Gravity Rises (S1)

PF: Part Five

Mabel woke up with the relieved sigh of someone who got enough sleep. She felt much, much better after last night. She didn't know what time it was; but the automatic lights in the bunker had turned on, so she at least knew it was morning.

She sat up and yawned. It was then that she realized something was wrong.

Dipper had fallen asleep next to her, she was sure of that. But now he was gone. His sleeping bag was all rumpled, and Mabel couldn't see his shoes, either. Huh. How long had she overslept?

She got to her feet, stretching, and padded out from behind the shelf where her and Dipper's sleeping bags were situated. Ford was sitting up on his cot, blinking slowly as if he had just woken up as well.

"Hey, Grunkle Ford," Mabel said softly. She wanted to say something — apologize, or demand an apology from him, or something. But all she could bring herself to say was, "Have you seen Dipper?"

Ford frowned. "No. Wasn't he sleeping next to you?"

"He was," Mabel said. He fell asleep next to me, she thought, like he was protecting me from you. "But he's not there now." She cast her eyes around the small bunker, but the only thing that obstructed one's view was the shelf of food that separated their sleeping areas. If Dipper wasn't on either side of the shelf. . .

She started for the door.

"Where are you going?" Ford asked immediately.

"He's not in here," Mabel said. "I bet he woke up early and is just getting some fresh air."

That was her hope, of course. She was doing her best to hold back the panic that something worse had happened.

"Mabel, you can't just—"

"Then come with me." She pulled the lever to open the door. Ford was glaring at her, but she didn't glare back. "Grunkle Ford, what if something happened to him?" she whispered.

Ford got off the cot and followed after her.

The winter morning was bright and freezing. Mabel shielded her eyes, realizing it had been days since she had seen sunlight. The thought made the cold sunlight feel a lot better.

Once her eyes adjusted, she scanned the area. Ford stood on the stairs, presumably to stop the bunker entrance from closing behind them.

"Dipper!" Mabel called. "Dip, are you out here!"

"Attracting the whole town, are you?" Ford asked from behind her.

She forced herself to ignore him. "Dipper!"

Nothing.

She pushed down fear like it was bile. He was fine; he just couldn't hear her. He was nearby; he had to be, or—

An object in the snow.

Mabel ran over to it, her heart pounding in her chest. She stared down at it. "Grunkle Ford, I found a flashlight!" She bent down to get it, then frowned down at the ground. "And there's something else. . . ." She crouched, looking at the scratches in the snow. They had been done in a hurry, but they looked like. . . letters. "P. . . A. . . Z."

With a gasp, Mabel's hands flew to her mouth, and the flashlight fell back into the snow. "Paz," she whispered.

She sat there in shock, staring down at the message left by her brother. It had to be a message from him. She recognized the flashlight, and there were footsteps she could see now that she was closer to the ground. When he dropped it, he must've had an opportunity to leave this small message in the snow.

"Mabel? What's over there?" Ford called.

Mabel forced herself to her feet, clutching the flashlight to her chest like it was a lifeline. She plodded back through the snow to Ford.