Mystery Hunters: A Gravity Falls Fanfiction
By Mikey Ryan Grace II
Season 1 Episodes:
1: Welcome to Thurston County!
2: The Puget Sound Lochness Monster
3: The Mystery Hunters Begin
4: Carlos de Pollo: Psychotic Psychic
5: Convenient Store Noir
6: Ultimate Mantesting
7: Homecoming
8: Founding Bothers
9: Whack to the Future
10: It's-a Mario Time!
S1 Episode 1:
Welcome to Thurston County!
Synopsis: James Alvarez is just a normal boy living in normal Thurston County, Washington. His life is like any other, until he finds a mysterious journal in the woods that tells of sci-fi and fantasy weirdness in his hometown! He starts to realize that Thurston County may not be as normal as he thought. That's when he finds out his step sister, Angel, is dating a guy who looks almost like a teenager and kinda sketchy. After consulting the journal about this strange fellow, he comes to the conclusion that Angel's boyfriend, Jeff, may be a zombie! Is his theory true? Can he and his step brother Caleb stop Jeff before he does anything to Angel?
Sept. 7-Sept. 11, 2016
Intro
"Ah, Thurston County!" James narrates. "A pretty good sized county sitting right on the bottom tip of the Puget Sound. We have the nice residents, great school systems, the homeless people on the street corners, and all the commercial areas. There's also downtown Olympia, the Capitol Building, and a beautiful countryside up North. Basically, Thurston County to most is just like any normal county...unless you're me, because if you're me, then you might find some things in this county that would seem to be a little bit...how do I say this? ...Weird."
"AAAHHH!" Screaming is heard inside a silver BMW as it speeds down the street. Behind the car is a beast of great proportion chasing after them. Inside the car are four people: a man in the driver's seat, around his 40s, a teenager of 17 in the passenger seat, and a young 12-year-old boy and 10-year-old girl in the back.
"It's getting closer!" screamed the girl.
"We need to go faster!" yelled the boy.
"This is as fast as we can go!" yelled the man. "What do we do, James!?"
The teenager looked back at the monster. It was quickly catching up. "Don't worry," he said. "We'll make it out of this!" He then looked straight ahead and saw a tree in their path. "Look out!"
He turned the wheel with the man and they barely swerved past the tree. They then started spinning out of control. One wheel went off an elevation and threw them into the air a couple of feet. Then the car landed, and the man quickly straightened out the vehicle.
"My name is James." James narrates referring to the teenager. "The man in the driver's seat is my step father Roberto, and the two kids in the back are Caleb and Angel, my step siblings. You may be wondering what the heck we're doing in a car chase running away from a creature of immense size and unimaginable terror."
The creature picks up a tree and hurls it far in front of him, far in front of the car. "Rest assured, there is a perfectly logical explanation. I know it definitely doesn't look or seem logical at all..."
"Look out!" screamed James as Roberto tried to veer them out of the way. The car started skidding out of control. They were gonna crash!
"...But trust me, this really happened! And here's how it all went down."
Part 1
"Let's rewind a bit."
~Sept. 7, 2016
"It was the first day of the school year. I was a senior; it was my last year and I was excited! I had some great classes, I couldn't wait to see all my friends again, and the school just finished a huge remodeling project, so I was excited to see the new building and the new teachers."
James walked down the new hallway and inhaled the smell of the new building. "Ah," he exclaimed. "Really has that 'new building' smell!"
"But my crazy big story happened after school that day. I normally ride my bike to school because if how close I live, and because my Mom doesn't get off of work until 5:30. So I was taking my bike to the Chehalis Western Trail. It's miles long and always seems to hold a more peaceful atmosphere than the road, but today, it wasn't quite as peaceful as usual."
James starts to pedal down the trail, when two men came out of nowhere and jumped out at him. He quickly swerved to the side and skidded to a stop in front of them.
"Woah! Watch where you're going guys!" said James.
"Listen little boy," one of the men spoke up. His voice sounded dark and coarse. "You're messing with some things you do not know the power of. Turn back now!"
James put on a confused look. "Wait, I have no idea what you're talking about sir. I'm just going…"
"IT MUST BE UNSEEN!" yells the other man as they start chasing after James.
James got back on his bike and stepped on it. He heard the men shout "After him!" and he went faster. But the men got closer and closer somehow. He swerved to the left onto a dirt path to lose them. He gained speed and went into a maze of dirt trails he had explored many times. He knew this place like the back of his hand, and he was sure to lose the men in there.
After biking farther into the forest maze, James stopped to take a rest. He couldn't see nor hear the men any longer. He sighed with relief. "I had lost them," James narrates. "But I found something that had changed my life at that moment." James, tired from the chase, decided to sit down and chill out for a bit. He took off his backpack and set it down. Then he sat down and leaned back against the tree, when his back thudded against it.
