Misrule (Depravity Falls)

Chapter 2

"That's been in there for days." Wendy said as she showed Dipper a dead rat she pulled from a rusty pipe. Dipper cringed slightly as Wendy stared at it with intense interest.

"It's like a rotten puff ball." She whispered, more to herself than anything.

"I'm gonna go see if Soos needs any help." Dipper said, looking for any excuse to get away from the dead animal.

The shop wasn't empty, but it certainly was quiet. Maybe 2 to 3 people were roaming the tiny isles, looking through the fake oddities.

"Hey Soos." He called up towards the ladder standing below the rectangle hole in the vent, "Need any help?"

"Sure. Can you take these outlets to storage?" He asked, handing the boy a cardboard box.

"Mhm."

The basement was something Dipper tended to avoid. All of the creatures Grunkle Stan was inventing were stored down there, adding hundreds of eyes to the already eerie atmosphere.

Cobwebs swayed from the gaping ceiling. Dust from years of neglect turned the black tables gray. The place was allergy ridden and disgusting. Dipper carefully maneuvered his way to the labeled boxes. Placing the outlets in an empty space, he stood there for a second, doing nothing but spacing out.

Someone's coming.

He tried to ignore it.

It's not safe.

He knew what was coming. That dread...

"How you doing, pine tree?"

Dipper's breathing increased as well as his heart rate. Anger seemed to flicker somewhere deep in his chest.

"Leave." He muttered through his teeth.

"Oh come on. Is that any way to treat a friend?" The yellow glow brightened as Bill slowly approached him.

The word 'friend' added fury to the flame.

"Leave me alone."

"So how did you sleep last night?" He asked. The auto tuned echo in his voice added a tense feeling.

"Why do you ask?" Dipper remained calm, still facing the wall.

"Because I know those voices are getting worse. No way you could sleep through them. Especially last night."

"I don't hear voices." He lied. The slight increase in his defensiveness gave him away.

"I'm sure." Bill replied, sarcastically, "What do they tell you?"

"... Some scary things."

"Oh that's nothing, pine tree."

"What do you mean?" Dipper spun around to confront him, only to be welcomed by the dark wall on the other side of the cellar. The yellow glow was gone, but Bill's digitalized voice still echoed in dippers ears.

***

"Waaaaaaaddleeeees" Mabel chimed as she wiggled the pig back and forth. She touched her nose to him as he snorted in response. Her playfulness gave off a happy vibe among the exhausted workers. It had gotten really hot in the afternoon and everyone was taking a break from the heat in the living room.

It was Mabel's voice that kept Dipper's intrusive thoughts at bay. He contemplated whether or not to tell her about the situation with Bill. Lately, Dipper had been keeping things to himself for no particular reason. He just... felt she couldn't be trusted.

Mabel must have noticed Dipper's lack of enthusiasm for the show playing on the TV set. She gestured for him to follow as she stood up. He followed her in an absent-minded trance to their room.

"What's going on, Dipper?"

"Nothing."

"You can tell me."

Bash her head in.

"No..." Dipper replied, both to the voice and to Mabel. He covered his face with his hands, avoiding his mouth for easy communication. He refused to look his sister in the eye.

"Please?" She pressed on.

He had to hold back a surge of anger from her nosiness.

"It's none of your business." He hissed in a low tone. Mabel's face contorted to show the sudden hurt caused by Dipper's words.

Get rid of her.

"Dipper-"

"NO! Ugh! Bill came to see me, okay? There! I said it!"

Mabel froze, then visibly relaxed. Her expression turned from shocked and hurt to sad and concerned.

"Did he try anything?" She asked, preparing for the worst.

"No." Dipper said with an exasperated sigh, "Ugh. That makes it sound sexual."

Mabel had to hold back a snicker. "No, I mean did he hurt you?"

He shrugged, "No, but..."

"But what?"

"I don't know... He just makes me uncomfortable."

"I don't blame you, Dipper."

He ruffled his hair and questioned whether or not to tell her about the voices. For some odd reason, he saw her as a snitch. She was a snitch to no one in particular.

"I'm going for a walk." He muttered.

Ignoring Mabel's response about the heat, he bolted out the door, down the stairs and put the shack. He didn't stop running until he reached the darker side of the woods. Each step created more tension and paranoia. The voices were temporarily replaced with suspicion.

The trees were littered with Dipper's symbol. Even the recent ones looked like infected scars on impatient skin. The air became hotter and his chest became tighter as his energy stopped short. He stumbled into a nearby tree and lowered himself to the ground.

"Oh good! I thought you'd never show up!"