Part 2 Chapter 1 "Take On Me"

(Song suggestion-"Take On Me" by A-ha)

Late October 1984

Dr. Peter Venkman

A delightful chill filled the air on the Thursday in Autumn that I finally had a date with a wonderfully talented cellist and current Ghostbuster client, Dana Barrett. There wasn't any way I could conceal my enthusiasm about my date with her. A giant smile appeared on my face throughout the day's busts, and my trademark sarcasm disappeared. There wasn't anything that could dampen my mood.

Usually, I could easily coax a woman to go out on a date with me, but not Dana Barrett. It took me almost three months to do so in the busiest time in our company's short history. Dana was not only gorgeous, but she had a no-nonsense attitude. She, like Janine Melnitz, was the only other lady who didn't take my bullsh- from me initially, and that automatically earned my respect.

"Any advice before I go on my date with the wonderful Ms. Barrett, Janine," I inquired, walking down the long stairwell after a shower and a short wardrobe change.

"No, Dr. Venkman," she retorted, with a wearied tone of voice that indicated that she was not in the mood for a conversation. Janine's charm bracelet jingled as she inputted information into the computer, but her lovely blue eyes did not move from the screen.

However, I knew our Brooklynite secretary well enough to know she was preoccupied because of her answer. She always loved an opportunity to zing me with a perfectly witty one-liner, and I enjoyed them although they were at my expense. It was one of Janine's multiple charms.

Today she hid her pleasant facial features behind those enormous pink glasses because her vision was poor. Usually, Janine would wear contacts, but I know that there were several irritants in the air during the season that bothered her. She was a beautiful lady, but she was more cerebral than my usual type. Yet, Ms. Melnitz was the ideal match for one of my best friends and business partners, Egon Spengler.

"I know something is wrong because I gave you the perfect opportunity to sass me, and you did not," I complained, rolling a chair to her desk so I could listen to her share her concerns.

"I am fatigued and underpaid," she rapidly snapped in her thick Brooklyn accent, tapping her left high heel impatiently on the floor

"We are all overworked, Janine, because business is booming," I quipped. Scrutinizing her face, I read terror in her eyes.

"What are you afraid of," I inquired in disbelief.

"Don't you remember what happened on Monday," Janine questioned exasperatedly as her eyes narrowed into tiny slits showing her extraordinary annoyance.

"Affirmative, but it is going to be ok," I stated, confidently and reassuringly."

She gave me an aggrieved glare that shot daggers back at me and returned her focus on her work, saying, "Hmmph."

Unsure of a way to reassure our petite secretary further, I stood from my chair, and apprehensively, I checked my watch. It was time to meet the exquisite tall, lithe beauty with curly brown hair, Miss Dana Barrett.

"Peter, it isn't a joke. Really. Something horrifying is going to occur…soon," Janine predicted, shocked that I didn't take her seriously.

"Why don't you go upstairs and keep Iggy company? You will be all alone together," I suggested, playfully, wiggling my eyebrows up and down.

"Hmmm," she replied, hiding her pleasure at my proposal by covering her face with a book in front of it. Her bright-as-the-sun smile poked around the book and began to blind me, and I pretended to shield my face from her as if she were the sun for a few seconds. Janine disregarded my theatrics and persisted in reading.

Walking towards the door, I called,

"And don't worry."

Winston Zeddemore

The Ghostbusters' exclusive paranormal elimination business had skyrocketed by the time I had joined up with the team. As a tactician for the military for over ten years, I only believed in things I had seen in person. My first bust with the Ghostbusters transformed my opinion so swiftly in not only believing in the paranormal, but wishing I could remove the things I had seen in my memory. Nonetheless, I was not frightened by the supernatural because I had seen atrocious events in Vietnam.

My employers were a mixture of unique personalities that comprised quite a talented group. Dr. Peter Venkman was a psychiatrist with a sharp tongue who led the Ghostbusters team. Next, Dr. Ray Stantz had training in engineering and held an absolute belief in the supernatural. His family had a rich paranormal background out of Ontario, Canada. At last, Dr. Egon Spengler, a theoretical physicist, was hands down the wisest man I had ever met. He was the most knowledgeable about a wide span of subjects on top of science. Egon was the solutions guy that the other two relied on to construct answers in the most complex situations out of thin air.

The guys employed a good-looking petite woman with lengthy shapely legs from Brooklyn named Miss Melnitz, who was witty, charming, and sometimes caustic. The team relied heavily on Janine's accounting and scheduling acumen, and it was prominent that she was a significant part of the organization.