"Ow," he remarked. "What the heck? Why is this tree so hard?" He touched the tree with his bare hand.
The tree was cold.
He knocked on the tree. It did not sound like knocking on wood. In fact, it made a sound like ting ting! James felt around the tree, and he found a small crack that resembled an opening. He pulled it open and inside a little door was a strange box that looked like some sort of radio. On top were a couple of knob switches. He flipped one. Nothing happened. He flipped the other one. Suddenly he heard a whirring sound. He turned around and saw that a trap door was opening on the ground.
A trap door was opening on the ground!
"What the…" he said, confused. James approached the trap door and looked inside. A ton of dust and cobwebs were covering a book. James pulled the book out and wiped it off. He blew away the dust. Now he could see it clearly.
The book was old and worn, and the cover sported a dark maroon color. On the cover was an odd shape with five thin "bars" sticking out the top of it and a much shorter one sticking out the side but facing the same way. It also had a number 3 written on it. James set the book down on the ground and opened it up. On the inside of the front cover it said "Property of T…" The rest of the name was ripped out. James turned to the next page and read quietly so no one else would hear him.
"It's hard to believe it's been six years since I began studying the strange and wondrous secrets of Thurston County, Washington. I am still in awe at what I've discovered. And it's weird to know that there are still secrets hidden between every blade of grass, behind every tree, under every slab of pavement! As I continue my search for the source of this supernatural behavior, I seem to find myself perplexed by the sights."
James turned the page and instantly he felt penetrated by what he saw. There was floating eyeballs, gnomes, cursed objects, spells...James couldn't believe his eyes. "What is all this?" he asked himself. He riffled through the pages until he came across a page that had three bolded words at the bottom, double underlined. He read above.
"Unfortunately my suspicions have been confirmed; I'm being watched! I must hide this book before He finds it. Remember, in Thurston County, there is no one you can trust. No one you can trust!" Then he read the large bolded words.
"TRUST NO ONE!"
"Trust no one? What do they mean by that?" James began to contemplate what he had just seen. Mysterious creatures, magic spells, secret codes!? This was more than he thought he could handle. He looked around as if someone was watching him. Then he grabbed the book and slipped it in his backpack.
"With the discovery of this journal," James narrates, "I immediately headed home. That night, I studied the journal, trying to learn as much as possible. I needed to know more about this stuff, I mean no one had ever seen or heard of this stuff before. A squash with a human face and emotions? That is the weirdest thing I had ever heard! I had looked at every page by Friday afternoon."
~Sept. 9, 2016
"I had finished reading the book during lunch." James closed the book. He was exhausted. He let his head rest on the table. "And then…"
"Hey, what are you up to?" said a voice next to James.
James poked his head up to see a chubby character in shorts and a gray jacket. It was his friend, Jeffrey. "Oh, hey Jeffrey!" James responded as he quickly turned the book over so as to not show the cover.
"What are you doing alone?" he asked.
"Oh, I'm just, uh...doing some homework! I gotta read a book and do some worksheets on it."
"You mean that book right there?" asked Jeffrey, pointing to the journal. "What's the book?"
"Umm…" James paused. 'Think,' he thought, 'what would be a super fancy word to call a book?' He blurted out, "Chronicle!" Then he thought, ' okay good, now it should be Shakespeare or something so he knows I'm not faking. Put in some death.'
"Of a Death, uhh…...Foretold! Yeah, The Chronicle of a Death Foretold!"
"Oh, I don't think I've read that one yet. I hear it's pretty good, though."
"Yeah, it's very interesting."
"You look tired."
"Yes, I've been up late doing this."
"Geez, beginning of the year and you already have to read a whole book? Goddamn!"
"Senior life." James put up a peace sign next to his face.
"Sophomore life, I haven't had to do shit this whole week!" Jeffrey put up two finger guns and said "Eyy!"
"Yeah, I sure wish I was a sophomore again."
"So where are you going for lunch?"
"I'm thinking just stay here."
"Why not outside with us?"
"Oh, I meant just stay at the school."
"Oh, then you should come outside with us."
"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute."
"Okay, see ya."
Jeffrey walked off. James laid his head down again, thinking. He took his head back up and turned the book back over to see the cover. He looked at the peculiar shape around the number 3. He opened up the book and turned to the page he had read in the woods. The words were repeated in his mind.
"Remember, in Thurston County, there is no one you can trust."
"Remember in Thurston County, there is no one you can trust."
"No one you can trust!"
James closed the book. He took a deep breath, then he put the book in his backpack and took off to see his friends.
-/_\-
"That afternoon, I had decided to hang out with Jeffrey, and my friends Ollie and Mitchell. We went to Sonic, where one of our friends, Whiskers, worked."
