hardy boys fan fiction
SUMMER STORM
by
ANYA
hardy
boys nancy drew fan fiction
Chapter 6
hardy boys fan fiction
THE CHAPTERS
Joe got another shock as the door suddenly crashed open and Gavin Walker’s two children rushed inside the room where he was being held. A bolt of lightning outside added to the illumination the dim electric light provided.
They took in the sight of Walker kneeling in front of Joe, and then stared at each other.
"We heard a gun shot," Jim said as a loud thunderclap sounded outside.
"And don’t say it was the thunder," Irene muttered. "Are you alright?" she asked Joe. Joe nodded, he was still trying to get his breath back.
"Just getting my eye in, it’s been a while since I used this gun" their father replied tersely.
He got up, gave Joe an appraising look, and then turned and walked towards the door.
Joe stared after him, wondering what he had up his sleeve now.
"C’mon now, we need to talk," he said to his son and daughter when he reached the door, as they like Joe, had simply stared after his retreating back.
Joe concentrated on seeing what lay beyond the door, but couldn’t make anything out in the dark.
"What about him?" the girl asked suddenly.
"What about him?" Gavin repeated, still at the door.
"Doesn’t he need food?"
"And it’s getting cold,’ Jim added.
"Aw, he’s a tough kid, he plays on the football team, don’t you Joey? He shouldn’t overeat, not good for an athlete. They always go out of shape in the holidays. He could do with disciplining anyway. Talks too much, and out of turn."
Joe just glared back at him.
"Come on now, out, both of you! We’ll have a small chat and then you two better get to bed. I don’t want you two staying up so late each night, understand?"
He pushed the two of them outside the room, and then walked up to the small light, pulled out a torch, switched off the lamp and unscrewed the bulb by torchlight all in a single smooth motion. He slipped the bulb into his pocket, and headed back to the door before turning around to shine the torch on Joe’s face.
"Sweet dreams, sleep well, there may be rats here but I don’t think they’ll bother you much." With that the door slammed shut plunging the room into darkness. There was no sound except the still merciless rain that continued with greater intensity, and the intermittent thunderclaps.
*****
"What?" Fenton asked, as he warmed himself some more coffee. He’d convinced Frank to eat a little dinner.
"I just remembered something, I’m not sure, if it’s important, it could be a false alarm, you know, but I was just thinking, something I’d read in your files too, and I got thinking…"
Fenton stared at his eldest son. Frank always prided himself on his logical and rational mindset. And like his father he preferred a structured approach to everything he did, to a much larger extent than Joe. Right now, though, he sounded so vague and unsure that it was totally unlike him.
He was biting his lower lip intensely now, "I need to check out something," Frank declared and walked out into the living room.
Fenton didn’t know whether to feel worried or amused at his son’s behaviour. Joe’s constant compliant was Frank’s refusal to tell him exactly what he was thinking. It looked like he was going to be at the receiving end today.
He picked up his papers and was about to start working on them when the phone rang again.
Frank looked up from the living room floor where he was kneeling down when the phone rang and got up to answer it, but his father had already reached it.
Fenton picked up the phone only to be greeted by the sound of his wife’s voice, for the second time that night.
*****
Joe curled himself up on the cold, damp floor. He was cold, chilled, tired, and …hungry. He groaned as he remembered the last meal he’d had. They’d grabbed sandwiches at a diner on their way back to Bayport, it seemed like ages ago now. It might be ages, Joe thought angrily, he didn’t even know which day it was, he thought it was night because there was no light filtering in through the grating. It must be the same night, he thought to himself, or else he’d really be starving by now, if he hadn’t eaten for more than 24 hours.
It hadn’t stopped raining, if anything the rain had gotten heavier, and the sound of the rain splattering against tin was beginning to get on his nerves.
A bolt of lightning lit up the room for a split second, and Joe could make out the water jug on the small table. It was a good thing he wasn’t too thirsty or he’d have been really mad, with water so near him, and him unable to move even a finger! But then, just that thought was making him thirsty now!
He shifted himself trying to find a more comfortable position and then got down to trying to get his hands free instead. He had to bite his lips from crying out as the ropes bit into the already tender skin of his wrists.
Joe gave up after a while. He’d try again after a while, he decided. For now, though, they were too tight and he was too tired. Frank and he had stayed up the last night in the cabin to watch a meteorite shower. Frank had fallen asleep after the beautiful celestial display but Joe hadn’t been able to. He’d found the sight overawing; it left his mind feeling too pent-up to sleep. He’d stayed up thinking instead.
