Mysteries of Gravity Falls: Ride of the Ghost Train

This is a short story fic as a spinoff for my continuing Gravity Falls series and in honor of Halloween. When the Mystery Twins and their friends decide to take an after dark venture into the long abandoned and seemingly deserted Gravity Falls train station, they soon find more than they bargained for. A local folk tale comes to reality right before their eyes, and if Dipper and Mabel have learned anything this summer in this town, it's that things are not always as they seem. Daring adventure and intriguing mystery are the stops on this train. So all aboard, and have your nerves and tickets ready…

Disclaimer: I do not own Gravity Falls

Chapter 1: Evening at the Shack

It was a cool summer evening in August for Gravity Falls in central Oregon. Business was slow as was typical for a Sunday. In the museum gift shop inside the Mystery Shack, Dipper was busy reading through the second of Ford's journals, finally having an opportunity to read the first and second one since the revelation they were in the shack since before the author returned. Mabel was playing with Waddles on the floor, and Wendy was laid back in her usual spot behind the counter reading a magazine and occasionally texting Tambry on her smartphone.

"Mabel, didn't Grunkle Stan tell you to keep Waddles out of the gift shop? You know he'll chew on anything he can fit in his mouth." Dipper warned his twin sister as he caught the girl and her pig in the corner of his eye.

"Aww, but Waddles likes it in here cause I'm in here!" Mabel chimed with her typical grin as she rubbed her pig's belly, causing him to squeak in delight.

"He blew his top last time he came in here and saw Waddles chewing on the Stan bobble heads. Maybe you should listen to Dipper." Wendy suggested upon briefly looking up from her magazine.

"Since when have you two cared about what Grunkle Stan thinks?" Mabel asked, looking over to face both of her human companions.

"Good point" Dipper and Wendy both replied in unison before looking back down to their reading material.

Outside the shack at in the woods along the dirt road that was used for the outside tours Stan gave, said old con man and his faithful handy man were doing maintenance at the stop by the totem pole, Soos having been cleaning the inside of the portable toilet. He stepped out the door to the plastic stall clearly tired but satisfied at a job well done, spray bottle low on cleaner still in his left hand with the grime-caked sponge in his right. He called to Stan who was on his knees plucking weeds near the pole.

"Mr. Pines! I scrubbed the inside clean like you asked! All done!"

"That thing's been in need of some service for months, I'll check it myself to be sure you didn't miss anything." Stan stood up and headed over, setting down the hand digger and the plastic bag he was holding. He added, "Almost done over here, let's finish up and get back to the shack. If you're staying for dinner we're having fish, caught it myself this morning." Stan opened the door and finished by congratulating his eager employee while he stepped inside, the door shutting behind him, "Not bad, not bad at all. Almost looks like new in here!"

"Thanks, Mr. Pines! And yeah, I'll stay for dinner! You said you caught the fish yourself?" Soos asked his boss. Stan replied from inside the stall.

"Yeah, stupid bear thought he had it but I showed him whose boss! You can't outwit Stan Pines!" As Stan bragged about his manliness out of the dense woodland came said bear, right over towards the portable toilet. Soos quickly noticed and spoke up, worried for his boss but not ready to take on the large beast.

"Ummm, Mr. Pines, I think you need to come back outside…"

"You should have seen it, I laughed right at his dumbfounded bear face! That's the right of a winner! Hahaha!" At this point the bear was at the stall and placed both forearms and paws directly on the side of it.

"Mr. Pines!"

It was too late, with a look of complete frustration on his face, the bear knocked the portable toilet directly over onto its side, Stan's surprised yelp cut short by a gushing noise, and the odor that came with it wafting out of the plastic stall. With a growl of satisfaction, the bear turned and left, departing back into the forest, leaving Soos to look at the fallen stall with a mix of shock and worry.

"Mr. Pines? Are you okay?"

Clearly struggling to come to grips with what just happened, Stan cried out from inside in both his own shock, and disgust, "Oh… oh God… it's everywhere… and all over me! Oh God! Soos! Go get me a change of clothes and lots and lots of soap! Hurry!"

"Right away, Mr. Pines! I'm on it!" Soos hurriedly ran back towards the shack. Stan spoke to himself once his handyman was gone.

"Why did this happen? I completely don't deserve this!"

As Soos made his way towards the shack, the clock turned six and Wendy was the first to notice, taking off her nametag and telling her younger friends, "Quittin' time! Looks like I'll see you dudes tomorrow."

"Bye, Wendy!" Mabel smiled.

"Later, Wendy" Dipper did likewise as he looked up from the journal. As Wendy neared the door, she got another text from Tambry. Checking it, she turned to show the twins and inform them.

"Hey guys, Tambry, Nate, Lee, Thompson, and Robbie invited me to go with them tomorrow night to the old train station outside Main Street. They suggested I bring you two along, it'll be so cool! We've been planning to check that place out all summer! Say you'll come with!"

"A new experience? Count this girl in!" Mabel agreed immediately. Dipper had some reservations, however.

"I don't know, Wendy. Remember the last time we snuck into an empty old building? Pretty sure Thompson is still in therapy over it, isn't he?"

"Come on, dude. This may be our last chance to do something all together as a group before summer is over." Wendy tried to persuade the boy. Mabel gave her own thoughts as well as she stood up, picking up Waddles in her arms.

"Yeah, bro-bro, and besides, it's not like every empty old building in this town can be haunted, right?"

Dipper thought more for a moment before giving a light smile and answering, "Okay, I'm in". Mabel turned back to Wendy to ask her something with a typical wide smile.

"Can I bring Candy, Grenda, and Pacifica with us?"

"Sure, the more the better! We leave after closing time tomorrow. I'll see you two in the morning." And with that Wendy walked out the door to head home. The sun was getting closer to twilight. Off in the distance in the deep woods outside of the town, along the rusted remains of the old train tracks, cluttered with overgrowth from years of neglect and occasional litter, a faint but present whistle of a locomotive horn sounded in the distance.

Will be continued soon…