"...The Gravity Falls Elementary kept bunnies in school? Why did I never hear about that?"
"It was part of some state program promoting animal-friendly education or something. And then, poof! It all went up in smoke in just one day. The school went berserk, and even the police got involved."
Wendy wiped her neck with a chilled juice box she'd fetched from the freezer. She handed me an orange juice, and I took a sip.
Usually, if I get tied to an eerie story, some anomaly connected to the tale comes knocking. But is it wise to confront this kind of anomaly? I'm not certain what kind of anomaly might come after me with this story. It's unlike anything I've encountered.
"Anyway, what was surprising was that the next day... a bloody kitchen knife was found inside my bag."
"I know. It's probably Mary who killed the rabbits and left the knife in your bag."
The bloody knife, seemingly used to kill the rabbits, held Wendy's gaze with mixed emotions. The school counselor held Wendy's hands and sighed.
"No one doubts you. The kids all think that Mary did it."
"That's... a relief, I guess."
She then massaged her temples, as if suffering from a headache. Wendy seemed drained, possibly due to all the troublemakers at school.
"This is exactly why I told the principal that someone more experienced should have taken my spot..."
"...I'm sorry, ma'am. For... well, causing troubles."
The counselor subtly chuckled at Wendy's words, as if finding them admirable.
"Haha, I'm proud of you, Wendy... But please, come to school more often before you say that."
"Yes, ma'am."
"And for Mary..."
The counselor sighed again and continued speaking.
"She's transferring to a special school nearby next week. Her parents agreed to that."
"..."
If things go smoothly, some people from the school district will likely approach you since you were close to her. So don't be too frightened."
"I'm not a chicken."
She smiled at Wendy's bold response.
"Well, Miss Brave and bold, good for you. Now, go back to your class, okay? Oh, and one more thing... Please keep an eye on Mary until she transfers."
"I will."
After that, Wendy returned to her class. Mary was there, smiling as always. She seemed completely oblivious to her actions. Wendy couldn't decide whether to feel sorry for her or be angry at her.
The bell rang, signaling the end of the class. Wendy swiftly packed up her belongings and joined her group. As usual, Mary attempted to tag along.
"Hey, that girl is following us again."
"Just ignore her, Tambry."
"She's right behind us, you know."
The gang grumbled as Mary trailed them. Wendy brushed off their discontent and inquired about their plans for the day.
"So, where are we headed?"
"To my boyfriend's house. He mentioned having a really cool videotape."
"A movie? I don't like movies."
"It's not a movie; he said it's some kind of super fun video. I don't know exactly what it is."
Wendy scoffed at the term "boyfriend." She knew there were no boyfriends and girlfriends in elementary school. Her group was playacting as adults, for reasons she found a bit silly.
Regardless, the kids, including Mary, followed the girl to her boyfriend's house. Other boys from school were already inside, and they were about to watch a video that turned out to be way too gruesome and cruel for the kids to endure.
"...Hey, Wendy. There."
But before Wendy could watch the video, Tambry pointed at Mary, who stood near the entrance of the house. Wendy sighed.
She pondered if she had spent too much time with Mary, but then she recalled that Mary was transferring anyway.
"...Let's let her join in just for today. She's transferring to a special school next week or something."
"A special school? Why? Did she cause some kind of problem?"
"Heh, Tambers. You've gotta come to school more often. Haven't you heard the news?"
Even though Wendy tried to play it off with a laugh, the other kids were still uneasy about Mary.
"Special school? Isn't that where the odd kids go?"
"Yeah, I'm scared. What if she starts swinging knives at us or something?"
"Right, Right!"
Wendy observed the scene, deeming it rather absurd. All these older kids were afraid of a little girl who hadn't done anything to them.
"Chickens."
Wendy then approached Mary, who stood still near the door. She smiled as Wendy came closer.
"Don't do anything stupid, okay? And no stealing or killing animals."
"Okay!"
Mary responded cheerfully.
"...Why did you put a knife in my bag, though?"
"Heehee, I don't know..."
