Dipper Pines looked down at his hands in astonishment.
"How…" he stammered quietly, "How did I do that?" He looked straight towards the kitchen where his grand uncle and co-worker now resided. "My hands went straight through their bodies!"
The deep, disturbing voice of the stranger from the woods began to echo through the frantic child's mind:
"Your time here is at an end. Come with me to the other side…"
"The other side?" Dipper questioned. "What if that weirdo was right? What if something did happen to me?" The image of his black-clad adversary was implanted into his head. Dipper gulped at a possible apprehension, "What if – what if that big guy was a grim reaper of sorts – and worse of all, I just made him really mad!"
Naturally, his rational side quickly took over, "But that's impossible!" Dipper took a quick gander over his short form, "I mean, there's no blood, no bruises, no broken bones; definitely no sign of injury." He continued narrating in an effort to reassure himself, "Besides, if I really was dea - um…the big "D," wouldn't there have been like, a white light, or cherubs playing on harps, or pearly gates, or something like that?"
As the reality of his situation began to sink in, Dipper's curiosity also grew as such. He stood up and walked over to the closet. Without thinking twice, he threw his hand back and launched a closed fist towards the old wooden door. Dipper's breath was knocked down of him as his tiny hand disappeared into the paneling.
"WHOA!" he exclaimed, moving his hand up and down the door. "This feels…so weird!" His arm felt no resistance as it miraculously broke several laws of physics. "Why didn't I notice this before?" He turned to look at the open doorway leading to Wendy's station in the gift shop. "Oh, yeah," he remembered, "The front door and the gift shop were both left open; I just ran right in!"
Dipper removed his hand and focused his attention on his black sneakers on the shoddy floor. He stomped down several times, only to discover that the ground remained as firm as ever.
"Odd," he observed. "My feet aren't sinking downwards at all…" He rubbed his little chin in thought, "It could be a case of "mind over matter," where my ghos – err – see through form automatically knows what can be beneficially dangerous to me. The young detective had shivers sent down his spine as he imagined himself falling through the center of the Earth, only to end up on the other side in China.
Left without any other ideas, Dipper decided to regroup in his bedroom in the attic. He needed to think of a way to escape this new existence, as well as have a battle plan ready in case his new friend was to track him down.
"Hopefully," Dipper wished. "I can lie down on my bed without me going through it!"
With a sense of hesitation, Dipper approached the staircase leading up to the second floor of the Mystery Shack. He carefully placed one sneakered foot on the first step, only to exhale in relief as he remained stable on top of it.
"PHEW!"
Feeling more confident, Dipper continued onward and put his hand onto of the staircase banister. Unfortunately, his palm went through the support, making him stumble roughly into his knees. He winced in pain as he gently climbed back to his feet.
"I guess I should consider that a good thing; after all, ghosts and spirits aren't supposed to feel pain…"
Dipper finally arrived in front of the room that he shared with his twin sister, Mabel. He reached for the doorknob to open the door, only to have his hand go through the knob. In irritation, he threw a palm up to his face.
"How stupid…" he chastised himself. "Gotta think ghost – bah- see through!"
Taking a deep breath, Dipper threw himself against the closed door. When he opened his eyes, he found himself on the other side. Despite achieving his goal, the boy simply shook his head, "I don't think I'll ever get used to that…"
Dipper gently began to lower his back end onto his orange-blanketed mattress. When he discovered that the bed was solid enough to sit on, he immediately threw himself backwards in an effort to relax.
"OW!"
Dipper had bonked his head on something out on the bed. He turned slightly to see that he landed on top of his worn-put journal marked with the number three.
"Stupid book…" he mumbled as he rubbed the back of his head. Suddenly, the realization of what just happened had struck him.
"I felt the journal…I FELT THE JOURNAL!"
The excited boy reached for the ancient tome, only to discover that he was able to pick it up freely! With a renewed sense of hope, Dipper started to giggle with glee as he ran his fingers through the worn pages of the book.
"I can't believe it! How is it that…"
He stopped in his tracks as he recalled exactly what it was that he was dealing with.
