Warning: This story talks about the wildfires in the Pacific Northwest. I wanted to warn everyone in case the topic is too upsetting to some right now.
I felt compelled to write this story, not to spread fear, but give hope. This is a story about fighting for one's rights as well as knowing the truth.
Chapter 1: Welcome To Your New Home
"Where the hell am I? Where's my family?!" Stan shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Sir! You've already been warned about your tone," a policeman replied crossly.
"My tone? You're gonna hear a lot worse if I don't get some answers, now!"
"You're disturbing the others around you," the man returned. Stan's eyes scanned the large room. Several other adults sat on the cots or stood by the walls. Stan quieted his voice.
"All I want to know is where my family is."
"Who is in your family?"
"My twin brother, Stanford, and the other two are Melanie and Soos Ramiez."
The officer returned a blank stare.
"Look, just find my twin brother."
"What does he look like?"
Now Stan wanted to punch the guy. "I said my twin brother! He looks like me!"
"Sir! I already warned you about the tone!"
"What's the problem?" Another officer asked as he walked over.
"This man is causing a riot," the first officer replied.
Stan knit his eyebrows. "A riot? I can cause a real riot. Right now, this is just a request."
"Sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to move over here," the officer said, beginning to push Stan towards the far wall.
"What the hell is wrong with you people? All I want to know is if my family is safe!"
"Fine. We will locate your family and bring them to the shelter."
"The shelter? That's where I am?"
"Yes sir," the officer answered a bit irate.
"I'm in a shelter? I didn't know there was one in Gravity Falls."
The officers narrowed their eyes in confusion. "Where?" They asked.
"Okay, you need to tell me what town I'm in."
At that moment, a third officer appeared. "We have a situation in the east wing. A riot broke out!" The two officers ran out the door and disappeared down the hallway. Stan walked towards the door. However, before he got there, it shut automatically in front of him. Stan tried to open the door, however, he had to locate the door handle. His eyes scanned the metallic door. It was completely smooth. He leaned against the wall, gathering his thoughts. He had to remember what happened before he came here.
"Stanley! Wake up!" His eyes slowly opened. Ford stood over him, shaking him vigorously. Stan knocked his brother's hand away.
"Go away!" he grumbled.
A six-fingered hand kept shaking him. "Stanley! The house is on fire!"
Stan's eyes popped open. His nose took in the scent of burning wood and smoke.
"What?" he shouted. He jumped out of bed only to jump back on his bed due to the floor being too hot.
"Put these on," Ford handed him a pair of boots. Stan did so before they rushed out into the hallway. They were a few feet from the door when someone called to them.
"Hey Dudes! Don't leave us behind!" Stan turned to see Soos and Melanie race towards them. Melanie held onto a tiny bag.
"I'm glad I made this emergency bag," Melanie said. "It's got everything from my curling iron to my sewing kit."
"Yeah, great! Hurry up already!" Stan yelled at the two.
The Fire Martials met them outside. They attempted to put out the house fire, but found it to be a futile attempt as flames from the burning trees fell onto the roof of the shack, causing the fire to restart.
The four of them stood outside, watching the Shack burn. Beyond the housing structure, their eyes caught sight of the many burning trees of the forest.
"Wait! Where's my Abuelita!" Soos yelled. As he ran towards the shack, a fire martial stopped him.
"Sir! It's too dangerous, stay back!"
"No! You don't understand! My grandma! She's still in there!" Soos pushed the martial away. Suddenly, two officers tackled him to the ground.
"Hey! Ease up!" Stan yelled. "One of you go in there and find his grandma!"
"Sir, we've checked and no one is in the house," one of the officers said.
"Then where's my grandma?" Soos asked in a panic.
"We'll find her. We've got everything under control. Now please go to the check point where we have a bus waiting."
"A bus? Where are we going?" Ford asked.
"To a shelter," the officer replied.
"Shelter nothing!" Stan yelled. "How about you put the fire out first and then we'll decide where we're going. Probably a five star hotel."
"I'm sorry sir, but the forest fires are out of control. We need to relocate your family."
"We'll go to the shelter," Ford said. "For now."
With no other option, the family walked down the street towards the checkpoint.
Stan pushed the hair off his face. Was that what happed? It's all he remembered at the moment. What happened when they reached the bus? And did they locate Soos' grandma? All these questions and no one to answer them.
Soos stood next to Melanie. They were in a room with several others. He heard Melanie sigh.
"How long do we have to wait here?" She sat down on a cot.
Soos sat next to her. "Shouldn't be too much longer."
The metal door slid open and two officers walked in pushing a girl in front of them. From the corner of his eye, he saw the long red hair and the green vest.
"Hey! Let me go!" she screamed.
"Miss, we warned you not to leave the building and you disobeyed twice," the officer said.
