The Devil's From New Jersey? P2
It turned out that the Parkers, Todd and Abby's surname as Takura and Wendy would learn along the way, lived on the outskirts of what you could call a subdivision. Normally not an optimal location for a building you're trying to survey while simultaneously avoiding detection. Thankfully, right across the street from their front door was a heavily wooded area much better suited for staying under cover. This meant that the pair weren't as close to the home as they'd like to be in case of an emergency, but the situation could also have been far worse. Wendy was even able to park the Jeep inside the wooded area, out-of-view of any nosey neighbors. Ford had suggested they take it rather than the rental car just in case a sudden offroad pursuit became necessary.
Several hours had passed since the kids had reluctantly returned to their home. Wendy felt a twinge of sympathy for the children… It couldn't be easy to not feel safe inside your own home while your parents refused to acknowledge your safety was even in any real jeopardy. Night had long taken over, and the whirlwind of a day she'd had was starting to make Wendy's eyelids droopy. "Hate to admit this so early into the stakeout dude, but I'm already beat. You think it's about time we start takin' shifts while the other gets some rest?"
"Go ahead and get some rest if you need it, I'll take the first shift…" Takura actually managed a small smirk at what he was about to say next. "I am kind of a night person after all… Especially during the full moon."
"Oh Yeah! I was actually thinkin' about that earlier. I don't have to worry about you suddenly goin' full wolf on me do I?"
"Only if I will the transformation… Though I will admit that your moon seems to have a… More alluring effect on me than the moons back home on Andorra. Maybe that's because Earth only has one of them? Either way, unless that kid actually falls under serious danger tonight, I think you're fine."
"Dude, if that was the case, I wouldn't blame you… Alright, I guess I'm gona try to get some shut eye… Just wake me if anything interestin' happens." Wendy's eyes had barely shut when she heard heavy rustling in the tress above their heads, causing her to bolt upright. "What the heck was that?!"
"Something moving through the tree-tops," Takura grumbled, frustrated that even his keen night vision couldn't pick out anything in the tree line above. "Something big…"
"An owl maybe?"
"I don't think the owls in your dimension come that large… I'll have a look around. Why don't you go back to trying to rest…"
"Eh, forget it, I'm wide awake now. Let's figure out who our nocturnal visitor is!"
Inside of the Parker home, Todd was nervously preparing for bed… For roughly the past thirty minutes. It was well passed his bedtime and he knew his parents were eventually going to notice his light was on or his frantic footsteps against the carpet as he paced the length of his room. The thought of shutting that light off terrified him…The dark is what brought the monster to his windowsill. He had very little to base this theory on except for his two previous encounters where the flying creature had made its presence known shortly after the lights were flipped off.
Todd was just a kid, and he was well aware that there were a lot of things he didn't understand… Still, he felt his parents not believing him or even making an attempt to ease his concerns shouldn't have to be one of those things. Even with his sister vouching for him after seeing the creature for herself, his parents still thought he was making it up. They wrote his first encounter off as a realistic nightmare, and then after the second, they straight up accused him of making up tall tales for attention. Why the heck would he make up getting terrorized by a flying demon monster straight from the bowels of hell?! Even his new acquaintances keeping watch outside weren't enough to calm his fears, even though he got the feeling that the scary guy with the grey eyes might just be able to make good on his promise of beating the monster into oblivion if he got his hands on him but… That was the problem wasn't it? There was no guarantee he could get his hands on it… He couldn't fly… This monster seemed able to lurk around in the dark without being detected. What was stopping it from swooping in and snatching him up without anybody even noticing?
While Todd tried and failed to ease his nerves, the dreaded moment finally arrived. His door opened and his father was standing on the other side. It was clear that the children inherited their hair color from him, only Mr. Parker had the mustache to match, and an 'I'm not in the mood for this crap' look plastered on his face. "Todd, why are you still awake? Get in the bed, it's time for lights out."
"But dad, I'm… Can I at least leave the light on? I promise it won't keep me awake…"
"No, you're not sleeping with the lights on! And don't give me any of that monster crap either! Now get to bed and get some sleep! I don't want the school calling your mother to tell us you fell asleep in class again!"
That was the end of the discussion as Mr. Parker cut off the lights and slammed the boy's door shut. Todd didn't immediately crawl into bed. He was frozen in place from fear, struggling to will his short legs to make the brief walk to his bed. In the quiet of the night though, he heard a soft scratching sound screech across the length of his window. Despite his fear, Todd forced himself to slowly turn around and face the window…There was something out there, he could tell, but it was too difficult to make out what in the darkness. This forced Todd to slowly inch closer to the window for a better look, hoping his imagination was running away with him. The boy crept closer and closer until he was near enough that he could reach out and touch the glass if he wanted, but he still could not clearly see the image shrouded in the dark void of the night. It wasn't until the headlights of a passing car illuminated the area just enough that Todd got a brief but terrifying view of a now all too familiar face. Todd took a step back but was otherwise frozen in fear, unable to even muster up a scream. The creature almost appeared to grin, as it placed it's clawed hand on the windowpane.
Todd's bedroom door opened again suddenly, quickly followed by the light being flipped back on. Todd's father, feeling somewhat guilty over speaking to his son so harshly, stood in the doorway rubbing the back of his head. "Todd look… I shouldn't have snapped at you like that but…" Mr. Parker's words caught in his through, as the now illuminated room revealed a horrific gargoyle-like creature who appeared to get angry once he noticed the boy's father, snarling and slamming it's clawed fist against the window. His parental instincts kicked into overdrive as he grabbed his son by the waist and raced them both out of the bedroom.
"Margret! Abbey! In the living room now!" Mr. Parker commanded as he stomped down the stairs. His wife was by his side immediately as a curious Abbey peered over the arm of the couch where she'd been curled up watching TV. "Margret, you take Todd and Abigail and get somewhere safe… Stay together! I'm going to get my shotgun…"
"You're gun?! Steven, what's going on?!"
"There's something flying around right outside our son's window!"
"What, a bird? No, then what is it?!"
"Ask Todd… Apparently, he's been describing this thing to us pretty damn well… We just weren't listening."
