You would think that spending your entire summer running away from supernatural monsters would be something you'd eventually have gotten used to, or at the very least, let you build up some better cardio so that you could run faster. But sadly that didn't seem to be the case for Dipper or Mabel.
They were running through the cemetery as fast as their legs could carry them and screaming as loud their lungs could shout. Behind them, the huge skeleton monster was starting to gain on them, its spider like legs digging into the ground. Ducking, weaving and climbing over every gravestone and monument in their path, the Pines twins finally saw the gate of the cemetery just ahead of them and doubled their pace.
From the behind, the skeleton suddenly stopped moving. It tucked its legs downward and then jumped up through the air, landing right in front of the main gate, cutting off Dipper and Mabel before they could reach it. They quickly turned on their heels and ran in the opposite direction just as the skeleton raised its two sets of arms and slammed them down on the ground, narrowly missing the twins.
They made their way back into the maze of head stones, being careful not to let themselves get separated. The skeleton came for them again, swiping its clawed hands through the air above their heads, cutting down the surrounding gravestones like a rake. The twins ran even faster, having no idea where they were actually going, only that wherever it was, it should be far away from the skeletal monster that was on their tail.
All they could do was keep running forward, until the ground beneath them suddenly disappeared and they fell downwards. They landed into some soft dirt. Looking up, Dipper realised they had fallen into a freshly dug grave which was still vacant. Directly above them, the skeleton stopped right over the grave, turning its head in every direction, trying to spot where the twins had vanished. Once it moved on, Dipper and Mabel popped their heads out of the grave, watching go.
Glancing around the area, Dipper spotted a small, old looking mausoleum in the distance, the door of which was cracked open. Gesturing to Mabel, they climbed out of the grave as quietly as possible and scurried over to the mausoleum before the skeleton made another pass around in this direction. Getting inside, they closed the door behind them and huddled down on the floor, not making any sounds. Outside they could the loud footsteps of the skeleton moving away in another direction.
"Okay, okay, okay" Dipper said, thinking it was safe to talk. "We're trapped in a cemetery with a giant reanimated skeleton monster chasing us. Need a plan. Plan, plan, plan, plan, plan, plan" Dipper muttered repeatedly, trying to think of any way out of this mess. He started to literally hit himself in the side of the head with the palm of his hand, as if to force out an idea. He then gave up and slumped the back of his head against the wall. "Oh, this is useless. I don't know what to do without the Journal"
"Come on, you don't need the Journal" Mabel said, with the utmost confidence in her brother. "You can figure something out, so keep thinking! Think, think, think!" Mabel took over for Dipper and started to vigorously smack him in the head with her palm.
"Mabel, I don't even know what that….thing is" he said, unperturbed by his sister's hits. "The Journal might have given us a clue on how to defeat, but I've got no ideas"
"Come on. Just think of something really smart to save us" Mabel said, briefly shaking Dipper's head back and forward. "Use the left half of my brain! Like that time when you saved me from Gideon's giant robot. Well, I mean you jumped off a huge cliff and landed on its head, so I guess it wasn't really smart, but-"
"That its!" Dipper suddenly stood up, shouting over Mabel, having just had a Eureka moment. "If I know my giant monster movie clichés and, I should hope I do after watching those 18 hour marathons, is that they always have a small central piece or a convenient weak spot, usually around the head, and that if we take it out, the whole thing should come crashing down just like what happened with Gideon"
Mabel paused for a moment to let Dipper's words sink in. "So…we have to get that glowing jewel thingy on its head?" she finished.
"Right" Dipper nodded.
"And you think that'll work?" Mabel said, doing her best to keep her uncertainty at a minimum.
"That or we could stay in here forever" Dipper replied dryly, shrugging his shoulders. "Wouldn't be so bad".
"So how are we going to do this?" Mabel asked. Dipper thought about it for a second until he spotted a small shovel on the floor.
Peaking outside the door, the twins exited the mausoleum, Dipper with the shovel now in hand. Going around the side, Mabel gave Dipper a leg up to the roof of the mausoleum. Dipper then reached down with the shovel to pull Mabel up as well. Getting into position on the roof, they could see the skeleton not too far from where they were, still prowling the area.
"All we need to do now is knock it off balance" Dipper whispered.
"I got it" Mabel said, grinning when something below got her eye. Without warning, she quickly climbed down the mausoleum and ran out into the cemetery.
"Mabel, wait!" Dipper called after her in a panic.
"Hey you!" she called out to the skeleton, which turned its head in her direction. "Boy for a skeleton you sure look pretty fat! Or you just big boned? Some pretty fat bones!"
Dipper groaned with despair and covered his eyes. Without giving much pause for thought, the skeleton let out a loud shrieked and charged right for Mabel, who was calmly standing her ground. When the skeleton was only a few feet away, Mabel broke into another run, leading the skeleton off to the right.
