Echoes Of A Nearby Future

Chapter One

Authors note: I wanted to follow up on "Five Years Later: A Shooting Star Falls" as I felt my last chapter of that left a lot of story to be told. This picks up after the events of the final chapter. As for Wendy's look, think of Haley Williams' look in the Paramore video 'Ignorance'.

It was mid-summer in the small town of Gravity Falls Oregon. The season had started with such promise, as the area's favorite twins arrived for yet another summer full of mystery and fun. Sadly, only two days into their latest visit, tragedy had struck. The aftermath of the event left an emotional scar on the town that it may very well never fully heal from. Especially hard hit by the catastrophe were Wendy Corduroy and Dipper Pines. Wendy, the town's only police officer at the time had seen two of her good friends that she considered little sisters, as well as a former lover, pass away from the needless violence. The guilt of not being able to prevent their deaths weighed heavy on the auburn haired woman's mind and had driven her to the brink of suicide. Only a last minute intervention by the spirits of Mabel Pines and Pacifica Northwest had prevented the distraught young woman from succeeding.

In the days following the tragedy, Wendy had watched the Pines family gather to lay to rest the shooting star of the family. The perky teen girl had been buried, along with the innocence of the town the redhead had lived in all her life. Mabel's parents arrived the day after her death, followed by her Great Uncles a few days later. While it was understandable that the family would be devastated by the loss of the young brunette girl, her twin brother had withdrawn from life altogether. The teen boy had kept to himself in the days following the horrific event and hadn't said more than a few words. On the day of Mabel's funeral, the brown haired teenager had managed to pull himself out of his room in the Mystery Shack. While his body was present, his mind was not. It resided far away from the grave of his sister; in summers gone by and days that would never come to pass.

Pacifica Northwest's funeral had all of the extravagance that the wealthy family had become well known for. Dipper and Wendy were sure that Pacifica hated every bit of it. The small northern Oregon town had practically come to a standstill on the day of the blonde heiress' internment. In the following days, the wealthy family had tried to keep up appearances of normalcy. Behind closed doors, however, Preston and Priscilla Northwest grieved for their fallen daughter. For all of the evil deeds the family had committed over the centuries, including attempting to sell out the town to a trans-dimensional dream demon, the loss of their only child had seemed a bit cruel of fate to bestow upon the family.

Two weeks after the incident, life had almost returned to normal in Gravity Falls. The townsfolk returned to their everyday activities, albeit with a bit of a heavy heart. Chief of Police Blubs had returned as soon as he had gotten word of the incident in his town. Along with Deputy Durland, the pair of officers had placed Wendy Corduroy on indefinite leave, citing mental duress and emotional damage. Aside from attending the funerals of her two good friends and Robbie, the auburn haired woman had retreated to her second story apartment above a small shop in downtown Gravity Falls. The redhead began her day by waking up in the early afternoon, when a few beams of light had finally managed to penetrate the otherwise dark dwelling. The young woman had lost the will to put any effort into anything she did. Her once clean and orderly apartment had become disheveled, littered with beer cans and pizza boxes.

Wendy had made her way to the kitchen, where the redhead opened her refrigerator and removed the last remaining can of alcohol that had remained inside. The young woman was dressed in a pair of green flannel sleep pants and a black tank top. She sat down on her black leather sofa and cracked open the cool aluminum can that rest in her hand. Her mind drifted off to thoughts of her friends Mabel and Pacifica. "I should have been the one to die…" the redhead said to herself, piercing the silence of the apartment. She took a swig from the can as tears began to well up in her eyes. "I know you said that I have to be tough and hang in there… but I don't think I can Mabel… I don't think I can…" the young woman said as the tears had breached her eyelids and began their cascade down her freckled cheeks. The doubt that surrounded Wendy was something she was unable to process. All of her life she had been raised to be tough and to believe in herself. Now, she wasn't sure if she wanted to live.

Finishing the can with a big gulp, the young woman rose to her feet. "Fuck. I guess I'll have to go get some more booze… great" she lamented to herself as she threw the can across the room in a fit of frustration. The underage woman sent a text to Nate, who was her hook up for the one thing that been able to numb her pain. The redhead dreaded leaving her apartment lately. The last time she had appeared in public was to grab a bite to eat last week and she could feel all the eyes that were staring at her. The people had said things to one another in a hushed tone, trying to keep the redhead from hearing their judgmental opinions of her. The young woman had overheard one woman telling her daughter that she 'did nothing to save those poor girls' and that 'she should turn in her badge'. Another person had said that she didn't take down the shooter soon enough because 'she was fucking him' and that 'she was probably in on it'.

The words hurt her more than any bullet ever could. The bruises from the rounds that had hit her bullet-proof vest had begun to fade and the graze wound to her head was healing. The auburn haired woman got up from the couch and headed to her bedroom to try and find a suitable outfit for her excursion out into the world. Wendy shed her sleep pants and tank top to reveal her thin frame. Walking over to her dresser, the young woman selected a pair of black skinny jeans from the drawer. The pants had reminded her of Robbie, which brought a feeling of sadness and anger to her mind. Opening another drawer in the cabinet, the redhead selected a grey V-neck t-shirt and pulled it on over her red hair.