Mr. Parker stormed outside through his front door, shotgun raised and at the ready. It was too late to get a clear shot of his target though, which was in the process of disappearing into the tree line. This gave Mr. Parker time to level his gun at two kids who just happened to be trespassing on his lawn, pointing the weapon at the closest to him… The redhead in the flannel. She immediately threw her hands in the air, though she looked more irritated than she did afraid. "Whoa, cool it man! I'm not the one with wings and claws in case you haven't noticed yet!"
"Who are you people, and what the hell are you doing on my property?!" He demanded while his daughter ran up behind him.
"Daddy, will you put the gun down?! They're here trying to help us!"
Mr. Parker peered backwards at his daughter while attempting to keep one eye on the potential intruders. "Why would you go to complete strangers for help?!"
"We tried to go to you and mom first, but you didn't believe us! They were actually willing to listen and try to help us without writing us off like we were crazy or looking for attention!"
Mr. Parker released a frustrated grunt, before lowering his firearm. His daughter had his full attention now.
Within the cover of the tree line, the flying horror seemed poised to make a clean getaway when it crashed into something. Something else that was flying and close to equal size with itself. The impact wasn't quite enough to knock either entity out of the sky but did stagger them both and ignited a heated skirmish between the two. The devil creature screeched in satisfaction as it felt it's claws dig into the skin of its adversary. The other flyer let out a howl of pain as it began to fall out of the sky but stopped itself well short of hitting the ground before beating a hasty retreat. The devil screeched again, this time in triumph before making a strategic withdraw of its own. It wasn't the most intelligent creature to stalk the night, but it had learned a few things on its various hunts… One of them being that humans gathered together in groups meant trouble.
"We better get moving," Takura said, noting how the screeches of the winged menace were getting further and further away.
"Wait, where are you guys going?!" Abbey demanded. They were supposed to watching over her brother after all.
"We're going after it of course," Takura said as if this should've been completely obvious. His attention shifted towards the girl's father. "Now that you're aware that your kids weren't just making up stories about the Jersey Devil, I assume we can trust you to take your circumstances seriously and keep them safe?"
"That thing is supposed to be the Jersey Devil?!"
Takura shrugged. "As far as we know… Now would you care to answer my question?"
The man looked confused before recalling what the question actually was, and then frowned as if offended "Of course I'm capable of protecting my own family!"
"Good."
"Don't worry Abbey, we'll update you on what's goin' on as soon as we can," Wendy assured the girl before she and Takura rushed off towards the Jeep. "We've gotta hurry if we're going to catch up with Mr. Freaky!"
Without taking his eyes off the retreating backs of the strange youngsters, Mr. Parker said to his daughter. "We're going back inside the house now, and I want a full explanation as to what the hell is going on here!"
"Are you sure? You told us we'd be grounded the next time if we ever brought…"
"Not the time for snark Abigail! Inside, now!"
It took less than a minute to reach the Jeep, and just a few seconds more for Wendy to start the engine. Raring to go, she dialed it in upon seeing Takura sniffing the air with a hint of confusion on his face. "What's the problem dude? Don't tell me your sniffer's goin' haywire at a time like this!"
"No, the opposite problem… I'm picking up two distinct scents I'm unfamiliar with… Both of which I detected before we made visual contact… I can't be sure which scent belongs to the creature…"
"You're kiddin' me right?! Why didn't you mention you were pickin' up unfamiliar smells when you first got a whiff of 'em?!"
"I haven't been on Earth very long… A lot of scents are unfamiliar too me… In fact, this entire area smells so much differen't than Oregon it's… Troublesome."
"Damn it!" Wendy moaned, as she banged her hands against the steering wheel. "Well, I guess all we can do is pick a scent to follow and hope it's the right one!"
Takura nodded his head in agreement. "One of the scents has the distinct aroma of blood mixed with it… That would be the easier to follow since the smell is stronger."
"Sounds like a plan to me! Now hop in and you can be my GPS!"
Takura didn't hesitate to climb inside a vehicle for once, and Wendy laid on the accelerator headed Northeast at speeds that considerably exceeded the suggested limit. Wendy focused on the road, while Takura occasionally guided her which direction to turn, and luckily were only impeded once by the road layout not complying with the trail of their targets scent. Though she considered it only briefly, Wendy noted how this was the first time she'd seen Takura ride in an automobile without showing any sign of reluctance or discomfort. And in an open-aired Jeep no less! She figured it likely had something to do with the seriousness of the situation and Takura dedicating his focus to the task at hand.
"Make a left here…." Wendy complied and a few seconds later. "Turn in there!"
Wendy didn't understand the instruction at first once she noticed Takura was directing her to turn into the parking lot of one of those shopping centers but held her tongue due to just how insistent he sounded. She was forced to come to a stop in front of one of the shops. "Well, what way do we go now dude? I can't exactly drive through the building so…" Wendy paused once she recognized where they were. "Wait a sec… Isn't this that store we visited earlier today?"
"Leeds Corner Market… And the trail doesn't go through here," Takura said as he hopped out of the Jeep. "This is where it ends."
"Okay… I think we can confidently rule out the coincidence theory now…" Wendy joined Takura on the ground. While he seemed interested in something off to the side of the store, she walked up to the front door. "Closed of course…" Wendy had to fight off the urge to kick the door in.
"Come look at this," Takura called her over. Wendy complied and knelt down to see what Takura was so keenly eyeing on the cement sidewalk. The aide of streetlamps helped Wendy make out some small red blotches that appeared eerily fresh.
"Is that blood…"
Takura nodded. "The blood of whatever we've been tracking in fact. For whatever reason, it seems like the creatures first instinct was to fly here."
"Yup, definitely not a coincidence anymore… Does this mean that monster's inside?"
"Afraid not… Have a look at the area where the cars park…"
"Parking lot dude."
"Whatever." Takura ignored her smug smirk and led her several feet into the parking lot. Staining the white line in between parking spots were several more droplets of blood. "Tell me if I'm wrong, but if someone or something was entering a car that was parked here, wouldn't this be about the spot they'd climb inside?"
Wendy's eyes widened at just what exactly he was implying. "Dude, are you tellin' me somebody stuffed that monster in the backseat of their car and drove off?!"
"It would explain why the trail breaks up here… I'm not sure why Earth vehicles shield people or objects from my sense of smell so efficiently, but they do… It's also possible that whoever this Jersey Devil creature is got in the car and drove off himself."
