An early morning call startled the four Ghostbusters awake. The sun had long since risen but the morning was still young. Janine had answered the phone shortly after arriving for her shift and had sounded off the loud Klaxon to awaken the sleeping Ghostbusters with a blaring siren that noisily echoed throughout the massive brick building.
"Remind me to cut that wire!" Peter grumbled as he threw his pillow across the room in disgust.
"I second that." Winston agreed as he swung his legs over the side of his bed. "But a call is a call!" Marching over to the fire pole he slid down in the garage first.
"Let's go." Egon ran his hand through his hair as he picked his glasses up from the nightstand beside his bed. "We need to finish this call and resume work on the proton packs." He followed Winston down the pole as he slipped his glasses onto the bridge of his nose.
"Does he ever stop?" Peter asked as Ray pulled him by the arm off his bed.
"Nope." Ray pushed Peter toward the fire pole, pressing his good hand between Peter's shoulder blades. "After you."
"Thanks..." Peter muttered as he slid down into the garage, his sleepy eyes only partially opened during the descent.
Ray followed behind Peter, awkwardly clinging to the fire pole with only one good hand.
Winston had already changed into his jumpsuit and started up Ecto-1. Egon was close behind while Peter and Ray groggily opened their lockers to change into their own jumpsuits. Janine watched as the four men went about their business without hesitation, almost as if on autopilot.
"Ready?" Ray asked as he zipped up his jumpsuit.
"No..." Peter mumbled as he tried and failed to get his foot inside his first boot. He was leaning one hand against his locker and trying to awkwardly balance.
"Come on, you can put your shoes on in the car." Ray tugged on Peter's arm, practically dragging him toward the iconic hearse.
"I'd rather sleep." Peter continued to complain as he climbed into the backseat and sat beside Egon.
Winston had been given the address of the call by Janine after he initially slid down the pole. Fortunately the address wasn't too far from home, but it was still an early call and the four Ghostbusters were still tired from a late night of hard work.
As Ecto-1 sped out of the garage and down the block Janine was left alone to file her paperwork. The doors shut and all was quiet inside the firehouse, that was until the sound of a metal cracking and a heavy 'thud' caught her attention. The air became cold and heavy in a matter of seconds, causing her to wrap her arms around herself as the sudden chill caught her off guard.
"What was that?" Janine asked herself as she looked over her shoulder toward the source of the enigmatic sound. "Did it come from the basement?" Pulling open the top drawer of her desk she retreated the black flashlight stored inside before going off to investigate the unusual sound.
No further noises emanated from the basement but every instinct told her to check it out. Something was wrong and she was going to figure out what it was and why it had happened.
Janine's heels clicked rhythmically as she descended the concrete staircase down into the basement. The beam of the flashlight illuminated the dim basement and gave her a clear path to follow as she checked the basement for any sign of disturbances. Pausing at the bottom of the stairs she swept the flashlight beam back and forth over the floor slowly.
The workbench and chairs were sitting idle, the tools were all neatly arranged in their proper places and the containment unit seemed secure. As the beam crawled over the floor beside the containment unit something glistened in the light.
"What's that?" Janine asked as she walked over to the shining object and kneeled down beside it. Placing her left index finger on the object in question Janine felt the icy coldness of the surface as well as a light coating of ectoplasm that covered it. "Where did this come from?" Picking it up she studied it curiously as it sat in the palm of her hand. "Isn't this the new part Egon made for the containment unit?"
A sinister cackle from the shadows sent a chill up her spine. She straightened up quickly and dropped the gasket in the process.
'E...gon...'
"Who's there?!" Janine demanded as she turned on her heels to face the shadow. "Show yourself!"
A figured draped entirely in shadow took a step forward. It was tall despite its slouching, ragged posture. Tattering rags that were once clothes hung pathetically from its limbs and shook violently as it continued to approach Janine.
"Hold it!" Janine demanded as she took one step back and shined the light in the intruder's face. "Back off jerk!"
The figure, now illuminated in the bright light, had been exposed for all to see. It's face was rotting flesh and the eyes hollow black sockets. It smiled a permanent smile as its lips had long since decomposed. Bones protruded through the thinning layers of skin on its face and upper body, its hands were skeletal and sharpened at the fingertips.
"You're... a..." Janine stammered fearfully, the light beginning to shake as her hand trembled with fear. "...ghost!"
Unleashing a loud roar the figure lunged at Janine and knocked her to the floor, her head striking the dropped gasket as she fell. The flashlight rolled away from her limp hand as she laid unconscious on the floor. A small stream of blood dripped from the fresh cut on her forehead.
