Daughter of Bill Cypher

A Nightmare

Mabel sat down in the grass just outside the shack. She had brought out her knitting and her half-finished project.

Looking back up at the girl, she patted the ground next to her. "You can sit, you know. I wouldn't want to stand for hours."

The girl walked next to her and sat down, her knees pulled up and her hair falling around to cover her face as she looked around with wide eyes.

Mabel watched her for a moment. 'She's so adorable, she kinda acts like a cat.' The woman thought briefly before gesturing around her. "This is nature. It's very pretty. You see the tall green things? Those are called trees."

The girl seemed to be listening intently as she looked up at the giant pine trees. The sunlight played across her face. She lifted her hand and watched as her shadow appeared on the ground, moving her hand to make it follow her.

"You know, our last summer here was so much hotter. We used to press popsicles against our limbs just to cool off. When we went to the pool once, Dipper was head over heels for lifeguard Wendy."

Mabel knew the girl probably didn't know what most of the things she said were, but she felt like it was just nice to talk to someone who was listening. The girl was staring at her as she talked, her fingers deftly holding or playing with strands of her hair (speaking of which, she really needed to show her how to take a bath).

"You want me to let you in on a little secret? I am still a millimeter taller than Dipper. He doesn't know anymore, but I measured him once when he was asleep. I'm still the alpha twin. He got the smart college and the career options, but I got an extra millimeter."

Mabel noticed the girl scooch a little closer to her, but pretended not to notice.

"I've gotta take you into town one of these days. The diner has this coffee omelet, it's bitter but gives you a little energy. I think the pool is still open, we could go down there when it's hot. Or maybe to the laser tag? That'll be later, though. How about-"

She stopped when the girl finally pressed up against her side, practically curling against her with her head resting on her shoulder. Mabel froze, unsure of what to do in the moment. But then the surprise left, and she slowly put her arm around too-bony shoulder and squeezed lightly.

"You're okay. I got you." She whispered, noticing the bright yellow eyes had become half-lidded. She saw her hand go to her arm, and quickly stopped it from pinching itself.

"You can sleep now, I don't mind. I'll keep a lookout if you want."

The eyes finally closed, and any tension left in her body left as the girl fell into a light sleep. Mabel let out a long breath as she leaned back on her free arm, letting the sunlight warm up her face.

————
Mabel was gone. Mabel was gone and so was everyone else...

And she was alone.

Everything was completely dark. The ground was hard again, and she could feel a wall like before. Her hands went up to feel around it, wanting to get out of this place. She hit against it, her breath becoming erratic as she realized it wasn't going to budge. She was stuck...

Trapped.

She could see a light suddenly appear behind her, and she heard it.

"Ha ha ha ha ha, Ah ha ha ha ha ha!"

She screamed as chains appeared around her wrists, yanking her back and turning her around. The light hurt her eyes, and more chains appeared to trap her arms against her sides. They ripped into her skin, blood spattering out and dripping down the metal.

A black hand reached out and grasped her jaw as a figure appeared before her.

"Hello, my dear." Her dad grinned. "Let's play."

She shook her head frantically, squirming desperately to get away. He looked even more demonic, his grin showing jagged teeth and his fingers warped and sharp as they cut into her cheeks, refusing to loosen.

She couldn't stop screaming, couldn't stop struggling, couldn't get away! She wanted to badly to get away! Where was Mabel?! She wanted to see her! She wanted to see any of them again!

The chains around her suddenly lit on fire and she screamed even more, the burning metal actually sinking into her skin now.

"Such a nice little toy. Always ready to scream so beautifully. Always ready to please your dad."

Dad. That was him. It was always him. He was always there, watching her, hurting her, she could never get away! She didn't want to get away, or else it would hurt more!

At some point her arms had been freed and she covered her face with them, but she couldn't block out his laughter.

"You can never hide. I will always find you, and when I do, I will always hurt you."

His hand was around her neck, and her feet were dangling above a pit of blue fire. The flames licked at the bottom of her feet as she stared into the glowing eye that pierced her soul. The flames were getting taller, almost engulfing her.

"I'm your dad. You belong to me, now and forever. You can never get away. No one will ever love you like I do. You're completely alone, and you only have me."

Yes. She was alone, completely alone. She had no one, her dad loved her, he noticed her, he wanted to keep her. She was useful to him. He was the only one, no one else.

She screamed as the fire consumed her, burning away her entire being.

————
Ford and Dipper jerked up when a blood-curdling scream sounded out. Without even sparing a look at each other they bolted to the elevator.

Pacifica was on her laptop when she heard it. Stanley jolted out of his chair, dropping the newspaper he was reading as they both ran to the front door.

Mabel jerked violently when the high and loud scream sounded out, her heart stopping. The girl pushed herself away, landing on her front as she continued to scream. Her eyes hadn't opened yet as she jerked and struggled, as if fighting an invisible force. Tears ran down her cheeks from her squeezed eyes. She screamed desperately, choked sobs coming out with each inhale.

Mabel was immediately up and hurrying over. She grabbed the girl by the shoulders and started shaking her.

"Wake up! Come on!" She cried out. The door slammed open and she saw Pacifica and Uncle Stan there, Ford and Dipper appearing close behind them.

Ford pushed passed them and ran over, throwing himself on his knees next to them. He took Mabel's hands off the girl's shoulder and grabbed her himself, holding her still. She was still struggling, and he grabbed her wrists to keep her from hurting herself.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up." He said, not yelling but still sounding urgent.

After she was kept still, her eyes finally blinked open. They were wide and crazy, darting around as if she couldn't see anything.

Ford held her to his chest, his hand on the back of her head to keep her pressed against his shirt. Her hand latched onto his sleeve, frozen as if she didn't know whether to pull him closer or push him away.

Her legs curled up towards her, and her shoulders started to heave with broken sobs. Mabel could see one solitary eye, wet with tears and still wide in fear.

"You're okay, it's okay." Ford mumbled, still holding her firmly. His hand started brushing over her hair, hoping to stop the harsh trembling now wracking her frame. "I've got you, it's okay. He's not here, he's gone. He can't hurt you, you're safe. You're safe."

Thin frail arms slowly slid over his arms and grasped them tightly. The pale terrified face buried into his shirt, her body still shaking as she breathed desperately. Ford's shirt was slowly getting wet with tears, but he ignored that as he kept her close, endlessly patient as she held onto him like a lifeline. The air was silent, the only sounds being the rustling of leaves and the muffled sobs of the girl.