Witch hunt
The next morning, Dipper did indeed feel like dying. The glitter hit him right in the heart and he was sneezing glitter. Thought he felt terrible, he seemed to be fine. When he got up and got dressed, he was about to head down stairs when he saw both his grunkles arguing. He felt like he should intervene, but instead hid around the corner leading to the kitchen.
"I didn't even notice! I was too tired and when I went back it was just gone!." Ford was yelling in a harsh whisper, but Dipper could still hear him loud and clear, but he didn't know what they were talking about. He just hoped Mabel didn't come down here and stop it. It seemed to be important.
"Well now some random person has information that doesn't need to be seen by the public eye. If someone goes out and tries to find an old lady that turns people to mushrooms, then that's all on you!" Stan was a bit louder, but still tried to keep the hushed approach. Then it hit him, it was the book. They were talking about the book. Dipper was getting gitty and excited. This meant that the notes were not old, but in fact real. If they were concerned about the book, that meant that they were planning to go for it.
"Hey, Grunkle Stan, Grunkle Ford? Whats for breakfast?" Dipper tried to sound as groggy as possible, hoping that they didn't realize he had been eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Oh hey there kid, didn't see you there! We didn't really make anything, but we have left over sparkle spaghetti." Dipper cringed at that, he knew for a fact that if he took another bite of the food, he might just fall over dead.
"I think we're all good on sparkle spaghetti for now." Stan gave a nervous lough at that. They both knew how deadly Mable's glitter food could be. He stayed home from school for a week once because he could feel his blood turn thick. When they went to the doctors, his blood was indeed thick and he needed to go to the ER. Mabel was crying and saying words that could not understood. She didn't make anymore shiny sushi after that.
"Well, me and Stan will be out for a while, so you can have $20 and find something in town." He was given a handful of cash that seemed way over 20 dollars. "Come on Stan, we have to go uh, pray or something." They both left Dipper alone in the kitchen to where he stood there thinking. He was always thinking. Just then Mabel came into the room with the worst case of bed head you have ever seen.
"Good morning Dippin Dots. Hungry? I can make some pancakes if you want." Dipper turned to the door.
"No, For gave me some money to go into town. I've got a busy day you know." He laughed nervously. He just hoped that his Grunkles didn't take a truck, because fallowing them on foot would be a hassle.
Outside was a sight to behold. The sunrise was actually pretty nice from up on the hill. The air was cold, even if it was summer. Everything had dew drops on it and he had to fight the urge to just take a scene walk. He looked around for his Grunkles, or any sign to where they were headed. He heard whispers coming from the back of the church, heading into the woods. He hid just out of sight and watched as Both Stan and Ford were walking into the tree line. He couldn't hear anything they were saying, but it sounded like arguing from the way Stan had the harshness in his tone.
He hugged the book closer to his chest and kept his distance. His heart was racing, and he was scared that they might be able to hear even thought that was near impossible. Dipper ducked from tree to tree, his hand were quivering ever so slightly. He could tell where they were going. They were heading right to the part of the woods where the witch was located. He could tell because of the oddly colored mushrooms. The book had said that the mushrooms could vary in color depending on what the type of person they were. The darker the color, the more sinister.
The woods seemed to get darker and the trees became a bit more wild. The branches no longer seemed to make a canopy, but instead bent down, scraping the sides of Dippers face. It became dark, even though it was a little past 9:00. Even thought it was hard to see, he could still follow his Grunkles by the sound of their voice. Stan didn't have the most silent of voices, but even Ford had a pretty loud voice. They seemed to be going over a play, and Dipper knew which one it was. It was written in detail all over the notes in the book.
The walk was actually pretty calming, besides the difficulty of walking. he had to keep up with them, and also be quiet. It didn't help that the forest floor was littered in really dry leaves. He placed each step carefully, but no matter how hard he tried, the leaves would make a satisfying crunch. Each crunch under his foot sent chills up his spine and made him cringe. Sadly, he did not see the little crack in the earth, making him head straight to the forest floor. He couldn't help but let out a fairly high and loud yelp. He froze on the soft bed of the leaves, his heart practically exploding.
"Did you hear that?" Ford's head shot around, scanning the tree's. Though Dipper doubted that he could see him. The trees were too thick and there was too little light.
"You're such a baby, it sounded like a deer. You probably scared it with your stress. Animals can scent that type of stuff."
"Why would there be a deer here? Through out this entire hike, we've barely seen a bird. Plus, don't tell me you haven't felt the pair of eyes on us." Ford was creeping to where Dipper was laying on the floor. Dipper's stomach was in his throat and all he could hear was the thumping of his chest.
