Midnight at Glens Falls

Extreme Ghostbusters
Midnight at Glens Falls

In a dirty backstreet somewhere in New York City, Roland was holding a squirming, writhing ghost in a proton stream.

'Guys, I've got him!' Roland announced. 'I could use some backup!'

Kylie and Eduardo approached from different directions. They both fired their proton blasters somewhat carelessly.

'Hey, watch out!' said Roland. 'You both nearly crossed my stream.'

'Sorry, man,' said Eduardo.

'Yeah, sorry,' said Kylie.

'Kylie, it'd be more useful if you shut off your stream and threw the trap,' said Roland.

'Huh?' said Kylie. 'Oh... sure, yeah, okay.'

With quick, automatic motions she holstered her gun, unclipped the trap from her back, threw it into position and opened it. Roland and Eduardo cut off their proton streams and the ghost was sucked into the trap, which promptly clanged shut. Kylie and Eduardo both approached it, then pulled back when they saw each other.

'Sorry,' said Kylie.

'You take it,' said Eduardo.

Without another word, Kylie picked up the trap and set off back towards the Ecto-1. Roland followed her.

'Okay, Eddie, I just have to say this to you,' said Garrett, wheeling his way up to Eduardo from the other end of the street. 'There's way too much tension between you and Kylie – it's getting dangerous!'

'You mean for the job, right?' said Eduardo.

'Yeah, but probably for all our sanity as well,' said Garrett. 'Why don't you guys just talk and get it over with?'

'I don't know, man,' Eduardo shrugged.

'You'd better find out, then,' Garrett advised, 'for all our sakes.'

'Are you trying to tease me?' Eduardo asked, giving Garrett a searching look. 'Or do you really care about... well, y'know?'

'What do you think?' Garrett returned.

'I think it's time we got back to the car,' said Eduardo. 'Come on.'

As Eduardo and Garrett emerged from the alley, Kylie and Roland were getting into the front of the Ecto-1.

'I'm sorry to be so blunt about it, Kylie, but I really don't want my face burned off the next time we get a call,' Roland was saying.

'It's fine – you're right,' said Kylie. 'I just... I'm a bit scared, to tell you the truth.'

'Of what?'

'Of where it might end, if we really start talking.'

'Where do you want it to end?'

'Well, I...'

Kylie stopped speaking as the back doors opened and Eduardo and Garrett boarded the vehicle. A heavy silence prevailed for a few seconds, before Roland started the car and drove off.

*

Back at the firehouse a short time later, Eduardo, Kylie, Garrett and Roland were mooching around in the reception area, not talking and not really looking at each other. At length Garrett's face creased into a frown and he opened his mouth to say something, but the sound of the basement door opening made him close it again.

'Another one safely stored away,' said Egon, emerging with the empty trap. 'Well done, everyone.'

'No sweat,' said Garrett.

'Is everything okay up here?' asked Egon.

'Oh yes,' said Roland, 'just fine.'

'Are you sure?' Egon pressed. 'I thought I could sense something in the air.'

No one responded to this statement. Egon opened his mouth to say something else, but he closed it again when Slimer floated up to him and whispered something in his ear.

'Oh,' said Egon. 'Oh, I see. Thank you, Slimer. Eduardo, didn't you want to go home around this time? You can leave now if you want to.'

'I still got a half-hour,' said Eduardo, glancing at his watch.

'Hardly time to go out on another call and make it back in time,' said Egon. 'Go on – we can manage without you.'

'Why are you leaving early, Eduardo?' Kylie asked the floor.

'I have to get home for my nephew,' Eduardo explained. 'Carl and Beth are out of town for the night so he's coming back to my place after school.'

'Why aren't you staying with him at their place?' asked Garrett. 'It's much bigger than yours.'

'I don't know, man,' Eduardo sighed. 'Maybe Carl doesn't trust us not to wreck the place... doesn't trust me not to wreck the place.'

'You sure are lucky to be clocking off early,' said Garrett. 'Me and Kylie are gonna be here all night on emergency standby.'

'You are?' said Eduardo in surprise. 'Why?'

'We've had a special request from City Hall,' Egon explained. 'Apparently the mayor thinks that another horde of zombies is about to rise from the grave. He believes things like that always come in threes; so after the Halloween zombies, and then the Day of the Dead ones...'

'The next zombie apocalypse is due anytime!' Garrett grinned.

'That kinda sucks,' said Eduardo. 'I mean, the mayor used to treat us like garbage... and now we're setting up night shifts for him!'

'He's paying us to do it,' said Egon.

'Oh, well, I guess that's different,' said Eduardo, smiling slightly. 'I'll take my turn tomorrow night, okay?'

'Fine,' said Egon. 'Go along home, now – see you tomorrow.'

'Okay,' said Eduardo. 'Um, well... bye.'

With that, he scurried out of the firehouse and slammed the door behind him. Egon, Roland, Garrett and Slimer turned to Kylie with varying expressions on their faces; she smiled sheepishly.

*

Eduardo entered his apartment to find Kevin lying spread out on the couch, watching TV.

'Hey, man,' Eduardo said to the back of his nephew's head. 'You got here okay, then.'

'Yeah, the school bus stops right on the corner of the street,' Kevin replied, not removing his eyes from the TV screen. 'I've done it before.'

'So, erm... how was school?' Eduardo asked.

'Great,' said Kevin.

'I bought us steak and kidney in pastry for dinner,' Eduardo ventured, 'and a blueberry pie for dessert.'

'Swell,' said Kevin. 'I'm sorry, Uncle Eduardo, but I can't really talk to you 'til the end of this.'