Later that Thursday night in late October, Ray and I drove in Ecto One through the City, searching for additional information about Gozer and Central Park West apartment homes. First, we completed a bust in the Bronx in a bakery on our own for a little extra pocket money.

"Hey, Ray. Do you remember something in the Bible about the last days when the dead would rise from the grave," I inquired.

"I remember Revelation 7:12. And I looked, as he opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became as black as sackcloth. And the moon became like blood," Ray stated, without blinking, gazing up finally looking at the blueprint of Dana Barrett's apartment building.

An eerie feeling overcame my body as I took a long drag on my cigarette.

"How about a little music," Ray suggested, shuddering.

"Yeah," I replied and turned the radio on as we sped through the city silently.

Dr. Egon Spengler

"Bang, bang!" A resounding knock on the front door produced a tiny shock wave that echoed throughout the firehouse all of a sudden. It was a breezy October evening in New York City, and all the Ghostbusters were out of the Firehouse. Or so I thought.

Accordingly, I raised my left eyebrow at Janine when the commotion resonated from the front door and broke the landing's peace. Our hands expeditiously dropped from each others' waists as we exchanged flabbergasted glances as our near-perfect moment ended. Janine strolled to the door without missing a beat, dressed in a short black leather mini skirt and a black and white checkered blouse with matching black high heels. The charm bracelet around her wrist made a twinkling noise as she moved through the firehouse as I vociferously sighed. I felt my concentration switch back to the paranormal and not my attempt to woo her. A harrowing feeling came to my stomach like someone held it in their hands and twisted it roughly. Grimacing in pain, I awaited Janine to fill me in.

"Egon," she called distraughtly, the tone of her voice rising a little, "there's a policeman here with an eerie-looking man here in a straight jacket."

Instantly, I took the PKE meter out of my pocket. I attempted to alleviate her concern by using a tenderness in my voice and upturning the corners of my lips, saying, "Try not to fret, Janine."

Nodding, she peered downward at the floor while I treaded to the door to speak to the uniformed officer. I heard Janine's heels click on the floor as she followed me to the door vigilantly, like a lioness watching over her cubs, the Ghostbusters. The thought made an involuntary half smile form on my face for a second before opening the doorway.

As soon as I saw the unusual man, I had an adverse feeling in the pit of my stomach again. Some people might call that intuition, but I wouldn't, as a scientist ruled by reason and logic.

To my surprise, the PKE meter went off the radar when I examined the frazzled man with thick dark framed glasses.

"You are kind to take that man in; you are a real humanitarian," Janine joked uneasily. She put her petite hand on my arm as we walked back into the building. A zap of electricity sparked on my skin where Janine touched me. Still, I was already lost in thought about our new friend.

"I don't think he's human," I automatically responded.

"What is wrong with this man," I thought to myself and I decided to use our new computer software to test the weird man's brainwaves. The police officer brought him into the firehouse behind us, and I powered the computer on. Then I prepared the stranger by putting the electrodes on his templates.

"What did you say your name was," I inquired as I studied the perplexing picture of a dog on the screen, and then I peered back at the unconventional man. My mind couldn't fathom the reason for the image on the screen.

"Vinz Clortho, key master of Gozer," the short man replied in an atypical voice of a possessed person.

"Well, according to this, his name's Louis Tully. Lives in Central Park West," Janine stated, holding his brown wallet out to me so I could verify the information. It was accurate.

"Why is this lunatic Louis guy going by Vinz now? Did something cause it?" I wondered.

While I asked him questions, all Louis did was mimic my words back precisely. Janine gave me a distracted broad, eyed look that showed a mixture of alarm and stupefaction.

"Vinz, you said before you were waiting for a sign. What sign are you waiting for?"

"Gozer the Traveler!"He will come in one of the pre-chosen forms. During the Rectification of the Vuldronaii, the Traveler came as a large and moving Torb..."

In the middle of the disturbing story, I twisted my head to the left to observe Janine's reaction to it. She gaped at me ossified, just as distressed by it. as I was.

"Egon?" Janine politely requested, crooking her pointer finger at me with a thin-lipped smile from the back of the lab. Her voice was a forced pleasant sounding one indicating her uncomfortableness in the situation.

"Excuse me." I strolled over there, feeling vexed by the situation with Vinz.

"There's something very strange about that man...," Janine whispered, standing in front of me. We viewed Louis sniffing a jar of popcorn. Suddenly, her petite hands roughly grabbed the lapels of my suit as she cautioned me about her earlier premonition of defeat from Monday.

