Cast Away

Chapter 5

(Bill pov)

Author note: The above video is for a story called At The Water's Edge and that story and this video are heavy inspiration for my story here. I advise you go check them out if you like this story.

I sigh as I sit at the desk in my room running a hand over my face. That damn boy. He is so....conflicting.....I just need to figure him out. I take the eye patch off my eye before reaching into my drawer and taking out a bottle of rum. I glance at my reflection in the bottle, my golden cat slit eye staring back at me in the reflection. I sigh putting my hand over my eye when I hear a knock on my door.

"Enter." I don't even need to look already knowing it's Tad. I take a swig of the rum as he sets his eyepatch on my desk by me and leans against the nearby wall.

"You want to explain to me why the Pines boy was locked up in the brig all night?"

"Was to keep him from trying to do something stupid."

"Such as?"

"Jumping overboard and just letting himself drown. Idiot thought it would be a peaceful death."

"How would you know that?"

"Because that's what he was thinking last night. He wandered onto the deck so I was there with him to keep an eye on him and saw those thoughts. I pulled him back so he wouldn't."

"Why do you care what he does? He's just a Pines." He takes the bottle from me taking a swig of it himself.

"I don't know. There is just something different about him. He's like the most intricate puzzle on earth that I have to solve or it will just drive me crazy."

"And?"

"And I am not at all getting close to solving him."

"The Pines family are all difficult."

"Yeah....he's like Sixer, but at the same time the exact opposite, if that makes sense at all."

"It kind of does, I think. I will agree that he is different. He hasn't done hard work before. You saw how tired he was at the end of the day yesterday."

"Yeah."

"You realize messing with that family is stupid."

"I know."

"I sometimes wonder why I follow along with your craziness."

"Because you love me." He and I both share a laugh at this as he hands me the bottle back.

"Why not just go into the kids dreams to figure him out?"

"I've tried, but everytime he wakes up before I can even see what he's dreaming about. The kid has no respect for me as his captain."

"You kidnapped the kid. No wonder he doesn't think of you as his captain."

"He will eventually. That much I know."

"Hmm...oh, almost forgot the reason I came in here at all. There's a storm coming."

"How far out?"

"Maybe an hour, two if we get lucky."

"Alright. Get all hands on deck and tying everything down, the Pines boy as well. I'll be up there in just a second."

He puts his eye patch back on as he leaves and I run a hand through my hair as I lean back in my seat. That boy is going to be the end of me one of these days.

I pull my eye patch back on and grab my coat pulling it on as I head up to the deck.

Tad was right, I sense the storm coming as well despite the skies being sunny and clear. It's coming and it's coming fast. We'll be lucky if we even get an hour before it's here.

I head up to the wheel to keep us on course as Tad instructs the others on what to do.

It's not long before the storm hits and our entire ship would have been capsized if it wasn't for me and Tad's magic keeping it afloat.

I do my best to keep us steering on course as my eye gazes at the others on the ship, most struggling to make it below deck. I see Pinetree clinging to the railing for dear life, drenched from head to foot. Another wave washes over the ship and when it's gone I realize in horror that so is he.

"Bill, what are you doing?!" I hear Tad yell, not even realizing what I'm doing as I run to the deck stripping off my coat as I jump off the railing and dive into the churning waters.

I cough as I have to come up for air before I rip the eye patch off my face and dive back under the waves, using my magic to try and reach out or sense for him anywhere.

Come on, Pinetree, where are you! I'm nearly ready to go up for air again when I catch something shining in the water farther down. I swim quickly towards it and realize it's the bracelet on his wrist. I grab his wrist pulling him to my chest as I swim us both upwards.

Once we break the surface of the water I grab onto the rope that Tad threw down as he and the others pull us back onto the ship.

I lay Pinetree on the deck and realize that he isn't breathing, his skin pale and lips blue.

"No no no no....Pinetree damn it I order you to breathe!" I feel tears stinging my eyes for some unknown reason as I shake his shoulders hard.

"Move out of the way." Tad pushes me aside as he flips his eye patch up and puts his hand on the boy's chest, his hand glowing purple. "Come on, Dipper....live or I will never fucking hear the end of it." The boy's body convulses and Tad's eyes harden. "Almost there...."

His body convulses again as he sits up puking up water before he coughs and gasps for air, Tad putting a hand on his back helping him sit up.

"Easy, kid, you're okay." He puts Pinetree's arm over his neck and helps the kid stand up before he looks at me. "I'm putting him in your room. Guessing there will be no objections to me doing that."

He leaves with the kid below deck as I pull my eye patch back on and go back to the wheel to steer us through the rest of the storm.

Once we're through the worst of it I go down to my room where Tad is waiting for me in the halls. Neither of us say anything as we head into my room and see Pinetree passed out curled up in my desk chair. I go try and peek into his head, my hand reaching out towards his forehead when Tad firmly grabs my wrist.

"You might do more damage than good with the state he's in. Wait until he's rested a bit."

He lets go and we both take the boy's soaked clothes off of him and put him in one of my night shirts, it being big on him before we move him to my bed. He doesn't wake at all during the whole process.

"You better know what you're doing." Tad says as he leaves the room.