The First Case
Construction of the museum complex was well on its way, ahead of schedule in fact, but still a couple weeks away from even resembling Dipper's vision for what the final product should look like. He hadn't been resting on his laurels either. He'd spent a good chunk of the past two weeks scouring the internet and the local library compiling data, creating both digital and physical case files for a number of differen't mysteries, cryptid, and other paranormal related stories he'd like to investigate in time, or at the very least might make a fun museum exhibit. Inspecting the progress of the Museum proper wasn't why he'd brought the girls by the site today. There was another construction project taking place that he'd been keeping under wraps until then.
"What's this place?" Wendy asked, her eyes naturally drawn to the other building being erected several hundred feet due south of the Museum. "Some kind of storage building for the museum?"
"No, there'll be a basement level we'll use for storage, which is pretty standard for most museum's… This structure is being built to house something else…"
"It kind of looks like the shell of one of those apartment buildings with all the doors and stuff on the outside."
"Well, I sure hope it does, because that's exactly what they are Mabel! An eight-unit apartment building to be exact! I had the building designed to act more like a dormitory, with a couple of common areas included in the middle of the complex."
"That's cool dude… But why are you buildin' apartments on your museum lot?"
"Well…" Dipper blushed faintly as he scratched at his nose. "None of us really have a place of our own. Mabel and I can't impose on our Grunkles forever, and you've made it no secret that you want out of your parent's house Wendy… So I figured, while we were at it, why not build a place for us to stay on site?"
"Seriously Bro?! You actually had homes built for us?"
"Yeah, but nothing spectacular though. Just modest sized apartments for us to make use of for now until we're ready to find places of our own… And even though this was my idea, I won't exactly own this building like I do the Museum."
"Oh yeah? Who does own it then?" Wendy frowned as her brain answered that question for her. "Oh… Its Little Miss Northwest isn't it?"
"Yeah… She's the one who arranged all the building permits and hired the construction crew… I'm going to have my hands full with the Museum so leaving her in charge of the lodging complex just made sense… That's not going to be a problem is it?"
"It's a generous offer, but I'm probably gona have to pass dude… Don't think I could stomach the idea of the Princess being my landlord…"
"It's not mandatory… Your unit will be there if you need it though. It's rent free for the first year. You just have to pay your utilities and furnish the place yourself…"
"Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Wendy stopped him. "Did you say rent free? For a whole flippin' year?!"
"Yep, I already made the arrangements… As I was saying, basic appliances will be included, but you'll be responsible for getting your own furniture and pay for you own electricity and water, and any other luxury you might want… Like cable and internet and such…"
"Dude, you had me at free rent for a year! Dipper man, you keep makin' me offers I can't refuse!"
"After the year's up though, you will have to start paying rent monthly if you're still living here…"
"Dude, with what you're paying me, I'll be able to buy my own frickin' house by the time that lease is up!"
Dipper smiled. "That was kind of the point…"
"I'll be happy just to have cable again! There's only so much Duck Detective a girl can watch…"
"Really guys? That big ole house and they don't even have cable?"
Dipper shook his head. "Stan's too cheap, and Ford views television as a frivolous waste of time and monetary expense… Don't roll your eyes at me please, those were his words not mine… Anyway, there's a reason the T.V. at the Mystery Shack was always on the public access channel. I was kind of surprised when we finally convinced Ford that internet would be useful for his research, otherwise we might've been completely dark during the summer. To be fair though, Ford did break down and get us cable that one summer we were up here."
"Hey Dipper… Why are there eight units being built?" Mabel asked.
"Good question… There's one for each of the four of us on the team of course, and four extras just in case we add more staff down the line that might want to take advantage of the accommodations. I also thought that Grunkle Ford or Stan might appreciate having a place to crash if they need it."
"I have to hand it to you dude… You are completely committed to this project arentcha?"
"I have to be Wendy… I'm risking and sacrificing too much not to be… It's like Ford always tells me, hell, like I told my younger self five years ago… The career I've chosen isn't a glamours one… The road I've decided to travel is going to be full of potholes and roadblocks, and I need to be one hundred percent committed if I'm going to make this work. And if I can help take care of my friends and family along the way, that's all the better."
"I wonder if Takura could use some help decorating his place?" Mabel thought out loud. "I need to take that boy shopping!"
"Speaking of Takura…" Dipper smirked. "As soon as he gets here, we'll have a meeting to discuss the first case for our research team! Construction on the Museum might be a few weeks away from completion, but that doesn't mean we have to sit on our asses while we wait!"
"And where did you find a job already Bro-Bro? Seeing as you basically made me the glorified receptionist and schedule keeper for Gravity Falls Inc., we haven't gotten one single call for an actual job! Just a couple of crank calls from kids about ghosts and one guy who asked if I'd seen Bigfoot recently. I told him, not since last summer when Bruce came passing through Oregon!"
"I bet that blew his mind," Dipper laughed. "We don't actually need someone to officially hire us to work a job though. There are plenty of mysteries and paranormal activity out there to investigate on our own initiative… And I just happen to have found the perfect first case for us! Just need the entire team here so I don't have to repeat myself later."
"What's keepin' Takura anyway? He's usually tied to your hip."
"He was working with Grunkle Ford this morning down in his lab… It's a long shot, but Ford is studying his physiology for both Werewolves and Andorrans to see if he can help Takura with his problem…"
"You think Ford could actually figure out a way to cure his lycanthrope? By the way Dip, I damn you for bein' the reason I know that word."
"It's going to be extremely difficult to cure someone of something that every law of science and nature says shouldn't be able to exist… But if anyone can figure it out, Grunkle Ford can. Come to think of it, why don't we just head over to his house and meet Takura there?"
"Fascinating," Ford marveled as he peered into is microscope, admiring another slide that highlighted Takura's curious cellular structure.
"More fascinating than all my other bits and bobs you've been gawking at?" Takura grumbled, a bit weary from a long morning getting prodded in Ford's lab. He was a tough guy, but he wasn't too fond of this 'needle' contraption the scientist kept poking him with. He could sense the evil pulsating from that sharp pointy object… Dare he call it demonic even.
