Echoes Of A Nearby Future
Chapter Ten
Authors Note: I know where I want to go in this story, but at times have struggled a bit to figure out how to get there. I'm just trying to really get into how someone who can be seen as strong can really be just as susceptible to hurt and pain as the rest of us. As always, feedback and reviews are welcomed. I must say how blown away I am that people in places as far away as the United Kingdom, the Russian Federation, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada read what I write. It means a lot to me and I hope that you all enjoy the latest chapter in what I may start calling the "Shooting Star Falls Universe". I'm also excited to see if Mabel's Cursed Coloring Book will continue the trend of having the books add to the Gravity Falls canon. Standard I don't own Gravity Falls or anything to do with it legal stuff.
Dipper and Wendy entered the familiar gift shop that they had both previously worked in. Melody was stationed at the register and Soos was standing right outside the front door, greeting a large group of tourists. Ever since the events of Weirdmageddon nearly five years ago, the area had become over run with outsiders who had heard things about the small Northern Oregon town and wanted to experience it for themselves. Since taking over the Mystery Shack from Stan, Soos had tried to add a bit of legitimacy to the roadside attraction. With the help of Ford and Dipper, he had managed to do just that. Grunkle Stan had thought the change in 'creative direction' would doom the business, but much to his surprise the new business model of not trying to rip customers off was a wild success. Unknown to Dipper, Mabel, or even their parents, Stan and Soos had decided set up a college fund with the newly found windfall of profits. After saving up enough money for both of the twins to attend any college they could ever dream of, the pair started thinking bigger. A trust had been set up for when Dipper and Mabel turned twenty four that could be used for whatever their hearts desired. Sadly, Mabel would never get to use a dime to fulfill her dreams of opening her very own arts and crafts store, which would feature a line of sweaters co-designed by both her and Pacifica.
The rush of customers came through the front door of the gift shop and for the next few hours the pair of friends worked to sell most everything they could to the tourists. It had become late afternoon by the time the crowds had thinned and the group of friends could catch their breath. While Melody took a much needed break, Wendy returned to her old post at the cash register. Dipper pulled out his phone and took a picture of the auburn haired woman with her feet kicked up on the counter and face buried in a magazine. The scene was almost an exact replica of the first time he had set eyes on Wendy nearly five years ago. Soos entered the gift shop and walked over to the door, flipping the sign on it from 'open' to 'closed'. "Dudes, I gotta hand it to ya… I couldn't have done it without you today… I still need to find some more permanent help though…" the larger man said while stroking his chin with his hand. "Well… until then I can hang out and help" offered the redhead to Mr. Mystery. "Th-Thanks Wendy… but don't you have to go back to work at the station soon?" asked Soos. "No… Not for a while… I mean… That's if… I-I even want to…" the young woman said with an unsure voice that seemed out of character for her in Soos' opinion. The larger man hadn't seen the side of Wendy that Dipper had and was unaware of the fact that the officer had attempted to take her life the night of the tragedy.
"Well… there will always be a spot for you here at the Mystery Shack if you want" Soos offered to the auburn haired woman. "Thanks dude… That means a lot to me. To be honest… I don't know what I wanna do right now. You know, I think it sucks that I thought I knew what I wanted to do in life… a-… and now… I-I…" the redhead said before pausing to collect herself; a few tears escaping her eyes despite her best efforts to retain them. Dipper and Soos walked over to the upset woman and embraced her as she continued to sit on the chair behind the register. "It's alright to be unsure of things right now… I think we all are a little bit. I-I mean… I figured that we'd spend the whole summer together having these fun adventures and whatnot… and now… I don't know what's gonna happen" Dipper said as he tried to validate the feelings that his crush had. "I-I mean… part of me really just wanted to leave this town and never, ever come back. I just wanted to go home and go back to my normal and boring life in California… I realized that I should be here though, and I-I think… I think that Mabel and Pacifica would do the same if it had been us who… who were killed instead" the brown haired teenager continued. Wendy returned the embrace that her two friends had given her as she let the tears openly cascade down her cheeks. "If… If I can be honest… I-I really wish it was me… I-I… I wish that he shot and killed me instead. Tho-Those two girls… they didn't deserve that…" the redhead trailed off as she began to hyperventilate. Her emotions had gotten the best of her and the young woman was mortified that yet another friend had seen her break. The auburn haired woman was riddled with guilt and remorse. "I thought I was done with all of this crap!" Wendy lamented herself in her head.