"Whoa man! Are you sayin' you think the Jersey Devil is a human that can transform into that flying hell spawn?!"
Takura shrugged. "What's so unbelieve about that? I can turn into a wolf so it's not like the notion is unprecedented. Why can't a human morph into a gargoyle-bat thing? Besides, I'm not saying that's what I think is happening here, but it is a possibility we can't rule out."
"Suppose not… Either way, I guess this means the chase is over if the trail ends here…"
"Oh, I wouldn't quite say that." Takura smirked knowingly. "I can still smell whatever we've been pursuing several miles to the east of here… Which tells me it's already gotten out of the car… Now, it'll be a bit more difficult to track since I'm no longer following a straight trail, but I'm confident I can find the location of where this thing was dropped off. You up for a little more night-hunting?"
"Dude, I'm a flippin' Corduroy! There's no way I'm passin' up the chance if we still got a shot to find this creep tonight!"
And locate the creatures relative location they did about an hour later, surprisingly at a modest home slightly off the beaten path. Since the location was a private residence, Takura and Wendy decided not to go barging in to confront the occupant despite their intense desires to do just that. Instead, Wendy phoned Dipper and updated them on the case status. Needless to say, tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.
The funeral came and went that morning. Conveniently for the team, the service was held quite early in the day, leaving the crew plenty of time to sink their teeth into the new evidence Wendy and Takura had provided for them the night before. Dipper managed to keep his excitement in check and remained properly respectful towards their dead relative. Ford had an easier time considering his once close relationship with the deceased. He was just as eager to follow up on these fascinating developments in the Jersey Devil case.
Their first stop immediately following the funeral, was straight to Leeds Corner Market to confront it's owner with the teams new suspicions. With Wendy, Mabel, and Takura in tow Dipper strode confidently into the convenience store. Pausing only briefly at the minor surprise that the place was a lot more crowded than the last time the gang was there, Dipper marched straight over to the service counter where Gerald Leeds was thankfully on the clock. The man huffed in frustration at the sight of the young investigator stomping up to him. "You again? If you mooks are looking for the circus, it's on the other side of town! I'm pretty sure I said everything I had to say to you yesterday bub."
"939 Morrissey Street…"
Jerry flinched, and immediately got aggressive. "How did… Have you guys been snoopin' around on me?! If you're tryin' to threaten me by throwin' my home address around, I might just call the cops and see what they have to say about this situation!"
"Good do that. I'm sure they'll be interested to know you're harboring a suspected child murderer on your property!"
"What the hell are blabbin' about?! Child murderer…"
"Seven kids in the past few months have disappeared… Last night, a creature with an uncanny resemblance to the Jersey Devil was spotted trying to attack a young boy who just happened to be in this store around the same time we were yesterday…"
"You kids are outta your minds," Jerry sputtered ever so slightly. "Bet you ain't got no witnesses either!"
"Nope, that's where you'd be wrong," Wendy interjected, backing up Dipper. "Saw him myself and so did Takura here. As did the victim and his father."
"My friend here is an expert tracker," Dipper said, motioning towards Takura. "After the incident, he followed the trail of the suspected monster to this exact location… Where they found blood splatters, and it appeared as if the creature had climbed into a car and drove off… Thankfully, they were still able to track the vehicle and the creature back to the house on Morrissey Street…"
"Yeah what about it? … That don't mean it's my place…"
"Yes, it does actually, you already admitted to that. That's why I started off this conversation by spouting out your address, so it would be more difficult for you to lie to us. The way you reacted all but confirmed that location was your personal residence. Seven missing kids Mr. Leeds! Now, are you going to tell us what you know about the Jersey Devil, or do we need to drive up to your place and have a look around ourselves?!"
Jerry's lips began to sputter as he tried to speak, sweat forming on his forehead. His tough guy act thoroughly shattered, he had the look of a guilty man being grilled by the police, only somehow this felt worse. "Look, can we step outside and talk privately for a minute?… Rather than yellin' loud enough for everyone if the store can freakin' hear you!"
"As long as we get the information we need, then fine…"
"Alright, alright… Hey Rachel! Man the register for me 'til I get back! I have some… Business to attend to out in the alley…"
Dipper allowed the storeowner to lead him out to the backlot of the store, his team following closely behind him much to Jerry Leeds chagrin. He understood why, but all those eyes focused squarely on him weren't going to help calm his nerves. "Alright Leeds… This looks as private as we're going to get around here. Now tell us what you know."
"Look…" He stuttered as he rubbed at the back of his head nervously. "I dunno what you kids think you saw last night but it wasn't Mel! He ain't got nuthin' to do with these missing kids in the area!"
Dipper's brow furrowed in confusion. "Mel?"
"Who you call the Jersey Devil… And he wouldn't hurt a freakin' fly let alone hurt a kid! Whatever you guys are after, it ain't him! He wasn't there last night at that kid's…"
"Bullshit," Takura countered gruffly, his arms crossed. "Your… Mel, was clearly at the scene last night. He was even injured there… That's how I was able to track him to your store, and eventually, your home."
"You didn't let me finish! I was gona say that he wasn't at that house to hurt nobody! We've been hearing the stories of those missin' kids in the area gettin' connected to Jersey Devil sightings… Mel kinda… Took gettin' the blame for them personally, so he's been lookin' all over the Pine Barrens for months trying to find whatever it is that's tarnishing his reputation. Looks like this time he even butted heads with the thing but wound up on the short end of the stick for this fight."
Dipper remained unimpressed. "So, you're trying to tell us that there's two giant bat-like creatures flying around the Pine Barrens? You'll have to forgive me for being skeptical… One is farfetched enough."
"Look… If it gets you guys off my back and clears Mel's name… Would introducing you to him help change your mind at all?"
"That…" The disbelief in Dipper's eyes morphed into excitement. "Certainly couldn't hurt."
Twenty minutes later and the crew found themselves standing in the very backyard that Takura had tracked the Jersey Devil too the previous night, various expression of shock, disbelief, and curiosity etched onto all their faces. Even Takura, who'd seen some especially weird shit back on Andorra, was a little taken aback by what he was looking at. Behind a large privacy fence sat a fairly large shed that had been converted into a coup/roost area that served as the home for one of the strangest creatures they'd ever laid eyes upon.
