-Chapter One-
-Ford-
"Dipper, can you hand me that screwdriver?" I asked my great nephew. "Sure thing, Grunkle Ford." He responded, his voice full of enthusiasm. Tightening the last bolt in place, I came out from underneath the large monitor, wiping a smear of oil away. "Well, it should run perfectly in a while." I said, fixing my glasses. "There's just one more thing we need."
I pulled out a red journal with a #1 on the cover. Flipping through the pages, I came to a stop at detailed sketch of a monster. "A Scolis Beetle. Don't let the name fool you. These things are taller than the shack." I showed Dipper the drawing. His eyes became wide. "Oh my gosh, I've always wanted to see one of these!" He said happily, grabbing the book out of my hands. I closed my tool box. "Yes, well, they're also extremely dangerous. Just two milliliters of their venom can kill an adult man in ten minutes. And with their overwhelming size, not many people stand a chance on their own."
All of a sudden, two pre-teen girls, one in a pink sweater and another in a navy blue jacket, came tumbling down the stairs. "Ha, I'm gonna get you, Mabel!" The one in blue shouted playfully, swinging a foam sword. "You'll have to catch me first, Cil!" The other yelled back. I felt a light bulb forming in my brain. "And I think I know who to bring with us."
In the woods…
"Thanks for bringing us along, Grunkle Ford!" Mabel said happily. I laughed quietly. "Yes, just be careful, now." I looked at Dipper. He was not smiling. I knelt down and put a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong, Dipper? I thought you wanted to come on this journey." I said. The small boy sighed and looked away. "Well, I do…but I didn't want Cilicia to come along." My eyes softened at his response. "Why not? She's strong and fast, also being quick enough to outrun the second fastest monster in this forest." Dipper grabbed his hair in frustration.
"It's because I can't trust her!" He shouted. I jumped back out of his rage. "Just calm down, Dipper. Things will be okay, I promise." I reassured him. He looked at me and smiled. "Maybe you're right, Grunkle Ford."
At that very moment, the ground began to shake violently. Mabel and Cilicia ran over to us. "Grunkle Ford, what's going on?!" My great niece shrieked. I looked at a cloud of dust rising in the distance. "It's the Scolis Beetles! They must've detected us!" I yelled through all the commotion. I noticed a crack in the ground was beginning to form. I had just enough time to grab Cilicia and get on the other side before a large hole opened up, trapping Dipper and Mabel on the opposite side.
"You two, stay over there! We'll find a way around!" I yelled. Cilicia then yanked my sleeve and dragged me into a bush. I heard a loud chorus of stomping coming from the outside. "We should be careful, Mr. Stanford. Now that they know we're here, they won't let us out easily." The young girl said quietly. Knowing that she was right, I sighed. "You're right. We need to do something about those damn beetles."
Suddenly, the ground beneath me gave way, throwing me into a giant pit. "MR. STANFORD!" Cilicia screamed. She became more distant as I fell deeper down the hole.
Down, down, down…