DISCLAIMER: Ghostbusters is not mine. Yet.
No, this doesn't look good. Not good at all.
How long have the guys been gone, anyway? Feels like forever since they went looking for the source of all this. I mean, I'm not worried or anything, I know they'll take care of it. I have faith in them. They'll do it.
But that doesn't make this any less creepy, though.
It wasn't long after they left that I started getting calls. From all over the place, more of 'em than I had hold buttons to stick 'em on. All panicked, scared, so frantic that I couldn't figure out what half of 'em were even trying to say. But then, I felt the ground shake, and it all stopped. Not a single call after that. Dead quiet.
Oops. Bad choice of words there...
I figure the phone lines must've gotten knocked out. I know things aren't any better than they were, otherwise the guys'd be back by now. And it was so quiet without the phone ringing off the hook anymore. Just the sound of a storm brewing outside. A bad- storm. And it wasn't so much that it was raining hard or anything. Really, we didn't have much besides a little thunder. But the weight of it, the feeling like it was bearing down on me, just waiting for the chance to break, that got to me.
That's all there was for a few minutes. Just me, that big old firehouse, and the storm outside. I must've jumped at least ten feet when I heard Slimer come in through the roof. He's not supposed to do that, 'cause the slime drips off the roof and makes a terrible mess, but at the moment I was too glad it was just him to really care about that particular rule. Besides, he was someone to talk to. Not exactly a good conversationalist, if you know what I mean, but at least I didn't feel so alone and creeped out anymore. Sometimes it's good just to have someone else around at times like this, even if he's already dead.
Slimer was creeped out too. Kinda funny if you think about it, since there's nothing I know of besides our equipment that can do anything to him. But Slimer being creeped out gave me something else to think about, so I didn't mind. We brought out Dr. Venkman's portable TV and switched it on to pass the time, get our minds off things.
It didn't quite work the way we'd hoped.
All the networks had been taken over by broadcasts about the disasters. All over the world, everyplace was getting the same treatment as us. Worse, even. As soon as I saw it, I called the guys up on the radio and let 'em know what was going on. With all the stuff happening right here, I figured there'd be a good chance it was connected.
Wasn't long after I got off the radio that things started up for real. The thunder got louder and struck more often. That pressure I felt got darker and heavier. Then the ground started shaking hard, like an earthquake. It'd start up for a while, then stop. Like the whole world was trembling. Like it was afraid.
And that's when the power went out.
Luckily, the containment unit's generator kicked in almost instantly, so it's okay. And Ray's emergency lights turned on just after that, too. He put 'em up a while ago so that we'd be able to find all the important stuff in an emergency. Dull, red lights, just enough to see by. And lucky for me, my desk got counted as "important stuff" so I can still see.
Yeah, the power's still out. Don't know exactly how long it's been. All dark inside except for this red glow and all quiet too. But outside...I can hear it. I can hear those bat things out in the streets, screeching. I can hear the storm outside, still just threatening to break, but it's one heck of a threat now. And every now and again, I think I can hear the people out there, too. And it's not good.
I brought the spare pack over by my desk a while after the lights first went out. I hope I don't have to use it, but it makes me feel a bit safer to know it's there if I need it. I shouldn't, though. The guys are out there, Egon knows what's going on, they'll take care of it.
The guys...Egon...they're out in all this. Out there looking for the heart of all this stuff so they can stride right in and say "hi, hope ya don't mind, but we're gonna take ya down now." And they're not even getting paid for it, either. Never get paid for any of this saving the world type stuff. But they're right out there in the thick of it anyway.
And here I am, hiding behind my desk in the dark. Sometimes I can't believe myself, you know? 'Course, there's not really a heck of a lot else I can do.
But I've gotta do something.
I head for the stairs. Should be enough emergency lights to get me where I'm going. Even if there isn't, it doesn't really matter. I know this place well enough by now to get there in the dark. And I'm right...Ray did put lights going all the way up. Figured he would. Never know where you're gonna need to be in an emergency.