"Dude… It's uncanny…" Wendy droned, her jaw halfway to the ground.
Mabel didn't have her mouth hanging open, but her face was scrounged up in surprise and a tiny bit of disgust that she'd feel bad about later. "You're not kidding… He looks exactly the sketch! Should've figured you couldn't make up something this ridiculous!"
Indeed the Jersey Dev… Er, or rather Mel as Jerry Leeds called him, was nearly a dead ringer for the infamous sketch. The only noticeable differences were the slightly more muscular limbs, and the neck wasn't quite as long, but the other similarities were striking. His left thigh was evening bandaged from where he'd been wounded the night before.
"You weren't kidding when you said you had the Jersey Devil chained up to the shed in your backyard…" Dipper marveled from just outside the pen, struck by just how docile the creature appeared to be. Mel appeared quite weary of the strangers that had invaded his territory to gawk at him.
"Hey man, he ain't chained up in case you didn't notice! I wouldn't do that to him…. He's free to come and go as he pleases as long as it's safe… Which is usually at night when there aren't so many people out and about… Does he look like the kind of guy that would fly around goin' after kids?"
"He's definitely not the one…" Takura confirmed. "He doesn't look a thing like the creature we spotted outside of Todd's window… Which means I followed the wrong trail, damn it!"
"Hey, don't be too hard on yourself man, there was no way to know for sure… That kind of answers some of the questions we had last night though. Takura here actually thought you might be the one transformin' into the Jersey Devil!"
"Don't be ridiculous! His condition is…" Jerry looked over at Mel sympathetically. "A permanent one unfortunately."
"Not that I don't respect the hell out of you for doing it…" Dipper said as he finally tore his eyes away from Mel. "But why are you providing a safe haven for the Jersey Devil Jerry?"
"Why wouldn't I? In this part of the woods, family takes care of family… And I ain't about to turn my back on my little brother…"
"Brother!" Everyone, minus Takura, shouted in unison.
Jerry Leeds sighed and went ahead and answered the implied question. "You asked me yesterday if I was part of 'that' Leeds family kid, and obviously the answer is yes… Also obvious is that the little curse put on the family wasn't a onetime thing… Since our original ancestor that first transformed died, now every 13th child born within the Leeds bloodline is inflicted with the curse. That is, until Mel here passes. After that, the curse will be passed down to the next 13th born in the family line. Mom married into the family, and she wanted nothin' to do with Mel after he was born, so she was out the door as quick as she could get her bags packed. When pops passed away a few years back, that just left me to look after him. He's not too much of a burden, not that it would matter if he was. Just have to feed him a couple times a day, and he pretty much takes care of himself from there and stays out of trouble… That is until recently when this other flying creep started to make his presence known…"
"Speaking of which, we should probably get back the Parker's home as quickly as possible," Takura insisted. "If the creature is a slave to its usual patterns, it'll likely return to try and take the boy tonight."
"Yup, and I think the parents will be a bit more receptive to our help considerin' ole shotgun Parker saw it with his own eyes last night."
"Well... Now that this matter has been settled, approaching the family with our plan is the next logical step forward. Sorry to trouble you Mr. Leeds and thank you for clearing things up for us. And it was nice meeting you Mel."
"Hod on just a sec…" Jerry spoke up nervously. "That's it… I mean you guys ain't gona try to take pictures or go straight to the press with this story?"
"Not at all," Dipper responded with the utmost sincerity. "Part of what my team does involves protecting creatures… No, individuals like your brother who'd prefer to stay unknown to science as long as they're not posing a threat to other people. Mel seems pretty harmless to me."
"Oh you don't say… What if I don't believe your intentions are as noble as you want me too?"
"Then, that's your prerogative, and you should do whatever you feel is necessary to keep your brother safe. I can promise you though, the information we received from this meeting won't spread any farther than my team. Thank you for introducing us Mr. Leeds… We'll take care of the rest from here."
After a series of quick goodbyes from these strange visitors, the group left through the yard's back gate. Once they were out of earshot, Jerry turned to his brother and said, "Well, looks like they got it covered… Which means I shouldn't have to worry about you stickin' your nose where it can be broken, right Mel?"
Mel let out a neighing sound that somehow Jerry was able to understand. What Mel had said, his brother didn't like it too much. "Mel, we've been over this! There's no need for you to be playin' the hero, you're gona get yourself spotted! Just let those guys do whatever the frickin' hell their job is. Please stay in your pen tonight, and behave… I'll be back with your diner in about an hour…"
Mel would wait for diner… He couldn't make the promise for whether or not he was going to stay put in his pen that night… He really had no intention too.
Afternoons in the Parker household were typically carefree and quiet affairs. Steven Parker could prove to be a touch irritable at times, but at his core, he was a good man who always had his families best interests at heart. He was also used to being in as much control as humanly possible though. That was his comfort zone, when everything was going according to plan. A flying demon that wasn't supposed to exist lurking just outside your young son's bedroom window was something well beyond his sphere of control and outside his comfort zone almost as far. That's why he had his family walled up inside their home, huddled close together in the living room, unsure of what their next move should be. His family wanted answers, and answers were something he was sorely lacking, and he felt like a failure as a father and husband because of it.
"Who knows honey… Maybe you scared it off, and it'll be too afraid to come back?" His wife offered meekly as her husband peered between the blinds of their living room window.
"Wouldn't I love for that to be true… But we can't afford to take that chance considering what we risk losing if we're wrong," Steven said solemnly as he looked towards his son. His eyes quickly shifted to his daughter. "And you still haven't heard back from those people you say are hunting this thing?"
"Not since this morning no… Ms. Wendy said most of their team had a funeral to attend this morning, and after that, a lead they needed to follow up on. Honestly, we probably should be hearing back from them any time now."
"I'm not so sure we should be putting our trust into people who are essentially children themselves," Mrs. Parker said, recalling the shockingly youthful faces of the two people her husband found standing on their lawn the night before. "I still think we should call the police Steven."
Steven laughed mirthlessly. "Why? So they can laugh at us and hang up?! That's exactly what I would've done two days ago if some kook had called me up claiming the Jersey Devil was knocking on their window… I'm afraid we'll need to take care of this problem on our own…"
Stevens thoughts of doom were interrupted by the ringing of their doorbell. A big smile crossed Abbey's lips. "I don't think we're as alone in this as you think we are dad!" Abbey said before rushing to answer the door.