Eduardo turned his attention to the programme Kevin was watching on the TV. His face gradually formed a confused expression.

'Is this some kind of Dungeons and Dragons thing?' he asked. 'What are they trying to do?'

'I'll explain it to you later,' said Kevin.

'Are those British kids?' Eduardo persisted.

'Yes,' said Kevin. 'It's a British show on this cable channel.'

'Is it a game show?'

'Yeah.'

'Why do they keep spelling out S-P-A-D-E? It obviously doesn't do anything.'

'They've gotten the name of the spell wrong.'

'Aren't they supposed to be getting rid of that dude who's holding the stick?'

'That's what they're trying to do but they're spelling out the wrong word.'

'Why don't they try something else? They're just... oh, are they dead now?'

'Yeah, they're dead now.'

'Is that the end of the show?'

'No, they'll get the next team started.'

Eduardo adopted a bemused expression and wandered off to the kitchenette.

*

A short time later, Eduardo and Kevin were facing each other across Eduardo's desk, arm-wrestling.

'Come on, man – you can do it,' Eduardo encouraged his nephew.

'I don't think so,' Kevin laughed. 'Maybe in a couple of years.'

'Ha, I wouldn't be so sure about that!' said Eduardo. 'I've always been really good at this.'

'That's because you have unnaturally large lower arms, like Popeye,' said Kevin.

'I do?' Eduardo asked worriedly.

He stared down at his right arm, dropping his guard for a moment. Kevin took the opportunity to push against Eduardo with all his strength. Eduardo's eyes widened in surprise as he found his arm hurtling towards the table; he quickly got his head back in the game and heaved Kevin's arm through one hundred and seventy degrees, down onto the other side of the table.

'You little shark!' Eduardo laughed. 'You almost had me there.'

'Next time I'll get you,' Kevin grinned, shaking out his right arm. 'I just need to think of a better distraction.'

'You hungry yet?' asked Eduardo. 'I could put the steak and kidney pie in the microwave if you want.'

'Sure, yeah,' said Kevin. 'I'll get started on my homework while you do that.'

Eduardo went into the kitchenette, found the steak and kidney pie, put it in the microwave and set the timer. After several seconds of uncertain searching, he managed to find two plates and two sets of cutlery. As he put the plates on the desk, he looked down at what Kevin was writing.

'What's that?' Eduardo asked with interest.

'My homework,' said Kevin, giving him a look.

'I know, man, but what's it about?' Eduardo pressed. 'It looks like you've drawn a picture of a demon.'

'I have,' said Kevin. 'That's Lamia. I'm writing this paper about her.'

'Is everyone writing a paper about a demon?'

'No, we got to do a project on whatever we wanted. I chose Lamia.'

'Ancient Greek and early Christian,' Eduardo read off Kevin's paper. 'Supposedly she was a beautiful queen of Libya who became a child-eating demon. Later Christian traditions created an entire class of demons from her called Lamiae. These seduce young men and feed on their blood. Since the early Nineteenth Century there has been an active Lamia cult in Glens Falls, New York State.'

'I'm gonna do a whole section on them,' Kevin said proudly.

'Yeah?' said Eduardo. 'This stuff interests you, then?'

'Sure, I love all that supernatural junk,' said Kevin. 'Didn't you know?'

'Yeah, I guess I did.'

'Do you think I could be a Ghostbuster someday, Uncle Eduardo?'

'Sure you could,' said Eduardo, ruffling his nephew's hair. 'If I can be one, anyone can.'

'You shouldn't say things like that,' said Kevin, returning to his work. 'You're not stupid, Uncle Eduardo.'

'Yeah, well...'

A tremendous explosion erupted from the kitchenette at that moment. Eduardo and Kevin ran to investigate.

'The steak and kidney pie!' Eduardo fretted.

'It's exploded all over the microwave!' Kevin marvelled.

'How the heck did that happen?' said Eduardo.

'Did you pierce the lid?' asked Kevin. 'You always have to pierce the lid with that microwavable stuff.'

'Aw, man,' Eduardo sighed. 'Why didn't I read the instructions?'

'Because you're stupid,' Kevin giggled.

'Hey, you just said I wasn't!' Eduardo laughed, giving Kevin a light punch on the arm.

'I'm sorry – of course you're not,' said Kevin. 'Everyone makes mistakes. Shall I order us a pizza while you clean up the mess?'

'Yeah,' said Eduardo, 'good idea, man.'

*

A few hours later, Eduardo was putting the finishing touches on the conversion of his sofa-bed as Kevin emerged from the bathroom.

'You're sure you don't mind top-and-tailing?' Eduardo asked. 'I know I've got a blow-up mattress somewhere...'

'I like top-and-tailing with you,' said Kevin. 'We used to do it at Grandpa's house... I mean Abuelo's house.'

'You don't have to call him that for me, Kev,' Eduardo said gently. 'You just say what comes naturally to you. And I can't believe you remember that – you can't have been more than three!'

'Sure I remember,' said Kevin. 'I remember everything.'

He gave Eduardo a wide-eyed look; Eduardo averted his gaze.

'I'm sorry,' said Kevin. 'You don't like to talk about it, do you?'

'No,' said Eduardo. 'But I'll talk to you about it if you really want.'

'Well, I don't really want to right now,' Kevin shrugged, climbing into bed. 'Maybe sometime, but not right now.'

Eduardo smiled at him and then went off to the bathroom.

*

A car horn sounded in the stillness of the night and Kevin's eyes snapped open. An expression of discomfort came to his face.

'Uncle Eduardo!' he whispered.

There was no reply. Kevin sat up and stared at Eduardo's motionless form.

