Chapter Two

Joe coughed, the dirt kicking up around him. Lifting his head slowly, he couldn't see much as the flashlight he was carrying was buried along with his hand and arm. Gently pulling himself out from underneath the mound of dirt and rock, the small area became illuminated by the heavy duty flashlight he still held. Coughing again, Joe looked around what was left of the tunnel, thankful that the air pocket held after the cave-in.

We were so close! he thought. His eyes went wide when he realized that he couldn't see where Nancy was. Knowing that she was right behind him when the tunnel collapsed, Joe started digging, ignoring the sudden pain in his wrist.

"Nancy!" he cried as he dug through the small mound nearby. Suddenly, the mound began shifting as a hand crawled its way out. As Joe helped dig through the mound, a head soon popped up, Nancy gasping for air. With his help, she wiggled her way out of her potential tomb. Yanking one last time, Joe pulled her out though a loud crack resonated in the small space. He let out a howl, grabbing his wrist and bringing it towards his body. Nancy coughed, spitting out bits of dirt to clear her throat and mouth.

"You okay, Joe?" she asked looking concerned at her friend who was rocking in place.

"I think I may have broken my wrist," Joe said through gritted teeth. "It was buried but I didn't think I hurt it that badly. I must have aggravated my wrist more when I pulled you out. Are you okay?"

"I think I'm fine," Nancy replied, looking around her. "Much better than if I couldn't get out. You saved my life. Thanks."

"As if you've never done it for me in the past," Joe smirked. "Consider us even. Now the real question is how are we going to get out here?"

"I don't know," Nancy sighed. The air smelled stale which worried her. They may not have air long enough to be rescued. "You think Frank got out?"

"I'm sure he did or we'll all be dead before anyone knew we were even here."

"Way to sound optimistic, Joe," Nancy scoffed though she somewhat shared his thoughts. "There's got to be a way out of here."

"Well, when you figure that out, let me know," he joked, wincing. He let out a small cry again as he tried to nurse his wrist. "Damn, that hurts!"

"I'm sure it does," Nancy answered, moving over to him. She coughed hard before taking a look at Joe's wrist. He cried out when she tried to move it. "Oh, don't be such a baby. I think I can make a splint from the old wood lying around and use your jacket as a sling."

"Okay, Macgyver," he smirked. He winced again when he pulled off his jacket, trying to avoid his now swollen wrist. Nancy pulled off her shirt leaving her tank top on and found a broken piece of wood, dusting it off. As Joe held the wood to his arm, Nancy carefully wrapped her shirt around, ripping the short sleeve in order to tie it. Once she was done with the wrap, Nancy took his jacket and made a makeshift sling to cradle his arm.

"Is that better?"

"Yeah." He checked out the sling. It was still painful but not as bad now that it was more confined. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

"Macgyver," Nancy laughed then looked around the small area they were in. She went into a coughing fit causing Joe to look at her with concern.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, watching her.

"I'm fine, Joe," she stated quickly. Nancy coughed again. "Just a little bit of dust in my throat. Nothing that a bottle of water couldn't cure."

"I don't know if you've noticed, Nan, but we don't necessarily have a trickle of water coming in let alone a bottle of water."

"And whose fault is that, Joe?" Nancy retorted. Joe's face went paler than before and he looked at the ground in shame. "Sorry, Joe. I didn't mean it like that. This isn't your fault. We just had a little bit of bad luck. We'll figure this out."

Nancy searched the small area they were in, trying to figure out how to get out of the predicament they were in. She tried digging only to have the dirt and rock fall back on her. Every time she tried a new spot to dig, the same result would happen. As time progressed, Joe noticed that Nancy was starting to have a hard time breathing. He too noticed the thin, stale air but it was affecting her more than him. It concerned him even more that Nancy wasn't telling him the truth about her wellbeing.

"Nancy, stop," Joe replied softly after she let out a few expletives from failing yet again. "I have faith that we will get out of here but you need to rest right now. You're starting to worry me."

"Joe," Nancy heaved, "I…what if Frank didn't get out in time either?"

