Mabel dreamed of her brother. "Dipper!" she called out to him, though he never heard her no matter how loud she yelled. "Dipper! Dipper! Please hear me, Dipper!"
It didn't do her any good.
The dream took place in front of The Mystery Shack, and though he appeared to be close to her, in the dream it was as if the two were miles away.
Dipper didn't say anything, just seemed to sit and stare into his book. He may have liked the book very much, but Mabel knew that he'd never ignore her to read it.
"Dipper!" she called again. "Can't you hear me, Dipper?" She already knew the answer.
She then tried running to him, but the faster she ran, the harder it seemed to get to him. How would she ever reach her brother at this rate?
Dipper continued to flip the pages of his book, never getting tired of it and looking up.
"Gruncle Stan!" she yelled, hoping he would hear her. "Wendy! Soos!" No one heard her.
She was all alone, at least before she woke up with a jerk.
"What's wrong?" asked Jeff.
Mabel hid her disgust at sleeping next to him. "I had a nightmare. It was nothing, I'm getting back to sleep now."
Mabel wondered what Dipper was up to. Did he have any idea where she was? Was he looking for her?
"Mabel," said Jeff. "You're spacing out! You have to learn this spell."
"Sorry," Mabel said. "I'm just kind of tired."
"Okay, back to what I was teaching you. All you have to do is repeat the phrase 'Oh life, come to me' ten times, then throw one of our ancient powders in the air."
"When am I doing it?" Mabel asked.
"In a week, once the moon is full," Jeff said. "That's why you have to learn I so fast."
"I can do that," Mabel said, though she didn't really care about it. There had to be some way to become human again, wasn't there?
"Let's continue," said Jeff.
"Oh life, come to me," Mabel repeated.
"Just like that," said Jeff.
"That's simple," Mabel said.
"Yeah, but if you make even one mistake you could doom our entire race. No pressure, though."
Mabel ran her hand over her new sweater, one made out of moss of all things. "Yeah, no pressure."
"Remember, if we die, you die." Jeff said. "Still, no pressure."
Mabel wanted to choke the little guy, but she refrained from doing so. "Okay, so now what?"
"Lunch!" said Jeff. "Or else I'll starve to death."
Not like I'd mind if you did, thought Mabel.
"Let's go get us some grub," said Jeff.
From what Mabel had learned in the little time she'd spent here, there was a hierarchy of power in the gnomes. Jeff was the leader, the one she spent the most time with, the one on top of the gnomes' power chain. Other gnomes were always less than him, though some had great deals of power.
"What's for lunch?" Mabel asked, still disgusted by gnome food. Though she hadn't expected cheeseburgers in the middle of the forest, she still hated the gnome food. Seriously, why couldn't berries just be eaten alone and not with grass? Ewe.
"Venison," said Jeff.
"Venison?" Mabel had never seen any of the gnomes eat meat.
"Yeah, we need to get our protein." Jeff ran his tiny hands together, licking his lips. "Believe me, you'll want fourths!"
The venison was good, having recently been smoked. She ate as much as she could, knowing she likely wouldn't eat much else for a while.
"You like it?" asked Jeff.
"Definitely," Mabel said, doing what Gruncle Stan would consider a crime by talking with her mouth full.
"That's great!" said Jeff.
When lunch was over, Mabel began to look around the forest. She realized that if she did make an escape, she'd have to leave, and her plan would have to be made out in advance, with every possible variable considered.
"May I reread the scrolls?" asked Mabel, hoping to waste time and make out her plan.
"Sure," said Jeff. "No problem."
Mabel smiled. "Thanks."
Jeff didn't notice her fake cheer.
Author's Note: I've been getting a lot of "Dipper should come save her!" messages. Though I do like Dipper, I see Mabel as being able to save herself. Not that there's anything wrong with Dipper, but Mabel isn't a damsel in distress who needs to be rescued.