Phantom Falls

10: Questioning

The above artwork does not belong to me.

Jazz was worried sick. There had been no sign of Danny in days. Where had he gone? She knew that he would never take off like that unless someone was in trouble.

And even worse, no matter how she tried to convince her parents that nothing was wrong, they were determined to send a search party to look for him. Jazz had kept up the bluff that he was at the Pines' place for as long as she could; after all, that's where he was probably headed when he left. But Mr. Pines had called them this morning and asked where Danny was, saying that he hadn't seen the boy for as long a time as the Fentons.

So when an invisible something grabbed her hand and dragged her into Danny's room, she was more relieved than scared.

Her brother shut the door and turned visible. "Danny!" Jazz yelped, overjoyed to see him. He grinned sheepishly. She scowled. "Where have you been?"

Danny tiredly leaned against the wall. "Well . . ." he gestured to the cuts and scrapes on his face, which were the only signs of injury visible at the moment.

Jazz's face turned soft. "What did you get yourself into this time?"

He shrugged, but she could tell that he was unnerved. "I was sort of attacked by this . . . monster. Not a ghost, a monster. It . . . it was a shapeshifter."

For a moment, Jazz said nothing. A shapeshifter? Ghosts were one thing, but strange creatures roaming through the woods? "How did you say it attacked you?"

Danny shifted uncomfortably. "I was, uh, walking through town when I saw Dipper in the forest, so I went to talk to him. But it wasn't Dipper. It was this . . . this thing that tried to drag me off to wherever."

His sister was about to ask him more when she heard her father walking a little ways down the hall. With a quick look at Danny, she slipped out of door before Jack could see that she had been in Danny's room.

Jack Fenton caught sight of Jazz and scowled a bit. He handed her a heavy, compact net launcher. "We're going to find your brother, Jazz. A local saw him walking through town a few days ago when he just headed off into the forest. He's gotten lost in those dangerous woods, no doubt!"

Jazz nodded, trying to look determined, but she was afraid that her expression gave away more of the genuine worry that she felt than anything else.

Her dad smiled at her a little. "Come on, Jazzypants, your mother is waiting."

* * *

They quickly got a search party together. Almost everyone in town wanted to help, including, to Jazz's surprise, Pacifica. The Pines twins, Wendy and her friends, Stan and Soos all came, too, not that that shocked her. They were joined by a few other residents of Gravity Falls, including Wendy's family and the sheriffs.

"All right, everyone!" Maddie Fenton called, getting everyone's attention. "Danny is lost out in the woods, and we have to find him! Split into search parties, cover as much ground as you can. But stay safe. Who knows what could be in those trees?"

"Justice!" Wendy's father yelled. She rolled her eyes from the other end of the crowd.

They all divided into groups. Jazz told her parents that she would be joining another party and left by herself. Danny wouldn't come near if she was with other people. She just hoped he'd heard through the door and hidden in the woods.

She walked for fifteen minutes before she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning, she saw Danny behind her. "What do I do?" he hissed. "Should I just sneak off and wait until they find me?"