Gravity Rises (S2)

HW: Part Twelve

PRESENT DAY, JUST BEFORE SUNSET

Ford awoke to a gentle swaying and bouncing. Like. . . like he was being carried.

His eyes snapped open, and he thrashed wildly in his carrier's arms as he remembered everything that had happened at Crash Site Omega. No — no, he couldn't be taken back to the Order —

"Woah, Stanford, it's okay," said a deep, gravelly voice. "I've got you. You're safe."

His panicked vision focused. It wasn't a human holding him, like he'd originally thought.

He was in the arms of a minotaur.

He breathed a sigh of relief and settled back into the minotaur's arms. Then his face flushed, and he tried to get up again. "Put me down," he said. It was humiliating being carried.

"I don't know," another minotaur said, one that Ford couldn't see at this angle. "You took a pretty nasty fall down that hill."

"And you were pegged with your own knockout patch," added a third.

"I'm fine," Ford said tersely. "Put me down."

He couldn't see anything but the sky and the tawny beard of the minotaur holding him, but he imagined the minotaurs all sharing looks.

"Okay, if you say so," the one holding him finally said. He gently lowered Ford to his feet and stepped back.

The Author's knees buckled.

The tawny minotaur quickly came to Ford's rescue, scooping him up again. "Yep," he said, "you're being carried."

Ford protested weakly — and ineffectively, because the minotaur didn't put him down. He didn't really want him to, but he still argued. On principle.

"Grunkle Ford!" came a shout. "You're awake!"

Dipper came running through the minotaurs, bringing Ford's attention to his surroundings. Nine minotaurs were hooked up to the sledge, carrying all eight barrels over the snow. Ford's heart lifted. They'd done it?

"What happened?" he asked. He was looking at Dipper when he said it, but the question was open for anyone to answer.

Of course, Dipper answered before anyone else could.

"We won!" he said, bouncing happily in the snow. He, Ford, and the tawny minotaur were a few feet to the side of the sledge. "Andrew and I stayed down there, so I didn't see most of this, but another minotaur found your stun gun and used it on the Order members and the others went all Pow! Bam! Boom! and fought off the rest of the Order and kept you safe and once everybody was unconscious the minotaurs came back down to carry up the barrels — we ended up filling seven of them. When I saw you I kinda freaked out, but we took the patch off you as soon as possible so it wouldn't keep giving you its nasty juices. And now we're headed back to the Museum!"

"He's been a good guide," Andrew added from the lead of the sledge's harness.

"I've been trying to remember the way we came," Dipper said. "I'm pretty sure we're going the right way. But now that you're awake, you can help!"

Ford looked around the forest, shadowy in the light of the setting sun. "Yes, this is the right direction."

"Sweet!"

The walk back to the Museum was mostly quiet — though could anything be truly quiet with Dipper around? The boy walked next to Andrew, talking with the minotaurs. They were moving at a good pace, to Ford's satisfaction. At first, he burned in humiliation at being carried, but he gradually relaxed into it and appreciated the relief from his injuries. Melody had her work cut out for her once he got home, he thought wryly.