Gravity Rises (S3)

AI: Part Eight

JANUARY 19, 2013

It was early afternoon, but the sky gave no indication of the time. Dipper looked up at the starry sky, wondering what dimension they were in now. What kind of people and animals lived on its planets? Did they have any idea that the township was here, that it had a dangerous demon as its passenger?

He walked quietly through the snow, staying by the Museum. He was headed for the trees on the northwest corner of the property — the same trees he and Gideon had snuck through on Wednesday. It was Saturday now. Mabel had been in her prison for a week. Dipper clung to the hope that Gideon would save her, ignoring the small voice in his head that worried otherwise.

He soon made it to the trees. Inside the grove were his two peryton friends, Rowan and Marigold. They had gone into the trees about an hour ago, waiting for Dipper to join them. Hopefully, any Northwest servants or Order members who had seen the perytons hide in the trees either thought it was unimportant or had forgotten about it completely.

Mentally, Dipper sent the perytons a question: Are you ready? The perytons sent back a feeling in the affirmative. Dipper had been practicing silent, telepathic communication with the perytons for the past few days. He preferred speaking out loud — he liked noise — but the perytons' magical form of communication was really cool. And helpful for sneaking away, which is what Dipper was trying to do now.

Rowan told Dipper that he would take him, and Marigold would stay here. Okay, Dipper thought, and he climbed onto Rowan's back.

He didn't expect to be gone long, but he had a backpack with snacks, a flashlight, knockout patches, and a stun gun. Melody was the only one who knew what he was doing; he hadn't told Ford for fear of being stopped. Ford would probably think this was an unnecessary risk, but Dipper disagreed. This was very necessary.

Rowan moved quietly to the edge of the trees. The pathway to the gift shop was only a few feet away, and Rowan was going to use it as a runway. Dipper peered through the trees at the guard who stood on the path just outside the invisible barrier around the Museum. It seemed to be the same man as when he'd checked earlier: an Order member, not a servant. No gun.

Dipper silently told Rowan that there wasn't a servant in sight, and the chance of being shot at was low. Of course, there was still a chance, which is what made this a risk. But Dipper had specifically waited for a time when there wasn't a servant on the path to the gift shop.

All right, Rowan. Go.

Rowan burst from the trees, then turned and ran straight down the path. The Order member screamed and jumped out of the way when he saw a large winged deer running straight at him. It was a good thing he moved, for when Rowan jumped into the air, his front hooves passed through the spot where the man's head had been.

Dipper felt his stomach drop as Rowan began his flight. Then they were in the air, climbing higher and higher. People were yelling below, and soon Dipper heard the crack of a gunshot. But by then, he and Rowan were too high to hit and too hard to see in the darkness.

Rowan banked and flew southeast, as Dipper had directed him to. Dipper had done his best to show Rowan a mental picture of the place they were going, and now he would help him find the right house.

"There it is," Dipper whispered after a few minutes. Now that they were out of the Museum, he would rather talk out loud than try to communicate mentally. "Right there, see it?"

Rowan saw the house and headed to it, flying over the rift that ran down the town's main road and landing in the house's front yard. Dipper slipped off Rowan's back. "Thanks," he told the peryton with a smile. "I'll go get Greyson."