"Oh, my apologies… I'm getting sidetracked again. There's nothing new that I've noticed in your latest cell sample, but I can't help but feel captivated by the way your cells are structured. Everything else about you, from your muscle tissue to your skeletal structure, to your internal organs are all almost mundanely human. Even the blood samples I've taken from you are consistent enough with a B positive blood type, that I'd put your odds around 88% that your body could accept a blood transfusion of this type without rejecting it. Your DNA is only marginally differen't from humans, and I have to consider that your part Werewolf when trying to explain that discrepancy. Your cellular structure, however, is remarkably unique…" Ford looked over at Takura excitedly. "Tell me, how familiar are you with virus and diseases?"
"I know they're the things that make you sick, but other than that I couldn't tell you how they work… What does that have to do with anything though?"
"Let me show you something…" Ford rolled his chair over to his laptop, and quickly brought up a picture of an average looking human cell. "This is what a healthy human cell looks like… What happens when a human being, or any other living organism for that matter, contracts a virus that virus will essentially invade the cell, disrupting its functions if not outright killing the cell. From there, the virus will replicate and spread to other cells, ultimately leading to the infected individual becoming ill."
"Can we get to the point where this has anything to do with my situation?"
"Of course…" Ford performed several more clicks on his computer. "This is an image I've taken of one of your cells… Do you notice how it looks remarkably similar to a human cell, aside from the…"
"All those red splotches on the cell?" Takura finished for him, staring at the screen with a creased brow. "If you're showing this to me, I'm assuming that means this isn't normal?"
Ford shook his head. "No, this is more consistent in what we'd see in an infected human cell, which can mean one of two things. Either this is simply what the cells of an Andorran look like, or those legions you see on your cells are directly connected with your Lycanthrope. I lean towards the latter since everything else about you physiologically is so similar to humans. The Lycanthrope appears to be the only anomaly in this case."
"So… You're telling me my Werewolfisim is kind of like a virus?"
"I can't confirm that with one-hundred percent certainty," Ford sighed. "Only that it appears to act like a virus. You're an extremely healthy young man from what I've been able to tell. I've never really seen anything like this before, hence why I've been so transfixed."
"So, let's just pretend it is some kind of virus…" Takura said, sounding almost hopeful. "Does that mean it could potentially be cured somehow?"
"That's… Going to take more research, and that's just to determine if this hypothesis is even correct. Generally speaking though, viruses can't be cured, and have to run their course. The symptoms can typically be treated, however. Hypothetically speaking, it may be at least possible to treat your condition if we can't cure it outright. I don't have near enough data to promise you anything other than it's feasible, though highly unlikely."
"Better than the nothing I had just a few minutes ago," Takura responded with a shrug. "Thank you Dr. Pines."
"I appreciate the sentiment, but you may want to hold your gratitude until I've produced some tangible results. It hasn't escaped me, that I'm the one getting the most out of our collaboration in the early going."
Takura shrugged again. "It was always going to be this way. I knew there weren't any guarantees that I'd get what little I have so far. Thankfully, patience is a strength of mine… And I understand not to be expecting any miracles here."
"That's a sensible mindset to have, seeing as nothing short of a miracle is exactly what we need…" Stanford paused, searching for a delicate way to broach what he already knew to be a sensitive subject for the young man. "Have you… Experimented at all with how your transformation works on Earth? I'm curious to learn exactly how much exposure to the full-moon effects the change, if that's even the case at all."
"No, I haven't transformed yet… And I don't plan too unless it's absolutely necessary. I'm made my stance on that matter pretty clear…"
"Yes, indeed you have… You're concerned you'll go feral if you lean on your Lycan transformation too heavily. It's a logical concern."
"It's… Not just that," Takura said hesitantly. He wanted the curious doctor to understand that, while his Lycanthrope may be fascinating for Stanford, that was far from the case for Takura himself. "Most Werewolves who go feral do so because they spend almost as much, if not more time in their wolf form as they do their Andorran form. I'm nowhere near the point where I need to worry about losing myself to the beast. It's more of the fact that I don't enjoy becoming the wolf Dr. Pines… The transformation is not a pleasant experience, so it's a form I don't wish to use unless absolutely necessary. I know you want to see the transformation, but now is not that time. That time will come eventually, you'll just have to be patient and wait until then."
"Of course. It wasn't my intention to pressure you into doing anything that makes you uncomfortable just to satisfy my own scientific curiosity."
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't…" Takura started to crane his head around anxiously. "Um… Do you happen to know what time it is? Dipper wanted me to meet him around 2:00 to discuss something…"
"Ah yes! Your new teams first official investigation, exciting times! I know Dipper has been meticulous in his planning for this expedition. It's uncanny how rapidly things are progressing… Mere weeks ago, none of us were even sure Dipper would ever find his way home…" Ford pondered the drive he'd seen in his young protégé as his plans slowly came to fruition. The similarities to himself were hard to miss at times… Stanford fretted over whether this was a good thing or not. "I should get back to my work. I believe I've taken up enough of your time Takura. Why not go and see what Dipper has instore for the four of you?"
Takura simply nodded in response before leaving the lab.
Unbeknownst to Takura, Dipper and the rest of his fledgling team were already upstairs waiting on him. Dipper was seated at the dining room table looking over the information he'd gathered for the upcoming case, all stored in a surprisingly plump manilla folder. Wendy, under the guise of being interested in the material, peered over his shoulder to get a better look… And in the process, placing her face perilously close to Dippers. "Whatcha looking at?"
"Oh, I uh, um…" Dipper stammer, blushing profusely. "Just going over my notes in preparation for our case briefing…. As soon as Takura's done in the lab, we'll get started."
"Ah, okay. Cool!" Wendy said but didn't move. Dipper started to squirm in his seat. Wendy noticed his uneasy demeanor and couldn't help but laugh. "What's the matter dude? You got dirty pictures of some girl in her undies hidin' in that folder or something?"
"What?! No! Why would you…" Dipper's head snapped around, leaving barley an inch of space between his nose and Wendy's, which was exactly what she had wanted. Staring directly into each other's eyes, Wendy just smirked as Dipper's face discovered an even brighter shade of red. He quickly looked back down at his notes, failing miserably in a pointless attempt to look casual. He said softly, "Nothing so crass… I'm just… You know… Trying to make sure everything's in order and you're… Well… You're just distracting me a little, that's all."
