22 Short Stories from Gravity Falls - Story 2: By the River

Summary: Ford discovers a mysterious looking creature in a river nearby his home in Gravity Falls

Story 2: By the River

The year is 1978. Young Stanford Pines is strolling through the woods of Gravity Falls. He was writing away in his journal as he walked...

"The way these woods just keep going on is one of Gravity Falls most spectacular and most docile anomalies. You could be left wandering forever without ever finding your way back home. Thankfully, I discovered a river that flows nearby my laboratory which serves as the perfect landmark to follow so that I do not lose my way."

Ford followed the river through the forest in the pursuit of anomalies. But today he wasn’t having any luck. No unusual footprints, no barfing mythical creatures, no weird looking plants, no nothing.

He was about to give up until he noticed something odd in the river. It was a little fish like creature. But it looked more like a lizard, was pink, and had one adorable looking face.

“Well hello their little fella,” Ford said as he bent down to look at the creature.

The creature looked as if it was looking back at him. Ford was impressed by how vigilant it was.

“I swear, you look very familiar. But I don’t know why,” he said.

He grabbed a jar from his bag and scooped the little creature into it. He then grabbed his journal and began to write…

"My journey to find new anomalies was not turning up anything today. However, I just discovered a mysterious looking little lizard fish in the river I was walking besides. I plan to take it back to my lab to investigate."

Back in the lab, Stanford was perplexed at this unusual creature. He had put it in his fish tank to observe it while he looked for anything that matched it. It did not look like anything he had seen before and all the books he had on Oregon native fish and lizard species showed nothing. Had he found a new anomaly?

“There’s only one other thing left to do. Check through my encyclopedia collection until I find out what this could be,” said Ford.

He grabbed book number one of thirty-two. If it was not in here, it was a new species or even a Gravity Falls exclusive anomaly. If so, he would begin studying this creature more thoroughly. But until then, he had a lot of reading ahead of him.

Book by book, section by section, page by page, paragraph by paragraph, sentence by sentence, Ford looked for anything that could tell him what this creature was.

Many hours and many cups of coffee later, he had something…

"Found in lakes near Mexico City, the Axolotl is notable for its permanent retention of larval features, such as external gills, it’s pinkish colour and ability to regrow lost limbs."

Ford looked at the picture featured alongside it. It was a match.

“An Axolotl? How did you get all the way here little buddy?” said Ford to the baby Axolotl who was starring at him from his tank?

He was confused. Had this little Axolotl been a pet that someone disposed of in the river? Was it an illegally smuggled one destined to be sold on the black market that escaped? Or did it swim all the way here? He assumed the first theory was the most probable as he recorded his findings into his journal…

"So, it turns out that this unusual creature I discovered is actually a Mexican native Axolotl. I’m still confused as to how it ended up in a river all the way in the Northern United States, but I assume it was a pet that someone set free into the river. I have no idea what to do with it. I don’t think that this little fella may survive the winter so setting it free may kill it. I’ll see if there is an animal sanctuary that might take it nearby but for now, I’ll be taking care of this little one. I wonder what an Axolotl eats."

Now late at night, Ford cleaned up and headed for bed. He looked back at the Axolotl who was still looking at him.

“Goodnight buddy. Wish I could study you more but I need some sleep. I have a lot to do tomorrow. Whatever the future may hold,” he said.

The lights all turned off, the shack fell silent. The Axolotl crawled back down onto the tank floor and looked out at the moon. Its eyes began to glow.

“Oh, Stanford Pines, if only you knew what the future holds for you. All that is coming that could still be avoided,” said the Axolotl.

It began to glow as its eyes projected a looming darkness. Through it, a one-eyed monster appeared.