Wayfarer [Bill Cipher x Reader] [REVISED]

Chapter Thirty-Two: It Will Come Back

A heady enthusiasm infused that day and the next. The triumphant roar of the Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River, the bubble and pop of the mud pots, the whoosh of Old Faithful at eruption time—these poured forth like music for the two of you as you hiked the various trails and pathways, breathing in the sights and sounds. The land shone pale gold and sage in the full sunlight.

But, as lovely as those things were, in the heat of summer, all humans had to concede to two threats: heat stroke and insects. And the two of you were no exception. So, after more than half a day of hiking, the two of you strode towards a nearby visitor center, slick with sweat.

"Whew!" You wiped your brow as you entered, a blast of crisp, cool air hitting you as the doors swung open to reveal honey-brown log paneling. The air washed over your skin and enveloped you as you and Bill trod on over to a small bench covered in shade. The two of you sat down and laid back to catch your breath.

"Oh, thank God for air-conditioning," you gasped.

"Absolutely," Bill said. He wiped his forehead with his sleeve. "Got any water? Mine ran out."

You shook your head. "Nope. Besides, we're in a visitor center. They have water fountains over there." You pointed to a spot on the opposite wall, where two water fountains sat just outside a set of restrooms.

"And bathrooms. That reminds me. Gotta go take a leak." He stood up and handed you his empty water bottle. "Be a dear and refill this for me, will you?"

You sighed and accepted the bottle. "Fine. Meet me back here once you're done, okay?"

"Sure. See you then!" With a wave, he disappeared in the direction of the bathrooms.

You waved at his retreating back. Then, scooping up your things, you made your way over to the water fountain.

The water gurgled a soft song as you refilled both bottles. Once both were full, you dipped your head down and drank deeply of the fountain, noting the cloying taste of chlorine in the chilled stream that issued forth. Eh. You'd had worse. You kept drinking.

Then you wiped your lips and returned to the bench.

You sat back down and sighed. Ah, the indoors. What a delightful place to be after spending five hours sweating like a hog in the mid-summer heat. The outdoors had its beauties and its charms, but the indoors had comforts. Like air conditioning, and running water, and flush toilets, and Wi-Fi—

Wait, that was right. You had Wi-Fi in here! You scrambled for your phone and turned the Wi-Fi on. Once you were connected, you opened Twitter. Just what had you missed while you were out in the backcountry, you wondered?

Opening your feed, a bunch of cute dogs and some witty celebrity tweets popped up. You smiled. Aw, look at that puppy yawning! What a cute, stubby snout and chubby limbs it had. And that Chihuahua in the lobster outfit sure looked goofy, the way its tongue lolled out of its mouth...

You lost yourself in the sea of cute and funny that presented itself, scrolling through picture after video after gif. Some very majestic-looking golden retrievers romped through a field of clover in this one Tweet, while this puppy kept lunging and yapping up a storm at this praying mantis, which cocked its head at this bouncing ball of fluff, unable to determine what to make of it. Just a bunch of cute, mindless fun. You liked a fair number of the tweets.

In the middle of scrolling, a notification popped up. Mabel's contact name appeared over the text, which simply read:

A link to The Oregonian's website followed it. You raised an eyebrow and clicked on it. What was this about?

A short article popped up.

Top gang lieutenant arrested in southern Oregon

July 10th, 202X

By Amy Lane, reporter

A major breakthrough in the Cipher Gang case has been made with the arrest of Pyronica "Ronnie" Jones, one of the gang's top lieutenants, in rural Klamath County yesterday, an Oregon State Police (OSP) spokesperson said in a statement released today.

Jones, who had been at large since the April 18th raid on the gang's headquarters, was arrested in an abandoned farmhouse after a neighbor noticed a light on inside and called police to report the suspicious activity.

In the ensuing gun fight, five officers were wounded before Jones was finally taken into custody. Two of the wounded officers are currently in critical condition.

Still, the OSP are calling the operation a success. "I would say that the operation went a lot better than I thought it would," said OSP Superintendent Brad Bradley. "All things considered, being able to arrest such a violent suspect without any loss of officer or civilian life was simply fantastic. I commend all of the officers involved for their bravery."

Now, the only major Cipher gang member to remain at large is its leader, Bill Cipher. His whereabouts remain unknown. If anyone has information regarding his current activities or location, the OSP asks that they contact the Criminal Investigations Division at 555-555-5555 or by email at osp-cid@oregon.gov​.

A/N: Hey @Moondrinker, guess who finally remembered to put the texts in? This guy! I'm so proud of myself for not being so scatterbrained this time. :)

Writer's reminder: Hey you guys, here's a friendly reminder that writers love feedback! Remember to vote or comment on this chapter to let me know how you feel about this chapter or the book so far. :)