.

.

Full chapter title: Attention: Welcome Wagon on the Air (... with breaking news)

This title reference is reaaally vague so I'll go ahead and tell you it's an Independence Day reference.

P.O.F.
The Bluebird B&B

After the story had run its course, Norman's brain was still absorbing the finer details when a question finally began to make its way to the forefront of his mind. He considered asking, but once he had decided, he was a moment too late- the question went unanswered. (The sound of the bell dinging at reception forced Wirt to return to his duties.) Norman picked his cell phone up where he'd abandoned it on the coffee table earlier to hear their story; after turning on the screen, he noticed the story that Wirt and Greg had told him had taken the better part of an hour to tell. Seeing Dipper's text, Norman responded with a half-hearted forgiveness as his mind tried to wrap around the idea (no, the phenomenon) that was The Unknown. He didn't have the time to rehash his wounded feelings from earlier that morning.

-From: Norman
-To: Dipper

It's fine, talk to you a bit later.

He exhaled sharply, pinching his eyes much like he was fending off an impending headache, and frowned to himself as he itched a spot on his hand. Suddenly, he saw a fly crawling on the back of his right hand, and he killed it with a single quick slap of his left palm. A memory of his uncle suddenly resurfaced as he stared at the crushed fly, he took a moment to remember the feeling of tearing the book from the man's rigored hands as the flies had already begun crawling on him and buzzing about his corpse. The dry, parchment-like feeling of his uncle's discolored skin as the muscles around his knuckles and fingers already had begun to slough off beneath Norman's touch.

His stomach turned at the memory of the smell, causing him to gag involuntarily. Greg's cautioned touch of Norman's forearm made it obvious to the older boy that Greg could sense something was off. It made Norman feel weak, like he was a scared child again, just like he was during the Incident.

"You're remembering that day... aren't you, Norm?" Greg whispered, more to soothe Norman's nerves than avoid being heard.

Norman nodded, "I don't know if I told you about my uncle, but I had to take the book I needed from his body."

"But, that day, I thought you said he-"

"He was," Norman finished, sweeping the fly from his hand into the waste bin beside him; Greg understood the nuances of the tone and gesture, the boy's face simply took on a blank expression before he excused himself to play in his room, wise to Norman's need to be alone.

The cartoon had only a few minutes left, muted for Wirt and Greg to tell their story, but caught the edge Norman's eye when the colors suddenly changed from bleak greens and purples to flashes of red across the screen in a breaking news report. Norman scrambled to turn the volume up in time to hear the local newscaster. The camera footage showed a field surrounded by trees, with 3 blurred silhouettes with a large halo of red surrounding the corpses.

"This is not footage of last week's victims, viewers, but is actually another 3 cases of animal attack. To those of you watching, the Gravity Falls city council has issued a curfew in hopes to prevent more tragedies such as these, it takes effect immediately so no one is allowed outdoors after sunset. A statement issued by the sheriff's department orders that anyone who disobeys the curfew will be locked in holding overnight for their own safety. Please stay safe, everyone, and back to the weather."

Norman's eyes were glued to the screen, his eyes seeing the blurred, semi-nude, censored bodies on the screen and grass visibly caked with blood with every blink of his eyes. He could see them even when he closed his eyes. His fingers shook as he sent a text to Dipper.

-From: Norman
-To: Dipper

Have you seen the news?

A few moments later, Dipper was calling Norman over the phone. Dipper's voice was strained, as though he was trying to regain his composure.

"So, Norman, I think the sight seeing is not really an option anymore." Dipper uttered, feeling that stating the obvious was the easiest way to end the conversation. Norman could hear the sound of Dipper's hair brushing against the receiver, as well as the rustling of papers in the background. "Mabel's going to go over to talk to Wybie and Coraline... and I have to make a few calls. My sister put her phone out of commission so just contact me if anything... odd happens, okay? I'll try to keep you updated."