Dipper cringed with fear as the skeleton chased Mabel around in a small circle in front of the mausoleum. For a moment he was afraid it was about to catch her, when one of its spider legs fell right into the open grave they had fallen into before. Its leg sunk into the hole as it was moving and this was enough to trip the skeleton using its own momentum, as it fell forward on its front side with a huge crash, landing near the mausoleum
Seeing what Mabel had done, it didn't take Dipper long to figure what to do next. Taking a quick running start, he jumped off the top of the mausoleum and landed onto the head of the skeleton before it could get up.
Grabbing a hold of one of the dozens of human skulls that made up the skeleton's head, Dipper moved over to the skull that contained the glowing jewel Vincent had used to bring the creature to life. But before he could reach it, the skeleton got back up and started to shake its head around widely, trying to throw Dipper off. It nearly succeeded as Dipper lost his grip and slide down the side of the head, but then managed to save himself by jamming the end of the shovel in between the line of skulls, using it as a handle. Even though the skeleton was still shaking its head, Dipper climbed his way back up, using the shovel, until he reached the top of its head again, doing his best to keep his balance.
Finally spotting the skull that contained the jewel, Dipper thrust the shovel underneath the skull and started to pull on the handle in order to break it free. The skeleton roared again and raised every one of its hands above its head, preparing to crush Dipper.
But Dipper didn't have time to think or worry about this. He pulled down on the shovel with all the strength he could muster until finally, the skull popped right out, flying through the air and then landed right into Mabel's hands below. The skeleton ceased its struggling, its arms falling lime to the side, the red glow in its eyes dissipating.
"Haha! Yes!" Dipper cheered, throwing his arms up triumphantly. However, his smile soon faded when he realised that the mass of bones he was standing on had immediately begun to fall apart.
"Great" Dipper said drearily, losing all enthusiasm. The skeleton broke apart and collapsed into a huge pile of bones which had made up its form. After the dust cleared, Mabel ran up to the pile, finding Dipper laying sprawled out, underneath some of the bones.
"Dipper!" she cried over his body, dropping to her knees. "My dear brother! Taken in the prime of your life! Oh, why, cruel fate, why?!"
"Mabel, I'm not dead" Dipper grunted, trying to sit up, but Mabel put a finger to his lips.
"Shh. Rest now sweet prince" she said softly. "May flights of angles sing thee to your rest. In that sleep of death what dreams may come. Brevity was the soul of your wit, for there was method in your madness". Mabel dramatically put the back of her hand over her eyes and held the skull in the air. "Alas poor Dipper, I knew him well and-"
"Okay, enough with the Hamlet already!" Dipper said, taking the skull out of her hands before she could go any further. "Look let's get outta here before Vincent shows up again"
"Good idea" Mabel agreed with a smile, making her way back to the exit of the cemetery.
Dipper was just about to follow her, when he remembered the skull in his hands. He was about to throw it away, but then took a moment to examine it, particularly the hole in the forehead where the gem had been, but it was now cracked and broken into pieces. As Dipper stared down at the chalk white cranium of the man he and Mabel had come to investigate, he couldn't help but feel very disappointed at the fact that their search for answers had once again come up short and they found nothing. Dipper chuckled a little, half-hoping the skull that he was holding would just open up its mouth and tell him all the answers he was looking for.
However, it was then that Dipper spotted something strange. Looking at the teeth of the skull, he noticed that one at the very back of the mouth was false. Tapping his finger against, he realised it was hollow and there was a distinct rattling sound coming from inside.
His curiosity overcoming his disgust, Dipper pried open the jaw of the skull and with a slight tug, pulled out the fake tooth. Examining it, he could see that it was made of some kind of metal, with a tiny latch built on the side. He turned the latch to the side and the top half of the fake tooth opened up like a lid, revealing a hidden compartment. Inside the compartment was rolled up piece of black plastic material. Taking out the material, Dipper delicately rolled out the plastic a few inches. Though it seemed to be blank, upon closer inspection, Dipper could make out what looked like tiny picture frames. Seeing this, he immediately deduced that this was a roll of film, the same kind used in old projectors. Before he could think about what this could mean, he heard Mabel's voice calling for him in the distance.
"Dipper, are you coming?"
"Yeah, yeah, coming" he called back. Feeling a renewed sense of excitement, the same kind he had felt when he first discovered the Journal, Dipper tucked the roll of film into his pocket and followed after Mabel.
As always, hope you enjoyed the chapter, please leave a review and peace out
PS(Does anyone mind if the chapters are longer or shorter?). Also, on suggestion from a reviewer, I updated the summary. Anyone like it better or did you prefer the old one?