The exposed empathy in Egon's voice caught Peter off guard. If anyone was more private and emotionally reserved than Peter Venkman, it was Egon Spengler. To hear such a compassionate tone that carried such a kind volume seemed almost foreign to the trained psychologist. Egon, like Peter, wasn't oblivious to the emotions and plight of the people around him, he just chose to not ask about such issues as a means of keeping a professional outlook as well as respecting the privacy of others. For him to be willing to open just as Peter had done had given Peter a sense of dread.

Perhaps the reason to the two men were finally able to set aside their pride and composed nature was being pressed on by impending doom.

Just as Peter was about to ask Egon about his statement a sudden shift in the ground made him freeze in place. His eyes had adjusted to the deep darkness enough to identify Egon's silhouette amongst the other black laden shapes that he could see his friend was also sitting perfectly still.

"Peter..." Egon whispered softly. "there's going to be another collapse. You must find a way to escape."

Peter bit his lip to keep himself from shouting in response and accidentally setting off the imminent collapse early. "I'm not leaving you behind."

"You must." Egon pulled his shaking hands away from his cold arms and tried again to lift the lumber from his pinned leg. "I cannot move. Even if we were able to remove the offending obstacle from leg the bones are still broken and I will not be able to walk. You must be the one to leave and find help."

"No." Peter refused without hesitation. "We either go together or not at all."

"Your decision is commendable but illogical." Egon lamented as earth began to rain down from the ceiling of the cracked mine. Fissures began to snake from the massive crack as the destabilized mine continued to crumble downward. "Please Peter, you must escape while you still can."

"I'm not going anywhere." Peter again defied as he tried and failed to push the heavy lumber from his pinned shoulder. The lumber shifted only slightly causing the soil on the ground to churn beneath the weight. "If I can just move this over-"

"Sh!" Egon cautioned as earth rained down heavier a distance groaning sound echoed through the mine. "Try to move slower..." He whispered and kept his eyes on the ceiling. "the mine is going to come down and we're going to be buried alive if we don't find a way to escape."

"Right..." Peter shifted his position as he tried to slowly and steadily remove the lumber from his shoulder. As he carefully moved around in his very limited space he felt his boot brush against the large rock again and an idea came to mind. "Egon, if I can push this rock under the edge of the board on your leg I think I can give you enough leverage to pull your leg free."

"It's plausible. But move slowly." Egon shuddered as the chilly air again cut into his skin. Putting both hands under the cumbersome beam of aged wood Egon prepared to lift in time as Peter began to wedge the rock beneath the beam. "Go."

"Okay, we can do this..." Peter used his boot to push the rock along the ground until he felt it bump into the end of the beam. With a control force he pushed the rock beneath the board and proceeded to push it along the ground slowly. The rock easily supported the weight of the board and centimeter by centimeter eased the burdening pressure from Egon's broken leg. "You okay?"

"Stop!" Egon managed to contain his yelp of pain as the altering weight sent bolts of sheered agony through his damaged limb. "...Just... Just give me a minute."

"It'll be okay Spengz," Peter calmed his friend instinctively. "just take a few breaths and tell me when you're ready."

Winston expertly navigated Ecto-1 through the trees and winding paths of the forest as he and Ray honed in the tracking device installed inside the cab of Ecto-2. A cloud of disturbed earth wafted through the trees like a smoke signal to guide the two men as they searched for their missing colleagues.

"See that?" Winston asked as the wisping dust cloud became illuminated in the headlights of the hearse. "That isn't from a campfire."

Ray looked away from the transceiver and peered through the dust cloud. "What is that? Looks like fog."

"It's a dust cloud." Winston answered firmly. "It happens when there's a massive disturbance in the ground. Like a landslide or earthquake."

Ray's eyes widened as he caught sight of the massive hillside that housed the very mine where Peter and Egon were currently trapped. "...or a cave-in!"

Winston's heart skipped a beat as realized that they were dangerously close to an old mine and that the transceiver had led them right to it. Seeing the pick-up truck parked near the entryway to the mine only justified his fear as he and Ray neared sight of the recent collapse.

"That mine was abandoned before the 19th century." Winston stated as he parked the hearse next to the truck they had been tracking. "The miners had dug so deeply and so quickly that the entire hillside was destabilized and there was a collapse that trapped half of the miners inside the deepest tunnels. "As old as that mine is I wouldn't be surprised it happened again. We better check it out!"

"Trapped them?" Ray's brow arched inquisitively as he and Winston exited the hearse. The headlights remained on to light their path as they approached the mine only to find the entrance of the mine partially obstructed by large wooden boards, stones and piles of dirt. "Winston, how many of the miners survived?"

Winston lowered his voice as if he was afraid he might offend someone as he spoke. "None. The trapped miners perished either from being crushed to death or suffocation because the mine was vacated in fear of a total collapse. By the time anyone returned it was too late and after the accident it was left abandoned because the miners who did return swore it was haunted."

