Pointdexter: A Swooning Over Stan-fiction

Chapter Seven

Left led the pair into a dimly lit cave that Ford claimed to remember well, except the last time he'd been there, it was pitch black since he'd gone in the middle of the night. From the depths of the cave, Alice could hear the sound of dripping water, echoing off the cave's shadow-shrouded walls. Her hand brushed against the wall, eyes slowly adjusting to the low light in the cave.

She heard Ford's footsteps come to a stop in front of her and the rustling of fabric.

"Hold on-" He muttered under his breath. "I have a flashlight in here somewhere. This cave has never received much natural light, you see, and... hm..."

"You must keep a whole collection in there-" Alice muttered back, her eyes adjusting as he rummaged. From his coat pockets, Alice found a rather interesting collection of items: dice, a pad of paper, and a quill. She was sure that if she took the time to look, she'd find that some of the pockets were hand-crafted.

"Here we are!" Ford said, only a little louder than before. "At last. Allow me to... Darn, out of batteries."

He flicked the flashlight on and off, where there should have been a small beam of light, there was nothing but darkness. Alice fumbled for her pocket and turned on the flashlight.

"I have one," She whispered to him, holding her phone up. It was small, but it did its job.

"Huh," She could hear his hair rustling as if he was brushing it back. "You saved our hides there, Alice. I was about to pull out a matchbook."

Alice chuckled, her light guiding the way as she and Ford moved farther into the cave yawning around them. It wasn't until the slivers of natural light from outside disappeared that Ford spoke again.

"It's been years since I've been here," He mused quietly. "Decades, even, at this point. But I'll always remember the eye-bats as one of my first discoveries when I arrived in Gravity Falls."

"How did you find them?" She asked, her eyes wandering over the damp cave walls. "Was spelunking something you did often?"

"Hardly," Ford responded, his eyes focused ahead of him. "One got into my house, you see. I was making breakfast one morning and one managed to find my cereal box. When I poured the cereal into the bowl, it came fluttering out, agitated, like it belonged there! The nerve!"

He sounded indignant, even years later. Alice let her small laugh escape her, hair falling into her face.

"A rude house guest," She smiled. "If I do say so myself."

"Indeed. I wanted to contain it for further study," Ford continued, straightening in the cave. "But unfortunately, it managed to get away. As I thought about it afterward, it's pupil had constricted against the light, unfamiliar of the light in the kitchen. So, either it's nocturnal, or-"

"It lived in caves," Alice finished the thought as if it was her own.

"Precisely," Ford nodded at her. "It lived in the deepest, darkest cave in Gravity Falls. I found them easily after that."

"Did you manage to take a specimen?" Alice asked, her interest piqued.

"Somewhat," He said with a shake of his head. "I came running through this cave with a butterfly net and my wits. I brought a working flashlight that time- they hid in dark corners. Once I turned off the light, they flocked to me. I caught eighteen of them that day, but it reminded me of the stealth uses of-"

The rapid sound of clicking claws against stone sent a shiver down Alice's spine. She could see the light wavering in front of her, her fingers clenching tight against her phone case.

"The dark..." Ford continued, a determined expression crossed his face and Alice flicked off the flashlight. His hand tapped lightly against her shoulder, a light push to move forward.

The passage widened into a large cave, the darkness shrouding dripping water from view, but as her eyes adjusted, Alice could see a shadow. A winged shadow with glowing red eyes that reminded her of rubies. Alice could feel her breath catching in her throat. The shadow of an arm swung out in a wide arc, like a grand introduction.

"Alice, I'd like for you to meet the Mothman," His voice was only a few inches from her ear, whispering, but even in the dark, Alice could see the grin crossing his face. He glanced between her and the Mothman, apparently hoping for a dramatic reaction, but she was speechless.

That seemed to satisfy him.

"It hasn't noticed us yet," He said in a low tone, sliding a butterfly net and a large jar from his coat. Now where that one came from, I don't have a clue. "Here's the plan. You make contact with Mothman and I will capture one of the hundred moths that comprise it."

"Wait-" Alice hissed as quietly as she could manage. "I get to touch Mothman? The Mothman?"

"Yes-" Ford said, the corners of his mouth twitching into a grin. "And it turns into a hundred black witch moths. It's like experiencing a swarm of locusts- Surprising when you're not expecting it. Remember, even a light touch will be enough."

"Got it," Alice nodded, steeling her nerves as he waved her forward. Alice shot around the winged creature, her foot slipping on a puddle of water on the floor. Her hands splayed out, catching herself before her face hit the ground. Very graceful, Alice. She could hear her phone skidding across the floor, sending her into devious darkness.

Her fingers reached forward, grabbing one of Mothman's legs before she hit the ground. When she looked up, her hand was empty, and the sound of thousands of fluttering wings vibrated in her ears. She could hear Ford moving as she pushed herself off the ground, pressing her body into a low crouch as the click of a jar slamming shut sounded behind her.

"Got one!" Ford grinned, reaching a hand out to help her up. "You can get up now, Alice."

"That-" Alice gasped out, winded, as he helped her stand. "- was amazing!"

"You could say that," Ford chuckled, releasing her hand and brushing off the dust from his coat. "Our completed repellent is within sight; Let's head back."

Alice felt like she was buzzing with energy, the grin plastered across her face built from adrenaline and excitement. Ford turned to leave the cave, and she was almost jealous of how calm and content he looked, he'd probably seen things like this a thousand times compared to her. Alice followed him out of the cave, and when the light of the settled moon hit her face, she raised her hand in the universally understood offer of a high-five.

She watched him pause, as if uneasy, then grin as he returned the high-five, or rather, six.