"Animals are stupid Ford, especially deer. Why else would they jump in front of the car?" Ford seemed to stop and sigh.
"Fine, I guess your right. We better hurry, I want to get there before lunch. Don't forget we have to walk all the way back." Stan let out a grunt and went back to walking. Ford gave one more glance to the area where Dipper was before following Stan.
Dipper took a moment before he could breathe and move. His muscles ached from tensing up. He got up and continued to follow Ford. This time, he kept a close watch on the ground as well as what was in front of him. Another mistake like that would be an awkward situation of explaining why he was stalking them through the woods for the past hour.
After a while the woods turned back into the light and airy open trees that it use to be, but just as terrifying with hundreds of mushrooms covering the ground. Dipper tried to be careful where he stepped, but it was kinda hard with just how much mushrooms there were. He remembered the story and it only made it worse.
The witch would help the towns people, giving them herbs and medical advise. They said she was beautiful and giving to all who came to the land. She then had an affair with one of the towns people, only to have him betray her and leave her for another. She did not overcome with sadness and regret, but instead focused all her work into her medicine. But, the man came back and lied, saying that she had poisoned him. Sadly, the town had believed him and chased her into the woods. They did not accept that and went after her, only to try and kill her. Rage filled her heart and killed every last one of the men, turning them to mushrooms.
Dipper felt kind of bad for her. She never did anything wrong, but Dipper wasn't the one that was going to defeat her, so he had no say in what was right and what was wrong. The mushrooms stopped, and so did Ford.
Dipper stayed in the tree line, watching from afar. There was a clearing that was fairly big. It held a small cottage that seemed too small for legal standards. But this was too far for the law to reach. It seemed like a nice little house. A small garden sat in front of it, holding flowers and vegetables. It was actually quite nice, if it wasn't for mushrooms here and there.
Ford and Stan were side by side, looking at the door. You could tell that they were both fairly nervous. The door swung open to a small old lady who held an old cane. Dipper couldn't make out much detail from the distance he was at, but he could tell that her hand were frail from the way she held the cane. They seemed to be talking, no, more like arguing about something. Ford had a low calm tone and spoke firmly. But Stan was nearly yelling and flailing his arms. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but he got a couple of words here and there from Stan.
"You cant just take what you want Lena! I know that what they did was terrible-" His voice lowered too low. But the lady seemed to get a bit angrier.
"You don't know what it was like! They tried to burn me!" The lady, no, Lena seemed to be the one doing the yelling now. Her voice sounded so sad.
"I gave them everything! I healed their sick! I fixed their wounds! And this is how they treat me!" Ford and Stan seemed to step back a bit, and Dipper sunk a bit further behind his tree.
"That was years ago!" Ford's voice cracked, which was never a good sign.
"Years or months, ill never forgive you!" Lena's hands shot into the sky and sparks began to appear. At first it seemed like small sparks, but soon it turned into lightning. The sky was no longer the sunny blue it use to be, but now was turning gray. Thunder began to thrum and shook the whole ground. The lightning coming from her was an unnatural purple that curved and twisted like snakes.
Ford and Stan seemed to have retreated a safe distance and were now preparing. The night of the demon replayed in Dippers mind as Ford took out a book that was thicker than the bible. He began to recite different words in different languages. White streams of light surrounded him and Stan seemed to have taken out what looked like a dagger. He bolted right at Lena, dodging any lighting that went for him. Any that did hit him were bounced off by the white streams. Dipper was mesmerized by the whole scene.
Soon Stan was in front of the witch, thrusting the dagger straight at her. Sadly, Lena was not fast enough to evade this attack, and it hit her right in the lung. Dipper watched as she fell limp on the ground, gasping and dying.
"I'm sorry Lena, but it had to be done." Ford looked down at her, his voice dripping with sadness. Dipper felt a bit relieved that Ford had a heart at least.
"I'm not going down alone!" Lena spat, she looked over at the tree line. Right where Dipper was hiding. Before he could flee, he felt his hairs stand on end as the magenta light went straight for him. His eyes clenched closed and he felt a sharp pain hit his side, but not before blue flames erupted. It engulfed Dipper, blurring his vision. He could still stand, and that was all Dipper needed before fleeing, running as fast as possible. He held his side, blood slowly covering the hoodie he was wearing. He knew that it was a direct hit, so the real question was that, why was he alive? And if something had saved him, what?
The fire lingered in his mind, it was warm, but not comforting. It was the complete opposite, uncomfortable and scary. If burned, but didn't scorch.
The branched whipped his face, leaving stinging traced. The run back was far, but he didn't want to stop. He just hoped that Mabel wasn't home.