Case Closed.
- No one's POV -
Jungle Falls is slowly turning into a new change for the good, now that the mist of magic disappeared from their minds. It may not be as much with appearances but inside the town, a lot has happened within a month. It was a great way to begin the new year with a new town that has lost half of its members' memories. The townfolks will have to give thanks to their heroes who could make it happen.
Speaking of the heroes, let's jump back for a bit.
On the night of the rescue, the group was found by policemen. The police, at first, questioned and almost threatened them until they realized what they were here for. No harm was done here, those same policemen were just looking for the missing teenagers years ago before they went under the hypnosis spell. They agreed to help the older twins, calling an ambulance to help out with the injured missing teens. As they arrive, medics were rushed over to them, helping them on stretchers to the trucks. The hospital is gonna be filled once they get all of them there. Though ... most of them survived. There were a total of 15 teenagers, all of which were alive before the end of the year. Two gave up on life and let death take their souls into the afterlife. If only they had held onto their lives a few days later. Another one died in the arms of a family member at the hospital.
A sad tragic story it was, that family would be heartbroken for weeks.
Along with the treatment came our heroes, being escorted out of the basement after a terrible fight with the mastermind. That criminal won't be alive to see the tears from his son's eyes from his own dead body. Nor will he see his son in jail or ... that's what we like to think he's there. Onto the heroes side, two were immediately rushed to the hospital as the others followed behind after meeting with their friends and family. They were confused with all of the policemen and medics around, along with the detectives arriving on the scene. Their great uncles shushed them and will explain everything to them later.
With how the law enforcement handled this, they were after the man who kidnapped these teenagers. What they found is the dead body of the man with his fingerprints all over the tools he used to torture the teenagers. Different fingerprints belonged to the son of the man. It would be best for the law enforcement if the man was alive so they could questioned him for information about the reasons he done this horrible crime. And plus, to serve his sentence in prison. But now that he is dead, there is nothing left but to clean up the mess he left behind. They found the man's killer, though there must be a misunderstanding of the situation when they tried to come forth towards it. The mess was a self-defense act, proven with evidence behind it. Though they were never really focused on it in the first place so they let it slide since they were dealing with a huge criminal.
With half of the townfolks' missing memories, they were sent over to the psychiatrist to get treated. Unfortunately, this was a huge situation to take care of. The main problem with this, some of the psychiatrists were also missing memories of the past from the effect. So treatment was slow for both the patients and the psychiatrists. However, not all was lost. A few days after the rescue ended came a brunette who was all charmed into helping the town get back to where it was. Mabel was it? She was fresh from the hospital with a couple of bandages on her skin. She was doing well, quite alright with her recovery from the kidnapping. Unlike the other missing folks, the past scenes never troubled her mind.
She offered to help the folks in their favor to get their memories back. It did take some effort but she managed to convince the professionals otherwise. With her brother, Dipper, they came up with an idea to help the folks. It took some time getting trust from the townfolks, but eventually, their memories flooded back to them when they visited places that unlock that information in their heads. While this was happening, their heroes became their saviors, helping them in everyday life.
Our other heroes were recovering well. The red-haired, Wendy was doing alright in her times. In the hospital, she was visited by many people. Soos was the first as he gave her gifts to never let her hope die out. Though with the tough behavior she always has, don't think the hope she creates will ever die out. Her family soon came in after the big dude. They were worried sick as her father swore to get revenge on whoever did this to his daughter. Wendy told him off or tried to at least, but in all seriousness, don't think he would. Her younger brothers each gave her gifts from their home. She was grateful for that as the whole family came in for a hug. When she was discharged after a week and a half, she went out of her way in between her rests to help out the townfolks with their memories.
Moving onto the next, this one doesn't call themselves a hero. Regardless of what he says, he still is. What's his name? Kahlil was it? His recovering part is ... coming along well, sort of. When the ambulance arrived at the hospital, he never woke up from his dreams. This caused a stir within the medics as they rush him to the emergency room. As they did their job, they found out that one of the wounds he had- specifically his back shoulder wound, was seriously infected. It appears the wound was already affecting the area of the skin, and possibly the bloodstream. They went to work, doing their best to treat it and clear away any infection that could be eating the damaged skin. At the same time, they treated the other wounds before going surgery option with that right hand.
