Images Dulled
A sinking feeling in the center of Dippers gut is what pulled him out of the color filled dreams. It was the type of feeling where it left you wondering if you forgot to turn off the sink, or to flip off the hall light. It was the feeling of unfinished business, incomplete jobs, or a task failed. He had never been one to fret over completing little details of jobs, though he did like the job being finished polished and perfected. But all together, this feeling in his bones was new. It crawled under his skin, calling with a shallow, pleading voice.
When Dipper opened his eyes, the room was silent. An eerie stale absence of sound hung heavy in the air. The air itself was still, not even the dust stirred. When he looked over to the side where his slumbering twin should be, it was empty except for an indent where she should be. Another thing he noticed in this strange state, was the lack of color. The colorful lamp that decorated their small attic room was nothing but shades of grays and whites. The dark wood floors held a dark gray, almost like the room was a black and white picture. When he stood, the floor boards welcoming creek was not there, even though it bowed with each step.
It seemed that everything was in this state, the pictures hanging on the walls of the hall were stripped of any sign of life. The only thing with color, was himself. His hands showing the pasty yet not skin that has always been. A ringing noice filled his ears, almost like his brain wanted to fill the void of noise. Dipper felt it too, the cold being nothing but comfortable. Passing through the empty kitchen, he slipped on his shoes and headed outside. The sky was empty, not a single star. Not even the moon gave its soft light. Which was weird, because he could see as clear as day.
Dipper didnt know where he was going, but it felt as if he did, following the tugging in his stomach. He felt uncomfortable here, and he knew this wasnt normal. He wanted to guess it was a dream, but it felt so vivid. The most strange thing there was though, was the feeling of comfort. It was a forced type of comfort. The type of safe where your in a cage and yet your captor is telling you your safe. A soft hum in the back of his scalp, reassuring his place, which only set off red light for him. His hair on his arms prickled with goose bumps, wanting to be cautious of things, but failing to resist the warm growing in his chest.
The soft crunch of leaves under his feet left no noise, only the feel. He wanted to say that there were no signals of life, but that wouldnt be true. It really caught his attention when he saw an owl in flight. Frozen in the sky, just about to dive. Almost as if time itself was holding its breath. But that didnt explain the sky, nor the lack of color.
He had no idea where he was headed, until the scenery around him morphed into one he recognized, the trees thinning out into a small clearing. The familiar pond, the door, the tug. It was like a flash of lightning, a press of an unpause button. The forest flared to life, crickets and frogs croacking and creeking in the background. The sky went from inky black to white speckled. But not even the sense of noise and color startled him. It was the tug, he irrisistable pull at his legs, his muscles almost begging for him to walk to it. Something, someone begging his mind to go. But Dipper was dragged back to reality, Fords words tearing through the thin layer of distraction. Fords fear, his eyes warning him to stay away. And thats just what he did. Dipper turned and bolted for it. The branches whipped past, the creatures of the night startling to silence as he passed. He felt, guilty?
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The evening sun slipped through the window, illuminating the room to a warm orange. Even with time being so late into the day, Dipper felt as if he hadnt slept in weeks. His body was heavy and sore, running at least a two miles in the middle of the night. He didnt feel just physically tired either, his heart sunk and hit the bottom of his stomach. Whatever had happened the other night, left him feeling like mud in summer. He urged himself to get up, the hunger being a huge persuasion. The room was pretty warm from the rising temperature outside, it felt nice and dried out his skin. Dipper stood up and stretched, every muscle in his body shaking with it. It loosened up his shoulders, leaving him feeling good enough to walk toward the exit.
When Dipper got down there, it was empty. Mabel most likely had gone off on her own adventures, having made plenty new friends. There was a note stuck to the back door, implying that Ford and Stan had gone out to do something important. Leaving Dipper alone to take his sweet time with breakfast/lunch. He finally had a chance to have a decently normal meal in this household. Its not as if Dipper was a great cook or anything, but he knew how to make eggs and toast like any other person. It was a welcomed meal, his gut grumbling at its emptiness and leaving a pit. They were almost out of eggs, Dipper noting it in his mind to get later. He might as well get other supplies as well, maybe even the good type of bacon.
Breakfast was quiet and Dipper was left to his own thoughts, the night before drifting into his thoughts. He had so many questions but in reality he felt as if he already had the answers, even if they weren't the answers he wanted. He was just happy to be out of the situation. Dipper got up and stored away ingredients he had used and slipped on his shoes. He decided against any sort of winter wear, feeling that it was going to be a terribly hot day. Pocketing his wallet Dipper walked out the door and felt the morning heat hit. It would only get worse as the day went on and Dipper didn't want to get stuck climbing the hill in the middle of 100 degree weather.
Heading down to the book store first would be the best idea, having refrigerated groceries out too long would be disastrous, though Dipper knew that he's spend a bit too much time among the shelves. He could feel his calve muscles work as he stepped down the almost cliff. He was starting to build muscle luckily and found that it was much easier to travel the slope. The town was busy as usual, people getting on with their lives and getting ready for the day ahead. On one side of the road there seemed to be construction going on, a rare sight in a small town. It was going to be useless though, they'd need to get rid of the entirety of the road to completely fix it. The many cracks and holes that had appeared over time made the side walk uneven and messy, giving it a certain vibe.
