Escape from the Underground
Disclaimers: Dipper Pines and Co. are owned by Disney and Alex Hirsch and are all copied without permission. I have made this story for fun and not profit.
Writer's Note: This idea is one of the very few that kept coming back to me whenever I am working on other things or just doing things around the house. I had also been thinking about how dangerous sinkholes can be.. To those who are interested, may read onward. (Rated for suspense and bloodshed)
Prologue
Dipper and Mabel were outside the shack, working around the property and near the Mystery Shack. Even when Soos had taken over as the Mystery Shack owner, he had thought it would be a good idea to follow what Stan had done and fix up the property to make it more presentable to any possible tourists. After many days of heavy rain, the twins had been asked to replace whatever signs had fallen or rotted away. It had been a bit chilly that morning and the rain during that week, but it had thankfully warmed up to the point where they would not need to wear a jacket or sweatshirt; although, Dipper and Mabel still wore their signature vest and sweater as they worked.
The twins were in the process of hanging up a few wind-chimes and bird feeders; which had been suggested by Soos' grandmother, Abuelita. She had mentioned it would be a good way to bring authenticity to the Shack. As Mabel and Dipper were hanging up one of the last of the feeders, Mabel caught sight of the red-haired teen as she parked her bike at the base of a nearby tree. She hung back from the ladder she was standing on and wore one of her biggest smiles as she waved to her.
"Hi Wendy!" she smiled.
Dipper, who was holding onto the base of the ladder, looked over at her and felt his face flush a little.
"H-hey Wendy.." he stammered softly.
"Hey guys." Wendy grinned.
As she approached, she noticed all the feeders and feeders hanging from the roof of the Shack.
"Been kinda busy, huh?" she commented with a smirk.
"Yeah.." Dipper responded with a shrug. "Soos' grandma kinda said it would help bring more people to the Shack."
"Huh.."
As Wendy looked about, she could see the many sizes of the chimes and feeds spread about.
"I take it you guys had been at it for a while then.." she stated. "You guys look like you might need a break."
The two looked at her a bit curiously. After placing the very last feeder on the overhang of the roof, Mabel slid down the ladder and collided with Dipper, nearly knocking him over. Thankfully, Dipper kept his grip on the base of the ladder and was able to keep from falling down. Once Mabel was on the last step of the ladder, Dipper moved to the side and allowed her to step off the ladder.
"What'd you have in mind?" asked Dipper.
"There's this trail that my dad used to take us on while growing up.." Wendy replied.
"You mean like a hike?" asked Dipper.
"Yeah, man!" Wendy grinned. "C'mon.. Don't tell me you're afraid to go out in the woods.."
"I-I'm not scared!" Dipper protested, his voice slightly cracking.
Dipper cleared his throat and tried again.
"I-I mean.. I'm not scared.."
Wendy and Mabel couldn't help but chuckle as Dipper's face flushed.
"Well, then let's go." Wendy grinned. "And make sure to bring some supplies just in case."
"In case?" echoed Dipper.
"In case we spend the night." Wendy responded.
Dipper and Mabel were surprised at what Wendy was implying.
"Okay.. We should let Grunkle Stan and Great Uncle Ford know." Dipper stated. "We don't want them to freak out about us just randomly leaving.."
Wendy gave him and Mabel and nod and soon the twins hurried into the Shack. After about twenty minutes, the duo returned, each of them carrying a backpack.
"Okay, we're ready, Wendy." Dipper grinned.
Wendy returned his grin with her one of her own.
"Okay, let's DO this!" she smiled.
And with that, the trio began their trek into the forest.
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The afternoon sun had thankfully dried much of the path within the woods, making the hike through the forest a bit easier as they walked along the 'Oakwood Trail'. As the trio continued onward, Dipper and Mabel soon noticed the ground along the trail seemed to have changed. They watched as Wendy effortlessly climbed up the steep incline of stone, causing bits of gravel to tumble out of place. The duo soon followed behind her, doing their best not to slip and fall. As they made it to the top of the incline, they noticed Wendy had stopped.
"Wendy?" asked Dipper
"Look over there!" Wendy responded with a smile.
The duo looked off to where Wendy was pointing and noticed that many feet from the trail, were tall structures made from what seemed to be limestone protruding from where the ground met with the tree-line.
"C'mon, guys!" Wendy grinned, soon leaving the trail.
