217/Ghost Truckers on the Storm

Ghost Truckers on the Storm
Date of Scene:	30 April 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Jack Burton, Jillian Holtzmann, 159

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Jack Burton has posed:
NOW

A trailer truck races down the empty highway during a dark and cloudy night on the verge of a storm. Just enough moonlight is cast down to illuminate the cartoon pig painted on the side of the cab.

"Any mile marker now, I'm sure of it!" Jack Burton calls out on his CB radio.

His knuckles are white as bone as he tries to keep the truck straight over this span of poorly maintained asphalt, the vehicle pushing 80 MPH.

"It's just like ol' Jack told you back at the firehouse..."

NOT ALL THAT LONG AGO

A mulleted man in a tank top bursts into the Ghostbusters HQ.

"You gotta help me!" he cries, gasping for breath. "I'm a dead man otherwise. There's a real evil bastard out on the open road, gunning for any and all honest truckers lookin' to make an extra buck. And I /need/ to get this load of Coors down to the Enos brothers!"

He looks back and forth between those in residence at the station.

"So, you gonna help me, or what?"

Jillian Holtzmann has posed:
A dark and storm Saturday night at the Firehouse was either a really boring night, or a night of a lot of work and a lot of stress... Especially since there were only two Ghostbusters on duty in the New York area these days. (Not many good applicants had taken up the job postings online, mostly just teenagers or crazy people).

AS of right now, Jillian was in the back of the Ecto-1 loading it with equipment when the man came bursting in the front doors. She looked back out of the rear of the car, then cralwed out and folded her arms together atop the Ecto-1's rear door. She stared at him from behind her yellow-tinted glasses.

"There's. legit, a police station right on the other corner of this place." She told him, pointing a half-glove-covered hand toward the southeast. It was true too, there was a big Police station right outside of the Firehouse, meaning a cop presence was never that far away.

Peter Venkman (159) has posed:
"But if he goes to the police station that'd be bad for business."

Peter Venkman comes out of nowhere. He actually probably came from upstairs or something but it doesn't really matter too much. He's looking as almost bored but slightly hopeful there's money involved. He's not even smoking right now. Well, not yet.

"I'm gonna' need two things from you if we're going to continue this conversation. The first being a method of payment. The second being that there's a ghost involved in this madness that's spewing out of your mouth." Peter doesn't mean to be insult-- okay, yes. Yes, he does mean to be insulting. But that's why Janine usually handles the potentially paying customers.

Jack Burton has posed:
NOW

The truck continues screaming along the highway, its movement punctuated by the irregular *KA-CHONK-CHONK* sounds of the cab and trailer hitting numerous pothole and asphalt cracks.

"Y'see, the dang thing only comes out every ten years. Around the night of the accident," Jack says over the CB.

"The one that killed 'er," he continues. "About five miles west of here. Soon to be four."

AGAIN, NOT THAT LONG AGO

Inside the station, the mulleted trucker gives a quizzical look to the woman. "Lady, have you even been listenin'?" He stops for a second. "Oh, wait. I didn't say that part. Okay, my bad. Look..." Jack sighs. "This evil bastard I'm talkin' about /is/ a ghost. A flippin' ghost trucker leadin' a convoy from Hell itself." He glances between the two. "Sorry. Figured that part would be obvious, comin' in here and all."

Jack raises his hands out in a gesture of reception, a wad of cash in one hand. "So...yeah? Help a red-blooded American entrepreneur out with the occult problems troublin' his life?"

BACK TO NOW

As Jack's truck continues toward its destination, a thin green mist begins to form not far behind his vehicle. It begins to take shape, like an entity emerging from some dark shadow--forming a spectral cargo truck floating smoothly over the uneven road beneath it.

Jillian Holtzmann has posed:
Thunder rolls outside the Firehouse, its muffled inside the brick and stone walls, but it can still be heard.

From Holtz's waist, she produced a PKE Meter and lifts it up over the door of the Ecto-1 holding it out toward the man that was holding the wad of cash. She aimed it at him and flipped it on.... It blinked... blinked.... but stayed mostly dormant.

"I think he's real." She said in a dry and uninterested tone. "That money looks real too." She added, glancing then to Peter. "Unlike that last client you brought in, with the bills that had Wayne Gretzky's picture on them." She shook her head and turned the PKE meter off, then stowed it again.

"Canadian money... Its so adorable."

Peter Venkman (159) has posed:
"Uh-huh. Right. Yeah. Whatever." That's Peter Venkman's most intelligent response as he's too busy staring at the wad of cash until the moment where he's finally decided to snatch it. "Holtzmann..." Venkman is already headed towards the place where he stashes all the cash money (his pocket) and makes sure to say something to the effect of: "Load us up. We got one." Yeah, even Peter is a fan of Janine's signature phrase.

Cue the Suit Up Montage.

Jack Burton has posed:
NOW

"It was a night just like tonight. Some o' my best pals--those who were nearby, or who heard it from those who were--say it was the worst accident they ever saw," Jack says over his CB. "A twisted, burning wreck, as I heard it."

