Day 2

Phoebe lied! Mabel thought as she rolled out from under the bed. But I did find my grappling hook! She hit the release button and it shot out, crashing through the wall.

"Whoa Mabel, where did you get that gun?" Candy asked.

Mabel smirked, "It's not a gun; it's a grappling hook. I got it from the gift shop. It's much more funner than the hat Dipper chose!" She retracted the cord. "I kinda forgot about it, and I'm glad I found it. Who knows when I'll need it?" She tossed it onto her bed. "Anyways, the bathroom is a great place for the dressing room, and we can take turns holding the camera."

"But who's gonna be the judge?" Grenda asked in a raspy voice.

From under Dipper's bed, a large pink nose popped out, revealing Waddle's chubby face. Mabel grinned and pulled him out.

"Waddle's is good at observing! He'll make a great judge, won't you baby?" he made a small snorting sound and twitched his nose. Mabel brought him into a tight embrace, "Oooo! You're sho ceoute and chubby, aren't you!"

The girls smiled.

"Well what are we waiting for?" said Grenda.

Mabel threw her arms up in the air, "Nothing!"

Suddenly, the bedroom door burst open and Soos appeared, panting from the long hike up the stairs.

"Dudes. . .I just saw. . .a dead person. . .blood. . .everywhere—it's freaky dude!"

Mabel cocked her head. "Um, are you sure 'bout that?"

Soos nodded. "The cops and ambulance are there with all the flashy lights and stuff. You should come check it out!"

The room was silent for a minute. Then Grenda broke the silence.

"Yeah! I wanna see it!" she exclaimed. Mabel gave both of them an uneasy look. There was nothing pleasing about the situation, and there was no reason for her to get involved.

"You guys go ahead. I'll set up the stage."

"Aww come on Mabel!" it was Candy this time, "Aren't you a bit curious?"

"Yeah girl! It's not every day you see a dead person!"

Exactly! And why the heck they'd ever wanted to see one, Mabel didn't know. This day already had a lot of drama tied into it, and she could really do off with a normal get together with her friends.

"Please Mabel? Please please please?"

Mabel felt her temperature rise a little, but she held it back.

"Guys, this is suppost to be a fun day! Why are you all curiousy about blood and stuff anyway?"

"I've never seen a dead person before." Grenda said, "Plus, it's on my bucket list, see?" she pulled out a long list and pointed at one of the sentences.

Mabel longed for someone to change the subject and throw everyone off of the dead body thing, but everyone looked at her expectantly. If she said no, they would keep begging her until she said yes, so there was only one option.

"Fine. Let's just take a quick peek, then come right back up here, ok?"

They arrived at the scene, and immediately dots blurred Mabel's vision. Rivers of thick blood flowed slowly across the asphalt. The air reeked of copper and death, with a touch of roses, honey, and candy. She looked beside to see Candy slowly taking steps backwards and Grenda throwing up under a tree, also check-marking the sentence on her list. Mabel looked back and saw the paramedics hoisting a girl into the ambulance. Her blood froze when she recognized her face.

Phoebe?! But…how? Someone brought a clean rag to replace the blood-soaked one on Phoebe's head. Mabel wanted to close her eyes to prevent herself from seeing the wound, but the rag was already removed. Her hair was caked with dry blood, but to Mabel's surprise, there was no sign of a crack or split anywhere. In fact, Phoebe didn't look like she'd been terribly injured at all! Besides the blood stains and the fact that she was wearing Dipper's vest, everything seemed normal: her skin was full color, her breathing normal, and her skull unscathed.
Strange… With the bandage replaced, she got loaded in the ambulance. How did this happen anyway? The ambulance drove away, and that's when she noticed the truck pulled over on the far side of the road. A news crew was parked next to it and she could see a cameraman positioning their camera towards a spot behind the van.

Mabel was curious and wanted a better look. She crawled under the yellow tape and silently crept over towards the van. Footsteps sounded from behind her, so she sped up her pace.

"Hey! What d'you think you're doin sneakin' through the yellow tape?"

Mabel gasped as Sheriff Blubs approached her.

"Is there gonna be a problem here?" Deputy Durland pulled out his nightstick. Sheriff Blubs snatched it from his hand.

"No! We do not use the stick unless it's a raid!" he scolded.

"But we never get to use it…" whined Durland.

