Disclaimer: I do not own Gravity Falls! The wonderful cartoon and characters belongs to Alex Hirsch! I do however own Zell Zebran, her cat Kalie, Brick Register, Bruce Zebran, and other future characters! PLEASE, DO NOT TAKE THEM!
Note: This fanfiction will include an eventual romantic relationship between an older man and a younger woman, so if you don't like that kind of stuff, you can skip this fic. PLEASE, NO NEGATIVE COMMENTS! Thank you and enjoy!
Chapter 1
The sun was slowly setting itself toward the horizon, painting the sky above Oak Loft, Oregon various shades of yellow, orange, and pink. The rays of sunlight were playing with the spaces between the pine trees that were enjoying the content breeze, the ground dappled with patches of warm light. The creatures of the forest were as active as ever, not really paying attention to the setting sun... it would be another two hours before the sky was dark and the moon bathed the area with its beautiful white light.
All of the beauty of the forest was going unnoticed by the occupants of one of the houses that stood at the edge of it. The aura of the dark blue house was tense... very tense, to the point that the curious breeze didn't want to go anywhere near it. The tense aura had surrounded the house before, but this time was different... it was much thicker this time. What could possibly be going on in there? Since the breeze refused to investigate, a beam of light from the setting sun decided to see what was going on inside the house.
A small beam of sunlight peaked through the pine trees and followed the grass to the house, it crept along the siding until it reached a window and slipped in through the screen. Inside was a bedroom with a simple desk that had a few stray papers and pencils on it, a bookcase in the corner with a few books missing, an open closet and a wooden dresser with its first two drawers open.
In the middle of the room stood a twin-sized bed made in light gray bedding, two pillows propped up against the white headboard. On the bed was a black messenger bag that was stuffed full of folded clothes, books, a glasses case, bottles of vitamins, packets of cat treats, gallon sized bags filled with dry cat food, two folded blankets, a jacket, a notebook, a sketchbook, pencils, pens, hairbrush, toothbrush, toothpaste, two bottles of water in the outside pockets, and a bag of non-perishable food.
A beautiful calico cat sat by the bag, her golden eyes watching as her female owner put the desk chair up against the bedroom door and put a heavy box on the seat of the chair. The loud voices outside the room grew in volume, causing the cat to meow worriedly. The human turned and walked over to the cat and gently stroked the top of her head.
"Don't worry, Kalie." the human said softly "I'm not going to let them hurt you... we're finally getting away from this. We've been preparing for this day, after all."
The human was a thirty-two year old woman with long black hair, light brown eyes, silver-rimmed glasses, dark gray shirt, black pants, and dark gray sneakers. Kalie's owner normally didn't dress this dark, but it was a part of their plan, the human had to wear it so she wasn't easily spotted once they made it to the woods. Kalie knew that her owner, Zell Zebran would protect her, and vise versa... they were leaving this life behind and they were going together!
The voices in the next room grew louder, causing Zell to look up in fear, her heart jumping into her throat.
"They're coming." Zell informed quietly "We have to go, now."
Kalie hopped off the bed as Zell picked up the messenger bag that her friend helped her outfit for this very situation. Zell secured the straps to her shoulders, turning the bag into a large backpack, and quietly opening the screen of the open window. The woman gently picked Kalie up and placed the cat on the windowsill.
"You first." Zell whispered
Luckily, Kalie understood her owner very well, she skillfully jumped out of the window, landing on the ground easily since Zell's room was on the ground floor. Kalie let out an 'err', letting her owner know that she safely made it to the ground, Zell appeared in the window a moment later. Kalie kept an eye on the front door as Zell made her way through the window, the two didn't needed to be discovered right now... the plan would go up in flames! As soon as Zell's feet hit the ground, she heard someone bang on her bedroom door with force.
"C'mon, girl!" Zell ordered
The two ran towards the forest that bordered the backyard, going right past the fire-pit that was only used at least three times a year and the sandbox that Zell played in until the age of six. Zell felt only a tiny bit of relief as they entered the trees... she and Kalie weren't in the clear yet.
Kalie kept pace with her owner as they weaved their way through the trees and jumping over roots that lived above the dirt. A very loud noise that sounded like a door slamming back at the house caused Zell to feel fear hit her once again.
"Faster, Kalie." Zell ordered "We don't know if it's Father or Brick."
As Zell ran faster, so did Kalie. The two knew most of this forest very well due to the two of them exploring them a lot when weather allowed it... there were some paths that they haven't explored yet, but they knew where they were going. Zell had heard of a special place from a woman she met at the park last week and if she and Kalie continued their current path, they would find it before midnight!
"Get back here, Zell!" a male voice yelled
"Shit... it's Father." Zell cursed
Kalie gave a growl as she ran, they would have trouble losing Bruce in here... but they had to try.
"You're not going to get far, you know!" Bruce called "I know all the paths you use! There's no use in running!"