Sitting in the silent night in that lonely little cabin, with everyone around him fast asleep, watching his brother sleep, they’d been through so much together, so many ups and downs, through happy occasions and sad, they’d been in real danger sometimes, but both of them always had the comforting knowledge that the other was near when required. It had given them a much closer bond than most siblings had, an unspoken bond, but it was there nevertheless. He’d wondered what the future held in store for them, Frank would join college in a few months, then next year Joe would, and maybe a different college, and they’d be away from each other most of the year.
He’d finally fallen asleep only to be woken up an hour later to his brother’s smiling face, and he’d known then that everything was going to be fine. No matter what happened, no matter what the future held, they’d always be together deep inside, and they’d be there for each other, always.
Another bolt of lightning followed by a really huge clap of thunder served to raise Joe from his reverie. He really wanted to sleep, but the cold was keeping him awake. And his arms and legs were getting strained from being tied up. He was still in the thin cotton t-shirt and cotton pants he’d been shopping in. At that time it had been warm and sunny, and he’d felt comfortable, right now, it was cold, just plain cold. He tried to take his mind off the cold, by thinking of something else. He tried to think of Frank and his dad and his mom, but he got depressed as he remembered his mother’s voice on the phone earlier, and the unhappy, frantic look on Frank’s and Fenton’s faces when he’d last seen them.
He shook his head and tried to get a better bearing on his surroundings. He couldn’t see much; it was completely dark now, unless there was another bolt of lightning. So he concentrated on what he could hear, and smell. He knew the room had a kind of tin roof, he hadn’t been able to make it out earlier, it had been to dark, but he knew it from the sound the rain made as it hit the roof.
Every now and then he could smell salt air, as the wind changed direction, he must be near the sea. Big help, Hardy! He told himself, you could be anywhere on the coast! Heck, you could be on any coast! He continued to himself recklessly. A huge gust of cold wind through the grating made him shiver. Another huge thunderclap came next, a long, loud rumbling this time, followed by lightning and more thunder.
Joe bit his lip, he was glad he’d never been scared of thunderstorms. He’d always enjoyed them, and he might have enjoyed this one if he’d been sitting at home curled up in bed or in front of the TV with Vanessa curled up in his arms, and something hot to drink. Drink! No, don’t think of food or drink…got to sleep, go to sleep…
*****
"Laura?" Fenton said.
Frank stared at him with a sinking heart, he didn’t even want to start thinking about why his mother might have called… he could see his father’s face mirrored the same thoughts, and he simply walked back into the kitchen sank into a chair, shut his eyes and leaned his head back.
Not again…please…
A huge thunderclap outside almost made him jump, and he found himself praying again that wherever Joe was he was safe and warm. This weather was ridiculous, it was supposed to be summer…
He could hear his father murmuring something softly in the next room, and then, "Frank?" his father was thrusting the cordless phone at him.
"Frank?" Laura’s voice came soft and strained but calm. "Honey, how are you?"
"Mom," Frank felt his eyes tear up, "Mom, Joe…" Frank gulped, "He’ll be alright, I promise, we’ll find him."
"I know you will son, but please, look after yourself. You sound tired," his mother said softly.
"So do you, mom."
"I need to go now, good night sweetheart, please don’t get worried."
I should be saying that.
"He called again?" Frank demanded from his father.
"No, Laura suddenly remembered that when she’d been speaking to Walker and Joe earlier, there was a sound in the background. She thought it was static then. But now she’s realized it was probably rain…. Very heavy rain falling on an asbestos sheet probably, or some kind of tin surface."
"The met. Department says this storm is a local disturbance, you know," Frank spoke very calmly.
His father nodded, "They couldn’t have gone very far in this weather. Now, you give."
Frank nodded, "You said Walker was institutionalised in New York, and was reported missing yesterday night."
"It wouldn’t take him very long to reach Bayport. The neighbours said the car was parked outside since afternoon. So, they spent the intervening time somewhere. It’s not at any hotel, Con said they’d alerted every motel in and around Bayport to report to them if either he or his children stopped there. And now they’ve even checked against the car. I think they’re staying at a house, and I think I know where."
He paused irresolutely.
"Frank," Fenton prodded gently. Actually he felt like screaming. He was beginning to sympathize with his younger son; Frank could have given him high blood pressure by now.
"It’s a little silly, but Dad, those three…they had black clay on their shoes, I remember noticing it when I fell. And there are still bits of clay on the carpet. Dad, they’ve come from Bartell Point. I’m sure that’s where Joe is now."
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Disclaimer
The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The Hardy Boy Fan Fiction authors of the Hardy Detective Agency have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.