Mabel edged forward while they were distracted. As Sheriff Blubs was comforting his partner, she managed to make it close enough to see the reporter and his interviewee: A man with brown hair and a mustache, and Pacifica Northwest by his side. She had seen him somewhere: on Pioneer Day, standing behind Pacifica during her opening speech. Pacifica's dad. Mabel put her hand up against her ear to catch what they were saying:

"…didn't see her until the last minute. I tried to stop but it takes a long time to stop a truck going 50 miles per hour, you know. Heck, she is lucky to have survived!"

"It is truly devastating and we aren't sure if the girl will survive. Do you have anything else to add on, Mr. Northwest?"

Pacifica snatched the microphone from the reporter and smiled at the camera.

"As a generous, non-selfish, and caring family, the Northwests shall pay for every expense of the medical bills—" "YOU THERE!"

Mabel felt a hand grasp on the collar of her sweater and was yanked back so roughly that she choked.

"You have no business snooping around here!" barked Sheriff Blubs.

"Yeah—wait, you look familiar" Durland paused and stared at her for a long time.

"It's the girl who was with that boy who uncovered the secrets of the Northwest family." said Blubs.

"Oh yeah! Candy wrapper girl and city boy! So if there's one of you here…then the other one can't be too far!" Durland pulled out his nightstick again, but Blubs slapped it away.

Mabel thought of Dipper and an uneasy feeling grew in her stomach. She hadn't talked to Dipper since yesterday, and she was worried. He hadn't told her anything about a new girlfriend—normally she is told everything! She felt her temperature rise again.
He needs to start spilling the secrets, whether he wants to or not! Mabel smiled mischievously.

"Oh yes Deputy Durland, I was actually looking for my brother because he is a naughty boy and likes to sneak out. As the older sibling, I am responsible for my younger twin. Can you guys look around town for him and bring him back for me please?"

Blubs and Durland looked from one to the other.

"Manhunt? I say we do it!" exclaimed Durland.

Mabel grinned. "Thank you guys! You don't know how much it means to me!" She got up and ducked back under the yellow line, closing her eyes to not see the blood.
I hope they clean that up soon. On the way back to the shack, she met up with Candy and Grenda, both stunned with what they just saw.

"I will never be able to unsee that." muttered Candy. Mabel shuddered.

"I know. Say, you want to go back to that fashion show we planned?"

Her friends both shook their heads.

"Sorry Mabel, but we're just not in the mood for that right now. I'm sorry this day didn't turn out as you planned." Candy replied. They had already retrieved their bags.

Mabel sighed, "Ok, well. . .bye guys." She watched them leave. A million thoughts jumbled up in her head. She thought of Dipper again, and butterflies formed in her stomach. What had she done? Dipper probably ran off because Mabel would ruin his relationship with Phoebe. And Mabel had just given him more trouble by sending the cops to find him. She angrily kicked the dirt. This was probably the worst day of her life.

Mabel headed into the attic and plopped down on the bed. She looked down at the floor and saw something she didn't notice before: Dipper's hat and shoes. They were laying there untouched from last night.
What are those doing here? Dipper never leaves the shack without his hat, and I bet he wears shoes. Something was definitely wrong.

Then Mabel remembered: they both had phones. She reached for hers in her suitcase and dialed his number. The phone rang a couple times until someone finally picked up.

"Hello? I'm sorry to say, but your friend has been injured and is being taken to the hospital right now. Can you leave a message?"

Mabel stared in confusion at her phone. Her phone displayed Dipper's picture and number, so it was definitely his phone.

"Who are you and where's Dipper?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm afraid you called the wrong number. This phone belongs to Phoebe."

Mabel smacked her head. Phoebe was wearing Dipper's vest, which had his phone in it. How was she suppost to reach him now?

"So, who am I speaking to?" Mabel asked.

"I am a paramedic and I am taking care of Phoebe. We will be taking her to the nearest hospital. She has suffered a serious head injury and we must perform surgery as soon as possible."

Mabel hung up without saying goodbye and threw herself back down on the bed. She took deep breaths to clear her mind and try to figure out the situation. Still, nothing added up to her. But she noticed something else that was too subtle to be able to pick up right away: the smell of roses, honey, and candy seemed to follow her everywhere.

That perfume's so strong! Dipper's right, it does smell good! An idea popped in Mabel's head. Maybe if I follow the scent, I could find him! I'm a genius! Mabel got up and sprinted for the door, holding her nose up high to track down the smell. The scent lingered in the air and was still strong. Before she reached the gift shop door, the front doorbell rang.

Mabel paused. She suspected Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland had found Dipper. When she opened the door, she gasped in surprise.

It was Gideon.