Ghostbusters: Regeneration

Chapter Ten

Over an hour later, the group, sans Winston, arrived in Peter Venkman's neck of the woods. This sprawling Long Island neighbourhood was typified by gigantic palatial estates lining the white pavements, tall trees and bushes that were perfectly placed and preened, and all manner of luxury cars traversing the quiet roads. Hiroko and Melissa had grown up in a well-to-do area of Staten Island, but this neighbourhood was several levels of opulence above that.

The sun had begun to set, casting a reddish glow upon everything outside. Hiroko admired the view from the mid-section window of the Ecto-1, wondering what the people who could afford to live here could be like. As they passed by what looked like a BMW or some similarly expensive brand of car, Hiroko got a glimpse of the family inside. Two children, a mother, and even the father at the wheel had expressions of confusion and disgust as they looked upon the Ecto-1. The old, bulky converted Cadillac did look royally out of place here, as did the rest of Hiroko's group.

It was not long until they turned onto a section of pavement, stopping in front of a pair of imposing metal gates. This closed entryway was connected to equally tall white walls that appear to surround the entire property. Outside the driver's side door, a small metallic box was fixed atop a pole secured to the ground. Glimpsing a solitary button placed below what looked like a speaker grill, Hiroko assumed that this was part of an intercom system. Ray reached out of the driver side window and pressed the button.

The group sat in silence for a few seconds, waiting for some kind of response. Eventually, the tall gates made a loud metallic clicking sound before slowly beginning to part. Hiroko thought it was strange that no communication had taken place before they had been permitted entry, but she did spot a security camera fixed to the wall and pointed in their direction.

'Graham must know why we're here.' Egon commented to Ray.

Hiroko had no idea who Graham was, but figured she would soon find out.

Once the gates had opened wide enough to accommodate the Ecto-1, Ray took the car through, starting them down the long driveway ahead of the white mansion.

Hiroko, Melissa, and Callum gazed upon the Venkman estate for the first time. The straight paved drive was flanked on both sides by huge lawns of pristine green grass and symmetrical pairs of trees that seemed to guide entrants to the front of the mansion. Hiroko decided that this had to be the most expensive and opulent place she had ever, and probably would ever, get to visit.

Eventually, they made it to the front of the large house. Once he had parked and powered down the Ecto-1, Ray turned towards the three newly recruited Ghostbusters sitting behind him.

'Y'know what,' he said, 'maybe you guys would feel better waiting in the car.'

It was an odd suggestion for him to make after having spent over an hour driving the entire group here. Hiroko had been quietly excited to see both the famous Dr. Venkman and potentially the inside of his luxurious abode, so she was instantly perturbed by the idea of not even leaving the car.

'Huh?' Hiroko responded in both surprise and confusion.

Egon, who had been sitting alongside Ray in the from of the car, turned towards his old friend.

'If we all go in it might give Peter a better sense of the scale of the crisis.' He advised.

Ray paused for a few seconds in place, seemingly ignoring Egon. He pouted his lips and blinked his eyes in a reluctant manner.

'Alright,' he relented with a hint of annoyance in his voice, 'but let's not go getting any hopes up.'

The group disembarked and made their way up the front porch, led by Ray and Egon. As they approached the large double doors, they opened without prompting, revealing a sophisticated-looking gentleman wearing a suit.