killed in a train accident. My parents were engineers with over forty years of experience. I always went with them wherever they and their train Camel 785-a 2-6-0 Camelback-went. (Note from the author: Rail Wolf’s parents’ train Camel 785 is actually a model locomotive I have at home.) One day, everything was going fine. I was sitting on my father’s shoulder as my mother shovelled coal into the boiler. The entire thing lasted only seconds, but to me it seemed like forever. We were crossing a high trestle bridge when my mom noticed the piece of bent track. She screamed, which startled my dad enough that he jumped. His shoulder caught the throttle and shoved it to full power. Both my parents knew they could do nothing to save their train now. At full throttle, it would take at least ten miles to come to a complete stop. The train was only a single mile from its doom. The last thing I remember of them was my mother kissing me on the cheek, and my father giving me a motto I still live by to this day.’’

‘’Born on the rails, live on the rails, and die on the rails my son. The metal will always guide you home.’’

‘’Then I felt Camel 785 hit the bend. I felt like I was flying, and then I saw the river below coming up to meet me. I don’t know how, but I survived the crash. I found out later that my parents would have survived too had they not have been crushed by their own locomotive.’’ A small tear ran down Rail Wolf’s face. Seena snuggled close to him and answered softly, ‘’I’m sorry.’’

Rail Wolf smiled.

Back in Ecto, Brent tapped on the steering wheel impatiently. Behind him hadn’t gotten any better. Balto and Steele were still not talking to each other, and the silence was getting annoying. Brent was also bored senseless.

‘’Where is Rail Wolf,’’ he thought, ‘’it’s been thirty minutes. How long does it take for him to get some goddamned directions?’’

Finally, he saw Rail Wolf walking toward the car. Beside him, to Brent’s amazement, was a girl. Rail Wolf got into the passenger seat and Seena sat on the arm rest in the centre. Brent groaned and asked, ‘’did you get directions to a hotel?’’

Rail Wolf slapped his forehead.

‘’Doh!’’

‘’I thought so,’’ Brent remarked, ‘’so now what?’’

Seena turned her to Brent and replied, ‘’I know where there’s a nice hotel. I’ll direct you.’’

Brent smiled.

‘’Now that’s more like it!’’

The Golden Gate Hotel,

Fifteen years…err I mean minutes later,

Brent parked Ecto in the packed parking lot and got out. The hotel was over twenty stories tall, and had hundreds of rooms. He locked the door and started toward the hotel. Steele then retorted, ‘’If I have to share a room with any of you, I’m gonna go crazy! I’m sleep in the car.’’

Brent smiled.

‘’You do that, but don’t come crying to us when you’re cold.’’ He said sarcastically as he held the door for his friends. Inside, was the likes of a mansion. The walls were painted and enamelled with oak trimmings and gold fixtures. The check-in counters were solid marble, with gold trimming. Brent walked up and tapped on the small silver bell. A young retriever in a blue uniform walked up and replied, ‘’welcome to the Golden Gate Hotel. How may I help you?’’

‘’We’re looking for two double rooms,’’ Balto answered, ‘’two beds per room.’’

The husky typed on a computer that was set into the counter.

‘’That will be 556.00 please.’’ She replied. Brent reached into his pocket and grabbed his wallet, handing the husky his Visa® Gold Card. She scanned it and gave Brent two keys.

‘’Your rooms are on the 22nd floor, numbers 22001 and 22002. Enjoy your stay.’’

The four boarded the elevator and rode it to the 22nd floor. When they reached the hallway, they couldn’t believe their eyes. It was almost endless. The walls were white marble and the light fixtures were gold with silver highlights. Brent stopped in front of the two rooms and asked, ‘’who gets which room?’’

Rail Wolf grabbed the first key and answered, ‘’me and Seena get this room.’’ He then unlocked the door and locked it when both were inside. Brent and Balto chuckled. They were thinking the same thing. Brent unlocked Room 22002 and was stunned at when was inside. The two beds were covered in corduroy and linen sheets. The room was all-around luxurious for what the Ghostbusters were accustomed too. The view from the balcony was breathtaking. Brent could see the Golden Gate Bridge lit up by thousands of small bulbs. The river sparkled in the moonlight and there was even the occasional sound of a tugboat horn in the distance. Balto leaned on the balcony railing and replied, ‘’Jenna would love this view. Wish she was here.’’

