"GHOULS NIGHT OUT"
HALLOWEEN 2007 HARDY BOYS CONTEST ENTRY
WHO MOVED MY FRANKENSTEIN?
by
Author D
Chapter 7
The Chapters
Finally what happened?
Frankenstein Come Home.
Frank Hardy fought hard against the darkness trying to claim him. Stay awake, Frank! he admonished himself. Stay awake and REMEMBER!
Then the darkness turned grey, and the grey-ness turned light. And Frank Hardy landed on something soft and silky with a loud FLOP.
"FRANKENSTEIN!!!" Frank heard something or someone screech joyously. "You're back! You're back! We thought we were going to lose you forever!"
Frank opened his eyes to see a green-faced, blue-eyed monster staring back at him with teary eyes. That monster could have passed for Joe if not for the fact that it was GREEN.
He felt like crying himself. He was in Ghoul-land. What a nightmare!
"Jostein, stop crushing your brother! We cannot afford any replacement body parts at the moment as you know…" Another guttural voice broke in.
The arms around him loosened. Frank turned towards that voice and saw a green version of his dad reaching out for him.
That must be Fentonstein, Frank thought as he recalled the name of Frankenstein's father that Victor supplied. And he would bet his entire savings that green female would be called Laurastein.
He watched in rising consternation as the joyful expression of a father welcoming his son home turned into a stern frown the moment Fentonstein touched his arm. The green version of his dad opened his mouth to say something, but someone else beat him to it.
"Who the heck are you?" Jostein demanded.
Then Jostein turned to his family and declared in an angry voice: "This is NOT Frankenstein. It is a fake in costume! That mad Human lied!"
Frank could not help but to shrink back a little in cautious fear as three pairs of beady eyes turned threateningly on him. But before he could say a word in his own defense, there was another roar of lightning and another blinding flash of light. Then there was back-breaking pain as something landed right on his broad shoulders. Next he knew, he was buried under possibly two bodies and lost in a tangle of limbs. Then he was staring at a perfect replica of his Halloween costume. Finally he heard a voice he thought he'd never hear again.
"JOE!" he called out with happy relief and rather desperately enfolded his brother in a bear hug. "It's really you!"
He could try to figure out what happened and how to get home later. For now, he was just so happy that his brother was here with him. He was no longer alone.
"Frank! I was so scared when I figured out what might have happened," Joe responded as he returned the hug.
It was a while before he was ready to let go of his brother. When he did, he joined Joe in watching the happy reunion of Frankenstein's family.
Then he remembered his darned costume.
"Joe. Can you help me get out of this stupid costume?" Frank asked.
He hated that knowing smile on Joe's face. He had a bad feeling he would be subjected to Joe's merciless teasing for weeks. Nevertheless, he needed help at the moment.
It took both brothers quite a while and considerable effort to remove that full body suit from Frank. The head mask had fitted so snugly to create that realistic effect, Joe almost yanked his head off in the process of removing it. And they had to literally peel the rubber suit off his arms and legs.
Never am I going to let Callie dress me in any more of her high quality costumes! Frank swore quietly to himself.
"Are the two of you all right?" a female guttural voice enquired just as he was folding up his rubber costume.
Frank exchanged a look with his brother before replying cautiously, "Yeah."
"My son told me what happened and I apologize for scaring you earlier," Fentonstein said to him before turning to address Joe. "I thank you for taking care of Frankenstein and being his friend. You are indeed a Cultured Human."
"Frankenstein saved my life, sir." Joe responded in a grateful tone and gave Frankenstein a grateful look. "It is I who am honored to call him my friend."
What? Was Joe in danger? Frank wondered.
"I can try to send you home by making some adjustments to the equipment I have here," Fentonstein told them. "That is, if you would accept our humble hospitality in the meantime? And if you are hungry, I am sure my wife, Laurastein, has something brewing on the stove."