He pauses for a moment, sighing. "Driver died, of course. But she was pissed that she never completed her run. So now she makes sure nobody else does, either."

"She's the ghost that makes even the most seasoned trucker pale and change his drawers at the next stop down the road." Jack glances in his side mirror, spying the translucent green ghost vehicle floating behind him. It picks up pace, and the biting wind outside--or, at least, what's hopefully just the wind--begins to howl.

"She's Large Marge, and she's on my tail! Where are you guys, anyway?!"

Jillian Holtzmann has posed:
The Ecto-1's roof lights were blurry in the rain and the fog, but the vehicle was pressing forward with its headlights guiding it onward. The familar sound of the blarring siren from the classic Caddie echoed off of the walls of the buildings around it as it went at high speed through the mostly empty streets!

Holtzmann was behind the driver's wheel, her fingerless stretched against her hands as she clutched the wheel and looked out through the windshield.

"Well, this should be a night to remember." She said, glancing over to Peter. "Want to use the Roof Capture Beam?" She asked him, motioning toward the 'turret' controls that they'd installed not that long ago. "The traps are primed up ontop too, I made sure they were charged and all set."

She reached down to the dashboard to turn the volume up on the Adele song she had playing loudly.

Jack Burton has posed:
The ectoplasmic truck floats forward, picking up considerable speed until it's beside Jack's own Porkchop Express.

The harried trucker looks out the window at the ghost of an overset woman whose face quickly stretches in horrific dimensions: eyes grow large, mouth opens several feet, a long slobbering tongue stretches out, and hair stands wildly on end.

"Great googily moogily!" Jack shouts in surprise, his CB thrown up into the air so that he can turn his steering wheel and avoid the spectre. As a result, his truck veers off onto the shoulder of the highway, a thick cloud of gravelly dust kicking up behind the vehicle while he attempts to get things back under control.

Unfortunately for him, the ghost truck matches his speed, the ghoulish driver cackling in a high-pitched voice. Large Marge slides her truck toward Jack's.

Jack shuts his eyes tight. "Sweet Mary..." he whispers.

The two trucks share the same space for a moment before swapping their original lane positions.

The Porkchop Express--and Jack, by extension, as its occupant--are absolutely coated in a thin layer of slime.

"Aw, now that just /cuts/ it," Jack mutters to himself, fumbling for the CB mic. "Hey there, good buddies...I'd love not to have this goop all over me," he says into it.

Jillian Holtzmann has posed:
Peter got into position in the back of the car after a considerable amount of complaining and moaning... but he got himself setup on the turret controls and ontop of the Ecto-1 two Proton Throwers swivelled and ame to life in the dark fog and rain!

Moments later, with the Caddie barreling alongside the Truckers, two Capture Beams of brilliant reds / oranges/ and blues ignited and illuminted the darkness!

The Capture Beams shot right past the front of Jack's windows, chasing after the Ghost Truck of Large Marge that was ahead of him!

All the while, inside the Ecto-1, Holtzmann was singing about setting Fire to the Rain while driving and letting Peter do all the Gunnery work!

Jack Burton has posed:
As soon as the world outside seems to suddenly explode into bright colors of red and blue, Jack once again cranks his steering wheel away from the threat. His tires screech as the truck bounces over into the opposing lanes for a moment before Jack can correct his path.

Large Marge shrieks and writhes about in her truck, which begins to take the form not of a floating spectral truck but of a floating spectral wreck, a twisted mess of translucent steel and chrome driven by a mangled figure hanging halfway out of the windshield.

Jillian Holtzmann has posed:
With CB mic in her hand now, Jillian keyed it on and she spoke over it, the music loud behind her voice. "Good buddy, this is Ecto-1 outta Neeeeeew YORK CITY!" She said into the mic for Jack to hear. "We're on the case. You just keep your Coors chilled and your fine butt nice and relaxed: Over!" She set the mic down and started singing to the music again.

"I can't concentrate with that NOISE blarring!" Peter wailed as he was firing the Proton Beams from the top fo the car! He switched Settings on the blaster cannons and then started to charge up a powerful BURST of energy!

A brillian ball of gold and white sizzled through the rain and SLAMMED into the side of Large Marge's truck!

"That lit her up!" Holtz shouted back to her co-worker and employer. "I'll pull around to the other side, we can try to get the Trap aimed at her!"

The Ecto-1 had gone through a lot of retrofitting over the years and it was in better shape than it ever had been, so it zipped across lanes on the highway and tailed the two Trucks, trying to pull up closer on Marge's...

Peter unleashed another massive Proton Bomb onto the truck!

"Best job, ever." Jillian comment, with a hearty laugh.

Jack Burton has posed:
The slime-doused trucker wipes a thick glob of ectoplasm off his face, tossing it to the floor of his cab with a wet *splorch* sound.

