The Lake In The Woods (Book 2)

Chapter 12, Dipper

She's not in her kiddie pool. She's not in the gift shop, she's not in the rest of the house. How could she have gotten out of bed? I took her up to our room last night, there's no way she can be gone. I take a pen out of my pocket and start chewing on it, thinking if all the possible places she could be. No... No... Not there either... I look down. There are drag marks in the mud. I start to follow them, putting the pen away. I hear bill call out to me, but I don't listen I start running the same way as the tracks. They stop, and turn into tire tracks. I look up. The tracks lead to the same direction Mabel and I went yesterday. I gallop off. Following the tracks. I leap over a small divot in the ground. If a truck drove over that, it would've hurt. I start to run faster. Both boys are calling out my name now, but I surge ahead.
..........
I'm panting, and slow down to a trot. I've been running for what seems like forever. My legs are sore, and it's hard to breath.
"Ooh, everything hurts." I say and lean against a tree. There's a scream not to far into the distance. I run towards the source. Not to far ahead, is a clearing with a house. Bill grabs my tail, making me cringe and yelp.
"Will you slow down kid? We can only fly so fast!" Will walks strait towards the house.
"Now what's gotten into him?" Bill asks, sounding kind of happy. Almost... We both dash to wills side. He looks frightened. The front door is open a crack. I peek in. I see an old table, a few rotting mounts, and an empty fireplace. Bill pushes the door open. It creaks and slowly swings into the house. There's dust everywhere, exept for a single pair of boot prints going down a hallway in front of us. Bill picks me up.
"Your hooves will make too much noise" he whispers in my ear. We start walking towards the hallway. We're heading down the hall. There's a couple of open doors leading into empty rooms. Something flashes an inch away from my face, and a pocket knife implants itself into the wall. My heart jackhammers in my chest.
"What do you think you're doing?" A deep voice asks. I turn my head. It's the hunter from yesterday. He's about three feet away. Bill sets me down.
"So you brought my catch to me? Lovely, now get out." The man says. He's wearing a red, plaid shirt, jeans, and combat boots.
"We're not going anywhere." Bill says. The man levels a shotgun. Bill steps in front of me. The man clicks the reload.
"You best be leaving" he growls. A crying starts up from the room behind the man.
"Mabel!" I call out.
"D-dipper?" She asks? Bill looks at me. Without warning, bill lunges at the man, they fall to the ground. I jump over them. There's a set of stairs, and I go down them. Mabel's lying on the floor in the basement, her tail is dry, and kind if bloody. I scoop her up and gently place her on my back. She yelps.
"Sorry" I say. There's a shot from upstairs. She wraps her arms around my waist and I bound up the stairs. Bills lying on the ground, clutching his stomach. Will is standing above the hunter, his eyepatch gone, and a look of pure hate in his glowing, gold, eyes. The gun reloads. The hunter cowers in fear.
"Please! I-im sorry! I'll leave you alone! Just, don't kill me!"
"Should have thought if that before you shot my brother" Will snarls. The gun goes off. Mabel hides her face behind my back. Will drops the gun and bends down over bill.
"We need to get you back home." Will says. Bill nods. Will looks at me. I just stare in shock. Mabel is shaking on my back. We make a silent agreement. Will teleports off with bill. Mabel starts crying.
"Oh dipper! My tail hurts so bad. Will you get me some water?" I look around the room. There's a dirty towel on the floor. I pick it up, and walk down the hall to the bathroom, careful to step over the body. I put the towel under the sink and turn the warm water on. At first, it doesn't work, but cold water starts to come out. I wait for it to warm up, then I soak the towel. Mabel grabs the wet towel and lays back, so her tail covers my tail. She puts the towel on as a blanket and sighs.
"Thanks dipping sauce." Will appears next to me. He picks up Mabel, and he's gone. I'm all alone in the house. I go out to the living room. Will appears in front of me, and we teleport back to the shack.