The young woman shot up from her chair and ran towards the exit of the gift shop, her hands covering her now red eyes. Making it to the door, the young woman unclipped the car keys from a belt loop on her jeans as she opened the door and sprinted outside to her pickup truck. Dipper and Soos followed in hot pursuit as the young woman had taken her seat inside the emerald painted vehicle. Wendy jabbed the key into the ignition and the truck roared to life. The pair of friends made it to the parking lot just in time to see the vehicle take off down the dirt road that led away from the Mystery Shack. Not missing a beat, Soos threw his car keys to the brown haired teenager. Dipper was not ready for the keys and was unable to catch them as they fell to the ground with a thud. "Dude, make sure she's okay…" Mr. Mystery shouted to his best friend.
With a nod of his head Dipper headed towards the somewhat small car and pickup hybrid that Soos called his own. Placing the key into the ignition, Dipper started the truck and began his search for Wendy. While driving down the dirt road in a manner that would make a rallycross driver jealous, a thought entered his head. What if he found the redhead like he had found Pacifica a few years ago? That night stuck out in the brown haired teenager's memory as he pursued his crush. He had been caught making out with Tambry, causing an upset Pacifica to take off into the night with a bottle of cheap vodka and her convertible muscle car. Dipper and Mabel had tried to follow the blonde heiress's trail and ended up finding her car wrecked down a hillside in the woods. The sight of the young woman's battered and bruised face had scarred the then fifteen year old boy. Although Pacifica would make a quick recovery and the two ended up professing their attraction to each other in a hospital room that night, the now young man knew that it could have turned out quite differently and was afraid that it might become the fate of Wendy.
The young suspended officer continued to wipe tears from her eyes as she raced down the streets of Gravity Falls, disregarding speed limits and the rules of the road as she just wanted to get away from it all. After deciding not to follow in her family's footsteps of becoming a lumberjack, the young woman had wrestled with what to do with her life. She had strongly leaned towards joining the army, but decided against doing so because she would be away from her teenage brothers, who she thought could use a good female role model in their life due to the passing of their mother when they were younger. Still wanting to protect the citizens of town she called home, the young redhead had applied to the Gravity Falls Police Department. After overcoming some doubts about her abilities, the auburn haired woman won over the chief of police and graduated from the academy, becoming Gravity Falls' first female officer. While she found the job to be mundane and repetitive at times, she enjoyed that she could keep an eye on the town she loved. That all changed the fateful day that Robbie decided to hold up the Northwest National Bank and forever change the lives of nearly every member of the town. The town she was once sworn to protect now felt like it was attacking her. The comments hurt her worse than any bullet ever could and the reminders of her lost friends were too much for the young woman to bear.
The distraught young woman turned her truck into the alleyway behind her apartment and slammed on the brakes. The vehicle shuddered to a stop as the tires slid across the asphalt. The driver's side door of the truck flew open and Wendy rushed out; fumbling with her keys as she searched for the one that would unlock her front door. After opening the door, the slender redhead sprinted up the flight of stairs to her apartment and quickly opened the main door to her inhabitance. She made her way to the kitchen and pulled on the door of the refrigerator, desperately seeking the elixir that would help her numb the pain. Having found the cardboard case of aluminum cans, she slammed the fridge closed and ran to the front door. Closing and locking it, she made her way down the stairs and to the front door. The young woman threw the heavy cardboard box of cans onto the passenger side of the seat, jumped into her emerald pickup truck and jabbed her key into the ignition. With a turn, the vehicle roared to life once again. The distraught nineteen year old woman made her way onto Northwest Boulevard, the main street through downtown Gravity Falls.
Dipper raced to find the upset redhead as he wheeled the mini truck with all his might. Arriving at the apartment of Wendy Corduroy, the young man exited the still running vehicle and sprinted towards the front door. After pounding on the wooden door a few times, the brown haired teenager came to the conclusion that his crush was not home. "Where else could she have gone?" asked the teen boy aloud to himself. He scoured his mind trying to think of a place where she may have retreated to. The brown haired seventeen year old was worried about she might do if given enough time alone, as she had revealed an attempted suicide to him the previous day. Determined to not lose another loved one, Dipper set off in search of Wendy.
