Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #16 July 2015 | Page 23

Ghostbuster Detachment until some JAG pointed out
potential copyright issues if we ever went public.”

on TV. Probably saw some tabloid talking about vampires in Las Vegas and zombies in New Orleans, right?
And, when you did, you assumed it was all bullshit.
Something a bunch of half-bright, mouth-breathing
rednecks and basement dwellers believed in. Nothing
a well-educated, well-adjusted, upwardly mobile professional would even contemplate. Correct?”

Jessica laughed. “Seriously?”
“Yes, completely. Look, you have to keep a
sense of humour about what you’re doing or you’ll go
nuts.”

“I guess.”

“Does that happen often? Going nuts I mean,”
Jessica said.
The Colonel shrugged. “Once in a while we
have to transfer someone out for stress-related reasons; but our rates of PTSD are no higher than the
regular special forces community. Look, I’ve been attached to the unit for 8 years and there are days it still
doesn’t seem real. I’ve seen stuff that would convince
anyone. But, when I sit back and think, ‘Hey, I hunt
ghosts for a living,’ it seems ludicrous. All I can say is,
this is as real as real gets. Just be thank-ful you’re not
going out with a Victor team.”

“Before I joined Golf Hotel, I was the same
way. The evidence is right in front of us, but it’s too
crazy to believe. Until now.”
“Until now,” Jessica echoed.
The Colonel led her into a conference room.
He indicated a seat, which Jessica took, and turned
on a laptop connected to a projector. A Power Point
presentation titled ‘SPECTRAL KINETIC OPERATIONS 101 - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW.’ Jessica grinned. Some things never change, she thought.

“Victor team?”
“Yeah, vampire hunters. CEEs can get rough,
but we’re pretty well equipped to handle them. Vampires are another thing. They’re stronger and faster
than humans. Pure, no bullshit, killing machines. The
guys on Victor teams tend to burn out fast. Assuming
they survive long enough to burn out.”
Jessica suddenly was overcome with wanting
to pinch herself to make certain this wasn’t a really
weird dream.
“Are there any monsters that aren’t real?”
“We have a high degree of confidence that
Godzilla does not exist,” the Colonel said, perfectly
deadpan.
“Well, that’s good to know,” she said. “How is
it we never heard about this before?”
“If you think about it, we all have, right?
You’ve seen programs about sea s