Echoes Of A Nearby Future
Chapter Eleven
Sorry for the wait on this chapter, life has been hectic, as usual. I just want to reiterate how amazed I am that you guys take the time to read something that I've wrote. While I'm still just beginning as a writer and am trying to find my voice, it really encourages me that people want to read what I create. As always, feedback, suggestions and reviews are always welcome and will be read by me. Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoy.
Standard I don't own Gravity Falls and all that legal crap.
Wendy Corduroy opened another beer as a cloud blocked the sunlight that had been bathing both her as well as the graves of Pacifica Elise Northwest and Mabel Ariel Pines. After taking a swig of the alcohol, the redhead placed the aluminum can on the pink stone base of her good friend's headstone and picked up the folding knife she had used to open the cardboard case. Flicking the handle, the blade swung out and snapped into place with a click. The young woman glanced at the sharp point of the metallic object, which still managed to catch a hint of the quickly retreating sunlight. Much like the dark clouds beginning to form overhead the auburn haired woman, dark thoughts began to enter her troubled mind. "It'd be so easy" the young woman thought to herself as she glanced down at a petite porcelain wrist. A stray rain drop broke the thought of self-harm the woman had been contemplating as it struck her on the forehead.
A cascade of rain had begun to fall as Dipper raced towards the Gravity Falls Cemetery with a somewhat frightened Tambry riding shotgun. "Sh-She sounded pretty upset Dip…" the young woman said as she continued to play with her cell phone. Usually she used the electronic device as a means to pass the time out of pure boredom, but now the violet haired woman was trying to keep her emotions at bay for both her and the brown haired boy's sakes. Dipper wrestled with the idea of telling Tambry about Wendy's previous attempt at suicide. On one hand, Wendy had told the teenage boy of the attempt in confidence and felt that if she had wanted others to know that she would share that when she was ready to do so. On the other hand though, Tambry was Wendy's lifelong best friend and probably knew the redhead better than any other person. Maybe she could help? The violet haired woman was a known gossip though, and it didn't come any juicier than this. In the end, Dipper thought better of it and kept the revelation to himself, remembering the mantra of his Great Uncle Ford, 'Don't Trust Anyone'.
Wendy sat in the ever increasing rain as she quickly became soaked to the bone; her clothes damply clinging to her thin frame. Tears mixed with the precipitation as she placed the sharp blade to her wrist. "I'm so, so sorry guys… please don't hate me" the young woman pleaded as she began to slowly drag the metal along the underside of her forearm, increasing the pressure as she slid it down her pale skin. The bright red fluid began as a trickle near her wrist, following the blade as it tore a path across the flesh of the distraught young woman. A few drops of blood fell to the earth landing on the final resting place of Mabel Ariel Pines. The redhead groaned a bit as the pain had hit her. Lifting the knife from the middle of her forearm, she surveyed the damage she inflicted upon herself. Crimson blood gushed from the deep tear in her skin, soaking her hand in the red liquid. The downpour of rain tried to wash the blood away in a futile attempt as the young woman began to feel weakness overtake her body.
Dipper had just entered the cemetery as a clack of thunder rung out from the angry sky above. "Dipper! Look!" shouted Tambry as a familiar green pickup truck came into sight through the somewhat foggy windshield. The small truck came to a stop as both inhabitants wrestled to unfasten their seatbelts. Dipper left the truck running, it's lights piercing through the downpour as he and the olive skinned woman ascended the muddy hill where Mabel and Pacifica's grave's resided. Fear shot through both of their minds as the pair raced to reach the summit.
Wendy Corduroy struggled for breath as she closed her eyes and drifted out of consciousness. The redhead felt the entire burden she had been carrying for the past two weeks leave her mind as she opened her eyes to find herself next to her lifeless body. She felt the same as a moment ago, only without a hint of pain or sadness to be found. "Am-Am I a ghost?" the young woman thought to herself. "Ah damn it!" a familiar voice exclaimed towards the auburn haired woman. The voice belonged to the recently departed Mabel Pines, who approached the redhead in a huff. "I can't fucking believe it! I tell you that I saved you from killing yourself for a reason and yet here we are again! I can't even! I can't fucking even!" the brunette teenager said with an uncharacteristically large amount of profanity as her vocal tone became raspy from shouting.