"...Ugh, this is..."
The videotape that one of Wendy's friends' boyfriends had brought turned out to be one of those bizarre meme compilations circulating at the time, filled with crude and dirty jokes that left Wendy thoroughly disgusted. Despite her discomfort, the rest of the group seemed to revel in it, so she resigned herself to sitting at the end of the couch, contemplating something else.
The tape also included some horror segments where ghosts would unexpectedly jump out, startling the kids. Wendy found amusement in this part, relishing the opportunity to tease her friends for their reactions.
As she observed Mary, it became evident that none of this content appealed to her. Wendy felt a sense of relief, not wanting Mary to develop an interest in scaring other kids.
"Dudes, this is the real deal, though."
The boy suddenly approached the DVD player, swapping it for another tape. With the remote in hand, he warned the group.
"I hid it from my mom because she's definitely gonna take this if she finds out what I have. If you guys are chickens, go to the bathroom or something. 'Cause I heard this is 'grotesque'...or something."
"Ha! Bring it on!"
While the group bantered about the unseen video, Wendy sensed that something was amiss. Most of the group members were simple-minded and thoughtless, willing to dive into anything that seemed fun.
'...Grotesque?'
Wendy recognized the term from brutal horror movies, understanding that if a video carried the label "grotesque," it might not be as straightforward.
-BEEP.
[Lebanese Bungee Jump Incident]
[! !$!$!%! %! #!%...]
The video commenced with a man preparing for a bungee jump, securing a rope to his body and performing some warm-ups before the plunge.
Foreign words flashed across the screen, and soon, the man leaped from a high cliff. In that moment, a laughing clown abruptly rushed to the rope, cutting it with an absurdly large saw. The man, now unsupported, screamed as his face collided with the concrete floor. The cameraman hurried down the cliff to assess his condition.
Unsurprisingly, he was dead. The video gruesomely displayed the shattered skull, with the brain and internal organs spilling out onto the ground. The chilling finale featured a clown cackling maniacally at the edge of the video.
"...Oh, fu.."
A girl sprinted toward the toilet, hand covering her mouth. Some kids were in shock, tears streaming down their faces. Even the boy who initiated the video couldn't shake off the shivers caused by the 'grotesque' scene of the exposed skull.
"...This...This is crossing the line."
The kids, who thought they were mature, were all silenced by the gruesome sight.
"...It's god damn disgusting."
The largest boy in the group whispered in a mix of fear and anger. The entire group turned on the boy who brought the video.
"You can't do this to us, dude..."
"I think I'm going to throw up."
The boy himself was taken aback.
"I...saved this video to watch with you guys. I didn't know it was...this bloody...I'm sorry."
"I think I need to check on her if she's alright..."
The kids rushed to the toilet to check on the girl who almost threw up, leaving Wendy and Mary alone on the couch. It was then that Wendy realized her mistake.
Mary darted toward the remote that the boy left behind, replaying the scene where the skull got crushed.
"What...What the heck are you doing? Ugh...!"
She stopped at the part where the man's face split in two, examining it closely. Wendy couldn't bring herself to get any closer.
She was afraid.
Mary, on the other hand, explored the video with her unimpressive control skills, repeatedly playing the segment where the clown sawed off the rope.
-slashslash
-slashslash
The clown seemed inhuman, not just in action but in behavior and appearance, downright devilish. Mary watched the scene again and again, as if possessed.
As the kids returned after dealing with things, Mary quickly turned off the TV, pretending as if nothing had happened. The group disbanded due to the uncomfortable atmosphere, and Wendy and Mary headed home together.
They didn't exchange a single word, arriving at the point where they went separate ways. Mary stopped, smiled at Wendy, and ran ahead of her.
"Wendy, look at this."
As the setting sun cast its orange glow upon Mary, she began to imitate the clown's actions.
"Slash Slash. Slash Slash. HeeHee. Slash Slash."
As if on a stage, Mary repeated the action over and over. Her arms moved in unison, as if sawing an invisible rope.
