Mabel crashed through the bushes with a frantic Dipper in tow.
"Keep running!" he yelled.
The teenaged twins weaved between the towering pines. The massive cone of light from Dipper's industrial torch began to flicker. The absence of the moon tonight would mean absolute darkness once the batteries effectively puckered out. Their panicked sprint through the woods addled their chances of survival as their vision began to blur from the peaking adrenaline.
"Mabel!" Dipper screamed when he lost his grip on his sister.
In the momentary flashes of his dying light, he could see Mabel stop, turn and yank his arm, pulling him off the grass and sending them both tumbling over a moss-covered boulder.
Heavy crunching footfalls echoed above them, getting louder and louder until Dipper could feel something breathing down his neck. Without much of a thought, he pushed Mabel into the unknown darkness only to be pulled into a wide stream.
Dipper heard Mabel scream and he waded through the shallow tributary towards her silhouette. She was gripping her leg. He paled at the thought of having indirectly paralyzed his sister. He helped her up even as the malevolent entity whistled behind the timbres. He felt around until she gripped his arm.
"Mabel, oh God, are you okay?"
"My leg," she croaked. "I think I sprained—"
SCREEEEEEEE!
"Don't worry!" Dipper yanked her arm over his shoulder and pulled her up to her feet. With his reserves of strength, he nestled her out of the water and onto a path he was sure led to safety. Or he wasn't sure. He lost his torch in their fall and there was no light coming from anywhere but the stars.
"It hurts," Mabel groaned through gritted teeth.
"We're almost out of here," Dipper said falsely. He didn't know. He couldn't tell. There had nothing on them that they could use to defend themselves if it came to that. He didn't want to think about it. An exit—safety!—was just at the end of this trail. It had to be. Why else would there be a trodden track here? It had to originate from somewhere.
He hoped it was civilization.
"We're almost—"
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Dipper used up his last ounces of energy to grind through the errant underbrush until he came upon a clearing. To his horror, there was nothing else but the boulders heaped against the cliff wall. It stretched up to the sky like it was made of bricks.
"No, no, no, no," he could hear himself muttering.
"Dipper," Mabel began. The high-pitched wailing from the monster cut her off. It was deafeningly loud and came from the tree line.
The twins turned to see a hulking mass of foliage taking shape just behind the pines. Twigs and dried grass seeped into the dark to contribute to this rising menagerie of dead un-life.
"Oh God, oh God, oh God..."
"Dipper, I'm scared..."
The cold night only got colder to the point where they could now see their breath materializing into vapor. The thing inched closer, its ugliness taking shape of a golem of expired nature.
"I'm sorry, Mabel..."
"Bro-bro, it's okay..."
They held hands and shut their eyes. This was it.
"Chew on this, you sunovabitch!"
The twins backed against the rocks as a lit flare tumbled in front of them, startling the creature long enough for two deafening blasts pierced the air. A man was now in front of them, firing two more rounds out of his shotgun into the thing. For some reason, the buckshot was actually hurting the monster. It was hard to see but they could hear it cry out in pain.
"Up there, to your left!" their savior hollered.
Dipper hurried Mabel to an elevation in the soil. He tried to lift her up for her to reach but the exhaustion from running finally caught up with him. He gasped when his arms wobbled and he had to expend effort to keep from buckling under Mabel's weight.
The man was rushing towards them, the red light from the flare illuminating his consternation.
"My sister, she's hurt..." Dipper said only for Mabel to be yanked off him and pushed over the rocks. He quickly followed suit, being pushed onto the grass above until the man appeared over the crest. Again, he fired. The ear-piercing blasts sent a ringing in their ears but it didn't matter.
"Go! Go, now!" he ordered, head turned to the weakening beast.
The twins struggled through more of the forest until, to their relief, headlights from a pick-up beamed through the trees. They stumbled onto the grass. The passenger door was unlocked and Dipper shoved Mabel into the back. He looked behind him to see the man running to the hood.
"Get in."
He complied. The engine came to life quickly and they backed out of the glen, tossing mud and grass into the air as the painful screeching reverberated all around them.
It softened when they broke into the highway. By the time they reached town, it was gone.
"You kids okay?" the man asked.
"I broke my ankle," Mable said. She forced a chuckle then grimaced. "Could be worse."
Dipper held her down. "Take it easy. We'll get back to the Shack. I'm calling Wendy and Soos."
"Your phone's dead, bro-bro. Our phones are dead."
"You can use mine," the driver offered. The sign that bore Gravity Falls' name whizzed past the window. "What the hell were you kids doing out in the woods anyway?"
Leave it to Mabel to offer the cheeriest response. "Chasing monsters."
"We didn't expect that, though," Dipper quickly added. With everything falling back into place, he could see that this was no tourist. He may have checked in at the motel last night but the events of this evening were enough to make him be wary.
"You kids are playing with fire. Real fire, here," he hissed.
Dipper eyed the shotgun tossed haphazardly over the empty passenger seat next to the driver. A few unspent shells were strapped to the side. "Thanks for the save, mister—"
"You don't need to know who I am. I'm just a hunter. I hunt these things. You, kids, are not."
Mabel looked to her brother. She could see the hurt masked beneath an angry mien. "Listen, mister," she snapped back, "we appreciate the rescue but we've been dealing with these things when we were—"
"What, twelve?" the hunter groused. He didn't wait for them to reply. "Go home. Go rest. I'll be around for another day but tomorrow night, I'll be out."
"You hunt those things, right? Like a job?" Dipper sidelined.
A sigh. "It's a lifetime commitment. I'm here to put it down whether you pet it or not."
"You're not the only one then," the teen pressed.
"There are a lot of us out there. Hunting things. Keeping them in their place." He glanced back at them before turning the bend into the dirt road that led to the Mystery Shack. "I know where you live. I know your great uncles. If they ask, tell them to call the Winchester brothers."
"Winchester's your last name?" Mabel asked.
"No. But judging by what we faced back there, we might need their help." The pick-up stopped by the overly decorated lodge. He twisted his head to give them a good look-over. A sly grin formed over his rough aftershave. "They're the better hunters."
ORIGINALLY DRAFTED: February 9, 2017
LAST EDITED: February 9, 2017
UPLOADED: February 9, 2017
NOTE: I'm sleep-deprived and I want to get this done before I go to bed. Popped into my mind when I was taking a deuce so I had to write it down on paper. I'll edit it later. Critiques are welcome, especially on the writing style.
Have a nice day/night.