"Class, say hi to Craig Henderson and Tessa McCaffrey," Mrs. Gallagher said. Several of the students in the class gasped.

Joe looked up from his book. Not that he was actually reading it but he wondered what could be so interesting. He stared at the two new students standing in front of the class, assessing them or checking them out like what everybody else in the class was doing. He knew the exchange students from Sweden were due to come in today and he couldn’t help looking forward to it. Hmm, that girl looks familiar, he thought. Where have I seen her before?

Brushing back his blond hair out of his eyes, Joe leaned back against his chair and narrowed his eyes as Craig and Tessa started introducing themselves. Joe lifted his eyebrow. So that’s why the girls were gasping, he realized with an amused smile. Craig was a tall, raven-haired guy with a physique much like Joe’s own. The baggy sweater the Swede was wearing did nothing to hide the well-muscled, toned and athletic body underneath.

But Tessa McCaffrey was the one who really caught his eyes. She was a doe-eyed, sweet-looking girl off medium height and petite build, her long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and she gave them a friendly smile as she walked down the aisle, taking the empty seat next to Joe.

"Hi, I’m Tessa," she said, turning sideways. Joe took her out-held hand, and gave her one of his own smiles.

"I’m Joe. Joe Hardy." Tessa smiled again, and Joe froze as he realized what it was that really drew him to her. He thought she looked familiar but now when she was actually sitting next to him, Joe felt a rush course through him. When she smiles she looks exactly like-Joe’s mind didn’t want to say the name but his heart did it or him. Iola.

Joe’s face turned pale and abruptly he turned his face forward, his heart pounding against his chest. She’s dead, Joe, he told himself, like he’d done for so many times. So many times after Iola disappeared into a ball of flames he’d asked himself the same thing. Was she really dead? Would he ever see her again? And as time went by, Joe was grateful to find out that his heart had healed just enough to accept Vanessa into his life, but seeing this-this ethereal vision next to him had really unnerved him, bringing back awful memories that he’d spent a whole year to suppress only to have them rudely jolted back out of the blue.

He turned his head to the other side and found Vanessa staring at him, her forehead creased in what looked like concern. She had noticed how Joe had suddenly turned pale and wondering whether he was feeling alright. After his disastrous skiing trip the week before, Joe had developed a high fever for days and this was the second day since he’d returned to school.

"You okay?" she mouthed.

Joe managed a wan smile, nodding his head slightly in assurance. Vanessa broke into a relieved smile and Joe shuddered at how uncomfortable he was feeling right now. I don’t need this, he thought a little angrily. He sensed the instinctive warning that his emotions were about to take a ride on a roller coaster.

He sneaked a glance at the new girl sitting beside him who was listening intently to the teacher. Closing his eyes, Joe took a deep breath, commanding his tense muscles to relax. Get a grip, Joe. She just looks like her. That’s all. You have Vanessa now.

Every part of his body hurt. His head hurt. His chest hurt. Even his hair hurt.

What the hell happened? He wondered, wincing as he opened his eyes to narrow slits. Ugh, he grunted silently at the blinding light that seared through his swollen eyelids. The last thing he remembered was walking home from the library, wondering whether to make a stop at Casey’s for some homemade butter-pecan ice-cream.

Oh God, he thought in alarm as he remembered the hand that had suddenly choked him from behind, and the sudden slap of wet cloth against his face. He remembered breathing into the poisonous, sickly-sweet stench before succumbing into darkness. Oh God, he thought again. Where am I?

He opened his eyes a little wider, deeply curious yet frightened of what he was about to see. But the light was glaring into his eyes, and he squeezed them shut again. He commanded his hands to shield his eyes, but his cramped muscles just wouldn’t answer to his commands. Or rather, couldn’t answer to them, he realized, feeling the first signs of panic as he tugged harder but his tightly bound hands and feet just confirmed his suspicions.

"Good. You’re awake." A voice said. His eyes flew open. I know that voice, he thought. He opened his eyes again when the light in the room suddenly dimmed.

The fear in his eyes first turned into confusion, then rapidly changing into anger as his captor drew nearer, lips drew back in a smile. The smile which looked so sweet and friendly at first, now full of malice. A quick sweep of the eyes through the room showed him that the only way put of the room was through the door.

"Wh-What, uh, why-damn, why are you doing this to me?" He asked, more confused than frightened. "Why did you tie me up like this?"

His captor shrugged, putting a hand on his chest, watching as well as feeling as it rose and fell rapidly. "I-don’t know."

