Chapter 59: I Ain’t ‘Fraida No Ghost

You wake from a terrible nightmare where you killed thirteen people with a chainsaw, only to run out of gas and have one of the survivors attack you and kick you over and over.

Your eyes snap open as you feel a cold presence leave your body, and you see a green ghost rocket into the sky. Dazed, you sit up. You are still at the door of the Graves Mansion. Your clothes feel weird. You touch them and realize that you are covered in some kind of disgusting goo.

Melvin is here. “Hey, Player, are you okay? I think one of those ghosts knocked you out.”

“Yeah,” you say, looking at the green dot flying off to the city, “it gave me one crazy nightmare.” You stand up, and shake some of the goo off of our hands. “What is this stuff?”

“I think,” says Melvin, “you got slimed.”

Just then, you hear a car horn with a familiar musical theme. A weird gray ambulance with pink trim pulls up in front of the mansion. On the side is the Ghostbusters logo. The window rolls down, and there is Charlie Hustle. “Here you guys are,” he calls. “Jeez, this is the fourth haunted house I’ve been to trying to find you guys!”

“Charlie, what are you doing here?” asks Melvin.

“Haven’t you heard? Someone has unleashed hundreds of ghosts on the city! I figured if anyone could stop them, it would be you! So, I cashed in a favor with Vic Hickle, and he gave me this sweet ride.” The ambulance backfires loudly.

Melvin looks at it skeptically. “What do we need this for?”

“The ghosts are everywhere! Come on, get in! We need to go buy some gear!”

“But… we don’t have any money,” you say.

Charlie laughs, “It’s okay, I had $5,000 squirrelled away. That ought to be enough for some ghost traps. Get in!” He looks you up and down, “But first, clean yourself up, you’re a mess!” he throws you a towel.

You wipe off and get in, and the Ambulance backfires again as it races away from the Graves Mansion. “Wait!” you shout. “I left the key in the door!”

“You’ll have to worry about it later! Those ghosts seem to be moving toward one building, and they keep saying ‘Zoo.’ You think they want to go to the zoo?”

Your eighties memories are a little hazy, but one word rises up. “It’s not ‘Zoo,’” you say, “it’s ‘Zuul.’”

“What the heck is a Zuul?” asks Charlie, screeching around a corner, and slamming on the brakes in front of a weird little shop. “Actually, tell me later! We’re here!” You get out, and see various ghosts flying down the city streets, all heading north. Charlie lives up to his name, hustling you into the shop. “Come on,” he says, “we’ve gotta decide what ghost gear to buy.” The shop has all kids of weird things: Ghost traps, ghost bait, ghost vacuums, PK meters, proton packs, and even image intensifiers, whatever those are. You and Melvin stare blankly at all of it. “What should we get?”

“How would I know?” asks Charlie, climbing into a ghostbusting suit. He shoves a roll of bills into your hand. “But come on, start shopping!”

“Whoa!” says Melvin. “Proton packs! I’ve always wanted to be the beam in one of these!”

“Yeah, but which one are you going to be in?” you ask him. “Mine or Charlie’s?”

“I can be in both,” Melvin says proudly, but then looks concerned. “That is, as long as you don’t cross the streams!”

Charlie looks out the window, for in the distance hundreds of ghosts ominously circling a tall tower. “Let’s hurry… these ghosts are up to something… and we gotta stop ‘em!”

Place the Ghostbusters cartridge into your Atari 2600. Do your shopping, and when you are ready to head out, flip the left difficulty switch. Play until you collect $10,000 and defeat the marshmallow man by crossing the streams of your proton packs. Post a link to a video in the comments section of yourself completing the challenge.