"So I got some new mods for Skyrim. I really enjoy them." said Jeffrey.
"I got the new Ratchet and Clank for Playstation!" said Mitchell.
"What's wrong with you man, Playstation's for nerds!"
"Yeah, like James." Mitchell snickered.
"Oh haha, very funny," replied James.
"No no Mitchell, James' a Nintendo fan. He's already lame as is!"
"Shut up man!" said James. "Nintendo trumps everything!"
"Then explain why Nintendo was kicked out of the Console Wars?"
"They weren't kicked out," James smiled. "They left, 'cause they don't need to deal with all the bullshit from the other…" Suddenly he felt a tight hug around his abdomen. He yelled, "Oh my gosh, there's a tiny person hugging me!"
"James! I didn't know I would see you here!" said the voice of the person hugging him. It was a little girl of 10 with red hair tied in a ponytail.
James turned around in his chair. "Angel!?" he exclaimed. "What the heck are you doing here!?"
"You know this kid?" asked Jeffrey.
"Yeah, this is Angelina, my step sister, who lives all the way on the West Side." He turned to Angel again. "What are you doing at Sonic?"
"I'm on a date!" she said.
"You found a boyfriend?" James was shocked. "Why'd you never tell me!?"
"I thought Caleb told you?"
"Angel, our brother doesn't tell people anything unless he's told to, or if it's a movie spoiler!"
"Well do you wanna meet him? He's right over there!"
Angel pointed over to a young man wearing a dark hoodie. His jeans were ripped, his hood was up and his hair covered one of his eyes. "I'm not one of those over-protective big brothers when it came to Angel dating," James narrates, "but this guy was just about exactly what I didn't want him to be. Dark emo style, fingerless gloves, he looked 13. Angel was 10!"
Angel waved at the boy to come over, so he walked over. He had a strange limp in his walk. James looked in shock as Jeffrey leaned over to whisper in his ear.
"What. The fuck. Is that?"
The boy had reached the table and Angel introduced him. "James, this is Jeff. Jeff, this is my big brother, James."
"Sup," said Jeff. He stuck out his hand toward James. James reluctantly shook his hand.
His hand was drier than a desert!
"Nice to meet you Jeff," he replied nonchalantly. He looked at his face. There was a red liquid on his cheek. "Are you bleeding Jeff?"
Jeff looked on his cheek. "Nah, it's just ketchup from a burger," he said.
His voice sounded low and scratchy. James was starting to believe there was something going on.
"Well we gotta get going," said Angel. "We are going to go to play some laser tag!"
"Ooh, laser tag!" said James. "How fun!"
"Yeah, so we'll see you later. Bye brother!"
James gave his sister a hug as she and Jeff went off holding hands. James turned back to his friends, shocked out of his mind.
"He seems nice," said Ollie sarcastically.
"Dude, your sister is weird," said Mitchell.
"Yeah, well I think that Jeff is weirder," replied James.
"I don't think he's a good guy," said Jeffrey. "I don't like to judge people outta the gate, but that guy's like a gothic nightmare. Too zombie for your sweet sister."
James' eyebrows perked up. "A zombie! Of course!" James narrates. "Normally I'm not one to believe in superstition or the supernatural, but finding that journal in the woods made me think. I remembered having read something about zombies in there, so when I got home that day, I decided to consult it and see what I might be dealing with."
"Known for their pale skin and bad attitudes," James read, "these creatures are often mistaken for...teenagers!? Beware of Thurston County's nefarious…"
Suddenly James saw the image of a zombie turn into Jeff on the page. He looked at James with his one visible eye and stretched his hand out. "Sup?"
James' eyes grew wide. He knew what he was dealing with.
"ZOMBIE!"
Part 2
James started breathing heavily. "Is my sister really dating a zombie, or am I just going nuts?" He paused. "I must be nuts, I mean she can't be, right? Zombies aren't real. Yeah! I'm just imagining it! There's no way she could be...dating a… zombie..." He paused again, then studied the page once more.
"Of course, I couldn't believe myself," James narrates. "No matter how many times I said it. My sister had to be in trouble! I mean, the way I came upon this journal, I knew it must have some sort of significance. But if I tried to tell anyone about it, they wouldn't believe me. I knew what I had to do. I had to get some evidence!"
James grabbed his camera and ran out the door. All of a sudden, he stopped in his tracks. Right at his door was a little boy. He looked about grade school age, but he was actually in 7'th grade.
"So you met Angel's boyfriend?" the boy asked.
"Yeah, how'd you know? And what are you doing here?"
"I was watching you. I've been spying on Jeff. He seems kinda sketchy."
"I know. I was about to go get some footage of this couple. I'm not gonna let anything happen to our little sis!"
