Chapter 6
Dipper and Mabel awoke with a horrible feeling of uneasiness hovering in the air. The house was deathly silent. The birds outside were nowhere to be seen. Black clouds completely covered the sky. All of a sudden, a loud BOOM shook and rattled the house. Rain poured down and splatted the windowpanes. Some drops even got inside.
"It's just a little storm. Oregon is known for all of its rain." Dipper assured a shivering Mabel.
"I-I dunno, Dipper." Mabel replied shakily. "I don't hear anyone inside the house."
"Well, let's go check then." Dipper said. Maybe Elodie will be the only one, and we can- um, talk? Dipper thought. The thought sounded stupid in his head; he knew it would sound worse out loud. "Mori? Ryan? Elodie? Is anyone here?" he called instead. No answer. "Come on, let's go see where everyone is." he said, his heart beating a little faster than usual. He and Mabel climbed quietly down from the bed and opened the door. No one. Just an empty hallway leading downstairs.
"We need to call Grunkle Stan. Like right now." Mabel said worriedly. But would Grunkle Stan even pick up?
"Hey, hey. Let's not jump to conclusions." Dipper replied cautiously. "We don't know what's going to happen. Maybe everyone will jump out from behind a couch and yell surprise or something like that."
"Boy, I hope so." Mabel said. "I'm tired of all this sneaking around and being on the watch and stuff."
BOOM! The house rattled violently. Dipper and Mabel jumped in surprise.
"Elodie!" Dipper yelled. Mabel didn't even have the heart to make fun of him, she was so scared. The twins raced down the hall and barged into the first door they saw. Another large room with a large bed. But no one was there.
"Find another door!" Mabel said frantically. Again they darted through the hallway, Mabel in the lead. A second door was decorated with a beautiful rose-looking flower speckled with lush green and soft pink seeds. But the stem was ugly. The sides jutted out sharply every which-way. It had a sickly dark green/brown color. But what made the stem prettier were thick ivory-colored thorns. A light reflected off them making the sides shine. Small drops of the brightest red dripped from the thorns. Underneath, the flower read…
BOOM! a strike of lightning light up the black sky.
"Die!?" the twins screamed in unison.
"Oh no!" Dipper groaned.
"What is that?" Mabel shrieked. She hit the flower hard, smushing it against the door. "Ugly!" she yelled, hitting it over and over.
"Stop! Stop!" a voice bellowed. The door swung open. "What. Are. You. Doing. To. My. Flower!?" a short middle-aged man in a labcoat grabbed Dipper by the cuff of his shirt and tossed him into the room of the flower.
"Dipper!" Mabel screamed. Somewhere inside the room came a muffled shriek. "Dipper!" Mabel screamed again.
"Now you know what it feels like to loose something you love," the man murmured, stroking the smushed flower. "No matter, though," he said. "I have plenty more. I'm just studying the curious deathly dangers of this flower. I need to test the poison out on someone. It won't work on you; you've survived it. You know, I'd better get to work now. Your brother will be easy to tie down."
A strangled cry escaped from the back of Mabel's throat. "No! Dipper! Don't let him kill you!" she wailed.
"No! Dipper!" the labcoat man mimicked in a high screechy voice. "Get in there. You get five minutes." he swatted Mabel away into the room like a fly and then went about muttering to himself. Mabel walked around the huge room. Labcoats hung neatly on a coat rack. A menacing metal chair sat in the middle of the room. Strapped firmly inside was a squirming Dipper. "Oh no!" Mabel cried, rushing over to her brother. "I have to get you out of here!" she said, fingering the tight iron bars that held Dipper's hands down.
"Mabel! You found me! You got in! How?" Dipper cried.
"He let me in, that mean guy. And he's going to kill you!" Mabel sobbed and threw her arms around her brother. "We have to get you out of here." she said.
"I can't. But you can. Hide somewhere, and then break free. I'm sure the door's unlocked. The guy isn't that smart. A little but unstable to me." Dipper said.
Mabel gave a small laugh. "But- no. I won't hide. I'll stay with you the whole time." she said strongly. "We'll get out of this." she then whispered. The door swung open.
"Time's up." the labcoat man said.