Zombie Falls (A Gravity Falls Fan Fic)

The Mystery Shack

We finally were able to settle down and smile for once. Having Mabel back was just the beginning. What I didn't know was the future was only going to get better from there. But, hey. I'm just getting ahead of myself.

I told my story to my sister and got to see her smile and braces again. Sure, she was still drying her tears, but she was listening and nodding. We trudged out of the woods together with a more kick in our step. I gave Mabel my shoes to wear since she didn't have her own. Of course, then, I was the one walking in just my socks. The stories we told each other along the way were patching up the lengthy gap of our past separation. Beyond the trees were the birds flying freely above. Above the birds, the sky and the shining sun that brought peace to my mind. For once, I took a deep, relieving, fresh breath of the smell of the summer air.

Mabel said that, back at the camp, she was brought into the quarantine room, without knowing what was happening. She said that they gained her trust by showing her hospitality, giving her food, the company of the friendly survivors, and letting her have nice, hot showers. Then, one night, she was lead into the other side of the warehouse to be put on anesthesia. She told me it wasn't until now that she finally woke up.

There was a long pause before she asked me once more. "Hey, Dip. You believe in miracles?"

I looked up at her halfway and grinned. "Well, I believe it's a miracle we made it this far."

"Oh," Mabel chartled. "That line again!" I chuckled and laughed with all my heart as she said, "No, but, seriously. Do you?"

"Absolutely." And that was the truth.

"Oh, and thanks for saving me...if you call 'saving' me almost blowing out my brain's guts."

"Yeah, sorry about that." I mumbled. Then, I lightened the mood. "But, I wasn't actually going to shoot you. I mean, if I really meant to do it, wouldn't the gun be loaded?" I took out the gun from my vest and pulled back the barrel to prove it to her. "See?" I said with confidence as I pulled the trigger to a nonspecific target in front of us. Mabel gasped, expecting to hear a bang. She turned away, covered her ears, shut her eyes tight, and prepared for the worst. The gun clicked and no bang was heard. Mabel turned back to me and grumbled, punching me in the shoulder. "Hey!" I giggled.

"Dummy!" She teased, sticking her tongue out at me. I flinched back with a laugh. It wasn't until then that I took out the gummy koalas from my bag to give to Mabel. "I believe these belong to you." I told her.

She looked at me with astonishment before smiling and taking them. I could tell she was struggling to find the words to say, so I spoke for her. "Go ahead. They're all your's."

We went on, avoiding thorns and poison ivy. Though we didn't know where we were headed, it didn't seem to matter because we had each other. After a couple more steps, I could begin to make out a house. It stood right in the center of the woods with weak strength as if it would all collapse at any moment.

When we got closer, I realized how much of a dump the place was. The sign that was somehow resting on the roof with stability read, "Mystery hack", though the shadow of where the "S" used to be was still visible. Next to the house was a totem pole with many disturbing and unsettling creature-like faces stacked on top of one another. It seemed that question marks and dollar signs were at every angle I turned. There was a worn out, torn, faded yellow couch on the front porch as well.

I may have stopped at the end of the forest line, but my sister kept going with a running pace. She smiled and turned back to me. "Let's go!"

"Wha-hey! Mabel, wait!" I chased after her like she was a runaway puppy. She grinded to a stop and looked up at the house in a daze. She remained a foot away from taking the first step on the porch. I could see that the front door had been left open. Mabel turned to face me and I saw uncertainty in the way she did so. I kept my arm stretched out in front of her to let her know to stay behind me. I put my finger to my mouth, signaling her to stay quiet and I took out my gun.

With the first step I took on the stairs of the porch, the old house creeked. I startled myself before recovering and having the courage to actually make it to the front door. "Okay." I talked to myself under my breath. "Here goes nothing."