Dead or Alive

Prologue

Trees passed by through the window of the station wagon. The warm sunlight flooded the sky with a warm red hue. The colors in the sky reminded Mabel of her favorite sweater. She had knitted it herself. She used to knit often. Before the accident. Her twin brother would sit on the floor beside her, playing video games or watching his favorite movie franchise. Mabel could remember the movies. . . barely. They had something to do with people who hunted ghosts. How ironic.

Mabel gripped her seatbelt tighter when the car hit a speedbump. She closed her eyes tightly. Her hands were trembling and suddenly she couldn't breathe. Mabel knew that it was just her mind playing tricks on her. She was perfectly safe.

If only her brother could've been there, sitting beside her to hold her hand and tell her that everything was okay. Mabel began to think that maybe if she just opened her eyes that just maybe he would be sitting right there. And to her surprise, it worked.

She opened her eyes and he was right there. Dipper reached to touch her shoulder. Mabel shouted in surprise when she felt the unnaturally cold touch of his fingers. Dipper recoiled when he processed her reaction. Before she realized what had just happened, he disappeared.

"Mabel? Whats wrong?" her mom said worriedly from the passenger seat.

Her dads tired eyes glanced at her through the rear-view mirror. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Mabel swallowed the lump in her throat before she replied. "I'm fine. Just jumpy I guess."

She adjusted her seatbelt again and returned to staring out the window. This time she caught her brothers reflection against the glass. But he couldnt be there. It was impossible. Her brother couldnt be inside the car because he had died three months ago in a car accident. Mabel had convinced herself that it wasnt her brother but the memory that had been haunting her.

Yet suddenly, she wasn't sure anymore.