"This thing is literally an encyclopedia for the supernatural and the paranormal," Dipper said, twisting and turning the novel in analytical study. "It's bound to have some magical properties to it…" He lied down and started to speed-read through the journal, "There's gotta be something in here that can help me out!"
A few chapters later, Dipper's eyes lit up upon coming across a particular passage:
"Out of body experiences:
In my research, I have come across several circumstances in which individuals have taken on a façade of death of sorts. In truth, they had suffered a traumatic experience in which their physical and spiritual essences have been separated…"
Dipper took a second to reflect on the description, "Well, it sounds awfully similar to what's happening with me." He sighed in relief, "At least this confirms that I'm not dead!" He returned to his finding,
"While a reunion of both body and soul will generally return the subject to normal, there are several key factors to consider…"
The young detective raised an eyebrow to the darken turn of the story.
"At times, the spirit enjoys its newfound freedom a bit too much, and journeys far away from its earthbound shell. That is when one should be wary of the soul seeker."
Dipper turned the page and gasped upon seeing the illustration on the other side of the page. It was the man in black that chased him throughout the Gravity Falls Woods!
"Soul seekers gain their nourishment from capturing wayward souls and forcing them into the afterlife by any means necessary. Because of this immense hunger, they are unable to tell the difference between the recently departed and those whom have been merely separated from their bodies."
"Well, that's just swell!" Dipper scoffed. "Where was this guy when we were at the Dusk2Dawn? Playing hooky?"
"While lost souls are unable to interact with the physical world, there have been cases where they have been able to contact those in the living world to which they share an unbreakable bond…"
"Unbreakable bond?" Dipper questioned as he continued onwards.
"An unbreakable bond - a sense of universal caring and understanding that expands throughout any amount of time or space. It is this that allows two beings to connect no matter the distance or difficulty."
Dipper closed the book and pondered, "If I have that kind of connection with anyone, it would definitely have to be – "
Abruptly, a shout from downstairs shattered his thoughts:
"HEY, EVERYBODY! I'M HOME!"
"MABEL!"
The boy jumped to his feet. He was often reminded time and time again of how twins are supposed to have a form of special link. Maybe such a thing would be his way out of this living nightmare! He ran through the closed bedroom door, only to be halted halfway.
"What the hey?" Dipper looked down to see that the still-solid journal prevented his exit. He cursed and groaned as he attempted to pull the tome across with him. After a few seconds of struggling, he threw the book down in anger, and took off towards the staircase.
"I ONLY STOPPED HOME FOR A SEC!" Mabel warned. "I'M GOING BACK WITH CANDY AND GRENDA FOR A SLEEPOVER!"
Dipper spun the corner and smiled at the sight of his braced twin.
"Oh, Mabel! Thank heavens you're ho – "
The detective froze as his sibling simply walked through him. She opened the closet door and began searching through its dusty contents.
"Mabel!" Dipper beseeched. "Can't you hear me? I really need your hel – "
She turned her head and yelled into the distance, "GRUNKLE STAN! DID YOU SEE MY –" Mabel halted as she loaded the object into her knapsack. "Nevermind…" she said in a sing-song voice.
"Mabel!" her twin begged, trying his best to hold back tears. "PLEASE! Can't you notice something's wrong?! "He attempted to place his hand on her sweater-covered shoulder, only to watch it fall through every time.
Suddenly, the brunette raised her head and looked around. An expression of confusion overcame the young girl's face. Dipper clenched his fists in excitement as he hoped that his pleas had finally made it through to the other side.
"Grunkle Stan!" Mabel cried out once more. "Have you seen Dipper? He should have been home hours ago?"
"YES!" the boy cheered. She knew something was amiss!
"Huh?" Dipper could hear the surprised response of his caretaker stemming from the next room other. "Didn't he say he was camping out tonight; or something like that?"
Mabel shrugged her shoulders, "Oh, okay then!"
"NO!"
The pre-teen picked up her backpack, and made her way to the family exit of the Mystery Shack, "I'm going now! If you guys see him, tell Dipper I said bye!"
"WAIT, MABEL! WAIT!"
Dipper was left totally helpless as his sister paused briefly to pet her pig Waddles goodbye, and swiftly made her way to a girls' night out.
"BYE, EVERYBODY!"