"I am afraid you are going to die," Janine whimpered, embracing me unexpectedly because she was beyond scared. Although I didn't think I was about to die, I allowed myself to enjoy her closeness for a short time. I vividly recalled the two of us dancing on the rooftop under a lovely starry night in each other's arms, and I felt my heart rate increase. The way Janine glimmered under the moonlight was one of my favorite moments with her, and I felt joyful for a moment.

A thundering "bang" sounded as Vinz bumped into something in the lab, and it broke our intimate moment together. Swiftly, I scanned the room to see our visitor walking around in a state of confusion.

"I won't let anything happen to you," I huskily murmured into Janine's left ear quietly, and the pretty redhead nodded.

The phone rang vociferously on the end table next to the sofa, ending the moment.

"I'll get it!" I declared, hesitantly, moving rapidly to the phone, and I picked up the phone handset as Louis dragged the rest of it over to me.

"Hello? Thanks, I've got it," I replied soberly. Janine lowered herself next to me on the couch, attempting to eavesdrop on my conversation with Peter while biting her lower lip, a sign of her nervousness.

Venkman explained his interactions with Dana, who now called herself Zuul, and I felt more baffled than before my partner's phone call. Something was definitively amiss- she now levitated, called herself the gatekeeper, and barked like a dog.

"We have to get a hold of Ray; I need him here immediately," I disclosed to Janine, turning my head away from Vinz as he attempted to hand me the lamp now.

"I'll try the Columbia, CUNY, and Hunter College libraries first," she remarked, standing up to retrieve the phone book as I inattentively nodded, deep in thought.

"When Peter arrives, I would like you to go home. It may not be safe here," I advised Janine later when she rejoined me on the sofa.

"No," she replied determinedly, sticking out her chin. Usually, Janine's stubbornness was one thing that I loved about her, but I had the feeling we didn't have time for games at the moment. One commonality we shared was our persistence when we made a decision. Sighing, I gave her a severe stare for a moment that displayed my displeasure at her comment.

"Janine, please," I begged softly, putting my hand on her forearm and gazing into her clear blue eyes. If anything happened here and she was injured, I would never forgive myself. Janine was the woman I adored, and I had to protect her.

"Egon, I want to help," she protested in a cute pout that made my lips upturn after a short while. It was evident that Janine did this action to disarm me so she would get her way. .

"Ok, Vinz, let's try one more test," I announced, standing from the sofa to retrieve the short man who was still investigating the room.

Eventually, I convinced our visitor to sit down although he struggled to sit still in his seat as I conducted a test.

From afar, I viewed Janine calling different locations to find Ray and Winston. They were supposed to have completed a small bust, then do some research on Dana Barrett's building and returned. I attempted to elucidate the importance of tonight for me earlier and persuade them to come back as soon as possible. Ray and Winston agreed at the time, but where the hell were they now?

"Why did this have to happen tonight," I wondered to myself, ruefully, but I turned my attention to picking up the brain scan from the printer.

"What the hell is this," I exclaimed to myself as I scrutinized the information. I wasn't a neurology expert, but I could tell that the stranger was troubled.

Peering up from the paper, I gazed at a frustrated Janine, who had her arms folded in front of her body. She lightly sang the lyrics from an A-Ha song on the radio as she dialed the next phone number.

"You're shying away."

Our eyes met, and Janine giggled when she realized I was viewing her.

Peter Venkman

Within twenty minutes of my phone call to Egon, I arrived back at the firehouse, discomposed. I slammed the door in disappointment, then quickly ran up the stairs to compare the possessed man's behavior to my Dana's. The Goze' foiled my plan tonight to delight the pants off of her, and I was pissed.

Dana's own appearance in a smashing orange colored dress, appearing loose and unfettered, was a major warning sign that she was not her usual conservative self. I secretly thought she possessed an unbridled passion underneath her protective shield, and I had hoped that she would lower it for me around midnight. Now, I was sexually derailed and triggered by Dana's aggressive behavior.

"Ray and Winston aren't at those libraries," Janine's accent floated through the lab's door as I entered it.

"Brooklyn, you are still here" I exclaimed, disoriented by the sight of the auburn-haired lady by the phone. She appeared defeated as she pointed at the odd looking man.

"Janine, go celebrate since it's your birthday," I stated. Briskly, I glanced at Egon, who was meticulously examining Vinz. I returned my attention to our sassy secretary after checking my watch, and it read nine-thirty in the evening.

Consequently, I questioned either Egon or Janine about the other two's whereabouts. Winston didn't reside at the firehouse because he lived with his fiancee, Maura, in an apartment home near her job in Queens.