An emerald green pickup truck shot down the street as Tambry looked on in astonishment. The violet haired woman figured the vehicle had to have been traveling at almost fifty miles per hour, nearly twice the posted speed limit of twenty five miles per hour. "That wasn't?... Nah, it couldn't be… Maybe it was?" the olive skinned girl thought to herself. She knew that Wendy owned a green truck, but figured that as an officer of the law that she would obey the rules of the road. The young woman pulled out her cell phone and went to recent contacts. Selecting the image of her smiling redhead friend, she pressed 'Call'. The phone rang a few times before going to voicemail. "Hey… Waddup? You've reached Wendy… Guess I couldn't answer? Leave a message and I'll get back with ya" the message said as a shrill beep followed. "Wendy… It's Tambry… I thought I just saw you drive past going really fast… It probably wasn't you, but if it was, please call me. Ya know what? Even if it wasn't you, please call me… I wanna talk… Oh, and by the way… You're totally coming to the party this weekend… Tell Dipper to come too! Okay, gotta go… Love Ya!" the young woman said as she ended the call.
Wendy turned off of Northwest Boulevard and onto a side street that led up a hill. After about a half a mile's drive, the young redhead drove through the main entrance of the Gravity Falls Cemetery. Parking her truck at the base of a particularly steep hill, the auburn haired woman exited her vehicle with the case of beer. Making the trek past several dozen headstones, Wendy reached her destination. She sat down against the pink stone marker, took a small black folding knife out of her pocket, cut the cardboard package open and removed an aluminum can. Pulling the metal tab backwards, the can cracked as a hole was punched in the top. After taking a few swigs, the young woman began to speak. "Mabel… I-I know I promised you … but I can't do this… I just can't. I can't go back to being a cop anymore. I can't go back to the laid back, slacker of a girl that you knew. What happened changed me. I-I tried… I tried to be strong…" the young woman said as she finished the first beer and opened another. The redhead turned around to read the inscription once again. "In Memory of A Beautiful And Creative Young Woman Stolen From Us Far Too Soon. Mabel Ariel Pines August 31st, 1999 – June 3rd, 2016 A Beloved Daughter, Twin Sister, Friend and Hero to the Town Of Gravity Falls, Oregon. Our Shooting Star" the auburn haired woman read aloud as she traced the inscription with her hand.
Tears streamed down the freckled face of the upset woman as her phone buzzed in her pocket. "Sorry, Mabes… I gotta take this" she said to the tombstone as she removed the phone from her pocket. It was a missed call and voicemail from her best friend Tambry. After listening to the message, the redhead hit a button to return the call. After a few rings, the call was answered. "Hello?" asked the voice on the receiving end of the call. "H-Hey Tambry… I-It's Wendy… I'm just… I'm just returning your call…" the redhead trailed off as she continued to sob. "Wendy… are you alright? Are you hurt? Wendy?" asked the familiar voice in a panic. "I-I've been better Tambers… I-I just… I just… wanna make it all go away…" the young woman cried into the phone after taking yet another gulp of beer. "Wendy… dude… where are you?" asked a very concerned Tambry to her best friend. "I-I'm with Mabel and Pacifica…" the young woman said between breaths, as she had begun to hyperventilate yet again. "O-Okay… sit tight girl… I'll be right there…" Tambry said in a reassuring voice.
The call had ended as Wendy hung up on her best friend. Normally, Tambry would have been livid at this, but now she was concerned for her lifelong best friend. Dipper continued down the road as he frantically searched for Wendy. A purple headed pedestrian caught his eyes as he drove down the road. Pulling to the side, the teenager put the truck into park and leaned over to roll down the passenger side window. "Tambry?! " the teenage boy shouted from the stationary vehicle. The violet haired teen turned around and spotted the familiar face of Dipper Pines. It had been a couple of weeks since she had last talked to the teenager at his sister's funeral. "Dipper!" the olive skinned woman replied as she walked over to the somewhat rusted truck. "Hey… I think Wendy's in trouble… we have to find her!" the brown haired teen exclaimed to the young woman. "I-I just spoke to her… Sh-She's at the cemetery… " the violet haired woman informed the teen. "C'mon" the brown haired boy offered as he unlocked the passenger side door. Getting into the vehicle, the pair raced towards the final resting place of Mabel Ariel Pines and Pacifica Elise Northwest, hoping that their friend was alright.