The young woman was about to say something to Mabel when a pair of figures came into sight. It became clear to her who they were. "Wendy?! Wendy!? No!,No!,No!,No!,No!" the seventeen year old yelled to his crush as she failed to move or respond. Dipper sprinted towards the auburn haired woman, dropping to his knees and sliding in the mud. Tambry gasped as tears began to fill her eyes. "Call 911!" the brown haired teenager barked at the olive skinned woman as it became apparent to both what had happened. Tambry pulled out her phone and began to place the call, turning her back as she couldn't stand to see her best friend in such a state. "Wen… Wen… C'mon!" the teenager said as he desperately placed his fingers to the nape of the young woman's neck; the same nape he had passionately kissed a little over a day ago. Tambry rushed over to the distraught teen as she continued to hold the phone to her ear. "They're on the way… How is she?" the purple haired woman asked. "Sh-She's got a pulse, but i-it's pretty weak… Oh God! Wendy! You gotta hang on! I-I love you Wendy! I can't lose you too!" the young man pleaded as he fell into a heap on top of the body of Wendy Corduroy.
The auburn haired woman knelt and placed a hand on the distraught teen boy. Wendy soon came to realize that it had no effect on the brown haired teenager, as she was a spirit now. "Th-This was a mistake… I-I wanna go back Mabel! I-I can't hurt him like this…" The brunette haired teen walked over to her good friend and placed her hand on the redhead's back. "It's not up to you… If they can save you, then you get to go back… If not… well, I-I'm not sure what happens to ya… All I know is that I can't go wherever it is I'm supposed to be until you are able to fulfill your destiny. If you don't, I'll wander the earth for all eternity I suppose. And that would kinda suck. I wanna hang out with Pacifica and all my old pets" the teenage spectre said to the young officer. Tears fell from the face of Wendy's spirit as she had come to realize just how selfish she had been.
Lights and sirens drew near to the site of Wendy's body as Tambry helped Dipper up. The ambulance arrived and several EMT's ran up the muddy hillside towards the group of friends. "How long has she been here?!" asked one of the grizzled young men as he threw a large duffel bag to the ground next to Wendy, sending mud flying in every direction." I-I'm not sure… We found her about five minutes ago…" the teenager informed the medic. "How long ago did you talk to her on the phone?" asked Dipper to Tambry. Pulling out her drenched phone once again, the violet haired woman went to her call log. 'Let's see… Ah! 5:12pm!... So that was, like, twenty two minutes ago…" the olive skinned woman said as she buried her face into her hands, fearful that she was too late to save her lifelong best friend. The EMT's loaded Wendy onto a stretcher and carefully descended the hill towards the ambulance with Dipper and Tambry in tow. The emergency vehicle raced off towards Gravity Falls Memorial Hospital as the rain soaked and mud coated teen headed towards Soos' truck. "I'll take Wendy's!" Tambry yelled to Dipper as the heavy rain struck both her and the ground. With a nod, the seventeen year old started up the pickup and raced off towards the hospital.
"I-I'm so sorry Mabel… you must hate me…" Wendy said to her departed friend with remorsefulness dripping from her voice. "I don't hate you. I could never hate you Wendy. I'm just… disappointed" the pink sweater clad teen informed her friend, much like a parent lecturing a child who had misbehaved. "Look. I don't know who this woman I'm looking at right now is… the one who tries to drown her feelings in alcohol to the point of passing out nightly… or who tries to take the easy way out. The Wendy Corduroy that I know can overcome anything that's put in her way" Mabel continued. "It's just so tough. I know we talked before and all, but I just can't stop feeling like I could have done more. Something. Anything. You two didn't deserve to die…" the redhead said as she broke down. "Wendy… does anyone really deserve to die? It was just my time. Am I sad that I'll never get to go to college? Or that I'll never get to fall in true love? Or that I'll never get to be a mother? Yeah… A little bit to be honest… but it wasn't meant to be. What is meant to be is you staying alive and taking care of Dipper" the brunette said to the guilt ridden young woman. "You keep telling me that I'm meant for something greater… That I have to take care of Dipper… Why?! Why me? He's a smart guy, and I know he won't try what I did" Wendy interrogated her friend. "I wish I could tell you all about it… I really do. I can't though, because anything you know about your fate could cause you to make different choices that could change everything. You just have to have faith. Let's just say that the world isn't out of danger and it's gonna need as much help as it can to survive when the time comes" Mabel said with a hopeful tone.