"Distractin' you huh? Well, we can't have that now can we?!" Wendy said playfully as she stood up straight and gave Dipper a not so soft slap on the back. "Just keep your audience in mind and try to keep the nerd lingo to a minimum kay?"
"I'll do my best…"
Wendy finally walked away, allowing Dipper to unleash a huge sigh of relief. Since he returned home to Earth, this was far from the first time that Wendy had pulled something like this… Nothing too forward, but instances that definitely bordered along the lines of… Was it weird that Dipper didn't want to sound arrogant by calling them flirtatious? She'd flirted with him before when he was younger, but she was clearly teasing, and Dipper knew never to take any of it seriously. This felt differen't though… There were almost undeniable overtones that seemed to suggest there was something more behind her actions then just simply trying to get a rise out of him. And some of her efforts had, quite literally. Just a few weeks ago, the very thought of Wendy showing even the slightest hint of legitimate attraction to him would've elated him to the point that confetti probably would've shot out of his butt, but now… All he felt was uncomfortable frustration. Blendin's words still weighed heavy on his mind. He'd given up any chance he had at something more than friendship with Wendy when he brought her mother back to her. He couldn't allow himself to get sucked in and become all enamored with her again. Things were going well… No sense in pressing his luck and ruining an already good thing.
"Well, I can still turn him into a tomato with almost no effort, so that ain't the problem," Wendy grumbled as she walked into the living room.
"What problem might that be?" Mabel asked sweetly, hanging off the side of the loveseat, chin resting atop her hands… Almost as if she'd been lying in wait for Wendy to walk into the room.
"Nuthin' you need to worry about," Wendy snipped, reacting as if she'd very much expected Mabel to appear as if she'd been lying in wait.
"I'm not worried, I'm curious. Talk to me girl! You gotta problem? Mabel can help!"
"You're more the type that tends to cause problems rather than solve 'em Mabel…"
"Offensive, but not necessarily untrue," Mabel hummed, as she started kicking her legs. Abruptly, she jumped to her feet. "Come on Wen, you can trust me! We're friends, you can talk to me about anything!"
"We are friends, and I do trust you with most things Mabel… Just not this. It's nothing personal, but this is just something I can't talk to you about."
"Why?" Mabel asked stubbornly, hands on her hips. "It's not like I haven't noticed you casually flirting with my brother here lately, so I'm not sure exactly what you think you're hiding…"
"Who says I'm tryin' to hide anything?" Wendy asked gruffly, slightly red in the cheeks but otherwise appeared unrattled. "If you knew half as much as you think you do, you'd understand why I can't talk to you about it! Can you just drop it for now please!"
"Okay fine," Mabel pouted, only submitting really because she knew from past experience that pushing buttons Wendy didn't want to be pushed usually didn't end well for the person with their finger on said button. "But I'm definitely coming back to this subject later!"
"What's taking Takura so long anyway?" Wendy asked for the sole purpose of changing the subject. "I do have things to do today other than…" Wendy turned around and nearly bumped right into the person she was asking for. "Oh hey dude… There you are."
"Yeah, I am… What are you guys doing here? I thought I was supposed to meet you at the Museum site?"
"We thought it would be faster and easier to just wait for you here…" Mabel informed him, before shouting towards the kitchen. "Hey Dipper! The cutie's back up from the lab, so we can get started whenever you're ready!"
"Awesome! I'll be there in just a moment?"
"Cutie?" Takura mused with a cocked eyebrow. "What the hell is cute about me?"
"Eh, your butt's not that bad," Wendy remarked, admiring the view from her position leaning up against the wall. Mabel walked over and nudged her in the side with her elbow.
"Why do you think I picked those jeans out for him when I took him clothes shopping?"
"You're a little minx when you wana be Mabel."
"What does my butt have to do with anything? And why do I have to wear these clothes again?" Takura started to fiddle with the collar of his shirt. A standard light-blue flannel number with a pocket near the top-right corner, draped over a dark-blue t-shirt. A look Mabel felt suited him rather well.
"Because you're on Earth now bucko! The alien military garb was going to make you stand out way too much for comfort.. Besides, you told me you liked that shirt when we bought it."
"It was the least objectional of everything you had me try on…" Takura mused tiredly. Mabel had originally tried to convince him to bring home every stereotypical article of clothing you could imagine an eighteen-year-old girl would think might look attractive on a guy, but Takura was less than cooperative. Even the alien from another dimension could easily tell that particular style of clothing wasn't going to help promote the image of his tough-guy attitude. "It's not terrible I guess…"
"I think it's the perfect look for you," Dipper commented as he walked into the room. "Helps you blend right in with the rest of the Corduroys."
"He's got a point their dude! Gotta rock the flannel if you're gona run with the pack! It's kind of like the family's unofficial uniform… If you really want to go all in though, we're gona have to dye your hair red at some point!" Takura immediately wretched much to Wendy's delight. If he got embarrassed as easily as Dipper did, Takura would almost be as fun to tease. His generalized obliviousness to Earth norms often made him an easy target.
"Not… Going to happen."
Dipper coughed into his hand to get everyone's attention. "Okay… If everyone's ready, we can go ahead and get started."
"I'm almost there! Just give me one sec…" Mabel patted out a throw pillow and laid out across the couch before letting out a yawn. "Alright, you can start now! Somebody wake me when it's over…" Mabel turned to Wendy and whispered. "Dipper's lectures are soooo boring."
"Mabel, can you at least try to take this seriously!"
"Come on Mabes," Wendy said with an amused grin. "Give your brother a break, this is important to him."
"Oh, alright," Mabel pouted as she sat up.
To the surprise of no one, Dipper had gone all out for this presentation. He even wheeled out a whiteboard, scribbled on with a handful of tidbits of information none of the others were able to decipher without context. Using a magnet, Dipper hung a picture of a giant smiley face wearing a straw hat near the top of the board. "I think I've found the perfect case to help us get our feet wet. Mabel, does this picture of a smiley face represent anything to you?"
Mabel wanted to laugh off her bro's question, but something stopped her. The fact that he was right. She did remember that symbol from somewhere specific, the straw hat being the giveaway. "Oh I remember! Smiley Hollow Farm right?"
"Exactly!"
"Smiley Hollow Farm?" Takura repeated, clueless as to what the big deal was.