'Uncle Eduardo, I don't feel so good,' he ventured. 'That pizza and blueberry pie isn't sitting well.'

Eduardo did not move. Kevin clutched his stomach and groaned for a few seconds before running to the bathroom. There came the sounds of vomiting followed by rushing water, before Kevin emerged with an expression of serene calm on his face. He walked back over to the bed, looked down at Eduardo's sleeping form and moistened his lips.

'No,' he muttered. 'No, not here...'

And with that he dashed across the room to the front door, unlocked it, threw it open and ran out into the night.

*

Eduardo woke with a start. He noticed that he was alone in the room.

'Kevin?' he called in a whisper. 'Kevin, where are you, man?'

He got out of bed and took a look in the bathroom. He then returned to the main living area and noticed that the front door was wide open.

'Aw, man,' he muttered. 'What the heck is going on?'

Acting on some indefinable instinct, Eduardo went to his closet and dug out the PKE meter that he always kept there. As he ran it over the sofa-bed, his eyes widened in surprise and alarm to see trace readings quickly register on the display. Sweeping the meter across the room, Eduardo found the strongest PKE signal coming from the dining table, where Kevin's homework was still spread out.

'Lamia,' Eduardo muttered, and ran from the apartment.

*

Kylie was roused from sleep by the sound of someone noisily entering the firehouse on the storey below. She jumped to her feet and went to the couch to wake Garrett.

'Garrett!' she hissed. 'I think there's someone downstairs.'

'Just five more minutes, Mom,' Garrett muttered, without opening his eyes.

'Okay, then I'll just have to do this myself,' Kylie muttered.

She went into the kitchen to retrieve a rolling pin before running downstairs to investigate. She found the main light on in the garage area; she also found Eduardo leaning over the reception desk and fishing the keys to the Ecto-1 out of a drawer.

'Eduardo,' said Kylie, lowering her rolling pin. 'What are you doing here?'

'I need to borrow the Ecto-1 and drive to Glens Falls,' Eduardo replied. 'Right now.'

'Any particular reason?' asked Kylie.

'Kevin's gone missing from my apartment.'

'What makes you think he's gone to Glens Falls, of all places?'

'Because he... look, I don't got time to stand here and explain it all to you,' said Eduardo. 'Just tell Egon I'm sorry for borrowing the car without asking, okay?'

'I'm not telling Egon anything,' said Kylie. 'I'm coming with you.'

Eduardo stopped his flurry of activity and gave Kylie a look.

'Why?' he asked.

'You can't do it by yourself.'

'Sure I can.'

'Well, I'm not going to let you do it by yourself,' Kylie insisted. 'Remember the first rule of ghostbusting? Never go solo.'

'Who says I'm ghostbusting?'

'You think Kevin has suddenly decided to run off to Glens Falls – I'd wager dollars to doughnuts that there's some kind of ghost involved!'

'Yeah, well, you're right,' Eduardo admitted. 'Unless I'm wrong about this whole thing. What are you doing?'

Kylie had grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil and was now writing something.

'I'm leaving a note for Garrett and the others,' she explained. 'They'll wonder what's going on if we just take the car and leave.'

'Maybe they'll think we've eloped,' Eduardo said glibly, and then instantly regretted it.

'You grab a couple of proton packs,' said Kylie, unable to conceal the small smile that was playing on her lips. 'I'll get a trap, and a couple of walkie-talkies in case we need to split up.'

Half a minute later, the Ecto-1 was loaded with the equipment Kylie had described and Eduardo was climbing into the driving seat.

'Are you sure you're okay to drive?' Kylie asked, as she got into the passenger seat beside him. 'You don't look like you've had much sleep.'

'I'll be fine,' said Eduardo. 'Maybe you can take a turn after an hour or something.'

'Okay,' said Kylie, 'let's go.'

*

A little later, the Ecto-1 was speeding along an unlit road in upstate New York with Eduardo still at the wheel.

'And that's the whole story,' he was saying to Kylie. 'I don't know if he's gone to Glens Falls at all... I don't even have any idea how he would've gotten there... but it's the only thing I can think of!'

'We'll have to come back home and call the police if we don't find him there,' said Kylie. 'I wonder what kind of connection this Lamia thing has to his homework.'

'The kind of connection that makes him run out into the night,' said Eduardo. 'That's all we really need to know for now.'

'I guess you're right,' said Kylie. 'Do you want me to drive for a while?'

'I'm good for now,' said Eduardo. 'I just want to get to Glens Falls and find my nephew.'

'Of course you do,' said Kylie, patting him on the knee with more than a little awkwardness. 'And I'm going to help you.'

'Thanks,' said Eduardo. 'It's been good to be able to tell someone all this. Man, I hope the mayor's zombie apocalypse doesn't happen while we're out here with the car and half the equipment.'

'I'm sure it won't,' said Kylie. 'Zombies are different from ghosts, anyways – this equipment probably wouldn't be much use against them.'

'Don't you think zombies are trappable, then?' asked Eduardo. 'I guess we haven't really tried so far.'

'It wouldn't surprise me if they weren't,' said Kylie. 'They're reanimated corpses of people from our world, not beings from another dimension. But I guess a proton stream might suck the demonic reanimation force out of them, and we could trap that.'

'I wouldn't expect to find a demon inside a zombie,' said Eduardo. 'Would you?'

'Oh, I don't know,' Kylie sighed. 'Why are we even talking about this?'

'Go on – tell me what you think,' said Eduardo. 'Talking with you is taking my mind off Kevin, plus it's stopping me from feeling sleepy. Tell me about zombies some more... please.'