"Abbey wait! Don't…"
It was too late to heed her father's warning though. Abbey opened the door and was surprised to see an older man with glasses waiting on the other side. Next to him, was a much younger man she remembered from the library that she found rather cute, despite the fact he looked like he was dressed up as Indiana Jones on vacation. Her father quickly appeared behind her.
"Who are you people?! What do you want?!" Steven demanded harshly, just before he recognized the redheaded girl and the blonde guy from the previous night standing right behind the newcomers. The younger of the two men on his porch smiled at him.
"We're Gravity Falls Incorporated sir… And we're here to help you with your unique problem…"
After a minute or so of convincing, Steven allowed six total strangers into his home, and the customary offering of tea from Mrs. Parker, who was always the proper hostess it would seem, soon followed. Everyone was now gathered in the living room and getting down to business.
"Thank you for welcoming us inside your home Mr. and Mrs. Parker," Ford said, hoping to break the ice.
"I take it you're the leader of this… Little group…" Steven Parker snipped, still not exactly at a point where he thought he could trust these strange people yet.
"Oh no, not at all," Stanford laugh. "My Great-Nephew Dipper here is actually in charge. I merely act as an advisor and occasional collaborator. Since the safety of a child is at stake here, Dipper felt you two might feel more comfortable dealing with someone with more life experience."
"Great," Mr. Parker grumbled. The kid in the lame Halloween costume was the one in charge… It figured. "And what exactly is it that you people do?"
"Simple," Dipper responded as confidently as he could, sensing this man was already dismissing him just by his body language alone. "We look into cases of an… Unusual nature and try to help people like you who might not get that help otherwise due to that very nature. Once we connected the recent rash of Jersey Devil sightings with the disappearances of local children, we became increasingly interested in this case. Then your children approached us with their recent encounters and asked for help, and we couldn't bring ourselves to refuse… And thank goddess we didn't, seeing as their concerns were completely valid, as I hear you've witnessed yourself."
Parker hated to admit it, but he was almost impressed with the way Dipper carried himself despite his young age… Well, he would've been at least if the boy hadn't come across as rather smug to him, reading in underlying tones that the kid was accusing him of not properly protecting his family by neglecting to take his kids fears seriously when they first came to him with them… Or maybe he just couldn't accept the guilt, so Dipper and his friends were good proxy's to project his own insecurities upon. "Well, the thing isn't here now, so job well done I guess. That does beg the question why you all are here then if that thing isn't!"
Dipper frowned, not really understanding the concerned father's hostility towards them. They were only trying to help, the type of help few other people could or would be able to offer them. "Because there's always the chance the creature might return… And as long as that thing is still a threat to your son, I can't consider this job done."
"Do you really think it might come back?" Mrs. Parker asked with concern. "Perhaps Steven spooked it enough where it will leave Todd alone now."
"That's a possibility, and a preferable one at that," Ford agreed. "But one we cannot assume will be the case considering the stakes. Besides, we've studied this creatures patterns… Sightings of it ramp up every few weeks or so, and in that span of time a child goes missing… This creature appears to be very ritualistic in its behavior, so it's my fear that it's not going to give up on its current target so easily, especially if the stories the local children have been spreading are true."
"Well, there's a simple solution then," Steven replied gruffly. "I'll just camp out on the roof until that flying freak shows it's ugly face, and then I blow it's head off!"
"That might work," Dipper mocked, his agitation with the man beginning to come through in his voice. "If you're willing to spend every night up there for the foreseeable future, since that creature is most likely to strike the second you let your guard down! Or gets desperate and decides to get the drop on you first before moving on to what it really wants…"
"Well then, what the hell would you suggest smart guy?"
Sensing his nephew was dangerously close to snapping back at the man, Ford put a hand on Dipper's shoulder and answered for him. "Assuming the likely event that this creature does return, we'd like your permission to set up a trap for it within the confines of your son's room."
"What?! Why there?! So you can use him as bait in your sick little…"
Ford shook his head. "Not at all. We require no participation from your family whatsoever for our plan to work. Just access to Todd's room, since that area is the most logical location or the creature to return. It's our intention to attempt to subdue and capture the beast."
"Why fool around trying to catch the damn thing?!" Mr. Parker continued with his persistent complaints. "Let's just shoot the damn thing between the eyes and be done with it!"
"Because as much as our main objective is keeping your son safe, there's more at stake here," Dipper said to him, having regained his composure. "At least five, and maybe as many as seven kids have been taken by this monster. Those kids are sadly, never going to be found and their killer is never going to brought to justice because the police are hunting for a human suspect that doesn't exist. The only people looking for the actual culprit are sitting in this room right now. I know you don't trust us Mr. Parker, and quite frankly, I don't really care for you all that much. Like us or not though, we're the only ones around willing and capable of helping your family. Now you can stop being stubborn and cooperate with us, or you can try to wage a doomed war against a creature you refused to believe even existed less than twenty-four hours ago."
"There's also the potential that, if there's one of these things flying about, nature would dictate there should be more," Ford added. "If we can capture this creature alive, we can prove to everyone that nobody's insane, and perhaps the local authorities will finally start taking these stories seriously."
Mr. and Mrs. parker gave each other a look. Words weren't really needed. As uncooperative as Steven was being, both knew they were going to do whatever it took to protect their son.
The Gravity Falls crew spent a good part of the rest of the day setting up preparations for the nights potential sting operation. It didn't take long as it turned out, as the plan was far less technically based, and more about the element of surprise. Most of the prep work revolved around rehearsing their parts in the plan and making sure the Parker family were safe and secure in their basement.
As night quickly descended, the Stan's took their leave from the home, following up on a time sensitive lead of their own which left the younger generation to handle taking the flying monster into custody. Three members of the Parker family were holed up in their makeshift bunker, but one was dubious by his absence. Abbey searched the basement for her sibling but came up empty. "Um… Does anybody know where Todd is?"
As it turned out, Todd was outside in his backyard looking very conflicted and afraid. Cleary not the best place for him to be, but he was just a kid… And right now pretty much anywhere felt safer than his own bedroom. Good thing for him, someone had taken it upon themselves to look out for him that night. "What are you doing out here kid?" Takura asked, seeming to pop up behind him out of thin air. "The sun's about to set… It's not the best idea for you to be out in the open considering the circumstances."
