Ghostbusters The Return (21 page)

CHAPTER 19

Venkman hit Xanthador with everything he had. The blinding light of the ion stream instantly transformed the nighttime scene to a theater at high noon. He ran the searing beam up and down the demon's body, from head to tail and back again. Yet, when the smoke cleared, nothing had changed. The barrage hadn't bound Xanthador. It hadn't even singed his flesh.

Without warning, Xanthador's tail whipped out to wrap itself around Venkman's torso and snatch him off the ground. Venkman's arms were pinned to his sides as Xanthador hoisted him up to eye level, near the peak of the domed ceiling. Venkrnan writhed about. struggling to free himself, but to no avail.

Even with the situation as dire as it was, the irony wasn't lost on him. A Ghostbuster bound, dangling high above the ground, and unable to struggle free?

All Xanthador needed was an ecto-trap and a jurnpsliit to make the picture complete.

"FOOLISH MORTAL!"
Xanthador hissed, in a voice that made the very walls shake.
"YOU DARE TO MAKE YOUR FEEBLE ATTEMPTS AT MY TIME OF POWER? YOUR CHILDISH TOYS ARE AS NOTHING BEFORE THE SUPREME MIGHT OF THE OVERLORD OF DREAD!"

"Sorry," said Venkrnan. "My bad."

"YOU HAVE EARNED A SLOW AND PAINFUL DEATH. I SHALL SAVOR THE TASTE OF YOUR SCREAMS AS THE FEAR WELLS UP WITHIN YOU."

Venkman swallowed hard, but he forced himself to remain calm. The last thing he needed was to add to Xanthador's power. "Y'know, I never thought I'd say this, but I think you were a nicer guy when you were Goodraven."

Xanthador smiled, which only served to emphasize his lethal fangs all the more.
"GOODRAVEN WAS BUT A SHELL. A SHAM."

"Taking a walk on the wild side, huh? Seeing how the human half lives?"

"CERTAIN PREPARATIONS WERE NECESSARY, IN ORDER TO READY THIS WORLD FOR MY IMMINENT SOVEREIGNTY. AS I COMPLETED THOSE PREPARATI ONS UPON THIS PLANE, IT AMUSED ME TO TAKE THE FORM OF THE MORTAL WHO SOUGHT TO OPPOSE ME IN EONS PAST."

"And who kicked your extradimensional tail, the way I hear it."

Xanthador's smile was gone. His seven eyes narrowed.

The demon's tail shot out, thrusting Venkrnan headfirst toward a particular portion of the ceiling. It stopped without warning, his nose scant inches from impact. When Venkman dared to open his eyes, he found that his shadow blocked part of the display in front of him, but he could still make out the distinctive rings of Saturn.

"OBSERVE, MORTAL! THE TIME IS UPON US. IN MERE MINUTES, THESE WORLDS OF LIGHT AND IMAGE SHALL ATTAIN THE PROPHESIED ALIGNMENT."

Sure enough, Saturn was starting to expand now, as the computer-generated movie zoomed in on the planet. By craning his neck, Venkman could see the other planets moving into position as well.

"YOU ARE HONORED INDEED THIS DAY. YOU SHALL BE THE FIRST TO WITNESS THE ASCENDENCE OF XANTHADOR. YOU SHALL BE THE FIRST TO QUAKE WITH A TERROR THAT PIERCES THE VERY MARROW OF YOUR SOUL. AND THEN YOU SHALL RECEIVE ONE FINAL HONOR: YOU SHALL BE THE FIRST TO DIE!"

"Guys?" said Winston. "This isn't good."

The three Ghostbusters were jammed together now, back to back, as the surrounding hordes of the undead continued to close in. It didn't seem to matter how many of their attackers they blew apart - as long as there was an entire museum full of displays and artifacts lust waiting to be possessed, there was no end in sight.

Their only advantage was the fact that, as the circle around them tightened, the creatures were getting increasingly in each other's way. Fewer of them could attack simultaneously. But on the other hand, the close quarters were making it harder for the Ghostbusters to use their weapons without inadvertently blowing off parts of their own bodies in the process.

High above, Geezil clung to the wall with one hand, his claws sunk deep into the marble. His other hand held a sandwich that he munched on as he watched the spectacle unfold below him. "Go, go! Bite his head off!" Geezil cheered. "Ohhh! Don't worry - you didn't need that leg anyway'"

Down below, the Ghostbusters had long since realized that there was no time for strategy or domino effects anymore. All they could do was keep firing, and hope to avoid being overrun.