"I've been watching them forever, but I don't know what's gonna happen to her. We better find out soon."
"Yeah, I know. Come on Caleb, you can help me get footage."
"Okay, I think they're at the movies."
So James and Caleb headed off to catch some evidence of Jeff being a zombie. They started off filming Angel at the movies, but nothing happened. The next day, Angel and Jeff walked through the park. James and
Caleb were there, watching their every move. Then the couple went to The Mayan, a Mexican restaurant near James' school. James and Caleb watched from another booth. One of James' friends who worked there came up to James.
"Miguelito, ¿qué haces?" he spoke. James spoke in Spanish. Ángel didn't know English very well.
"Hey Ángel," James said quietly. "I'm just, uh, chaperoning for my sister and her date."
"Chaperoning, huh? You seem to be watching her a lot."
"Yeah well, can't be too careful. I really don't trust the guy. He's too sketchy."
"Well, are you two gonna order anything?"
"No, I think we're done here."
"Yeah, I'm getting bored," said Caleb. "Spy- I mean, chaperoning is hard work."
"Okay then," said Ángel. "¡Adiós!"
James took Caleb to his house, where he asked his mother if Caleb could hang out for a bit. "That's fine," she said. So James took Caleb up to his room to speak in privacy.
"Okay dude, something crazy is going on here. I know I might sound crazy when I say this, but I think Jeff is one of the undead!"
"You think Jeff is a zombie? James he's not that sketchy."
"Well what about his voice? It's low and scratchy!"
"Maybe he's sick?"
"Yeah, every day?"
"James, zombies aren't real."
"I use to think the same thing. But then I found this weird book in the woods three days ago, and it talks about all this crazy sci-fi fantasy weirdness in Thurston County!"
"So where's this book then?"
"It's hidden in my room here, but I also took a picture of the page that talked about zombies on my phone." He pulled out his phone and put the picture up. "Check it out."
Caleb looked at the phone. "Known for their pale skin and bad attitudes, these creatures are often mistaken for teenagers. Beware of Thurston County's nefarious zombie!" He looked up at James. "Woah, is this real?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out."
James' mother stepped into the room. "What are you two up to?" she asked.
"We're trying to prove that Angel's boyfriend is a zombie," said Caleb.
"Caleb!?" shouted James.
"Oops, sorry."
His mother looked at Caleb. "You don't actually believe that zombies are real, do you?"
"No."
"Good, because the supernatural is all fake."
"Who said zombies were supernatural?" said Caleb.
James suddenly made a realization. "Wait a minute, you know something about the supernatural, don't you?" he asked.
"Know what?" his mom replied. "I told you, zombies are not real, and neither are ghosts or vampires or any other myth or legend. They're all fairytales, so don't go chasing after any of them."
James' mother left. James and Caleb stared at each other. "What was that about?" Caleb asked.
"I think my Mom knows a little bit more than we do," James replied.
-/_\-
~Sept 11, 2016
"It was Sunday morning," James narrates. "So I had to get ready for church. I went to two churches in the morning on Sundays. I went to Real Life Communities, a small church in the Custom Security Building, where my Dad went as well with Caleb and Angel and their mother (my step Mom). After that, I went to the Capital Christian Center, which was right across the freeway.
"When my Dad and Caleb and Angel had arrived at RLC, Caleb asked me if he could come with me to my other church afterward. I said yes. Of course it was only to talk about Angel, but I still invited him. So after the service, we got ready to go to Capital Christian, but before we went, I wanted to talk to Angel."
"Angel, we gotta talk about Jeff!" James spoke.
"Okay," she replied. "Isn't he great?"
"Well, Caleb and I are trying to tell you that he isn't what he seems."
"What do you mean?"
"Take a look sister." He pulled up a picture on his phone. "Shabam!"
"Aah!" Angel shouted. It was a picture of a gnome.
James looked at the picture. "Oh wait, sorry, wrong picture!" He swiped to the zombie picture. "Shabam!"
Angel looked at it again and tilted her head. "A zombie? That is not funny James!"
"But we're not joking!" Caleb interjected. "Don't you notice the bleeding? The limp? His voice?"
"So he has a few disorders. That doesn't mean you can make fun of him!"
"We're not making fun of him," James said. "We're being serious!"
"Why can't you just trust me James?" Angel asked.
"Because he's gonna eat your brains!"
"Alright, listen James. Jeff and I are going on a date to McDonald's at 12 o'clock today, and I'm not gonna let you ruin this with some crazy conspiracy! So stop and leave me alone!"
Angel walked off. James and Caleb looked at each other with worried looks. "We didn't know what to do at that point," James narrates. "So we just went off to the other church and had a great service there. During prayer time, Caleb and I prayed for Angel. We weren't sure what was gonna happen, but we didn't want anything to happen to her. After service, we sat around wondering what to do while watching all the videos we took."
