Cipher [A Gravity Falls Tale] #Wattys2016

Thirteen

Shivering in the cold, Ford hugged himself tightly and and tried to stay warm. His heat had gone out the previous day, and he was too afraid to call anyone for help. Besides, if his contact showed up soon, then he would be able to proceed with his mission.

As Ford lay on his bed, he heard a commotion outside. There were sounds that sounded like running and voices of... children? Ford grabbed his crossbow and tiptoed down the stairs. Carefully, he cracked open the door and peeked outside. Nothing but snow and more snow. Ford swore under his breath and slunk back inside, though not permanently until after he added some hard-to-miss "no trespassing" signs.

That night, Bill haunted his dreams once again. Plagued by visions of death and destruction, Ford bolted upright, covered in a cold sweat.

"For the love of all that is holy," he cried into thin air, "please, let me be!" His plea was met by nothing but silence and the howling wind blowing against the facility outside. Ford eventually fell back into a fitful sleep, one peppered with surreal visions and nightmares.

When he awoke, the sun was beginning to filter through the snow covered trees. Hanging icicles lazily dripped onto the blanketed ground. Inspired by the change in the weather, Ford retreated to his study, where he had assembled a sort of "anti-Bill" headquarters. Data he had gathered and experiments he was working on were scattered about on desks and work tables. Among other things, he had a theoretical quantum power device he was now converting into a weapon to fight Bill, several papers over his possible influences on human history, and a program that was meant for protecting one's mind against the evil being.

Unfortunately, nothing was completed yet. Ford felt as though he was missing some key piece of information about Cipher, or maybe several pieces, none of which had yet revealed themselves. Ford growled in frustration and slammed his fist down on the table. In his rage, he knocked several books to the ground and hurriedly gathered up his papers. Stuffing them into a file folder he had labeled "The Cipher Files," he entered the correct sequence into the elevator and rode it up to the ground floor.

Yep, he had even changed the codes on his elevator for specific floors. If one person found out how to get into his study, they would still need the code to get down to the basement. He had become that paranoid.

Ford stormed into his observatory and flipped onto a couch, feeling hopeless. The sky outside had darkened again with his mood, and fresh waves of snow were blowing through the air. Gosh, it snowed so much here. In contrast with the hot summers, it was almost like a different town existed during the winter.

These visions of snow filled his mind. Suddenly, Bill was there, floating in front of him. Ford tried to tell himself to wake up, wake up! But there was no breaking this trance.

Bill hovered toward him, hands outstretched. "If I can't use your eyes, sixer, I'll just take them instead!" He glowed a fiery red and shot forward!

Suddenly-- a knock at the door. Ford jumped up, breaking his trance. No one had been here in weeks. Couldn't they see the signs? Unless...

Ford glanced at the calendar. His hermitage had caused him to lose track of the time. He had actually forgotten the date. Thinking about it, Ford rationalized that it like seemed like plenty of time had passed for his contact to arrive.

Taking his crossbow with him, he eased himself quietly to the door. He grabbed the door handle and threw it open, pointing the crossbow in the trespasser's face. "Who is it?" he demanded frantically. "Have you come to steal my eyes?"

"Well, I can always count on you for a warm welcome," grumbled the person on the other side of the door, their face nearly identical to Ford's own. It was his twin brother, Stanley Pines.