'Well, I just think that zombies aren't the people they used to be when they were alive; not like ghosts are,' said Kylie. 'You said it yourself, Eduardo – the remains aren't the person, and I think that's still true if the brain gets reanimated by some supernatural force. But ghosts are the people they used to be, just without their bodies – it's the soul that's really the person... or the person's really the soul.'

'Some souls get corrupted by other forces before they become ghosts,' Eduardo pointed out, 'or they get bound to some place or object. Not all ghosts are simply the spirits of the dead on their own.'

'That's true,' said Kylie. 'But I still believe that all ghosts hold the true essence of the people they once were. That's why I became interested in ghosts in the first place, because I so desperately wanted to speak to my Grandma Rose again after she died... I still do.'

'I understand that,' Eduardo said, 'but are you sure you really want to see her as a ghost?'

'What do you mean?' asked Kylie. 'Why wouldn't I?'

'Well, I just mean that if she's a ghost, she won't have managed to... well, pass over or whatever you want to say,' Eduardo said carefully. 'Wouldn't you rather your Grandma Rose was at peace, not roaming the world of the living where she doesn't belong anymore?'

'What do you mean, doesn't belong anymore?'

'Well... I mean, she's dead, right?'

'Yeah.'

'How old was she when she died?'

'Eighty-nine.'

'Then she did okay, didn't she? I mean, it's right that she's moved on now, isn't it? Aw man, am I just coming over as really insensitive here?'

'No,' Kylie sighed. 'No, you're absolutely right. It's just that if Grandma Rose is at peace, and she isn't a ghost... well, then I won't ever get to see her and talk to her again, however long I'm a Ghostbuster!'

'Maybe you will someday,' said Eduardo. 'We don't know exactly how things work when people die but... well, we know it's not the end, don't we?'

'You're right again,' said Kylie. 'I'm just being selfish, I guess.'

'It's not selfish to love someone and miss them when they're gone,' said Eduardo. 'I've just always thought... well, personally I'd like to think that my dad is happy and peaceful in... y'know, Heaven or wherever, not stuck between worlds as a ghost. I mean, we have to wander the earth lost and confused our whole lives, so at least when we're dead we should get to lay back and chill for a change.'

'Hmm, I've never really thought about it like that before,' said Kylie, 'but you're right again, Eduardo. Do you think the ghosts we catch manage to find some kind of peace inside the containment universe? You've been there.'

'Oh, well...' Eduardo said uncertainly. 'I'm sure some of them do, yeah.'

There followed a few seconds of silence.

'You've never spoken to me about your dad before,' said Kylie at last. 'In fact I've never heard you speak to anyone about him... other than to say very matter-of-factly that he's dead.'

'Yeah, well... I just felt like mentioning him, that's all,' Eduardo shrugged. 'There's a first time for everything.'

'He was a cop, wasn't he?'

'Yeah. He was a lieutenant with the detective squad at the Sixteenth Precinct... in the end.'

'And he died in the line of duty?'

'Yeah. Do you mind if we stop talking now so I can concentrate on the road?'

'I really think you should let me drive for a while,' said Kylie. 'I'll bet you're getting tired by now.'

'So are you,' Eduardo pointed out.

'I'm perfectly fine to drive,' Kylie insisted. 'Come on, stop the car – we're swapping places right now.'

*

The Ecto-1 continued its long journey through the night, this time with Kylie at the wheel. In the passenger seat, Eduardo's head had flopped to one side and he was snoring softly. Kylie's eyes started to slide shut as well. She blinked fiercely and glared at the road ahead. Then her eyes closed again. She snapped them open. When they closed for a third time, a tremendous juddering, jarring thump suddenly rocked the entire car. Kylie's eyes snapped open and she slammed on the brakes.

'What the heck was that?' asked Eduardo, fully awake now.

'I don't know,' said Kylie. 'I think I hit something.'

'Aw, man,' said Eduardo. 'It wasn't a person, right?'

'I... I guess it could've been,' Kylie stammered. 'I didn't see. I think I fell asleep at the wheel. I'm sorry.'

'We'll have to get out and inspect the damage,' said Eduardo.

Slowly and nervously, they both got out of the vehicle. In the beam of the headlights, they saw a large stag lying on one side of the road, limp and motionless.

'Well,' said Kylie, 'at least it wasn't a person. Oh, but I killed a deer – that's terrible!'

'No you didn't,' said Eduardo. 'It's still alive – look, it's breathing.'

'Oh, the poor thing!' said Kylie. 'It must be in terrible agony that's beyond imagining. We'll have to put it out of its misery.'

'You mean kill it?' said Eduardo.

'We can't just leave it there.'

'But... but... how are we gonna do it? You can't just stamp on that thing and squash it – look at the size of it!'

'There's a toolkit in the back of the Ecto,' said Kylie. 'We'll have to plunge a screwdriver through its eye socket and up into its brain – it'll be quick and painless.'

Kylie went to the back of the car and retrieved the toolkit. By the light of the headlamps, she took out a long screwdriver and began to approach the floored animal. After only a few steps, she turned back.

'Eduardo, you do it,' she said. 'I can't do it.'

'Okay,' said Eduardo. 'Give me the screwdriver.'

Eduardo went up to the limp head of the wretched deer and loomed over it with the screwdriver. He stood there for several seconds.

'Can't you do it?' Kylie called to him.

'Sure I can do it,' said Eduardo. 'It's only a dumb deer.'

He knelt down on the road and held the screwdriver next to the stag's face. Then he let his hand drop.

'I can't do it,' he announced.

'I'll do it, then,' said Kylie. 'I should do it – I hit the poor thing. I just can't bear to see it lying there in agony any longer.'

