I managed to beat a writer's block and finish this! Here you go. Read and enjoy! (Oh gosh I'm so sleepy!)
Chapter Six
"This area must be a burial ground or something! And those men clearing the area must've angered them!" yelled Stanford as he rummaged through his backpack. He pulled out a wrench and Stanley shot him an incredulous look, "Seriously?!"
"It's made of iron!" Stanford reasoned as he swung it at the female spirit who appeared in front of him. She vanished in a wisp of grey mist.
Stanley quickly got to his feet and avoided the two ghostly children. Their heads snapped toward where he stood and he couldn't help but shudder at the empty, bleeding eye sockets gazing at him. His hand reached for the machete strapped to his hip but the leather belt suddenly snapped free and the machete flew out of his reach. He cussed under his breath. He blinked when he could see his breath as the air suddenly got colder.
"STAN! Down!"
Stanley ducked in time as his brother came swinging the wrench wildly. The two spirits vanished before he could hit them. He tensed when he felt a strong grip on his arm and raised the wrench but stopped when he realized it was his twin. Stanley tugged at him, "We're outnumbered and unprepared! We need to get the Hell outta here!"
Without hesitation Stanford pushed his brother toward the forest, "Go! Go Go!"
The two ran as quick as they could to get further from the clearing. They could see flickering images of more spirits from between the trees. Stanford cursed, "This is bad Stan!"
"I know!" said Stanley as he tried to ignore the flickering pale phantoms.
As they stumbled and ran, legs and lungs being exerted to their limits, Stanford noticed something. Every time they saw a flickering shadow they moved away from it. They weren't running in a straight line but at a direction they have unconsciously being led to follow, "Stanley wait! We're being led!"
Stanley looked over his shoulder but he didn't slow down, "What?"
"Stop! Stop! We're being led somewhere!" yelled Stanford as he reached a hand out to grab his brother who was a few feet further ahead of him.
Stanley gasped when he suddenly realized his foot did not hit solid ground and his whole body shifted forward as he lost his balance. There was a moment of falling before he hit hard ground and rolled down the steep hillside. He tried to grab something, do anything to slow down but he was so confused he wasn't sure where was up and down as he tumbled down. Rocks, woods and roots hit him from almost all sides and they hurt!
And he was in the air again before everything suddenly turned brownish, murky and cold. It took him a few moments to realize he had fallen into the river. He kicked hard and hoped he was going for the surface. His right side and left leg hurt but he ignored the pain as he struggled to break the surface. He spluttered when his head burst out from the water and he looked around in blind panic as the river took him downstream.
"STANLEY?!"
Stanley struggled to stay afloat and twisted his head around to find his brother, "STANFORD!?"
"Swim for the shore!"
Stanley kicked harder and luckily the river's current wasn't strong. He slowly made his way to the river bank and when he reached the riverbank, he pulled himself out shakily then collapsed on the ground, shivering. A couple minutes later he heard his brother's heavy footsteps. He opened his eyes to see Stanford falling on his knees, "Oh God, where are you hurt?"
Stanley couldn't help but laugh, "Everything hurts."
Stanford's lips pressed together in concern, "Don't laugh!"
"S-sorry… you hurt?"
"Just some scratches…"
His brother stared at him and he sighed, "And I may sprained my ankle going down the hill. You're cold. We need to get you someplace warm and dry."
He put his arm below his brother's shoulder and helped him sit up. He froze when Stanley let out a pained cry, "What? What is it?"
"I think… ughh, I think I cracked a rib or something," said his twin with a groan.
"Okay, okay…. Anything else that hurts real bad?"
Stanford blinked, "Uhh… my left leg?"
Stanford checked his leg and he grimaced at the blood he did not notice before. There was a long cut at his brother's calf. A sharp rock or wood must've tore through his jeans and flesh when he rolled down the hill. Stanford rummaged through his backpack and took out a canteen and a roll of bandage, "You got quite a cut there bro. I'm going to clean it quickly and wrap it up."
He took out the knife he had strapped to his ankle and used it to cut the jeans. Stanley sighed, "This is my favorite jeans…"
"You can get a new one. Now this may sting a little," warned Stanford as he poured the water. He heard his brother hissed then muttered a string of curses. He looked at the gash closely and probed gently to make sure there was nothing in the wound. His brother tensed under his touch, "Watch it!"
"Looks okay, I'll just wrap it up."
They were quiet while Stanford wrapped up his brother's wound. After he was done he noticed his brother was shivering harder and he had gone pale. He shrugged off his jacket and put it over his brother's shoulders, "Shit we need to get you warm."