When they were finished, they kept a close eye on him. Though he never opened his eyes, he never saw the gifts that others left beside his desk, even his family members. His mother was feeling every guilt wave that she could bear, though she was really about to lose it when her son wouldn't open his eyes after two days. Three days passed and so did the fifth day. Nurses were in and out, treating him with his daily needs. This sudden coma came out of nowhere, causing fear in the people that he loved that he might not make it out alive. It's been a week and a half, surely there's time left to wake up, right?
Back to the red-haired case, the assaulter who caused her wound roundup in jail for ninety days. Candy didn't want this though, she couldn't back out of it anyway. At the same time, she also didn't want to break that vow she made with Wendy. There was no other choice but to face the consequences of her actions. But surely, over time, she gave in to her vow as she drowned in her guilt.
When a week and a half passed, a blonde with a familiar brunette was almost, always together. Mabel would always be there for her friend and try to get her onto the right recovery path in the correct ways. She never went back to her ways as she did once before with her brother. Instead, she received advice and help from other friendly folks who were willing to help with Pacifica's recovery. The blonde was grateful for their help and as time goes on, she was feeling like herself.
With each of the heroes getting gifted and swarmed during schools and everywhere they went, the town of Jungle Falls might return back to normal, only slightly different from before.
Now, let's see how they're doing.
- Dipper's POV -
"Dipstick." A voice called from the light of my dreams, pulling me back into the real world. I groaned in annoyance. I didn't want to wake up, I want to pretend that everything was fine. I don't want to face the problems head-on. The issues these past days have been ... killing me lately. I opened my eyes slowly, blinking a bit before glancing over to my sister who was hovering over me. "Ready for another day of helping the folks?" She asked, tilting her head.
"... No thanks..." I mumbled tiredly.
"Why not? It is our job to do so." She said, confusion spreading on her face.
"Frankly we volunteered. Of course, we can continue to help, though ... can we take a break?" I asked, closing my eyes slowly.
"Right... breaks. I forgot we needed to take some." She said. "So, if we are. What will we be doing?"
"Going back to sleep." I answered quickly.
"Noooo! Let's visit our friends! Wendy should be good for a visit, right?" She asked, shaking my bed.
"Ugh, Stop." I grunted, opening my eyes to glare at her. She smiled before halting her actions. "As much as I want to-"
"You have no choice! I'm taking you there whether you like it or not!" She said, dropping her smile as she gave me a serious look.
"... Really?" I said, giving her a look.
"Yes! It'll be fun! Besides, I might add Pacifica with us." She said.
"If she feels like to be with us." I said, sitting up.
"Yeah... if she does..." She mumbled, frowning. There's been a few days where Pacifica wants to stay home and hide away from everyone. I don't blame her. "So! Get cleaned up! I'll be waiting downstairs!"
"Alright." I said. I watched her smile before turning away and walking out of the room. She shut the door when she was heading out. I sighed, frowning. I hugged myself tightly as I felt stress returning back to me. . My eyes were gathering up tears already as I struggle to push them back. Ugh, this is why I wanted to go back to sleep. I don't want to deal with the constant feeling of sorrow every single minute, let alone a second. I stared at my sheets, sensing the depressing atmosphere around me. I looked up at the door, slowly getting up from my bed. My sister was great at keeping her sadness locked away, but me? No. I couldn't. I tried so hard, but nothing couldn't block out the emotions that I was feeling that day. I walked over to my dresser and grabbed some fresh clothes. I changed into them, throwing my old clothes in the laundry basket and grabbing my jacket. I put it on before turning to my phone. Feeling these constant emotions makes me feel like I'm in a loop.