Brent walked up beside Balto and nodded.

‘’Same here. This is like the night we shared on our honeymoon. What a night, I’ll never forget it.’’

Little did the two know that below a dark shadow stood by Ecto.

The next morning,

June 9th 1987, 9:27 AM,

Brent opened his eyes to the sunrise of a June morning. Yawning, he got out of his bed and walked to the balcony. The sun was halfway above the horizon, and the red-orange light was reflecting over the water in an almost surreal way.

‘’Wow, it’s so beautiful.’’ Brent heard Seena reply. He looked to his left and saw Seena clad in a blue robe.

‘’Good morning.’’ Brent called. Seena smiled and waved.

‘’Same to you.’’ She replied happily. Brent was about to started chatting, when he noticed something below.

‘’Hey, what’s that?’’ he questioned. Seena placed her paws on her temples and gasped.

‘’It’s a ghost!’’ she exclaimed. Brent looked down saw a dark shadow. And the problem was that the Ghostbusters’ photon pistols were in the back of Ecto. Brent slammed the balcony railing and growled.

‘’Damn, our photon pistols are in Ecto!’’

Seena put up her paw.

‘’Let me handle this.’’ She said and put pressure on her temples. Her fur started to stand up and wave in unison. Brent was shocked. Seena had psychic powers; who knew?

The ghost below was lifted up and brought into plain view. Brent blinked and replied, ‘’umm Seena, that’s no ghost. That’s Steele.’’

‘’Yeah, so put me down.’’ Steele grumbled. Seena smiled and replied, ‘’with pleasure.’’

Steele suddenly lost his levitating power and fell toward the ground. Brent leaned over the railing and saw a dumpster sliding toward where Steele would land. A few seconds later, there was a mighty crash and the sound of curse words from below. Brent chuckled and looked over the railing. The dumpster was empty. There was a small circular imprint in the trash.

‘’What the hell?’’ Brent thought.

‘’Good morning Brent,’’ Balto replied, startling Brent from his thought, ‘’you’re up early.’’

‘’Yeah,’’ Brent answered quickly, ‘’couldn’t sleep.’’

Balto blinked.

‘’You okay Brent?’’ he questioned. Brent nodded.

‘’Yeah,’’ he answered in an unsure tone. He then walked past Balto and into the bathroom. Balto looked at Seena, and Seena looked at Balto. They both shrugged and walked back into their rooms.

About thirty minutes later, the five dogs were off to Alcatraz. Brent was still confused about the dumpster. And what was worse was that Steele was gone.

‘’Probably went ahead to get all the credit.’’ Balto remarked gruffly. Brent parked close to the shore and got out. He squinted and saw the dark amorous of Alcatraz prison. Its distance alone seemed to taunt the Ghostbusters, but the prison itself was something entirely different. There had been numerous ghost sightings there, but none as violent as this one. Rail Wolf grabbed the gadgets and jumped into a small motor boat, followed by his friends. They left the dock and bounced across the water. They four had no idea what they were about to get themselves into once they made landfall.

Alcatraz Island, San Francisco,

10:31 AM,

Rail Wolf beached the motor boat softly onto the tan sand. Seena looked up at the dark empty prison, looming high in the air. A red cluster of clouds swirled around the roof. She shuttered.

‘’This place is giving off major yen,’’ she replied nervously, ‘’I haven’t felt like this since…’’

‘’Seena, look out!’’ Rail Wolf exclaimed and dove at Seena, knocking her out of the way. A large section of the prison imbedded into the sand where Seena once stood. Brent looked up and saw a figure standing on the roof. He flickered from view for a few seconds, and then it vanished. All three of the Ghostbusters grabbed their photon pistols and ran into Alcatraz’s main cell block.