*SLAM*
In a stricken state of disbelief, Dipper sunk to his knees, and tried to comprehend his failure.
"But I…I mean…the book said…"
He looked down to see that Waddles had approached him, and oddly enough, tried to comfort the distressed boy with a series of licks. However, the small pink tongue simply went through Dipper's invisible form.
"Great…" he bemoaned to himself. "Only the pig can see me…some unbreakable bond!"
All of a sudden, Waddles's vision shot upwards. The pink pet's eyes enlarged deeply, and instantaneously, he let out an ear-piercing squeal as he turned tail and rushed into the parlor where Stan and Soos watched the best that primetime TV had to offer.
"What was that about?"
A split second later, all of the lights in the Mystery Shack shut off at the same time.
Dipper raised his head, only to be surrounded by eternal darkness.
"SOOS!" Stan Pines bellowed to his employee, despite being only inches away, "The power's gone out! Go find out what the deal is, eh?"
"Yes, sir!"
Dipper could hear the loud movements of his pal fumbling around in the dark.
"What else can go wrong?" As Dipper lowered his head, his eyes caught onto something that made his flesh crawl: a purple-colored smoke swirled around his knees.
"Oh, no….nononono!" Dipper jumped to his feet and started to turn in place, looking for any signs of movement in the perpetual black.
"I know you're out there!" he challenged as he twisted around. "Come on out!" With every second that passed, Dipper's nerves became even more ravaged.
"WHERE ARE YOU?!"
The lights turned back on as Soos's voice echoed throughout the small cabin, "GOT IT!"
Before he could react, Dipper felt two hands roughly grab him on the shoulders from behind. His mouth twisted into a gaping hole of horror as he turned around. His soft, shattered brown eyes met the pure, white undead ones of the soul seeker.
"RIGHT HERE!" the otherworldly visitor roared as he tightened his grip on his victim.
Dipper tried to escape the iron-clad clasp, only to be pulled back. He slipped out of his navy blue vest and sped towards the staircase. As Dipper made his way upstairs, he could hear the reverberating of his opponent's enraged scream. The frightened child raced back towards his room in hopes of retrieving his abandoned journal. Perhaps it would have a clue on how to elude this creature.
Unexpectedly, Dipper felt something drag him down back to the splintered floor. He turned around to see that a gloved hand had reached from beneath the floor and snagged his right ankle. Dipper attempted to kick himself loose with his free foot, only to have it captured moments later. He dug his fingernails into the wooden ground as he was dragged back through the floorboards.
Within seconds, Dipper was thrown roughly down on the tacky carpet that decorated the Pines' hallway. While stunned, he looked up to see the menacing grimace of the soul seeker. He was back exactly where the chase started!
"It's like I said earlier, young one: there is no escape from me! Ever!"
Dipper quickly recovered and raised his hands in self-defense, "WAIT!" he pleaded. "You don't have to do this! I'm really alive! I just need to find my body!" He bit his lip as he finished his sentence. Dipper had no idea how he had originally ended up in the woods, yet alone where his physical casing might be.
"It matters not to me how you arrived at this destination," the seeker sneered. "You are a lost soul and it is my duty to retrieve you. That I have been commanded to do; therefore, I shall!"
"Wait…" Dipper asked. "Commanded by whom?"
The monstrous figure fell silent as he advanced on the young boy. As the giant reached out, Dipper hopped away at the last moment. He spun around and dashed into the living room.
"SOOS! GRUNKLE STAN! YOU GOTTA HELP ME, PLEASE! HE'S GONNA GET ME!"
The adults remained stationed comfortably on their respective cushioned rest areas, totally unaware of that their friend was in dire need of their assistance. Dipper hustled over the sofa and around the recliner where his great-uncle sat. His devilish chaser circled around in an attempt to cut the adolescent off as the two adults remained oblivious that the spirits were jumping in and out through their physical forms.
Dipper stopped in his tracks as he was about to hit Waddles, whom had found a resting place at Stan's feet (only to remember that he couldn't make contact with the pig if he wanted to). The small, pink creature raised its head, acknowledging Dipper's presence. However, he cried out upon setting his sights on the soul seeker yet again. Waddles hopped up and ran off towards an escape, startling the grim figure temporarily.