I stared at it, hesitated to go over to it, however, hope soon piled up within me. Is he awake? Thoughts begin to pour in after I asked myself that question. I kept the frown on my face before walking over to my phone. I halted and picked it up. I eyed it, staring at the black screen. I tense up, hoping that something good happened. I opened my phone, seeing that there were no messages. My frown became greater as tears well in my eyes again. Damnit. No luck. I place it in my jacket pocket and turned to the rose in a small vase. I raised a brow, surprised that it didn't wither yet. I grabbed the rose's stem, being careful of its thorns. I stared down at it, glancing at its appearance. I'll ... just keep this in here. I placed the rose in my inside jacket's pocket. I soon got myself ready and headed out of the shared room. I walked downstairs and over to the bathroom, doing my business.
I stepped out of the bathroom and glanced down the hallway. I turned and walked over to the gift shop entry. I moved the cloth away for me to enter. "There you are!" I heard my sister's voice. "What took you so long?"
I glanced at her with a blank expression, holding myself back from crying. "I was just ... trying to wake up." I said, lying, as well as putting on a fake smile.
"You were falling asleep again?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at me.
"Yeah." I said, nodding slightly.
"Well, I'm glad you held yourself back from falling asleep." She said, smiling. She stood away from the counter and walked over to me. "Come on! Let's see what we can do." I nodded to her response as we headed out of the shack, saying our goodbyes to Soos on the way out. We walked on the pathway, glancing at the usual. I gazed over at the jungle trees, noticing something in the bushes. A second ago, the bush shook, making me suspicious of it. The tiny people's tribe wouldn't be here at all. They're all up in the trees. None of the manitaurs either. So... who is this? Can't be any creatures of the jungle, they wouldn't travel this close to their environment. A thought came into my head as I widened my eyes slightly. No ... the guy's dead ... That wouldn't- ... Wait. Did they find Gideon?
The news would have told us by now if he was found. I shook my head and glanced away from the jungle. Don't stress me now brain, I don't even want to think of the future right now. But at the same time, he's useless. He can't do anything when his arms are broken. That thought alone almost wants to make me laugh. But I'll settle on a laugh when the times are good again. We passed the sign at the end of the pathway and entered the town. Our focus shifted from the nature around us to cars driving by. Soon onto some faintly familiar faces from previous volunteering sessions. They greeted us as we greeted back. Some folks shared small talks while others thanked us too many times. They even swore to pay us back when we didn't even need it. I do hope they don't get us anything. They don't need to. As we walked on the sidewalk, we were stopped by a familiar voice. I watched Mabel bounce over, leaving me on the sidewalk.
I spotted the red-haired family waving at us. It looks like we were by their house. Nice. I watched my sister jumped and hugged Wendy, making me smile softly. I walked over, keeping my hands in my jacket's pocket. "Hey, Dipper!" I heard her voice.
"Hello, Wendy. How are you doing?" I asked, halting my footing in front of her as my sister let her go.
"Good, good. A lot of the townfolks came by today for some directions." She answered. "How about you?"
"Doing good too." I said quickly, avoiding telling the truth. I've kept this facade up for the longest, I doubt they'll notice.
"That's good." Wendy said.
"Is the wound giving you trouble?" Mabel asked, casting a worried look at her.
"Not at all! I've been on painkillers to tell the difference! Then again ... I never tell the difference when I'm off of them." Wendy answered, rubbing the back of her head nervously.
"Well that is good you're recovering well." My sister said.
"Yeah, I have a question to ask, Mabel." Wendy said.
"Yes?"
"How's the rich girl doing?" She asked.
I watched my sister gasp as she stomps her feet on the ground. I blinked in confusion. "OH! I FORGOT TO CALL HER! Dang, it..." She said, frowning. "Well ... Pacifica's doing well. I've been keeping a close eye on her process and so far, it hasn't been anything negative!"
"Don't keep your eyes on her too long." Wendy said, narrowing her eyes at her before widening them. I stared at my sister's face turning completely red. "Or else ... uh ... is there something wrong?"
"UH. No. Why?" Mabel said, smiling nervously through her blush.
