Gravity Falls: How to Burn a Pine Tree

Part 13: Dipper

Breath in, breath out. Breath in. Breath out.

I continued this process over and over, counting numbers under my breath. Trying to maintain what little sanity I still managed to have. Five days now. I've been Bill's prisoner for five days. My stomach growled and I ignored it. I was starting to loose hope but I wasn't going to crack under pressure.

Bill only gave me enough food to keep me alive, not enough to satisfy my constant hunger though. He wanted me alive long enough to not only give him the formula (that I didn't know) but also to witness the end of the world as well as seeing him kill each of my loved friends and family members. I would find a way out of this prison before that would happen. I just had to.

Even though I was journal-less (thus equaling weaponless) my determination would help me out of here. I was sure of it. I had to get back to Mabel. Tell her how stupid I had been in making that deal with Bill. Tell Soos that I was sorry for not thinking the deal through like he said I should've. See Great Uncle Ford.

Apologize to him for not being a better apprentice and for making a deal with Bill when that should've been the last resort. I sighed and placed my head in my hands.

There's gotta be some way out of here... Think Dipper! What would Ford do? Stop counting numbers and work on saving your life! I told myself mentally.

I chewed the inside of my cheek in thought. When I didn't have my thinking pens to chew on, I'd chew the inside of my cheek.

Weird I know, but I'm a weird person. I licked my dry lips and racked my brain for ideas on how to escape.

Come on Dipper! You're suppose to be the smart one! I scolded myself. I growled in frustration and angrily placed my head in my hands, letting out a groan. I exhaled deeply, puffing my cheeks out in the process. I moved my leg, tugging at the single enchanted chain that remained shackled to my left ankle.

I frowned and placed my hands into my vest pockets. I gasped and grinned when I remembered that I had put a bobby-pin in my pocket. "Yes!" I whispered to myself. But then I mentally slapped myself. How could I have been so forgetful? Why didn't this come to my mind sooner? I've been here, practically starving for five whole days, forgetting about this dumb bobby-pin that I almost always kept in my pocket.

Wow. And I'm suppose to be the smart one.

Before you judge me, listen first-er, read, first. Anyways, I had taught myself how to pick locks after some bullies in school shoved me in my locker and left me there.

I always carried a bobby-pin on me ever since. I placed the bobby-pin into the key hole of the enchanted shackle. I wiggled it around and waited until I heard a click! "Thank you God," I murmured under my breath as I removed the unlocked shackle off of my ankle.

My ankle had a mark around it from the tightness of the shackle. It was sore, but I figured I could tend to it later. I licked my dry lips again, I was thirsty. Probably dehydrated but that was the least of my worries. Now that I had escaped the shackle, my next step was to escape this prison.

I needed to find a way out of the Fearamid. The problem remaining was that the Fearamid was above the ground, hovering in mid-air. If I jumped, I would more likely then not, die or be seriously injured. Yep. Great option.

But I knew that whatever I did, it had to be quick. The moment Bill noticed my absence he would track me down like a bloodhound going after an escaped jail prisoner which I pretty much was. As I studied my cell, I recalled the deal I made with Bill. I was looking for loopholes to be exact.