Samhain was patient. He had waited hundreds of years to be
freed from that statue on All Hallows Eve, only to be imprisoned
once again, in the basement of the Ghostbusters' firehouse. Yet
still he waited, and a few years later his minions were once more
successful at freeing him. But as before, the Ghostbusters had
ruined his plan of bringing an eternal Halloween night. Although
trapped in the containment unit, Samhain could still tell when
October 31st was approaching, it called upon him, a torturous,
beautiful song just out of his hearing. A song he was preparing
to hear once again, for it was October 31, 12:01 AM, and his minions
were awakening.
A strange mist swirled through Central Park, a pale lavender mist
that seemed to spark with electricity. Not many people noticed the
strange occurrence, it being so late, and the ones that did notice
had seen so much in that park that the sight hardly deserved another
glance. As the mist thickened, quickening its swirling, high and
maniacal laughter, could be heard from the center. The mist became
so thick it was nearly solid, lightning crackling around the outer
edges. There was a bright flash accompanied by thunderous booming,
and the mist quickly dissipated. Two goblins stepping out from its
center. They were Samhain's most loyal servants, so devoted to him
they pledged immortality to protect him. The moon would be full
tonight for Halloween, and just as on every Halloween with a full
moon, these two minions would have until the end of Halloween night
to free their captive master.
Each Halloween that they appeared, they were given a vague feeling
of where to find Samhain. But this time, they were surprised to
have knowledge of not only his whereabouts, but of how to rid them
of the Ghostbusters' interruptions, as well. Samhain had concentrated
for years to gather up enough power to channel his thoughts directly
to the two goblins, always knowing the virtue and advantage of immortal
patience. The smaller goblin joined his larger, intellectually lacking
accomplice's grin, certain that tonight would mark their greatest
triumph in the many battles they've fought to free their Lord. They
walked slowly through the park, the smaller goblin trying to plan
everything out in his mind. But the spell would require bones, ground
to a fine powder. Where would he find ...
A loud laughter startled both goblins. They turned to see a young man
holding a gun at them. "A bit early to start your trick-or-treating,
isn't it?" the man asked with an evil smile. The two goblins looked
at each other, then back at the thug. The man stared at the taller,
orange goblin, its unnatural ear-to-ear grin making him a bit uneasy.
Before he had time to realize what was happening, the smaller goblin
charged at him with incredible speed. The goblin climbed up the man
and bit down on his arm hard. The former tough guy screamed in
surprise and dropped his gun. With a little less speed, but much more
power, the taller goblin charged the man, knocking him back into some
nearby bushes. His screams lasted for a few moments, but the few
people in Central Park at midnight either didn't hear him, or didn't
care.
*****
It was about noon when Garrett, Roland, Eduardo and Kylie met together
at the Ghostbusters Firehouse. Garrett and Eduardo had both brought
enough popcorn to last them into Thanksgiving, neither one planning on
missing a single second of the gore-filled movies playing until early
the next morning.
"So Roland," Garrett said, "you gonna watch some horror flicks with us
tonight, or are you just gonna pass out candy to the kids again this
year?"
"Oh, I don't know. If I watch those things, then I'll have nightmares
and stay up all night, and I have classes tomorrow morning."
Kylie rolled her eyes. "Roland, how can that stuff give you nightmares?
Guys in hockey masks? We see scarier stuff than that every single day
at work."
"That's right," Eduardo agreed, "we see Kylie." Eduardo and Garrett's
laughter was quickly cut off by Kylie's stare, her lips straight and
rigid, her eyes piercing.
Eduardo and Garrett let out a sigh in unison when Janine suddenly
walked through the door, carrying with her a large plastic bag.
"Hi everybody. Happy Halloween!" She paused for a moment, looking
at them in their usual attire. "Doesn't anybody have any costumes?"
"Oh, sure," Eduardo said. "I'm going as a Ghostbuster this year.
What do you think of my costume?"
"And where's Dr. Spengler today?" Janine asked, ignoring his sarcasm.
Kylie shrugged and smiled. "Same place he's been for the last decade.
Lab."
As Kylie finished, Egon appeared at the stairs. "Oh, Janine, you're
here. Would you mind doing a small favor for me?"
"Forget the trick-or-treating candy again this year?"
"Well, yes actually."
Janine chuckled. "I thought that you might. Well, don't worry. I'm
going to make a batch of my patented candied apples."
"Oh ... how wonderful. That's a very good idea."
She took some candied apples out of the plastic bag. "Here, I made
these at home for you guys. Happy Halloween!"
They each reluctantly took one of the apples. They all looked at each
other, Garrett biting into his, a look of fear of the unknown crossing
his face. He swallowed, trying not to gag as he spoke. "Oh, Janine
you ... you so shouldn't have ... thanks." The others tried them,
hoping she would leave the room soon, or that maybe Gozer the Gozarian
could choose that moment to make its return to destroy the world,
offering them a chance to spit out the so-called treat without being
seen.