As the twins were about to follow behind her, Dipper noticed that many of the trees seemed to be growing at an unusual slant. It was then that he also noticed that some of the vegetation in the surrounding area seemed to be welted as if they had been out in the sun for far too long, even when many days before, it had rained quite heavily. He wasn't sure why, but something about the area didn't seem right.
"Are you sure about this, Wendy?" asked Dipper, nervously.
"Of COURSE I'm sure!" Wendy replied. "A few dead trees aren't going to scare me away."
Dipper and Mabel exchanged glances before turning to look back at Wendy, only to find she had already began to trek deeper into the forest. It had only taken them about twenty minutes to reach the area of risen pillars of limestone.
"Dude! Isn't this AWESOME!?" Wendy asked, beaming. "These must be at LEAST a hundred years OLD or something!"
As Dipper and Mabel looked at the extremely tall pillars of porous stone, they thought they looked all around them as they thought they heard a noise. The sound seemed to be that of thunder, although they did not seem to see any clouds up above them.
"That's weird.." Dipper muttered.
Mabel shrugged as she turned to her brother.
"It's probably just the wind or some-..."
"SHH!" Dipper interrupted. "Listen..."
The duo began to listen closely, stifling their breathing to better hear the noise. Dipper and Mabel soon froze as they heard the sound again and felt a cold dread wash over them as they realized the noise was emanating from beneath them. It was quiet at first, but it slowly grew louder. The duo soon turned their attention to Wendy and their blood ran cold as they noticed the ground was beginning to sag beneath her.
"Wendy!" Dipper cried, running toward her.
He gave Wendy a hard shove, knocking her over. Wendy tumbled to a stop on the ground, a few feet away from where she had been standing moments ago. As she recovered, she turned to Dipper in confusion, and stared in horror as she saw the ground beneath Dipper sink a few inches.
"Dipper..!" cried Wendy in horror.
Dipper looked up, fear evident in eyes as he could see a split beginning to form around him. As he rose to a kneeling position, Dipper's deep brown eyes met with Wendy's bright emerald ones as the ground sank another foot.
"Dipper! C'MON!" Mabel shouted, soon joining Wendy's side.
As more of the ground sank farther, Dipper gave Wendy and Mabel a sad smile.
"I'm sorry, guys.."
As he said this, the ground gave way beneath him and he plummeted into the darkness below.
"DIPPER!" cried Wendy and Mabel.
As the ground around them settled, the duo hurried toward the edge of the now massive pit, staring down into the darkness below. All they could hear were the echoes of gravel and dirt hitting the water far below them. Wendy fell back on her rump as she felt an overwhelming fear and guilt overtake her mind.
"H-he.. He saved me.." Wendy muttered. "I c-could've... B-but Dipper..."
She trailed off as the weight of the situation sunk in. Dipper had risked his life to save hers. Wendy felt a new emotion filling her at that moment as she felt her eyes grow teary. She fought back her tears as she turned back to the pit, now filled with determination.
"Dipper! Dipper don't worry!" cried Wendy. "We're gonna get you OUT!"
There came no response. Acting quickly, Wendy and Mabel eased themselves over the edge of the pit and began their descent into the massive sinkhole. Loose gravel clattered into the dark abyss of the pit as they inched their way down. The climb was slow going but they couldn't be too careful. Soon reaching the halfway point, Mabel felt the already unstable earth beginning to give way as more of the loose rock and dirt tumbled down all around them.
"Mabel!"
Wendy, thinking quickly reached toward her, gripping onto Mabel's wrist and with her other hand, swung her axe into the wall of the pit to make an anchor but found the dirt was more like clay and the axe would not take hold. Thinking quickly, Wendy tossed Mabel onto her back as she took hold of the axe with both hands, digging the axe's sharp blade into the wall of mud and clay. Mud, and gravel rained down on them as they continued their descent. Wendy gripped at the wooden handle, trying her best to slow their descent into the dark abyss. She suddenly felt the axe's blade snag on a stray tree root. For a brief but hopeful moment, she thought it would take hold. Unfortunately, Wendy felt the handle of the axe snap free from the blade, as it could not hold up to their weight, especially considering they had been falling at such a high rate. The duo let out cries of fear as they plunged into the darkness below.
Author's Notes: I will try to get more up soon.. Btw, it had been mentioned that if the ground is uneven and there are unusual noises coming from near the area, it is possible that a sinkhole may occur..