The ghost hovered angrily over Janine for a few moments before snarling again. 'E...gon...' Slipping back into the shadows the ghost vanished from sight leaving Janine prone and bleeding alone on the floor.
Exiting the long abandoned restaurant with a smoking trap slung over his shoulder Ray boasted proudly over their latest capture. His jumpsuit was slimed and smoldering, the white bandage on his hand tarnished from the dirty work he had accomplished.
"Best way to start the day!" Ray declared as he opened the rear compartment of the car.
"Speak for yourself..." Peter grumbled as he wiped a glob a thick green slime from his face and hair. "Why am I the one who always gets slimed?"
"They must be drawn to your personality." Winston quipped as he helped Ray load of the car with their used equipment.
"Oh, ha ha!" Peter mocked the joke. "I think you've spent too much time with Ray and Egon, and not enough time out in the field doing work."
Egon patted Peter's shoulder sympathetically. "At least the slime isn't caustic."
"You know Egon," Peter shot his friend a bitter look. "for a doctor you have a terrible bedside manner!"
"I could say the same for you, 'Doctor' Venkman."
"See what I mean? I'm suffering here and all you can do it point out my faults!"
"Sorry Venkman, but I firmly believe in honesty."
"Okay, that's enough!" Ray stepped between and Peter and Egon, hanging his arms heavily around their shoulders as he spoke. "Why don't we get back home and get something to eat? I know I could go for some coffee right about now."
"Now THAT is how you talk to a suffering man!" Peter sided with Ray and wrapped his own arm over Ray's shoulders. "Your treat, right?"
"Of course."
Taking the front seat of the car Peter continued to wipe the slime from his face and wipe it from his hair. Winston gave Peter an odd look as he climbed into the driver's seat, but didn't say anything. No one liked getting slimed!
Ray and Egon sat in the backseats to discuss their ongoing work with the proton packs.
"As soon as we're back at the firehouse I want to get to work on the proton packs as soon as possible." Ray excitedly admitted.
"I believe your hand takes precedence over the packs right now." Egon took Ray's arm by the wrist and examined the dirty bandage wrapped around his injured hand. "There was no damage to change the bandage this morning and after coming in such close contact with grime and sweat it's crucial to have your hand cleaned before infection sets in."
"Oh yeah..." Ray gently pulled his arm free from Egon's grip and ran his fingers over the graying fabric. "I completely forgot about this."
"I don't think any immediate harm has been done." Egon tagged on in a somewhat sympathetic manner. "I'm more surprised using your hand didn't cause severe pain."
"Ambidextrous." Ray flexed his left hand with a smile. "Comes in handy! ...Excuse the pun."
From the front seat Peter responded firmly. "No."
As Ecto-1 backed into the garage of the firehouse the first thing that Winston noticed as he looked in the rear view mirror was Janine's desk empty. It wasn't like the receptionist to leave her work area vacated when the four Ghostbusters were out on a call.
"Weird." Winston noted as he turned off the engine. "Where's Janine?"
"I dunno." Peter replied indifferently as he slammed his door shut and leaned against the car. He rubbed his hands up and down his arms as the strong chill in the air still lingered. "Coffee break? Ladies room? Ran away to join the circus?"
Ray and Egon climbed out of the back of the car, the occupied trap slung over Ray's shoulder once again. The four men looked around for Janine, expecting her to walk down the stairs or greet their return from the second floor.
"Janine?" Ray called out. "Janine, where are you?"
No response.
Winston walked over to her desk and took stock of the sight on display. There was file work that had only been partially completed, she had a mug of tea that was still warm, there were no messages written down and the top drawer of her desk was ajar.
Curious about the drawer Winston pulled it open and saw that all of the emergency supplies, save for the flashlight, were still in place. "Hey guys, I think something happened while we were gone."
"What makes you say that?" Ray asked as he joined Winston at the desk.
"She always keeps a flashlight in the desk in case of power outages, but it's gone."
"If the power failed," Egon analyzed quickly. "then the logical response would be to check the circuits in the basement."
"Basement?" Ray turned to look at the entryway to the basement over his shoulder. "Janine! Janine, are you down there."
Still no response.
Egon joined Ray and Winston as they wandered toward the basement in search of the missing receptionist. Peter, who had been hanging back, milled about slowly as he followed the trio, trying to feign disinterest.
Walking down the basement stairs Egon, Ray and Winston glanced through the room thoughtfully when Winston saw the dropped flashlight on the floor, still glowing brightly. "There's the light." Winston stooped down to pick it up, as he bent down he saw a hand laying limp on the floor. "What the-" Turning the light to shine on the hand he found Janine laying unconscious on the floor. "Janine!"
