Alex Hirsch Gravity Falls Journal 3 Novels & Stories

“You’re not their subject. You’re mine.” The shaft shook violently. Panels ripped free. Jay nearly slipped. Elias grabbed him, screaming: “I’ve got you — DON’T LET GO—!!” Jay cried out: “THE FLOOR IS COLLAPSING—!!” Alexander pushed harder, using every muscle to climb with Lena safely held. They neared the top— When the entire shaft lurched sideways. Metal shrieked. A massive slab fell from above. Elias yelled: “LOOK OUT—!!” Alexander twisted his body, shielding Lena—

Alex followed me, grabbing hold of me so fast that I couldn’t stop him. We struggled, and as he put his hands around my throat, I thought of the little life growing inside of me, and it was as though something snapped. I had no idea where the strength came from, and I watched as Alex suddenly tumbled backwards, falling down the stairs. It felt as though everything happened so fast, and at the same time in slow motion. I stood there frozen, just gaping at the man lying at the bottom of the stairs, when grandma walked through the front door.

Then we’re falling. Alex yanks me against him as the emergency lights flicker on, casting everything in a sickly red glow. His heart pounds against my cheek, his arms forming a protective cage around me. Eliana stumbles, catching herself against the wall. Marcus’s papers scatter across the floor like autumn leaves, revealing glimpses of damning evidence in their descent. “The emergency brakes should engage automatically,” Alex starts, his voice steady despite our plunge. “The system was just inspected last—” Another shriek of metal cuts him off. We drop faster, the floor numbers blurring past: 15, 14, 13… The force pushes us up slightly, creating a sickening sensation of weightlessness.

The asphalt lifted up like a black ocean. Julian's body became solid again. He stumbled forward, catching the edge of the desk as the platform beneath them started to tilt. Julian yelled "Elara! The book is closing! The core is dumping everything into the world! We're falling back to the city!" The office chair slipped from under Elara as she slid down the wet desk. The laptop and keyboard slid past her plunging into a vortex of black water that had opened where the highway used to be. Elara did not let go of the journal. She held it to her chest as she fell backward into the dark, freezing void.

They were crossing worlds now. She had tried so hard to keep them apart. Her phone buzzed. An unknown number. She already knew who it was. Unknown: You should be careful. He’s becoming visible. Her hands shook violently. Another message followed. Visibility attracts consequences. Maya slid down the wall, sitting on the cold floor, her breath coming in shallow gasps. They were escalating. And Ethan didn’t know how close to the edge she was standing. Across the room, Ethan felt it the shift.

Push. I feel a shove. I fall, losing my footing. Alex catches me mid-air, wraps me tight, and we crash down the stairs together. Roll. Hit. Scratch. Thud.

This hunk of junk creaked once, and then the world instantly went dead. In that split second, gravity seemed to vanish, leaving my stomach stranded back on the tenth floor. The deafening screech of metal slamming against the emergency brakes echoed through the cramped shaft, before finally being swallowed by a silence that was far more terrifying. "Shit! What the hell was that?!" Bima shrieked, his voice cracking in the pitch-black void.

The only thing that I knew was that we were outside of the room, our struggle with one another still very much heated at its peak and then, in a moment of wicked irony, gravity decided to join its forces in on our battle. We crashed into the banister, the force of our collision sending us falling downward. The world spun around me as I tumbled down the flight of stairs, my body jolting with pain at the impact on each of the several stairs. I clawed at the air, desperately reaching for something to hold on to and stop myself from falling any further than I already had, but my efforts at stopping my fall were in vain.

When she finally broke through the dirt, heaving for breath, the cool mountain air seared her lungs as she coughed out dirt. Kira sat there for several long minutes, half in and half out of a grave, no one else in sight, the forest surrounding her impossible to see in the dark. “Fuck,” Kira coughed, tiredly shoving at the dirt covering her legs, trying to free them. She brushed dirty fingers against the tear in her neck, wincing at the sting. It was probably a mess of infection right now, but oh well. It would heal. Probably. Kira crawled out of her grave and lay down beside it, staring up at what she could see of the sky through the inky tree branches blotting out most of it.