It was at this instant, his eyes staring unfocused into the street, that Norman realized there was a spirit outside staring right at him. Norman let in a sharp hiss of surprise, startling Dipper on the line. The house was warded, the spirit couldn't get in, but it still somehow knew he was there.

"What's the matter? You okay? You sound like you've-" Dipper started.

"Yeah," Norman whispered distractedly, "I gotta go. I'll keep in touch."

He hung up, cutting Dipper off mid-sentence and going through the front door, the screen door clinking shut behind him. The ghost stood silently in the road, face covered in deep gashes as one eye hung loosely from its socket; throat was sliced from beneath the chin to the collarbone, inside of the throat torn open, most of her body looked as though she'd quite literally been chewed and spit back out. It was reminiscent of a neighbor's fabric doll chewed to shreds by the family dog, left on the sidewalk to rot.

The female spirit, appearing only a few years older than Norman, opened her mouth and tried to form words as her useless vocal cords hung visibly within her neck. She reached out her arms and let out a silent roar, gone as quickly as she had appeared. Norman's phone buzzed in his hand, when he answered it Wirt was on the line. In Norman's inner turmoil, he barely recognized his cousin's voice.

"Come inside, Norman, it's not safe." To which Norman nodded, hung up, and headed towards the door. Wirt stood inside, door open but the screen still closed, his phone held tightly in his hand at his right side as he watched Norman silently through the front window. Norman texted Dipper a single phrase, there will be more, heart heavy at the his mind's after-images of the woman's flayed flesh and torn clothes.

P.O.F.
Dipper Pines

Dipper watched out his window, radio playing repeats of the breaking news in a continuous loop in the background. He waited to see Mabel walk back towards the Mystery Shack or to see a sudden early arrival of his great uncles. He waited for any sign of life on the street, but it had been quiet since they had gotten off the bus. Eerily quiet. Things always happened in Gravity Falls, Dipper reasoned, but nothing like this. All this happening was weird but not in the run-of-the-mill Gravity Falls way.

But more what? Dipper wanted to know, and how does Norman know, does he know what the Falls is up against? Despite Dipper's wonderings, he not ask Norman directly about the cryptic message. Without saying, somehow, he knew what Norman meant- more victims. More will die if the animal is not stopped, but stop it how?

After making a call to his parents to let them know they were there safe (knowing no response would come), a voicemail to his gruncles' shared mobile phone, a call to the sheriff's office in hopes of getting some information (none was given seeing as he was "unaffiliated with the case at hand"), and a call to an old cryptid contact (The Lilliputtians) for a steady flow of gossip from humans (most of the information Dipper received was as unhelpful as he'd expected), all calls of which had to be made from the roof to get decent reception. By the time he was back inside, he was exhausted from waiting, it was then he truly began to wait only for his sister's return.

P.O.F.
Mabel Pines

The road was deserted, save for Mabel and a few stray animals that she would stop to pet a few strokes before continuing to go on her way. Mabel was the kind of girl that smiled even in the face of danger, but the news report scared her in a way she was unfamiliar with, she was scared of death as opposed to a normal fear of injury. She hadn't seen the grisly details, having only heard bits of it on community radio, but the information they did give was enough to turn her stomach.

She always saw animals in a positive light, even when she had come to the inevitable understanding that animals have a different code of ethics than humans. She knew their instinct was more powerful than their morals (at least those that can be retained by an animal), but what bothered her was that according to how the animal attacked the victims- the victims just gave in to being torn to shreds. Mabel just could not understand why. She'd read a few books here and there about human psychology, and skimmed a book once about the social hierarchy and instincts of pack-oriented animals, and neither the animal attacking so close to civilization or the fact that the victims had no defensive wounds (according to the hearsay of the community radio host) made no logical sense.