'No, it's okay – I'll do it,' said Eduardo. 'Now, let's see here...'

He made a vague stabbing motion towards the creature's eye, but pulled his hand back when he saw the eye blink. Suddenly the stag raised its head, shook it, scrambled to its feet and ran off into the night.

'Hey, it was only stunned!' Eduardo exclaimed in relief.

'Thank goodness for that,' said Kylie. 'You really would have done it, Eduardo, wouldn't you? Even though you didn't want to kill it, you would've forced yourself to put it out of its misery.'

'Well I wouldn't have left it there in agony,' said Eduardo. 'That's just not in my nature.'

'I know,' said Kylie.

They stood there in the lamplight and smiled at each other for a few seconds.

'We have to carry on, Eduardo,' said Kylie.

'Huh?'

'To Glens Falls.'

'Oh, yeah. Y'know, Kylie, this is only a hunch I came up with on the spur of the moment... it's bound to be wrong!'

'Why is it bound to be wrong?'

'Because I'm always wrong!'

'No you're not,' Kylie said, calmly but firmly. 'I believe we're gonna find Kevin in Glens Falls, and so should you.'

'Belief might not be enough,' Eduardo sighed. 'Not on its own.'

'Maybe not,' said Kylie, 'but it's a good start.'

*

'You are now entering Glens Falls, NY,' Kylie read off the roadside sign as they drove past it. 'Please drive carefully.'

'What the heck is that?' said Eduardo, as the headlights of the Ecto-1 picked up the hulking shape of a large vehicle sitting at a strange angle on the side of the road. 'Looks like someone maybe didn't drive carefully enough.'

Eduardo stopped the car, jumped out and ran to investigate the wrecked vehicle. Kylie followed him at a more measured pace.

'It's probably got nothing to do with Kevin,' she said gently.

'Yeah, probably not,' said Eduardo, squinting into the darkness around the vehicle. 'Kevin! Kevin, are you here?'

The sound of a roaring engine suddenly came to their ears as two headlights emerged from the darkness on the road ahead. As Kylie and Eduardo watched, a pick-up truck came to a stop in the middle of the road and the driver jumped out.

'Kinda late for you young folks to be out and about, ain't it?' he acknowledged them.

'We're scientists, man,' said Eduardo. 'How about you?'

'I'm the owner of the local auto garage,' said the pick-up driver. 'I'm here on professional business – namely hauling in this here truck that crashed about a half-hour ago.'

'Was anyone injured?' asked Kylie.

'I believe so,' said the pick-up driver. 'They didn't tell me much about the accident, but it seems no other vehicles were involved. Driver must've been drunk or something.'

'Must've been,' said Kylie. 'Was there anyone in there with him?'

'Far as I can make out, the driver and a kid were taken to the local hospital,' said the mechanic.

'What kind of kid?' Eduardo asked urgently.

'I don't know,' said the mechanic. 'Like I said, they didn't tell me very much – nobody tells me very much. I'm only the pick-up truck driver and owner of the local auto garage.'

'Did they at least tell you if this kid was a boy or a girl?' asked Kylie.

'I think Sheriff Buttram said it was a boy,' said the pick-up driver, 'but I don't guess he looked all that closely.'

'Which way to the hospital?' Eduardo asked impatiently.

'Just drive on into town and you can't miss it,' said the pick-up driver. 'You know something about this kid, then?'

'He could be my nephew,' said Eduardo.

'Then again, he could not be,' said Kylie, flashing the mechanic a smile. 'Thanks for your help.'

Kylie and Eduardo jumped back into the Ecto-1 and sped off towards the centre of Glens Falls.

*

The Ecto-1 came to a halt outside a very large white building with a big red cross on the roof.

'This must be the place,' said Eduardo. 'Let's get in there and split up.'

'Why split up?' asked Kylie. 'You want to see if we can do more damage that way?'

'I want to see if we can find Kevin faster.'

'If he's even in there.'

'Yeah, if he's even in there.'

'We'd better take the walkie-talkies and sweep the place,' said Kylie. 'Do you want me to start at the top or the bottom?'

'Top,' said Eduardo.

*

Kylie ran along yet another white corridor and up to a reception desk. The receptionist looked up at her accusingly.

'What do you think you're doing, rushing about and disturbing all the patients like that?' she snarled. 'Don't you realise this is a hospital?'

'You got a kid named Kevin Rivera on this ward?' Kylie asked.

'I don't know,' the receptionist answered rudely. 'What does he look like?'

'He's like eleven or twelve years old, dark hair, darkish skin...'

'Oh, you mean the Mexican kid.'

'He's not Mexican actually.'

'Well whatever he is, he's in room four,' said the receptionist. 'Down the corridor, second on the right. Are you a relative?'

'Um... not really,' said Kylie, as she made a bolt for it. 'Thanks for your help.'

She rushed along the corridor and hurled herself through the door of room four, where she found Kevin being examined by a doctor.

'Oh, hello Kylie,' Kevin said flatly. 'Fancy seeing you here.'

'Eduardo, come in,' Kylie said into her walkie-talkie. 'I've got him. He's in room four, third floor.'

'I'll be right there,' Eduardo's voice crackled in reply.

'So Uncle Eduardo's here too,' Kevin remarked. 'How did you manage to find me?'

'Eduardo used his initiative,' said Kylie. 'But what are you doing here, Kevin?'

'Just getting checked over,' said Kevin. 'I was in a truck accident, you see.'

'Yes, I know you were,' said Kylie. 'But what were you doing in that truck in the first place?'

'Hitching from New York City to Glens Falls,' said Kevin. 'Why, what did you think I was doing?'