"It's an old Urban Legend from our hometown of Piedmont. Back in the 1950's there was an old farming community called Smiley Hollow… They'd keep to themselves for the most part, and only came into town for supplies or to send their kids to school… Until one day they just sort of fell off the face of the Earth. The father stopped visiting the local shops for supplies, and the kids stopped showing up for school. Some of the locals got concerned and wanted to pay the family a visit. Trouble was that the farm was located deep in the wilderness around the town… The search parities soon realized that nobody really knew where Smiley Hollow was because no one outside that community had ever been there. The search was eventually called off and that family was never heard from again. Many believe the family died and now haunt the farm, or that's how the legend goes anyway."
"Hold on a second! Is it just one farm? Because I always heard it was like, an entire town where everyone just up and disappeared…"
"Both actually… As is the nature with most Urban Legends, details get muddled over time and you can have several differen't versions of the same story floating around… Just like some people will swear they found a few of the bodies and buried them, while others claim everyone involved disappeared entirely. There's even an argument over whether this purported farming community was located in the forests near Piedmont, or if it was located closer to Echo Creek. No good Urban Legend has only one clean linear story."
Takura appeared skeptical. "So… You want to go looking for a town that probably doesn't exist, based on a legend that likely isn't real, and there's no way to be a hundred percent sure where the right location would even be?"
"Exactly! Good to hear you were paying attention."
"I kind of get why you'd want an easy case for us to start off with but… Is this some kind of nostalgia thing, like back with my old gang at the Dusk 2 Dawn, or is there something else going on? That's an awful lot of research for a legend that probably isn't real... Makes me think you have other reasons for wantin' to investigate this story."
Dipper smirked, encouraged that his team of rookie investigators were willing to ask questions and not just blindly fall in line with whatever crazy ass thing he wanted them to do. "Astute observation Wendy…And you're not wrong. One thing a lot of these Urban Legends have in common, even the most preposterous ones, is that most of them have a tiny kernel of truth in there somewhere if you look hard enough for it." Dipper turned his attention to Mabel. "Do you remember our cousin Charlie who works at the local library back in Piedmont? Well, I asked him to comb through some old newspaper articles from back in the 40's and 50's and he found something interesting… Check out this article."
Dipper took a photo-copied newspaper headline and held it up to the board for everyone to see. Mabel read the headline aloud. "McAdams Family Wins Battle Over Disputed Smilington Property. Umm… Well good for them, but what does that have anything to do with this case?
"Well, this headline wasn't the only information he found… There were three articles in total that all centered around the fight over this Smilington property. The dispute was between the McAdams' and an old widow named Hilda Bell. Apparently the original property owner died, and both Hilda and John McAdams were loosely related to him, and both tried to stake a claim on the land. Apparently, the dispute got really heated and John McAdams actually accused Hilda Bell of being a Witch. Anyway, after 1952, no further mention of the Smilington property could be found. My theory is, if this Urban Legend does have any truth it, then its origins are rooted in this land dispute. Somewhere along the way, Smilington morphed into Smiley Hollow and a legend was born. While I love a good old mystery, that's not the main reason I was interested in this case…"
Dipper's attention shifted to a list of roughly eight names on the whiteboard. "You see these names I have listed? Over the past few decades, all eight of these people have disappeared around the wooded area where Smiley Hollow Farm is supposed to be located. Four of them in the last two years alone."
"That's tragic Dip, but people go missin' in the woods all the time… Considerin' we're talking decades here, eight disappearances don't sound all that bad."
"Well, here's the thing… All eight people who disappeared all just happened to be on expeditions attempting to find Smiley Hollow Farm."
"Well yeah! Every kid that grew up in Piedmont has spent at least one night in those woods looking for that farm Bro-Bro. A lot more have gone looking than have gone missing, so wouldn't the law of averages suggest that sometimes Mother Nature just wins?"
"That an excellent point Mabel! I took that into consideration myself when I crafted my theory. The woods in that area can be dangerous if you venture too deep, so people were bound to go missing eventually. I have other suspicions though… I think that the eight people who disappeared all had something else in common nobody's really considered. I think they may have vanished because they all found exactly what they were looking for. Or at the very least, these disappearances are directly linked to the search for Smiley Hollow."
"That's a bold claim to make Dip. Didn't you tell me not that long ago that you grew outta makin' wild assumptions based purely off of hearsay? I assume you have some evidence to back this up then?"
"Admittedly, not as much as I'd like to Wendy… It's circumstantial for sure, but one of these missing persons cases in particular really piqued my interest. Her name was Hailey Montgomery, and from what I've learned about her, she had a healthy interest in the Smiley Hollow legend, bordering on the obsessive."
"Kind of like you Bro-Bro?"
"You could say that, but hers was purely for this one particular case, not necessarily the paranormal in general," Dipper grumbled with an annoyed sigh. "Try to be a bit more respectful Mabel. This girl has been missing for two years and is very likely dead."
"Oh… Sorry, I kind of forgot to consider that being a missing person probably means you're no longer a living person… Why is she more interesting than the other missing people though?"
"Because she may have been the only person, living or deceased, to actually have physical evidence of Smiley Hollow's existence. Hailey took frequent trips out into those woods and knew them well. After her second to last outing, she bragged to her mother, friends, and anyone else who'd listen that she actually found Smiley Hollow Farm. It was really late into the evening at the time, so she decided to put off investigating her discovery until the next weekend. She even allegedly took pictures of the area she believed was the entrance to the property, and even drew a map to help her find her way back… Sadly, it was this follow-up expedition that she never came back from."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Did you say this girl actually took pictures?!" Mabel squeaked excitedly. "You didn't see them did you?! Was it actually Smiley Hollow?!"
"No clue… And unfortunately I haven't seen the pictures yet, assuming they do exist. I was in contact with the mother and asked if she could email me copies of the photos, but she declined…"
"Why would she refuse if you were offerin' to help her?" Wendy asked. "You'd figure she'd be doing everything in her power to find out what happened to her daughter."
