[012. AWKWARD...]

The day began with the Spinners sign still bearing the scars of Phoebe's recent blast.

Inside the diner, a large map of Summerville was unfurled across a booth table.

Trevor and Jules occupied one side of the booth, while Podcast, Lucky, and Phoebe sat on the other.

The other teenagers were scattered in the booth behind them.

Trevor broke the silence. "Okay, so, what exactly is happening with the map?"

Phoebe pointed at the concentric circles around the mountain. "See the circles around the mountain?"

Trevor squinted. "No."

Phoebe persisted. "Do you see the circles?"

Trevor nodded. "Yes."

Jules leaned in, pointing to the map. "Look, there's something happening inside that old mine."

Trevor shrugged. "Yeah. I know that. It's pretty obvious."

Jules rolled her eyes at Trevor's comment.

Podcast interjected, "Right. So I did some digging on the word you heard in the mountain—'Gozer.'"

Trevor looked surprised. "You did some digging?"

Podcast, annoyed, looked at Phoebe for support.

Phoebe explained, "Gozer was a Sumerian god who once walked amongst the living."

Podcast continued, "A soul-eating, flame-dripping deity of evil. And I think it wants back."

Lucky chimed in, "Here?"

Jules snapped, "No, in fucking Japan. What the fuck do you think?"

Trevor glanced between the two girls.

Phoebe, smiling at Jules since she didn't particularly like Lucky, asked, "What does the name Ivo Shandor mean to you guys?"

Jules answered, "Ivo Shandor? Dude, he built this whole town. He built the mine, the foundry, the school, the library. His name is on everything."

Trevor commented, "That's tacky."

Jules ignored him, focusing on Phoebe.

Phoebe continued, "In New York, he created an apartment building made out of selenium girders mined right here. On that same rooftop, our grandfather fought to keep a horde of ghosts from entering our dimension."

Trevor, confused, asked, "Phoebe, what exactly is happening here?"

Phoebe replied, "I can only think of one way for us to find out."

the group riding were now the creaky mine elevator down into the Shandor mine.

Phoebe and Jules sat close, with Phoebe resting her head on Jules' shoulder.

Over time, Phoebe had become like the sibling Jules had always wanted.

Phoebe was the sister Jules never had

Phoebe broke the tension with a joke. "So, what do a cigarette and hamster have in common?"

Lucky shook her head. "What?"

Phoebe grinned. "They're both completely harmless until you stick one in your mouth and light it on fire."

Podcast snorted with laughter.

Jules laughed and gave Phoebe a high five.

Trevor sighed, "Worst time."

As they neared the landing, they turned on their flashlights, revealing statues of Terror Dogs in Sentinel form.

Trevor pointed. "Hey, guys, look."

They saw a large statue of Gozer in its iconic form from the original movie. Below it was a statue of a horde of vaguely human spirits reaching up toward Gozer. When the elevator landed, Trevor and Lucky helped each other out, and Trevor shone his light on the Gozer statue.

Trevor asked, "Is that her? Is that Gozer?"

Phoebe and Jules responded in unison, "Gozer isn't he or she."

Phoebe turned to Jules. "You literally love you adopt me "

Jules gave Phoebe a side hug. "Thanks, Pheebs."

Lucky quipped, "Pretty woke for 3000 BC."

Trevor cautioned, "Everyone watch their steps."

Just as he spoke, Jules stumbled, and Trevor caught her.

"Gotcha, don't worry," Trevor said.

Jules muttered a thanks, then pushed Trevor's hands away.

Crossing her arms, she walked off.

leaving Trevor looking confused.

Trevor raised a leg onto the rim of something, and everyone looked down.

Phoebe asked, "Another hole?"

Trevor wondered, "I wonder where this one leads to."

Podcast suggested, "A sacrificial death pit."

Phoebe inquired, "What were they sacrificing?"

Lucky shrugged. "Virgins, probably. Tough luck for you, dude. Sorry."

Jules glared at Lucky and muttered, "You can't be talking."

Lucky gave Jules a glance and walked away.

