AVAVA
( Author's Note )
VAVAV
Well, Dead Falls is not over yet.
Who saw this coming?
AVAVA
( Dipper Pines )
VAVAV
The sound of gunshots run out though the empty streets, only to mix with the sound of groaning not too far from where he and his sister were. The groaning could have coming from someone that him or his sister had shot in defense. If he were lucky, that's what it would be. Though, luck wasn't on their side. They had returned to Gravity Falls, after leaving Wendy, and everyone else, with Wendy's family.
They had loved the safety of the cabins that were surrounded by forest. Surrounded by safety. The live stock that they had collected. The vegetables that would be planted soon. The company of everyone. But they had changed all that in to leave. To see if their family had survived.
So, if they were looking for their family, why were they in Gravity Falls?
They figured if their family had survived, they would look in Gravity Falls first.
So, Dipper and Mabel had returned to look for any sign that their parents had been there. A note, a picture. Something special to them.
Dipper hadn't thought to look before they had left Gravity Falls. In the couple of years that followed the infection, he hadn't returned to the Mystery Shack, since they gathered mattresses.
Another gunshot rung out, and a bullet whizzed past his head. Seemed Dark Blood was still pretty angry at him.
He ejected the magazine from his gun, checked the bullets, before putting the magazine back in. He scooted over to Mabel, to further himself out of the line of fire. Or at least, as far out of the line as he could get. He looked around, and looked around. His eyes stopped on their car. It was his and Mabel's car!
"Alright, Mabs." He leans over to his sister. "What I'm going to do, when this guy stops to reload, I'm going to start shooting, and we need to get to our car."
"Are you sure?" She asked.
"Yeah, Mabs." He answered, looking over to her. More confidant than she had been when all this had started. He noticed how she held her gun, ready to be aimed and fired. Her index finger extended past the trigger to avoid accidental firing. She had learned so much.
"Ready when you are." She said, moving into a crouch, preparing to run. He was proud of her, and would comment if he wasn't crouching getting ready to cover her. He couldn't let something like sentiment cloud his judgment at the moment. He had to be focused, in case the shooter had another weapon when that one ran out. The shooter that was left had been reloading, but he could have picked up a dropped weapon. Anything.
And that was what he was here for. Anything.
He had to be faster than the shooter. He was more experienced than the boy that started this journey. The boy that had no experience with a fire arm. That didn't mean he was the best. Didn't mean that the person out there didn't have more experience.
Odds were, if the shooter had been raised here in this small town known as Gravity Falls, he might have been hunting since he was young. Might be more proficient. But, it was either take this risk, or wait here to be killed when back-up arrived. They had no choice.
"Now!" He stood up as the firing stopped. He could see where the shooter was, even if he didn't have a clear shot. He was nestled behind a car in the middle of the road. He took aim and fired, the bullet hitting the windshield. What he could see of the shooter through the window disappeared, hiding behind the car. Dipper waited, heard his sister behind him start her run. He stood and followed slowly. Still aiming his gun. He saw the shooter start to peer up, and Dipper fired again, obliterating the side view mirror over the person's head.
'Damn it,' He thought to himself. He wasn't as accurate with this handgun as he was with his rifle. Then again, the rifle was bolt action, and not really meant for this. Though, the shot over the guys head was enough to make him duck down again.
'Ten left,' he thought to himself, knowing how many bullets were in the magazine, as he continued his pace.
"C'mon, Dip," Mabel called out, the shooter started to move again. Dipper took aim, and fired two shots in repetition, the second a little lower than the first. He couldn't see the person, so either they were hiding again, or dead.
'Doesn't matter,' he thought to himself as he heard the engine roar to life. He fired two more at the car, just in case. By the time the person was brave enough to look out again, hopefully they'd be long gone.
"Lets go," He said as he got into the passenger seat, Mabel taking off, before the door was even closed.
"That was some real Bonnie and Clyde stuff right there, Bro-Bro." Mabel said, though he could tell she was still a bit shaken, she wanted to make light of the situation.
"First, we aren't lovers. Second, Bonnie and Clyde died. We don't want to be them." Dipper said, not wanting to dash his sister's feelings. He just didn't want to think about either of them dying. He sure didn't want her to die. She was the only family he had. He couldn't, wouldn't, lose her.
"Well, we made it!" She said with some of her usual pep.
