GhostBusters: Rift In Dimensions

Chapter Five

Y/N's P.O.V

"What did I say about running off?" Peter asked.

I didn't even slow down.

"If you want to get technical," I said, standing from the chair, "I didn't run off. I relocated downstairs to avoid being alone and to hang out with Janine. That's not a crime."

I walked past him, grabbed my Cheez-Its like they were legally mine now, and gave his shoulder a light pat.

Behind me, I heard a long, suffering sigh.

Followed by footsteps.

Back upstairs, the others were already seated at the table.

I dropped into a chair like I belonged there.

"You're sneaky," Winston said, watching me. "You know that, right?"

I gave a small shrug. "Sometimes you have to be."

His brow lifted slightly. "Yeah?"

I nodded, popping another Cheez-It into my mouth.

"Where I'm from, schools don't just do fire drills," I said. "We've got lockdown drills. Active shooter drills. They teach you how to hide. Or run. Or fight if you have to."

That... landed.

Hard.

Ray blinked. Peter stopped mid-motion. Even Egon paused.

"Sometimes," I added, quieter now, "I'd be in the wrong place when one started. Bathroom. Hallway. Didn't matter. You had to figure it out fast."

A beat.

"I always did."

Silence stretched across the table.

Then—

"Well," Egon said, adjusting his glasses, voice returning to that steady, clinical tone, "those instincts may prove useful."

I narrowed my eyes slightly.

"...That sounds like a setup."

"We'd like to run a few tests," he continued.

"I knew it."

Winston immediately shook his head. "I'm against this."

I pointed at him. "Thank you. Voice of reason."

Egon ignored both of us.

"What kind of tests?" I asked.

Ray and Egon exchanged a look.

That was my first warning.

The second warning was the helmet.

They put it on my head before I could fully protest.

It looked like someone had weaponized a pasta strainer.

I stared at the monitor nearby, watching a glowing outline of my head flicker to life.

"...I feel like I should've signed something," I muttered.

"We're going to ask you a series of questions," Peter said. "Just relax."

"'Relax' is not the word I would use right now."

"We'll monitor your neural activity," Egon added.

"And that tells you... what, exactly?"

"We don't know yet."

"...Fantastic."

Ray sat in front of me, smiling gently like this was the least terrifying thing happening today.