Xanthophobia (Monster Falls 2.0)

1. Welcome to Monster Falls. Now Leave.

"No." He said finally, and Mabel sighed. "We don't know what could be in those woods. It's better to wait and have an adult guide us." She knew logically that was the safest plan. Neither of them had a map or phone in an emergency. But she was actually getting tired and desperately wanted to sleep on a nice bed rather than a bus seat.

"Exactly, we don't know what's in there and it's getting dark. Don't you think it's a good idea to get where we need to before that happens. What if there's wolves in the woods?" Mabel argued. One sure fire way to get Dipper motivated was to play on his reasonableness in a way that suited her. But Dipper snorted at the notion, as if her words were nonsense.

"There wouldn't be wolves in-" Both twins jolted at the chilling howl that filled the air. Mabel looked thrilled and Dipper, not so much. With eyes wide and slightly panicked he glanced around at the dimming roadside with concern. "Well... Perhaps if we start walking we'll run into our great uncle along the way."

"Yessss." Mabel jumped up, punching the air, and began to pull her suitcase towards the dirt path. One of her wheels was broken so the effort needed wasn't ideal but she wasn't going to let that stop her. Dipper hung back, hesitant to venture into the unknown territory. He placed his book back into his bag and began to slowly drag his own suitcase towards the path. When a second howl rose Dipper yelped and hurriedly sprinted after his sister who'd already started down the trail.

"Wait for me!" He cried. Mabel laughed and teased him for being so scared, though even she jumped when she heard something run past them just out of sight. She glanced behind her and felt a little guilty. Dipper had frozen like a deer in the headlights and it took a lot of gentle coaxing from Mabel to get the boy walking again. The main problem, she knew, was that Dipper didn't know what was making the sounds, and the unknown made him think to hard on possibilities. Which always lead to a wild imagination. Something Mabel was usually accused of but both twins had a habit of getting lost in. And when Dipper panicked all that smart up in his head tended to malfunction a bit.

As the afternoon began to slip into night Dipper was sure he saw eyes watching them wind down the path. He voice concern to Mabel who brushed it off as paranoia, but offered the younger twin her hand so they didn't get seperated. As the eldest it was her job to do these kinds of things. Dipper argued that she was mere minutes older but took her hand regardless. The twins always felt braver holding hands, believing they could get through whatever happened as long as they stuck together.

Much to both their relief the building came into view as the path widened and the trees parted into a clearing. A rundown sign reading "Mystery hack", the S discarded on the roof below it, let the twins know they'd reached their destination. With a happy shout Mabel let go of Dipper and surged forward, leaving Dipper trailing close behind less enthusiastically. He was sure they hadn't passed anyone on the path and it was practically night now. Had their great uncle forgotten them? If so he was in for a surprise.

By the time he reached the front door Mabel was already knocking. At first no answer came, but Mabel only knocked louder, making Dipper's introvert soul whither a little. Eventually the door swung open and a large man with a green shirt, presumably store merch given the massive question mark logo, looked down expectantly at them. "Hello, sir. We're here for summer fun." Mabel announced.

"Uh... Thats cool dudes but the Mystery Shacks closed right now." The man replied going to close the door.

"Wait! Are you expecting us? Our parents said it was all arranged." Mabel insisted.

"I don't know about any arrangements, you'll have to come back tomorrow."

Dipper quickly pushed against the door to stop it from closing, the man looking surprised and a little unsure about what to do. Mabel stuck her hand out for a hand shake. "My name is Mabel Pines, and this is my brother. We're supposed to be staying here with you for the summer." Dipper almost fell when the door opened fully again and the man stepped out further to inspect the twins.