AVAVA
The Mystery Shack, home sweet home. Or at least it had been two years ago. Back when everything was completely normal, well as normal as you could get in this small weird little town. It seemed that most of the Dark Blood had vacated the town. Just a small group of them stayed behind, maybe to run the town. Maybe had a different plan.
He knew that they had a way of communication, though he didn't know how yet. Walkie-talkies didn't have long distance range. CB radios would have some distance, if they had radio repeaters set up, they could get even more distance. Maybe even to other cities. And then if someone there were to repeat the message, it wouldn't take long to send a message hundreds of miles.
'Not now, Dipper,' He thought to himself. They were safe enough. None of the lines had been tripped around the shack. So, maybe they had managed to get rid of the people that controlled the town. Couldn't have been many. The fight hadn't lasted that long.
Him and Mabel would stay around long enough to restock on anything they could find. Then to Piedmont to hopefully find their parents. Either, dead or alive. They had to know, one way or another. They just did. He knew there was always the chance, just like Wendy's parents. There was always just some slim chance that they could have survived.
"I got grub cooked here, Broseph." She came into the living room with a tray carrying a variety of things from chips, to canned meat, and crackers.
Normally a diet like this would kill you, though with as much calories as they burned daily, they could handle it for a while, at least until they got back to the Corduroy cabin, where fresh food would be available. In another week, they would be back at the cabin. Him and Wendy would be decorating that cabin that they had chosen for them and Mabel. Normally, newly dating people would want to be alone. But Wendy was fond of Mabel, and it wasn't like he wanted to be away from his twin. Not after everything that happened.
"Well, lets eat before it gets any more gross." Dipper almost chuckled.
"I miss the food from Wendy's." He couldn't agree with her more. And they both chuckled.
What kind of world had been created around them? They had been shot at today, almost died today. Had killed people today. Alright, so these people were killers and it was a kill or be killed situation. Avoided the infected. And yet, here they were laughing about old food, stale chips, and expired candy.
The afternoon and evening continued the same way into the night. Simple sibling bonding. Something that they hadn't actually been able to do, since they began this journey to find their parents. A week didn't seem like much, but to them it meant a lot. In this new world, a week was a long time. A lot could happen in a week. In this new world, people changed cars multiple times in a week.
The sound of bells ringing stopped their laughter and small talk.
"Coming from the front." Mabel said standing up, moments after he had stood, drawing his weapon.
"Can't we have one night, without having to defend ourselves from infected, or someone?" Dipper asked as he cocked his gun.
"I know right... so rude." Mabel said but following suit, by cocking her gun. "Ready for this, Broski?"
"Lets go." He said walking towards the front door, They had time. The trip wire was far enough. Although, it could be seen from the front door, and windows.
He opened the front door, just enough form him and his sister to move out. Hopefully not open enough to show it had been opened. It was relatively dark inside, except for the fire burning in the fireplace, and a few candles. Could be just enough so that they couldn't be seen. It could be an infected person, but they wouldn't take the chance.
Being twins, they moved in unison. No sounds made as they took their positions. They knew the other better than any other person in the world. That, and they played out this scenario enough time. Maybe not here, but close enough to this. He looked around, then looked over to Mabel. She was scanning the area around the front of the shack. She saw it too, or rather. Actually, the lack of seeing anything. No movement.
"Hey, you see anything?" Mabel asked, not taking her eyes off of the treeline.
"No." Could it have been an animal. But he had to be sure.
A rustle from near them had both twins aiming their weapons at the sound.
"Alright, come out," Dipper called out.
"Slowly!" Mabel added.
"Don't shoot me." A familiar voice called out, "We have to stop running into each other like this."
"Really?" Dipper lowered his weapon at the sound of a voice he would know anywhere.
"Wendy?" Mabel called out.
"The one and only." Wendy stood up and slowly moved forward. Maybe she was worried about being shot if she moved to fast.
"Why are you here?" Mabel asked, as Dipper holstered his weapon.
In truth, he didn't know why she had come, only that he was happy that she was there. He followed the girls into the Shack.
Once in the light of the living room, he embraced Wendy in a tight hug. He had missed her. It had only been a week, but he had grown accustomed to being close to the redhead.
"So, Tomorrow?" Wendy asked.
"Tomorrow we make plans for Piedmont."