"Monster only comes at night…" Todd replied absently, trying and failing to doodle a picture in the dirt with his finger. "It's not even dark yet…"
"Close enough to have the rest of us concerned… You really shouldn't wander off by yourself. You need to stay close to the adults so we can protect you…" The boy remained despondent, staring straight into the dirt and likely not even seeing it. Takura had seen this look on children before. Children unjustly caught up in a war living in constant fear that malevolent lizard creatures might come for them and finish the job they started when they first turned those kids lives upside down. Takura sat down in front of the boy, his legs crossed, tilting the boys head up slightly so his haunted eyes could look squarely into Takura's grey. "It's okay to be scared… No kid should have to go through the ordeal you're dealing with right now, but you can't let that fear completely shut you down. There's only so much your family and the rest of us can do for you if you give up."
Todd didn't appear so sure. "But what if it never stops?… What if it keeps coming to my house every night until it gets me?…"
"We're not going to let that happen," Takura stated with deadly seriousness. "If that monster shows up tonight, it'll be the last thing it ever does…"
"But what if you can't catch it?"
"Then we'll kill it… Believe me Todd. There's no way I'm going to allow this monster to harm you, or any other child ever again for that matter. I wasn't kidding with what I told you yesterday. I was born to wipe evil like this *thing* clear out of existence!"
Todd's eyes sparkled as Takura just smirked at him. The kid was still very much intimidated by the imposing young man, but there was just something about him that compelled the boy to trust this virtual stranger. Like the man could punch a hole in the moon if he wanted too. "Why don't we get you inside… Your parents are probably worried sick."
"There you are!" Mrs. Parker shouted in relief, as she ran up and hugged her son as he entered the house. "I thought we told you to stay in the basement! What if something had happened and we couldn't get to you?!"
"Sorry Mom…"
"Kid just needed a pep talk… I think he'll be fine now." Takura smiled down at Todd, who looked up and returned the gesture with the nod. Takura turned his attention to Dipper as his friend approached him. "Everything's set up… You ready for tonight?"
Takura nodded, a glint of anticipation in his steely eyes. "I'm ready… If that thing shows it's ugly face tonight, it'll be the last thing it'll ever do."
While his young protégée and his team were busy preparing for their stakeout of the Parker Home, the Elder Pines Twins had a job of their own to undertake, which included a trip down to the local mortuary. The very same facility that housed one officer Arthur Martinez's body, kept on ice while the mysterious circumstances of his death were investigated.
"It's quite fortunate you happen to be acquainted with the gentlemen who runs the mortuary Stanley. Are you positive it's alright for us to examine the body? I have some rudimentary understanding of pathology, but I'm by no means a trained coroner."
"Ah, you worry too much Poindexter! Ole Louie said it would be fine just so long as we showed up after hours," Stan assured his brother as he led them around the back of the building… Which Ford mentally noted as a definite red flag.
"Shouldn't we enter the building through the front entrance?"
"You need a keycard and a password to get through the front door. Out back though, you just need the key."
"And Louie gave you his key?" Ford asked skeptically.
"Uh… No. But a padlock and a deadbolt are much easier to bypass than all that mess they got around front."
"If you don't have the key then how are you…" Ford paused as Staley busted out his lockpicking set and got down to work. "Stanley! What on Earth are you doing?!"
"Um duh… Louie said to just let ourselves in, and since we don't have the key, this is the only way we're goin' to make it in time for your date with the stiff!"
"What about the security cameras?! Won't it appear incriminating if they catch you…"
"Let's just say… I took care of the security system ahead of time."
With a deep sigh, Ford rubbed at the bridge of his nose, realizing he'd been misled by his brother yet again. "We're breaking into the Mortuary, aren't we Stanley?"
"Hey, you really are a genius! You wana check out that stiff to see if you can figure out how he croaked right? Well, this is how we have to do it. It's not like we have any malicious intent or anything, so what's the big deal?"
Ford didn't bother to answer. "If you've bypassed the security system, doesn't that mean we actually could have walked right through the front door seeing as the electronic safeguards should be disabled?"
"Yeah, but where's the fun in that?! Besides, it's tons more private back here. Someone might notice us if we strolled in through the front entrance."
Ford sighed again and returned to massaging the bridge of his nose. "While I admit that skirting the rules is sometimes necessary due to the numerous roadblocks this job entails but… I'm uncertain how I allow you to keep getting me into situations that can potentially land me behind bars…"
"Hey, it's that unquenchable curiosity of yours that keeps forcin' me to break those rules so you can get that information you want while keepin' your little conscience clean. Now, will you stop blabberin' and let me concentrate already?!"
Less than two minutes later, Stanley had worked the lock open, allowing the brothers access to the building. It actually took the twins longer to find the cold room where the bodies were stored than it did to get inside. Stanford had no idea how or even when Stanley would've had the time to disable the security system, but the less Ford knew about that, the better he believed. He hated that mainstream science's tendency to frown upon his preferred field of study, and the general public's outright dismissal of it, made clandestine tactics such as this necessary, but he'd come to accept it as an occasional necessary evil. As long as nobody got hurt and nothing was stolen, he could live with it… Okay, well nothing stolen that wasn't absolutely vital to his research anyway… Or anything valuable Stan could stuff in his pockets. Okay, so maybe there was a bit more larceny involved than Stanford cared to admit.
"So… Which of these popsicles is our stiff?"
"Stanley! Show some respect for the recently deceased would you?!" He was actually wondering the same thing. "Well… Officer Martinez's body has been stored here far longer than it normally would normally do the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death, so he has to reside in one of these refrigeration slots, otherwise he'd be decomposed beyond all recognition by now. Since I'd prefer to do what I have to do and then get the hell out of here, I don't really have time to figure out their system for which corpse is stored where… I'm afraid we'll just have to open each compartment until we find our patient."
Luckily for the brothers… Sort of, they found Officer Martinez on the first try, identifying the man by his toe tag. Ford slid the compartment open, and his face went pale, while Stan blanched and turned away. "Jimmity Christmas! How long has this guy been dead for?!"
