Darkness Falls

Darkness Falls 2 (Chapter 3)

Robbie goes to the mystery shack to talk to Wendy about the guys that had been asking questions. Wendy had just finished explaining about what had happened when Dipper proudly came back having been dropped off at the door by his new friends.

"Oh your back?" Wendy says curiously. "Where did those guys take you?"

"Oh we talked for a while and they took me to get ice cream and then we went to the minigolf course and talked some more." Dipper replies. "Turns out they are super awesome and they are like me! We have so much in common! The guys are going to pick me up again tomorrow to go hiking." he smiles.

"Dude, those guys are at least 30!?" Wendy protests. "You can't be hanging out with..."

"A couple adults?" Dipper frowns. "Why does it matter who I hang out with? You aren't my mom."

"You're 14!?!" Wendy protests.

Robbie looks outside. "Was that them in that old chevy?"

Dipper nods. "Cool right!"

"Dude, that's sweet as heck! Man, I'm jealous, that car looks like a beast." Robbie says with a chuckle.

"That's what I said!" Dipper says. "Those guys are really amazing too?! We like creatures and they think I'm cool!"

"Hey!? You're missing the point!" Wendy crosses her arms. "The way they were talking about the Billkin made me nervous. I don't think you should trust them."

"Oh! Yeah about that." he thinks for a moment. "For reasons I'm not sure I can tell you, I'm sure that you have nothing to worry about. They won't hurt anything, they are just researchers."

Robbie raises an eyebrow. "Really, you met creature researchers?"

Dipper nods. "But I've said too much. I'm sorry I need to go to bed." He rushes to his room up stairs.

Wendy raises an eyebrow. "He seems offly jumpy about it."

Robbie nods. "Maybe he's just over excited." He shrugs.

"I thought he had more sense than to run off with strangers though." Wendy sighs. "You can't trust people you've just met just because they have a cool car."

Robbie shrugs. "Well he said researchers. It makes me wonder what sorts of creatures they've encountered in other places. Maybe I could have a talk with them. It'll ease both of us to an understanding about these guys."

"But we haven't got any idea where they went." Wendy says. "I mean maybe the hotel on main street."

"Probably the Hotel." Robbie says. "I'll check it out."

"I appreciate you doing this for me Robbie. You know how I worry. Ever since Dipper started dragging me into his summer trips last year I've realized how dangerous it is, and hearing the way those two were talking about Billkins being dangerous. I'm just glad Mabel wasn't here."

Robbie talks a bit more with Wendy before heading out. He goes out to his car and waves goodbye because he can see Wendy by the door flipping the sign from open to closed.

She waves back and then returns to the main room to get everything arranged for the next day. At that point Ford and Stan come up from the basement. They had been studying the mothman that was still down stairs to see if it responded at all to music but it appeared music didn't seem to have any sort of effect on it.

"Closing time?" Stan questions.

Wendy nods. "Robbie just left." she says.

Ford chuckles having seen him drive away. "I still don't understand why his parents gave him a business car as his personal ride."

Wendy shrugs. "Most people wouldn't want to drive a hearse around as a recreational car but I think Robbie actually likes it. He needed the space in the back for his sound equipment after the Van took a dump around Christmas he was super bummed. But this works for him."

Robbie's van had broken down and it would have cost more to fix then the entire thing was worth so for a few months Robbie had been without a car but still had the Van parked at his home which was the funeral home he lived in with his folks. He searched for ways to make some money to fix his van but realized it was too much effort and after accepting that he just didn't want to get a job right now he went to his parents and asked for advice. They had responded by giving him an old hearse they no longer needed because they had just that year gotten new ones.

Stan shrugs. "Still it's bad for business to have it out front. Next time tell him to park it round back where nobody can see it."

Wendy nods. "I'll let him know. Hey while you're both here. Dipper just came back a bit ago. He said those guys were researchers and after a nauseating speech about how great they are he ran off to his room to go to bed."

Stan and Ford share a curious glance. "He did?" Stan says. "That boy never goes to bed before 10 o'clock on a normal night."

Ford frowns slightly. "Something is definitely going on."

They go upstairs and see him asleep in his bed. Mabel's bed was empty because she had gone to her friend's house for girls' night again. They share another glance and shrug. Perhaps he was just very tired after all.

-elsewhere-

The two 'researchers' Jean and Devon are driving through the forest out a ways from the town they were driving through a passage that had once led to a campground that was no longer being used because the forest in the area was too unsafe for people to stay the night. The GPS takes them to this abandoned campsite where they park in some very overgrown pavement that was full of cracks and weeds. They walk over to the entrance gate and Jean smirks. "Way out in the middle of nowhere. Fairly easy to get to. This is the perfect place to set up a base of operations. Don't you just love it when little towns let things like this go to waste so that we can use them later."

Devon smirks. "Shall we call the guys?"

Jean nods. "We'll clean this place up a bit while we wait for them."

Devon sends a text message which contains the location information.

Robbie drives over to the hotel but doesn't see the old chevy. "Weird."