Ghostbusters West Coast: Committed

The echoing of foot steps filled the cavernous halls of the Burbank insane asylum . The mad screams of the committed residents did little to unnerve Dr. Scott Jarvis as he made his way to the family of one of his patients . Even though they were dressed in the best fashion the could afford, their image of being financially fortunate was offset by there somber expressions and surroundings.

Mr and Mrs . Oliver, along with their daughter, got up from their seats as Dr Jarvis approached . Mr. Oliver was the first to greet him " Dr. Jarvis "

" Mr. and Mrs. Oliver " He replied with a hand shake ." Thank you both for coming " . He then looked at their thirteen year old daughter ." Oh, and I'm glad to see that you could make it as well, Missy . Your brother has been asking about you and seems to do better when you visit . "

Missy's face brightened a bit at the statement .

Mrs. Oliver then spoke up " Doctor, can you please tell us about our son? "

" Oh yes , well, follow me . " Dr. Jarvis then led them down the hall to their son's room " Well your son Kevin hasn't shown any real sign of improvement, but we still have several more treatments. "

" Nothing at all ? , He hasn't shown any ? Not even after the electric shock therapy ? " Stated Mrs. Oliver as she put her hands on her face .

" I'm afraid not . " Dr. Jarvis then shuffled through his notes " He is still claiming that a three-eyed, hairless red cat is speaking to him . He is still saying that it comes hovering in through the wall. "

Mr. Oliver just sadly shook his head

" We have been giving him some medication to calm his paranoia and to prevent any violent outbursts."

Mrs. Oliver tried to keep from crying . " My poor baby is losing his mind and I can't help him ! "

" Your son will get better. This is one of the best hospitals is the state. " Dr. Jarvis said reassuringly .

" Dr. Jarvis ? " inquired Missy . " What if he really is seeing something ? . Something that is hiding itself from all of us , something paranormal ? . Maybe we should call the Ghostbusters "

Dr. Jarvis dismissed the statement with a chuckle. " The Ghostbusters ?, They're nothing but a bunch of fakes and charlatans "

" But what if the Ghostbusters could help ...... "

"Missy hush now ! " Said Mrs. Oliver cutting her off with a stern tone.

" It's quite all right. Most children her age still believe and live in the world of fiction and fantasy , not yet ready to accept the facts of reality. " stated the doctor as he rubbed her hair .

" Is he still having the visions ? " inquired Mr. Oliver as he came to the door of the room .

" Sadly, your son is still claiming an imaginary creature is speaking to him , but I'm certain that problem will go away if we continue with the electric therapy. " Dr. Jarvis then led them into the room with their son .

Kevin lay in his cot . His focus shifted from the drab walls to his visitors .

" Oh, Kevin ! " cried Mrs. Oliver as she rushed to her son arms out .

Kevin managed to sit up best he could to return the hug .

" Hello, Kevin. I see this is one of your better days, " said Dr. Jarvis as his scribbled down some notes.

" Yeah so far so good " croaked Kevin as he laid back in his cot, glancing at his family with a smile . He had been there so long and been through so much he was happy for the visit .

Smiling, Mrs Oliver rubbed her son's head as Dr. Jarvis continued to as questions . " So and how are the new medications doing ? "

" Whatever it is I think it's working , I'm feeling a lot calmer . "

Mr. Oliver, who at this point had moved to the side of his son adjacent from Mrs. Oliver, gave a hint of a smile as he patted his son's shoulder .

Missy wasn't sure and hesitated just a bit before she approached . She then started seeing the intense expression that came over her brother .

Suddenly Kevin's eyes went wide " No ... no ... NO ... GO A WAY !!! " he then lunged in the direction of his sister , " Leave me alone! "

Mrs. Oliver leapt back out of the way as her husband and Dr. Jarvis rushed in, wrestling Kevin back to his bed . The tears that she held back came rushing out " My poor little Kevin , what's happening to you? " The intensify of the sight was too much for her and she found herself having to look a way .

Kevin continued to thrash about as his father tried to reach him " Kevin ... Kevin ....come on, Son, you have to calm down. " He then gave a quick glance at Missy who was still up against the wall in shock " Come on Son, that's your sister . You know her. "

" Let me go .. let me go " yelled Kevin as he tried to get back up " It's here it's in the room " His attention affixed to one corner of the room .

"Come down Kevin...You have to remember that is all in your head , " stated Dr. Jarvis, managing to get one of the straps on the bed to restrain Kevin. He then puled a hypodermic out " I'm going to give you something that will help you relax. "

At this point Missy was slowly making her way to the door of the room wishing she could do more for her brother . " If only the G... " she stopped, hearing some commotion from out side the room .

The door was then suddenly kicked open as three men in blue and orange jump suits rushed in. The voice of the nurse echoed in the hall " I said you're not allowed in here!!! " .

Each man was brandishing an odd piece of technology that was attached to a even odder blinking pack .

The tallest man with the beard and a name tag that said Stevens , was the first to speak " OK, Andy you sure this is the room with the strongest readings ? ? "

The man wearing the Notre Dame hat who's tag said Harness, was the next to say some thing . " Yeah this room is smoking with PKE . " He then turned to the third man who was just a bit shorter and had a widows peak with Hicks on his name tag . " Hey, Jeremy, slap on a pair of ecto goggles and see if anything's here ."

Jeremy smiled as he snapped the goggles over his face and started toward the room ,

" WHAT is the meaning of this ? " inquired Dr. Jarvis , obvious disapproval in his voice . He went up to the one with the Stevens tag on his chest '" Just who do you think you are ? "

The man straightened up " I'm Dr. Kyle Stevens and these are my assistants, Dr. Andy Harness and Jeremy Hicks , and we are the ..... "

" ...The Ghostbusters! " yelled Missy with joy causing the attention to fall on her for just a bit .

Dr. Jarvis turned back to Kyle " This is a place a healing--You charlatans weren't summoned so you have no place here !!!"

" We were contracted by a Miss Missy Oliver " said Kyle firmly, not backing down to Dr. Jarvis's verbal assault. " She stated her concern for her brother and I would consider it very unprofessional if we didn't investigate. "

" Look over there " interrupted Jeremy as he pointed to an empty corner.

In the blink of a eye Andy spun around firing a beam from his proton pack . Its intense glow illuminating the drab room with it's colors .

One would expect the beam to blow a crater in the wall but instead it coiled around some unseen thing . A loud screech rang out as a red cat-like creature faded in and out . It screamed in pain as it struggled to break free .

" That 's it! You've got it ! " shouted Kyle as he pushed Dr Jarvis aside and fired his own beam " Jeremy get the trap."

Almost before he said it, Jeremy had the trap in place under the creature, which was now in full view " OK...in one ...... two ......"

" THREE!!!!! " they all yelled in unison . Kyle and Andy stopped firing as Jeremy stomped on the trap pedal , a white inverted come shot up sucking the creature down . It's horrid screeching silenced by the shutting of the trap's door .

Jeremy held up the trap examining the lights " Alright I think we got it , Andy ? "

Andy gave one last good scan of the room with his PKE meter " Yep , I'm not getting anything here so I'll say a job well done! "

Kyle gave one last look at Dr. Jarvis--who's mouth was hanging open at this point--before addressing everyone else in the room " Thank you for calling the Ghostbusters West Coast, and sorry if we were any inconvenience. We realize you have a choice and we thank you for calling us . "

Andy then handed a bill over to Dr. Jarvis and then all three men were out of the room as quick as they came .

Missy rushed over past her stunned parents to Kevin and gave him a hug. A single tear ran down his cheek as he smiled and returned the hug .

The End

COMMITTED