Egon and Ray rushed over to the downed woman while Winston fumbled to turn on the overhead lights. Ray dropped the trap on the floor without a second thought as his compassionate nature overwhelmed his scientific curiosity.
"Janine?!" Ray put his hand under her head and neck to lift her up from the cold ground gently, his fingers pressing to the side of her neck. "She's breathing. Strong pulse."
Peter heard the commotion and rushed the rest of the way down the stairs to join his colleagues. Seeing Janine being cradled in Ray's arm had an unexpectedly potent reaction on the seasoned psychologist. "What the hell happened? What's wrong with Janine?"
"She struck her head." Egon noticed the bleeding cut right away. "Possible concussion."
Winston kneeled down on the ground beside Ray and Egon. "Did she trip?"
"I don't think so." Egon saw the gasket on the ground beside Janine. "Something, or someone, did this to her."
Peter took a knee beside Ray as a feeling of anger washed over him. "Who? Who did this to her Egon?"
'E...gon...' A sinister voice groaned from the shadows.
The four men were instantly on their guard. Unable to properly hold Janine with his bad hand Ray let Peter scoop her up from the ground and hold her protectively in his arms.
"Who's there?" Winston demanded, the former Marine instinctively taking charge of the possibly dangerous situation. "Why are you here?"
The ghost emerged from the shadows, the cold air becoming frigid as it approached the four men.
"What do you want?" Peter nearly growled in anger as he tightened his grip around Janine. "What kind of freak attacks someone who's completely defenseless?"
'E...gon...' The ghost repeated in a deep, dark voice. It raised a spiky finger and pointed at the physicist. 'Cap...tor...'
"Captor?" Ray repeated.
'Suff...er...' The ghost snarled before rushing toward the four men.
Sidestepping the ghost Egon and Winston pressed their backs up against the wall beside the containment unit, while Peter and Ray managed to make it to the staircase.
"Egon! Winston!" Ray called out for his colleagues.
"Go!" Winston responded firmly. "Get Janine some help, we can handle this lunatic!"
"But-" Ray tried to take a step back into the basement, only to have Peter cut him off by putting himself between Ray and the basement.
"He's right." Peter locked eyes with Ray to fully engage the engineer. "She needs our help," he looked down at Janine briefly. "and you're already hurt."
"You're... You're right."
"Winston and Egon can take him." Peter encouraged as he jogged up the stairs with Ray, reluctantly, following close behind.
The ghost, who was full of absolute hatred, continued to lunge at the two remaining Ghostbusters with impressive speed. The dark hollows of its eyes seemed to glow red with mounting intensity as it's movements became all the more aggressive with each attempted attack on the two humans.
"We need a proton pack!" Winston ducked down beside the workbench.
"The only functioning ones are still in the car!" Egon kept his eyes trained on the ghost.
"What about a trap?" Winston ducked down out of harm's way as the ghost buzzed over his head.
"Can you reach one?"
"I can try!" Winston made a beeline for the traps sitting on their charging stations across the room.
The darting ghost was aware of itself and its surroundings. Knowing that Winston was going to arm himself the ghost focused on the man who had his back turned to the enemy.
"Winston!" Egon warned as the ghost honed in on the target.
Before Winston could reach the traps the ghost tackled him and sent him flying into the traps, causing the metallic contraptions to fall from their stations. Stunned by the attack Winston laid on his chest and tried to push himself up with his arms.
The ghost hovered ominously over Winston, its long arm drawn back read to swing out and strike the unsuspecting man.
"Wait!" Egon pleaded with the ghost, his arm extended outward as if to shield Winston from further harm. Taking a step forward the physicist was now openly vulnerable to an attack. "Don't hurt him!"
The ghost lowered its arm and twisted its body around to face Egon.
"You said my name before which clearly indicates your grievance is with me." Egon stood his ground boldly as he confronted the dangerous entity. "Here I am, don't attack my friends."
Floating away from Winston the ghost glared its blood red eyes directly into Egon. Grasping its cold hands tightly onto Egon's shoulders, its sharpened, talon-like fingertips tearing into his flesh and drawing blood. Egon groaned in pain while the ghost sneered wickedly.
'Come... with... me...captor...creator...' Hovering upward from the ground, lifting Egon in its surprisingly powerful grip, the ghost steadily enveloped the Ghostbuster in pitch blackness. 'Writhe... Retribution...'
Winston pushed himself up from the ground and balanced on his knees. Turning toward the ghost he watched Egon was absorbed in the darkness and vanished into a shadow that seeped through the ceiling and into seeming nothingness.
"Egon?!"
...to be continued...