The moaning grew louder as a heaviness filled the air with a malevolent presence. The screech of the PKE meter sounded off constantly and a faint glow escaped the small display despite the layers of earth that had partially buried it. Not wanting to leave Peter unguarded Egon didn't budge from where he knelt, despite being completely unable to defend his friend or even himself in that moment.

"Peter," Egon lessened his grip on Peter's chin and let his friend's head droop down at a gentle pace. "something is inside the mine with us."

A weak cough preluded a questioning whisper from Peter. "Friend... or foe?"

"Unknown."

Egon slowly reached a hand out toward the glowing mass in the dirt just a few feet from where he and Peter were sitting idle. As he stretched his arm out the moaning became louder and louder, the unseen wailing voices stepping closer to the defenseless Ghostbusters.

Unable to reach the meter from where he sat Egon had no choice but to lean forward until he was laying on his chest on the ground in order to stretch his arm and hand far enough to grab onto the handle. "Got it..."

"Now... what?"

Awkwardly Egon retracted his reach and attempted to resume his recent posture only to flinch outward at the sharp burning pain in his leg. Stifling a yelp of pain Egon managed to sit back and focus on the meter in his hand. Using his thumb Egon wiped the display clean of the dirt and eyed the high reading that the meter had recorded.

"Peter..." Egon's voice was low, almost a whisper. "there are three very large paranormal entities encroaching on our location."

The moaning reached a deep and mournful pitch as the wandering trio pushed itself through the debris with little difficulty. The solid masses failed to to provide even the slightest resistance to the powerful ghosts as they marched closer to the two vulnerable, very mortal men.

"What do... we do?"

"I..." Egon sighed and his eyes became full of ripe emotion as he spoke. "I don't know." His confession sounded as pitiful as the two men currently felt as they remained trapped and injured in the darkness. "We aren't properly equipped and neither of us can escape."

Peter lifted his head very slightly and stared at the blockade that obstructed the interior tunnels of the mine. "At least we... aren't going to... die alone..."

A wash of ethereal energy emerged from the blockade as the three humanoid figured encroached on the two Ghostbusters. The trio of ghosts seemed to sense that the two men were paranormal investigators and eliminators and took an immediately hostile attitude toward them. Stepping closer and closer the trio moaned, hissed and stared with putrid anger at their helpless prey.

The three ghosts were of miners who had long since perished in the mine almost two hundred years prior. Ancient wounds and scars were still visible on their translucent bodies. Wielding pick axes and a shovel the three miners were filled with rage and a desire to avenge their own untimely deaths, even if it meant directing their misplaced anger on two innocent men who wandered into the mine our of sheer scientific curiosity.

Unblinking, unflinching, the two men sat in silence and awaited their fate.

As a ghostly hand reached out to touch Egon's face a beam of bright artificial light shone through the darkness and forced the ghost backward.

Egon turned to look over his shoulder, shielding his eyes from the light with his arm, and saw two shadowy figures climbing over the fallen debris and into the mine.

"Peter! Egon!" Ray shouted as he and Winston clambered inside the mine.

"Ray!" Egon responded loudly. "Get Peter out of here!"

Peter smiled very weakly before letting his drop back down as total unconsciousness stole his mind and enveloped it in a darkness that was as thick as the blackness of the mine itself.

Winston saw the three ghosts being held at bay with the intensity of the flashlight beams and reacted quickly. "I'll go get a trap! Ray, keep the light on the ghosts they don't like it!"

"Hurry!" Ray ushered as he positioned himself between his friends and the ghosts. "What's wrong with Peter?"

"He has been pinned under debris for almost an hour." Egon returned his attention to his trapped friend. "He's been having difficulty breathing and I'm worried about a potential internal hemorrhage."

"We'll get him out, don't worry." Ray glanced down at Egon while keeping the flashlight beam trained forward. "Are you hurt?"

"My leg. It's broken."

Winston rushed back into the mine with three traps at his disposal. One trap was draped over his shoulder by the long black cable, while the other two were tightly gripped in his hands. "Trap out! Watch your eyes!"

