Chapter 9: The Dilemma
"God, how how long can a road go?"
For hours now, Stan, who was carrying Mabel, and I had been traveling on the same cobblestone pathway. It was starting to wear on my already-worn out shoes.
As we continued the walk, I couldn't help but think back to that sight of Stan, his eyes set in grim determination. Every time I envisioned it, I felt my dwindling hope rekindle once again. I was, at the very least, glad to find someone to was able to take over in terms of leadership. Knowing Mabel, I had to make sure I put as little stress and pressure on Stan as possible. If he left the party…
"Dipper, get behind a tree, now!"
I was put off by the sudden hushed warning.
"What? What do you- Oomph!"
I was suddenly picked up by the collar and dragged behind a tree next to the cobblestone pathway by Stan. I was a bit angered by the sudden forceful movement, and was about to protest-
RrrrrrrrrRRRrrrrrrRRRrrrr.
I froze, my voice caught in my throat. I felt dread crawl up my spine as I heard the deep, menacing growl…
Of a monster.
I looked up slightly to see Stan peeking around from the tree, watching something with his eyes.
That's when I could hear their footsteps. I had no idea what it was, and I didn't dare look around the tree to find out what.
…
…
…
Moments passed. Eventually, the growling and footsteps of the monster had receded as it continued down the road. I released a shaky, pent-up breath, and Stan let go of his tense posture, slumping against the tree, Mabel still in his arms. He turned to me and spoke.
"Listen, Dipper, when I tell you to do something, it's because whatever is happening could potentially get us killed. Next time, you need to be ready. Got it?"
I nodded fervently. I held no anger for him. He was a no-nonsense guy, and that was exactly the person that would do well in this type of environment.
"Got it."
His face softened a bit as I gave him a straight answer, and he nodded back.
"Good. Then let's keep-"
Boooooooom.
The landscape shook slightly as a faint explosion went off in the distance. I looked around the tree, towards the other direction, and saw smoke lined with orange streaks billow into the sky. It was a sizable explosion, though not too big, but that wasn't what I cared about at the moment.
"What the hell was that?!" Stan exclaimed, standing up and directing his gaze towards the same explosion.
I was beginning to become unnerved. There seemed to be no respite in these dreary wastelands.
RrrrrRRRRRRRRRrrrrrRRRRRRrrr….
The growl was back. Fear and adrenaline began to course through my body as I entered fight-or-flight mode.
"He's here again…"
"It's fine, Dipper. Just stay quiet and-"
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAUGGGGGHHHH!
I turned around. Within the confines of the pitch-black forest, I could see red, glowing eyes pointed straight at-
Me.
"HE'S RIGHT FUCKING BEHIND US!"
"RUN!"
I needed no second urge. I scrambled to my feet, rounding the tree and bolting in the opposite direction. I heard Stan sprinting behind me, but I didn't focus on that. The only thing circulating my mind at that moment was the idea of being caught by whatever that thing was.
In the midst of my adrenaline-fueled running, I subconsciously noticed that my reflexes were surprisingly fast, and my awareness shot up. As I was running, I noticed tree roots sticking out of the ground, stray branches, and many other obstacles that would have served to hinder my escape.
It seemed that Stan had the same reflexes, though he sounded considerably more fatigued, most likely due to his old age. From behind me, faintly, I could hear him panting heavily as he struggled to keep the same pace as me.
Meanwhile, the roaring of the beast behind us persisted, and I could hear trees cracking and breaking as the monstrous thing chased after us, trampling anything and everything in its way. By those indications, I assumed that it was large in size, which only served to terrify me even more than I already was.
In the distance, I caught the faint whiff of smoke. We were getting closer to the explosion, which was not a good sign. It was a set rule of the wasteland to keep away from loud noises as much as possible, as they would attract the monsters prowling nearby, yet we were running straight towards a prime source. However, it was too late to change course, for if we did, we would surely be caught and ripped apart by the monster pursuing us.
As I continued sprinting, I noticed something glimmering in the distance. As I came upon it, I hopped over the object, and for a split-second, I saw sharp, metal teeth glistening.
Thank god I dodged that.
I had continued running when I remembered who was following closely behind. Alarm bells went off in my mind.
STAN-
SNAP!
"AAAUUUGGGHHH!"
I swiveled around to see Stan, who had dropped Mabel in pain as the teeth of the bear trap had dug into his ankle. Even from a couple meters away, I could see the leg bleeding profusely. Only a dozen meters behind Stan, I could see the monster moving quickly towards us, roaring in anger.
I began to panic massively as this dilemma came into my hands.
Should I try and help Stan somehow, before the monster got to us?
Should I abandon him, pick up Mabel, and run?
Or should I leave them both and save myself?
All of these scenarios ran through my head within seconds, as the monster got ever so closer.
"Dipper! Do something!"
"Wha-wha…"
What do I do?! What do I DO?! WHAT DO I DO?!
Author Notes:
- If you should receive a notification that says 'chapter (blank) has come out', that sometimes happens when I re-edit chapters. Apologies if it pops up more than once, I try to keep re-edits to a minimum.