Dipper was deep in the forest. It was almost completely dark and the boy could hear spine-tingling howling and the countless hoots of owls in the distance. Dipper walked in silence, stiffening nervously whenever leaves crackled under his feet or his shoes squeaked. Something wasn't right here, besides the feeling that he was being watched. Dipper could feel it. He looked up and saw bats fly overhead beyond the tall pine trees.

The trees. Something was wrong with the trees! Squinting in the dark, Dipper could see a dark figure outlined in almost all the pines. A pyramid wearing a top hat. When Dipper finally made out the symbol, all the etchings on the trees starting glowing bright, blinding white. Dipper had started to back away quickly when he noticed the eyes. Watching him. Red, evil eyes spying on him through a bush.

Dipper started to run. But he was no match. The evil being with red eyes caught up to him and pushed him over. On the ground, Dipper saw that the beast was pitch black, nothing but a shadow with evil eyes. It looked like a silhouette of the night sky fallen to Earth.

Dipper froze, terrified. He'd never read about this monster in his book. He had no idea how to handle it.

Much to Dipper's surprise, the shadowy beast chuckled. "Almost solved the mystery have you?" it grumbled in a voice the sound of rustling leaves,"Well we can't let that happen." The etchings on the trees seemed to be glowing brighter than ever now, making Dipper's vision blurry. Dipper felt his book rising out of the pocket of his coat. It floated over the monster's head. The shadow chuckled again. With a flicker of its black clawed hand, the book zoomed upwards and launched away over the trees with the force of a rocket blasting off. Loose pages tumbled out of the book as it zoomed through the air, becoming a small dot far,far away.

The monster turned its full attention back to his captive Dipper. With a sudden burst of bravery, Dipper said,"This isn't over."

The monster laughed. It stuck its left hand around Dipper's neck tightly. The boy could feel his face turning purple from the lack of breath. "Any last words?" the beast smiled before taking a ferocious swipe at Dipper's face.

"DIPPER! WAKE UP!"

Dipper jolted awake. He sat up quickly in bed, knocking foreheads with his twin Mabel. She had been kneeling over him with a concerned look in her eyes. "Oooh," Dipper moaned, putting his hand to his head and falling back onto his pillow. He had a huge headache, and his head colliding with Mabel's probably had worsened it.

"You were moaning in your sleep. What was it this time?" Mabel asked.

Dipper sighed heavily. "Same dream as the last six times. Woke up right before it swiped at my face, just like last night. The nightmare's been getting longer gradually. What was I moaning?"

"Something about your book. It was pretty inaudible. Then you mumbled 'This isn't over'. I decided to wake you up when you started clutching at your neck like you couldn't breathe."

Dipper put his head on the palms of his hands. He looked around him. His blankets were pushed into a pile at the end of his bed and most of his pillows had fallen to the floor. Dipper blushed, realized he must have thrashed a lot in his sleep. "The dream seems so real," he said.

Dipper started looking for his book, making sure it was safely hidden in his room. Mabel pulled it off the shelf and handed it to her brother. Dipper grabbed it and started flipping through the pages. There was nothing remotely like the monster in his dream in the pages. He closed his book, disappointed, and stood up to place it back on his shelf.

"Let's go have breakfast. We can figure this out later," Mabel suggested. Dipper nodded his approval. They got dressed and brushed their hair and teeth.

The twins raced down the stairs. Mabel beat her brother to the folding table where she, Dipper, and Grunkle Stan had breakfast everyday. Stan was already there, reading the morning paper. A headline on the front page read: "Three Missing Children Case Seems Impossible to Solve". Dipper guessed he had stared too long at the newspaper, because his great-uncle gave him an odd look.

When the twins sat down at the table, Grunkle Stan groaned and stood up, causing his rusty chair to creak pitifully. "Burnt pancakes or cereal today, kids?" Dipper and Mabel chose cereal instantly, knowing how terrible a cook Stan was.

As they ate, Dipper couldn't stop staring at the newspaper folded up on the table. He finally decided to pick it up and read the story about the three missing children. Below the bold, black headline, it read:

" Three children of Gravity Falls, Oregon, have been missing for a week as of today. Bridger Melendez, age 13, Melody Jones, age 12, and Tallon Quimby, also age 12, were last seen walking on the edge of the woods on their way home from the famous Gideon's Tent of Telepathy at about nine o'clock at night. When none of the friends' parents saw or heard from the children by the next morning, they decided to call the police to report the kids missing. Sheriff Blubs, one of the two officers who answered the call, and the parents of the missing children, didn't choose to give reporters any information on the case. However, Deputy Durland said a few choice words.

"I'm just doin' my duty to protect the town, mostly because I get free donuts if I do. And a bell!"

What is most mystifying about this case is the fact that Gideon Gleeful, star of Tent of Telepathy, doesn't do any shows on Saturday nights, the time the children were last seen. However, the parents say that their kids specifically told them they were going to see the show, and Melody, Bridger, and Tallon were only seen about thirty yards from the tent where the show is held. Gideon Gleeful and his father, Bud, were not home for questioning about the case.

Now, if you'd like to see the amazing show at Gideon's Tent of Telepathy, tickets are nine dollars each and the five-star rated performance runs from Monday-Friday. Show times are..."

Dipper folded the paper and placed it back on the table. He'd chosen to stop reading when the story had begun to ramble about Gideon. He finished his cereal and walked outside onto the porch. The floorboards creaked beneath him and cold, out of season wind blew fiercely. He had to hold his cap to his head to keep it from blowing away. He noticed his headache was beginning to fade.A few moments later, Mabel came out to join him.

"I read that newspaper story," she piped.

Dipper nodded."I think it seems suspicious. We should investigate it."

"Where will we go first?" asked Mabel, as her over-sized smiling sun sweater ruffled in the wind.

"I think I know," replied Dipper slyly,"Let's go give Gideon a little visit."

I'll add more humor in future chapters! Please review.