"Well, you seem to turn red after I mention that." Wendy answered, giving her a concerned look.
"Oh! This? It's nothing! I'm just worried about her!" She chirped, her voice lingering with a lie. I narrowed my eyes before shaking my head. I'll ask about that one later.
"... Okay ... if you say so." Wendy said, perking a smile. "I'm glad you two are doing well. So, what's brings you guys here? Helping out the folks again?"
"No, no. We're taking a break from that for a bit." Mabel answered, her blush disappearing.
"Ah. I see. Understandable. Some of these folks ... been getting too clingy ..." Wendy said, a tired look appeared before it disappeared.
"Especially the ones that promise you deeply that they'll pay you back for the kindness you did to them." I said, putting on a poker face.
"Yeah... I get those too." Wendy said, rubbing the back of her head nervously. She soon drops it before turning to us with a smile. "Anyway, since I've been stressing a little, why don't I hang with you guys?"
"Sure! Oooo! We could have a friend's hangout!" Mabel said, turning around.
"Yeah, it's never too late to call Pacifica if you want to add her in." Wendy suggested.
"Hmmm ... I'll think about that. Anyway, let's go see what we all can do!" Mabel said, walking back to the sidewalk.
"Alright." Wendy said before turning to me. "You're sister is surely giving off some signs."
"I'm sure it'll come up in no time." I said, nodding slowly.
"Yeah. So ... Have you visited Kahlil yet?" As soon as she said that name, my barrier broke. I stood in silence, staring at her as I struggle to keep a blank facade. I soon turned away and walked off. Why did I do that? But before I could think more, Wendy grabbed my arm, causing me to stop my footing. "Dipper..." I gulped before slowly looking back at her. I had a small frown on my face as I gathered up the strength to push back the flood that attempted to escape my eyes. "You can't keep doing this."
"I don't want to go in there and ... and see him lying there so ... lifeless again." I said, the pain and sadness slipping through my voice. Great, this facade is shattering.
"I know you don't, but be grateful that you'll be there when he wakes?" She asked.
"And when will that be? Never?!" I said, raising my voice slightly as emotions begin to take over.
"It will not be never, Dipper. I'm sure he will wake up soon." She said, giving me a soft smile.
"... But..." I saw tears well up in my eyes as I, once again, doing a terrible job at holding back the flood.
"You got to hope sometimes. He's still alive, just ... in a deep sleep." She said softly.
"... It's hard to hope." I said quietly, frowning.
"Okay. I know you're not going to like me after this offer." She began. "How about me and your sister come with you to the hospital to check if he's awake?"
"... That-"
"Please, Dipper?" Wendy begged, showing a convincing expression towards that offer. I let out a sigh after a minute went by and nodded quietly. "Good."
"... Oh. We're heading to the hospital?" I heard my sister say close by. I turned to her as she slowly put her phone back into her pocket.
"Yes." Wendy answered.
"Goodie! That's more of a good idea! Been a while since I've visited him!" Mabel chirped. I stared at her with a surprised expression. I will never know how she can be happy right now.
"I hope his mother is alright. I've seen her crying near his room." Wendy said, breaking the silence between us.
"Yeah ... I feel so bad for her. No mother should see her kid going through something like this." Mabel said, frowning slightly.
"Every parent should be." Wendy said. We arrived at the hospital as I listened to the two's conversation in silence. We soon entered the building as it rained down an empty feeling to us. It wasn't creepy or anything. It ... felt ... dead. Maybe that's just me. But ... I feel like it's ...- No. It's not. Don't think that way. If they announced it, then we wouldn't be here right now. Oh no- No no, I don't want to think that way. But ... isn't he ... slightly immortal? "Dipper." I flinched over to my sister's whisper. I glanced over as Wendy was standing next to a nurse who was looking at me with concerned looks. Great, I wasn't paying attention. My sister grabbed my arm as she pulled me along. I allowed it as the walk to the room begin. "You doing okay...? It's ... weird to not see you break down by now."
