"Random dance party for no reason!"
"Go! Go! Go!"
I couldn't help but let out a sigh as I watched Mabel dancing on the freshly cleaned, extra squeaky counter, leaving shoeprints all over it. The ongoing battle to maintain order in the shack was an unending one. Today's skirmish had just unfolded on the gift shop counter.
I had grown accustomed to Mabel and Wendy's seemingly boundless energy during playtime, but every now and then, I couldn't help but wonder why they couldn't channel that enthusiasm into something a bit more productive.
As I stood there, seemingly in despair, I noticed Dipper out of the corner of my eye, scribbling something on a piece of paper. Judging by his hand movements, it appeared to be his classic 'I'm pretending to write something down' routine. Dipper was a bright kid, but some of his actions left me somewhat puzzled.
"Ray! Dipper!"
Wendy's call snapped me back to reality, and Dipper and I responded in unison.
"Yes?" Dipper replied, his awkward expression mirroring his discomfort. I shot my usual dissatisfied look toward Wendy, who seemed blissfully unaware.
"Aren't you guys going to join in?" Wendy inquired.
Dipper's face twisted into an awkward grimace. "I... don't really dance."
Mabel wasn't taking no for an answer. "Yes, you do! You know, Mom used to dress him up in a lamb costume and make him do... The Lamby Dance!"
Dipper's patience was running thin. "Now is not the time to talk about the Lamby Dance."
I decided to let that issue slide. My mind was focused on more critical matters: reading horror stories and urban legends, getting ready for whatever bizarre event might come our way. I had a feeling the next episode or threat was just around the corner. My unique ability to go back in time and the knowledge I'd accumulated from previous experiences were my only weapons.
But before I could dive into my preparations, the cuckoo clock chimed, signaling Wendy's departure. She looked relieved.
"Hey, look at that! Quittin' time! The gang's waiting for me."
"Great. Bye, Wendy."
I turned my attention back to the mess on the counter. It was frustrating how quickly it had become cluttered again. I muttered to myself, "I cleaned here an hour ago..."
Wendy sensed my frustration and hesitantly chimed in, "Hey, Ray? You should..."
"I'm sorry to say that I can't occupy you and your friends, Wendy. I have stuff to do."
Wendy looked at me with a sympathetic expression. She knew my priority wasn't goofing off but preparing for what lay ahead.
"Hey, Wendy, can we tag along with you?" Dipper asked, catching me off guard. The idea of letting my younger siblings hang out with a group of high schoolers made me a bit nervous.
I shot Wendy a pleading look, silently conveying my concerns. She grinned mischievously, leaving me in disbelief, and said, "Well... I dunno. My friends can be pretty intense. You guys are, like, 12, right? Ray mentioned it once..."
Quick on his feet, Dipper tried to make us sound a bit older. "Nah, we're actually 13! Technically... teens, you know."
Wendy seemed to relish the challenge. "All right, I like your spirit, kid! Lemme grab my stuff. And Ray, you better not back out on us."
With that, Wendy sauntered away from the gift shop.
"Wait a sec, Mason Pines."
"Whoa, Ray, how'd you know my actual name?"
"Saw it on your I.D. peeking out of your bag, Mason Pines. And remember what I said about going anywhere without an adult... or at least getting my permission?"
My tone turned a bit more serious, and Dipper seemed to get the message. I let out another sigh; my plate was already full with responsibilities.
"Okay, Ray. Breathe in, breathe out. This... was meant to happen eventually. You know, a new episode, new enemies..."
"...All right, guys. Just promise me, especially when there's an emergency, you'll listen to me, okay?"
"So, does that mean..."
"Yeah, you guys can come."
"Haha, awesome!"
Dipper was practically beaming with joy, bouncing around in excitement. Mabel joined the celebration with laughter. Their never-ending optimism was something I envied despite all the bizarre experiences we'd faced.
"I'm gonna grab my stuff too."
Heading over to the employee peg rack, I snagged my trusty black jacket. Wendy was getting ready next to me, and I shot her a disappointed glance.
"Oh, come on, Ray. It'll be a blast!"
"Blast is relative, Wendy. And like I said before... They're just kids, not tough teens!"
"Whoa, whoa, relax, dude. They're not 'that' young. Plus, we're not going anywhere dangerous."
"You promise?"
"I swear."