"...Why are you doing this?"
"SlashSlash, SlashSlash, Slash Slash. HeeHee."
The elongated shadow followed Mary's movements. Wendy ceased trying to question her and started to go her own way. But every time she attempted to pass Mary, she chased Wendy, displaying the same action repeatedly.
"Wendy, Slash slash. Slash Slash."
"Stop it."
Wendy pushed her away, but Mary just smiled, standing up.
"Ha...Ha..! Slash...Slash! Slash Slash...!"
After all the chasing and chanting, Mary panted, gasping for air, yet she didn't stop. It was pure madness for Wendy.
"Slash Slash, just like this. Slash Slash."
"..."
And Mary, who repeated that over and over until the sun finally set, halted and stared at Wendy.
"...Wendy."
"..."
"Am I weird?"
"Yes."
Wendy answered and started walking.
"I heard you were transferring next week. Don't cause problems there, Mary. Take care."
Mary looked at Wendy with her large eyes as Wendy walked home. She nodded.
"Okay."
"Yeah. Well, ciao."
As Wendy attempted to leave, Mary hurried toward her one last time.
"You should also stop skipping school, Wendy. Take care."
"...Ha."
It was entertaining that Mary expressed concern. Wendy scoffed and walked toward her house.
The next day, three maintenance workers at the mall were found dead, mysteriously falling while repairing the outer walls of the 6th floor. The reason for the fall was that someone had inexplicably cut all the ropes they were depending on.
"And...that's basically it. After the weekend, Mary was packing her stuff in school, and the school district people did inquire about Mary."
"..."
"After returning to class, Mary's seat was empty. And I never really saw her again."
"...Hmm..."
I pondered for a few seconds. The entire situation was extremely uncanny, yet...something felt off. I could sense it. But what is it?
"...So you think Mary killed those three men?"
"Well. That's the most plausible explanation, I guess."
"How about the police investigation?"
"No evidence, and it was deemed an accident."
"And you didn't call the police because you also don't have any evidence."
Wendy shrugged.
"Yeah. You got straight to what I was about to say. At least I did my best explaining the problems of Mary to the school district. She's probably content at the special school. Ah, and yeah...there was something peculiar about this. Just like the 75-cent coin."
"...75-cent coin has something to do with this?"
"Well, yes...It's just that nobody remembers Mary. I asked the former group members, Tambry, and even the teachers, but they claim they don't know her."
Wendy replied with a stern face.
"I even asked them about the lizard incident, and they said that it never happened. And for the rabbits, they remember that it happened, but they say that the rabbits were just killed by a stray cat."
"Hm..."
For sure, I never heard anything about a lizard outbreak when I transferred to Gravity Falls from Korea. I mean, an incident that big usually gets left as something like a legend or a tale in school, and I should've heard about it...but no. I wasn't even aware my school had a rabbit batch in the past...
It's weird. Of course, it may be possible for kids to remember something wrong. But...the whole group? Even the teachers? Forget a student that peculiar?
...Definitely...I don't think this is the kind of anomaly that Bill uses. What...? Bill has no reason to go for a kid like Wendy...Then why? What was that 'Mary'?
"So, why did you ask me about this story though?"
"Usually, if I encounter an uncanny story, I get to meet an anomaly. So I just asked you if you had any information about some anomalies in town...We have to hunt one, you know. And I think that 'Mary' is also an anomaly."
Wendy nodded as she understood the reason.
Now, back to the story...Hm. I researched some horror stories, and I do remember some tales about a friend that was actually a ghost...or something. But there's no clue here to find about the truth.
"...Ah."
Come to think of it, there was a person who was particularly mentioned often...and was related to Mary. The...counselor.
"The counselor? She left before you came to Gravity Falls Elementary."
"Asking her would be the fastest way to answer this whole mystery. Do you have her number?"
"No."
I sighed. Well, then...I should think of another way...
"But I know where she is. She's at the nearby elementary school; I heard one of the former group members met her."
"Oh, great."
Hm, maybe I didn't need another way after all.