"We need to go further," I said, my voice tight. "There's no turning back now. Tambry, make more fake news. Just anything. Say she went to North Korea, got killed, did some stupid things, whatever. Just do it."
Tambry reluctantly nodded, her fingers flying across the keyboard. Not just her—her whole online crew jumped in, spreading all sorts of ridiculous rumors that Mary never actually did.
She started with social media, then moved to the dark corners of internet forums and gossip sites. The lowly guarded internet of 2012 became a breeding ground for the chaos we needed.
[yo, u guys heard about that creepy kid Mary something? Rumor has it that she put a thumbtack in her friend's shoe. psycho much?]
[wait, I kno her. But chill, she's locked up in a reformatory or smthng. not coming back.]
[heard she got cancer lmao karma's a b*tch.]
As the rumors spread like wildfire, Tambry's face grew tense.
"What's wrong?" I asked, urgency creeping into my voice. We couldn't afford any slip-ups now.
"It's Mary," Tambry muttered, frustration clear in her tone. "She's fighting back, messing with the stories. And... she's fast. Like, using some program or something... I don't know."
"She's a ghost, duh! Of course, she's fast!" Valentino piped up, his whiny tone earning a glare from Wendy that shut him up.
"Push harder," I urged Tambry.
"Okay," she replied, diving back into her frantic typing, her fingers practically blurring as she tried to outpace the supernatural interference.
Suddenly, Stan burst into the shack, his face a wild mix of fear and confusion. "You... you kids hear about that Mary girl? You know, the one who worked here, got sent to the reformatory for stealing from customers, then came back and, uh, fought people with knives, and then she—what was it?—got surgery, yeah, and then on her way home had a car accident, crushed all her bones, then somehow got some weird silicosis thing, but then got better outta nowhere and tried to come back, but then her family went broke and tried to flee the country, but they got stopped 'cause their Mexican border broker got killed, and now they're coming back here anyway? And I heard she wasn't coming, but now she really is, or something like that!"
Stan was clearly being affected by the reality shifting caused by Mary, who was constantly trying to justify and adapt to the fake news. Now all we had to do was to push further, so far that Mary won't be able to justify its existence anymore.
"It's working. Go on."
It was almost frightening how Tambry and her friends was constantly, quickly spreading fake news out on the internet. But the speed and endurance of Mary was...powerful as well. I never seen another anomaly so durable like this. Even I, the Doppelganger me...lost it's patience and attitude after I showed him he was the clone. But this one clearly was even more resistant from it's background stories.
She...was still pretending to be the real Mary. The Mary, who was the classmate of Wendy.
'...I'm not sure if I can call this 'pretending' anymore.'
Anyways, we had to see how long this anomaly Mary can withstand the lies it created for itself. Those lies that she created to be a friend of all of us.
The fake news Tambry and her friends spreaded through the internet were soon remade into new articles of some cheap news sites, which spread the news out even more.
[Killed a friend because of jealousy? The truth about Mary Robinson]
[Betrayed by a friend, the agony of the victims of a teenage murderer]
"…I'm focusing on making her a murderer who got released," Tambry said, her fingers flying across the keyboard. She was sweating now, every keystroke a battle.
But with every post she made, Mary fought back just as fiercely, correcting and denying, as if she was racing against the lies.
MR666: Hey, that's actually Mary Robinson from Ohio, not Oregon.
MR666: I heard Mary's parents are suing people spreading fake news.
Just as Mary's latest comment appeared, a sharp knock echoed through the shack. I opened the door, and the two town sheriffs barged in, their faces set in stone.
We all froze, and Tambry quickly shut off the computer.
"Tambry Anderson?" one of the sheriffs asked, holding a small envelope.
"Yeah, that's me," Tambry replied, her voice shaky.
"We have something for you," he said, handing her the envelope.
Tambry tore it open, revealing a crisp, official-looking letter. As her eyes scanned the contents, her face drained of color. "…It's the FBI."
United States Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Special Agent in Charge, Pacific Northwest Field Office
1234 Justice Avenue, Portland, OR 97204
Date: June 21, 2012
Reference Number: 2012-PNW-0012
To:
Tambry Anderson
[Address]
Gravity Falls, OR 97455
Subject: Official Summons for Interview and Investigation
Dear Ms. Anderson,
Pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001, and under the authority vested in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), you are hereby summoned to appear for an interview and investigation concerning matters of national security and cyber-related activities.
Date and Time:
Friday, June 25, 2012, at 10:00 AM
Location:
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Pacific Northwest Field Office
1234 Justice Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
Instructions:
Bring Identification: Please bring a government-issued photo identification for verification purposes.
Documentary Evidence: If you possess any documents, electronic records, or other material related to the subject matter, you are required to bring them to the interview.
Legal Representation: You have the right to be accompanied by legal counsel during this interview.
Confidentiality: This matter is highly confidential. You are advised not to discuss this summons or the investigation with unauthorized individuals.
BEBRAVEENOUGHTOTAKEYOUROWNLIFE
Failure to comply with this summons may result in enforcement action, including potential charges of obstruction of justice.
If you have any questions regarding this summons, or if you are unable to attend at the specified time, please contact Special Agent Jennifer Haines at (503) 555-**** immediately.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Michael D. Johnson
Special Agent in Charge
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Pacific Northwest Field Office
Tambry's hands trembled as she clutched the letter. "Wh…What do I do? I…I can't go to prison! I need my phone!" she wailed, her voice cracking with panic.