"How much longer are we going to have to keep this up?" asked Ray. "I'm getting a cramp."

"If you don't keep this up," Egon replied, "a cramp will be the least of your worries."

"Where's the cavalry when you need them?" said Winston.

"It'd settle for Pete beating Xanthador," said Ray.

The echoes could be felt throughout the city.

It was more than storm clouds and clammy air now. A psychic presence - a tangible emotion - was descending upon New York City and closing its grip.

It began with the animals. Dogs howled inconsolably. Flocks of birds took to the sky. Mounted policemen were thrown from their saddles as their horses reared up skittishly.

Then the ripples spread. Housewives found themselves speaking in hushed tones, without knowing why. Office workers sat frozen at their desks, unable to remember what they were about to do. Telephone lines were jammed and bars were flooded with mid-afternoon customers, as thousands sought solace in loved ones or liquor.

For reasons the inhabitants could neither understand nor explain, every living soul in the city of New York - whether rich or poor, young or old, male or female, black or white - was haunted by the same all-consuming, undeniable conviction:

Something bad is going to happen...

The creatures were swarming over them now. The ecto-traps were long since out of reach, although they still sprang to life occasionally when one of the animated exhibits stepped on the pedal by accident. The Ghostbusters still held their nutrona wands, but with so many adversaries at such close range, they could only use the wands against a small fraction of the creatures. At this point, the crush was so bad that they couldn't even see their own hands, let alone their feet.

"I have an idea," said Egon.

"Well, I'd say this is the time to use it," Ray said, an edge of desperation in his voice.

"Unfortunately, it requires having enough space to get my arms free."

Ray and Winston groaned.

It's funny what you think about at times like this,
Venkman thought. As he hung above the ground, watching the movement of the planets mark the countdown to Armageddon, he would have expected to see his life flash before his eyes. But it didn't. Instead, he found himself thinking about the future - a future that, in all likelihood, would never be.

It didn't look like he'd ever get to be mayor now.

He'd never get to show Oscar the dinosaurs, let alone watch the little guy grow up. He'd never get to repay the five dollars he owed Ray... but, then again, he hadn't really been planning to do that anyway.

Most of all, though, he thought about Dana.

And that thought filled him with determination. Dana was everything to him. There was no way he was going to let some backwater demon kill him before he got to see her again. Besides, he'd just told her he loved her on live television. He had no intention of dying before he heard her response.

Of course, all the determination in the world wasn't going to make any of this any easier. He was still dangling far too high in the air, and a quick attempt at moving his arms confirmed that he was still pinned tightly. Still, there had to be something...

That was when a series of explosions blew the emergency exit doors off their hinges.

Through the clearing smoke, Venkman could see a squad of men in dark clothes and flak jackets pour through the doors. With a precision that showed their extensive training, they fanned out around the theater, taking up their positions and leveling semiautomatic weapons at the towering demon. Even in the dim light of the theater, Venkman recognized one of them as the SWAT commander he'd met outside.

"Police! Freeze!" shouted the commander. "Put down the Ghostbuster, then lie on the floor, hands on top of your...er, head!"

"It's about time!" Venkman called down to him. "Where've you guys been?"

"You wanted twenty minutes, you got twenty minutes!" the commander called back.

"Seemed longer in here!" said Venkman.

"INSIGNIFICANT FLEAS!"
said the demon.
"YOUR INSOLENCE HAS SEALED YOUR DESTRUCTION! KNEEL BEFORE XANTHADOR AND YOUR END SHALL BE SWIFT!"

"Fire!" the commander ordered.

The rapid-fire muzzle flashes of semi-automatic weapons created a strobe effect, illuminating Xanthador from below as the bullets bounced harmlessly off his scaly hide.

The planets were getting closer.

Venkman wasn't surprised to see that the bullets had no effect. He was more surprised when, for a brief moment, it looked as though Xanthador wavered slightly and reduced in size by a hairsbreadth. The effect was so small that he dismissed it as a trick of the light, caused by either the projector or the muzzle flashes. And yet...

Encouraged, he struggled once again to free himself. As he expected, it was no use; Xanthador still held him too tightly. But something had changed. Maybe it was because the demon was distracted. Maybe it was simple overconfidence. Either way, a nearly imperceptible bit of slack had crept into Xanthador's tail. It wasn't enough for Venkman to wriggle free, but he could just barely move his right arm now.

