Nine Hundred Ninety-Nine Feet Below Fandom, Wednesday [NFB]

[designateddadfriend]

Travis would actually be a bit disappointed to miss the shenanigans this week, if he'd had any idea by this point what day it was up on the surface. Down in the cavern, it was as uniformly dark and dank and cool as it had been since he and Probie had fallen in.

Well. At least he didn't have to deal with the heat wave?

He'd given up on the ladder truck. And climbing the walls. And amping up his radio's signal to try to reach anyone up on the surface and let them know where he was. He was sprawled out against the side of the overturned desk, staring moodily at the little emergency lantern he was using for light, and generally being nearly as big a sad useless lump as he'd been after his husband had died four years ago.

He'd get back to being useful in awhile. Sometimes you just had to have a Sad Lump Day.

[Open if/when anyone else falls in a hole!]

Comments

[designateddadfriend]

"We're . . . in a hole," Travis said. "A really deep one, apparently. Though how that works without way more damage than all this. . . ."

He gestured broadly around the little circle of lantern light from his emergency supplies. At the scattered rocks and branches and helmets and fire hoses and, oh yeah, the entire damned fire station lying on its back like an overturned beetle.

"I'd say welcome to Hell, but having met the Devil now, I kinda figure that has more sequins."

[stykera]

"We're not dead," Stark said. "I'd know. Hell wouldn't make sense. But...how? Why are we in a hole? There was a hole. That was following me. And the girl. And now...we're in a hole. I don't want to be in a hole. How long have you been here?"

Know what Stark did sometimes when stressed? Babbled.

[designateddadfriend]

"Depends," Travis said. "What day is it?"

He was not used to tracking days without getting the sun involved.

[stykera]

"Wednesday. It's Wednesday there was radio and one of the squirrels bit me because I taste like chocolate cake." Was that information Travis needed? Now it was information Travis had.

"And then Anakin's weekly torments in the park. There were donuts."

[designateddadfriend]

"It's Wednesday?" Travis was not handling that information well. Just wait until he heard that no one had really noticed the fire station had even gone missing, other than a brief note on the radio. "I've been down here since Sunday!"

[stykera]

"Yes it's Wednesday! Why have you been here since Sunday? How did you get here? Why are you still here? If you're still here is there not a way out? Are you stuck? Am I stuck? Are we stuck?"

[designateddadfriend]

“We’re stuck, yes,” Travis said. “Are you telling me the whole fire station got eaten by a-a roving sink hole, and you didn’t notice?”

[stykera]

"I don't walk by the fire station often!" That was not really a good excuse.

"Jessica might have said something. On the radio. But not about any holes. I don't want to be stuck. We need to get unstuck."

Stark. Stark, Travis knew that.

[designateddadfriend]

“Yeah, I have actually tried that,” Travis said. He was grumpy. And so judgy, Stark. So. Judgy. “If we could get the ladder truck turned over maybe we’d have a chance?”

[stykera]

Look, Stark wasn't at his best in situations like this.

"Will that help? Then we should do it. I'll help. Can I help? I don't want to be here."

[designateddadfriend]

“I don’t want to be here either and I’ve been here for days did you say you taste like chocolate cake?”

Sometimes words took a minute to process in Travis’s head.

[stykera]

"...Yes. Very chocolate cake. I don't know why. I think everyone tastes like something today? I don't know. One of those things the island does. Are you flavored?"

Well, Stark was momentarily distracted, at least?

[designateddadfriend]

“Am I . . . Am I flavored.” Hiw was that even something you found out? “I mean. I’ve been conserving water so I haven’t really showered in awhile. . . .”

[stykera]

"Oh. Well. You still might have a flavor. You should check. Just to see." Because now Stark was curious.

[designateddadfriend]

“Why?” Travis shook his head. “I don’t even want to smell me right now.”

[stykera]

"Just to see," Stark said. "Something to do. You could shower first. Or wash your hands. Less water. Is there not enough water? We're trapped and there's no water? Is there food?"

He hadn't even gotten those donuts he ordered!

[designateddadfriend]

Travis nodded to the toppled station. “Got food and potable water, and a generator. Enough for awhile at least. But since it doesn’t look like you all came with a building. . . .”

[stykera]

"No building. Just me. And the girl. And...a garbage can?" None of those things were particularly useful to survival in a giant hole, unfortunately.

"I was just walking home. With nothing." Except a ridiculous shirt dusted in powdered sugar, thanks so much for that Anakin.

[designateddadfriend]

“Guess I should glad it got me at work,” Travis said. “Could have at least waited until I got my donuts, though.”

[stykera]

"I didn't get my donuts either. And the ones in the park kept exploding." Had he actually eaten anything today? He wasn't sure.

There was something very upsetting about tasting like cake and not actually getting to eat any or anything like it.

[designateddadfriend]

“Exploding donuts?” Travis shook his head. “Right. Wednesday. Why am I even surprised?”

[stykera]

"Wednesdays are always odd. Today was odder because of the flavor but it's always odd because of Anakin. At least it was just donuts? And the shirts. There's always shirts. But then there was the hole and now I'm here and...not a good Wednesday."

And things had been going well for a while there! The flavor thing had looked to end well.

[designateddadfriend]

“Is it sad that mine’s looking up?” Travis asked. “. . . It probably is.”

[stykera]

Stark thought about that for a moment and shook his head. "You were alone for days. Well. With the dog. Is the dog alright?"

Too bad Probie couldn't talk. She could tell them if Travis had a flavor.

[designateddadfriend]

“Yeah, she’s fine.” Travis looked over at Probie, who was sniffing the trash can. “Sulking, but fine.”