"... I've been doing well. Been trying to sleep away my issues. Maybe that's why you don't see me breaking down." I whispered. So ... even if I lie to cover up my emotions ... she still notices.
"... You can't ... you can't stay in our room, sleeping all day." She whispered, giving a worried expression.
"... I can." I whispered. "And I'm not afraid to do it again."
"It's not good for you." She whispered.
"... I know that ... but sometimes, I need some ... time." I whispered, turning to stare at the floor.
"... Don't do this to yourself. I don't think Kahlil wants to see an overly depressed Dipper if he's been sleeping and crying away all of the issues." She whispered.
"..." I blinked, slowly looking up as we arrived at his room. I heard someone crying, soon following some sobs afterward. I glanced back at my sister, giving her a frown. "... Maybe you're right..."
"That's the spirit!" She whispered, giving me a half hug. I smiled softly before giving her a half hug back. "Now, let's see if he's awake."
"... well ... by the tells of his mother-"
"Dipper, Mabel!" We both heard Wendy's voice in a whisper, making us walk over to her. The nurse let us go before walking over to comfort Kahlil's mother. We entered the room as Wendy was the first to shut the door. I stared down at the floor, keeping my gaze on it. The last time I did this, I ran out of the room. I refused to even look at him. I still can't look at him. I refuse to. He looks so dead. I halted my footing, watching Wendy grabbing a chair and setting it next to the bed. She turned towards me and pointed at the seat. I frowned slightly before nodding slowly. I walked over to sit in it. It was facing the bed as I turned it to the left a bit. I heard Wendy sigh before walking over and taking a chair for herself. I saw Mabel doing the same as she sat hers next to mine. I looked down at the floor, waiting for them to sit.
"Hey. Instead of sitting here in silence, how about we continue to talk about some topics that were familiar to him?" Mabel asked, interrupting the silence between all three of us.
"... We could ... however, I have to ask ... is talking around him doing the best to ... speed up this coma?" Wendy asked, crossing her legs.
"I don't know. But I'm hoping it does!" Mabel said, smiling.
"... I think it does ... I don't know, I might be wrong." I said, shrugging.
"Let's just hope it does. Don't let yourself get down in the seas." Mabel said, giving me a soft smile.
"I won't." I said, giving her a small smile.
"So, what should we talk about?" Wendy asked.
"hmmm... Oh! I know!" Mabel said, becoming excited. "I haven't told you this yet ... BUT, Dipper and I are becoming popular in school! How's amazing is that?!"
"Oh gosh." I grumbled, remembering those times.
"I bet you guys are." Wendy said, snickering at my comment.
"I never knew it could become like this. I guess people really like us after saving the whole town." Mabel said.
"... Well, we are their savior. And I wish they stop blocking the f-cking way." I cursed.
"Dipper! No!" Mabel said, glaring at me. "That's no way to treat your fans!"
"... Fans ... gosh..." I grumbled.
"Come on! Being popular isn't so bad!" Mabel said.
"... I told you that time about the popularity that Kahlil had been- ... well ... you know how that went." I said, turning to glare at her.
"Yeah ... I know. But at the same time ... you get to see all of their wonderful and cheerful faces! Hearing them say you saved their parents, themselves, etc. Don't you feel happy and blessed that you did a good thing to their town?" She asked, looking at me with a happy expression.
"... I do ... I do, Mabel." I said, easing my stare. "However ... they do need to stop swarming me."
"... Well ... maybe getting swarmed is good!" She chirped.
"... To you it seems." I said, raising a brow.
"Yeah ... it does." She said, huffing a bit before turning away. "I wish I could discuss my popularity properly with someone."
"... Properly?" Both me and Wendy said. I eyed her down, crossing my arms.
"You don't seem to appreciate it or enjoy it. And I'm starting to think you might go down that path of disliking being popular." Mabel said, slowly turning back to me.
"We react differently to how we view things being popular. Besides ... I don't want to use status to take advantage of it." I said.
"... Okay." She said, nodding slowly. Though she seemed too sadden by my belief. I sighed and looked away from her.
