The ride back was spent with Dipper comforting Wirt and Mabel distracting Greg, talking to him about the future and how no, they didn't have personnel flying saucers yet. Wirt was a wreck, not crying as he expected himself to, but feeling all but empty. Dipper was talking to him, trying to explain that he could find out what had happened, try to send him back, but he only listened to half of it. The warm wind had somehow gained a slight chill, and he shivered. Oh, he had thought that in the Unknown, he had been as far from all as he could possibly be, yet now the distance seemed greater than even the one which separated him from the ever-receding horizon…
"Wirt, you idiot!" He said, slapping a palm to his face.
This interrupted the two other chattering siblings, who looked at him strangely. When he realized what had happened, his cheeks and ears turned bright red with embarrassment. Another tense second passed, before the two silliest people present in Oregon at that time exploded into a fit of giggles, which turned into a good five minutes of full-blown laughter.
At this, the older teen felt slightly better. Indeed, they were in an unusual and frightening situation, but Greg seemed more than happy, and way more comfortable with it than he was. His brother was the most important one out of them both, he thought sadly.
The jeep stopped in front of a farmhouse, where everybody got out. Jason Funderburker had been transferred from Wirt's shoulder to the top of Mabel's backpack, which was, in Greg's opinion, much more comfortable. The person they now knew as Soos went off with Dipper to bring the dog back to the farmer, while Mabel led them over to an old car. Dipper would this time have to sit at the front, leaving the back bunk for the three other people who were riding in the vehicle, apart from the driver.
Wirt glanced at a sticker stuck to the window with years of dust which read:
Superglas, sturdiest bargain glass, 1995
He snorted at it and tried to ignore it, but his eyes kept tracing the figures over and over again. This was the first tangible proof of what the twins had said; up until now it could have all been an elaborate joke. But seeing the impossible-to-fake dirt-covered sticker, he had to resign himself to this fate which was his.
"When I do count the clock that tells the time
And see the brave day sunk in hideous night…"[1]
He felt a slight tug at his elbow, and glanced down from the entrancing numerals to Greg. He had a pleading look on his face when he said:
"Please, can you sit in the middle? I like the window seat."
A sad smile made his way onto his face as he agreed and shuffled over. He hadn't realised it before, but Greg was far more insightful than any other child his age, and usually had a good idea on what was best to do in these types of situations. Maybe the Unknown had opened their eyes more than he had realised.
On that thought, Mabel squeezed in and pulled out a few apples from her bag.
"I thought you might be hungry, so I asked Mrs. Bran if she had anything that we could take as snacks. I wasn't sure what to get for Jason Funderburker though, is that alright?"
"It's fine! He can share an apple with me if he wants. What do you think, Jason Funderburker?"
But the frog was fast asleep.
The two boys came back soon after, tired and dog-less, to Wirt's relief. Once everybody was in the car and buckled up (it took some time for Wirt and Greg to figure out the three-point belt system [2]), they were off down a similar road to the last one, which turned to asphalt after a few minutes of driving.
"Mr. Bran is a bit upset that we didn't catch the Mandragora, but he doesn't mind us leaving it until tomorrow. Do you think you can handle that dog again, Soos? [3]"
"Yep, man. She isn't much of a handful really, she just needs love and affection."
"And a steel-chain leash."
"Ok, you've got a point."
A relatively comfortable silence lulled onto the car, all the people in it drooping with exhaustion. Only after a while did Mabel realise something.
"Oh, shoot! I have to phone Grunkle Stan, he needs to prepare extra bedding and food!"
She pulled the phone out the bottom of her bag, illuminating the screen with a touch of her finger. Dipper glanced back in mild interest, while the two other boys were completely enthralled. Oblivious to this fact, Mabel typed in the contact's name (Grunkle Stan, with a goat as profile picture), and called the man.
A slight background noise of TV could be heard to her as she explained what had happened. The grunkle obliged, used to the weird stuff the two kids got up to, even if that meant he had to interrupt his wrestling match halfway through.
"You are not letting Waddles watch that horrible fighting, aren't you?"
"Er, yeah, sure." He said, shoving the pig out of the hearing-range of the phone. Unfortunately, a loud grunt escaped the animal before this could be accomplished.
"WADDLES! Stan, you vicious, childhood-breaking monster! How could you…"
"See, ya, Mable!"
And the line went dead.
"Urgh, I know somebody who's going to get a good dressing-down when we get home."
Mabel's knuckles popped as she stared out of the darkened window, a murderous flame ignited in her hazel eyes. Wirt shuddered and shrinked away from her, instinctively protecting Greg by raising his arm between them.
"Don't worry, Grunkle Stan will probably have some sparkly sticker book to placate her with when we get back. Although I have to warn you, if he doesn't, you should keep out of the line of fire."
Dipper wasn't bothered in the slightest by his sister's anger, used to her years of silliness. Wirt was unsure of what Dipper meant by this statement. He decided to just let it slide, tagging Mabel as mostly harmless. And she had given them apples, after all.
Quite some time had passed when they finally got back to the Shack. Greg had dropped off soon after Mabel's phone call, followed closely by the latter. Both the older boys' shoulders were sore from serving as makeshift pillows by the end of the journey.
Wirt had shaken his brother awake, incapable of carrying him in his current state. Yawning was heard from everyone as they got out of the car. Soos brought them to the edge of the porch, before heading back home to his Abuela.
"Soos, it's a bit much to ask you to do two sleepless nights in a row, but the new moon…"
"Don't worry, Dipper. My brain's mush for now, but I only need a few solid hours of sleep. I used to play computer games all night long, you know."
"Ok, we'll talk about that tomorrow then, it'll be easier for both of us."
"Fine. Bye kids!"
They all waved good-heartedly back at him. When the weak light stopped illuminating the car, they headed towards the back door of the Shack. It was unlocked, as expected, and they all filed into the small hall.
Greg recovered his energy surprisingly quickly, overjoyed by the house after days of rough living in the Unknown. Wirt was slightly less effusive, but still glad to have a safe roof over his head for once.
"Are you hungry? Mabel gave you a snack earlier on, but maybe would you like something more consistent?"
The brothers exchanged glances.
"Or you could go straight to bed." added Mabel.
"Yeah, definitely bed."
"All right, Stan should have set the extra stuff in our room."
"So it will be like a sleepover!" squealed Mabel.
"Hurray! I've never had a sleepover before! Is it fun?" said a suddenly dubious Greg.
"Of course it is!"
"Mabel, there is a time and place for enthusiasm, and three in the morning is not one of them. Do you guys need toiletries or pyjamas or stuff?" questioned Dipper.
"No, please… just let us crash."
Wirt was feeling a bit woozy, and he stumbled when he tried to take a step forward.
"Fine! Let's just show you where the room is, Mable, help me please?"
Seeing as the two boys were dead on their feet, they took the precaution of grasping their hand and/or arm to make it easier for them to walk up the creaky staircase. The room they entered indeed had two extra air mattresses crammed in any way they would fit, with incredibly, a clean pillow and blanket on each of them. Wirt lost his grip on reality just then, forgetting that he was still wearing his hat and shoes as he hit the soft paradise, fast asleep.
Greg actually took his kettle and shoes off before curling up in the most comfortable bed he had had in days. Jason Funderburker was carried over by Mabel to Greg's pillow, not having moved throughout the whole car trip. She smiled at them all before heading off after her brother to eat a little and get changed. Seeing them like that had convinced her to follow them as fast as possible to the land of dreams.
