Stan yawned and shook his head to stay focused. He hadn't slept the day before, instead spending his time making preparations to flee the country. He had gotten a plane ticket, cashed out all his assets, and packed his bags but he had waited too long and now he was here. Just my luck, Stan grumbled to himself, I should have just spent the time sleeping for all the good it did me.
Stan spared a moment to look back at Flowers and Hatchet. They don't look much better than me, Stan thought with amusement. Of course, they've never had to drive for forty hours straight across state lines to avoid going to jail...well maybe they have, considering their line of work. Stan frowned, with all the weird things that had happened so far he had nearly forgotten that they had originally been sent to kill him if he couldn't produce the money he owed.
They crested a hill and beyond him in the dim light of the pre-dawn Stan saw it. His heart caught in his chest at the sight of the half buried wooden structure that marked the entrance into the fabled mineshaft. Ha! Stan's mind was a blur with feelings of relief and excitation, it's real! I can't believe it! Now who's the idiot? That idiot pilot, that's who! He turned back to Flowers and Hatchet who had yet to crest the hill.
"Ha! I told you it was here!" Stan shouted, pointing a triumphant finger at the duo. Flowers' face remained a mask but Hatchet had a look of concern on his face.
"You had better not be lying," Flowers said, pushing past Stan to look for himself. Hatchet remained quiet.
"Well I'll be…" Flowers said, the tiniest hint of emotion entering his voice. "I gotta say, I didn't think it was real." Stan smiled triumphantly as Flowers turned to him but Flowers took him by the collar and pulled him close threateningly. "But just because the mine's here that don't mean there's gold in there."
"Right…" Stan managed to choke out, "they just dug a mine shaft out in the middle of nowhere because there was nothing valuable here…" Stan grunted as a big fist slammed into his stomach, knocking the air out of him.
"Don't get smart," Flowers warned, "you're still on the hook for Big Steve's money."
"Thanks," Stan smirked.
"What?" Flowers hoisted Stan up onto his tiptoes.
"Nobody's ever called me smart before," Stan offered Flowers his broadest salesman smile. Flowers raised his fist again and Stan flinched despite himself.
"That's enough," Hatchet told his partner and the hit never came. "If there's no gold, you can rough him up all you want. Until then, he's useful and I don't want you scrambling his brains."
"Yeah," Flowers said, dropping Stan roughly on the ground, "got it." Stan looked up from the ground to meet Hatchet's eyes for a just a moment before both of them looked away. It was long enough to catch Hatchet's expression. You saved me, now we're even. Stan coughed harshly as he stood up. He would have another bruise on his stomach but on top of everything else that already hurt it really wasn't that bad.
"Well," Stan said miserably, "let's get on with it." He began down the slope that led down to the mine shaft while Hatchet and Flowers followed behind. They had reached the bottom of the hill when they heard the heavy thudding sound behind them. As one, they turned to face whatever it was that had been following them but there was no one in sight.
"I'm getting pretty sick of this," Stan called fiercely over the crest of the hill. "What do you want? Huh? Who's there?"
There was a long, eerie silence where no one moved or said anything. Hatchet reached into his jacket to draw his pistol, holding it upward at the ready while Flowers reached into his jacket to withdraw a pair of thick knuckledusters which slipped comfortably over his hands. They looked back and forth between each other and then at Stan. Flowers pointed at him with a thick finger and then pointed up the hill. Stan shook his head, holding out his open hands expectantly. I'm not going up there unarmed! Flowers and Hatchet exchanged another look before Flowers took the lead. Hatchet and Stan followed the big man as he slowly made his way up the hill. There was another thud and they heard the scraping of something hard against the bark of the thicket beyond. The trio stopped. They were all thinking the same thing. Trap.
Stan was breathing hard and his leg was shaking slightly. It wasn't like he was afraid of a fight, in fact he'd been fighting his entire life. This was something else, some primal terror of the unknown that was beyond reason or experience to overcome. Hatchet reached up and tapped Flowers on the shoulder so that he turned around. They exchanged looks before Flowers gestured for Stan to go back down. The trio crept backwards, slowly but surely, until they reached the bottom of the hill once again.
"Let's get inside," Flowers whispered.
"I'll cover you," Hatchet said training his weapon on the crest of the hill as Stan and Flowers moved some debris aside to clear a path inside. A cold wind whipped down the now opened mineshaft and the pitch darkness seemed much more foreboding.
Beyond the hill in the pre-dawn darkness the creature waited. It was angry that it had almost ruined its own plan because it had been so impatient. So hungry. If it had come to it, it knew it could have overpowered the three but if it could just wait then things would be so much easier. They would be lost in the darkness of the mine and that was where it would strike. Its whole body shook from the anticipation and its stomach growled more loudly than usual. Soon. Soon.
Author's Notes:
Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed that chapter! It was a joy to write since the scene just kind of flowed naturally for me :) next chapter they'll be in the mine and things will start to get a bit more... T rated.
If it's not too much trouble, review and let me know how I'm doing! I really appreciate it and I always respond to each review in the A/N of my next chapter :D
To indistinctcur:
Thank you so much! I'm glad you like the characters :) they've changed a lot from how I imagined them before I started writing so I'm glad that the choices I made were for the better.