Phoebe added, "Well, statistically, most 15-year-olds are virgins."

Trevor interrupted, "okay um "

Lucky asked, "Fifteen? You're 15?"

Trevor gestured. "I'll be 16 in February."

Lucky noted, "It's June."

Trevor pointed at the holes in the wall. "What are those?"

Lucky looked up. "Vacancies."

Phoebe noted, "If this is a tomb, where are all the bodies?"

Podcast pointed. "Found one."

They gathered around a glass tomb with a man in a purple suit inside. Lucky and Trevor approached.

Jules teased, "That quick? Proud of you."

Lucky asked, "Oh. What?"

Trevor exclaimed, "Oh my God. Is he sleeping?"

Lucky said, "Maybe."

Jules snapped, "You both are dumbasses. Look at him. He's in a coffin, for fuck's sake!"

Lucky said, "Jules—"

Jules interrupted, "You can't call me that, not anymore."

Lucky apologized, "Juliana, I'm sorry."

Jules retorted, "Fuck off, the both of you."

Jules then walked over to Phoebe and Podcast.

Phoebe climbed a wooden ladder and discovered numerical inscriptions. Podcast remarked, "It's Ivo Shandor. He's been in here for 75 years?"

A plaque read, "Ivo Shandor 1855-1945."

Lucky quipped, "He looks fantastic."

Podcast added, "You know, when you die, your fingernails actually keep growing."

Jules corrected, "Not true. Your skin just shrinks."

Phoebe said, "Something was coming, and he knew it."

They looked up at her as she examined the inscriptions: 1821. 1823. 1883. 1908...

Phoebe noted, "I think these are years. 1883."

Jules identified, "The Krakatoa eruption. The most violent volcanic activity in human history."

Phoebe continued, "1908. 1945."

Trevor asked, "What happened in 1908?"

Jules answered, "Probably the Tunguska blast over Siberia."

Lucky asked, "1945. What didn't happen?"

Phoebe concluded, "1984. Ghosts attacked New York City."

Podcast added, "The Manhattan Crossrip."

Phoebe pointed to the next years: 2021 and 2134. "It's a countdown."

Jules speculated, "Like a prophecy?"

Trevor looked at Jules in shock.

Jules remarked, "What are you looking at? Just because I'm beautiful doesn't mean I can't be smart. I'm a straight-A student."

A noise interrupted them.

Trevor asked, "Do you guys hear that?"

Phoebe shone her light. Lucky looked to her right. Phoebe descended the ladder.

Lucky confirmed, "Yeah, I do."

They shone their lights into the pit, spotting an orange glow.

Jules observed, "It's coming from the death pit."

Podcast whimpered, and Jules moved closer for comfort.

Phoebe leaned over the edge and saw a spectral mass rising up. The eyes of the Gozer statue had a faint orange glow.

Jules started to move closer.

Trevor held her back. "Jules, don't!"

Jules hesitated but stayed put.

The mass took shape, and a familiar powering-up sound filled the mine. Proton streams fired into the pit, crossing each other and causing the mine to rumble. The spirits in the pit reacted violently.

Trevor shouted, "Phoebe!"

Jules cried, "Pheebs!"

Phoebe screamed, "The earthquakes!"

Ivo Shandor's eyes snapped open, his head turning towards a terrified Podcast.

Podcast exclaimed, "Oh, my gosh!"

Lucky shouted, "Guys!"

Trevor reached for Phoebe as a figure began to materialize.

The figure called out, "Phoebe."

Trevor pulled Phoebe away from the edge.

The crossed proton streams forced the mass back down. A modified P.K.E. Meter turned off, and the proton cannons ceased firing. Shandor's head returned to its resting position. Phoebe and Trevor stood as Lucky and Jules ran over. Podcast pointed at Shandor.

Podcast said, "I think he's alive."

Jules asked, "You okay?"

Jules brushed the dirt off Trevor. "Yeah. Yeah. Are you?"

Jules stood silently in front of him, not answering.

Phoebe walked between them. "Pheebs, what's wrong?"

Phoebe glanced at one of the proton cannons. "He was right all along."