'Excuse me, miss, but did I gather that you are here with this young man's uncle?' asked the doctor.

'Yes,' said Kylie.

'Good,' said the doctor. 'We've been trying to track down his next of kin but he's been very unhelpful about the whole thing.'

At that moment, the door burst open and Eduardo entered the room. He ran straight to Kevin and hugged him.

'Hello, Uncle Eduardo,' said Kevin. 'How nice to see you.'

'It's good to see you too, man,' said Eduardo. 'But what the heck is going on?'

'I just had a small cut on my head, but the good doctor has cleaned and dressed it for me,' said Kevin. 'There's nothing to worry about.'

'Yes, but... but... but...' Eduardo stammered.

'If I could have a word with you outside, sir?' the doctor asked Eduardo. 'I'd like to discuss a few things about your nephew.'

'Um... yeah, okay,' said Eduardo. 'We'll be just outside the door, Kev, okay?'

'Fine,' Kevin smiled benignly. 'Go right ahead, Uncle Eduardo.'

The doctor led the way out of the ward, with Kylie and Eduardo trudging behind him and both looking very bewildered. Kevin smiled as he watched the door being pulled shut, before rubbing his stomach and moistening his lips. He looked across the ward to the only other occupied bed, where a blond boy of about his own age was sleeping soundly. Kevin slipped silently out of bed and walked towards him.

*

'I have some concerns about your nephew, Mr Rivera,' said the doctor.

'So do I,' said Eduardo. 'He's acting really odd!'

'Well, he's quite calm and perfectly lucid,' the doctor pointed out.

'I know, but he's still acting really odd!' Eduardo insisted. 'Did you run a blood test on him?'

'No,' said the doctor, 'we didn't see any need for that. He presented with a small laceration to his right temple, which we promptly irrigated and dressed. Frankly we were more concerned by the fact that he arrived with no footwear and wearing only men's pyjamas.'

'Men's pyjamas?' Kylie queried.

'Boxers and a T-shirt,' the doctor elaborated.

'That's because he ran out of the house in the middle of the night!' said Eduardo.

'And apparently he then hitched a lift here on that truck that crashed,' said Kylie. 'Can you tell us anything about the accident, doctor?'

'No, I'm afraid I can't,' said the doctor. 'Perhaps we should all have a word with the truck driver – maybe he can shed some light on this situation. He lost a lot of blood at the scene, but he's stable now and receiving a transfusion.'

'Where is he?' asked Eduardo.

'In room two, just across the corridor there,' said the doctor.

'Then let's get in there and talk to him!' said Eduardo.

*

The adolescent blond boy awoke with a start to see Kevin looming over him.

'Hey, man,' Kevin said in friendly tones. 'My name's Kevin; what's yours?'

'Ben,' replied the blond boy.

'I was in a truck crash,' Kevin ventured. 'What are you in for, Ben?'

'I'm here to have my tonsils out,' Ben replied.

'Tough break, dude,' said Kevin. 'I had that done about a year ago. It's really sore afterward but you get to eat all the ice-cream you want.'

'All the ice-cream I want?' Ben smiled. 'That's a lot of ice-cream!'

They both laughed.

'Say, Ben, do you mind if I stay and talk to you for a while?' asked Kevin. 'My uncle and his girlfriend have gone to talk to the doctor about me – they'll probably take forever!'

'Sure, that'd be great,' said Ben. 'What do you want to talk about?'

'Oh,' said Kevin, 'y'know, the usual stuff. Say, maybe we could have an arm-wrestle on your bed-tray-table thingy.'

'Sure, dude,' Ben grinned, proffering his right hand for Kevin to grasp, 'but I have to warn you, I'm the Glens Falls junior arm-wrestling champion. Once the adrenaline starts pumping through this arm, there's no stopping it!'

'Is that so?' said Kevin. 'I'm very glad to hear it.'

*

Eduardo, Kylie and the doctor entered room two and went to stand by the truck driver's bed. He was hooked up to several machines as well as a saline drip and a blood transfusion, and he had a large white bandage on the right side of his neck.

'You're the truck driver?' Eduardo said, sounding surprised.

'Yeah,' replied the patient.

'How old are you, man?' asked Eduardo.

'Eighteen,' said the truck driver, his face creasing into a frown. 'You got something against eighteen-year-old truck drivers, huh?'

'No, of course not,' Eduardo said awkwardly. 'It's just that when the doctor said we were going to see a truck driver, I couldn't help getting this image of... well, y'know.'

'No, I don't know!'

'Big guy, in his forties... lumberjack shirt... great big bushy beard.'

'You're a hater!' the truck driver spat at Eduardo.

'I'm a what?' Eduardo said in surprise.

'You want to live in a world of stereotypes and you totally freak out when you're confronted with a piece of reality that doesn't fit your narrow-minded parameters of what's normal!' the truck driver elaborated. 'You're just a hater... and obviously not a Christian either!'

'Look, this really isn't getting us anywhere,' said Kylie. 'What can you tell us about the kid who was in your truck when it crashed?'

'I picked him up on the freeway outside New York City,' said the truck driver. 'He told me he was running away from his abusive father.'

'Could that be true, Eduardo?' Kylie asked quietly.

'Well... I don't think so,' Eduardo said awkwardly. 'Carlos isn't my favourite person in the world, but calling him abusive might be going a bit too far.'

'I'm sure the kid was lying through his teeth – he's a complete psycho!' the truck driver announced. 'As soon as we arrived at the city limit of Glens Falls, he bit me!'

A stunned silence followed.

'Kevin bit you?' Kylie said at length.