I knew it! Frank thought when he heard the name 'Laurastein'.
"Go for the spinach!" Joe hissed into his ear as they followed their hostess into the green-colored shelter.
Joe advocating spinach?! Slowly and unbidden, another thought intruded. How could he be sure that Joe was really Joe? Then he shook that morbid thought aside. Innocent until proven guilty, Joe until proven otherwise, Frank decided.
Soon, the three of them were exchanging and sharing their experiences with other ghouls in the house. And Frank personally thanked Frankenstein for saving his brother's life from the hitman.
Then supper was served and Frank was quite humanly horrified by the beautifully laid out 'stuff' on his plate. It was only then that he really understood what Joe was trying to tell him about the Food of the Ghouls.
Frank shot his brother a poisonous glare as Joe struggled to hide his laughter over his own tiny bowl of very edible-looking and smelling pureed spinach.
Surrounded by such earnest expectant hopeful expressions, Frank had no choice but to take a tiny bite….He was not quite sure if his heroic deed was worth the cheers that erupted around him, but he must have turned a sickly shade of green after his valiant attempt at inter-species diplomacy.
"See, I told you Ghoul Food is so much better than Human Food, Frank looks so much greener and healthier already!" Frankenstein told the gathered family and friends.
Soon, it was time for them to go home. The entire ghoul neighborhood was there to see them off, it seemed to Frank. The ghouls were just so curious to meet 'genuinely nice and ghoul-ly Humans'. And so he and Joe were holding tightly to each other's hands, waving their 'goodbyes' as the machinery hummed and sizzled. Then there was the now familiar flash of white followed by that sense of vertigo…
And then they landed somewhere rather painfully on their bums, still firmly gripping each other's hands.
They could hear voices – angry voices. Their father’s voice.
"What did you do to my sons, you bastard?!"
"Nothing! Nothing! I told you there was a green monster with Blondie!" another voice blabbered. "That monster must have taken your son…"
Frank exchanged a concerned glance with his brother, and soon they were both racing round the corner. They made it just in time to see Fenton going for the hit man’s throat and the police officers struggling to separate the two of them.
"DAD!" Both he and Joe called out.
"We're fine, Dad," both of them repeated over and over as they sought to return their father to sanity.
Finally, it registered with Fenton that his sons were still alive and well, and he relaxed, holding both of them close.
"There's your green monster, Pedro!" The police officers laughed when they saw what Frank was carrying.
"No, no, I swear that monster removed his arm and whacked me with it!" Pedro the hit-man cried out, pleading for someone to believe him. "You can see my bruise!"
But no one did believe him…except for the brothers themselves, of course!
"Hmmm…what exactly did you guys throw at him?" one of the police officers asked as he eyed that ugly purple bruise.
Frank quickly showed him the rubber Frankenstein head mask before Joe could say anything.
Again, the officers broke into peals of laughter.
"Sorry we gave you a scare, Dad," Frank told his father apologetically. "But he had a gun, so we thought we should run."
"It's okay. Both of you are alive and that's all that matters," Fenton said. "But I insist you come home now, your mom will want to know that you're okay."
Both Frank and Joe nodded in agreement. They had had enough of an adventure for the night.
"I'll inform the organizers and the boys' friends that you are taking them home," Police Officer Con Riley offered.
Fenton gave his friend a grateful nod before ushering his sons towards his car. "We'll come down to the station to give our statement tomorrow of course."
Frank turned and took one last look at the charred hole in the ground before following his dad and Joe to the car. This was one of the longest and most intense hour in his whole life…
*****
After everyone left the crime scene, Police Officer Con Riley took another look at the big green rubbery Frankenstein full-headed mask in his hands and frowned. He hefted it lightly and his expression grew even more puzzled.
No way could this rubber mask cause that bruise on Pedro's face, he muttered, knowing full well those two pesky Hardy brothers were hiding something from the police yet again.
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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.