Ghostbusters: Regeneration

Chapter Eight

Ray, Melissa, Hiroko, and Callum moved quickly but quietly down the abandoned street toward the knocked-over fire engine. Several metres over the other side of the large vehicle, on the corner of the block, stood the Ghostbusters' Firehouse headquarters. Melissa and Hiroko, the latter of which was fully equipped with her ghost-busting equipment, had no time to pay reverence to what was ostensibly a sacred location to them as they hurried for cover.

The four pressed up close against the fire engine's roof section, standing in the mass of water that had leaked out from the vehicle, each of them experiencing varying levels of breathlessness after their stealthy dash. Ray appeared close to doubling over, but seemed doggedly determined to keep going. The portly doctor was not only around 40 years older than each of the others but he was also kitted out with his own spirit-catching apparatus, including the heavy proton pack.

With their approach seemingly going unnoticed by their adversaries, the team were allowed a moment to recuperate. Ray sidled up to the left edge of the fire engine's roof and pulled down his particle thrower. Holding the gun-like tool close to his chest, he then proceeded to silently peek around the corner of the downed vehicle toward the direction of the Firehouse. After a few seconds of observation, he pulled back and turned to his team.

'I can only see... four of 'em.' He half-panted, half-whispered. 'That makes our mission a little easier, but stay on your guard. The fifth one could still be somewhere nearby. Now, are we all clear on what we're doing?'

'Yeah.' Hiroko uttered. Callum and Melissa nodded in acknowledgement, with all three of them exhibiting determined yet anxious expressions.

Ray holstered his thrower to his proton pack before taking a few more seconds to fully catch his breath.

'Okay, let's begin phase one.' He said resolutely. 'Hiroko, you're up first.'

The group quietly moved along the body of the fallen fire engine towards the ladder that was still secured to its roof. Hiroko placed her hands on the sideways apparatus and began to haul herself up it. It was a short climb to get on top of the upward-facing side of the vehicle, but it was made all the more difficult by the heavy proton pack and other equipment secured to her person.

'You got it?' Melissa asked from below, standing behind her friend in case she happened to fall backwards.

'Yeah, I'm good.' Hiroko grunted as she finally pulled herself up onto the top surface.

Seeing how much effort it had taken the diminutive young woman to climb up, Ray unclasped and slipped off his proton pack.

'Hiroko, take this for me.' He whispered loudly, holding the bulky equipment up with outstretched arms.

Hiroko knelt down by the edge of the fire engine's top and pulled up the pack. After passing up his trap and PKE meter, Ray then moved to mount the ladder himself.

'You may have to give me a hand guys.' He said to Melissa and Callum as he raised his left foot to the metal apparatus. With the pair's combined efforts, which mostly required them to push Ray's butt upwards, they were able to get the portly Ghostbuster up on top of the fire engine.

'Remind me to lay off the calzones.' Ray groaned to Hiroko as she helped him get to his feet.

He then looked towards the Firehouse to see that the surrounding area was much the same as when he returned here a few hours ago. To his right, the westerly street and its pavements were almost entirely blocked by a small pile-up of cars partway down the road. He could not tell if this mound of twisted metal was the direct result of traffic collisions, had been stacked up by the destructive bull men, or a combination of the two. The wider, southward road that led past the Firehouse was largely clear beside the odd abandoned car and the many roadside objects that had been strewn about the place.