"L-Let's get a move on. Wh-where the h-heck are we anyway?"
Stanford looked up and dug his pocket for his compass, "Well, judging from the angle of the sun… yeah, we've been lead south by those spirits. We still have about ten hours before dark."
"S-s-speaking of spirits…"
"I think we're out of their territory. I didn't see any of them."
"R-right. My luck's been r-rotten lately and I hope this is a sign it's g-going to get better from now."
Stanford brushed his hand through his hair, "We still have one problem though… we don't know how far we are from town. I'm not familiar with this area."
"S-shit…"
"Maybe… Maybe if we head north we'll be able to find familiar landmarks."
"Or g-get even more lost."
"Well we should get moving. You ready?"
"Just help me up already."
Stanley hissed and doubled over, a hand brought close against his painful side. After a few seconds he nodded and let his brother support him as they both limp away from the riverside. Stanford looked around, "We definitely can't climb back up so we'll stick by the riverbed until we find a way around."
"S-sounds good to me."
The brothers limped together, each supporting the other. They walked in silence, Stanford blaming himself for this trip and tanley trying to stay awake and ignore the pain. Soon the steep hillside beside them had become flat ground. They quickly headed for the trees. Stanford looked around, hoping to find a familiar landmark. He was about to voice out his disappointment when his brother pointed at a rock and chuckled, "Hey! It's that rock that looks like a face!"
Stanford blinked and he laughed, "Hey, you're right! I can't believe it! That means… we're just five miles from town!"
Stanley groaned, "Did we go that far this morning?"
"Uhh, yeah. Anyway, I know a place we could rest. It should be a mile away from here if my calculations are correct."
"Lead the way bro."
They walked in silence again, stopping a few times to look for landmarks. Stanford began to worry when his twin began to move sluggishly, eyes barely open. And he felt warm too. He spotted a familiar tree and led his brother to sit leaning against it. Stanley blinked tiredly, "We at the place?"
"Yeah. Wait here. I'm gonna go look around."
"Not gonna go anywhere…"
Stanford patted his shoulder then stood up to scout the area. He then returned quickly to where he left his brother. He gazed up at a tree branch that he knew would lead him into the secret bunker… but his brother didn't know about it. And there are things he and McGucket kept caged down there he didn't want Stanley to know. He sighed and left again to quickly gather some wood to make a fire.
Ranger stared at his father solemnly. He looked up when his mother gently squeezed his shoulder and smiled at him, "Don't worry sweetie. Your father will be back on his feet and running around tinkering with his inventions!"
The boy sighed and his hands clutched at his pants, "…it's my fault."
His mother blinked, "What is Ranger?"
"Dad's sick because of me…" said the boy.
"Oh no dear. People get sick. Your father's overworked himself that's all."
Ranger pressed his lips together and lowered his head, shielding his eyes with his long bangs. His mother sighed and left the room to prepare lunch. Ranger shakily reached his hands out to hold his father's hand, "I'm sorry dad. I'm really sorry."
"Don't be kid!"
Ranger gasped and he looked up in fear to see Bill floating over his father's still body. He gripped his father's hand tightened, "Y-you!"
"Yes, me! I'm the one responsible! So don't blame yourself kiddo!"
"W-what are you?"
"Oh… I'm just a superior being of pure energy!" said Bill twirling his cane.
"What did you do to my dad?!"
Bill floated closer to the boy, "Oooh, I like you kid! You got guts! To answer your question, I helped your old man!"
Ranger scowled, "Helped him? What do you mean by that?"
"Well, you see, he has a rather stressful work. You know Stan Pines?" he paused and when the boy nodded he continued, "Yeah, you see, your old man is helping him do research. I'm sure you know about the strange things happening in this town. Stan and your old man are trying to find a solution to solve this problem! But it's quite stressful and the Professor gets absorbed with his work he barely rest!"
Ranger nodded again, "True…"
"His work is also dangerous! You notice he been jumpy and nervous lately? Well, he was worried those… creatures he encountered in the forest would came and harm you, his family. He got paranoid. Lack of rest, stress and paranoia… those will break him eventually so thus I stepped in to help! Zap him with his own invention, the memory wiping gun, and help him forget most of those stressful and fearful things!"
"But he's been unconscious for two days!"
Bill put up his hands, "My bad! I don't know how to use human technology! But he should be fine when he wakes up. Right now, his body is catching up on the rest it needs!"
Ranger looked at his father's face, "Really? You're not lying are you?"
"Trust me kid! I'm working with your dad too! I'm sort of their colleague."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, like I said, I'm a superior being. I know lots of things and I share my knowledge with Stan and the Professor!"