The planets had nearly reached alignment.

Xanthador swatted at the rescue squad with one of his feet, effortlessly tearing up rows of seats in the process. Nevertheless, the police unit maintained the deadly barrage.

Gritting his teeth against the effort, Venkman thrust his hand down below the coils of Xanthador's tail. He flexed the muscles of his hand a few times to get the blood flowing again. Then, straining mightily, he reached down to where his nutrona wand dangled from the cable attached to his proton pack. It took several tries, but by the fourth attempt, the weapon was in his hand.

Despite Xanthador's preoccupation with the would-be saviors, one of his eyes spotted Venkman grabbing the nutrona wand.

"FOOLISH SPECK!"
Xanthador told him.
"HAVE YOU NOT YET LEARNED THAT YOUR PUNY WEAPONS ARE AS NOTHING AGAINST XANTHADOR?"

"Who said I'm shooting at
you?"
said Venkman.

A brilliant streak of light shot downward, as the ion stream tore through the projector below. It exploded in a deafening roar and a shower of sparks.

Instantly, the starscape around them vanished.

"NO!"
shrieked Xanthador.

Outside the museum, the crowd was getting restless. They had already been experiencing a nameless feeling of dread. And the sounds of gunfire and explosions coming from the museum weren't helping. Without knowing what was going on inside, all anyone could do was imagine the worst, fidget... and wait.

The longer things went on, the worse the tension became. So when the big explosion hit the planetarium, one of the firefighters turned to the rest of her crew. "We've got to get in there," she said.

They glanced at each other. Then, with a mutual nod, they grabbed their gear and ran toward the building.

Once they saw the firefighters on their way into the museum, it wasn't long before the remaining police officers headed in, too. A moment later, the EMS medics followed suit. Then, with no one manning the police barricades to stop them, the reporters and television crews were on their way.

That left only the crowd. The bystanders looked at each other, confused and not sure what to do next.

Xanthador was under siege. His foes were everywhere, battering him from all sides. Dozens of people were shooting him with bullets, spraying him with highpressure water hoses, and pelting him with rocks, bottles, and whatever debris was close at hand.

He was still far too strong for the attack to cause any physical damage. However, he was noticeably smaller now, stretching a mere twenty feet or so above the floor. And judging from the way the demon was writhing and screaming, there might not have been any physical damage, but the psychic pain was incredible.

Venkman was still imprisoned in the coils of Xanthador's tail. However, the look on his face was triumphant.

"That's the secret, isn't it?" he shouted at the demon. "The physical attacks can't hurt you. But you feed on fear. It's the special of the day at the Xanthador Grill. So if fear is the entree, then courage... 

"...Courage is like poison!"

Only fourteen feet tall now, the demon reeled back. His tail drooped and went slack, letting Venkman drop to the floor. The fall was short enough that, even with the after-effects of being constricted by Xanthador's tail, Venkman landed on his feet.

"You know your mistake, big guy?" Venkman told Xanthador. "Of all the places in all the world, you had to go pick New York City!"

"See, the thing is, you need fear to survive. You need us scared. And if there's one thing the past couple of years have taught us, it's this: When things get bad, I mean really bad, and all Hell's breaking loose, then New Yorkers don't get scared - they get
pissed!"

Venkman fired his nutrona wand, binding Xanthador in an ion stream of pure white light. The demon struggled against the luminous bonds. He gritted his rows of teeth, straining with the last of his strength. Slowly, the ion stream began to give...

The stream shattered, sending shards of light in all directions.

Xanthador rose to his full, fourteen-foot height. He thrust his arms upward and cried,
"TO ME, MY MINlONS!"

They seemed to come from everywhere. Spectres, phantoms, and ghouls of every shape and size poured in through the planetarium's walls, ceiling, and floor. The humans on the scene pulled back as the wraiths flocked around their master and faced Venkman with menace in their ethereal eyes.

"IT SHALL NOT BE XANTHADOR WHO PERISHES THIS DAY!"
Xanthador told Venkman.
"ALL MANKIND SHALL LEARN THE BOUNDLESS LIMITS OF MY WRATH!"

"YET, YOU SHALL NOT BEAR WITNESS TO MY TRIUMPH, MORTAL - FOR I SHALL ADORN MY CHARIOT WITH YOUR SMOLDERING BONES!"