"Man, I don't know what to do anymore," James said.
"Yeah, I mean, we don't have any evidence either," said Caleb. Just as they were talking, they were watching a video of Angel and Jeff with their arms wrapped around each other. Suddenly, Jeff's hand falls off! He sneakily picks it up and puts it back on.
This happens as James is speaking. "I guess we have been a little paranoid and...wait WHAT!?" He rewinds it a little bit and watches it again. There goes his hand, falling off. And then he puts it back on! Caleb and James look at each other.
"ZOMBIE!"
Meanwhile, Angel and Jeff are next to McDonald's after a nice meal. Jeff looks a little freaked out.
"Are you okay Jeff?" Angel asked.
"I'm fine," Jeff replied in his scratchy voice. "Listen Angel, now that we've gotten to know each other, there's..." He breathed slowly. "There's something I should tell you."
"Okay," said Angel.
"Alright , just don't freak out okay. Just keep an open mind! Be cool!" Jeff grabs the zipper on his hoodie. He started zipping down his black hoodie.
"Um, what's happening here?" Angel asked nervously.
"What's happening is that my sister's boyfriend is a freakin' zombie!" James told his church friend Ashton. "Just look at the footage we took!"
Ashton watches as Jeff's hand falls off. "Holy crap!" he yelled. "That's crazy!"
"We know!" said Caleb. "Can you take us to her?"
"Well I'm a little busy at the moment, but I'm sure Nicholas can take you."
"Thanks Ashton!" said James. "You're awesome!"
"Yeah no problem! I'll go tell him right now!" Ashton runs off to ask Nicholas for a ride.
"So who's Nicholas?" Caleb asked.
"His older brother, tall, curly hair?"
"Oh that guy! I sure hope he can take us."
"Yeah, me too!"
Jeff continued zipping down his hoodie. Angel got scared. "Uh, I don't think I'm ready for this!" she started shouting.
Suddenly, the hoodie fell off, and underneath were a bunch of tiny men with white beards and pointy hats stacked on top of each other. There were two men on the bottom acting as legs. The two on top of them were holding sticks with hands on the ends. The final man was standing on top of the stick holders, showing the face of Jeff.
"Is this weird?" asked the man on top. "Is this too weird? You need to sit down?"
Angel stood staring at him with her jaw dropped to the floor.
"Alright alright, I'll explain. So, we're gnomes! First off, get that one out of the way!"
"Uhh," Angel started to shudder.
"So you already know me, Jeff. And here we have Carson, Steve, Jason, and...
I'm sorry I always forget your name?"
"Shmebulock!" the unnamed gnome spoke.
"Shmebulock! Yes! Anyway, long story short, us gnomes have been lookin' for a new queen! So whaddaya say!?"
The gnomes kneeled the man figure they were making and presented a diamond ring to Angel. "Will you join us, in holy matrinomy? Matri-matrimony! Blah! Can't talk today!"
Angel sucked her teeth. "Look guys, you're really sweet, but I'm a human girl, and you're gnomes, and it's like, what!? You know what I'm saying?"
Jeff looked down in disappointment. "We understand. We'll never forget you Angel." Angel put a content smile on her face, then Jeff continued. "Because we're gonna kidnap you."
"Wait what?" Angel remarked. But before she could respond, Jeff jumped at her and attempted his kidnapping.
"AAH!" Angel screamed.
Part 3
Nicholas drove James and Caleb down the street. "So what happened exactly?" he asked them.
"Angel's boyfriend is a zombie, and we're trying to save her so she doesn't become one of the undead," James replied.
"That sounds crazy! Are you sure he's a zombie?"
"Positive," replied Caleb. "We have video proof!"
"Well I trust you guys, but it seems a bit contrived."
"We gotta tell Roberto," said Caleb.
"Well we can't tell Roberto that Jeff's a zombie. He wouldn't believe us!" James assured.
"Then what do we tell him?"
"Don't worry, I'll handle it."
"You guys need my help with this?" asked Nicholas.
"No," said James. "We don't want you getting hurt."
"Yet you're bringing Caleb along." Nicholas gave James a sarcastic look.
"That's different. Caleb is Angel's brother. He wants to help her just as much as I do."
"Fair enough."
They arrived at James' house. After a goodbye to Nicholas and a thanks for the drive, they immediately headed inside.
"Dad, are you home?" yelled James. He saw his dad at the dining table.
"Hey James, what's up?" he said. "What's Caleb doing here?"
"Hi Roberto," Caleb spoke.
James started. "We really need your help! Angel is dating this guy and he's taking advantage of her, if you know what I mean. We gotta stop him."