The situation had taken a dangerous turn, and the tension in the room was palpable. The sheriffs left without another word, as if they were under some kind of spell.
It was clear that reality was spiraling further out of control. Even Wendy and the others looked shaken. But this was no time to back down.
I grabbed Tambry's shoulders, forcing her to meet my eyes. "Tambry, listen to me. I know this is terrifying. I know it's getting out of hand. But right now, nothing is more important than saving our lives."
She stared at me, her fear evident, but she didn't pull away.
"I told you I have some special talents, right? I'll use them. I swear you won't have to go to the FBI. So give me the letter."
Hesitantly, she handed it over. Without hesitation, I ripped it into pieces and tossed them away. Wendy's worried gaze followed me, but I ignored it.
I stood up, facing everyone in the shack. "Listen up. Any consequences of this are on me. I'll take full responsibility. So don't worry, and let's figure out how to get through this. Okay?"
I waited until each of them nodded. But inside, I was just as scared. Damn it. I don't want to do this.
The doppelgänger case… That was different. He was still me, and we both understood what needed to be done. But Mary… She was just a kid, a victim of the society that sacrificed her to the Open Eye. She hadn't done anything wrong, and now Bill was using her, trapping her in a web of lies and deceit.
And here I was, destroying her identity, turning her into a psychotic monster that everyone feared. I had to remind myself: I'm not the villain here. The villains are the ones who sacrificed Mary, the monster manipulating her. I'm the hero. I'm trying to save us all.
As we continued our operation, Stan became more and more unhinged, his fear growing with each passing hour.
"That psycho Mary girl is coming here… What do we do, Ray? We need… We need to pack up and get out of here! It's too dangerous!"
"Mr. Pines, why don't you go and work on that mirror maze of yours? I'll handle Mary when she gets here."
"But she's a psychotic murderer who poisoned the entire Gravity Falls water supply, killed the old convenience store owners, and planted a bomb at the town hall!"
Stan wasn't the only one in a panic. The townspeople who visited the Mystery Shack were just as terrified.
"We don't want that murderer in our town!"
"Yeah! Make her go away!"
Mary had gone from a sweet kid who worked at the Shack to a cold-blooded killer, feared by everyone.
And still, we kept going.
[Do you remember that Mary Robinson kid who killed Mr. Stevenson's cat?]
[Mary Robinson stole food from a homeless shelter…]
[They say she has a fridge full of corpses.]
And then, finally, the moment we'd been waiting for.
Stan came bursting into the shack, his face lit up with wild relief. "Yeah! Hell yeah! She's not coming! I heard from the townsfolk, and that killer herself, she said she won't come!"
The atmosphere in the Shack shifted as the guests started laughing and talking, the tension finally easing.
But we… We just stopped typing, waiting for the moment Mary was supposed to arrive. And as the hours ticked by, that time came.
Mary didn't show up.
"…Did we win? Is it finally over?" Valentino asked, a mix of relief and excitement in his voice. But the rest of us weren't nearly as thrilled.
"Yeah, Valentino. It seems like… it's over. But let's just keep quiet for now," I said, trying to temper his enthusiasm.
Valentino, for once, didn't push back with some annoying remark. He could sense the gravity of what we'd done, just like the rest of us. We all felt the weight of it.
"…You said I wouldn't have to go to prison, right?" Tambry asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Yes, I did. And guys… we had to do this," I said, breaking the heavy silence. I looked around at everyone, trying to find the right words. "Wendy, I'm sorry we had to do this to Mary… But we had to survive. It was either her social death or ours."
"I… I understand," Wendy replied, though her voice wavered. "But was this really the only way? The only possible way?"
"…Maybe not, but—"
Suddenly, a strange melody interrupted my thoughts. All of our phones rang at the same time, the haunting tune filling the shack.
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
And there it was: the name we never wanted to see again.
[Mary]
"I'll take it," Wendy said, her voice steadying as she reached for her phone.
The shack was eerily quiet. The twins had gone off into the forest after another spat over their height, and Stan was busy concocting some new tourist trap. It was just the four of us, the sunlight casting long shadows through the windows, and the relentless ringing of Wendy's phone.
Finally, Wendy answered. "Hello?"
[Thanks, guys.]
The voice on the other end was clear, yet devoid of emotion—eerily calm. It sent chills down my spine.
"…Mary, is that you?" Wendy asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
[It was always hard for me because I thought differently than everyone else.]
the voice continued, cold and detached.
We were all silent, the weight of the moment pressing down on us.
[I never knew who I was. No one ever told me.]
The voice was steady, unnervingly calm.
[That was always my weakness. It made things difficult. I always had this urge to do whatever I wanted… but I couldn't control it.]
"Mary, I—"
[Everyone treated me like I shouldn't exist. My family, my teachers, my friends… everyone.]
The room felt even colder as if the very air had stilled.
[But you guys… you showed me who I really am.]
A bead of sweat trickled down my forehead. I could feel the tension radiating from everyone around me.
[Now, I'm going to head to Portland. And I'm going to keep stabbing, over and over, until there's nothing left but blood. Until there's a mountain of unrecognizable corpses and rivers of blood.]
None of us could breathe.
[Thank you, guys. This is the identity you've given me.]
The line went dead, leaving us staring out the window, speechless and horrified.
"What have you done?" Valentino muttered with no hope in his eyes, while looking at me.
This time, I had nothing to say.