WARNING:

This story contains prolific use of swearing, blood and gore, sexual and graphic content. If you are not comfortable with this, then consider this warning before you continue reading.

Then again, you're not really supposed to be comfortable reading a horror story.

Viewer Discretion is advised.

Chapter 3: Stalker

I woke up suddenly, not realizing I had drifted off to sleep. Luckily, this time I had not had any horrifying nightmares like before.

I yawned, stretching as I got up from the bed, scratching my head as I looked over at Mabel, who was finally passed out on the bed.

Thank god, I thought to myself.

Once again, I noticed her uncouth appearance, and noted down in my mind to later clean her up. I couldn't just leave her like that, after all.

Wait, why do I care? I thought suddenly. I'm trying to escape her at whatever opportunity I have.

Still, though, I planned to clean her up. I scooted over in the bed and shook her lightly.

"Hey, Mabel, wake up."

Groggily, she opened her eyes.

"Mmm...what…?"

As she came out of her sleep groggily, she began to panic.

"Oh, no. No, no, no, NO!"

She shot up, grabbing her hair tightly as she shivered. I was terrified to think about what frightened her.

"Wha-what's wrong?" I dared to ask.

"I can't believe I fell asleep when I was supposed to keep watch!"

I should have known.

I sighed. "Look, Mabel, we need to talk."

Hearing my request, she immediately ceased her breakdown and turned her attention towards me. Her face went blank.

"Yes, Dippie?"

Her sporadic behavior would throw off most people, but after a week with her, I was beginning to get used to it. It didn't make it any less disturbing, though.

"It's, uh, it's about time we discuss our...game plan."

"Game plan?"

"Y-Yeah! Game plan…"

I took a deep breath. In all truth, I was terrified of having to converse with this person, if she could even be called that. Every sentence, every word, every body signal, I was afraid could set her off. Though some would say I should be reassured by her fanatical obsession with me, it did the exact opposite instead. What if I betrayed her in some way? What if there were other encounters like with Stan, and even though they would turn out to be friendly, she perceived them as a threat? What if she just altogether decided I wasn't interesting anymore and killed me? What if she mistook his conversation with another girl as flirtation and decided to kill her?

I almost chuckled in irony at that last question swirling in my head. I was too focused on just trying to survive, let alone try and find love in this vast, terrifying wasteland.

"So, first of, uh, of all, we need to, um, gather the proper, er, equipment..."

I was getting pissed at how often I was hesitating. My nerves had been on edge for so long, they didn't know how to ease into safety. As I was trying to get out my sentences, however, Mabel was watching me with serious intent. Her hazel eyes had been purely focused on me, looking deep into my pupils. It was off-setting, but Dipper had to push forward. I shook my head, calming my psyche.

"Look, we need provisions, essentially. If we're gonna trek the long journey, then we need plenty of food and water, as well as some more weapons and some equipment that might be needed for...other things."

I was a little relieved, though surprised, to see Hazel nodding to what I was saying, maintaining that same eye contact while she did so.

"I understand, Dippie."

Honestly, I had ex-

"I know what you're thinking, Dippie."

I was put off by the sudden comment.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"You thought I would just say something like, 'No, Dippie! You only need me to protect you!'. I understand the situation fully. I am aware that we're low on provisions, and I am ready to...acquisition more."

After that sudden reveal of forethought, Mabel smiled calmly at me, tilting her head slightly as she did so.

I was terrified of this new revelation.

This meant that she had went through with all of her actions, thus far, with a completely calm mindset.

All of her actions.

As I thought about what she had said earlier downstairs, I felt nauseous once more.

Please let all of this be a long nightmare…

"Th-then, why did you act so...weird at the campfire, and-and in the house?"

Mabel blushed, looking down as she did so.

"Well, sometimes, just talking to you alone can be so...euphoric."

She shuddered as the words left her lips. I inwardly screamed in disgust, yet maintained my composure.

"S-So, anyways, now that you get that, w-we, uh, should, uh, go, you know, talk to Stan about that. You know, the provisions and all."

Mabel looked up at me once more, her face blank. I knew that expression. Whenever she was displeased with something, she would always make that same poker face, as if it was forbidden to reveal to me any form of anger from her side. She had no problem showing her wrath to anyone that wasn't me, though.

"I don't think we should, Dippie. He could still be out to kill us."

"N-no, I mean he let us in his house, served us food, and even introduced himself to us."

"That's the problem, Dippie. He could easily have been trying to lure us, just to kill us when we least expect it."

"What? He could have killed us on the stairs if he wanted to, so why didn't he do it there?"

"He couldn't have been sure if there were more waiting outside, or if I would have been able to reach him in time to kill him before he got any further. In any case, there were too many factors playing into that scenario that he couldn't just outright kill us."

"Look, we're gonna be asking him, okay? We're not just gonna give up the potential for some stuff that could save my- our lives in the near future."