Listening to Jillian, Jack nods and smacks the edge of his steering wheel. "Alright, alright!" he says, allowing himself a laugh. "You blow that hellish transmission! Show 'er who's boss."

Jack shifts gears and tries to pull ahead of Marge's ghost truck. "Don't let her boggie, now! We only got a few more miles before she'll peel out back to the netherworld or wherever those damn ghosts go between hauntings."

Jack leans over and pops open a can of Coors, staring at its slimy rim before taking a swig. "What's this world even comin' to?" he asks himself.

Jillian Holtzmann has posed:
Ghostbusters technology, under Egon Spangler alone, for 19 years remained very similar to the style and make that it had been when it had first been created... though he had refined it a great deal, even made some of it considerably lighter to wear.

But it was Jillian Holtzman, in the past year, that had taken daring steps toward new innovations that had both made Egon have a deapan stare of disapproval, and a deadpan stare of being impressed. (Egon has a wide variety of deadpan stares).

Jack's voice reverberated through the cabin of the Ecto-1 as Holtazmann pulled up along side him. Large Marge's Truck was making a run for it, just like Jack had said she would... Holtzmann floored the pedal and Peter LATCHED onto the Ghost Truck with the duel Capture Beams again! The orange / blue/ red beams waving around it and keeping it centered in front of them.

"Here we go!" Jillian shouted, then slammed a lever forward over her head!

Ontop of the Ecto-1 a pair of black metal arms shot up into the rainy-air and then the covers of a giant ghost trap shot open! It was like the gates of Heaven Openeed Up on the top of the Ghostbusters car. A shining beam of white light shot forward at the back of Large Marge's Truck, which was now being pulled BACKWARd toward Jack and the Ghostbusters' car!

Jack Burton has posed:
"Whoooaaaaaa......!" Jack says breathlessly, trying to keep his eyes on the entrapment happening behind his truck.

His attention not on the road in front of him, the Porkchop Express begins obliquely drifting into a lane that, not far ahead, has been partitioned off for construction.

THUNK THUNK THUNK resound the traffic cones slamming against the truck's front bumper, where they stick, dragged against the highway.

"Aw, crap!" Jack shouts, nearly jack-knifing his rig in an effort to both avoid the construction and the light show taking place around Large Marge's ghost vehicle.

"We got one more mile of wiggle room left!" Jack shouts into the CB. "Don't make me demand a refund! I paid my dues!"

Jillian Holtzmann has posed:
Venkman was mutter something about puss-buckets while staring through the rain-slicked turret bubble on the top of the car, but he was keeping the beams going and keeping Large Marge's Truck inside the Trap's Field.

Jillian could hear Jack's voice over the radio and she looked over at him to see his Truck plowing into those traffic cones. She reached her right hand up and waved at him from inside the Ecto-1. "Watch this!" She shouted, knowing he couldn't hear her though (most likely).

Her right hand then went up to the control-board again and she flipped two more switches.

Up ontop of the Trap Arms, two more proton beams came to life, but these were slightly different. They weren't red/orange, they were a deep bright emerald green! They FIRED out at the Ghost Truck, latched onto it and then started to -pulsate- large sphere's of energy sliding down the green energy streams, slamming into Marge's Truck!

That same Evil Dead Truck Driver's Huanted Hauler was suddenly MUCH waker and it flew back into the roof of the Ecto-1 and was gobbled up by the trap on said roof!

Jillian hoilared triumphant! Peter sighed in relief and the trap ontop the car laid back down, with a jet of white smoke pouring out of it and behind the Ecto-1 as though it has just eaten a huge meal, and was belching out smoke all happily content.

Jack Burton has posed:
The sudden ambient vacuum caused by Marge's truck being gone--along with Jack's attempt to correct the wayward path casued by his inattention--seems to the trucker like being cast into darkness.

"Hot /damn/ that's incredible!" Jack says as he rubs his eye. "Better than the Pink Floyd laser light show a former Mrs. Burton once dragged me to, that's for sure."

As he straightens out his truck, Jack lets his truck's horn HONK HOOONNNNKKKKKK in celebration, and he slows down to let the Ecto-1 catch up to him.

Holding a can of beer out of the window, Jack shouts: "Hey! This Bud's on me! I mean, it's a Coors, but--it's--look, just take the damn beer!" And then he tosses it toward the Ghostbusters.

Jillian Holtzmann has posed:
Holtzmann looked over toward the Porkchop Express when she heard the horn slammed on and it made her grin all big and proudly. "Thats right." She muttered, but when she saw Jack hang out the window and hold up a beer she rolled her window down and CAUGHT it as he tossed it at them. "Worth every penny!" She shouted back at him then.

Holtzmann brought the beer into the cab of the Ecto-1 then, while glancing between it and the road. "Eh... for later." She said then and sat it down in the cup holder that wasn't occupied with empty Unicorn Frappucino cups.

Venkman was crawling over the seats back into the front passenger's side. "I'm too old for this." He grumbled to Jillian while sorting himself out in the front seat. "Is it time to go home yet?"