The God and the Thief

Into Town(36)

Dipper POV

Mabel and I walked to Gladville in silence, her eyes never landed in one place at a time and she jumped every time a car passed us. I on the other hand kept my eyes forwards, I couldn't look back out of fear that the ridiculousness of this would kick in. I would then talk myself into turning around and forgetting all about Gravity Falls.

I can't do that, I don't want to do that. There's too much that could happen in Gravity Falls that could be waiting for me to at least not find out.

The walk to Gladville didn't feel as long as Mabel worried it would be, when we made it into town she forced us to stop for some food.

"You have to eat." She had thought that dragging me into Nugget would give me on the road choses for food, but I marched right over to the drink aisle and picked up two monster energy drinks and bought them without even glancing back at the food aisle or my dumbfounded twin sister. She chased after me with a bag of who knows what in her hand, "You could have even pretended to look at food. You're freaking me out."

"I'll eat when we get back to Gravity Falls." I huffed eyeing a bus station down the street. "Come on." I growled reaching over and grabbing hold of her wrist to guild her towards the bus, making her walk faster than she had been.

The schedule on the post signaled that the bus went as far as the next town over, but it wouldn't be taking that trip for an hour. (Idk how busses work) cursed, an hour was too long of a wait, we couldn't stay here too long, I don't know when the grunkles will return but when they do they're going to tear up this side of California looking for me. I do not want to get stuck in a town only 3 miles away.

"I'm going to go look for other bus stops, if I find one that leaves earlier I come get you." I said turning to walk away.

"Hell no, I'm coming with you." She stood from the bench to follow me.

"Mabel, I trusted you and let you come with me, trust me in return that I will come back, you don't need to keep me on a leash." I growled and stepped away, my arm instinctively crossed over my chest, but when the pressing edge of the journal didn't dig into my hand or my stomach my fingers latched onto my backpack strap instead.

She stared at me like she was trying to think about if she should trust me or not. I couldn't stand the look on her face. I turned away and took off down the street hoping she didn't follow, I could use some time away from her. Time to myself to think.

I made it about a block before looking back over my shoulder, she really had stayed back. I took a deep breath. The first, I realized, I had taken in several hours. I love my sister but with everything that has happened since the summer started, I can't see her the same way anymore. I remember the girl I did all my schooling with, the one who found that journal and called it "Nerd stuff" before handing it to me, the same girl that sung along to crappy bus music for three hours just to annoy me. I love her but so much has grown between us, Gravity Falls, the journal, our grunkles, Bill. Too much has changed, our world was flipped and when the dust settled it felt like we had been thrown to opposite sides.

One bus station I had crossed was listed for an hour and half out, longer than the first so I kept moving.

My feet hurt and my shoulders were starting to ache from the weight of my backpack. But I couldn't take the chance, I can't stop.

Who knows what would happen if I did.

Bill POV

Ok so, truth.

I've never left Gravity Falls, never really left my forest sense the day I moved into it. And with all the new development I've seen in Gravity Falls I can't imagine what the world outside of it looks like.

I don't even know how far this Piedmont California even is.

So maybe finding Pinetree will be harder than it seems, and I just pissed off the one god I do know that could have been even slightly helpful. I circled my desk trying to think, the Journals that Pinetree had read and decipher lived there, in my down time/ Ford stopped being entertaining time, I would sit down and pour over all his notes. He didn't just have notes on the codes I had used and how he broke them, but he also had little notes about his thought process. Like he was responding in a conversation to my every sentence. It was addictive, like how speaking with him at the window felt or in the shack. I had quickly finished every word from every book and the withdrawal kicked in just as quickly.

Finding him became ever more pressing. I was starting to curse myself for never actually seeing the rest of this planet, for only staying in one place.

I didn't even know where to start.

Then, while once again reading through his notes, it hit me like a brick.

The red headed woman.

She was friends with Pinetree, he trusted her enough to hide with her to tell her his new safe place. She would know where Piedmont California is, and how to get there.

I looked out the window of my home to the floating city, she's up there somewhere.

I kicked open the window, ignoring the fact that my house has doors, launching off from the seal up to the town. My feet landed on the broken end of a pipe bared from the earth like a bone, it held under my weight but bent under the push I used to jump up to the street.

The quiet air of the town fell on my shoulders, this street was abandoned every door and window broken open no doubt by my more feral l of creatures, wildlife lay trampled in it's bed and streetlights rammed by cars or bent by long moved on creatures loomed broken over head, cracking or sitting as their mechanics tried to turn back on.

The quiet was soon rushed by creatures who felt my presents land, I could hear the scurry of the feet and the rush of excitement filled the air from the quickening of their heart beats, and their breath.

"Find me the RedHead, I need her and I need her alive," I called out to them, taking strides down the street. At the sound of my voice they howled every voice of every creature raised in agreement.

The girl will be found.

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I'm not sure why this chapter is short, it felt so much longer when writing it. But this is where I want to end it so it will be short I guess. I'll try and make the next one a little longer than normal to even it out.