This is where Dipper's expression turned grim. He appeared almost angry as he spoke. "Due to several negative experiences she's had in the past. When Hailey first went missing, her mother was very candid with the details to the police, what Hailey had been up to and about her claiming to be on the doorstep of solving a decades old Urban Legend… That information eventually got leaked to the press and once word got out, finding out what happened to Hailey Montgomery became much less important than ridiculing the mother who was supposedly claiming her daughter disappeared by supernatural means, even though she was doing nothing of the sort! Just explaining what her daughter had been up to in hopes of finding out what happened to her. The missing girl got dubbed as 'Smiley Hailey' and nobody took the disappearance seriously after that. It's even rumored that the police loss interest shortly after the story caught fire, and never bothered to look into the disappearance properly. It's amazing how quickly sympathy turns into mockery once the paranormal gets involved!... No, not amazing, disgusting is what it is!"
The rest of the room remained quiet. Nobody was wondering why Dipper was so keen on making this legend his first case anymore. It was personal for him. "Anyway, the reason Mrs. Montgomery was reluctant to send me the photos was because she's had some bad experiences with pranksters in the past… Again, either some people have really twisted sense of humors, or they're completely forgetting there's still a missing girl at the heart of all this. Understandably, the mother is reluctant to share those photos with anyone she doesn't trust out of fear of how they might get portrayed or used. She has agreed to show us the photographs if we're willing to meet with her in person. She doesn't mind showing people, she just doesn't want to risk anyone who might abuse them to get their hands on them. She still wants help, she's just tired of getting ridiculed in the process, and she doesn't feel the local police are doing much to help."
"So then, this is more of a missin' persons case, then a let's find the haunted farm in the woods that probably doesn't exist case?"
Dipper nodded his head towards Wendy. "Look, I'm not sure whether or not I buy that there's a small homestead hidden in the middle of the woods, in California of all places, but what I do know is that people are going missing out there. Urban Legend or not, if we can help bring some closure to at least one family with a missing loved one, I think that's something worth investigating."
Everyone appeared in agreement which pleased Dipper greatly. "Good. Mrs. Montgomery has agreed to meet with us on Thursday morning, so that gives us two days to prepare for the trip. The wilderness area where Smiley Hollow is supposed to be located isn't mountainous or anything, so it shouldn't be too treacherous despite its sketchy reputation. Standard camping equipment should suffice, though keep in mind we might be out in the woods for a few days."
With the briefing complete, everyone began going their separate ways. Wendy walked up to Dipper as he began deconstructing his little white board setup with the wealth of case information scrawled across it, most of which they never actually touched upon.
"Hey dude! Check out what I found online the other day!" Wendy held up a DVD case proudly. The young man reacted just as she had hoped, like a kid on Christmas morning who just opened exactly what he'd been begging Santa for. Wendy handed it over to him so he could take a closer look.
"No way! You found a copy of the Screaming Skull?! I've been stalking the internet for this film forever, but never could find a copy for sale under three digits… This must've cost you a fortune…"
"You'd think but nope! Bought it on one of those garage sale type sites for five bucks! Somebody obviously didn't realize what they had or bothered to do any research on how much it was worth." Dipper handed the case back to Wendy, who smiled towards him expectantly. "So, what do you say Dip? We've gotta couple days before we set off on our first case, and we haven't had a movie night since… Well, you know. So how about it? You, me, and a cheesy terrible old movie?"
Dipper desperately wanted to say yes, and almost did on pure reflex, but this nagging voice at the back of his head… A squeaky stuttering voice cruelly talked him out of it. "Crap… As much as I'd love to take you up on that Wendy, I'm afraid I just have too much work to do in preparation for the case… Maybe once we get back I'll have some time freed up then."
"Oh… Okay…" Wendy murmured, clearly disappointed… And a little agitated. She couldn't bring herself to be straight up upset with him, it was a perfectly valid excuse after all… And Wendy might've bought it if she hadn't already seen that fat heavily organized file Dipper had already assembled for the case, meaning all that there was really left to do was gather up his camping gear and pack for the trip… And those tasks sure as hell weren't going to take two days to complete. No, something wasn't quite right here. "I understand dude, I can wait 'til we get back."
"Thanks Wendy… I should probably get back to work. I'll talk to you later." Dipper tipped his hat to her, which appeared to be a new custom of his. Wendy didn't much appreciate it much since that little smirk he usually gave to compliant the gesture tended to make her knees feel like jelly. She hadn't quite decided if she liked the idea that Dipper now seemed able to elicit that feeling from her almost without trying.
Not this time, however. She walked out of the room without another word, wanting out of that house as quickly as possible. It just wasn't to be though, as she encountered Mabel along the way which made an undetected escape impossible.
"Wendy?" Mabel asked with concern, a homemade ice cream cone in her hand. "What's wrong?"
"Huh? Oh nothing, why?" Wendy lied, trying very much to appear like nothing was bothering her.
"Because you look upset, and like you suddenly want to be anywhere but here… Didn't you ask Dipper about the movie thing?"
"Yup… Too busy apparently… He did say he might have some free time after we get back from California."
"That… Doesn't sound like Dipper at all. Normally, he'd jump at the chance to get to spend some quality time alone with you."
"Well, not anymore apparently, but then we're not kids anymore are we? He's a busy guy now," Wendy reasoned, recognizing that Dipper had matured in more ways than one while trapped in Andorra. He'd grown out of a few of his old bad habits… And Wendy was starting to fear she might be one of those things he'd grown out of. "Look, I really gotta go so…"
"Wendy…. I realize you'll probably just turn me down again, but my offer still stands… If you need to talk about whatever's bothering you…"
"Could you please just drop it Mabel?! I already told you, I CAN'T talk to YOU about his particular subject okay?! I'll see ya in a couple of days when we head out to investigate this farm thing… Goodbye Mabel."
"Bye…" Mabel helplessly watched Wendy leave the Pines house, her ice cream beginning to melt and drip down her hand. "Dipper, what are you doing?..."
Wendy felt kind of bad for blowing Mabel off, but there wasn't much choice. She just couldn't talk to Mabel about what was troubling her… How the hell could she have an objective conversation with her about her own brother? She was too close to the situation, and way too biased… Not to mention enthusiastic, and Wendy didn't want nor need to be dealing with that right now.