"I'll be in the kitchen if you need me," Janine called from over her
shoulder. They all mumbled an "okay" and inched their way to the
trash can to toss out their remaining apples.
"Way to go, Egon," Eduardo said, "thanks to you forgetting the candy
again, hundreds of innocent trick-or-treaters will be destroyed by
Janine's cooking. Hey Slimer!" Slimer came drifting down the stairs,
stretching. "Want a candied apple?" Slimer quickly floated over and
hovered around Eduardo's hands, mumbling. He stopped suddenly and
mumbled a question to Eduardo, his face suspicious. "Um, well, she
kinda made them, yeah," he replied. Slimer shook his head with a
disgusted "uh-uh." Eduardo shrugged, "Eh, well it was worth a shot."
He tossed the apple in the trash and headed upstairs.
Kylie leaned over to Slimer. "Slimer, looking for some Halloween
candy?" Slimer perked up, doing back-flips in the air. "Check his
socks."
Slimer zipped upstairs. A slimy splattering sound could be heard from
upstairs, followed quickly by Eduardo's shouts. "Ew! Gross, slimeball
what are you doing?"
They all shared a mischievous laugh as Eduardo's disgusted sounds
mixed with dripping slime. Kylie turned to Egon with a halfcocked
smile. "One of the more fun tricks we've learned from working here."
Tossing the apples into the trash, Garrett asked, "So what did
this bit of Janine's cooking remind you of?"
Roland thought for a second. "I once accidentally got a mouthful of
10W-30 motor oil. They both tasted so similar I'm not sure which was
worse."
The team headed for the stairs, Garrett going to the lift. When they
were all upstairs, Kylie was about to sit down, but instead paused and
turned to Egon. "Egon, isn't Halloween normally one of the busiest
times of the year for the Ghostbusters?"
Egon nodded. "Yes, I realize your concern. I've been wondering if
this isn't perhaps some kind of waiting period, as if whatever's out
there is choosing its time of attack."
"You mean like the calm before the storm?" Roland asked.
"Exactly," Egon agreed. "Or, perhaps we'll get a break this year,"
he said, trying to sound optimistic, putting a handful of popcorn in
his mouth.
A short time later the doorbell rang. Janine's voice echoed from
downstairs. "I'll get it." The team grunted their approval, Egon,
Kylie, Eduardo and Garrett indulging themselves in popcorn and scary
movies, Roland busy taking apart his PKE meter for the third time that
day. Janine ran to grab her case of candied apples, then ran to the
door. A short green goblin stood next to a taller orange one at the
doorway, smiling. Janine forced a smile, startled as she was by their
odd smiles, not to mention the familiarity of them. "My, what great
goblin cost-," she stopped, a feeling of déjà vu and caution spreading
through her.
Five heads and one slimy body snapped up as one at the sound of
Janine's scream. Running downstairs, they found her laying in a
heap, her back against the front of her desk. The kids looked from
the two goblins and back at Janine, wondering how those two could
possibly have tossed her that far. But Egon recognized the ghostly
duo instantly, and the trouble that always seemed to follow them.
"Suit up," Egon said, his voice stiff and tense. "Quickly."
Without question, the Ghostbusters scrambled to their equipment.
Janine got up and ran halfway up the stairs to Egon, who was still
staring at them uneasily. The kids, now suited up, went to the steps
and stared with Egon. "Peculiar," Egon spoke, "the other times we
encountered them they simply freed Samhain as quickly as possible.
Why are they simply standing at our door?"
Garrett pulled the proton blaster from his pack and switched it on.
"Waddaya say we shoot first and ask questions later?"
"Right!" the team agreed, all enthusiastic except for Egon, who felt
they might be doing exactly as the goblins had hoped. The team charged
at the two ghosts, Garrett in the lead. The goblins took off at
lightning speed, laughing.
After two blocks of running they stopped, panting. Kylie looked
around. "Where'd they go?"
Slimer, flying high into the air to get a better view, yelled,
pointing into the street. The duo were jumping on the hoods of
passing cars, making their way across to a nearby park.
Eduardo ran into the busy street, proton blaster in hand. "Scientists,
coming through!" Most of the oncoming traffic simply stopped and
honked, while others more determined to get by were stopped by a few
proton blasts fired mere inches from their hoods. Eduardo motioned
with his free arm for the team to cross, smiling slyly as Kylie passed
him. "Amazed at my man-of-action ... er ... action-ness, Chica?"
Kylie looked at him but kept walking as she replied. "I'm more amazed
by the fact that you weren't run over by that stupid stunt."
Eduardo's smile vanished. If there's anything that impresses her,
I'd like to know what it is! I don't even know why I bother to keep
trying ... His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of engines
revving. He looked around to see he was the last person left to cross,
and the drivers were getting tired of waiting. Taking off as fast as
he could, he narrowly missed the last car, and could hear the driver
laughing at the look on Eduardo's face.