The auburn haired woman mulled over what Mabel had just told her. "Well… if the fate of the world is in the balance… I-I'll go get some help… After all, if it's a fight for survival that's coming, then I need to be all there upstairs" the redhead said as she shot a hopeful smile to the teenager. "C'mon Corduroy, we need to get you back to your body" Mabel said with a slight jab to the taller woman's shoulder. The pair began to walk towards the hospital, which was about a half hour walk from the cemetery. "Wait a minute… Can't we just… I dunno… float there or something?" asked a confused Wendy. "Yeah… I mean we can if you want… but I kinda miss this whole walking thing…" the usually cheerful woman said with a hint of sadness. "Nah dude, we can totally walk…" the auburn haired woman conceded to her friend. "So… where's Pacifica at?" Wendy continued with her inquiry of the spectre. "She's wherever is next for me… I hope…" Mabel said with a sullen voice. "I promise I'll do my part to get you there…" the redhead said with a determined tone.
"So… what do you do when you're not talking to me?" Wendy asked as she attempted to kick a rock down the sidewalk, only to remember that her ghostly limitations didn't allow her to do so. "I keep an eye on people… I like to see newborns in the hospital… and watch kittens play at the pet store… I visited my parents down in Piedmont. They're doing alright I guess" the brunette spirit said in a hopeful voice. "Well that's good… They seem like nice folks…" the auburn haired woman said as she recalled briefly meeting them at Mabel's funeral. "I've also been keeping an eye on you… and Dipper. Pacifica was totally cool with it by the way. She just wanted Dip to be happy… and I'd say from what I saw yesterday that you can make him very happy, if ya know what I mean…" the teen girl said as she winked to the redhead. "Wait… you watched us… you watched us do stuff?!" Wendy said as she was equally freaked out and embarrassed. The brunette teenager sheepishly raised a hand as she looked down at the ground. "Hey! To be fair, I saw you kissing and wanted to make sure you guys were all right. What can I say? You guys know how to put on a show…" she said with a giggle. "That's weird as hell and purvey… but that's kinda who you are… so yeah" the redhead relented.
"Wendy… what's sex like? N-Not with my brother obviously… I mean, just in general…" Mabel asked with a quiet voice. Of all the things she was disappointed that she would never get to experience in life, this was by far the one that she was most curious about. "You mean you never?" asked a somewhat shocked Wendy. She knew that Mabel had been boy crazy for at least as long as she had known the energetic brunette and figured a few of those summer romances must have led to a little action here and there. "Nope… I guess Dipper wasn't the only one to follow Grunkle Ford's advice that I should 'Trust No One'. There were a few times I thought I was gonna… but, I never did. It never felt right… ya know?" Mabel replied as she continued to look downwards, somewhat embarrassed. "Yeah… I know how that goes. Well… I mean, it's different for everyone… but, when I have it… it uh… it uh… I mean, you've played a solo before… right?" Wendy asked the teenage girl as she sought to grasp the right words to explain it in the best possible way.
"If you're asking if I've played with myself and gotten off… then yeah… Oh yeah I have! Good times… Good times…" the brunette teen said in a somewhat joking manner. "Well… uh… it's like that… Imagine your best time, like, times a thousand… Oh! And imagine if you weren't fully in control… It's kinda like that. Yeah…" Wendy explained, hoping she had painted a clear enough picture for the younger teenage girl to cognate. "Huh… I think I get it… I think part of it too must be that you're so close to another person and that you have a lot of trust in them to let them see you as exposed as you are in that situation" Mabel extrapolated. "Yeah… that's a huge part of it too, that the emotional part can be a lot better than just the physical part. I mean… don't get me wrong… it feels awesome no matter what… but when you're doing it with someone that just gets you, it's that much better still" Wendy said, validating the young woman's thoughts on the matter. "Kinda like two pieces of a puzzle fitting together just right" Mabel added.
