Xanthophobia (Monster Falls 2.0)

1. Welcome to Monster Falls. Now Leave.

It was a long and arduous bus ride for young twins, Mabel and Mason Pines. Mabel, the elder twin, was a rambunctious, energetic girl with a love of sweaters and a habit of going a little boy crazy. Mabel very much didn't like to be confined to one place for very long. Mason, who prefered to be called Dipper, was much more level headed, though he tended to let his brain govern things a little too much. He liked peace of mind and the bliss of quiet thought. Neither were speaking to each other as the bus lazily passed rows and rows of trees. Not since Dipper had snapped at Mabel for shouting for the hundredth time about a cow she saw out the window. They'd been passing farm land for about an hour and every field seemed to have at least one cow in it. And as much as Dipper loved his sister, there was only so much high pitched proclamations of "Look, a cow!", that one guy could handle.

Mabel had actually long since forgotten about it, as she rarely held grudges, choosing instead to knit a sweater that had a cow pattern. Mabel was quite skilled at knitting and in the short time they'd been quiet she'd already finished a sleeve. Dipper was nose deep in a book about forest survival, the fourth one he'd read since being told about their trip. With each lost in their own hobby, neither even noticed they'd reached their stop until the third time the driver announced it was actually the last stop. Dipper hurriedly stuffed his book into his side bag and pulled his sister towards the front, ignoring her complaining about her stitching and apologising to the driver for not noticing they'd stopped. The bus driver was cheerful about it and happily helped them get their suitcases from the storage space of the bus. Mabel had never been on a bus that had storage space but Dipper had explained that buses that took passengers places over night usually did. He'd read a travel booklet just before their parents had sent them off to the middle of nowhere to 'reconnect' with nature.

Looking back on it he should have guessed something was up when he'd found the booklet left out on the coffee table. But how was he to know his parents had set up for their children to go stay out in the middle of the woods with a man of questionable relation that they'd never met? A supposed great uncle on their father's side. Why a computer programmer and an author thought their kids needed fresh air while they themselves spend most of their time indoors baffles Dipper even now. It was a little hypocritical to him.

As the bus disappeared from view Mabel began to bounce on the spot, excited for her first summer adventure away from home and also to get some feeling back in her legs. They'd been sitting almost all day with the exception of a few breaks. Her excitement was only matched by Dipper's anxiety. He didn't like the outdoors. A lot can happen and he's only read so many survival guides, there's a lot he's unprepared for. Before Mabel could rush off Dipper grabbed the hem of her sweater, she always seemed to wear one regardless of heat. She was wearing her favourite one, the first sweater she made without help, it had a shooting star on the front. She instantly spun around and slapped his hand away to avoid the material stretching too far out of shape and gave him a wicked glare for a second. But he'd gotten her attention at least.

"Mum said not to wander off. Our great uncle is supposed to meet us here." He reminded her. Mabel sighed, paced around for a while and then sat on her suitcase, Dipper wincing as he thought he heard something crunch. Mabel always liked to explore, and usually he'd let her, because he knew the areas around their home just as well as she did and found it to be relatively safe. But out here was a different story, he worried she'd wander into to trouble and he wouldn't be able to help. God forbid she run into a bear, he hadn't reached that chapter of the survival guide just yet.

"Dipper," Mabel whined after a few minutes, breaking though Dippers concentration, he looked up from a page depicting signs of territorial mammal activity. "I'm bored. Can't we just follow the path?" If she'd been with anyone else she probably would have run off already, but she knew Dipper held her back because he worried. Sometimes too much but usually the right amount, and she'd learnt that it was often better just to listen to his caution, at least for a little while. But she really was bored, sitting on her suitcase staring at trees wasn't exactly her idea of sweet summer fun and she hadn't brought any books because she didn't really find reading too fun. Except for certain magazines. She looked up at her brother, who'd chosen to stand rather than sit. How he was comfortable reading like that she didn't know. He had a look of deep thought as if weighing the pros and cons of taking the path. And he most likely was. It had a sign that told them it lead to 'the Mystery Shack' which was where they were supposedly staying. It was apparently a tourist trap. Dippers words were a little more sceptical including "shody", "con" and "cheap" even though they'd only quickly glanced at the hastily made website page before they'd left.