Gravity Rises (S1)

PF: Part One

Mabel Pines took a deep breath of fresh, cold night air.

Her orange jacket was wrapped tightly around her, with an oversized grey coat on top of that. The night was frigid, and the cold seeped into Mabel's bones despite her layers. Though it was only seven P.M., the sun was long gone. Mabel's flashlight would be her guide tonight.

Her fingers rubbed against the small stack of money in her pocket. Thank goodness she had convinced Ford to let her go into town for food. The decades-old canned food he had been trying to feed them for the past three days was disgusting.

She breathed in deeply again. It wasn't just the food. She, Dipper, and Ford had been cramped in a tiny underground bunker for three days, with nothing but the stench of tension and canned meat in the stale air. But she was out now. She was outside, where the air could flow freely, where she could actually breathe. She had begged Ford to let her go buy some food, but what this was what she really wanted.

"Mabel! Mabes, wait!"

Mabel jumped at the sound of her brother's voice and turned her flashlight on him. "Dipper, shh!"

"Why?" Dipper asked. He sidled up next to her, shivering slightly in his dark blue coat. "It's not like Pacifica is here spying on us," he added, though he lowered his voice all the same.

"She very well could be," Mabel replied with a shudder. "But anyway, remember what Ford said about not attracting anyone to where we are."

Dipper rolled his eyes. "You and Ford are acting like it's the apocalypse or something. It's just Pacifica. With all that stuff in Ford's bunker, we could take her."

"Just Pacifica?" Mabel asked. "She tortured Ford three days ago! She nearly killed me a couple weeks ago!"

Dipper put his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay, you're right. Can we go into town now?"

"I'm going by myself, Dip."

"I wanna go too! Plus, if something happens, the two of us can protect each other."

"We'll be too conspicuous," Mabel argued. She really would rather have him with her, but she was afraid of him giving them away.

"You mean I'll be too consi. . . conspe. . ."

"Conspicuous."

"I'll be stealthy, Mabel, I promise!"

Mabel sighed. "Does Ford know you're up here?"

Dipper hesitated. "Well, I told him as I was leaving."

"And I'm guessing you left before he could tell you no."

Dipper shrugged.

Mabel rolled her eyes, but she couldn't resist a smile. "All right, fine. Let's go get some real food."

"Yes!" Dipper said, pumping a fist. "Real food!"

"Shh."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

Fifteen minutes later, they emerged from the trees and found themselves on a small asphalt road. Mabel turned off her flashlight, not wanting to draw attention to them. There were street lamps in the distance to light their way.

Dipper let out a small gasp next to her. "That's Greyson's house!" he whispered, pointing at the house across the street.

Mabel knew what he was thinking. "You can't go talk to him, Dipper."

"But he and Candy have no idea what happened to me!"

"That's the point," Mabel replied. "We gotta be off the map as long as Pacifica is threatening us."