Kylie took the lead through the park with her PKE meter, having once
again lost sight of Samhain's minions. The PKE trail led them deep
into the center of the park, the trees so dense it almost completely
blocked out the sun. "We shouldn't have left Janine alone," Egon
quietly thought aloud. "Perhaps they were acting as some sort of
distraction while others invaded the firehouse and freed Samhain."
"Egon's right," Roland agreed. "You guys keep searching for those two,
Egon and I will head back to the fireho-"
"Whoa, hold on!" Kylie broke in. "I'm getting massive PKE readings,
coming our way."
They looked around, Slimer hovering up a little higher to get a better
view, but the thick trees blocked any visibility. "From what direction?"
Garrett asked, his eyes narrowing as he prepared for a battle, his
reward for lengths of boredom and waiting.
"Every direction," she said quickly, drawing her small blaster. At
first it was deathly silent, not one member of the team breathed, the
trees perfectly still and unaware of the passing wind. A branch moved
with a large cracking sound. All five members turned.
Ghosts of every type began pouring out of the trees surrounding them
and flew at them. Experienced in battles where they were vastly
outnumbered before, the five of them formed a circle, each covering
the other's back. Slimer hovered in the middle of the circle, afraid
to get too close to the intense barrage of proton streams around him.
Garrett yelled over the firing, "Anybody notice they're not putting up
much of a fight? They just come at us, but they don't do
anything." The others had noticed as well, but were too busy firing
to figure out much of an explanation.
The onslaught of ghosts were getting particularly numerous on Eduardo's
side. "You guys wanna back the circle up a bit, before I'm eaten alive
by these slimies?" The team complied by taking a step back in unison,
shifting the circle slightly.
As quickly as the ghosts had rained down on them they now disappeared,
flying back through the foliage. Their bodies still tense, they looked
around, hands on their blasters, until they were satisfied the attack
had ended. Egon spoke, concern in his voice. "I suggest we all
head back to the firehouse. Something's about to happen, and I believe
we should at least be in a safe place when it does." They all agreed,
however no one moved. They all looked at each other in confusion,
clearly understanding that each had intended to start walking, but
their feet were held firm.
"What the?" Eduardo looked down to find his feet planted firmly in some
kind of design drawn in the ground by what appeared to be white powder.
"Egon, what's happening?" Kylie asked, trying to remain calm.
"I'm not entirely sure, yet," Egon replied, his voice remaining in
generally the same tone as it did no matter what the situation.
"It seems we walked into some sort of trap those ghosts had set for
us. I can feel the numbness traveling up from my feet. In a few
minutes we probably won't be able to move at all."
"Garrett, what about you?" Eduardo spoke over his shoulder, "You're
paralyzed from the waist down already."
"Yeah, but whatever it is is weighing down my arms. I can't use my
wheelchair."
"Slimer," Egon called behind him, and Slimer hovered over, panic on his
face. "Fly up and see if you can get a look at the design we're stuck
in." Slimer nodded and flew away, returning a moment later, gesturing
and speaking wildly. "It seems to be the shape of a star," Egon
translated for the team. "My guess is those ghosts were trying to
lure us each onto one of the star's five points."
"Speaking of ghosts," Roland said, "what happened to the two you
recognized, Egon?"
As if on cue, the two goblins emerged from behind a nearby tree.
Their eyes glowed with much more power than either was accustomed
to channeling, but neither one was concerned with that, their minds
bent on final, sweet success as much as their bodies coursed with
the power to do it. The paralysis now traversing to their shoulders,
the team could do nothing but watch as the two approached. Slimer
charged forward to stop them, but as he neared them, the taller orange
goblin's eyes began to glow a bright purple. He flashed an evil grin
as a purple bolt jumped from his sockets and hit Slimer, sending him
backwards. He landed unmoving in the center of the circle, the smell
of charred ectoplasm wafting into the air. The smaller green goblin
stepped forward, cackling. He raised his arms and traced a sideways
figure eight. His hand began leaving a trail of light as he continued
the motion, until eventually a solid figure eight of light held
suspended in the air. He raised his hands to the sky as he shouted
Samhain's name.
A sudden wind blew through the trees as the spell activated. Egon
looked at the ground below them. "Uh-oh." The others saw it too; the
pentagram they were all standing atop was beginning to glow with a
brilliant white radiance. Suddenly they felt the air knocked out of
them, as if each had received a blow to the stomach. Stars danced in
front of their eyes as the white glow of the pentagram started to
subside, and with it their vision. The wind around them picked up, and
it felt as if their very bodies were being torn apart from the fierce
winds. Try as they might, none of them could hang on, and soon the
darkness swallowed them up.
The Ghostbusters had disappeared in the blazing spell, right before
the goblins' delighted eyes. A final fierce gust of wind came and
blew the powdered bones away, leaving no trace of the star or the
team that stood within it. The goblins ran out of the park,
disappearing into the crowds of trick-or-treating kids. No one could
stop them now. Samhain would finally bring about eternal Halloween
night. Excited, they picked up their pace a bit, eager to get to the
Ghostbusters' firehouse, to the containment unit.