"And you still haven't answered me about my family!" she retorted.
Soos turned to the young lady he recognized as the nonchalant cashier he used to work with for years at the Mystery Shack.
"Wendy!" he yelled as he waved excitedly. He and Melanie raced over.
The redhead glared at the officers as they left the room. Her eyes turned to her former coworker.
"Soos?" she asked.
"Hey!" he cried out as he embraced her. Wendy grunted, but returned the hug. Then Melanie threw her arms around Wendy.
"Wendy, what's going on? Why were those officers bothering you?"
"They wouldn't let me leave! I just got a text from Tambry. She said they put out the fires. She was walking down the street from her house and said everything is fine. So, I thought it was okay to leave, but they wouldn't let me! Plus, I haven't been able to find my family and no one can tell me where they are!"
"They didn't come here with you?"
Wendy put a hand to her forehead. "I-I don't know. I can't remember anything after we left our house!" Soos noticed how flushed her skin appeared. Her head hung in her hand now.
"Wendy, maybe you should sit down," Soos offered. Just as he said that, the girl fell forward. Soos cried out as he caught her. Melanie helped Soos get Wendy to the cot.
"I was visiting my dad and brothers when the Fire Martials told us that the whole town was evacuating because of the forest fires," she explained.
"Yeah, same thing happened to us," Soos replied. "The Shack caught on fire, and we had to leave."
Wendy shot up. "The Shack caught on fire? Did they put it out?"
"We don't know," Melanie responded.
"Wait a minute, do Stan and Ford know? Are they still in the Artic?"
"They've been living with us at the Shack for the last two years," Melanie answered.
"So where are they now?"
"They got on the bus with us," Soos said. "After that, things got a little fuzzy."
"At least the three of us are together," Melanie said.
"Oh Soos, how's your Abuelita?" Wendy asked.
Soos' eyes popped wide open. "My Abuelita!" he cried out.
Mabel sat against the wall, knitting her third sweater. Dipper paced back and forth. He stopped looked over at the others in the room. The ages ranged from small children to teenagers like them. Some kids sat on cots and others stood or sat by the walls.
"Man, I'd take pictures of this place if those asshole cops didn't take my phone," one kid said to his friend. Dipper noticed the two boys were about his age, definitely in high school. His eyes went to the locked security door. The last thing he remembered was playing checkers with Mabel (or what she called checkers). Their parents were downstairs when two police officers came to the house telling them they had to evacuate.
In the corner was a kid who couldn't have been more than eight crying his eyes out. Dipper made his way over and knelt down beside the boy.
"Hey, are you okay?" he asked.
The boy looked up, his eyes blurry and nose runny. His blonde hair lay in tangles on top of his head.
"I'm Dipper."
The boy shook his head, before he laid it back in his arms. Dipper pulled out a tissue from his pocket. Having allergies, he usually carried them.
"Here," he said handing one to the boy. He took it without looking up. "Where do you live?"
"Piedmont. I got separated from my family when we came to the shelter."
Dread fill inside of Dipper. He couldn't remember anything after they arrived at the shelter. He had no idea where his parents were either.
"What's your name?" Dipper asked.
"Dustin," he replied.
"So, when you came here, they put you in this room and your parents somewhere else?"
"I-I don't know! My mom and dad— I don't know where they are!"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I just—"
Suddenly the door opened. Everyone turned as two men in military uniforms walked inside. The door shut behind them. Dipper seized this as an opportunity. He walked towards the two men.
"Excuse me, can you tell me what's going on—" The officer's hand went up.
"Listen up!" The officer yelled. "We are still locating your families. It is for your safety that you stay here."
"Where's my phone?!" the teenage boy from earlier yelled. The policeman ignored him.
"I have to use the bathroom," one kid said.
"We can definitely take care of that." He gestured for the kid to follow him.
"Uh, can I ask a question?" Dipper tried.
The officer still in the room turned to him.
"Where is this shelter? Are we in Piedmont?"
"We cannot give you that information," the officer said.
"Wait a minute! Why not?"
The officer moved passed Dipper, ignoring him.
"The forest fires have gotten out of control so everyone needs to stay here where it's safe."
"We need to know where our parents are." Dipper persisted. "We were separated from them. Their names are Michael and Kristine Pines."
"We'll look for them kid, but you need to stay here."
Dipper threw his hands up in the air and groaned. Mabel walked over.
"Don't worry bro. I'm sure our local police officers will take care of everything. Dad always said to trust a cop," she put a finger to her mouth. "Or did he say, never trust a cop? No, wait! Grunkle Stan says never trust a cop. Dad says-"
"Enough Mabel!" Dipper yelled.
The officer turned and exited the room.
"This is just crazy!" Dipper exclaimed. He looked around the room again, and then back at the door. "This isn't a shelter. It's a prison."