"He did," Joe said with confidence. He patted the floor next to him and she sat down, her breathing a bit labored. Wrapping his good arm around her shoulders, Joe felt Nancy snuggle in with him. "I have a feeling he's got something up his sleeve to get us out of here."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes as Nancy's breathing started to go back to normal though Joe could hear a slight wheeze. Her breathing slowed and he soon realized she fell asleep. As he sat there listening to her sleep, Joe could think of only one thing: how they were going to get out of the mess he caused.

Hurry, Frank.

Frank stared at what was left of the tunnel entrance. He didn't know what to do as he waited for help to arrive. Within a few minutes of the cave-in, and after a frantic moment where he tried to dig at the dirt, Frank placed a call to the sheriff. It was agony for him to just wait, not knowing if Joe and Nancy were alive. Sheriff Doyle gave him explicit instructions not to try to dig anymore for fear of causing another cave-in before they were even able to assess the situation.

An hour or so after Frank called, the sheriff along with several trucks and emergency crews arrived at the abandoned mine. The crews immediately began setting up tents and equipment around the collapsed tunnel entrance. Sheriff Doyle strolled slowly over to Frank, hands on her hips and a look of frustration written on her face.

"Tell me, Mr. Hardy," she replied as she stopped in front of him. "What made you think it was safe to go into a condemned, abandoned mine in the middle of nowhere?"

"My brother," Frank stated, trying his best to keep his voice intact, "overheard a conversation that was pertinent to the case we were working on for Professor Windham."

"Oh, right, the missing artifacts," she nodded, her voice having an air of slight sarcasm. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"No," Frank hung his head, remembering the argument he had with Joe and Nancy before he left them. "We came to a dead end where the tunnel had previously collapsed. We should not have been in there."

"And for good reason!" cried the sheriff. "We've told the local kids to stay out of that mine because of the possibility of a cave-in. Even they've kept away. Now we have to rescue two out-of-towners who didn't know any better. Did they have any provisions that you know of?"

Frank shook his head. "Only a couple of heavy duty flashlights. Joe was adamant about getting here quickly so we didn't have much time to grab supplies."

"Do you think they're still alive?"

"Yes, I do," Frank answered, matter-of-factly. "They were right behind me so I don't think they're more than a few hundred feet in."

"I sincerely hope so, Mr. Hardy. If they're any further back, it will be harder for us to get them out before they run out of air." Sheriff Doyle motioned a deputy over to her and gave a few orders before returning her attention back to Frank.

"I'd like to help if you'll let me," Frank replied, his face lightening. He thought it would help him concentrate better instead of dwelling on what happened. "I…I can't stand here and do nothing. Not after what I said to them. I didn't believe Joe and I was so awful to him. And to Nancy. I'll never forgive myself if anything happens to them."

She pursed her lips and nodded. Her face softened as she saw the guilt on his face. She felt sorry for the young man, knowing how tough it was on him.

"We're going to do everything we can to save your brother and your friend," Doyle replied tenderly, placing a hand on Frank's shoulder. She knew that angry last words were the hardest to get over for anyone. The sheriff didn't want to be pessimistic that the two would come out okay but the odds were stacked against them. "Don't worry. We'll get them out. Once we get to digging, you can be right there to help. We're going to need everyone we have for this one."

Frank nodded his head then looked back to where the cave entrance should be. Crews were preparing to brace the tunnel once more as they readied themselves to dig. The sheriff left him to give orders to her deputies and other emergency personnel. Frank never felt so alone than he did in that moment. He usually had Joe or even Nancy around to think things through with him, not that he couldn't do it on his own. He was just so worried about them that he couldn't think straight.

Frank sighed and looked up at the sky, saying a silent prayer. He thought about what he could have said to both of them instead being angry. What he should have said.

You acted like such a fool! You should have trusted him! And why didn't you say anything to Nancy when you had the chance? Because you didn't come here for that. Besides, she's got Ned and you've got…no one.

Frank looked down at the ground in defeat. He was in such deep thought that he didn't hear a car roll up directly behind him or the car door slam. It wasn't until someone yelled at him that he snapped out of his demeanor.

"Hardy! What the hell are you doing here?!"

Frank closed his eyes, knowing exactly who the voice belonged to. It was the one person he didn't want to deal with at that moment. But he knew he had to with the circumstances. Frank sighed once more and turned around to face a very angry looking Ned Nickerson.

Author's Note:

Thank you so much to those who left a review for the first chapter and to those who are continuing to read the story! Have a great evening!