"Ew," Caleb remarked at James' statement.
"Is this about the zombie thing again?" Roberto assured.
"Nope, he's trying to you know what with her," said James.
"Ew!" Caleb remarked again.
"Do you know where she is?" Roberto asked.
"She's on a date with him right now, at McDonald's."
"Alright, let's go then!" Roberto grabbed his hat and jacket and put on his shoes.
"Give me one second," James said quickly as he ran upstairs with Caleb.
He went into his room and opened his backpack. "I just need to grab something!" He reached into his dresser and grabbed the book he hid under his clothes.
"Woah, is that the book you found?" asked Caleb in astonishment.
"Yeah, this is the mysterious journal I found in the woods. If we're gonna catch that zombie, we gotta know how!" He put the book in his pack and they headed back downstairs
-/_\-
Roberto drove the two boys down to McDonald's. When they got there, they went inside, but didn't find Angel or Jeff.
"Hey Serena!" James spoke to one of the employees he knew that also went to his school. "Have you seen a little red-headed girl and a teen in a black hoodie?"
"Hey James," Serena replied. "Yeah, they just left. I think I heard them saying they were headed down the trail. The guy said something about a camp. Guess they're camping out or something?"
"We gotta go now!" Roberto said. They rushed out.
"Thanks Serena!" James yelled back.
"No problem! See ya later!"
Roberto and the kids drove up to the trail. Roberto parked the car on the side of the street.
"You kids better be careful," Roberto said. "I don't want either of you getting hurt."
"Don't worry, we will," James said.
James and Caleb ran off together onto the trail. "Do you think Angel is okay?" asked Caleb.
"I sure hope so. Here we are!"
James pointed down a branch off that was a fairly wide dirt trail. It was right next to a swamp.
"Serena said that they were going to a camp. There is an old hobo camp at the end of this trail."
"Are you sure they're down there?"
"Only one way to find out. We have to go down there and see what we can find."
Just as James was speaking, a small creature appeared from inside a tree. He hissed at James and Caleb. They both jumped.
"What is that!?" screamed Caleb.
The creature was covered in leaves and dirt so it was hard to make out. "I'm not sure. I can't really see it that well."
The creature hissed again, then ran down the trail. "Hey, get back here!" shouted James. The boys chased after the creature.
"What do you think it is?" asked Caleb again.
"I don't know. Maybe a baby zombie or something?"
"A zombie is a dead human James. What human is that small?"
"It's called dwarfism dude, it's genetic. It could also be a dead baby?"
"Babies can't run!"
"Ugh, nevermind."
The creature continued to run. He then came upon a scene of other small creatures about his size, only these creatures weren't covered, so James and Caleb were able to see what they were.
"What the...what the ffffffffflip is going on here!?" exclaimed James.
Angel, who was also there, looked up at James and Caleb. "Guys! You're here! Jeff turned out to be a bunch of gnomes! And they're trying to force me to marry them!"
"Angel!" James continued to shout in both shock and excitement. "Gnomes?" He now started to question himself. "Huh, I was way off." He took the journal out and turned to the page with the gnomes and read, "Gnomes, little men of the Thurston County forests. Weaknesses unknown."
Just then, Jeff came up to talk with the boys. "Hey guys! Look, this is all just a big misunderstanding. You see, your sister's not in danger. She's just marrying all one thousand of us and becoming our gnome queen for all of eternity! Isn't that right honey?"
"You guys are butt faces!"
Caleb finally spoke. "How should we trust you by what we see here? You have our sister all tied up! Give her back or else!"
"You think you can stop us boy?" said Jeff. "You have no idea what we're capable of. The gnomes are a powerful race! Do not trifle with the inevitability of..."
"Kiss my foot!" James yelled as he kicked Jeff away. He ran up to Angel and ripped the ropes out of the ground. Angel then got up and hugged James.
"Thanks James! You saved me!" Her face was wet with tears.
"No problem Angel, but no time for reunion stuff, we gotta jet!"
"Come on guys!" yelled Caleb as the three ran off.
Jeff got back up to his feet. "He's getting away with our queen! No no no! You just messed with the wrong creatures boys. Gnomes of the forest, ASSEMBLE!"
Just then, gnomes started poking their heads out of bushes, trees, and the ground. Hearing Jeff's echoing call, they immediately gathered around Jeff. They then started raising Jeff up. More gnomes gathered and raised those gnomes up. Then even more gnomes came! All the gnomes started linking together, preparing to fight back; preparing to reclaim their queen.
Meanwhile, James, Caleb, and Angel had just gotten back to the car where Roberto was waiting. James got the kids into the back seat, and he got up in the shotgun seat.
"We need to drive, now!" James said in worry.
"He's coming after us!" Angel exclaimed.
