Chapter 9 – Rescue
A/N: Hi everyone! I finally finished my exams so the next update won't take long. Anyway, here's the chapter you've been waiting for.
I hope you enjoy it!
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"A wraith?" Mabel asked, watching her great uncle pace the room.
"Yes, I'm sure of it." Ford said gravely.
Wraiths, from what he already explained to Mabel are one of the most dangerous beings he had encountered. They live in mountains and deep in the woods, roaming the wilds and attacking anything that comes their way, even going as far as abducting some of their victims to drain the life force out of them.
Mabel frowned, putting the pieces together in her head. "And you that's what happened to Dipper and Stan?" she finally concluded.
"It would make sense. The creature first appeared right after they went missing. I'm sure it has something to do with it." The author stated.
"Do you know where it took them?" Mabel asked.
"Yes, I have a map on the place somewhere in the basement lab. I'll fetch it and head there immediately." He said firmly. The sooner he got there the better.
"Then I'm coming too!" Mabel exclaimed determinately.
Ford frowned at this. The mission to the wraith's lair was too dangerous and he couldn't risk bringing the kid along. "Look Mabel, I think it will for the best if you wait for us here where it's safe."
"No I wanna go save Dipper and Stan!" Mabel protested.
"I know, but it's too dangerous for you out there and-"
"Great Uncle Ford, please! You have to let me go with you. Don't worry about me, I'll be okay." she said, pleadingly.
Ford sighed and ran a hand through his hair, unsure of what to say. He really didn't want to put the girl in danger, but he couldn't find it in himself to ignore her either. Besides, he could use some help on the way.
"Fine, you can come along." He finally said.
"Yes!" Mabel beamed and wrapped her arms around his leg. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Ford smirked and carefully pried her off his leg. "Alright, go start packing."
"You got it!" Mabel gave him a quick thumbs up before dashing up the stairs.
Ford smiled and shook his head at this.
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"Are we there yet?" Mabel asked, exhaustion clear in her voice. She wasn't really complaining, but merely voicing out her thoughts. They had been walking through the woods for more than an hour and her legs were getting tired. Just earlier, they had accidentally taken a wrong route and got chased by a gremloblin. To put it simply, the thing was really stubborn.
Ford glanced back at her. "Don't worry, we should be there soon." He said and returned to reading the map in his hands, muttering things she couldn't understand under his breath. Mabel sighed, but quickened her pace to catch up with him.
Mabel then noticed the trees were getting thinker around them and the two of them were in a part of the woods she didn't recognize, but she couldn't shake the feeling that somehow she had been here before. It almost looked like the place from her nightmare….
"We're here!" Ford announced once they reached a large gaping hole in the ground.
Curious, Mabel walked over and looked down. It was dark and seemed stretch on forever. It reminded her a lot of the bottomless pit near the shack. "Is this it?" she asked and glanced over to her great uncle who was busy looking through his backpack.
"Yes, careful! Don't get too close to it." Ford warned as he searched through his bag. "Ugh, I can't believe I forgot the rope!" he groaned. They will need it to descend down. It took them over an hour just to get here. They couldn't waste more time by going back to the shack to get some!
Sighing, he rubbed his chin thoughtfully and glanced over to a tree near the pit. Ford stared at it for moment and suddenly had an idea.
"Mabel, do you still have your grappling hook?" he asked.
"Yeah," she reached for her sweater pocket and handed it to him.
"Thanks," Ford then aimed at one of the low branches and pulled the trigger, securing the metallic hook around the branch.
Ford then used his other arm to lift Mabel and hold her close to his chest. "Ready?"
"Ready," Mabel nodded. With a deep breath, he took a few steps back before going down, using the grappling hook to slow their fall. Mabel wrapped her arms around Ford's neck and held on tightly as they descended deeper into the pit.
Soon enough, they reached the bottom of the pit and were plunged into darkness.
Ford set Mabel on the ground and gave her the grappling hook back so he could reach for his backpack. He unzipped it and withdrew the flashlights, handing one to Mabel while keeping the other for himself. He flipped the flashlight on and aimed it at the tunnel ahead.
"Stay close to me, okay?" he asked and got a nod from the girl as she switched on her own. With that, they began their trek through the tunnel.
Mabel followed her older relative while looking around curiously at their surroundings. The air was cold and damp and despite wearing a sweater she felt a shiver run through her spine. A low rumble suddenly reached their ears and both of the Pines froze.
"Did you hear that?" Ford whispered.
"Yeah, what was that?" she asked.
"I don't know. Let's just keep moving." He said and walked farther in with the kid in tow. The tunnel seemed to go on deeper into the ground and the light from the opening dimmed until vanishing completely.
It wasn't long until they stopped when they came across something neither of them expected. There were three different entrances right in front of them.
Ford stood there baffled. The map didn't say anything about this, but then again he never tried going this deep before.
"I think we should go this way," Mabel said suddenly, pointing to a tunnel on her left.
