The Real Ghostbusters Are Back

12: Trapped

I sat up, looking around the house that now had us trapped inside. It was a really pretty house despite the outside. Sure there were some spots that were missing the paint it had before. Some wallpaper was peeling off the walls. With some TLC, this place would be looking nice again. I watched Egon pull out his PKE meter and look around. 

"Gentleman, we aren't alone," he said in that perfectly anonymous voice of his. You all know the one he does. 

"What's here?" Winston asked. 

"There seems to be a very large entity here. At least a class five in regards to it. The thing has it's powers all over the house. It's hard to pin point it." 

"An easy job, huh Peter?" Ray asked him. 

"Well, I thought it would be easy. What do you suggest." 

"We could always split up," Winston suggested. 

"The last time we split up in a house Peter said would be easy, Egon and I lost our souls to a huge demon thing," I pointed out to the others. 

"Oh right, that wouldn't be ideal for you two again," Peter chuckled. 

"Yeah, no kidding it wouldn't be ideal!" I snapped. 

We all looked up when we heard something above us. It sounded like a large banging noise. It kept up, banging all over the ceiling above us. It stopped when it was directly over us. That wasn't good. We heard a women laughing before she spoke up. Spoke up wasn't the correct time. It sounded like she was screaming at the top of her lungs. 

"GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!" 

I'm not entirely sure what happened at that. It happened far too fast for me to figure it out. Here's what I think went down, but I could be wrong for the most part. So excuse me if it seems a bit strange. A large tentacle came crashing down through the ceiling where the crashing and banging was coming from. We were able to move out of the way. On one side was Egon, Peter, and Winston, on the other side was me and Ray. I tried to look at them, but the dark pink tentacle moved quickly, wrapping around the three before moving down again. I watched in horror has my friends and brother disappeared into what looked like a botomless black pit. Once the tentacle picked itself up, the floor closed around the openings. We were left alone has if nothing happened. 

"Egon! Peter! Winston!" I cried, rushing over to where they had been standing, Ray close behind. I looked over the floor, trying to find a sign of them. There was nothing. It was like they disappeared into thing air. "Ray, where did they go?" 

"I... I don't know," he told me, looking where my eyes were glued. "They had to have gone somewhere." 

"Can you get a reading on that thing?" 

"No," he answered looking at the PKE meter he had taken out. "Egon was right, the thing is all around the house. I can't pinpoint it. It's like it's the house itself." 

We both went silent, looking at each other. Like it was the house itself. That thing did just come out of nowhere. It easily changed the house to it's liking to take the three away and to make itself disappear so we couldn't do anything to it. 

"You don't think, do you?" I asked him, kind of fearing the answer. I know the guys had busted a few ghost that were actually a part of the house. But I sure haven't! Plus that was all four of them and it was difficult for them. I had no idea how two of us were going to do it. At least one was Ray. If anyone could do it with just two people, it would be Ray. 

You know what, let me take a moment to boast about Ray Stanz. I don't do it enough. I don't really talk about any of the guys besides Egon. You all could think I hate them for all I know. That's not the truth. Ray is really freaking smart. I know Egon is, but so is Ray. He did help make the equipment. He made the packs, the traps, the Containment Unit, anything we used was made by both Egon and Ray. Egon couldn't have done it alone. Plus I would say Ray knew a little bit more about ghost than Egon did if they weren't equal at it. Ray was one of the smartest guys I know. He is Dr. Stanz after all. I forget sometimes that Winston is the only one on the team that isn't a doctor. How Peter got his doctorate though is beyond me. 

"I do think so," he spoke up after a bit of thought. "Come on, let's look around the house and see if we can find any sign of the guys." 

I nodded and followed him. We didn't say it, but we wanted to stick close. We got separated like we did before, we could easily lose each other. I couldn't fight a whole class five by myself and despite how much I talked him up, I know Ray couldn't either. We were walking around for a while, just looking at the house. Nothing stood out to me. There were just paintings on the wall with destroyed paint or wallpaper.

I did have to say, the painter of the pictures were amazing. I had to question why the topics in the pictures though. A lot of them showed people in fields or rooms. They looked trapped. Some where in chains, some just in rooms with no doors, others in an endless hall. They couldn't escape. They were trying though, that was clear to see. I had no idea why anyone would just paint the same pictures with the same theme over and over again. I mean, it was kind of depressing. Why not paint a flower or something pretty. Would bring the house out wonderfully. 

"Natalie, look!" Ray said suddenly, pointing at one of the pictures. 

I looked at it. It was another one of those rooms with no doors in it. Though the room looked familiar. It was our room at the firehouse without the door or the windows. There were no beds, nothing that was normally in it. All that was in the room was the guys! Peter, Winston, and Egon were there, trying to get out. Winston was hitting the wall where the window should have been. Peter was clawing at the wall where the door should have been. Egon was in the middle of the room, clearly trying to find some way to get an opening in. 

"The guys! But, why are they painted here? Who painted these?" 

"I don't think they are painted Natalie," Ray told me with a grim look to him. I looked at him than back at the picture. That's when it clicked with me. 

"The paintings. They aren't paintings. They are the souls of the people the house has taken!"