Ray and Egon closed their eyes while Winston slid the three traps out along the dirt and rock cover ground toward the menacing trio. The three miner ghosts brandished their tools like weapons, hoisting the threatening objects over their heads as they hissed bitterly.

"Trap open!" Winston yelled as he stomped down on the three release triggers one at a time in quick succession.

The three traps burst open with beams of white ionized light that easily engulfed the three ghosts and pulled them down into the small portable prisons. The rapid commotion and sound of the bust had been strong enough to shake the mine to cause the walls and ceiling to crumble further. A total collapse was imminent.

"Got 'em!" Winston stomped on the triggers once again and sealed the traps. Pulling the traps back by the cables he proceeded to toss them through the opening that he and Ray had created as a means of accessing the mine in general. Pointing to Egon and Peter he turned his full attention to his friends. "Now let's get them!"

Ray pointed the flashlight at Peter and felt his heart skip a beat once he saw how pale his friend's pallor had become. "Oh man, we better get him out of here now!"

Egon moved his hand to Peter's neck, the flesh beneath his touch was cold and made him feel sick. "We'll have to move the beam from his shoulder before we can move him at all."

Winston studied the beam; noting its size, possible weight and the angle in which it had wedged itself against Peter's shoulder and upward toward the ceiling. "If we move it the whole tunnel will collapse."

Ray looked over to Winston nervously. "So how do we do this?"

Winston took a moment to think before responding. "First we get Egon out of here, then we-"

"No." Egon refused adamantly. "Peter is the priority."

"Yes he is." Winston agreed as stepped over to Egon. "But I can see, even in this darkness, that your leg is in bad shape. If you can't move and the mine collapses then we're going to lose you. I won't let that happen."

Ray nodded as grabbed onto Egon's arm and pulled him up slightly from the ground. Before Egon could protest any further Winston had stooped down and lifted Egon up and over his shoulder in a single swift gesture. "I'll stay with Peter." Ray stated calmly as he took a knee beside the unconscious psychologist. "We'll get the beam off of him and make a break for it."

Egon wanted to fight free from Winston's grip but knew it would be as illogical as it was dangerous. Reluctantly he allowed Winston to carry him out of the mine, clumsily maneuvering over the large rocks and fallen beams to make his way back through the opening to safety.

Winston carried Egon over to the pick up truck and helped Egon to sit down on the rear bumper. "Hang tight, I'll be right back with Peter."

"I know you will." Egon didn't know what else to say, if anything at all. The courageous marine was always calm and collected in an emergency situation, there was no reason to doubt Winston's ability to find a way to escape the mine in tact. "Be careful."

Winston made his way back into the mine and joined Ray at Peter's side. "How is he?"

Ray took his hand from Peter's neck after checking his pulse and put it against the offending beam that had kept Peter trapped for so long. "He's alive but he's weak. It's like he can't catch his breath and I don't want to do anything that'll make is worse."

"Well Egon's safe now, so we can focus entirely on him." Winston grabbed onto the second beam that was draped over near Peter's chest and hoisted it up into the air with little difficulty. "Once we move that bigger beam the walls are going to come down on us, and if we aren't fast enough we'll get buried. Are you ready to move?"

"Do I have a choice?" Ray responded somewhat dryly as he positioned himself beside Peter up against the tunnel wall. "There's no way I'm leaving you two behind."

"Never had a doubt in my mind." Setting aside the lesser of the two beams, careful to set it down where it wouldn't get in their way when they needed to move, Winston took a firm grip on the primary beam and looked down at Peter's shoulder. "I'll lift the beam up and try to slide it away just enough for you to pull Peter free. But once the beam is moved the tunnel will become unstable. We can't make an unnecessary moves and we have to be quick."

Ray took Peter's free arm and draped it around his shoulders before wrapping his own arm around Peter's upper body. Ray braced himself and prepared to pull Peter away from the beam. "I'm ready when you are..."

...to be continued...