As much as Zell hated to admit it, her father was right. Bruce was always the one that went looking for her when she and Kalie were exploring and the two were late for lunch or dinner. So unfortunately, Bruce knew which paths to follow, Zell and Kalie were in some real danger right now... Bruce was a strong man, he didn't take it easy on anyone!
"We can't let him catch us, Kalie." Zell stated "I'm not being chained to Brick."
Kalie gave an 'err' of agreement, she didn't like Brick at all! The energy the man gave off made Kalie want to attack him, but the cat had to push it down... if she attacked the man, it wouldn't end well for the feline. So each time Kalie saw Brick, she pushed the feeling down, but kept a protective eye on her owner.
"We'll have to go off the path." Zell informed nervously "Go deeper into the woods, try to lose Father, and find the place Judy Morris told me about."
Zell slowed down and came to a stop by a thick tree, she bent down slightly by Kalie. The cat obeyed the silent order and jumped onto Zell's shoulder, the woman took a deep breath and ran across the path and into the thick woods a good distance and stopped again so her father wouldn't hear anything.
"Get back here, girl!" Bruce ordered "I will find you!"
Zell pushed down the urge to obey the order as she hid herself and Kalie behind a tree. She wasn't going to show herself, no way! She wasn't going to end up being chained to someone like Brick Register! She didn't want that kind of life... she couldn't help the ninety-five percent of the woman population, but she could try getting away from all of this.
"I will find you and that fur-ball of yours! The both of you will end up in the Punishment Room for this stunt!" Bruce yelled
Kalie let out a soft growl as she shifted her weight on Zell's shoulder, she wasn't going to let her owner be hurt by anyone! Zell shook her head quietly, neither of them were going to show themselves... Bruce would use Kalie to bring Zell out of hiding and vise versa. Kalie understood the silent order, staying on Zell's shoulder and as quiet as a mouse.
"I'm thinking a week in the Punishment Room for this stunt of yours!" Bruce taunted "After you're allowed out, you WILL become Brick's property! I will make sure of it, Zell!"
Zell swallowed thickly, her father was close... too close! She could see the man on the path, he had slowed down to a walking pace and was looking around.
"I'm smarter than I look, Zell! I know you're hiding! Come out right now, girl!" Bruce bellowed
Zell pushed down the urge to obey again, she quietly reached down, grabbing a decently sized rock and turned her body quietly. The woman took a deep breath as Kalie held on tighter, Zell put as much force she could into throwing the rock as far as it could go. The rock sailed through the air a good distance, landing on the ground and rolling along, breaking twigs with loud snaps.
"There you are." Bruce sneered. running toward the noises
Zell knew that returning to the path was out of the question, there was a very good chance that her father would spot them. She and Kalie had to go deeper into the forest in order to stay safe from Bruce, and hopefully find the place that Judy Morris had told Zell about.
"Stay on my shoulder, Kalie." Zell said ash she started running "I don't want you to get hurt or bitten by anything dangerous."
The calico cat gave an 'err-err' as she held on tightly, her claws digging into the strap of the messenger bag. Luckily, Zell was wearing thick-tread sneakers and her clothes were well made, she didn't want to get bitten by anything either.
"We'll be okay..." Zell panted "We'll make it to somewhere safe."
The woman slowed down a bit to carefully climb over a fallen tree that was too large to go around, Kalie gave a purr of praise after the human female made it over and they moved deeper into the forest. Zell looked up at a tree, smiling when she saw a piece of blue tape on it.
"Blue tape! Judy told me to keep an eye out for that." Zell stated "We're headed in the right direction."
A series of loud footsteps coming from the path caused Zell's smile to drop and fear to lodge itself in Zell's throat and turn toward the noise.
"Thought you could fool me, huh?" Bruce yelled "You're gonna be in the Punishment Room for ten days now, girl! Thinking that you could trick me!"
"Shit." Zell cursed "He's back sooner than I thought."
The woman turned again, running in the direction that the tape pointed toward. Anyone else would have given up now, heck, most women would have mindlessly accepted their fate and wouldn't run away at all. Zell wasn't going to give up or accept the hand she had been dealt.
"Get back here, Zell!" Bruce ordered
The older man sounded like he was good distance away, but Zell wasn't going to slow down or stop! She was going to keep running until she finally lost her father in the forest. Then she and Kalie could find the place Judy Morris mentioned, they could have a better life!
"I will catch you eventually!" Bruce yelled with confidence "The two of you will be punished severely for this stunt!"
Zell cursed under her breath, he father was getting closer! Zell jumped over a root as Kalie growled lowly, the two of them were probably only minutes away from being spotted and chased down!
"We can lose him..." Zell panted "We can do this."
As Zell ran toward two large trees, planning to go between them, a strange silver light flickered. Kalie titled her head slightly with a confused 'err-err-err', but Zell kept running, the fear of her father catching them too great to think of changing course. The silver light between grew brighter, starting to swirl with a streak of gold, Kalie dug her claws deeper into the strap as Zell ran straight into the swirling vortex.