Low voices stirred the darkness and made the clouds part. His shoulder throbbed in time with his heartbeat. Opening his eyes Eduardo saw an evil looking gun barrel pointing at his head. The man who held it looked strangely familiar, but before he could place the face it spoke. “ My orders are to get data, and kill. Where are the plans?”
* * * * *
A rough hand grabbing her arm dragged her from the sanctuary of the darkness. Pain and panic sang along her veins, making her sick with fear. “ Where are you taking me?” She was dragged forcefully through the large crowd towards the stake in the middle of them. People’s voices screamed abuse. The only death march she was going to get. Children hid behind their mothers skirts. People made the sign of evil as she passed. Instead of acting humiliated a part of her brain kicked in with anger and hurt demanding that she face her death. People gasped when she lifted her head upright and passed a gaze of cold green ice over the assembled people, silently wishing them all to hell. Rope bound her tightly to the pole, cutting off the circulation to her arms. “ Stand behind!” The executioner bellowed as he bent and placed the flaming torch to the tinder dry wood at her feet. Just before the wood caught alight he murmured “ Say hello to your dear daddy for me.” With that the man who, in 1998 was known as Peter Venkman ignited the flames of her death. As the heat began to rise and the flames curled at the bottom of her feet she heard a voice scream “ The curse of this town is exorcised on the 4th of July 1742.” Even though she knew that all the tears in the world couldn’t save her now Kylie cried for all that she would never see again.
* * * * *
The dissolving sensation began milliseconds before the two ghostbusters were forced to face their death. The spectators gasped as the blinding flash of light struck the events from destiny’s hand. The scream of triumph echoed through the ages, time stopped dead in it’s multi pathed tracks.
* * * * *
They both opened their eyes at the same time. Relief washed over them both. They were alive, the shoulder wounds were gone, and at least now they were together again. “ You okay Ky?” A gentle breeze stirred from nowhere ruffling their hair, making them look around. Pure instinct made Kylie grab onto Eduardo’s arm for safety. Purple and blue colours began to dance across the blank walls before they burst into rapidly changing images. Egon and Janine getting married,
* * * * *
” What plans?”
“ Don’t play dumb McTavish. It worked last time. I will not make the same mistake again. Now, where are the plans?”
” I don’t know what you are talking about.” A sneer settled on the enemy’s lips. “ Very well, you have sealed your own fate. See you in hell, hero.”
“Wait!” The man paused. “ Before you kill me tell me the date. God needs it when I check in at the pearly gates.”
“ I never deny a last request. 4th July 3042.” With that the man who, in the year 1998 had been known as Peter Venkman tightened his finger on the trigger.
"To die as one of your own kind, it’s to the stake with you.” The man was dressed in black, an executioners mask covered his face, yet somehow he seemed familiar. Her fogged brain refused to acknowledge the fact.
“ Fine now. You?”
“ Ditto. What’s happening?”
“ As far as I can tell it’s another time slip. Kind of. Maybe. I don’t really know.” Eduardo looked around him, nothing. Just blank empty walls, ceiling and floor. No signs of life, nada. “ Rivera look at me.” Her small hand grasped his chin forcing his brown eyes to meet her green ones. “ Are you sure your all right?” Real concern was written all over her face. “Yeah. Why?”
"You looked thoughtful, it scared me.”
Garrett walking,
Roland in hospital,
a grave stone,
the Ecto-1 a smashed wreck,
Kylie looking back from an open road,
Eduardo and Garrett fighting in a bar,
Roland with his arms wrapped around a young woman...
“ What you are seeing,” An unseen voice said, “ Are future echoes, things that may or may not happen depending on the choices you make in life.” A woman stood a little to their left. Silver hair fell down her back, wide eyes as black as night looked at them with pain and sorrow. “ My intention was to bring you here because I need your help. Smantcha, my daughter, has turned to the evil ones and stolen the vortex.” At their looks of frightened confusion she explained, “ The vortex is the engine that keeps time going. That determines the future. Without it everything stops.”
“Who are The Evil Ones.?”
“A woman called Chaosa and her followers. They plan to enter the mortal realm. They were sealed in a bubble but now they have the vortex they have been released from their prison.”
“There’s only one thing we can do,”
Kylie turned to look at Eduardo expectantly.
“ We’re going to have to steal it back.”