No matter how many what-if scenarios Mabel came up with on the way to "Granny" Lovett's house, they all hit a snag- the inevitable possibility it was a supernatural so-called Pines' Problem, and so it was up to her to tell Coraline and Wybie to keep their noses out of the investigation. Before Mabel had left, she and her brother spoke in quiet whispers for a few moments of possible theories and adjoining plans before Mabel volunteered to tell the young couple to not poke their nose in it, it was the Pines' responsibility she would tell them but even to her she didn't sound convincing enough.

As Mabel rang the doorbell, she could hear the news from the television inside. She let out a quiet curse, bothered they had to hear it from the horse's mouth, the door simultaneously being opened by Ms. Lovett with a grim and concerned expression contorting her features.

"Are you Mabel?" The woman asked.

When Mabel nodded, she let her in to the sight of Coraline sobbing into Wybie's shirt, while Wybie doing his best to hold himself together.

"Coraline," Mabel whispered, taking on a quieter tone than she intended.

Coraline heard her regardless and stopped her squalls and replaced them with quiet, fast breaths, "I hoped I'd get away from all this. I expected quirky, small-town life- not murder around every corner!"

Wybie cooed to her, "You don't need to worry about it, it's just an animal. It just needs to be found, and a park ranger or something can-"

"That's what I came to talk to you about, actually." Mabel murmured under her breath, finding Ms. Lovett already leaving the room under the pretense of 'bringing the kids some lemonade'. "My brother and I, based on what we've experienced here before, we think you two should lie low. We know you're not much younger than we are, but we know the area and we have connections that you two don't- and we have an idea what we're up against. That being said, don't leave the house unless you have to and only take main roads, that means no shortcuts whatsoever. Okay? And absolutely not after dark."

Wybie nodded, then looking to a nearby doorway, said to his grandmother, "You too, Granny, they know what they're talking about. They've dealt with bigger, right? So they can handle it."

Mabel could hear the lilt in his voice, the hopeful indication in his question; the hope that she would know how to handle things and that everything would be okay. The lack of guarantee that she and her brother could fix things unsettled her, forcing her to say her goodbyes prematurely with parting words similar to her brother's assurance to Norman of keeping in touch. They sounded hollow to her ears, as well as those at the Lovett residence. Reaching the street, she began her walk towards the center of town with its familiar corner stores and small diners.

However, on her walk back she did not expect the blast from the past which awaited her in the form of a girl with a young face covered in freckles, her mouth pursed around the straw of an iced coffee with a book in her other hand, holding the binding back behind the cover, leaning against the building with the ease and grace of a Romanesque statue. The hair was pulled back, out of her eyes, hair waving down as it reached the ends, sleeves rolled up to her elbows to expose a right forearm covered in a sleeve tattoo featuring trees and the word REMEMBER in bold, cursive handwriting. Mabel's smile betrayed her, as did the voice that called out the woman's name without taking another moment to take in the beautifully complacent form.

"Wendy!"

The girl looked up with a smile, recognizing Mabel immediately, "How ya doin', kid?"

"Wow, you look amazing!" Mabel gushed, watching Wendy close her book and shove it in her back pocket. "Your hair is longer!"

"Yeah," Wendy smiled coyly, pulling a hair that had fallen from the loose ponytail at the nape of her neck to behind her ear. Her face seemed frozen in time, the exact same as when they had left save for a small scar that went in a white line across her chin. "You've really grown up, have you started dating yet?"

"Not really a concern," Mabel admitted, "What about you? Anyone interesting in your life?"

Wendy shrugged both shoulders aloofly, smiling, "Where's your brother at? He in Gravity Falls too?"

Mabel nodded, her mood dampening, suddenly remembering the animal attacks, "Yeah, our timing seems impeccable like always."

"You mean the bear attacks?" Wendy asked, "It's not a big deal, it'll get sorted out in a few days. My dad is one of the guys looking for it on the side, since he's worried about my brothers and I."

"Are they saying it's a bear?"