"WOAH!" Stan leaped from the recliner as the frightened pig spiral out of control. He glanced back at Soos, "What's the deal with that thing?" After a second, he resumed his groove in his favorite chair as he mumbled to himself, "Stupid pig…"
Dipper noticed that his foe was caught off-guard by the swine's erratic actions, "This is my chance…" Without a second thought, he sprinted back into the hallway. Looking around for a getaway, he spied the closed-down Mystery Shack Gift Shop.
"Maybe I can stow away in the shadows; at least until tall, dark, and gruesome gives up!"
The hopeful pre-teen hurried through the open doorway and ducked down behind a cabinet full of mementos and souvenirs. As he struggled to catch his breath, Dipper could make out the deafening *STOMP* *STOMP* *STOMP* of the soul seeker's heavy boots. Very carefully, he peered from behind the counter to see the villain's pure white eyes illuminating the pitch black room, scanning every orifice for hints leading to his prey's whereabouts.
Oddly enough, the creature walked away from Dipper's location to stop in front of the worn out vending machine. He watched in quiet awe as the soul seeker tilted its head, examining the light behind the barely-lit appliance.
"I don't get it," Dipper thought, "Does it want a snack or something?"
The soul seeker lowered its head and to Dipper's surprise, walked though the vending machine. After a few moments of hesitation, the confused tween stood up from his hiding place.
"What is he doing?" Dipper figured that the supernatural beast was simply taking a shortcut through the walls to better track him down.
"In the meantime, I've got to find a better hiding place; somewhere that he can't get to, even with the ability to walk through walls…"
Lightning struck the boy's mind as he returned to the closet where Mabel was searching for her sleepover supplies. Unknown to everyone except for the Pines themselves, a small crawlspace was hidden at the very back of the closet. It was so tiny that only someone the size of a child could reach.
Dipper threw himself downward and crawled into the shelter. To prevent himself from being seen, he tucked his legs against his chest.
"All I have to do is hide out here, and hopefully, that creep'll –"
He instantly froze in place as his eyes focused on the two glowing lights just above him. The soul seeker was standing right above him!
Dipper lowered his head into his shirt, taking calming, quiet breaths. "It's alright…it's alright…" he cradled himself, rocking back and forth,"…as long as he didn't see me, I'm still safe…"
As the brute moved closer, he impeded in mid-step. Oddly enough, the seeker turned his body in the opposite direction. A low-key, chiming sound started to echo in Dipper's ears.
"That's strange…" Dipper commented. "I can hear…a bell ringing?"
An instant later, the behemoth grumbled and disappeared back through the closet door. Ecstatically, Dipper started to make his way out of the crawlspace.
"Wait a sec…this has to be a trick, right?"
Dipper slid back into the crevice, "I'll bet he's just waiting for me to pop out…" He wrapped his arms around his legs as he squeezed himself tighter and tighter. "I guess I have no choice but to wait it out in here…"
Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours. The young boy became wearier and more nerve wrecked with every passing moment. The pressure started to get to Dipper as the threat of the soul seeker flashed repeatedly throughout his mind:
"There is no escape from me! Ever!"
Tears started to flow down the twelve year-old's face as he faced the inevitable:
"That thing's right; I have no way out of this!" Dipper silently sobbed to himself, "The book was wrong! No can hear me! No one can help me! I'm all alone! I-I-It's only a matter of time before I slip up and he's takes me a – awa –"The child became so upset that he couldn't even finish his sentence.
Just as Dipper let out a loud sniffle, the closet door sprang open. Dipper raised his redden eyes to see that a tall, shadowy figure stood in the entryway. He quickly covered his mouth with both hands, feeling somewhat sheepish for letting his emotions get the best of him; especially in such a dangerous situation.
"Oh, no! I've given myself away!" Dipper shut his eyes tightly as he silently prayed, "Please don't find me…please don't find me…"
In his self-imposed darkness, Dipper could hear the scrunching of boots as the figure took a few steps closer to his position in the crawlspace. A second later, a bright light shone though his eyelids as the being called out to the hiding boy.
"Dipper?! Where are you?! I know you're in there somewhere!"