Wendy walked to her bathroom and flipped on the light switch, revealing her messy red mane. She reached for a hairbrush that resided on the counter of her sink and ran it through her auburn hair. After fighting with the knots that had accumulated for the past few days, she put on some black eyeliner and eye shadow. Pleased that her look was acceptable enough to go out in public, she grabbed her small leather purse and headed out to meet Nate. She walked down the stairs and to the front door of the apartment, sitting on the bottom step to throw on her black and white high top sneakers. Her palm was drenched in sweat as she placed it on the cold brass knob and turned it, casting daylight onto the young woman. Stepping outside of the doorframe, she noticed how nice the day was. The temperature was neither cool nor warm, but rather almost perfect. A few puffy clouds decorated the petty blue sky that hung above her head. Locking the door, the auburn haired woman headed down the sidewalk, unsure of what was next.

The wind blew her long red locks into her face, annoying the suspended officer. After clearing her face of the annoyance for a third time, a thought came over the young woman. Walking a few more blocks through downtown Gravity Falls, the redhead came to her new destination. 'Get The Hell Out of Hair Salon' the glass front door read as Wendy pushed it open. The redhead walked up to the front desk, hoping nobody would recognize her. "Well… if it isn't Wendy Corduroy…" a somewhat familiar voice called out to the apprehensive young woman. "Hey…" she replied to her former high school classmate, Renee. She was slightly shorter than Wendy and had a more average build than the slim redhead. "I'm sorry about what happened to you a few weeks ago… Are you alright?" the woman asked with genuine concern. "No… Not really" was about all she could muster. The two had not been close friends in high school, but were in a few classes together. Renee knew that Wendy was a nice person and that she cared about her friends greatly, so the comment put a small frown on her face. The sandy haired woman couldn't begin to imagine what the young woman was going through.

"So, you're here to get your hair styled?" asked the somewhat confused woman. She was certain that Wendy Corduroy wasn't here for a haircut, as she was pretty sure that the young woman had never had one in her life. Once, when her mother still owned the place, she recalled her coming in to get her hair done for a school dance, but that had been a while ago. "Nah… I need a change. I wanna get a haircut" she told her former acquaintance. "A-Are you sure hun?" she asked the redhead. "Yeah… I think it's time" she said in a somewhat solemn voice. "Alright… well come on back and we'll get you all set up here" she instructed Wendy, motioning for her to take a seat in the chair. The redhead took a seat and looked at herself in the mirror. Even though she looked presentable on the outside, the young woman was a mess just below the surface. "So… you're finally getting a haircut. Well… you couldn't have chosen a better place to come to. I promise you'll look great. So, what were you thinking?" Renee asked the auburn haired woman with a reassuring smile. "Well… it's just a chore to keep up with lately and I wanted something shorter" she told the sandy haired woman. "Well… if you wanna go really short, I can give you a pixie cut… it's all the rage in LA right now… that actress from that show 'The Theory of Gravity' just got it done" she relayed to Wendy. "Ugh… I don't know about that… I wanna keep some length to it… I got it!" the redhead said to the hairstylist as she reached for the phone in her pocket.

A few weeks before the twins had arrived, Wendy had gone to a music festival in Portland. One of the lead singers of a band had a hairstyle she liked. Looking up a picture of the musician on her 'Boggle' app, she showed it to the stylist. The picture was of a woman slightly older than Wendy, with brightly colored tattoos running down her arms. Her hair was jet black and about shoulder length; somewhat layered. "I want this!" was what she emphatically told Renee. "Well… that is a bit of a change… it'll be tough, but I can do it" she said with a bit of determination in her voice. "I have an idea" Wendy said to Renee. "Can you donate the hair I cut off to one of those foundations for kids who need it? I wanna be able to help at least one kid out" she said with a bit of regret in her voice. "Yeah, I think that's a great idea" the sandy haired woman agreed.

The scissors made their first cut, removing about a foot and a half of hair from the redhead. Renee held it up so that Wendy could see the long red locks in the mirror. The redhead was both shocked and relieved to have hair removed from her. She was pretty sure that some of that hair had been on her head when her mother was still alive. Looking in the mirror again, she saw that her locks still cascaded behind her shoulders, but she didn't feel it residing on the small of her back. "Close your eyes… I want you to be surprised" Renee said to the auburn haired woman. Wendy complied and shut her eyes. "Am I really doing this?" the redhead thought to herself. After a few minutes a voice pierced her deep thoughts. "Okay… you can open your eyes now!" and excited Renee exclaimed. Separating her eyelids, she saw a stranger in the mirror in front of her. She was very pleased with what she saw in her reflection. It was definitely shorter, but still feminine. "So… what do you think?" asked an apprehensive Renee. "I-I… I love it! It's awesome! I still look like me, but different" the auburn haired woman said with a smile; the first she had displayed in a long while. "I'm glad you like it Wendy!" the sandy haired woman said with excitement in her voice. Wendy rose from the chair and hugged the hairstylist. "You have no idea how much it means to me to have someone do something nice for me…" the redhead said as tears filled up her emerald eyes.

"So… what's the damage?" the young woman said as she regathered herself. "For you… nothing…" Renee replied to the shocked redhead. "Nah… I gotta give you something… I mean-"was all she could get out before the hairstylist interrupted. "It's the least I could do. Look, I've heard a lot of people talking crap about you and I don't think you deserve a bit of it. You tried. Hell, you were the only thing keeping them safe and you get this back. Fuck 'em!" Renee said in fury of emotion. "Thanks…" was all Wendy could say before breaking down into tears. Renee embraced the emotional auburn haired woman. After about a minute, Wendy was able to compose herself once again. "Thanks Renee! We need to catch up sometime soon" she said to the hairstylist. "For sure" the sandy haired woman replied. Wendy headed down the sidewalk once again, this time with a renewed sense of optimism.