Mabel opened her eyes, squinting in the sudden light. Above her through the tree branches, a dull gray sky glared light down onto her. She sat up, taking stock of her surroundings. She was in an unfamiliar forest of some sort, full of leafless trees stretching as far as she could see. The ground was as gray and hard as the sky, bearing no greenery that she could see.
Then everything hit her like a train. She remembered Grunkle Stan and the portal, panicking and being sucked through after she chose to trust him…
"Grunkle Stan!" she yelled, leaping to her feet. "Dipper! Soos!" She turned in a full circle, looking for some sort of opening, a portal, but there was nothing but dark, barren trees and grayness.
"Dipper!" She tried again. "Can you hear me? Grunkle Stan?"
The only reply she received was the echoing of her voice.
She tried again and again, hoping and praying for a response. She pinched herself as hard as she could, thinking it could all be just a dream, but she just ended up with a sore throat and a smarting arm.
Slowly, she began to process the reality of her situation. She had fallen through the weird portal Grunkle Stan had in the basement, and now she was stuck in a strange, unfamiliar forest that didn't seem like any forest on earth.
"Come on Mabel," she told herself, attempting to quell the panic that was rising in her stomach. "Don't worry. Grunkle Stan will save you."
A sudden gust of icy wind blew through the trees, rattling the branches together. Mabel shivered, realizing just how cold it was. A sweater, a skirt, and flats were hardly ideal clothes for cold weather like this. She could already feel her hands getting numb.
Grunkle Stan would save her, but until then she had to take care of herself. She had been taught like every other kid to stay out if she got lost, but in this case that did not apply. It was freezing cold, and she had to find somewhere to stay warm.
She knelt down, grabbing her socks and yanking them up as far as they would go in an attempt to keep her calves warm, not that it did little good. When she stood up again, she noticed a blotch of pink against the bleak landscape not far from her. Intrigued, she took a step forwards, peering at the thing. As she got closer, she realized it was a little lizard clinging to one of the trees. It was an odd little thing, all pale pink with a frilly head. It turned to look at her as she neared, watching her with black, beady eyes and a cute, smiling face.
"Hey there, little guy," she said, her voice sounding loud in the silence of the forest. "What are you doing out here?"
The little lizard blinked.
"I guess I should ask myself the same question," she said. "Do you know where we are?"
The lizard, of course, did not respond. Mabel wondered why she was even talking to it, but it was a relief to see another living thing in this lonely place. Then it occurred to her how strange it was for a reptile to be out and about in such cold weather.
"Are you one of those weird things from Gravity Falls?" she wondered aloud. "Normally lizards and snakes like to sleep in the cold, but you're not."
The lizard just blinked and smiled.
"Easy, little guy." She inched towards the lizard, extending her hand slowly. It was so cute she couldn't resist picking it up, and she didn't want to be alone in this strange place.
As soon as her hand came within inches of touching the lizard, it scuttled off the tree quick as lightning, scooting off across the ground.
"Wait!" Mabel cried, afraid she'd scared it off. To her surprise, the lizard stopped a little way away from her, turning its head back to her.
Confused, she took a couple steps towards it, and it took a couple steps away before looking back at her again.
"Do…do you want me to follow you?"
She wasn't for sure, but she swore she saw the lizard nod at her. Regardless of what she saw, she took it as a yes.
Another cold gust of wind blasted through the trees, whipping her hair around her face. She moved it out of the way, resisting a shiver and tucking her arms into her armpits as she trotted after the pink lizard.
/
It seemed that no matter what her pace was, the little lizard was always ahead of her. If she jogged in an attempt to keep up her body heat, it sped up its pace. If she slowed down after tiring herself out, it slowed down as well.
She followed it for what seemed like an eternity, and she began to wonder if the trees would ever end. But finally, after a long time, she saw a break in the trees ahead of her. Eager to see what lay beyond the colorless forest, she sped up, and the lizard did too.
She came at last to the edge of the trees, and found herself facing a wide open plain. It stretched out flat as far as she could see, the only change in color being a fuzzy black line on the horizon denoting more forest beyond the plain.