His eyes went wide as saucers and his lips thinned in anger. "Is this some kind of a joke? Let go of me this instant!" He tugged in the rope that bound his wrists together but no matter how hard he tugged, it still wouldn’t give.

"Can’t do that." His captor rose from the bed and went to the dressing table. He squinted to see what was laid out on it, he’d caught the glint but couldn’t figure out what it was. Then he saw it. Deadly-looking surgical knives and other sharp instruments he couldn’t identify were lying side by side in one neat row, shining and glinting maliciously in the now dim light.

"You know what this is?" His captor asked innocently, holding up one of the many sharp objects. He watched as it got tossed into the air and bit back a gasp as his captor caught it again.

"That’s-that’s a scalpel."

"Good boy. I knew you were one smart guy." Putting it down, his kidnapper sauntered over to the bed. "If you’re so smart, I’m sure you know what it’s for, right?"

No, he thought numbly. This is not happening. His fear grew as he felt fingers gently tracing down his chest and suddenly stopping as they reached just before his bellybutton.

"Hmm…"

"No," he whispered as he felt the sudden weight lift off the bed. After a few seconds he felt it again. Please don’t, he prayed as he opened his eyes. True enough, just as he’d suspected his captor had retrieved the surgical knife and was now holding it just a few inches from his navel. "Oh God…"

"You need to lose some weight, PJ." The murmur came low and barely audible when he started screaming. He was still screaming when he felt the blade pierce him, first penetrating the fragile protective layer of skin, digging deeper into his abdomen. But his screams died just as the cold, icy blade that was slicing through his muscles and sinews gave way to a burst of excruciating pain that erupted from deep within him and coursing through every nerve, exploding in one great fireworks of red, hot pain in his head.

"Think about it, PJ. No dieting, no exercising, and for free too! There’s no where, and I mean no where you’re going to get a deal as good as this. In fact I was planning to open a business…." But PJ was no longer listening.

Frank winced as he banged his arm against the door of the van again. He had fractured his arm in the avalanche and though he’d had it immobilized in a sling which he’d just taken off that morning, he didn’t think it was going to hurt this much. Obviously it had not healed yet. Guess Joe gets to drive today, he thought.

Speaking of Joe, where in the world is he? Frank craned his neck to see if he could get a glimpse of his brother. School had ended a half-hour ago and Frank was anxious to get home so that he could fix his hurting arm. He felt the now familiar pang of fear that frequently hit him every time Joe was out of his sight. Had something happened?

"Heard you lost something." Frank whirled around, smiling in relief. Joe’s okay.

"Nah, just lost someone. Where have you been?"

Joe winced. "Mr. Anderson was handing out the Chem test results."

"And?"

"And what?"

"How did you do?"

Joe snorted but didn’t answer. "You driving or me?"

"You. And don’t change the subject," Frank said as he threw him the keys with his good hand. Joe’s grades had plummeted like a backfiring rocket these past few months and he was in the constant danger of failing his classes. Sometimes he wished Joe would be more serious in his studies.

An angry look crossed Joe’s face. He had gone through a terrible day at school today and he definitely didn’t need one of Frank’s lectures right now. "I flunk it. Happy now?"

"Joe, what’s wrong with you? Didn’t we go through the basic principles of electrochemistry yesterday?"

Her we go again, Joe thought as he ignited the engine, sighing as he mentally prepared himself for another long lecture from his big brother about the importance of education and grades and concentrating in class and constant revision and all that studying crap.

"This is the third time you’ve flunked the monthly tests, Joe! Last month it was Biology, yesterday it was Physics and now Chemistry! Joe, if you have a problem you can always come to me, but this is getting more serious-" Joe was no longer listening. He’d listened to it hundreds of times before. Oh, Frank, of all the days in a month you chose this day to get on my case. Great.

As Joe drove in silence, totally oblivious to Frank’s angry tirade, he couldn’t help thinking about the new girl. He knew he was walking on a dangerous thread here but he just couldn’t seem to get her out of his mind. He’d talked to her a little in class today when he thought his Maths teacher wasn’t looking and Tessa seemed like a nice girl. Her smile, her laughter, the way she cocked her head when she listened to him talk…everything reminded him of Iola.

"Joe? Are you listening to me?" Joe turned in surprise and found Frank staring at him angrily.

"Oh, uh, Frank-"

"You haven’t been listening to a single word I said, have you? Joe, I can’t believe you-"