They only stepped searching when dusk had fallen over town, and they could barely see two feet in front of them. Wirt had given up fifteen minutes into the search, but he hadn't said anything as he followed Norman around, who, for the record, also looked liked he'd given up. They'd spent most of the day wandering around, and when the other groups came near them, they tried to look busy.

They met up again at the town hall, and without the sun lighting up every shadow, their bravo was significantly dampened. Each face that filled the main room in the town hall were filled with nervous anxiety. For a minute, no one actually spoke, instead staring down at the table, and listening to the sounds outside. Mira had been kind of right before, there did seem to be a storm rolling in.

"...We can't find it if it doesn't want to be found," Mira eventually spoke up. "If it doesn't want us to know where it is, it won't make itself known."

"I didn't feel any cold spots," Kai spoke up.

"And it didn't levitate anything..." Dipper said thoughtfully. "But why did it show itself earlier?"

"To scare us?" Tulip offered.

"He wasn't that scary..." Norman muttered.

"Well, I don't think we can do anything at night, anyway," Mira sighed. "If we can't see anything in the daytime, I don't think we'll find anything when it's pitch black. I think we should save this until morning."

"But wouldn't be asleep with a ghost running around?" Mabel pointed out.

"That doesn't sound like a good idea...." Kai said nervously.

"It'll be fine," Dipper said. "Before we go to bed, let's each put a ring of salt around our beds, so we'll be safe. Remember, don't leave any hole in it, or the ghost can get you, alright?"

"...I don't know... but it's as Mira said, right?" Tulip said. "There seems to be nothing we can do if the ghost doesn't want us to find it. But maybe instead of us all going to sleep, we have a stakeout?"

Wirt could practically hear everyone holding back their groan.

"I... guess thar's a good idea," Mira forced out, but she didn't sound like she agreed. "Who wants to stay up first? I don't."

"I definitely don't," Kai added quickly.

"I guess I should go first, since I offered it," Tulip offered unhappily. "Does anyone want to stay with me?"

The room stayed quiet at that suggestion.

Suddenly, Mira groaned, burying her face in her hands. "I guess I will, since you shouldn't stay up alone..."

Tulip had the sense to look guilty, but she couldn't stop a tiny smile from slipping through. "Thanks, Mira!"

"Uh huh." Mira looked up from her hands. "We'll split the night hours up for our three groups. Twelve divided by three is four, so four hours... each."

"Huh?!" Kai cried. "So I'm staying up, too?!"

For her part, Mira looked like she was suddenly regretting her decision. "Yes. Who wants to get up next?"

Wirt and Dipper exchanged a glance.

"Rock-paper-scissors!" Mabel shouted, and she stuck her hand out at Norman.

After a quick game of rock-paper-scissors (that Mabel won. Yes, a real shocker), Wirt, Norman and the Pines twins went back to their houses, leaving behind a very disgruntled trio moving around salt. Wirt didn't envy them.

"You look distracted, Norman," Dipper suddenly pointed out.

"Are you sad that you couldn't hang out with your ghost friend?" Mabel asked, and Norman gave her a wild look.

"What!?"

"Nothing, nothing, she was joking!" Dipper said quickly, giving his sister a scathing look. "She was just... teasing you, Norman."

Mabel shrugged, and Norman blinked.

"Uh... I haven't been doing that," Norman said. "I've just... um... been thinking about the ghost. And being worried."

"Oh." Dipper seemed disappointed. "I see. Well, if you make a complete circle, you'll be fine. They don't like salt, for some reason."

"Dipper knows," Mabel said wisely. "He's been up against lots of fake ghosts."

"Real ghosts," Dipper corrected.

"Sometimes."

Dipper glared at her.

"Oh, well, that's good," Norman said, sounding like he was already checked out of this conversation. "I'm reassured about the ghost now. I'm going to go to bed now."

Norman turned and went to his house alone while Mabel waved at him.

"Night, Norman!"

Norman gave a little wave as he shut his door. Eventually, Mabel stopped waving.

"...Those weren't very normal responses, were they?" Mabel asked Dipper and Wirt. The two exchanged looks, but while Dipper's seemed to be trying to convey... well, something important, probably, Wirt's was more along the lines of '???????????????'.

"Let's just go to bed, Mabel," Dipper told him when he was down trying to talk to Wirt's blank look, and before Wirt could even blink, they were all going their separate ways, and Wirt was left all alone on the street.

