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It was the last day of summer and Mabel couldn’t find Dipper anywhere. Everything was packed and by the front door but Dipper wasn’t anywhere to be found. Not with Grunkle Stan, not with Grunkle Ford, not hiding in closets, in the lab, under the bed or on the roof. She was growing worried and so was everyone else when he hadn’t been heard from in an hour. Eventually, Mabel called his cellphone.
He didn’t answer.
It went to voice mail.
Dipper doesn’t let his phone go to voicemail. And even when he did, he’d call five minutes after. He didn’t.
Grunkle Ford suggested they look in the woods, stating that all three of the journals were missing anyway. “He must’ve went off for one last adventure,” he said with a nervous laugh. “I know I would’ve!”
Mabel took that easily enough. They all went off to the woods, splitting apart to cover enough ground but not too far to hear each other shouting. They went farther and farther and farther into the woods, the terrain growing darker and darker with every step.
For Mabel, it grew cold and dangerous. She stumbled onto a clearing. A familiar clearing, where they had defeated Bill, where Grunkle Stan lost his memories. It was covered in different runes, circles all around with strange but vaguely familiar symbols.
In the middle of it all, Dipper stood there.
His back turned, wearing his big jacket, backpack on his back with one of the Journals hanging half out of it. His hands and sleeves were white with chalk and there was the muffled noise of him speaking. There was faint buzzing in the air, like electricity or the buzzing of a static TV in the distance.
“Dipper!” She called out.
He turned around and smiled at her, big and happy just like always. But her relief-filled smile drained as did the blood in her face. Because floating in front of him was a floating triangle with one big eye trained on her, holding her brother’s hat.
“DIPPER!” She screeched, feeling the whiplash of cold terror rip through her. He smiled gently and waved to her. In the distance, she could hear the Stans yelling for her.
Bill’s eye squinted happily, as if he were smiling. Dipper looked at him and he nodded firmly. He fixed the bag on his shoulders, zipping it up all the way and taking the journals with him. He waved at Mabel, giving her the happiest smile she had ever seen on his face.
“See you later!” He chirped as if nothing was wrong.
He turned to Bill and took his smaller hand in his. A bright flash of light and they were both gone as the Stan’s crashed the brushes of the forest, shouting angrily and bracing their weapons.
Reality crashed into Mabel and she fell to her knees, shaking violently as tears began rolling down her cheeks. The Stan’s yelled and ran about for Dipper but she knew he was gone.
She closed her eyes…
And hoped summer wasn’t over just yet.
They had too much to do now.