The boy stared at him distrustfully, "…what are you really?"
Bill sighed dramatically, "Kid, haven't you been listening?"
"Okay, say I believe you, why did you possess my body?"
Bill turned his back to him and muttered, "Damn it, the kid shouldn't be aware that time."
Ranger narrowed his eyes, "You're not answering my question."
The geometrical demon turned to him, "Well, this is kinda embarrassing… you see, I exist in a different plane. Look around kiddo! You're in the mindscape!"
The boy looked around and he realized everything looked dull and grey. Bill made a show of adjusting his bowtie, "I have no physical form so I need to possess a body to do something in your plane of existence. I tried talking with your old man in his dreams but he was so stubborn! I had to take action. I know he made a memory wiping gun, he was asking about the workings of a human brain and some other stuff too difficult for your kid brain to understand. You-"
"Where did you put the gun?" asked Ranger suddenly.
"Why do ya wanna know kid?" asked Bill, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"So that I can use it to help people!"
"Oh, oh I see. You're just lie your old man! So willing to help everyone in town to forget the things that fears them in this town! How noble of you! But no kid, it's not a toy so I ain't telling ya!"
"But it belongs to my dad!"
"It should only be handled by an adult. Anyway, I gotta go! You take care of the Professor for me won't you?"
"Wait! I'm not-" there was flash of light and Ranger gasped as his eyes snapped open. He looked around wildly and then he sighed, "I don't trust that thing... Dad, you gotta wake up! I need to ask you something!"
Ranger did not notice his mother entering the room. She held the memory wiping gun in her hand and she grinned maniacally as she aimed it at the boy, "Curiosity killed the cat kiddo."
Stanford jolted awake when he heard a rustle. He cursed under his breath when he realized the forest had become dark, "Shit!"
He turned to wake up his brother but he felt a block of ice in his belly when the spot where his brother was sleepy is empty. He quickly got up to his feet, "Stan? Stanford?!"
He looked around frantically, hoping to find signs or tracks that could tell him where his brother had went. He heard a twig snapped and he jogged over to where he heard the sound, "Stan?"
The forest was growing darker as the time ticks by. Stanford dug out his torchlight and flicked it on. He moved it around hoping to catch a glimpse of his twin. Then he pointed the light at the ground and he saw what looked like footprints. He followed the trail until he reached a small clearing. He paused when he saw someone standing in front of him, "Stanley?"
There was no response. He ran to stand in front of his brother and he gasped when he saw his brother's blue glowing eyes, "Stan?"
Stanley stood still, staring unblinkingly in front of him. There was a trail of blood trickling from his nose. Stanford grabbed his shoulders and the blue glow disappeared. Stanley's eyes rolled up and his knees buckled. Stanford quickly catch him and lowered him to the ground, "Stanley?!"
It's happening again! His brother having a nose bleed, not responding and collapsing. He has been wondering what the cause was but he couldn't think of a reason. He sighed when his brother groaned, "Ford? What happened?"
"You… you were sleepwalking."
Stanley's eyes widened, "What?! You're kidding right?!"
Stanford forced out a laugh, "No, really. I thought something got you!"
His twin groaned and palmed his face, "No way… I haven't been sleepwalking in years!"
Stanford frowned, remembering the shock and horror of seeing his brother, who had one of his sleepwalking episodes, climbing up their bedroom window ledge when they were kids. He had ran and grabbed his brother in time as he stepped forward. Their parents were so worried they put a lock on the window pane. The second incident was where his father finding him at the bottom of a bathtub full of water. Their parents took him to see a doctor and a psychiatrist, hoping to find the trigger of his sleepwalking. But as if a miracle, he suddenly stopped sleepwalking.
"The sun's set," said Stanley as he looked up at the darkening sky. Stanford snapped out of his thoughts and helped his brother up, "Let's go home."
Stanley groaned, "Oh joy. You got an extra torch?"
"Here. Let's hope we didn't meet anything along the way home."
"Don't jinx our luck bro."
As they brothers left the clearing, they didn't notice the pale little girl staring at them. She flickered then vanished and reappeared at the edge of the clearing where the brothers had disappeared into the forest. She flickered and vanished again. The sound of a little girl's laughter echoing in the clearing.
GAH! RANGER!
I read too much ghost stories. And I had to stop myself a few times because I suddenly felt like I'm writing a Supernatural fanfiction! Oh dear! Wanted to put a monster fight scene but it didn't make the cut here so... maybe next time? I am thinking of using the Gremloblin, Giant Bat or the Shapeshifter. I think I put too much inserts that makes you reader wonder so much... I can't help it. When idea pops up, it has to be written!
