Dipper and Mabel sat on the bus heading home from Gravity Falls, the only thing waiting for them besides their parents being the looming certainty of the new school year. Dipper and Mabel had exhausted themselves that Summer, exporing the unknown of the mysterious town that was Gravity Falls. They were happy to go home and see their family but sad to be leaving Grunkle Stan, Soos and Wendy along with all the strangeness that had made their summer so unique.
Mabel released a huge sigh and let her head fall onto her twins shoulder, "how long do you think till we get to the next stop?" She asked looking up through her bangs at Dipper. He gave a one shoulder shrug and she released a huge groan, sprawling across the seat, head on her brothers lap and feet hanging off a bit. "Why does it have to be so long, couldn't mom and dad have just gotten us?"
They had already been on the bus for a few hours and exhausted all the games they usually played on the bus. They still had to transfer to one more before they got to Piedmont. "I dunno..." he said looking out the window watching the trees rush by them, "do you think we'll miss a lot while we're gone?" Dipper asked, voice a bit downcast.
Mabel gave a raspberry, her tongue sticking out when she finished, "Don't be silly!" She exclaimed happily, "when we come back next summer there will be plenty more things to investigate!"
Dipper lightly touched Number 3 in his inner vest pocket before looking down at Mabel and couldn't help but smile at her optimism, "Yea, you're right."
"I'm always right," she said resolutely, crossing her sweater covered arms, a huge grin plastering itself across her face. There was a small snort that must have been in consent as a pigs head popped up from below the seat, Mabel swiftly rolled onto her side so she could squish the pigs face. "Thank you Sir Waddles it is always nice to hear from my most faithful knight!" It had taken a lot of convincing to get their parents to let Mabel bring Waddles with her, but her happiness was worth it, nontheless Dipper still rolled his eyes at his sisters silliness.
The bus lurched to a halt and sent the kids into the back of the seat in front of them. They were the only ones on the bus besides the driver, so only their groans resounded, "wha?" Dipper asked quietly, rubbing his head, Mabel had flown off the seat and was now lying half on Waddles half on the ground.
"Beep, boop, buuuuuhhhh," she groaned rolling onto her back, "what happened?" she asked looking up at her brother.
"I'll go see," he said, hopping up and walking towards the front of the bus, but once he saw what was out the front window he stopped short. There were overturned cars, small fires a little farther out, and what appeared to be bodies littering the highway. Dipper finally reached the bus driver and he saw that the man petrified, jaw hanging open and face having taken on an unhealthy shade of white. "Wh-what's going on?" Dipper asked, absolutely terrified voice cracking a bit as he looked at the destruction.
Mabel had made her way to the front of the bus and stared at the mayhem in front of them. She turned scared eyes on her twin, reaching out her hand, "bro-bro...?"
Dipper grabbed her hand and gulped, and they stood there in silence for a moment, before the bus was put into reverse, they were thrown a bit off balance and stumbled into the seat to their right so they could still look out the front window. The bus driver made a quick U-turn and headed back towards Gravity Falls.
"I'm taking you kids back," he said swallowing his own terror to try and reassure the kids, he gave a shaky smile, "everything will be fine... everything will be fine..." he muttered over and over to himself as if trying to reassure himself rather than the children. Mabel and Dipper shared a worried look, Waddles seemed to pick up on this, or perhaps he just wanted attention. But he was there, lying across Mabel's and Dipper's lap as they squished their sides together, hands clasped.
After a few hours, Mabel had fallen asleep against Dipper's shoulder, and Dipper struggled to keep awake. A horrible fog had moved in making their trip back slower, Dipper glared at the dense fog, he knew they would have already been back to Gravity Falls had it not appeared. Dipper couldn't see anything, he could barely see the front of the bus; the driver seemed to be having some trouble too as he was hunched forward, trying desperately to see anything. For how fervently the two were watching the headlights trying to pierce the fog bank, they both jumped in surprise when something smashed into the front of the bus. The vehicle lurched for the second time that night trying to stop as quickly as possible, the bus driver began panicking at the thought of having hit something or someone.
He pulled a little lever and the bus doors opened, he ran out towards the still form laying slightly to the side of the bus. Mabel had woken from her nap with the rough movements of the vehicle, "what's happening?" She pushed herself past Dipper to look out the window, she saw the human shape laying sprawled across the ground before Dipper could stop her. "DID WE HIT SOMEONE?!" She screeched horrified, Dipper gave her a little nod and she looked like she was about to cry or vomit, maybe both.
He tried to calm her down, but he couldn't take his eyes away from the bus driver leaning over that body, attempting to bring the man back to life. Dipper saw the person beneath the bus driver move a bit, "Hey look!" Dipper shook Mabel a bit and she saw the body of the person on the ground move a bit.
"Is... Is he okay?" she asked staring out the window. Her voice filled with hope.
The man was reaching up towards the bus driver, who was by now looking terribly relieved, Dipper began to nod his head, "Yea, yea. It looks like he'll be-AUGHHH!" He screamed as the victim of the collision grabbed onto the bus drivers head and pull him closer to viciously bite his face. Mabel yelled too, Dipper rushed past her to the front of the bus, instincts taking over as he saw the creature begin to chew off their driver's face. All that drove him forward was his fear for his sister and himself. He pulled the door lever hastily and then fell back into the driver's chair, disgusted and horrified by the sounds permeating from outside.
Mabel stared blankly at the man taking mouthfuls of their driver, "Is that a..." she trailed, and Dipper knew just what she was asking. She was asking if it was something undead, something that shouldn't exist. She was asking if that was a Zombie that was killing the driver, Number 3 had a part on zombies but it had not prepared him for this. The driver never got the chance to scream, after his moment of shock passed the creature tore out his throat. That horrible sound of fresh meat being torn from bone, of teeth gnashing, seemed to echo in the foggy night.
Dipper crawled over to his sister and wrapped his arms around her, she did the same to him, there in the bus they sat, dropping down the below the window to the floor. They clung to each other as if life depend on it, which who knows it might have. They hoped silently that they would go unnoticed by the creature lurking outside the bus. "We'll be okay.." Dipper said hushed and stroked his sisters hair. Mabel let silent tears fall, soon the exhaustion of the day caught up with them though, even the terror couldn't keep them running, they were only kids after all. What the next day held for them was a mystery, but their dreams were filled with thoughts of home and hope that whatever they had seen had simply been a nightmare.