"They're just gnomes. What are they gonna do?" said Caleb.
"Don't underestimate them Caleb," said James. "Small creatures can do big things!"
Roberto spoke up. "Gnomes? What are you guys saying?" But before he could ask more, a giant creature emerged through the trees. And it was shaped like a giant gnome!
"Dang," said Angel. "That is one huge gnome."
Jeff was sitting atop as the peak of the gnome. "Alright guys," he shouted below. "Teamwork, like we practiced!"
James was in shock. "Drive, drive!" he exclaimed. Roberto pushed on the gas and sped off. The gnome monster chased after them.
"James, explanation! Now!" Roberto was shocked, scared, and mad.
James started explaining. "Okay, so remember when I thought Angel's boyfriend was a zombie?"
"He turned out to be a bunch of gnomes!" Angel interjected. "And they tried to force me to be their gnome queen!"
"Fire!" shouted Jeff from behind. The gnome monster threw its arm forward and shot a few gnomes at the car. They started tearing the car apart. One gnome dropped down into the window of the passenger seat hanging from the roof. James elbowed him out. Another gnome swung in through the back window and landed on top of the driver's chair. Roberto grabbed him from behind and smashed his face twice into the car horn.
"Shmebulock," the gnome said in a pained tone.
Roberto smashed his face again and then threw him out the window. Just then, another gnome came in through the driver window and jumped onto his face. Angel screamed loudly.
"I'll save you Roberto!" yelled Caleb. He punched the gnome repeatedly until he was punched off. The gnome fell out of the car with Roberto's hat in his mouth.
"Thanks Caleb," Roberto stumbled.
"You're welcome."
The car continued to speed down the street. "It's getting closer!" screamed Angel.
"We need to go faster!" yelled Caleb.
"This is as fast as we can go!" yelled Roberto. "What do we do, James!?"
James looked back at the monster. It was quickly catching up. "Don't worry," he said. "We'll make it out of this!" He then looked straight ahead and saw a tree in their path. "Look out!"
He helped Roberto turn the wheel and they barely swerved past the tree. They then started spinning out of control. One wheel went off an elevation and threw them into the air a couple of feet. Then the car landed, and then Roberto quickly straightened out the vehicle.
The creature picked up a tree and hurled it far in front of him, far in front of the car. "Look out!" screamed James as Roberto tried to veer them out of the way. The car started skidding out of control. Roberto tried his best to veer. Luckily he missed the tree, but the car tipped over and skidded through a fence onto a crop field.
James helped his siblings out of the crashed car. Roberto climbed out. "And that kids, is why you wear seat belts!" The gnomes walked up to the group. The four of them screamed.
"It's the end of the line guys!" said Jeff. "Angel, marry us before we do something crazy!"
"What do we do now!?" exclaimed Caleb.
Everyone stood still. "Last chance!" warned Jeff.
Angel stepped forward a little bit. She looked bolder. "I gotta do it."
What!?" exclaimed James. "Are you nuts!? Don't do this!"
Angel looked at James. "Trust me."
"Wha?"
"James, just this once, trust me!"
James was stuck. "It's not like we had many options," James narrates. "But there was no way I was gonna let my sister become married to a psycho gnome!" James looked at Angel with a puzzled and worried look. He looked up at the monster, then back at Angel. He then looked at Jeff, then to Caleb and Roberto, and then back to Angel. "But I decided to trust her."
James stepped backward and waved his hands to lead Angel toward the gnome giant. Angel walked forward.
"Okay Jeff, you win. I'll marry you."
"Hot dog!" Jeff jumped up in excitement, then he climbed down the huge beast. Walking up to Gracie, he pulled out a diamond ring. "Eh, eh?" he pointed at the ring.
Angel kneeled down and held out her left hand. Jeff slowly slipped the ring on her finger. Right at that moment, Angel grabbed Jeff's arm with her right hand. She then picked him up and also picked up a sharp piece of wood that broke off of the fence.
"W-woah, what's going on?" Jeff started panicking. Angel held the wood to Jeff's throat. She spoke to the gnomes.
"Nobody move, or your king gets it!"
The gnomes gasped in fear. Jeff was squirming. "Hey now, what's the big idea!?" He tried to break free from Angel's grasp.
"Oh no you don't!" She proceeded to hold him tighter. It was getting harder for Jeff to breathe.
"Please let me go! I'll stop! I swear on the gnome code of justice!"
"No funny business?"
"I won't! Please let me go! I...can't...breathe!"
Angel decided to drop him to the ground. Jeff breathed in heavily. "Oh my goodness! That was crazy!" He got up to his feet, then turned to face Angel. "You're sick, you know that?"
"You're the one who's sick! Why are you doing all this anyway?"
