Nightmares and Daydreams

Chapter 18: Visions Of The Night

Wirt's Pov

"My oh my, this is really bad." Ford flashed the light into my right eye and I squinted. When I had told Ford what happened in the forest, he instantly began running tests and experiments, trying to figure out how to stop what was happening to me. He turned the light off and went over to his desk to grab something. When he came back, there was a rather intimidating looking needle in his hand. He took my hand and rolled up my sleeve then pricked my skin with the needle. I hissed and edelwood branches slowly rose out of the floor and wrapped around my feet. Ford glanced down at them and then up at the needle in his hand. He dismissed the branches and walked over to his desk where he poured the blood from the needle into a test tube. Only it didn't look like blood. Instead, the substance was a disgusting mix of crimson red and black oil.

Ford swirled the mixture of blood and oil around in the tube and sighed. "Wirt, I-I've never seen anything like this. This isn't just a simple demon possession, this is a full-on demonic transformation." "Yeah, I know, but how do I stop it." Ford shrugged and put both the needle and test tube down on his desk. "I'm not sure. The best we can do is just study it until some kind of clue is revealed." Ford started going through his drawers and scanning his desk when he turned back to me. "Have you seen my magic monitor?" I was about to say 'no' or that I didn't know what that was when I remembered the device Dipper used when we were at Bill's statue. "Um is it a small metal device with an antenna and a radar screen thing?" Ford nodded and I realized that the thing Dipper was using was what Ford was looking for. "I think Dipper had it. We used it to check out Bill's statue." Ford groaned and face-palmed. "Damnit Dipper!" I frowned at Ford's tone and looked off to the side. Dipper was only trying to help so there was no reason for Ford to get so pissed off. He wasn't trying to do anything wrong. Why was Ford getting so mad at him!? 

"Wirt get a hold of yourself!" I blinked and realized that edelwood branches had been growing out of the ground at a rapid rate. I panicked and waved my hand, making the branches go away. It was scary how good I was getting at controlling them. "S-Sorry Mr. Pines, I-I didn't mean to-" "It's fine boy, just try to stay calm. These branches seem to respond to your emotional state." Ford patted my shoulder and gave me a small reassuring smile which made me feel better. I sighed and sat back down on a small stool, and Ford's smile fell.

"Um Wirt, have you thought about telling Dippe-" "No." I quickly slapped my hands over my mouth and gasped. My voice sounded just like... just like his. I shook my head and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down like Ford said. "S-Sorry. I um... no. I don't think I can tell him yet." Ford sighed and placed a hand on my shoulder. "I know you want to keep him safe. So do I, but I can only imagine how worried he is about you. Besides, if Dipper senses that something is up he'll try and find out, whether you want him to or not." I nodded, understanding Ford's words. There was no doubt Dipper was upstairs pacing back and forth, trying to figure out what's wrong with me. But, I wasn't ready to tell him the truth... not yet.

Ford looked down at his watch then back at me. "Look Wirt, it's getting late and I'm sure you're tired after today, so how about you go upstairs and get some rest." I nodded my head and stood up and went back up the stairs to the gift shop. Before I opened the vending machine, I pulled out my phone and turned on the camera. Thankfully my eyes were back to normal and there was only a small trace of black oil on my face. I wiped it off on my sweater sleeve and with a heavy sigh, I opened the secret door and stepped into the gift shop.

To my surprise, Dipper wasn't there which made me relax a bit more. I walked into the living room and sat down next to my brother, who was fast asleep with Jason Funderburker in his lap. The frog looked up and I smiled and gently petted its head. Jason Funderburker croaked happily and snuggled closer to Greg, who stirred a little. I looked away from my brother and over to the back door, which was slightly opened. A gust of wind blew into the shack and Greg shivered, frowning at the cold breeze. I got up and went to close the door when I heard the faint sound of someone singing. It sounded so familiar, but I couldn't place the voice. There was something about it that was drawing me closer, so I slowly walked out of the house and into the woods.