"Now you're getting it kid!" the taller redhead said in an overtly enthusiastic matter. "So… I'm sorry if this is kinda rude of me to ask… but how many guys have you been with?" Mabel continued with her line of questioning. "Nah… I get it… You're curious. Besides… I think I can trust you. I mean, who are you gonna float off and tell?" the auburn haired woman said with a chuckle. "So?..." the brunette continued to press. "Three… I've been with three. I think you can guess who two of them are… The third may surprise you" Wendy teased as they were only a few blocks away from the hospital. "Well… Dipper obviously. And I'm gonna guess Robbie" the younger teen deduced. "You'd be correct on both of those…" Wendy confirmed. "Uh… Nate?" Mabel guessed. "Nope… try again" the redhead replied. "Lee? Thompson?" the pink sweater clad teen guessed. "No… and HELL NO!" the taller young woman laughed. "Ugh… I dunno… I give up!" Mabel relented. "Well… remember when I got into that fight at the house party Tambry threw a couple of summers ago?" the woman with the green flannel shirt asked her companion. "Yeah?" the teenage girl replied. "Well… about a month after I got out of the hospital, Tambry came over to check up on me since I hadn't really hung out with her or the gang. I guess she thought I was mad at her somehow. Anyways, she showed up and my Dad and brothers were gone for the week. Well, she was feeling hella guilty about the whole thing and as she was gushing about how it was a huge mistake to even have the party… I kissed her. I kissed Tambry…" the young officer revealed to a shocked Mabel Pines.
"I just wanted her to shut up… and… and it wasn't like it was the first time we had kissed. When we were fifteen, she had kissed me and told me that she wanted to experiment. Now… I like boys. Always have, always will. So, I turned her down and told her that if she was that way it was fine and that we would always be friends. Well… this time… I dunno… things just kept going and we ended making out… and then… and then we had sex" the redhead said as she turned to see the look of shock on the face of her younger friend, who had come to a complete stop on the concrete sidewalk a block from the hospital. Mabel was well aware of the fact that girls could like one another, and if she could be completely honest, may have had a huge crush on Pacifica at one point. She had never figured Wendy to have been with a girl, but had heard that Tambry was an equal opportunity lover, so she could see it.
"Mabes?… Yoo-hoo… Mabel?" asked the taller redhead. "Huh?! Wha?! Oh… sorry…" the younger teen apologized as she came back to reality. "It's cool. Kinda wild, huh?" Wendy said with a chuckle. "Well… if I've learned anything about you over the years, it's that you have to check your expectations at the door when it comes to you" Mabel laughed. "Ain't that the truth" Wendy shot back. The pair had arrived at the hospital and drifted into the building, passing through both doors and walls as they searched for the emergency room. In the waiting room, the pair observed an emotionally distraught Dipper sitting in a chair. Beside him was Tambry, who tried with all her might to be strong for the younger teenager. Mabel and Wendy entered the emergency operating room, where Wendy's body resided. A team of doctors surrounded it as they worked to feverishly to repair the wound the redhead had inflicted upon herself.
Wendy noticed her spirit being drawn back to her body and away from her friend. "I think they did it!" the excited woman said. "Remember… I love you Wendy. That being said, if I ever see you before it's your time again, I will kick your ass" Mabel threatened the young woman. "Trust me… I learned my lesson..." Wendy reassured the teenager. "I love you!" Mabel shouted as the auburn haired woman's spirit returned to it's body. "I love you too Mabel!" she shouted as the pink sweater clad teen disappeared from her sight. Wendy's emerald green eyes shot open on the operating table as the doctors that surrounded the table congratulated themselves on a successful procedure. Mabel began to fade from the world, but made her way to the waiting room before doing so completely. Leaning in to her brother's ear, she whispered "I love you Mason" before leaving the mortal world for good, unsure of what awaited her.