I walked to the minivan with Wendy and the kids. It was... filthy. No, not just dirty, but downright disgusting. Some might say I'm being too harsh, but trust me, I'm not exaggerating. I'm wondering if they ever clean that car.
"In the belly! In the belly!"
...The so-called 'gang members' of Wendy were throwing jelly beans at Thompson's navel... for some reason. I could see the people now... Hmm. I sure recognize some of them.
Wendy tossed a jelly bean right into Thompson's navel, and the teenagers, who hadn't seen that coming, all looked at Wendy with surprise.
"Wendy!"
"Wendy! Wendy!"
"Hey, guys! These are my pals from work. Ray, Mabel, and Dipper... You guys know Ray, right?"
The teenagers turned their attention to me, and I recognized a few familiar faces.
"Ray."
"Hello, Tambry."
I nodded at the purple-haired girl. I remembered hanging out with her during elementary school, so I knew her name, but our friendship had waned since then. We just exchanged polite greetings when we crossed paths.
"Hi, I'm Lee."
"I'm Nate!"
The two guys whose names I didn't recognize greeted me, and I waved back. Thompson also gave me a nod. I didn't know him well, so I returned the gesture.
The last one, however, I knew quite well.
"...Valentino."
"No one calls me that, Chiu."
Wearing a black Emo-style outfit, Robbie Valentino was about an inch shorter than me, had pale skin with a few pimples, and a distinctive long nose. I knew him because his parents worked as morticians. I always found the subject of human anatomy intriguing, and his parents, with their unique profession, had been gracious enough to educate me about it.
So, I had visited their home where Mr. and Mrs. Valentino had warmly shared their knowledge with me. Robbie, however, was a different story. Our interactions were far from pleasant. Not because of his Emo style, unrealistic goals, or passive-nihilistic ideas, but rather his personality. Robbie was ambitionless, rude, and notably cynical. A toxic combination, to say the least.
"Hi! I chewed my gum so it looks like a brain! BLAH!" Mabel, out of the blue, showed everyone the chewed gum on her tongue.
"She's not exactly great at first impressions. Unlike this guy! This guy!...um..."
I sighed as Dipper stumbled over his self-introduction. It was becoming clear that they didn't quite fit in with the high schoolers.
"...Hey, nerd, are you the one babysitting them? 'Cause if you are, take them aw..."
"Hey, Robbie. If you've got an issue, talk to Wendy about it."
"...you...!"
I ignored Robbie's anger and hopped into the van, taking a look at the drawing on the water tower.
... Why would anyone draw a muffin on a water tower? And that skill... it's so terrible.
I think I must have drifted off to sleep without realizing it. The past few days had been exhausting, filled with research and hunting down information about horror stories and the supernatural.
But... where are we?
"...Wendy?"
"There it is, fellas! The Dusk 2 Dawn!"
"Ha!"
"Cool!"
I looked through the window. The sun had already set, and there was... a convenience store. An abandoned one, to be exact.
"...You've got to be kidding me..."
"Why'd they shut it down, was it like a health code violation or-"
"TRY MURDER!" Nate screamed in response to Dipper's question.
"Some folks died in there, the place's been haunted ever since!" Lee finished the explanation. Ghosts, huh? I was prepared for ghosts. They were documented in the journal. Once their unfulfilled wishes are granted, they no longer pose a threat. The challenge is in figuring out those wishes.
We walked up to the abandoned convenience store. The summer night air was dry and cool. The atmosphere, however, was far from relaxing. I could hear the chirping of insects all around us, and the wind made eerie sounds through the trees.
A fence surrounded the convenience store. The teenagers began climbing over it with ease... Am I and Dipper the only ones here actually concerned about this situation?
"Wendy, is this even legal?"
"Come on, Ray! Don't ruin the fun!"
I stared at Wendy in disbelief. But what could I do? I held Dipper on my back and climbed over the fence. The door was stuck, so the teenagers struggled to get it open. However, Dipper managed to find a way in through a vent and opened the door from the inside. Clever thinking. If only he didn't do that, I could have been at home, reading a book and getting some much-needed rest.
The store was dim and old, with no lights on. Mabel attempted to lick some dust, but I quickly stopped her and looked for the light switch. Thankfully, there was one, and it worked perfectly.
