Reverse Falls

Chapter 1: The New Kids In Town

Bud Pines' business, The Mystery Shack, in the quiet little town of Gravity Falls was close to opening for the summer. But this year would be a little different. This year his son and niece would be joining him. His ex-wife said it was to teach their son some "responsibility" but he thought it was just to give herself some time away from them. His niece, Paz, was spending the summer with them because her parents (his wife's brother) were on some kind of retreat that would last all summer. Bud sighed and went back to cleaning. The bus would drop the kids off soon and he wanted them to love this little shop as much as he did. Gideon, his son, had never been here before and he wanted it in tip-top shape for him and Paz.

Outside, the bus pulled up and two kids, a girl and a boy, stepped out. They were the same age, but the girl was just a little bit taller than her cousin. The girl was smiling when she stepped off the bus while the boy looked around curiously. Bud saw them through the window and put the broom against the wall. He walked outside to greet them.

"Hey kids!"

"Dad!"

"Hey buddy!"

"Hi Uncle Bud!"

"Hey Paz!"

They both ran up to him and hugged him. He laughed. "Good to see you two! How was the ride here?"

Paz smiled, her blue eyes shining. "I counted 9 pieces of gum under the seat," she said excitedly. "And I found a stain shaped like George Washington's head."

Gideon looked around at the trees around them like he expected the Bogeyman to jump out. "I think I saw someone standing in the trees on the way here..." he said.

Bud smiled. Gideon had always had an active imagination, even when he was a little kid. Bud always told his wife that he'd grow up to be an author or an artist. "Gideon, no one is watching you. I promise."

"Are you sure?" he asked, his voice full of uncertainty. "Mom said that-"

"Your mother doesn't like that I'm doing something instead of moping around after the divorce. She doesn't like that I moved up here either. Don't let her stop you from having fun this summer, okay?" Gideon nodded but Bud saw him checking over his shoulder for the rest of the day.

After the introductions were over and he showed them to their room in the attic he told them they could go look around town or play outside, whichever they chose, just to be careful and not get lost. Paz was ecstatic about being able to go outside, Gideon on the other hand...

"Do you think we were in his way?" Gideon asked Paz.

She was leading the way through the tall oaks and birches while he followed her. "Why would you think that?" she asked back.

"He seemed like he wanted to get us out of there pretty quick..."

"Think about it. Why would he invite us up here if we'd be in the way?" Paz stopped to look at a little cluster of dandelions.

"He doesn't say 'no' to my mom very often. If she told him to let us stay up here, I doubt he'd say... 'No'..."

Paz looked back at him when he trailed off. "You okay? Whatcha starin' at? A bug?"

Her cousin was staring up at a tree covered with moss. It wasn't anything special. A bunch of other trees had plants growing on them too.

"What?" she asked again.

"Does this tree look... Weird to you?"

"You talkin' about the branches? Lots of trees have branches on them that curve and zigzag like that," she said. "It's pretty cool."

"No, I mean why is the bark peeling?"

"Bark peels, Gideon. That's kinda what happens."

"It looks like paint..."

He started scratching the paint off with his nails.

Paz gasped. "Don't! You'll hurt it!"

Gideon ignored her and kept scratching. Until he hit his nail against a hinge. "Ow!"

"Are you okay? What's wrong? Do I need to get Uncle Bud?"

"What is that? A hinge?"

"A hinge? Like on a door?" she asked.

Gideon followed the line from one small hinge to another then another line and another until it made the shape of a small door in the wood. "Paz, what is this?"

"Like I know... Open it."

"What? No way. What if a snake jumps out at me?" Gideon stepped away from it but Paz nudged him forward again.

"Snakes don't live behind secret doors in trees. Just do it."

He sighed and pulled on the little door. It popped open easily and they both backed up. Inside was a panel of buttons and a tiny lever. Gideon slowly reached forward and pulled it. The sound of metal scraping against metal came from a rotten looking log nearby. They walked over, Paz in front of Gideon, and looked inside the old log. To their mutual disbelief there was an old book inside. It looked like it hadn't been touched in decades. On the dark blue cover was a tarnished hand with the number 3. As Paz reached in, a centipede crawled over the book. She jumped back and yelped which made her bump into Gideon and sent them both to the dirt.

"What? What was it?" Gideon said as he scrambled up.

"Sorry, sorry. Just a bug," Paz said.

Gideon held a hand out and she took it. He pulled her up and, together this time, they both peered into the log.

"A book?" Gideon said aloud.

"What's it doing in here?"

"How long has it been here?" Paz asked.

Gideon picked it up and opened it to the marked page. A monocle rested on the page. "Woah. How old is this thing?" he said.

"Weird," Paz muttered. "What do we do with it?" Then she gasped. "Who's it's owner? Look in the cover."

He flipped it back to the inside cover. "There's no name. That part was ripped out. That's really weird..."

After a small discussion over what to do with it, they decided to bring it home and keep it. Bud seemed interested in it but only as far as where and how they got it. Then he left them alone. Together, they read through it. They read about the gnomes and zombies and giant bats that supposedly lived in the forest or that the author has spotted in town. They sat there, mouths agape, staring at the page.

"Do you think this is real?" Gideon asked.

"No," Paz said. "No way. This is a joke."

"A weird one." Gideon added, nodding.

"What do we do with it?" she asked.

"Well, I kind of want to finish reading it," he admitted.

Paz shrugged. "Okay. If that's what you want. But I'm going into the town tomorrow to hopefully meet some new friends. You wanna come?"

Gideon shrugged. "I don't know. My dad will probably make me go either way. So sure."

Paz smiled wide. "Cool. You'll see, we'll be making friends left and right tomorrow! It'll be great!"

A/N I really am sorry about this taking so long to get back out. But I hope you guys liked reading this anyways.💙