Wendy had tried to convince herself she was imagining things, that Dipper was being sincere. He had been crazy busy trying to get his museum project off the ground. Aside from the day he arrived back on Earth, and the initial job offer, Wendy hadn't seen all that much of her friend. Calls would go unanswered… She'd stop by for a visit, and he was always busy with something. Her casual attempts to flirt were effective in getting him flustered, but otherwise appeared to get ignored. She really believed the idea of rekindling their old tradition of watching cheesy horror movies together would be the icebreaker she desperately needed, but he even shrugged that off. There was no denying it now… Dipper Pines was trying to avoid her, at least in any situation that involved being alone with her that didn't involve business somehow… And Wendy Corduroy damn well sure wasn't going to tolerate getting shoved into the background!
As night began to fall, Dipper had spent most of the early evening at his desk, the one setup in his bedroom at his Grunkles home. He was pretending to be hard at work for some reason, maybe to make himself feel better, but there wasn't really anything left to do. In truth, he'd much rather be sitting on the couch enjoying stupid movies with Wendy but… He couldn't chance being alone with her right now in a potentially risky situation. If Wendy ever decided to get serious opposed to these minor more playful advances she'd been making recently, Dipper doubted he'd have the strength to resist her. Hopefully, she'd meet this guy Blendin was talking about sooner rather than later, and things could go back to normal… And Dipper could stop awkwardly trying to avoid any situation that left the two alone in an intimate setting for any length of time. As tempting as it might've been to immerse himself in Wendy's sudden interest in him, he just couldn't risk getting hurt like that again… Only now, with so much more history shared between them, it would hurt that much worse.
So lost in thought was Dipper that he didn't hear the knock at his door, or at least his brain didn't register it right away. "Dipper? I'm coming in! You don't have your hand down your pants, or anything weird do you?"
"Wh… No!" He would've invited her inside, but Mabel had already let herself in. "Did you get the itch to tease me one more time before you called it a night, or is there something I can help you with?"
"I think you're the one who needs some help Bro-Bro. Why are you locked in your room pretending to work when you could've been hanging out with Wendy tonight?"
"You know about!... Never mind… I am actually very busy making arrangements for our trip down to California in a couple of days…"
"Oh, bull-crap Dipper! I know you Mr. Organization, and I'm positive you had all the details worked out, probably hours after you decided you wanted to investigate the case! You got your equivalency exam and the Museum construction started before any of us even had time to blink! I know it couldn't have taken you this long to figure out a game-plan for a trip near our hometown to investigate an Urban Legend that's mostly based on hearsay."
"Think whatever you want Mabel, but I am busy…" Dipper stood up from his seat and tried to usher Mabel out of his room. "I'd appreciate it if you left me to my work!"
"No problem! Just tell me why you're acting so weird with Wendy!"
"I'm not! Wendy and I are fine…"
"Really? Because the Dipper I knew before Andorra would've been absolutely giddy right now to be getting the kind of attention Wendy's been showing you lately! Are you really just not interested anymore?"
"That's… None of your business Mabel!" Dipper stammered, completely red-faced. "You're misreading the situation entirely! This Museum project is a lot of work and is taking up most of my free time. Things will settle down eventually, but until then just don't worry about my relationship with Wendy…. I'll take care of it, now go!"
"But…" That was all Mabel got out before the door slammed in her face and was hastily locked from the other side. Mabel grumbled in frustration at her complete failure to get either Wendy or even her brother to open up to her about what was going on between them.
"Just so you know Dipper!" he heard Mabel yell from the other side of the door. "I know she told you she just found that DVD, but she bought that movie over a year ago! She specifically saved it just in case you found your way back to Earth some day! Now chew on that and enjoy whatever the hell this is!"
Dipper's chest clenched a bit at hearing that… Great, one more reason for him to feel like total shit.
With a weary sigh, Dipper stat back down at his desk, palming at his forehead. Barely a second later, his phone started to ring. He checked the caller ID and was immediately stricken with dread. He almost considered ignoring the call, but that would only cause more issues later. Hesitantly he answered. "Hello Captain… I mean Mrs.…. I'm sorry, hello Tracey."
"Dang it Dipper!" she screeched into the phone, nearly causing the boy to drop it. "What is wrong with you?! Explain to me why you've been givin' my daughter the cold shoulder here lately?!"
"Ugh, you too… Look, it's not like that… I've just been really busy…"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, Museum junk, I got all that! This is more than that though Dipper. I know for a fact that before you brought me back through time, you were still sweat on Wendy, so unless something happened in that small window of… Wait a minute… This doesn't have somethin' to do with that time travelin' fellow you were goin' on about does it?"
"How did you…" Dipper caught himself and feebly tried to switch gears. "I mean no, why would it?"
"He did tell ya somethin' didn't he?" Tracey sighed beginning to put the pieces together. "At least the way you've been actin' makes sense now… Look, I don't know what he told you, but you need to make your own future Dipper! Don't let whatever he was blabberin' on about dictate your actions! I don't know why you're doin' what you're doin', but just keep in mind that it's hurtin' Wendy!"
"Hey, I'm not trying too… Wait… You said I've hurt Wendy?"
"Of course she's hurt you dolt! She'd been waitin' for two years for you to come back after strugglin' with guilt for half that time! Of course it hurts her to finally get you back only to feel like you're pushing her away."
"I… Never looked at it that way…" Dipper said softly, mortified by the idea he may have caused Wendy any emotional distress. "Maybe I was a bit preoccupied with protecting myself… I'll try to make things right with her as soon as we get back from our case."
"She's gona be with ya the entire time. Just do it during the trip and get it over with! You've got a chance at a really good thing here Dipper... I'd hate to see you go ruin it for both of ya."
"I have no intention too… And I do have Wendy's best interests at heart… That's exactly why I'm doing what I'm doing," he said cryptically.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It's not important… I really do have some work I need to do, so I gotta go… I promise I'll try to clear the air with Wendy during our trip. Goodbye!"
Dipper disconnect the call before Tracey could argue. Thankfully, she didn't try to call him back, so it appeared that was one less hurdle he'd have to clear. Tracey was right though. He was going to have to change tactics with Wendy. Hurting her was not something he was willing or ever intended to do. Perhaps he should blame his hit-or-miss confidence, but he just never believed he was a big enough deal to Wendy that putting a little distance between himself and her would affect her the way it had.