"Haunted?" Ray's posture visibly stiffened with righteous worry. "There's no way they'd be able to pass by the mine without checking it out. They must be inside!"

"And if they are-" Winston jumped back and stared in awe as the mine began to collapse as a powerful rock slide began to roll down the hillside.

"No!"

The mine became enveloped in a large, thick cloud of swirling dirt and the earth began to shake as large stones began to roll down the hillside. The sound of snapping lumber filled the air as the interior of the mine began to fall to pieces. Once the movement stopped and the sound of the commotion quieted Winston raced over to the barred entryway and began pulling back on the largest of stones.

"Come on Ray! We need to get them out of there!"

"No foolin'!" Ray sprinted over to the mine right beside Winston and began to heft aside the obstructions to gain entrance to the mine. "I hope they're alright!"

The exterior collapse had ended but as a result of the chaos outside of the mine the interior of the mine had become critically unstable and was slowly, but surely collapsing in on itself beneath the wall of hindering debris and stone.

Peter winced in pain as the pressure on his shoulder reached a nearly unbearably, horrific weight. He could feel the heavy lumber pressing down so firmly into his shoulder that the skin had been cut, the muscles strained and the bone being steadily crushed beneath the intense weight. Egon coughed as he forced himself to breathe through the dusty air and continue to try and pull his leg free.

"Almost there!" Egon called out to Peter in an attempt to encourage his friend to hold on a little longer. "I can pull my leg free soon, just a little further!"

"...Okay... Okay!" Peter fought through his pain and forced himself to continue to push the rock under the heavy lumber that pinned Egon's leg. "We can do this!"

As the rock wedged itself further under the board Egon slowly pulled his broken leg free of the crushing weight and fell back onto his elbows on the ground of the mine. In debilitating pain and exhausted he leaned back and panted through his intense discomfort.

"Peter... My leg is free..."

The mind began to rumble as the interior began to shake violently and force stones and broken beams to crash all around the two men. The heavy board that pinned Peter's shoulder bore down against him as a large rock hammered the lumber downward and caused the psychologist to yell out in pain.

"Peter!" Egon shifted his weight so he could take a knee and drag himself over to where he heard his friend cry out. "Peter, talk to me!"

"Egon!" Peter yelled in response as he watched the dark ceiling falling down on their forms at an alarming rate. "Get down!"

Thinking quickly Egon pressed his body up against the wall of the mine next to Peter and ducked down. Poorly curling his broken leg up against himself and away from the falling rocks and timber he put his hands and arms over his head to protect himself.

As the collapse came to an end the dusty air choked Egon but his still managed to find his voice. "Peter? Peter can you hear me?"

Peter heard Egon but didn't answer him as a weak cough escaped his lips. The sickly sweet metallic taste of blood filled his mouth and turned his stomach.

"Peter?" Egon tried again as he reached a hand out over the cold rocks and jagged wooden boards until he found Peter's pinned shoulder. "Peter, please talk to me."

"...Spengz?" Peter's voice was hushed whisper. He licked the blood from his lips as he spoke.

"Yes Peter, it's me. Please talk to me." His hand moved from Peter's shoulder up to his neck to check for a pulse before carefully sliding down his ribcage to check for cardiac distress. "Talk to me Peter."

"Spengz," A forced but sincere smile parted his bloodied lips as he looked at his friend's face in the dim lighting of the interior of the mine. "I should've listened to you. I should've left when you told me to... Think I'd know that by now, huh?"

"Peter," Egon's heart grew cold as the sound of the defeat in Peter's voice frightened him to his core. It frightened him more than any ghost or demon ever could. "please don't give up now. Talk to me."

"I..." Peter coughed lightly as a small trickle of fresh blood rolled down his chin. "I don't know what to say... Weird, isn't it?"

"Then... Then just listen!" Egon pleaded as he refused to let his friend give up and die. "Listen to me Peter, hold on! Please!"

"...'m trying..." Peter coughed again and that's when Egon felt the second piece of lumber that had fallen and pinned Peter down. The second wooden board was pressing on his ribs and making it difficult to breathe. "...what do you want... to talk about?"

Egon pushed aside the offending wooden board and pressed his hand down on Peter's chest to support his friend as he took in a deep, pained breath and coughed again. Peter's ribs weren't broken but his lung had surely collapsed from the impact of the fallen debris, and without a doubt he was beginning to hemorrhage internally.

"You said you wondered how your life could've turned out if your father wasn't such a negative influence," Egon spoke firmly and loudly to keep Peter's attention and keep him alert. "and I told you've wondered the very same question. Peter, you gave me the honor of confiding your past to me and I want to do the same. But please, stay awake. I know help is on the way."

"Sure Spengz..." Peter's eyes glazed over slightly but they remained open. "I trust you."

...to be continued...