"No, we can't find them," our plucky secretary admitted, closing the large yellow pages book on her lap.

"Aren't you turning thirty today? That's a milestone you should go home and party," I urged, happily, dancing a little so she would laugh. Janine disagreed by shaking her head at me.

Nevertheless, I knew that her surprise from Egon relied on her going home and that the arrival of this immensely unbalanced man threw a wrench in my close friend's plan for her birthday surprise.

" My family and I are celebrating this weekend, my best friend has to work, and Wendy, my roommate, is in Jersey with her boyfriend. Dr. V, I don't want to sit by myself alone," Janine insisted, sulking as she observed our theoretical physicist like a hawk. She looked disappointed at his inattention to her.

"Peter's right, Janine, there isn't anything you can do here, and you should enjoy your birthday," Spengler finally stated monotonically.

"Please allow me to pay for a cab for your highness," I offered.

To my astonishment, although severely displeased, Janine gave up after only a minor argument, and I took the phone from her then called for a cab.

Afterwards, Egon sauntered over to me, indicating that he needed me to study the printout of Vinz's brain waves outside of the lab, privately so as not to distress Janine further.

"What!?" I questioned a little too loudly as I analyzed the paper. place. The Brooklynite broodingly glanced up at us after my exclamation. The brainy Ghostbuster gave me a poignant warning glance indicating that I shouldn't distress her about Vinz any further. For a moment, I expressed my shock as I was unable to speak.

"Janine is already startled; please don't make it worse," Egon cautioned softly, his brown eyes pleading with me.

"You might have made it worse by NOT insisting that she stay," I hissed at him, examining the printout again.

"Venkman, I know what I'm doing, " Iggy admitted, with a grim expression on his long face.

"Ok, I'll try to give him a psychological evaluation," I remarked, strolling to the chair where Vinz sat, and asking him several questions. The answers I received were startling at best. Egon hooked up Vinz to the computer, and all of the sudden, there was a 3d model on the screen of a dog. I stood there aghast as a result, and Janine's taxi cab honked from the street indicating its arrival.

"Night, Brooklyn, happy birthday," I remarked, removing a five-dollar bill for the cab fare from my brown leather wallet to hand it to Janine.

"Thank you. Good night, Peter and Egon," she replied, crestfallen. Janine stared at Spengler, longingly, who was typing something into the computer without hearing her. Finally, she sighed heavily and walked quickly down the stairs, mad as a hornet.

"Let's run the - test, Peter," Egon announced as his love interest left the firehouse frantically.

"You should go," I recommended as he set up the test.

"This test is rapid, and then I will leave. I don't want to arrive right after Janine anyway," he lamented anxiously.

"How did everything go earlier before this guy showed up," I inquired.

" It worked perfectly, well, almost," Egon replied, clearly ruffled by the experience. He gave me a sincere glance, and I could tell he was agitated that his evening with Janine had been interrupted.

"Plans are made to be broken, sometimes, Spengs. It's one of those gray areas you are so fond of," I replied drolly.

Tersely, my somber friend nodded once as a response, but I could see that he was too ill at ease about the situation. Spengler quizzed me next, "What are we going to do with him?"

"Let's run the test, and then I can give him the same tranquilizer as I gave Dana earlier. She will be sleeping for a long time, but I will call for a taxi for you right now," I suggested wryly, wiggling my eyebrows at my friend, but he wasn't amused.

Fifteen minutes later when the taxi showed up, Egon requested from me,

"Wish me luck; I am going to need it now that she's displeased with me."

"I have your back covered, Iggy. Good luck," I encouraged my tall friend, and he left me.

Next, I went to get my emergency kit, which contained a syringe full of 300 cc of Thorazine to give Vinz, and then administered it immediately. He fell asleep quickly on the sofa. Silently, I prayed for a successful surprise for Janine from Egon, Zuul, to be transformed back into Dana and the Ghostbusters' safety and long prosperity.

Ray Stantz

Winston and I checked all the libraries, bookstores, and other places that held paranormal information in the boroughs. It was about nine in the evening, and my partner had convinced me to grab a drink and relax with his fiancée at a local bar. At that time, I accidentally forgot about the fact that Egon needed me to return to the firehouse so he could stun Janine on her thirtieth birthday. When Winston and I arrived at the bar, one of my favorite popular songs, "Take On Me" by A-ha, played resoundingly as we searched for Maura. At last we found her and we made our way through the crowds as I sang to myself.

"Take on me…"