'Yes, he darn well did!' the truck driver said indignantly. 'He just leant over and sank his teeth into my neck! There was blood everywhere! I almost passed out from the pain. That's why I crashed the truck.'

'Oh my gosh,' Eduardo muttered. 'Kevin...'

'We have to get back to him,' said Kylie, 'right now!'

She grabbed Eduardo by the wrist and dragged him across the corridor.

*

Eduardo and Kylie recoiled in horror at the sight that met their eyes when they entered the ward. Kevin was grasping the lower half of Ben's right arm in a vice-like grip, and his mouth was pressed to the inside of the wrist, just below the heel of the hand. Ben was wailing and thrashing as copious amounts of his blood poured out of his wrist and onto the tray-table, as well as into Kevin's mouth.

'Kevin!' Eduardo screamed.

Kevin looked up, blood dripping from his lips and glinting on his teeth.

'Junior arm-wrestling champion indeed!' Kevin laughed, spraying Ben's blood in all directions. 'I sure won this round, didn't I? What about you, Uncle Eduardo? Come for another arm-wrestle with me, have you? Want a rematch, do you? I'll beat you this time, Uncle Eduardo. I'll snap your arm in two!'

'Kevin...' Eduardo said helplessly, taking a tentative step towards his nephew.

'Keep away!' Kevin growled.

'But Kevin,' said Kylie, 'we need to find out –'

'No!' Kevin roared. 'Leave me alone!'

With that he leapt off Ben's bed, ran across the ward and jumped out of the first window he came to. Eduardo and Kylie ran to the window and looked down just in time to see Kevin running off into the night.

'The kid's a ninja!' said Kylie.

'He's got skills,' Eduardo conceded, 'but he's obviously not quite himself right now.'

They turned around to see the doctor holding Ben's right arm in the air and wrapping a pressure bandage around his wrist.

'What's going on?' Ben was wailing. 'Why did he bite me and drink my blood?'

'Kevin's been possessed by Lamia,' Eduardo deduced. 'She feeds on the blood of young men – first the truck driver, and now you, kid. I guess when she's strong enough, she'll move on to eating children.'

'Oh my gosh!' said Kylie in horrified tones.

'Are you Kevin's uncle and his uncle's girlfriend?' Ben asked.

'Oh, well... I... that is, we...' Eduardo stammered.

'I think Kevin might've been...' Kylie faltered. 'That is, he probably told you that because... um, well...'

'Don't you two want to get out there and chase after the kid now?' asked the doctor, not taking his eyes off his work.

'Cripes, yeah, we have to get after him!' Kylie realised. 'Come on, Eduardo – let's go!'

'Yeah – I guess Kevin found that better distraction he was looking for after all,' Eduardo said ruefully. 'If he's possessed then we should be able to follow his PKE trail. Let's get all the equipment from the Ecto and go save my nephew!'

*

Fully equipped for ghostbusting now, Kylie and Eduardo followed the PKE trail into a dark cave in the forest just outside Glens Falls. As their eyes adjusted to the darkness, they finally saw Lamia in all her glory. She was kneeling on the floor of the cave; Kevin was lying in front of her, his head and shoulders resting on her sloping lap. Eduardo and Kylie quickly noticed that Kevin had a large wound on his left shoulder which was bleeding freely, and Lamia was feeding on his blood.

'What do you think you're doing to my nephew, man!' Eduardo snarled.

'I'm doing what I always intended to do to him,' Lamia chuckled in reply. 'Everything we've done together has led us here, to this place and to this moment.'

'If all you wanted was to feed off Kevin,' Kylie said cautiously, 'why make him go through all that stuff and bring him here to do it?'

'I am at my strongest here, close to my devoted followers,' said Lamia. 'When this young man foolishly channelled me into your world by drawing a picture of me, I had no form – no substance. I could not touch him then. But Kevin is a fine, strong boy... he has gifted me much of his strength... and I can touch him now.'

'That was no gift – you took what you wanted!' said Kylie.

'Well,' Lamia chuckled, 'either way.'

'You're toast, lady!' Eduardo growled. 'Get her!'

Eduardo and Kylie readied their proton guns to fire, but Lamia hissed and dragged Kevin into an upright position in front of her. His head flopped from side to side and his eyes rolled wildly. The wound on his shoulder was still bleeding.

'Just put the kid down, man,' Eduardo said through his teeth.

'Never!' Lamia roared. 'If you want me, you'll have to go through him!'

'Kevin!' Kylie yelled. 'You have to fight her – you have to break free!'

'Kylie?' Kevin said weakly. 'Uncle Eduardo? I... I can't do it. She's too... too strong.'

'Yes, you can!' said Eduardo. 'You can do it, man! You're strong – she knows it, we know it and you know it! I know you can do this, Kevin... you've got to do this, Kevin... I love you, man, and I believe in you!'

'It's working!' Kylie hissed to Eduardo. 'Keep it up.'

'Don't listen to him, Kevin!' Lamia snarled, tightening her grip on her captive. 'You just stay right here with me.'

'I... I... I don't want to stay with you!' Kevin said, sounding a little stronger now. 'You're evil! I wish I'd done my paper about something else!'

'You little fool!' Lamia snarled. 'I'm going to drain you dry and there's nothing you can do about it! You think your life has worth? You think those two really care about you? You think your parents really care about you? You think I really care about you? You're sorely mistaken. There's a million of you, boy!'

Kevin turned uncertain eyes to Eduardo, who met his gaze steadily.

'Only one of you, Kevin,' he said. 'Only one of anybody.'

Kevin screamed shrilly as he mustered his remaining strength and wrenched his body away from Lamia. He hurled himself to the floor of the cave and lay there on his front.

