( Mabel Pines )
After Dipper had pretty much cleared out all the zombies from the top of the truck, they had navigated the town. From the looks of the town, if any one had survived, they didn't survive for long, or they had left soon after the infection. The stores looked untouched. Shelves lined with canned and boxed food. Jars of food they had never thought that they would ever see again. Rows and rows of snack cakes, bags of chips, boxes of cookies.
Mabel would have never thought that she would be excited to see a jar of pickles. She had never cared for pickles, but she was going to eat those pickles, first chance she got. Of course Wendy's mom could make pickles, but she didn't know if they would taste the same.
It wasn't just that, there was a whole bunch of things on the shelves that she hadn't even thought about in the last two years. So, after they loaded up on food. They went for drinks, juices, and other needed things.
Mabel turned a corner after going back into the grocery store and stopped dead in her tracks.
"Oh, my, God!" She almost yelled. Causing her brother to show up, gun drawn.
"What is it... Mabel..." Dipper had turned his attention to where she was looking.
Soap, shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, and medication. All the comforts that they had gone without for more than two years. One of the things she learned about the apocalypse was that it stank. Everything stank.
"Holy crap." Dipper muttered.
"Right?" She looked over to her brother. "How much do you think we can get?"
"Well, we can't take it all. But we can come back after. This place is pretty much off the map." his words made her frown. "But that doesn't mean we can't get a bit of it."
…
All the stores had been like the grocery store. They would come back with the Corduroys to help gather all the tools and equipment. It didn't stop her and Dipper from picking through the weapons from the pawn shop. After Dipper had killed all those zombies, they really needed more ammo. So it had worked out.
Now they were back on the fire road, and the sun was starting to set. They had stopped, gotten out, and started to set up camp. She and Dipper had talked about if they were going to keep going, or stop for the night. At first Dipper had wanted to continue through until they got to the cabin. But they considered when they got to the cabin, and it was the middle of the night, if they'd be met with gunfire. Manly Dan and the boys didn't seem like the 'ask-questions-first' kind.
"Sure is creepy out here, Dip." Mabel finished stacking the fire wood, it being ready to start a fire.
"It does feel that way," Dipper had just finished putting up the insulated tent.
…
Something rustled in the woods near them. It had been making noise and moving about. At first she didn't worry about it, when Dipper explained that it was probably a bird, or some animals milling about. Deer were active at night. But whatever it was, it kept circling them. It was crossing the fire road out of eye sight, and kept circling.
At first, when Dipper noticed it was circling them, she had thought that it was the Tracker. Though, it was too early for the Tracker. It usually showed up, after a few days. The shortest time it had appeared was three days after they had settled down. Wild animals didn't really stalk like this, or for this long. Zombies didn't do this either. So, that left the Tracker, less likely. Or humans.
"Alright, Mabel." Dipper whispered collecting only the important things. They had taken out. "This has to be people."
"I think so, too." She whispered back. Picking up a few of her important things. The tent wasn't too important, they could always find another one. Any of the food, or the pots, even the camping stove wasn't important, and could easily be replaced. Without speaking they managed to get everything into the truck as quietly and quickly as they could.
Dipper started the engine, the lights on the truck lit up the area in front of the truck, dozens of people stood in front of the truck, just out of sight before the lights revealed their presence. Mabel couldn't tell if they were infected or survivors. They way there were standing and watching seemed like survivors. But the way they looked filthy, a couple of them seemed to be missing limbs.
"Uh... Dipper?" She looked over to her brother, wondering why they were still sitting there.
"They are blocking the path," Dipper looked in the side mirrors, and sighed. Causing to her look in her own side mirror, and was able to see that there were people behind them as well. "Behind us too."
'What now?' She wondered, her hand moving to the gun at her hip. From what she could see of the people, the only weapons they carried were spears, bats, a few swords. Nothing that would hurt Black Beauty, other than a few scratched and dents anyways. The sound of the air horn blasting brought her out of her thoughts, causing her to move her hand from her gun. Dipper blew the horn again, before rolling down the window.
"Move, or I'll go through you." Dipper yelled out the window.
Mabel wondered what all these people were doing out in the middle of no where. Couldn't have come from the town, they would have gathered up most of the weapons, and food.
