!" Zangulus protested for the hundredth time.

"I know that Zangulus but we can't break protocol. We have to wait for the bomb unit." The chief explained.

Zangulus sighed and tried calling City Hall again. As expected he got no answer.

...

Lina, Amelia and Zelgadis had only a few more blocks to go but it might as well have been a hundred. Lina and Amelia were really getting fatigued carrying their equipment and Zelgadis was really feeling effects of the book.

The closer he got the more Zelgadis want to stop and curl into a tight ball. It wasn't even the case of him feeling tired, he was in pain. Since waking up in a ghost like state Zelgadis and pain wasn't something that went together. Outside sources aside Zelgadis really didn't feel the aches and fatigue he would get as a normal living person. But this pain he was currently feeling wasn't even what was normally associated with running too fast for too long.

His chest hurt of course and so did his legs but it was more than that. Every inch of transparent skin that covered his body hurt. It was a prickly burning sensation that made Zelgadis wonder if this was what it felt like to be slowly dissolved by acid. He kept wanting to rub off whatever it was that was burning him but there was nothing there to touch. Just like there was nothing he could do about the screaming headache or the sharp pains stabbing him in the stomach.

It hurt to move and even to breathe but he couldn't stop. Zelgadis knew that Lina and Amelia were counting on him to be strong and to keep on going. If he stopped then Lina and Amelia would have to too. Because then the crowds would start gathering instead of getting out of the way preventing them from progressing further. And if they couldn't get to City Hall in time the book could claim its next victim which may or may not be Amelia's father Mayor Philonel Sailune. That threat alone should have been motivation enough for Zelgadis but there was one more horrible thing to think of. What would happen if the book got its fifth victim and complete the magic square? Would Sailune descend into a swirling vortex of evil and destruction? And would it just be Sailune? Could the whole world be doomed?

Now it wasn't just Lina and Amelia that were heading towards City Hall but if they couldn't get there that would be half of the Ghost Slayers crew. At the very least Lina and Amelia needed to make it.

"Miss-Lina... how... are... we... going to... get... past... all the... police?" Amelia huffed as they ran.

"Smoke... bombs!" Lina explained. "Filia... and... Sylphiel... have... them... too."

"Miss... Lina! If... we... do... that... we're... probably... going to... get... arrested!" Amelia protested.

"Zangulus... can... sort... that... one... out!" Lina brushed it off. "You... want... to... save... your... dad... right?"

"Yes... of... course!"

"Then... shut... up! Zel... you... okay?"

Zelgadis wanted to answer Lina but it was taking all of his concentration to keep running and not falling down to the ground in a pathetic heap.

Lina frowned. She remembered how Zelgadis reacted before when it came to book. He looked like he was going to disappear. Lina had no idea how bad things were for him now. 'He's not like what he was back then though. He can talk hell he can even pick of things! He must be stronger and able to stand it. Still he must be going through hell. At least we're almost there.'

...

Coming from two other directions Filia and Xellos and Sylphiel and Gourry were also nearing City Hall. The two sets of pairs were running and screaming just like Lina and Amelia were doing with Zelgadis. And like Zelgadis Gourry and Xellos were also dealing with the effects of getting closer to the book. The only difference was that neither man was feeling the effects as strongly as Zelgadis. It could be because Zelgadis had been stuck in his ghost like state for a much longer time. It was still hard for them but they were able to catch up a little faster.

"Miss... Lina!" Sylphiel called out as she and Gourry turned a corner.

"Good... you're... here... too!" Lina exclaimed.

"Me... too!" Filia called out as she also turned a corner.

"Almost... there... get... your... smoke... bombs... ready! Throw... on... my... signal!"

...

Over at the police barricade in front of the building Zangulus just happened to look behind and see the four Ghost Slayers and what looked like three ghosts heading their way. With something in their hands they were ready to throw...

'Ah crap...' Was Zangulus' thought as those projectiles hit the ground exploding with big pink plumes of smoke. Why pink? Well Sylphiel had originally made them after all and she liked the idea of pink rather than the usual white.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Zangulus heard one of his fellow police officers exclaim before starting to cough.

"WHO THREW THAT?!"

"IS THAT OFFICER GABERIEVE?"

"GOURRY THREW A SMOKE BOMB?!"

"THAT CAN'T BE GOURRY I CAN SEE RIGHT THROUGH HIM!"

"GOURRY'S A GHOST?!"

"THERE'S TWO MORE GHOSTS!"

"SERIOUSLY WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!"

Zangulus just shook his head listening to his fellow officers yell at each other in all the confusion while covering his mouth with his sleeve. 'I guess this is what she meant by 'don't worry I've got it covered'... How the hell am I going to explain this one to the chief?'

...

They got only ten steps into the building when the three 'ghosts' collapsed on the ground.

"Miss Lina!" Sylphiel exclaimed while rushing to Gourry's aid.

"It's the book!" Lina mused with a grimace. "The evil energy must be wreaking havoc on their systems."

"What are we going to do?"

"Leave them." Lina decided.

"We can't do that! They're right by the door! When the smoke clears everyone will be able to see them!" Amelia exclaimed.

"They saw them already Amelia! And who cares what the people outside think?! Nothing is going to matter if we can't get to the book in time before it attacks someone else! We have to go! We have to leave them! This is our only chance! Let's go!" Lina ordered her three workers to follow her as she took off running. She didn't even bother to see if they were behind her Lina didn't even have time for that.

"Miss Lina how are we going to find out where the book is?! This building has many floors!" Sylphiel wondered.

"We hit Phil's office first." Lina decided.

"Why there?"

"I'd like to split up and check each floor room by room but we can't afford to separate. It's too dangerous. So if we hit Phil's office first we can put Amelia's mind at ease while also grabbing the blueprints to the building."

"Why would the building's blue prints be in Mayor Sailune's office?" Filia wondered.

"Daddy likes keep copies in his office so he can better plan out safety drills." Amelia explained.

...

With his last stop finished Mayor Philonel Sailune officially declared City Hall clear. Now all that was left was to go into his office, grab his things and leave. He should have been more concerned with the gravity of the situation but Mayor Sailune was just too relieved to care about his own life. Everyone of his employees were outside and safe and that's all that mattered to him.

"Hmm... that's strange..." Mayor Sailune mumbled to himself as he went into his office. "Where did that come from?"

The item in question was a book sitting on his desk. Mayor Sailune had several books in his office so many so that any one particular book could get lost in the pile. But the Mayor knew all of his books and this one wasn't one of his own.

"Did someone leave a book here?" Mayor Sailune mumbled to himself as he picked up the suspicious book. It looked old and the writing was completely foreign to him. "That's very odd... the words are written in red ink... or wait is it...? Is it written in blood...? How ghastly..."

"DADDY!" Amelia screamed as she and the others ran into the Mayor's office. "GET AWAY FROM THAT BOOK!"

Mayor Sailune Philonel looked at his daughter in pure confusion right as that horrible red hand emerged from the pages and grabbed onto the Mayor's arm...

...

Down stairs in the lobby of City Hall Zelgadis, Gourry and Xellos all started screaming in utter pain. One by one the victims all vanished.

...

"VAL?!" Naga screamed as she looked around frantically for her boyfriend. Val had suddenly started screaming before he disappeared too...