Jeff explained. "Well you see, our queen recently died."
Angel and the boys gasped.
"And we've been looking for a replacement for weeks now! You were the most beautiful out of every girl we've come across! I fell in love the moment I laid eyes on you."
Angel puts a smile on her face. "Thanks Jeff, but that's not what love is." She kneeled down to Jeff. "Love isn't seeing a beautiful girl and forcing her to marry you. Love is when you both love each other mutually."
"But you loved me before I told you we were gnomes." What's wrong with me being a gnome? Should that even matter?"
James interjects. "Not that I agree with this, but he does have a point Angel." He walks over to Jeff. "I mean, it's not what's on the outside that counts. It's what's in here." He patted his chest.
Angel sighs. "I know. I'm sorry Jeff. I just don't like gnomes. I like humans."
"I understand." He tilts his head down and turns back to the gnomes. "Disassemble!"
One by one, each gnome climbed down and the monster disassembled back to normal gnome-sized gnomes. One gnome walked up to Roberto. He was holding Roberto's hat. "Here," he said.
"Thanks," said Roberto.
"Guys, I'm sorry I went out of control," said Jeff. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you guys? We can help repair your car if you need."
"Thanks," replied Roberto. "I appreciate the offer." He bent down and whispered into James' ear. "I'm still super weirded out by all this."
"Tell me about it," James whispered back.
"Well, we better get going," Roberto said. "We gotta get you two home." He referred to Caleb and Angel. Then he turned to James. "And we gotta tell your Mom what happened."
"How's she gonna believe us?" James asked.
"Let's take pictures for proof!" said Caleb.
So the four of them grouped up with Jeff and a few gnomes and they all took one big picture together.
-/_\-
"Yeah, sorry for the inconveniencing," said Roberto. "But Caleb and Angel are safe, and that's what's important."
"Thank you so much Roberto!" said the man he was speaking with. "I don't know what we would've done without you!" He then turned to face James. "And thank you James! You really helped your sister out today!"
"No problem Dad. I'm just glad Angel didn't get turned into a zombie."
"Yep, I'm fine. Thanks James! Thanks Roberto! And thanks Caleb! You guys saved me!"
"You're welcome Angel," said James. "Make sure to tell me next time you get a boyfriend, okay?"
"Yeah yeah, hehe."
"Well, we better get going," Roberto said to James. "Don't wanna keep your Mom waiting. You ready?"
"Yep. By Caleb and Angel. Bye Dad."
"Bye son," said his dad. "Thank you again!"
"Bye James!" said Angel.
"See you at church next Sunday," said Caleb.
Roberto and James drove back home. When they got there, James' mom was waiting on the front porch.
"Where were you two!?" she shouted. "Dinner's getting cold!"
"We had an epic adventure of gnome-sized proportions!" said James.
"What does that mean?" said his mother as James' grandfather stepped outside.
"Oh good, you're here," the grandfather said pointing at James. "Come here."
He brought James into the house and into the TV room. It was paused on the news. James looked at the screen.
It was him. He was on the news!
The grandfather unpaused the TV and the news reporter spoke, 'Here today we saw a silver BMW speeding down Sleater Kinney Road as they were being pursuited by a huge monster that resembled the shape of gnomes. We've been chasing them down all day and we have finally made it to their front doorstep to ask about what happened in this weird event."
There was a knock at the door. James rushed to answer it. When he opened it up, there was a ton of camera people and reporters at his door. One reporter asked for his name.
"My name is James Alvarez II," James spoke.
"James, can you tell us what happened to you today?"
"I couldn't believe it," James narrates. "I was on the news! It was crazy! So I told the news reporters the whole story. I showed them videos and pictures of the adventure. Many people couldn't believe what had happened. They thought I imagined it until I showed the visual proof. And with that, I instantly became semi-famous. Every time I walked on the streets, I would always hear, 'Hey, there's the kid who was chased by that gnome monster!' Everywhere I went people knew who I was. It was insane! And so my hunt began! I wanted to find more weird stuff about this county. If there were gnomes in the forest, who knows what else there was!"
Outro
"That night, I decided to use the blank pages in the journal for my own entries. 'This journal told me there was no one in this county that I could trust, but when you battle an army of gnomes side by side with someone, you realize they've probably always got your back.'"
A dark figure of a man approached the front doors of North Thurston High School. He scanned his card and went inside. He walked behind the main staircase to a pair of vending machines. On one of the vending machines, he punched a number of buttons. Suddenly, the vending machine flung open like a door, and behind it was a secret passageway. The man walked inside and peered behind him. He looked behind him to make sure he wasn't being seen or followed. Then he closed the vending machine door.
"'My parents had told me there was nothing strange about Thurston County, but who knows what other secrets are waiting to be unlocked?'"