"Not really," Wendy admitted, "but it's not like we get a lot of wolves in this area this time of year. The deforestation in the area thanks to you-know-what was devastating, so the animal population slimmed down a bit. The supernatural stuff is still around though, although they hide a lot better. Actually, I saw a gnome the other day, I think it was the one that wanted to marry you that one time."

Mabel laughed, "Oh, don't remind me. If you want, though, you can come back with me to The Shack. We're actually thinking it's not an animal attack, it'd be helpful to have another head in on this that went through Weirdmageddon with us to help us figure this out."

"I don't know," Wendy sighed, biting her lip. "I was actually going to someone's house in an hour to touch base with them on something."

"It won't take long, please, Wendy; we need your help on this. It's dangerous and we need to know what we're up against."

Wendy nodded twice, patting her pants pockets to make sure she had her wallet, keys, and book before walking with Mabel back to the Mystery Shack. Dipper saw their eventual approach from above, simultaneously his heart raced and his stomach sank. His feelings for Wendy had definitely faded but the hurt from lack of contact he still felt with a vengeance. He met them at the door, opening it right as Mabel was going to knock.

"Oh, Dipper." Mabel uttered, flustered. "Looks like we're getting the band back together to figure this out."

"How much of the band? Just the main lineup or the entire ensemble?" Dipper grumbled, a poor attempt of a joke, before leading them to the kitchen.

"Speaking of," Wendy started, grabbing a pretzel log from the clear cookie jar nearby. "I don't know if you two know, but Pacifica left town ages ago. She's a gossip radio personality now out of Charlotte I think, Old Man McGucket kicked the proverbial bucket, and Robby's been touring with the band for 6 months now. Meaning they're safe from this for now... Oh, where's the Gruncles? They around?"

Mabel nodded, "Should be here within the week, I don't think they know about all this yet, no way they really could, except maybe a letter from Soos."

"I left them a voicemail but no telling when they'll get it," Dipper sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration. Dipper caught himself staring at Wendy but brushed it off in favor of asking a question, "So, how serious are these attacks, exactly? I know what I've seen on TV looks bad but I want to know what you think about it. I know your dad is good friends with the Sheriff and the Deputies, you must've heard something they aren't telling the public."

"Not really," Wendy admitted, "Only thing I know is that whatever this thing is, it's got them terrified. Dad said the way those people were torn apart was no coincidence, it was done practically the same way to every victim. They're hunting for it like mad, they say it should be found in the next week or so."

"So what are we talking here?" Mabel asked, saying aloud what they were all thinking. "A werewolf gone rogue or something? A wendigo? Maybe a minotaur with a beef?"

"Well it sure as hell seems like it, too coincidental to be overlooked as non-supernatural." Dipper whispered. "What are we gonna do about Soos? We're putting him in danger by being here and conspiring to stop that thing."

"Whatever we have to do to keep him safe." Wendy whispered, chewing the pretzel log thoughtfully. "I work as a secretary at the sheriff's department, so I'll go swipe the case files from the station. We need to get this thing dead and buried fast, before it hurts someone else."

They all agreed silently in that moment that they would take care of whatever was in those woods, whether it was animal, cryptid, monster, or human.

Suddenly, Dipper's phone rang and he excused himself to answer it, leaving the girls alone.

"Dipper," Norman insisted over the phone, "whatever you guys are doing, I want in. I can't ignore this anymore."

Dipper had an excuse to tell him no on the tip of his tongue, but ignored it. "Why?"

"What happened to my town years ago... people got really hurt. I can help you guys and I have to, otherwise, if anyone else gets hurt while I'm cowering in a corner, I'll blame myself. I have to help. Dipper, please."

Dipper sighed after a moment, "Well, get over here, then. We've got a lot of ground to cover."

A.N.

Initially, I was going to wait until I finished this story to upload it here... buuuuut wattpad is not exactly the best platform for constructive criticism.

So! give me your thoughts, theories, whatever you like. Thank you so much for reading!

~deathbyinsomnia