However, it only took a couple seconds until Wirt was hurrying back into his own room; the dark seemed like it was closing in on him.

Wirt was staring up at his ceiling, just about to go to sleep when he heard it.

Knock... Knock... Knock

Wirt tense, suddenly wife awake again. His eyes darted to the door. But the knock didn't come from that one, it came from the one to the outside. Wirt didn't know if that was worse.

Knock... Knock

Wirt gulped. He was safe inside the circle, right? Yeah, the ghost couldn't come inside the circle. Ghosts could walk through walls but not through salt, apparently. He was safe, he was safe-

His outside door squeaked open, and Wirt was certain that his heart stopped.

'A knock on my outside door, my first guard, so easily defeated... and then my stairs...'

Yes, there it was. Wirt could hear sounds from the stairs as whatever it was came up them.

'The one, two feet of my assailant walk up my one, two, three, four, five and six stairs... closer and closer to my second and last door, my last defense...'

Another knock, more insistent this time, and Wirt winced.

'Their here, behind my door. I can hear them now: their breathing, their movements, their beating heart... My last door is nothing now, I only have one last chance...'

Wirt shut his eyes tight, unwilling to face whatever was beside him.

"U-Um... I r-realize you're probably here to kill me, but if y-you could wait until I-I'm asleep to do that..." Wirt's voice cracked. "T-that'd be n-nice-"

"What are you taking about?"

Wirt's eyes flew open to find Dipper looking down at him in annoyance. "Dipper?!"

"I came to get you," Dipper huffed at him. "I told you to be outside often we went home, you know!"

Wirt stared at him, and Dipper faltered.

"...Okay, maybe I didn't," he admitted. "But we need to go."

Wirt blinked. "We... do?"

"You saw how suspicious Norman was acting, right?" Dipper asked him, and slowly, Wirt nodded. "Exactly. There's something going on with him, and we're going to investigate."

Wirt sat up, looking away from Dipper. "O...kay. But w-why are you asking me? Shouldn't you be asking Mabel?"

For some reason, Dipper looked guilty. "Huh? Well, I-I guess, but... uh, she was tired, so I'm asking you."

Wirt stared at Dipper. What he was saying... didn't track at all, but who was Wirt to call him out? However, Wirt was still going to question other things.

"And so... we have to go?" he asked.

"Yep! But don't worry," Dipper grinned at him. "It'll be fun."

Wirt severely doubted that.

"The first thing we need to do is go to Norman's house," Dipper was telling him, fiddling wit the bag he was carrying. Wirt tilted his head, not really understanding him. He was trying to, but, well, he was focusing more on trying to stay awake.

"Huh? Why?" Wirt asked him, trying not to yawn. He failed.

"Well, Norman was being weird, but maybe that's just him," Dipper explained. "We should probably go check before going on a potentially wild goose chase."

"Oh."

'Norman, you better be there...'

"How far away is his house?" Wirt asked, and Dipper glanced back at him. Wirt wondered if that was something he should know.

"Just over there."

The house Dipper led him to was identical to his own, other than his name painted on the side of it in green paint. No doubt Mabel's job, Wirt remembered when he'd woke up to find a similar painting on HIS house.

"...Do we knock?" Wirt whispered as they approached the door. Dipper shook his head.

"If he is in there, he's going to be asleep," Dipper told him. "We'll just sneak in."

"...Okay." That didn't sound like a good idea to Wirt, but he wasn't really in the right mind to argue. "Okay."

"Be quieter," Dipper whispered to him, and Wirt obediently shut up.

The two snuck up to the door, and Dipper slowly opened door. They both winced at the loud scraping noise it made. It seemed none of these houses were made particularly well.

Dipper snuck in first, and Wirt followed him closely. Inside, it was pitch black and Wirt frowned, blinking.

"Um, Dipper-," Wirt started, but Dipper already had it covered. The kitchen was suddenly bathed in light as Dipper lit a candle. Wirt looked at him, surprised. "Oh. I guess you're prepared."

Dipper patted his bag. "Yep. I got salt, a cross, more candles, paper and pen, and holy water."

"Holy water? Where'd you get that?"

Dipper shrugged. "Around. Come on, I don't think there's anything in here. Let's go up to Norman's room."