"His… Physical condition has nothing to do with how long he's been deceased Stanley… Bodies can survive frozen for decades before they begin to decompose, if stored properly." Ford said softly as he studied the man's face. It was the strangest shade of dark green he'd ever seen. Half a dozen boil like sores dotted his face. "Whatever caused him to look like this, is the same culprit that killed him. The local coroner clearly hasn't had any luck figuring that part out."
"And you think that monster that Dipper and the kids are after had somethin' to do with… This guy ending up like this?"
Ford nodded his head solemnly. "Yes, I believe so… Some kind of toxin currently unknown to medical science. I… The main reason I wanted to examine the body was you know… Just in case…"
"Just in case your monster pal does this to one of us?"
"Precisely…" Stanford arranged a set of medical tools he'd brought along and exhaled deeply before beginning to scrap some skin samples off of the dead man's face. That was as much as Stan could stomach, forced to throw his hand over his mouth before he barfed all over the body. He wandered off, allowing his brother to collect whatever samples he needed without distraction. "I've collected all the samples I need Stanley… I could really use a sample of his blood, but I'm afraid that's impossible at this stage of the game…" Stanford shivered as a rush of cold air hit him in the back, following the slamming shut of door.
"Umm… I know I'm not the expert here egghead but…" Stanley smiled as he presented a vile of reddish liquid to Ford. "Isn't this a blood sample?"
It was, and sure enough, it was labeled with Arthur Martinez's name. "Stanley! Where did you find this?"
"If that little freezer thing back there… There's like a whole tray of the stuff! Doubt they're going to miss one tube of it."
"They will but… Ugh… Am I really going to resort to stealing a dead man's blood…" Ford gripped the vile and looked down at the late officer. "I apologize for desecrating your corpse like this sir… But just know there's a fair possibility these little pieces of you might help save people's lives one day… Thank you, Officer Martinez."
Ford situated the body the way they'd found him the best he could, and slid the drawer shut. "Let's get these samples in the mini-freezer I left in the Jeep. The blood sample in particular will be useless in a mere few hours if we don't get it on ice soon."
Near a two-story house located on the outskirts of the Pine Barrens, shielded by the cover of the night, a large, winged creature swooped down and landed on the roof of the building. The demon had visited this place several times before, and though his instincts were on high alert for any potential danger after its previous visit, not returning to this location was never an option. It was a being of instinct and ritual, so once the target for its next meal had been chosen, the cycle wouldn't be complete until the boy was writhing in its grasp.
In times of desperation, the creature would settle for smaller mammals that were easier to catch as meals, but ever since its first taste of human flesh, there was no going back.. Nothing tasted sweater, and one human child could satiate it's hunger for weeks or even months. It would devour every last morsel, even down to munching on the bones… The beasts hunger canceling out the memories of its near disastrous attempt the night before, the devil was ready to claim it's next meal.
The creature climbed down off the roof, perching itself in front of the bedroom window of its prize. The creature motioned to scratch it's talon along the surface of the glass, but to its surprise, found no resistance… The window was open! Sensing the opportunity presented to it, the devil slipped inside and made a beeline for the bed of the boy it desired, his outline obvious underneath the fluff of a large blanket. Barely able to contain it's excitement and ready to claim it's prize, the devil's clawed hands gripped onto the blanket, and hastily pulled it off the bed… Only it wasn't a tasty child it found cowering beneath the blanket. It's excellent night vision could clearly make out the steely grey eyes of a pissed off scowling man.
"Surprise, you ugly fuck!"
Before the devil had time to panic and retreat. Takura had leapt from the bed and thrust his shoulder into it, rapidly forcing the monster back towards the window. Takura waited until the wings of the creature were right in front of the portal before jumping forward and shoving the monster out the window while going along for the ride. Takura used the creature to cushion his fall as the monster hit the ground seconds later with a sickening thud. The wolf-hybrid quickly straddled the monster before it had time to come to its senses, raining punches down on the beast at it began to fail it's arms and wings desperately. "Anytime now guys!"
"We're on it!" Wendy assured him as she and the twins emerged from their positions, and it was good timing too, as the surprisingly strong and sturdy for its frame monster had managed to struggle its way back to its feet.
"Watch it's claws!" Takura recommended, as Wendy and Dipper each grabbed and arm, while Takura put the devil in a chokehold from behind. While her teammates tried to hold the beast still, Mabel readied the net she was carrying and aimed it at the creatures head. Her brother and friends released their holds and managed to move just in time to avoid getting ensnared by the net themselves. The creature wasn't so lucky, and the more it flailed, the more entangled in the thick netting it seemed to become.
Dipper hastily readied a syringe filled with a sedative strong enough to knock out a moose. He carefully tried to aim the needle towards the creatures neck, but as if sensing the impending danger, the devil used it's wing to swat the needle right out of Dipper's hand. "Crap! The sedative!"
"I'll help you find it bro!"
"You guys might want to hurry it up!" Wendy ushered as she began to realize the netting was no match for the creatures sharp claws and it was slowly cutting its way out of the snare. Wendy and Takura again grabbed at the monster in an attempt to hold it at bay, but they were only delaying the inevitable. The devil had already gotten its head out of the net by the time Dipper located the syringe and made his way back over to the struggle.
"Alright big guy, time for you to take a little nap!" Instinctively, the creature seemed to realize Dipper was the biggest threat to it at the moment. It briefly stopped struggling to turn its head towards Dipper as the young man pushed the needle towards its neck… And spat a puff of smoke directly into Dipper's face. The reaction was immediate as the most horrible stench you could imagine invaded Dipper's nostrils. He dropped the needle, and feeling faint, fell to a knee.
"Dipper!" Letting her guard down for just that moment, the creature broke free of Wendy's grasp, and then from Takura's immediately afterward, before freeing itself from the net entirely and taking off.
"Damn it!" Takura cursed as the beast flew off, but his attention and concern turned to Dipper who had just fallen flat on his face on the Parker's lawn.
Meanwhile, down in the basement of the Parker home, the sounds of all the commotion going down outside piqued someone's attention. Abbey wasn't sure where her parents had gotten off too, just that they had ordered their kids to remain in the basement no matter what. Abbey just had to lay her eyes on that creature one more time, if for no other reason than just to prove to herself she wasn't insane. "Todd… I'm going outside for a minute to see what's going on… No matter what happens, you are not to leave this basement until someone comes down and gets you, got it?!"