As the light flooded the place, the teenagers reacted with a chorus of exclamations like 'whoa,' 'cool,' and 'awesome.' Well, at least it felt safer with the lights on.
"So, what do we do now?" I asked, hoping to go home.
"Anything we want." And right after Wendy's answer, the teenagers started running all around, laughing and making a mess of the place.
"...Ha."
I sighed as the kids ran rampant through the store. I grabbed the paper copy of Stanford's journal and looked for a quieter spot.
... Now I should find out what the ghosts of this place would want... as quickly as possible.
I think I get a point about 'ghosts' in this world. Like, at least the ones that might appear in this episode.
They are...logical, I guess? They are not just heartless monsters with an unquenchable thirst for death. According to the journal, it seems like they can be persuaded not to harm me. Hm... I think I get the point. I think I understand what to do if it really happens...
"...Hey."
Wendy suddenly appeared behind me and handed me an ice pop. She was already enjoying her own. She then climbed onto a shelf where I'd been hiding from all the food flying around.
"Thanks."
I unwrapped the popsicle and tasted it. It was... decent, considering it came from an abandoned convenience store.
"Not having fun?" Wendy asked quietly, as the other kids goofed around in front of us. Ah, I get it. She's feeling guilty. She's worried that I'm not having fun here and am just more stressed than usual.
Well, she's right. This kind of place is just not suited for me. But...
"...I'm having my own kind of fun here, Wendy. Don't worry."
"Well, that's a relief."
"Don't worry about me, and just go have fun, Wendy. Okay?"
"Okay. Just tell me if you're too tired, dude. You look more exhausted than ever."
"Thanks for worrying."
Wendy left the shelf. Now... it's time to proceed. So, there are different ways to deal with ghosts, but there's also a way to summon them. What I'm going to do now might be dangerous and even painful, but... I have to try.
I found Mabel, who was sleeping on the floor because she had exhausted herself eating a banned candy in the USA. I needed an unconscious body and a definite sign of death to summon the ghost.
And I found one. Behind the counter, there were tape markings of... deceased bodies. Probably the store owner, I guess.
I placed Mabel's body in the middle of the taped area and began reciting the incantation from the journal. I still doubted if this would work, but I had to try.
"... ..."
How was I even reading this? It felt surreal, but...
-flicker!
"Whoa!"
"Dude, what was that!"
As I focused my mind on continuing the ritual, the light flickered in the store. Luckily, no one paid any attention to me... I had to go on...
"...Show yourself...!"
At that moment, Mabel, lying in the middle of the taped area, opened her eyes. They glimmered with a strange light.
"...You...teenager...dare to summon me..?"
Her voice, though, was far from her normal tone. It sounded rusty and unsettling, a mix of an old man and an old woman's voices.
"Answer me! Why did you summon..."
"Pablo and Margaret Duskerton. AKA, Pa and Ma Duskerton. My name is Ray Chiu. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"...Yoou...know...my name..? How..!"
"Please, set aside your anger. I have an offer to make. I know you're angry at us teenagers, and I completely understand your feelings. Your cause of death was the stress inflicted by these people, I know that too."
Mabel's rusty voice and eyes glared at me, burning. I kept low during the conversation.
"...What do you offer?"
"You have a living family member, right? The cat. The Duskerton family cat."
"...Kitty?"
"Yes, Kitty. She's in a foster home in Gravity Falls, being taken care of. I'll make sure the cat never goes hungry."
I had gathered this information during my hour of research. There wasn't much on the internet, but I found clues in this place, like a picture of the kitten on the counter, an ID card in a cabinet with their names, and Pablo Duskerton's diary. As for the cat's current status, I had no way to be sure, but the ghosts seemed unaware of this.
"Do you need all of them alive?"
I contemplated this question for a moment. Did I need Robbie Valentino to stay alive? The thought was unsettling. Of course, he needed to stay alive. If Robbie became a ghost and haunted me, my life would be even more complicated than usual.
"Yes, all of them alive."
"Fine. We won't harm you teenagers... just this once. But if you return..."
"I'll warn the others never to come here again."
"Very well. But if you break the promise, we swear that we will find you and haunt you for the rest of your life!"
In an instant, the light in Mabel's eyes faded, and she passed out once more. I had succeeded. I wiped my sweaty brow.
The real problem, however, was not this ghost. I still had an opponent's minion left to face.
-flicker..!
And...that won't be easy like this time.