They had searched every inch of the tunnel they could access and still they had found nothing. Stan groaned in frustration before sitting down against the rough stone of the dead end.
"What are you doing?" Hatchet came to stand before Stan, giving him a miserable look.
"I'm not giving up," Stan waved her off, "I'm just taking a breather. Collecting my thoughts."
"Fine," Hatchet returned to examining the caved in debris, searching for a way to shift it out of the way so that it wouldn't cave in further.
"You thirsty?" Stan asked, digging around in his backpack.
"Huh?"
"You haven't eaten or drank anything for a while," Stan shrugged as Hatchet looked him over critically. "I think I have something to drink in here somewhere."
"Alright," Hatchet said the word slowly, like pulling out a splinter. She stopped her fruitless search to come sit across from Stan. "Why the hell not."
"Ah!" Stan said triumphantly, "here it is." He withdrew a brightly colored can from the backpack.
"You've gotta be kidding me."
"What?"
"Is that soda?" Hatchet raised an eyebrow and her face screwed up into a condescending sneer.
"Not just any soda," Stan boasted, "this is Pitt Cola. The finest soda there is." He popped the tab before holding out the can between them.
"Peach soda?" Hatchet didn't move to take the can. Instead she reached into her jacket and withdrew a small silver flask. "Give me that," she took the can before Stan could object. She unscrewed the flask's stopper one handed with practiced ease, holding the Pitt can in the other hand.
"Hey," Stan began, "hold on…"
"What?" Hatchet held the flask over the open soda can. Stan tried to think up an objection but he couldn't think of any reason he couldn't have just a teensy drink. They were trapped after all and if the booze took the edge off of Hatchet's irritation then it would be worthwhile.
"Nevermind," Stan gestured for her to continue and she poured a sizeable helping of clear liquor into the soda can, stopping when the can overflowed to sip some of the mix off the top before continuing to pour. "Hey, you gonna drink it all yourself?" he held out his hand expectantly as Hatchet took a proper drink from the can.
"Yeah, yeah," Hatchet passed the can to Stan before putting the flask back into her jacket. Stan took a sip that sent a shiver down his spine. Eh, he thought as he shook his head quickly from side to side, peach soda and vodka. Not a winning combination. Hatchet watched him with a smirk on her face but Stan could tell it wasn't meant to be unkind. She gave him a look that said, What do you think?
"Great," Stan coughed out, "just great." He held out the can for Hatchet again and she took it, making sure their hands didn't touch. She took another drink and her smile relaxed a fraction.
"You know," Hatchet held up the can appreciatively for a moment, "this combination ain't half bad."
"Whatever you say," Stan coughed to get the taste out of his mouth. He said nothing for a moment, letting the silence linger before speaking again. "We'll figure out a way out of here, you know."
"Sure we will," Hatchet raised an eyebrow, "we're only trapped in a mineshaft with a man eating monster. I mean, what could be simpler?"
"You musta been in worse situations before?" Stan asked. Hatchet laughed a short barking laugh.
"More dangerous? Sure. Weirder?" she left the statement unfinished. "You?"
"I've been on the run for years," Stan admitted, "and I have never been in spot like this before." He gestured at the walls around them before breathing a deep sigh. For such a small space, Stan mused absently, the air isn't that stale… Stan knew a little something about being trapped in small spaces and in his experience someone could survive a long time with limited air. The real killer was the smell of stale air.
"Well you managed to talk your way outta a shallow grave in the desert," Hatchet chuckled warmly, "so if anybody can figure out a way out of here, it's you." Stan grumbled at that.
"I don't know," Stan dug around in his backpack, withdrawing the small die from earlier, "scamming a couple of chumps like you two…" Hatchet scowled, "that's easy. Finding a way outta here could be a bit more difficult." He flashed Hatchet his best con man smile and her face softened a fraction. Stan tossed the die up and down absently.
"I thought you said you were lucky?" Hatchet looked at the die as it flew up into the air and fell back into Stan's hand over and over.
"I am," Stan replied, "I was. I can't explain it but my whole life it's felt like somehow I managed to get outta scrapes that should have done me in." Stan's mind wandered and he missed his catch, causing the die to bounce across the stony ground to rest against the far wall of the tunnel. Groaning, Stan stood up and walked over to retrieve it. He bent down and stopped, his hand hovering a few inches from the die where it rested against the wall.
"Air!" Stan shouted as he placed his hand against the wall.
"What?" Hatchet stood up at the sudden sound.
"There's a breeze!" Stan traced his finger along a nearly invisible seam that ran two feet up the wall. Hatchet ran over to him, pushing him roughly out of the way so she could see for herself. Sure enough, the faintest trickle of air flowed through the crack in the wall.
"Hey!" Stan sagged against the wall where Hatchet had pushed him. "Watch it!"
"Stan," Hatchet's face was alight with surprise, "do you know what this means?"
"What?" Stan stood upright with some difficulty, the booze making his head hazy.
"It means there might be a tunnel connecting with this one. Maybe they didn't finish it because of that thing out there but they got close. Real close. Close enough that there's air leaking through from the connecting tunnel," Hatchet was speaking quickly with excitement and all of a sudden her realisation dawned on Stan too.
"Ha!" Stan kissed the die before putting it in his pants pocket, "so all we need to do…"
"Is dig ourselves out," Hatchet smiled a crooked smile before turning to look for something to dig with.
To be continued…
Author's Notes:
Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed that chapter :D I wanted to have a Stan/Hatchet bonding moment before continuing with the adventure so hopefully you enjoyed it.
As always, reviews are super appreciated :) I love hearing from you fine folks and what you liked and didn't like about the story or chapter. Speaking of which…
To Storminormin: Thank you so much! :D Your encouragement is really appreciated.
To Qatzol: Definately! I might do another Avatar: The Last Airbender fic since I haven't done one in a while but I am going to do more Gravity Falls fics for sure. I had the same problem with losing interest and not being able to write down more than a chapter or two. What I found to make a world of difference was publishing as I wrote and promising people a release date on the next chapter, that way the guilt of disappointing everyone motivates me to continue :P