"What?!... Yo-You're leaving me alone?!"
"It'll just be for a minute I promise! Now, please stay down here where it's safe… I'll be right back!"
Abbey took off up the stairs before her wide-eyed brother could argue. He watched helplessly as the door closed, leaving the boy stranded alone in the dark basement. In a lot of ways, being left alone in the dark while knowing a monster was waiting outside to snatch you up was more frightening than going outside and facing that same monster head on surrounded by people who could possibly protect him. Todd did the only sensible thing his young mind could rationalize.
He followed his sister outside.
Abbey had snuck out the side door just in time to see the strange crew from Gravity Falls struggling to sedate the creature. To her horror, it looked like the monster might even escape! She had other problems to worry about though, when she felt the pressure of a small child crash into her backside.
"Abbey!"
"Todd, what the hell are you doing?!" his sister growled as quietly as she could. "Get back in the house before that thing sees you!"
"But I'm scared! I don't wana be in the basement alone…"
"Todd, we don't have time to argue over this! Just…" Abbey Parker had no idea how right she was. She was cut off by the hideous shriek of the devilish monster, which had escaped the net and had now taken flight. "Shit! Back to the house, now Todd!"
The boy didn't have to be told again as the Parker siblings raced towards their home. As Abbey had feared, the creature noticed the boy… And it couldn't help itself, temporarily diverting it's plan from fleeing to seizing this golden opportunity to capture its prey. The kids had nearly made it to the side door, only for Abbey to find herself on her rear end while Todd felt himself getting lifted up into the air by the back of his pajama top.
"No, Todd!"
"Abbey! Helpppppp!"
"Come on bro-bro, snap out of it!" Mabel begged, as she tried to shake some life back into her seemingly comatose brother. Takura looked on in concern until he heard the kids screaming. He looked in their direction, his eyes snapping open in horror as he watched Todd get lifted off the ground, in the clutches of the creature!
"Damn it! Stay here with Dipper!" he ordered before chasing off after the monster as fast as his legs could carry him. He'd promise that boy he wouldn't let anything happen to him… He wasn't planning on making a liar out of himself.
The Devil screeched in annoyance as it struggled to maintain its grip on its loud struggling prey. It flapped its way towards the relative safety of the Barrens, but yet again something got in its way. Something hard slammed into its sternum, causing the creature to wobble and nearly fall out of the sky. It managed to remain airborne but did so at the cost of losing its tenuous grip on its meal. Todd screamed as he plummeted out of the sky. Mere inches from the ground, he felt something yet again grab him by the back of his PJ's and hold him aloft for a few seconds. Rather than taking him back into the air though, whomever had caught him guided him slowly to the ground and released him.
Todd tried to stand up, but immediately fell back down on his butt when he saw what had landed next to him. It definitely wasn't the monster that seemed dead set on making dinner out of him, but it was a monster none-the-less… Only this one wasn't quite as scary looking, possessing a head that looked a strange cross between a horse and a camel.
From above, the Devil screeched towards the ground angrily, but made no further attempt to reclaim its prey. It decided that this was way too much trouble to go through just for a meal, and darted off into the Barrens, quickly disappearing from sight. Todd's eyes had never left his… Apparent savior? For some reason, he didn't feel afraid of the strange creature who chirped and eyed him curiously, almost seeming to be asking if the boy was okay. Warily, Todd reached his hand out… And sensing no threat from this particular flying bat-like creature, softly rubbed his hand across it's elongated nose, getting no objection in response. His attention did finally divert directly behind him at the sound of heavy footsteps coming his way.
"Get back kid!" Takura told him, though he paused when he noticed this wasn't the same creature that had taken off with Todd in the first place. "Mel?..."
"He… I think he saved me," The boy said in wonder, as Mel chirped in response.
"Thank you… You better get out of here before somebody else sees you though… The boy's family might misinterpret your intentions here…"
Mel chirped and almost seemed to nod in understanding before he quickly flew off and disappeared into the night, leaving a baffled Todd Parker staring off in that direction in wonder.
"Let's get you back to your family before they do anything desperate searching for you," Takura said to the boy as he helped him to his feet. It wouldn't take long to reunite with the rest of the Parker clan, as it turned out they'd been right on Takura's heels.
"Todd!"
"Mom! Daddy!" Todd crashed into this family as both his parents and sister encircled him in a massive family hug. Assured that this son was now safe, Steven Parker began scanning the skies.
"Where did that bastard go?!"
"He escaped…" Takura's eyes thinned dangerously as he stared out into the vastness of the Pine Barrens. "For now…"
Back at the Parker's house, Dipper had finally regained consciousness, however control of his bodily functions and mental facilities still alluded him. Wendy and Mabel had managed to help him to his feet, each wearing one of his arms across their shoulders.
"Come on Dip, work with me here buddy! Can you walk?" Dipper's response was to slur his speech and nearly fall on his face again, but the girls managed to keep him upright. It was just that moment when Takura arrived back on the scene, followed not to long after by the Parker family.
"How is he doing?" Takura asked before noticing Dipper had broken out in a heavy sweat, and his complexion was taking on a greenish color. As if he needed more proof, Dipper immediately followed up with this gem.
"A sure… St-up on… Cannabu… So key calmut…" Dipper's head fell forward, forcing the girls to right his posture again.
"What's wrong with him?!" Mabel asked worriedly.
"Dunno Mabes… Whatever that creep spat into his face did this to him… Like it was some kind of venom or somethin'…"
"Was the Jersey Devil supposed to be poisonous or is this a new thing?!"
"Who knows…" Takura sighed as he eyed his friend worriedly. "Dipper is usually the one who explains this kind of crap to us…"
The crew got distracted by the sound of screeching tires as a Jeep pulled into the yard and stopped. The elder Pines Twins had returned. Ford jumped out of the vehicle and rushed over to the kids. "We spotted an undocumented creature flying in the opposite direction minutes before we arrived here! I'm taking it the operation didn't go exactly as planned?"
Takura responded for the group. "The boy is okay, so that part of the job went smoothly… Dipper on the other hand…"
Stanford took one look at his nephew, and he knew exactly what had happened. "Oh dear no…"
End Part 2