…

I noticed Mabel's silence. She bowed her head slightly, looking up at me like a puppy that had done wrong. Though it was still disturbing, it gave me insight that I could at least somewhat control her.

Somewhat.

I got up from the bed, stretching a bit as my joints ached from days of constant movement. Looking around, I could see a couple things in the room that would definitely come in handy, besides the binoculars I had found on the wall behind the bed I slept in. Of course, I couldn't just take them. I didn't want to risk pissing off that old guy.

I was just gonna go down and ask him for some stuff, anyways.

As I began to make my way downstairs, I noticed Mabel staring at the ground once more, lost in her own mad world.

"Hey, Mabel."

She snapped out of it real quick, looking up at me and breaking a smile. It seemed forced. She was definitely tired still.

"Coming, Dippie."

She got up, trotting over rather than skipping, as was her usual traveling style.

I sighed once more, then made my way downstairs.

"Stan? Stan, hello?"

As I came to the bottom of the stairs, I heard no response to my calls for him. I turned my head, scanning the shop front for any sign of him.

There was none.

I made my way into the other rooms, checking each one for some sign of him, but failed to find him. It was like he had just suddenly...disappeared.

As I made my way back to the shop front, I felt an eerie feeling picking at my mind. I did not like this, at all.

Mabel seemed to have the same mindset. She was looking around, watching every door and entrance hall for potential attackers.

"I told you, Dippie, I told you." She whispered into my ear. "He's planning on killing us."

"Don't rush to conclusions yet, Mabel." I responded. "He could be out getting wood or supplies or something."

"We need to be careful of how trustworthy we are to strangers, Dippie. In fact, don't trust any of them. No one but me."

I about expected an answer like that.

A couple more moments passed by, but there was still no sign of Stan. I lowered my guard, rubbing my chin as I considered what might have happened. Meanwhile, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mabel make her way into various rooms, and the sound of clattering shortly thereafter.

"Mabel! What are you doing?" I half-shouted in her direction. She didn't respond, but the clattering continued.

Finally, she came out, and with her was a large sack she carried at her side. She walked up to me, smiling as she raised the bag.

"Food. Now we can eat for a longer time without having to find and kill animals."

I was angered by her action.

"Mabel, we can't steal this! That's not ours!"

"It is now."

She lowered the bag and dropped it in the middle of the shop front, then began scurrying around to other rooms and looting them. I had planned to say something, but I decided against it. It would be better to wait until he came back to actually start talking about provisions. Of course, I would have to explain why we had most of his essentials in brown sacks on the floor.

That was when I noticed the window just in my peripheral vision. My eyes darted to the location.

A large, menacing silhouette was standing in front of the window, its bright eyes staring straight at me.

I froze. I was paralyzed with fear. My heart began pounding rapidly, and I began to sweat. Mabel trotted in with two more sacks of goods slung over her shoulders as this happened.

"Dippie, I got something you might-"

She was at first confused to see me standing completely still, then she followed my gaze. Upon seeing the silhouette, she dropped the sacks and slid out her knife, raising it at the shadow and growling ferociously. Hearing her growl emboldened me a tiny bit, and I finally found the ability to move. I took off my binoculars and held them as a makeshift weapon.

The shadow did not budge. It stood there, gazing at us continually. The longer I looked at its terrifying figure, its glowing white eyes, the more I felt the urge to run like hell.

"Mabel", I whispered out of the side of my mouth. "We need to get out through the back exit. I saw it as I was perusing this place. It's at the back. Let's go."

To my relief, Mabel nodded. After that talk from earlier, it was good to know that, at the very least, Mabel was a thinker.

"On three, we haul ass for that back exit, okay?"

"Got it."

I kept eye contact on the shadow for a couple more seconds.

"One…"

The shadow began to move slightly, in the direction of the door.

"Two…"

As the shadow disappeared out of frame, I saw the door knob begin to turn. My heart was pounding feverishly as I realized that the door wasn't locked.

"THREE!"

At that count, Mabel and I turned around, bolting for the hallway behind us. Adrenaline was coursing through my veins as I imagined that shadow chasing after me.

Through the hall.

Take a right.

Keep going.

Take a left.

Finally, we were closing on the back door. I saw Mabel slam into it, propelling the door open. I made the horribly poor choice of looking behind m-

It was right there, looming over me as its horrifying glowing-white eyes stared directly into my soul.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

I let out an ear-piercing shriek as I rocketed out the door, continuing to sprint alongside Mabel. We ran for a couple more moments before I decided to take another look behind me. The shadow was gone.

As my adrenaline began to recede from my veins, I felt a massive amount of fatigue hit me like a linebacker. My limbs gave up, and I fell to the ground face-first, darkness quickly shrouding my vision as I fell unconscious.

Author Notes

New chapters often come out every other day or every two days.