When Dipper finally got to the small book store the sign showed in bold letters CLOSED. His heart sank at the though of having to spend most of the day doing something else. But he quickly shook that thought out of his mind, finally deciding to take a look around. There was the usual corner store along with the essentials of car repairs and thrift stores. Some odd shops appeared now and then, obviously catering to tourist's as nicknacks and glass sculptures littered the front windows. One shop in particular caught Dippers eye. It seemed to be a junk shop like the rest, but something seemed to catch his attention.
Inside was fairly nice, the temperature being relatively cold to Dipper relief. It did have many lights on the inside, the main light source being the front window, which was being discolored by the many glass and ceramic treasures. There was an old lady behind the counter at the back who paid little mind to him, focused on another lady who was older in age. Scanning over the shelves it seemed like random thinks, from wooden dolls all the way to strangely shaped silverware. But what really caught Dippers eye was a small picture frame that seemed to hold an old piece of paper. It was stained with who knows what and yellowed at the edges, but looking closer it seemed to be a talisman of some sort.
Its writing was in a metallic black, the paint reflecting light in a small shine. The paper seemed to be old but when tears or stains touched the black mystery ink it seemed unaffected. The symbols were strange, words in a language that seemed alien lines the rim of it, bending into the center. Dipper could feel a chill grip the back of his neck as a familiar eye stared back. It seemed that the paint at the iris was darker than the other markings, and it was encased in was seemed like a triangle. Dipper had no idea what the small paper was, but he felt like it was more important than food. Mable's creations were livable for now and Dipper couldn't seem to break the eye contact of the strange symbol.
"Curious about the Cipher Talisman?" Dipper jumped and spun around to the lady, who was now right beside him. "Well, I was just curious." Dipper felt a prickle of anxiety, feeling almost as if he shouldn't be anywhere near this thing. "Ill give it to you for 5 bucks" She gave a grin and Dipper looked at her with dread. "5 dollars for a piece of paper? I feel like I could just draw one on a piece of toilet paper." He did want it, but 5 dollars was a bit much for a literal piece of paper. "Hey thats the deal. Its pretty rare seeing as its most likely the last of its kind. They say that the rest lies within hell itself, keeping in the apocalypse." Dipper wanted to brush it off, but he had a feeling that some of that wasn't all lies. "Ill pay 3.50 and that's it." Dipper grabbed his wallet out of his back pocket. "Fine, deal."
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When Dipper was heading back, picture frame under his arm, he had a feeling he shouldn't tell anyone about this. He really wanted to listen to his Grunkle Fords words, but curiosity always got the better of him. He debated on weather to show Mable or not, but decided it best not to. He didn't want to get her involve with his own stupidity.
He was walking up the hill when he felt a weight his his back and a high pitched laugh. "Guess WHO." Feminine yet very dirty hands covered his eyes. "Gah, Mable wash your hands your going to give strange eye diseases." Dipper shrugged her off and rubbed his face a bit, careful not to rub whatever grime was on his face into his eyes. "Pshh, your no fun. Me, Candy, and Grenda were out planting random seeds every where seeing as deforestation is a huge issue now a days." Mable smiled largely and matched her pace with Dipper's. "Ah yes, that's what this place needs. This lush thick woods really needs some more greenery." Dipper rolled his eyes with a thick layer of sarcasm. "Hey, its the gesture that counts!" Mable pouted a bit, running ahead to where a car sat. It was a familiar truck with all its bends and dings.
But what concerned Dipper the most was a fresh scrape that was almost the size of the truck. When they got inside they found Wendy and Stan at the table, arguing over something.
"We need to bring him to a hospital, His wounds need a professional touch. We dont know WHAT that thing had on its claws!" Wendy shouted angrily, Dipper didnt know who they were talking about, but seeing as there was a person missing from the trio, he could make a fairly good guess. "What happened, where Grunkle Ford?" Mable seemed worried, and it was growing by the second.
"Oh dont worry about it sweetie, We just went out to try and get the new soul piece. Sadly it seems that they were expecting us yet again and placed down another trap. This time it was a summon that we weren't prepared for. It took a toll on Ford after he cast a shield spell on us." Stan was rubbing his eyes, his face showing that Ford wasn't the only who was beaten up.
"And he needs medical attention! But this old coot wont do anything!" Wendy seemed more concerned than Stan, but Stan seemed a million times more exhausted.
"And what do you expect us to tell the doctor? We dont need the bastard of the government mingling with our business!" Stan was right, its not as if they would believe them in the first place. 'Hey, we're taking down witches and almost got killed by a demon trying to save the world'. Yeah, that would really help the situation at hand.
The yelling continued as Dipper left the room, he headed for Fords room and peaked in. He saw the rise and fall of a lump on the bed, bloody bandages littering the floor along with various other things that really showed the severity of his condition. He did need medical help, but the hospital wasn't the answer. Dipper decided to leave Ford alone, closing the door with a soft click. The arguing in the other room continues, leaking out into the hallway. Dipper wasn't one for arguments, so he decided it was best to let them do their thing.
In the attic, everything was where he had left it in the morning. Dipper placed the old picture frame on the wall side of his cot, making sure it would go unnoticed by his room partner. He didn't really like the idea of sleeping with it in the same room, but he was the one who bought it. He thought about going back out to town to grab some dinner, the groups argument surely to tear through the precious meal time. But instead Dipper decided to head down back the ladder, walking into the kitchen with angry yells and concerned counters. Dipper decided that it was his turn to cook dinner this time.