"GHOULS NIGHT OUT"
HALLOWEEN 2007 HARDY BOYS CONTEST ENTRY
WHO MOVED MY FRANKENSTEIN?
by
Author D
Chapter 3
The Chapters
What happened?
Monitor Frankenstein.
There was a loud BOOOMZ followed by a fiery white flash as an unexpected streak of lightning hit the ground right next to him. He was flung sideways and landed unceremoniously on a pile of crumpled-up papers.
Now, where did that come from? Blond-headed Joe Hardy pondered as he struggled to regain control of his limbs that were apparently still shocked by the close shave with that rogue lightning.
Then he remembered. His brother was standing right next to him.
He panicked.
His brother was lying motionless on the ground just a couple of meters away.
Oh please, let Frank be okay, Joe pleaded to no one in particular as he scrambled on shaky limbs over to his brother.
He could see the chest rising and falling; he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he was starring into Frank’s brown eyes.
Strange , Joe thought, I don’t remember Frank’s eyes being so, well, for lack of a better word, so raw with emotions.
“Welcome back to the land of the living, big bro!” Joe finally said when he managed to break eye contact with his brother.
That close shave with the lightning must have really spooked Frank, Joe decided.
He could still feel the slash of heat and that electrical tingle as the lightning streak passed him. It was a close call. He shivered at that memory. He took another peek at his big bro, who was still sitting there on the ground with a rather shocked look in his eyes. Then Frank was slowly moving and scanning his environment.
“I think that was a rogue lightning.” Joe commented as he helped his brother stand up.
Frank nodded his head slowly.
Joe frowned.
“Are you sure you are okay, Frank?” Joe asked, and then offered. “We can quit the Halloween competition if you’re not up to it…”
Joe watched his brother stare at him a long while before slowly shaking his head. He chewed his lips in indecision. Something wasn’t quite right, he knew. But Frank’s not cooperating at all. Perhaps he should call off the competition. He knew that Frank had known how badly he wanted to win this particular Halloween Treasure Hunt. The prize was a pair of tickets to watch the NBA finals….But it was not worth his brother’s health of course.
“Are you sure?”
Frank nodded slowly but firmly.
“Hey Frank! Joe! We’re on to our fifth puzzle already! You guys aren’t going to win this one!” That was from childhood pals Chet Morton and Tony Prito.
“Oh yeah?!” Joe shouted back in mock-anger. “Never count your chickens before they hatch, old buddy!” Turning back to Frank, he called out “Come on Frank, we’re not going to let them win, are we?”
Then he reached out for Frank’s rubbery hands and dragged his brother behind him as he strode swiftly towards the next destination on his map.
Thirty minutes later, Joe wasn’t amused anymore. In fact he was getting both irritated and worried in equal measure. Frank had not been himself; he rejected all Joe’s suggestions to quit the competition, he had not spoken, and he was messing up the puzzle that Joe had painstakingly pieced together.
They were currently at a rather isolated section of the school so they could work on constructing the mystery puzzle in peace. When the delicate puzzle fell into pieces in Frank’s fumbling Frankenstein’s fingers, Joe finally decided enough was enough.
“What’s the matter with you tonight?” Joe hissed into his brother’s huge rubbery green ears, his irritation getting the better of him for a moment.
Then he was immediately contrite when Frank flinched visibly. “It’s really okay to quit, you know.”
Was Frank sick?
Joe turned his worried eyes on his brother. For the first time, he noted that Frank seemed uncomfortable. It must be really hot in that rubber Frankenstein body suit, Joe conceded. He felt sorry for Frank. Callie got away with getting Frank dressed up in some sort of weird costume every Halloween. And this year, she took a fancy to this particular very realistic-looking rubber Frankenstein body suit.
“Are you really okay, Frank?” he asked, concern clear in his voice. “I should have realized earlier you might be a little heated up in that portable sauna Callie zipped you in…”
His brother did not respond. Joe thought Frank’s eyes looked a little fearful. He wondered why.
“Frank?” Joe called out quietly as he reached out again to take Frank’s arm in a comforting grip.
His brother did not seem to hear him.
Joe tightened his hold on his brother’s arm. The arm felt strange. It felt…leathery, not rubbery.
Why didn’t I notice that before? Joe felt consternation rise in him.
But he had no time to ponder the mystery of that leathery arm held in his firm grip. The fear in the brown eyes had alerted Joe to the fact that there was someone standing behind him.
He whipped around to see a masked tall man pointing a gun at him.
“Hardy refused to back off despite repeated warnings. So the Boss sent me to pick off one of his sons. No discrimination here, Blondie, I found you first. Goodbye, Joseph,” the man said.
And he fired.
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Disclaimer
The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors 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.