Chapter 10

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I'd lost him. I didn't know if he was dead or alive in some distant galaxy, but I knew his journal must have the answer to getting him back. Somehow. He flipped through the whole journal to find the back page; Continued in Journal #2. He "slept" on the couch, Ford's glasses and the journal on his chest. I lay awake in our bed, often clad in one of his shirts that were far too big for me.

I didn't get much sleep that night. Or the night after that. We basically lived off whatever was in the fridge and spent all our time in the basement. Stan fiddled with the actual portal, to no avail, while I searched the town for the other journals. We tried for weeks to turn that awful machine back on, but without the other two journals it was hopeless. I watched him tinker with it then flick the switch and sigh as it sparked but never lit up.

Finally, we ran out of food. I had no choice but to go into town. "I'm gonna get us some food, alright Y/n?" I nodded as he pulled his hood up and left the basement. I wiped my tired eyes and continued to work. The journal was no help, it gave no clues to the location of the other two and I couldn't exactly dig up the town, so I left the house late at night, digging small holes before filling them in again.

Stan placed the bread on the counter, his hood still shadowing his face. "Just the bread, then, there, stranger? That'll be 99 cents." Stan pulled everything out of his pockets, only to find a sugar packet, a paper clip, and a peso.

"Hey, that's no stranger. That must be the mysterious science guy that lives in the woods!" A crowd began to gather around him.

"Uh, n-no, no. You've got the wrong guy." He pulled the hood further over his face.

"I've heard strange stories about that old shack." A man, who we'd later come to know as Toby Determined, spoke.

"Yeah! Mysterious lights and spooky experiments." Sheriff Blubs followed up.

"Gosh, I'd pay anything to see what kind of shenanigans you get up to in there." The man who ran the shop said. Lazy Susan spoke next,

"Oh, me too! Do you ever give any tours?" Stan backed up a slight bit.

"No. Really I-" He looked down at the items in his hand, sighing. "Yes, I do give tours! Ten... nah-no... fifteen bucks a person!" The crowd was silent before cheering, almost throwing their money at him.

"Sir! What did you say your name was, you man of mystery?" Stan replied hesitantly.

"Oh, uh, Stan...ford. Stanford Pines."

I was in the kitchen when he came home, making a cup of tea when he burst through the front door, walking past the doorway with a gaggle of tourists in tow. He called out a casual, "Morning, doll!" In my confusion, I almost dropped the kettle, he's bloody lucky I was ready for the day. But why... doll? My heart panged in sadness, I missed Ford so much. I could hear Stan in the other room trying to unenthusiastically entertain his visitors as I walked over to lean against the doorframe, drinking tea with shaking hands.

"Step right up, folks, uh, to a world of... enchantment, or whatever." He picked up one of Ford's old inventions as I watched from the doorway. "Behold, the um, nerdy science box." One woman stepped up to have a closer look and the box gave off a small bolt of electricity and hitting her eye.

"Ah! My eye!" Stan shrunk back slightly.

"Uh, I can assure you, that is in no way permanent." She looked maddened.

"I paid fifteen dollars for this!?" The crowd began to mutter among themselves as panic bloomed on Stan's face.

"Uhh..." He turned, placing some clothes on a plastic skeleton, and turning back to the group. "You're lucky you weren't part of the last tour group, um, they never made it out aliiiivve. Heheh. Right?" They laughed. The woman spoke, a smile on her face.

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