"Wow," she said to herself. "This place sure is big. Why did you bring me here?" She looked down at the lizard, only to find it wasn't there anymore. "Little lizard guy?" She looked all around her, but the little splash of pink had indeed vanished.
Her heart sank as she realized she was once again alone, and fear began to claw its way into her stomach. She was alone, and definitely not on earth.
"Alright, I can do this," she whispered. "Grunkle Stan will rescue you me. I just gotta stay positive." A huge gust of wind pulled at her, and now that she was no longer shielded by trees it seemed even worse. "And warm."
So she started walking along the tree line, the forest to her right and the plains to her left. The ground was perfectly flat beneath her feet. There was not a dip or hollow in the hard surface. She looked for a pebble of some sort to kick along her way, but there were none.
She carried on that way until movement caught her eye. Ahead of her, there was a small dip in the ground that turned into a small hole, not unlike a gopher's. Next to the hole sat a small, gray rodent that resembled something between a mouse and a chinchilla, with bigger front teeth and even bigger black eyes. It regarded her, its whiskered nose twitching. If it hadn't have moved, Mabel would have never known it was there.
She resisted the urge to squeal at its cuteness, knowing she would likely scare it off if she did. She was just relieved to see another life form after the pink lizard had left her.
"Hey there," she said softly. "You look kind of like a mouse, but I don't think you are."
The rodent stiffened, its head shooting up in alarm.
"Oh, don't be scared!" Mabel cried.
A shadow passed over her.
The rodent let out a high-pitched squealing sound, scrambling for its hole. The next thing Mabel new, a huge bird had swooped down out of nowhere, clawing for the rodent but just missing its tail as it vanished into the hole, razor-sharp talons scratching against the stone. She stumbled backwards in surprise, taken aback by the enormity of the bird as it soared off into the sky again.
It was a bird as big as Grunkle Stan. Its plumage was nearly the same color as the slate gray sky, making it nearly invisible to Mabel as she followed its path into the sky. The only thing she could see of it were burning red eyes.
"Wow," she breathed, shielding her eyes to allow herself a better view of the creature. Briefly, she lost sight of it as it wheeled in the sky. She squinted, searching for it until she saw the red of its eyes again, and they were drawing nearer…
It was coming for her.
With a yelp she turned and ran for the cover of the trees, which was several yards away. She thought she could make it, but the bird had speed and size on its side. She screamed as she felt her sweater tighten around her midriff and her feet leave the ground.
"Let me go!" she screamed, kicking and flailing at the bird to no avail. "I'm not food! I taste nasty!"
They only continued to climb higher into the air, but that didn't stop Mabel from screaming her head off, her cries echoing across the empty plain. This is how I die, she thought in the back of her mind. Bird food in a strange place.
Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a dark figure dart out from in between the trees. She heard a sound similar to a gunshot, and a bolt of green sizzled past her. The bird shrieked as the projectile hit it, the cry blending in with Mabel's screams as she was jostled roughly. Another two shots rang out, and suddenly she was no longer being held.
The ground came up fast. She hit it with a sickening thud, pain exploding in her left ribs as the wind was knocked out of her. All she could do was lie there and pant as she watched the strange figure in black fire a few more warning shots at the bird.
"Get out of here!" It was a man. He shook his gun threateningly at the beast. "Get out of here or I'll make sure you never hunt again!"
The bird let out an irritated shriek. Mabel turned her head slightly just in time to see it soar off into the sky, disappearing quickly as its plumage blended in. The next thing she knew, the man was coming towards her. All she could do was lie there, hoping he was friendly. He crouched down beside her, concealing his gun somewhere inside his black jacket.
"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice slightly muffled by the thick scarf around his mouth.
"I'm…I'm…" Mabel gasped, clutching at her ribs, still trying to regain her breath. "I'm hurt." Her vision was clouding over. How hard had she hit her head?
"Wait, don't pass out!" He was bending over her now, taking her by the shoulders. "Who are you?"
"Mabel," she slurred before she passed out altogether.