It really sucked that he couldn't enjoy any of this. This guy Blendin was talking about needed to pop into Wendy's life pretty damn soon, or Dipper was going to lose his goddamn mind.
Tracey Corduroy was never fond of doing the dishes. She'd gotten around it for years by pawning the choir off on one of her kids, but as Wendy got older and left home for a couple of years, and her boys got bigger stronger and altogether clumsier, dishes tended to break a little too often for her liking. Unless she wanted to buy new plates and drinking glasses every month, the responsibility had fallen squarely on her shoulders. Her husband was out of the question of course, seeing as 'manly' men didn't do dishes. Normally Tracey refused to tolerate Dan's ham-fisted manly crap, but she had to give him a thing or two here and there so he could protect his 'manly' aura. She'd much rather save her leverage for the important decisions, and Tracey almost always got her way during those exchanges. On occasion, she could sweettalk or even guilt her daughter into doing them for her, since Wendy was basically freeloading at the moment, but the girl just happened to be preoccupied at the moment.
Of all the rotten luck, Wendy would just happen to stomp through the door just as Tracey was finishing up putting the dishes away. She'd walked by the kitchen without so much as a word, but her mother wasn't having none of that.
"Wendy? You're home early. I thought you were doin' your little movie date with Dipper tonight?"
"Please stop callin' it a date Mom!" Wendy walked into the kitchen and headed for the walk-in pantry. "Besides, it's not happenin'. He's busy with his museum junk. He told me he might be able to find some time for it after we get back from our first case…"
"Well, that's a good sign ain't it? It's not an outright no."
"That depends…" Wendy walked out of the pantry, an apple in hand. She began to look the fruit over as if searching for imperfections. Perhaps in the reflection staring back at her in the shiny fruit. "On whether or not he finds another excuse to blow me off…"
"That really doesn't sound like Dipper hon… You sure you're not readin' too much into the situation?"
"It's possible," Wendy sighed. "He really did jump headfirst into this museum thing, so he really has been busy… I still can't help but feel like he's tryin' to avoid me though… Or being alone with me for more than a few seconds at least."
Tracey scowled at this information. "Do you need me to give him a good talkin' too?"
"No! You gettin' involved is the last thing I want! I'm lucky Robbie still talks to me after you scared him witless a few years back. Besides, It's not like I'm mad or anything… He's being standoffish for sure, but it's not like he's actin' like a jerk… He might really be that busy… I just never quite imagined it was going to be this way if I ever did get him back… Not sure what I expected, but not this."
Tracey regarded her daughter for a moment, for the first time seeing just how conflicted she really was over her relationship with Dipper. Truth be told, Wendy had only half accepted those feelings were there, and rapidly growing. Whether they flourished or got ripped out by the roots or not, was going to depend largely on Dipper's willingness to reciprocate those feelings. Something Tracey had scarcely thought she would have to worry about back on Andorra. "Well, you're about to go on a case together, and its likely gona take a few days… Gona be hard for him to avoid you then. I'd try to take advantage if I were you."
Wendy's eyes widened slightly. "Maybe… Hey, I do have some good news! In a few weeks, it looks like you'll finally be gettin' me out of your hair."
"Oh yeah? You plan on moving out?"
"Yup. Dipper's actually havin' apartments built for the four of us, figurin' it would be more convenient to live on site if we want to. Free rent even for the first year!" Wendy saw the sparkle in her mother's eyes and immediately decided she needed to shut that shit down. "Same deal for all four of us! Our own place to live so we won't have to impose on anybody else, no special treatment! Good chance to get a feel for livin' out on my own, and I'm not obligated to stay if I don't wana…"
"Yeah, you'd be a fool not to take him up on that… Gona be awfully hard from him to avoid ya too, if your both neighbors and all."
"Yeah maybe…" Wendy didn't look so sure. Tracey could tell there was something deeper bothering her daughter, more than she was allowing to show on the surface anyhow. Deeper than missing out on some old cheesy movie, that was for sure.
"Wendy hon… Do you need to talk about it? I'm here to listen… No judgment, no teasin' I promise."
"No Mom… Thanks but no…" Wendy sighed, deciding she was no longer hungry and put the apple away. How was she supposed to talk to her mother about what was bothering her, when Wendy herself didn't even really understand why she was upset in the first place? "This is somethin' I just gotta work out on my own."
Tracey frowned, making no attempt to stop her daughter as she exited the kitchen. Wendy might not have been ready to open up to her just yet, but as a mother, she knew of something she could sure as hell do whether Wendy appreciated it or not. The boy responsible for her daughter's dour mood was going to get an earful.
Wendy may not have wanted to talk to her mother about her situation, but she did want to talk to someone… Somebody who'd be willing to just hear her out without having any preconceived bias or opinions. That's why Mabel was out, seeing as she was the subject or her torments twin sister for corn's sake, and her mother wasn't that much better of an option. She wasn't the least bit subtle about her approval of whatever type of relationship she chose to have with Dipper. That left only one other option… Not the best in the world for this particular subject, not by a longshot, but beggars can't be choosey. Reluctantly, she dialed her oldest friend up on the phone.
"Hey Tam, what's up?"
"Hey there Indiana… How's the new job treating you? Find any ghosts or aliens yet?"
"Hardy, har, har… Listen Tambry… I know I haven't called in a while, so I kind of feel like crap for callin' you out of the blue just to gripe, but I really need to talk to someone…"
"Hey, it's no problem Wendy." Tambry dropped the teasing tone, concerned by the somewhat sullen tone of her friend's voice. It just didn't suit the fiery redhead. "What did you need to talk about?"
"Well… In all our fifteen years of friendship, what's one thing most girls talk about endlessly that we've almost never had one conversation about…"
"I dunno… Pop music?"
"No, not that! Even girlier…"
"Fashion?"
"No!" Wendy huffed losing patience. She really didn't want to say it out loud. It was too embarrassing. "Even worse… Think more along the lines of flesh and blood."
"Boys?" Tambry wretched at Wendy's affirmation. "Well, technically we have talked about boys before…. It's just usually one sided with you complaining about some of the losers you've dated… But otherwise I've very much enjoyed the fact we've made it this long without gossiping about boys like a couple of valley girls. Don't you normally talk to Mabel about this kind of stuff?"