"We're hungry! We'll not let you pass!" One of the men in the middle yelled. Were these people insane? Did they think that they could actually stop Black Beauty? "The Immortals will stop you!"
"Immortals?" Mabel wondered aloud.
"Crazy idiots. I gave them a chance." Dipper shifted the truck into drive, and stomped on the gas.
…
The man who spoke had managed to get out of the way, but he had felt the bumps of the few that hadn't been too lucky. He had expected them to give chase, but didn't. Something to at least attempt to catch them, after what they had said. He didn't know who the Immortal they spoke of, were. It didn't matter, they couldn't stop them.
Dipper slowed down after he had gotten a good distance away. In the dark, there was no way he would continue driving that fast, it wasn't safe. There could be a downed tree, or a hole that had sunk into the ground. Instead, he would drive at a steady pace.
"Dipper, what was that?" Mabel asked him sounding worried. Heck, he was worried. He didn't know what that was.
"I'm not sure, Mabel. Crazy people." He kept his eyes on the road. "Mabes, Make a note on the map, just past that town, about those crazy people. And that other town too. So we can remember to avoid those places."
"So, we'll drive in shifts, we're not stopping on the road again." Mabel told him, and he couldn't agree more.
They should be at the cabin in a couple hours, even driving this slow. They would have to wait down the road from the cabins until the sun came up. They didn't want to risk angering the Corduroy men. Mabel had opened a bag of chips and ate a couple before offering some to him, which he took a few to munch on while driving.
"So, you looking forward to seeing Wendy?" Mabel asked with a snicker in her voice.
"About as much as you are to see Pacifica." Dipper snickered back, knowing his sister's face was red. Mabel was uncharacteristically quiet which meant he had won this one. Not a big defeat, but against Mabel, it was better than losing.
"Anyways," Mabel cleared her throat. "I am looking forward to one of Wendy's mom's sandwiches." Mabel changed the subject, and Dipper decided not to push.
( Dipper Pines )
Dipper had stopped just before the gate that had been built with the fence around the cabins and it's land. Mabel asleep on blankets, on the floor, in the cab in the back. He shifted the truck into part, looking down at the gas gauge. It was under half a tank. He didn't want to waste the gas, but he didn't want them to be cold either. Sunrise wouldn't be for another four hours.
He could always try the CB radio. He reached up, turning on the CB, turning the knob to the channel they used.
"This is Dipper. Anyone awake in the Corduroy camp?" He asked into the handset.
Nothing but static answered him. Which was what he had expected.
"Dip? Where are we?" Mabel sat up from her little nest, then crawled up into the front seat, closer to the heater vent.
"The cabins, but I think everyone is asleep." Dipper looked out the windshield, he could see light coming from the cabins between the trees. Which meant, someone was awake.
"This is Dipper, and Mabel. Anyone awake?" He called into the handset.
"Dipper?" A voice came over the radio, sounded like Tambry, and sounded like she was tired. "This is Tambry. I'll wake someone up to come open the gates."
Not long after Tambry had answered, this large shape started coming from the camp. To anyone else they might have thought it was a bear coming out of the woods. Or some other kind of beast. But he and Mabel knew different. They knew it could only be Manly Dan, Wendy's father. At first he thought it was just him, until two other shapes came running past the larger one. Dipper wasn't sure until the two shadows walked into the light.
The redhead had a big smile on her face as she ran towards the gate. The blonde carried a similar smile, as she too ran towards the gate to let them in. Mabel bounced in her seat as she set her eyes on Pacifica. As she and Wendy fought to open the gate. Until Manly Dan made it to the gate, grabbed it with one hand, and with Pacifica, and Wendy holding onto it, pulled it open. Dipper put the truck into drive and pulled through the gate, and parked it near the cabin that he, Mabel, Wendy, and Pacifica.
Mabel darted out of the door before he could even shift it into park. No doubt going to meet Pacifica half way. He turned off the engine and got out of the truck, Wendy came around the corner as he closed the door. He had a smile on his face as he stood there, until he realized she wasn't going to stop running towards him, her arms stretched out.
"Wait... Wait... Wend... ooof," Dipper hit the ground as Wendy tackled him.
"Gotcha!" Wendy smirked as she laid on him, then gave him a big kiss.