Ford eyed her doubtfully. "How do you know that?
"I just….have a feeling it's the right one, Great Uncle Ford. Trust me." She answered.
Ford opened his mouth to argue, but stopped himself when he saw the pleading look on the girl's face.
"Alright, let's go," he sighed. They continued walking down the path, their footsteps echoing through the tunnel. Mabel's eyes darted around the walls for a sign, anything that might indicate that someone was here.
And that's when she spotted the two motionless lumps and her eyes widen. There, on the ground, were her uncle and brother both tied up and unconscious.
"Dipper!" Mabel cried frantically and any other thought was banished from her mind as she raced to them. She heard Ford calling her name, but she didn't stop and hurried to her brother's side.
"Dipper, are you okay? Wake up!" Mabel muttered and shook him slightly, fear and dread filling her heart as she stared at him. Her brother was pretty scratched up and paler than usual and it made her heart sick.
"Dipper, please wake up!" Mabel said again and watched her brother finally stir.
"M-Mabel?" Dipper's eyes slowly opened and he coughed hoarsely before looking up at her.
"Yes, it's me Dipper." She replied, smiling weakly at him.
"Hold still," Ford set the flashlight on the ground and pulled out a small pocket knife, using it to cut the ropes from his hands and legs. Once he was free, Mabel flung herself into his arms and hugged him tightly.
"I was so worried about you," She whispered, feeling tears welling up in her eyes.
Despite how weak he looked, Dipper wrapped his around his sister and smiled contently.
Ford stood there watching the twins for a moment before remembering his twin brother. He quickly bent down and began cutting the ropes off him too.
A low rumble coming from the tunnel told him that whatever was out there was getting closer and he worked faster before placing a hand on his brother's shoulder and shaking him roughly. "Stan, wake up! Stanley!"
Stan grunted and slowly opened his eyes. "Ugh, my head….what's going on?"
"Grunkle Stan!" Mabel exclaimed and ran over to hug him as well.
Stan looked baffled at her. "Whoa, Mabel? Ford? How did you-"
"There's no time for that. We need to get out of her before-"Ford was cut off as a loud growl filled the air and all heads whipped to see a dark shadow standing near the exit, black smoke rising from its body and bright yellow eyes glowing fiercely at them. The air suddenly turned colder and Ford could see his own breath fog in front of him.
"I-It's back!" Dipper gasped in panic.
Without a single word, Ford quickly pulled out his gun and fired at the wraith, but he only managed to clip its side causing it to shriek angrily. Moving at inhuman speed, the wraith advanced at Ford and smacked him away with its arm.
Ford felt the wind being knocked out of him as he landed on the ground painfully.
"Great Uncle Ford!" the kids screamed. The wraith towered over Ford and raised its arm ready to tear at him when a familiar metallic hook came and struck the back of its head. The wraith reeled back and screeched in pain.
Ford's eyes followed the line of the hook to see Mabel clutching her gun tightly in her hands. "Help him!" she cried to the other two. Stan scrambled to get up and quickly rushed to his side.
"I got you, Sixer." Stan said as he helped his brother get back on his feet.
"Hurry! We need to get out of here!" Dipper shouted. Wasting no time, the four took off running towards the exit.
A loud roar told Ford that the monster had recovered from the hit and was coming after them. He dared to look back and saw a pair of bright orbs in the dark catching up to them.
Quickly, Ford raised his gun to fire, but because he wasn't looking ahead in that moment he stumbled over a rock causing him to miss and create a hole in the wall instead. The earth then shook violently and large cracks appeared in the ceiling.
Soon enough, the entire tunnel began caving in. The four panicked and ran as fast they could as large chunks of earth began falling around them.
"Keep running!" Stan shouted.
In the middle of his panic, Ford listened carefully for the wraith and was slightly relieved to hear the roars getting quieter by the second.
It wasn't long until they reached the end of the tunnel and their only exit shone high above.
"How are we going to get up there?" Dipper asked anxiously.
"With this!" Mabel exclaimed and raised her grappling hook in the air dramatically.
Quickly catching on, Ford took the gun from his niece and fired above to the edge. "Everyone grab onto me now!" he shouted. The three did as they were told and held onto him. Ford then pressed the switch and the next thing he knew they were being lifted off the ground towards the surface just as the rest of the tunnel collapsed.
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Once they were outside, the adrenaline rush finally wore off and the four Pines dropped to the ground panting heavily.
"Too….old for this." Stan wheezed.
"We're the same age, Stan." Ford pointed out.
"Shut up,"
Ford rolled his eyes and tried to sit up, but winced at the pain in his chest. He probably got a dark bruise there.
Mabel seem to notice this and frowned in concern. "Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." He said and smiled at the girl. "Though I should thank you for saving me back there. We wouldn't have made it in time without your help, Mabel." He said, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving her a fond smile in which she returned with her own.
It was finally over.
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A/N: Thanks for reading. Only one more chapter left and the story will be completed!
Please review!