"Yeah… But I can't talk to her in this case… She's a little too… Close to the subject, and that makes me uncomfortable."
"Close to… Wait, are you talking about Dipper?!" Tambry asked excitedly much to Wendy's annoyance. "You didn't make a move already have you?"
"What?! No! Why would you immediately jump to that?!"
"Because I saw the picture of him you sent me, and I can't figure out what the hell you're waiting for. You've dated much, much worse."
"That's not the point! It's hard to explain but… Can you just listen for a minute while I try, without interrupting with any sarcastic comments or opinions please?"
"Sure… I'm ready whenever you are, so shoot…"
"I know this probably isn't going to make any sense but… I have no idea how I feel, I just know that I feel somethin'… And it's not just because of how he looks now or anything like that either… I don't care about that… All I know is, when he disappeared for those two years, I felt like a part of me disappeared with him. That part of me returned when he did, and now… I just don't want to let that part of me go, because I never want to feel like that again… Does that make any sense?"
"Makes perfect sense to me Wendy… And it sounds to me like you already know exactly how you feel… It just scares you."
"Why would it scare me?" Wendy frowned into the phone.
"Because its Dipper. Not one of the many disposal guys you've dated over the years and never had to think about again after you broke it off with them."
"I have a lot more to lose in this situation," Wendy sighed in admittance.
"Do you know what you're going to do? Talk to him about it?"
"It's not that easy… I've kind of been testin' the waters so to speak… Nothing major, just some lite flirtin' here and there… Just to see how he reacts, and you know… If he's still into me…"'
"Is he?"
"Well, he still reacts like the same adorable, embarrassed schoolboy when I do," Wendy laughed. "But otherwise, the results haven't been encouraging. He either shy's away, or tries to deflect the situation… I get the feeling that I'm makin' him uncomfortable, but I'm not sure if it's the type of uncomfortable I want him to feel. I think it's the reason he's avoiding me more and more… Well, being alone with just the two of us anyway."
"Maybe he's just worried about getting hurt again, or he's afraid you'll think he's misinterpreting your intentions. You did flirt with him from time to time, in a friendly way, when he was younger. Maybe he thinks that's what this is, and he's trying not to read too much into it."
"That could be… I mean, he is obviously still attracted to me… Poor guy is still terrible at hidin' that fact. That doesn't mean he's still interested in being more than friends though. To be honest, I'm not sure I want that either. Things are pretty good the way they are now… Why rock a perfectly sturdy boat?"
"You want my honest opinion Wendy?"
"Yeah… That's why I called you…"
"Then just fucking go for it! Even if he's not interested, he's not the type of guy who's going to scrap your entire relationship over it. Look, I'm just going to come out and say it. You used to joke all the time, back in the day, about how you'd be set if you could find somebody like Dipper that was your own age. Whether you've been doing it subconsciously or not, you've spent the last six years looking for somebody like Dipper. Well guess what? Age isn't really a factor anymore, so why not go for the original article? The whole 'friends' thing isn't a valid excuse either! A lot of the best relationships start off as friends Wen, heck it makes it a lot easier to get know someone when there isn't a romantic element to the relationship distracting anyone... Dr. Funtimes has grown into a cute little dork muffin. I'd be trying to lock that up before some other girl worms her way into the picture."
Wendy wanted to argue with Tambry so badly over this. She just couldn't find an angle that didn't make her sound loke a total doofus. "You make it sound so simple…"
"Because it is simple! Your main problem is that you're used to being the girl getting chased by the guys. Bat your eyelashes and you could date pretty much any boy you wanted too. You're not accustomed to being the person doing the chasing, but you might have to make an exception if he's what you want… If you think he's worth it, then it's worth a shot right? Be relentless and don't let him shy away or avoid the subject! Force him to tell you he's not interested if he wants you to stop! At least that way you'll know you can stop wasting your time…"
"That's… Not a bad idea Tambry!" Wendy smiled. "I knew I kept you around for a reason… I'm not sure if you're as impartial as I initially thought you would be…"
"I'm not. I think you two would be adorable together. Now, while I have you on the line, let me tell you what that idiot Robbie has done now…"
"Oh lord… He didn't get drunk and run naked through the old folks home again did he?"
The conversation went on for about another forty minutes on subjects other than just Wendy's love life, and Robbie's conditionalized stupidity. By the time she disconnected the call, she was feeling much better and dare she say it… A little excited? Maybe it would be fun to be the one doing the hunting for a change.
Dipper wasn't going to know what hit him.
End Chapter 5
-Some might consider this chapter filler, but I don't necessarily agree. For me, character and relationship development are always an important portion of any story, so I can hardly consider that type of content filler. In fact, it's often some of my favorite parts of the stories I read when it's done well. William Easley might be one of the best I've seen at balancing lite character moments with the story he's trying to tell, which first drew me to his work to begin with. I know I said there wasn't going to be one long over-arching plot throughout this story, (unless one just pops into my head and repeatedly punches me in the dick until I agree to include it) but that's not entirely true. The more I thought about it, the more I realized Dipper's Museum in itself is the over-arching plot as we watch it come to life and grow throughout the story, as well as the developing relationships between the characters as they grow from a team of friends working together into a family.
-I'm not sure where I'm going with the virus angle for Takura's lycanthrope yet. The science isn't perfect I'm aware, but it doesn't have to be. We're talking about a werewolf from another dimension, so I elected not to get too nitpicky over how medically accurate Ford's assessment was. I'm focusing on two directions I can take it, and now I just need decide on which. Depends on where the story takes me.
-I have about 55 more pages to edit, so the rest of this arch should be complete within the next couple of weeks. Not sure if it'll be two or three chapters just yet, it depends on story flow. I like to keep chapters around that twenty-page sweet spot, but I also like to make sure each chapter has a logical starting point and ending point, rather than abruptly ending a chapter early to keep the page counts even.
-The Smiley Hollow Farm story is actually based off of a combination of two local Urban Legends from where I live. One of those legends is quite famous, and any fellow paranormal or horror nerds in the audience may have already made a connection to that one. I'll reveal more information on the source after the arch is complete.
-The Screaming Skull is totally a real movie from 1958. Do yourself a favor and google the movie trailer for some good laughs. Tell me this isn't exactly the type of movie Dipper and Wendy would watch, lol.