"It's alright, Mabel. People are different when it comes to popularity." Wendy said.
"Mmhmm." I heard my sister whisper. I frowned slightly before dropping it a second later. If it helps her, I'll be nice to them. I felt something within my jacket, so I decided to pull it out. I stared at the rose as I forgot I had it in there. Right. I took this with me so it can keep me calm. I turned it around a bit before looking up and over at the bed. I squeeze my hands before leaning back in the chair. I heard Wendy and Mabel start up a conversation again, talking about something familiar but I didn't bother to pay attention. I stared at the white sheets before glancing at Kahlil's hand. I looked back at the rose, staring at the sheets. I set it down next to him before placing my hand into his. I squeeze it tightly and rested my head on the side of the bed.
I don't ... I don't even know if this helps. I don't even know if us talking to you works. Jeez, thinking like this is so negative. Though, at the same time, I'm not getting those bad thoughts or voices that convince me to go to the deep ends of my mind. Which is good. I ... I just hope you are alright. Wendy said that you might be sleeping to your heart's wishes. At least she cares about you having a good heart. All of us do. So ... we're visiting ... seeing how you are and such. You know what, I don't even know if speaking in my mind works. Stop. Stop it, Dipper. No one likes it when you talk badly about yourself.
'exactly.'
I flinched and jolted in my seat with wide eyes. I looked around quickly, trying to locate that voice I heard. What the hell? Where did that voice come from? And why does it sounds like-
"Dipper?" I heard my sister's voice as I looked over at her. "You okay?" She gave a worried look at me.
"... I'm fine... I just thought ... I heard someone." I said quietly. I slowly turned my gaze back at the bedsheets.
"Like who?" Mabel asked.
"... I ... I don't know." I said. I don't want to say it because it might not seem believable.
"Your mind might be playing tricks on you." Wendy said. "Since ... you might have been stressed these past days."
"... Yeah ... that could be the case." I said, calming myself down.
'... it's not though.' There's that voice again. I blinked in confusion. I stared down at my hand, realizing his hand was gripping onto mines. I breathe in and out before slowly glancing over at the blond. I widened my eyes with what I saw. '... now you notice. Jeez.' I blinked in more confusion, staring at the blond who had his eyes opened and staring at me. I ... I think my mind broke or ... just couldn't comprehend what I was hearing and seeing. '... how long are you just gonna ... sit there and stare at me?'
I shook out of my frozen state, blinking a bit before glancing back at him. I ... I don't know what to say. I'm in too much shock to say anything. You ... you woke up ... you ... woke up. I ... I don't know if it was the speaking in my head thing or them talking or what. But I'm glad you're awake.
'... you say that as if I came back from the dead.' And... you're speaking in my mind. How are you doing that?! I watch his eyes go wide before glancing away. '... what?'
"Yeah, Anyway, Dipper?" I flinched before looking over at the two girls. "I think-"
"Wait!" I said, cutting my sister off. Finally, I'm speaking. "Something happened!"
"Wait. SOMETHING DID?!" Mabel said, raising her voice as she got out of her chair and rushed over to the railing of the bed. "OH MY GOD-"
"SHUSH." I hissed.
"Sorry! He's awake!" She said, turning over to Wendy.
"... Kahlil's awake?!" The red-haired stood up quickly and rushed over. "... I ... I can't believe it."
'why is ... why is everyone saying like I ... came back from the dead?' I heard his voice in my head. I held myself back from releasing a snicker. Now's not the time, Dipper. However, he sounds like nothing really bothered him at all. I guess that deep sleep paid off.
"I can't..." I heard Wendy's voice trailed off.
"Should I get the doctors?" Mabel asked.
"Yes!" Wendy answered immediately as my sister left to get them.
'do I ask what happened?' I heard him again. I looked over to him and tilted my head, thinking for a bit. At the moment, Kahlil, you're still speaking in my mind without moving your mouth. '... how ... how am I doing that?'
I don't know, dear.
End of Chapter 69