"Don't you think he can hear us?" Wirt asked. They hadn't been particularly loud, but these rooms weren't exactly sound proof.

Dipper tilted his head, and Wirt would be loath to admit how long it took him to realize that he was trying to listen.

"...Huh," Dipper eventually said, and he sounded surprised.

"What?" Wirt asked, suddenly nervous again. All his sleepiness had been replaced by anxiety, and now he was far too aware of how the candlelight only seemed to cast more shadows than the darkness did. Whenever it flickered, the shadows seemed to walk.

"He's talking to himself," Dipper told him, drawing Wirt's attention from the walls. "Or he's talking to someone else we can't hear..."

"Who?!" Wirt hissed. He wasn't even sure how Dipper was hearing all this; all he could hear was themselves and the sprinkling rain outside. To Wirt, there was nothing to suggest Norman was even awake, let alone talking to someone. Dipper shrugged.

"I can only hear Norman- Huh?"

Dipper and Wirt suddenly froze as footsteps suddenly interrupted their conversation. It reminded Wirt of the stairs back in his house, but when he turned to them, there was nothing there. Dipper followed his gaze and lifted the candle, but it illuminated nothing as the footsteps paused. Wirt almost thought he imagined them before they sounded again, this time going up the stairs.

Dipper let out a breath. "It came down the stairs, and then went back up, back to Norman."

"Why'd it do that?"

Again, Dipper shrugged. "Here, hold this."

Wirt fumbled with the vial of what he assumed was the holy water that Dipper passed to him.

"Okay... why?" Wirt looked up to Dipper's face, and his eyes widened. "Oh no... Dipper, I don't think-."

"Come on, we're following it," Dipper said, passing him the salt, too. Wirt took it, even though he didn't want to. Dipper took out his cross next, and held it in the hand that wasn't holding the candle. "Don't worry, we're protected."

"Are we?"

Despite his misgivings, Wirt followed Dipper up the stairs, grimacing as his footsteps made the stairs groan. Wirt could feel the darkness following close behind them.

"Wait," Dipper suddenly said, and Wirt did so. "Go back."

He didn't need to tell Wirt twice. Wirt did as Dipper said, and quickly.

"Don't go all the way down," Dipper chastised him, and Wirt had to stop himself from showing his disappointment on his face. "I just want to wait out here, to try and figure out what's going on with Norman before we confront him."

"We have to confront him?" Wirt asked nervously. "Right now? I think we should wait until morning..."

"But what if he's possessed, and he needs help?" Dipper asked him, and Wirt frowned.

"That's more of a reason to do this in the morning!"

Dipper shook his head, and then tilted it, listening closely. Wirt sighed, and then did the same thing. Through the pitter-pattering of rain, Wirt could hear Norman, too.

"Do you think they're still down there?" Norman was saying. "No, you don't have to check. You said they knew you were there last time, so they'll be on their guard. I guess we'll just have to hope they leave."

Silence followed that, and Wirt wondered if he was waiting for whoever he was conversationing with to talk. But Wirt didn't hear anything. Why did it seem that only Norman could hear it?

"Oh, right, the letter," Norman continued. "Yeah, I read it. But I... don't get it. It doesn't make any sense."

Another pause. On longer than before, as if Norman was getting an explanation.

"...What?" Norman asked, sounding shocked. "But... I don't understand, that doesn't make any sense... you don't get it either. But I don't see how those things relate to us, how does-?"

Norman was suddenly cut himself off, or the ghost cut him off, and Wirt frowned. He had a bad feeling about this...

"They're still here?" Norman asked, and Dipper and Wirt exchanged alarmed glances. "And their... listening in... Oh."

A silence followed that, but this time it didn't sound like Norman was waiting for the ghost to say something, it sounded like he was waiting for them to say something. Wirt stayed quiet, with no intention of speaking, but Dipper sighed, starting up the rest of the stairs.

"Come on, Wirt," he grumbled. "There's no hiding now."

Wirt gulped, but he followed him anyway. Norman gave them a surprised look as they came into his room, even though he'd known they were there.

"Uh... hi?" he called nervously. Then he seemed to pause, clearly wondering what to say next. "I... assume you know about that now."

"That you can talk to ghosts?" Dipper asked, which was a surprise to Wirt. "Yeah, we know about that."

Norman sighed. "Oh. I guess I've got to explain now, right?"

Dipper nodded. "Yep."