I open the door to the roof and I get hit right off with the wind that's blowing out there. It's strong, but kinda relieving. At least now I know that screaming sound wasn't what I thought it was. So I walk out there, and the wind calms down a little as I walk out to the very middle of the roof.
Yeah...maybe I can't do anything, but at least I'm gonna see it coming!
It's the first time I've seen the sky since this all started. It's pitch black. Except for one spot...one spot where it's glowing red. A glowing red face. Right above a nice, tall, creepy building. And somehow, deep in my heart, I know that's where the guys are now. On top of that building. Looking that thing right in the eyes. Just like I am now. And it's kinda comforting, to think like that.
But it's a cold comfort. Cold 'cause I can't see any action from here. And if there's no action, that means...
The wind kicks up again, but this time I almost swear that I can hear something else, too. A voice, on the wind. His voice. And even though I know it's impossible, I even think I hear it call my name.
"Janine..."
No. No, can't be. They're way too far off, I couldn't possibly hear him. And he's got bigger things to think about than me right now anyway. It's just my imagination, that's all. All this weird stuff has my mind running away with me.
But no matter how much I tell myself that, it doesn't help. Doesn't make this gnawing ache in my chest go away. Because even though I know it wasn't real, couldn't be real, I still heard it. I heard it.
And it didn't sound like he was coming back.
I take a few steps forward, squinting against the wind that's blowing right in my face. Stupid wind. Think it's making my eyes water. Makes it hard to make out what's going on over at that building. Sure, I can't see that far anyway, but maybe if something big happens, maybe if they win, maybe it'll be something I can see from here. And that's something I wouldn't want to miss. Not for the world.
Then, all of a sudden, the wind dies down. It's quiet for a moment. And then the screaming starts. All in unison, from all across the city. Terrible, unearthly screams. Screams of pain, like they're all about to die.
And it's the monsters doin' the screaming!
Yeah, all the bat things across the city, and even that big red face in the clouds...I don't know what the guys are doing up there, but whatever it is, it's working! They're screamin'...they're dyin'...and it looks like the good guys are about to--
Red lightning strikes the top of the building, whatever was going on stops, and my heart sinks right down to my feet. It can't be. We were gonna win. And if it all stopped, does that mean...does that mean that thing in the sky...did it get 'em? Did it...
A flash of light from the top of the building answers that question as four proton beams slam right into the face. They're alive! They made it! And they're takin' that thing down!
There's a tense moment while the beams do their stuff, then that ugly red face screams one more time and disappears. They did it. The city's saved. The whole world's...
Wait. I-I almost forgot...oh no...
I look around, away from the building, at New York. Or, what's left of it. Streets, buildings, everything's broken, shattered, flooded, or crumbling. It's unimaginable. I've never seen anything like it. This makes what Gozer did look like a little redecorating.
And that's when I hear it. It's soft and quiet, like it's way off in the distance, but for some reason I can hear it perfectly. It's a flute. A flute playing some soothing melody I've never heard before. And somehow, when I hear it, I feel better. Like everything's gonna be all right. And in a moment, it is.
As the song plays, things start to move all on their own. Floodwaters go back to the ocean. Streets settle back to where they should be and seal up all their cracks. The skyscrapers all stand up straight again and pieces of rubble go flying back into place. And in a few minutes, everything's back the way it was, like nothing ever happened. And as the song fades, I just know that New York's not the only place that's been put right again.
The storm's gone now, and the sky's brighter and bluer than I've ever seen it. It's gorgeous. Just gorgeous.
As gorgeous as it is, though, I'd probably better get back downstairs now. If everything's been put right, I suppose that includes the phone lines, which means I've probably got a ton of calls waiting from at least a dozen organizations wanting to know what just happened and how they can blame us for it. And the guys'll be back soon, anyway.
But, before I go back to work...just one more look. One nice, long look at that beautiful blue sky shining over this recently saved world. At the building where the whole fight happened. And I wonder to myself if maybe, just maybe, there's someone way up on top of that building who's looking down here at me, too.
I smile to myself. Who knows? Maybe one day I'll hear him say something like that for real. But right now, it's time to deal with one small aftereffect of the world not ending.
I've got work to do!
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