'No!' Lamia screamed. 'You can't do this! I won't let you! Aargh!'

The demon writhed and screamed as the two proton streams made contact with her. Kylie and Eduardo found they had to adjust the positions of their feet constantly, fighting against the demon's strength.

'She's strong,' Eduardo remarked.

'She just ate,' Kylie pointed out.

'Throw the trap!' said Eduardo.

'You can't hold her by yourself!' said Kylie.

Suddenly Kylie felt the trap being unclipped from her back. A second later it was hurtling across the cave, coming to a stop directly underneath Lamia. Eduardo and Kylie cut off their proton streams, and the demon was sucked into the trap. They looked down to see Kevin propping himself up on one elbow, the control panel of the ghost trap in his free hand.

'Well done, Kevin,' said Kylie.

'No problem,' said Kevin. 'I have used one of these things before, remember.'

'Are you okay, man?' Eduardo asked anxiously.

Kevin shook his head. 'I feel kinda sick.'

With that, he moved himself over onto all fours and proceeded to throw up a large volume of thick red liquid onto the cave floor.

'Oh my gosh, is that blood?' Kylie asked in alarm.

'Yeah, but it's not his own,' Eduardo deduced. 'It's all the leftover blood from the truck driver and the blond kid that was sitting in his stomach.'

Kevin vomited up a final stream of blood and then dragged himself to his feet.

'Wow,' said Kylie, 'I really wish I hadn't stood here and watched that whole thing.'

Kevin staggered over to Eduardo, wiping his mouth on the bottom of his already blood-soaked T-shirt.

'I want to go home now, Uncle Eduardo,' he said.

'So do I,' Eduardo smiled at him. 'So that's just what we're gonna do, man.'

*

The sun was rising over New York City as the Ecto-1 entered the firehouse, with Eduardo at the wheel, Kylie in the passenger seat and Kevin asleep in the back. Eduardo was forced to stop the car with its back end sticking out of the garage doors because a coffin was standing on a makeshift altar where the Ecto-1 usually stood. As Eduardo and Kylie got out of the car to investigate, a zombie rose from the coffin and moaned hideously at them. Before they had come to terms with their surprise, Roland ran into the garage area with a large spade and began to hit the zombie repeatedly over the head with it.

'Get... back... in... there!' said Roland, bringing the spade down on the zombie's head as he pronounced each word. 'Come... on... you... stupid...'

'What's going on here, Roland?' asked Kylie.

'We had a little zombie apocalypse last night – nothing we couldn't handle,' Roland explained, finally driving the spade through the zombie's skull. 'The mayor was right after all.'

'Is it over now?' asked Eduardo.

'Yeah,' said Roland. 'This guy was the original zombie. We tracked him down and brought him back here, but we had to wait until he stopped playing dead before we killed him.'

'Why?' asked Kylie.

'Because if he wasn't actually getting up and moving about, the link between his brain and the other zombies was dormant,' Roland explained. 'But now that he's been neutralised, all the other zombies will be turning back to normal.'

'No more paid night shifts, then,' said Eduardo.

'Not if the mayor really believes in this rule of three stuff,' said Roland. 'How did your mission go? Did you find Kevin? Is he okay?'

'He's in the back of the car,' said Eduardo, 'and I think he'll be okay.'

'Why did you bring him here?' Roland asked. 'You could've gone to your apartment first and had Kylie come back here with the car.'

'He needs to get cleaned up and have something to eat,' said Eduardo, 'and there's nothing edible in my apartment right now.'

'I'll go to the kitchen and see what I can rustle up for him,' said Roland. 'I'll also turn on the immersion heater so he can take a bath.'

'Thanks, Roland,' said Eduardo.

'Eduardo, when are Carl and Beth due back?' asked Kylie.

'Early this afternoon,' said Eduardo. 'We got time for this.'

'That T-shirt he's wearing needs to go in the trash,' said Kylie. 'Give him one of my spare shirts to wear when he's gotten cleaned up – it'll only be very slightly too big for him. You can take one out of my locker.'

'Thanks,' said Eduardo. 'Um, Kylie...'

'It's okay,' Kylie said, smiling slightly. 'You don't have to.'

She reached up and touched his cheek. He smiled and started to move his face towards hers, but the sound of the back door of the Ecto-1 opening spoiled the moment.

'I need to see to Kevin,' said Eduardo.

'I know,' said Kylie. 'I'll take Lamia down to the containment unit.'

As Kylie retrieved the trap from the car, Kevin came up to Eduardo and hugged him. Eduardo patted him on his uninjured shoulder and hugged him back.

'Are you gonna tell Dad about all this?' Kevin asked quietly.

'Well, maybe not,' said Eduardo. 'I don't think he needs to know everything that happens between us. Are you gonna tell him?'

'I don't think so,' said Kevin. 'He wouldn't understand... any of it... on any level.'

'I don't know, man, maybe we should tell your parents,' Eduardo demurred. 'They're bound to ask about the dressings on your head and shoulder.'

'I'll tell them I fell off my skateboard,' said Kevin. 'Please, Uncle Eduardo, don't tell them – I don't want them to know.'

'Okay, man, if that's what you want,' Eduardo smiled at his nephew. 'Come on, let's get you cleaned up.'

As Eduardo led Kevin towards the staircase, Kylie emerged from the basement with the empty trap. She saw the retreating figures and smiled. Slimer floated up to her.

'Hi, Kylie,' he said. 'How was your trip?'

'It was interesting, Slimer,' Kylie replied. 'I can see things very clearly now.'

'You went to the optician?' Slimer asked innocently.

'Well,' Kylie laughed, 'I guess you could say that.'