While Ray stayed with Peter in the Ruby Ballroom on the twelfth floor of the hotel Egon walked beside the gurney as the paramedics wheeled Winston through the lobby and into the back of the ambulance parked in front of the Sedgwick. Winston had remained unconscious since the fall and showed no signs of waking. Wearing a neck brace to to stabilize his head and cervical spine, a large splint around his broken left leg and blood stains all over his torn jumpsuit Winston looked as though he had been in a horrible vehicle accident rather than a unfortunate fall.

As Winston was loaded into the back of the ambulance Egon looked back up at the top floor windows of the hotel. He couldn't see Ray or Peter but he knew they were there and he couldn't help but harbor a reserved anger toward Peter in that very moment.

"Sir," the older of the paramedic duo; a man in his early 40's, tall, black and very kind addressed Egon with a firm but level tone in his voice. "if you want to accompany your friend to the hospital you can ride in the front with my partner."

"Oh, yes." Egon turned and looked back at the paramedic. "Thank you. Our colleagues will follow later on."

Giving the hotel one last thoughtful glance Egon took his seat in the front of the ambulance became lost in thought for the well being on his injured friend.

Ray used the flashlight clipped to the shoulder strap of his proton pack and shined the beam into Peter's eyes. There was very little response to the bright light as Peter's dulled irises seemed to glaze over his pinpoint, constricted pupils.

"Peter? Hello! Stantz to Venkman!" Ray continued to try and gain Peter's attention but failed to elicit any response. "Wake up!"

The hotel manager, as well as two responding police officers, approached Ray and Peter cautiously. The manager was visibly shaking from the entire unusual ordeal while the cops seemed unfazed by the situation. "Excuse me!" The manager shouted. "Did you even catch the ghost? Or were you too busy destroying my hotel to be bothered to do your job properly?!"

"I can assure you," Ray turned his focus away from Peter to the timid manager with a single glance. "we'll catch the ghost. We'll even take into consideration the damage to the building before we send you the bill."

"Take into... You'll WHAT?!" The managed had gone from fearful to furious in a matter of seconds. "I want you to pay in full for ALL of the damages!"

"We'll pay what we have to pay," Ray grabbed Peter's arm and began dragging the dazed man toward the elevators. "after we check in on our friend and AFTER we catch the ghost. Now if you'll excuse us we need to stop by the hospital. Our friend is our current priority."

The two cops let Ray pass without even so much as a second thought leaving the upset manager in stunned silence.

Ray pressed the 'call' button for the elevator and held tightly onto Peter's arm. "What is wrong with you Venkman? You didn't hit your head too, did ya'?"

The elevator doors opened and Ray all but pushed Peter inside the empty elevator car. Peter stumbled into the small space and stood in the corner facing the walls without even flinching or blinking.

Ray pressed the button for the lobby and resumed trying to bring Peter out of his trance. "What is going through your head right now, Venkman?" He pulled on Peter's shoulder and turned him around so he could take another look at Peter's dull glassy eyes. "It's like you've been drugged or something. Can you hear me at all?"

Deep in the darkest, most secretive expanse of his mind Peter was lost to the waking world and aware only of the whispering commands of Alvis's voice. The hypnotic words of the clever ghost kept Peter as nothing more than a shell of his usual self. It was in his mind's eye that Peter continued to see cockroaches swarming all over his body; the very touch of the tiny but thousands of legs darting over his limbs was enough to cause Peter to freeze in uncontrollable panic.

Alvis gleefully toyed with Peter and held his fear-stricken mind prisoner. "Your worst fears, your deepest doubts will rise to the surface." Alvis hissed menacingly. "Your friends will abandon you as you fall prey to your own failures." The cockroaches grew in both number and size as Peter watched helplessly, unable to move or speak as his mind was bombarded with horrific imagery and sensations. "In the end you will be alone."

A sudden jerking movement that sent Peter flying forward was enough to finally pull his mind out of the deep trance set up by Alvis.

"What the?!" Peter looked around confused and felt something tight over his chest. "What happened? Where am I?"

"Peter!" Ray all but yelled as he put Ecto-1 into park. "You need to tell me what's going on!"

"I... Uh..." Peter realized that he was riding in the front passenger seat of the car. Ray had managed to drag him from the hotel, sit him in the car and drive him all the way to the hospital without once being able to break the trance set up by Alvis. "What- Ray, what did I miss?"

"Later." Ray sounded abnormally bitter for being such an upbeat kind of guy. "We're at the hospital. Let's go see how Winston is doing."

"Winston!" Peter's face paled quickly as he suddenly remembered that Winston had been injured. "How bad?!"

Ray turned off the engine of the car and gave Peter a chillingly stern look. "Bad enough. Let's go inside, Egon is already with him."

...to be continued...