HDA - Living in Darkness Trilogy - Pt 2 - The Search

Frank's grin faded slightly. "You didn't like the movie at all, Callie?" he asked as he pulled up to her house. It had been movie night and Vanessa's turn to pick. She'd known Joe had been quite anxious to see Sahara , so she'd picked that one.

"I liked the environmental message," said Callie as she got out of the van.

Joe rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. Frank got out to walk Callie to her door and tell her goodnight, and then got back in the van. He looked at Joe. "Behave."

"Hey, didn't say a word."

Frank backed out of Callie's driveway and headed towards home. "But you definitely were thinking it."

"So sue me." Joe leaned forward in his seat and pointed out the windshield. "What's that?"

Ahead of them was an odd blue glow filtering out of the trees. Frank frowned. "Why not check it out?"

He drove on, looking for a side road when the van hit something and the back end slewed around. Joe grabbed the dashboard to keep from hitting it. "Whoa. What—?" The van's momentum slammed it into a ditch and it was the last thing either brother remembered.

***

There was the sensation of coolness and the faintest scent of antiseptic – and something else. Frank Hardy opened his eyes and winced at the brightness.

"Sorry about that, son," came a gravelly voice from Frank's left. The lights dimmed to a tolerable level.

"W-where am I?" asked Frank.

A dark-haired man clad in a blue shirt stepped into Frank's field of vision. "Why don't we take it one step at a time, son?" The man smiled and then glanced at something above Frank's head.

Frank shifted his head back to look but couldn't make sense of the moving and blinking lights. He cleared his throat. "Who are you?"

"Just a friendly ol' country doctor, son. Now lie down and rest."

Frank frowned, not liking the man's evasiveness and the vague answers. "Where's my brother?"

"Well, boy, if you'd settle down, I'd be able to check on him."

Frank started to sit up but the man pushed him down. "Calm down, son."

Frank knocked the man's hand away. "I want my brother."

The man gestured to Frank's right. Frank turned to see his brother lying on an oddly-styled gurney – or hospital bed, a strange plaque on the wall blinking and beeping. " What are you doing to him?"

The man stared at Frank. "Doing? Son—"

An odd faint swish made Frank turn to look past the doctor. The wall split apart and a sandy-haired man walked in. The doctor turned to the newcomer and gestured to Frank. "He thinks this here's a torture chamber. If I so much looked at a thumbscrew I'd have nightmares for a week."

The sandy-haired man, wearing a long-sleeved gold shirt made like the first man's blue one, chuckled. "No, you wouldn't, you'd be too busy trying to figure a way to get to him." The second man gestured to the ceiling.

The doctor snorted. "I thought you knew, Jim. Implements of torture have no effect on him."

Jim laughed. "See, Bones, you've been around him so long you're starting to sound like him."

Bones shook his head. "God forbid."

Frank didn't bother wondering at the doctor's strange name. He cleared his throat rather loudly. "Excuse me – my brother?"

The doctor turned to look at him and sighed. "Your brother's resting. He's fine. No injuries. Although the way young people operate machines on this – in this place leaves much to be desired."

Frank frowned at the oddness of the man's phrasing and the way he seemed to acquire and then lose a Southern accent. Frank saw the sandy-haired man shoot the dark-haired man a hard look. The doctor sighed. "Whatever. Go away. No pestering allowed in Sickbay."

Jim grunted. "You're lucky I like you too much to keelhaul you."

The doctor shrugged. "Idle threats."

Frank cleared his throat again. "I want to get up."

The doctor looked him up and down. "All right by me."

Frank moved to stand up and sagged back down on the bed. "Whoa – room's spinning."

The doctor grunted and a moment later something ice-cold touched Frank's neck. He heard a faint hiss and the room settled. Frank tried again to stand and found the dizziness was gone. He frowned at the doctor, puzzled, and then walked over to his brother. "Joe."

Joe grunted and rolled onto his side. "Lemme sleep."

Frank grabbed Joe's shoulder and gave it a shake. "Joe, wake up."

Joe's blue eyes fluttered open. "G'way. Too early to—" He blinked, closed his eyes and opened them again. "This isn't my room."

"No duh." When Joe moved to sit up, Frank shook his head. "No sudden moves. You might be a little dizzy."

The doctor walked over and leaned over to look at Joe. "Should be fine."

Frank heard that hiss again and saw his brother look startled. The doctor stepped back and Joe sat up. "I feel fine." He gave the doctor a curious look and touched his neck. "Thanks."

"No problem, son." The doctor and the other man promptly left through the split wall which swished closed.

"Weird. Where's the sensor?"

Frank blinked, surprised by the odd question. "Huh?"

"You know all those automatic doors at the stores? There's a motion sensor up above the doors, that's how they open."

Frank rolled his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. What happened? Last thing I remember was the van going into the ditch."

"And that blue glow," said Frank, looking around. The room was large, with the strange beds lining the curved wall. Square plaques, all dark, hung above each empty bed. "He called it a Sickbay."

Joe grunted. "We're not sick."

Frank ventured over to where the wall had split. As he moved closer, it parted, revealing a wide corridor the same silvery metallic color as the Sickbay. People clad in long black pants with either red, gold, or blue shirts walked along the corridor.

A blond-haired girl clad in a red mini-dress, black hose and black boots, slowed down, gave Frank a long look and then continued on her way.

Joe came up beside Frank. "Hey, she's pretty."

Frank sighed. "I wonder where we are. I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."

"We never were in Kansas , Frank. Just how hard did you hit your head?"

"I was quoting from The Wizard of Oz."

"Oh." Joe stepped into the hall and immediately collided with someone. He reached out and grabbed the person's arm, noticing the red mini-dress, the dark red-brown hair done up in an intricate braid, the vivid green eyes. "Oh, I am so sorry."

"It is okay." She pulled free and stepped back. "I am unharmed."

Joe gave her his most charming smile. "You sure?" Her skin had been hot, almost as if she had a fever. Maybe she was coming to Sickbay because she was sick, he thought.

She looked at Joe and arched an eyebrow that to Frank looked more like a slanted line rather than an arch. "Yes," she said, the faintest of accents in her tone.

Joe held out his hand. "I'm Joe. The guy standing in the doorway is my brother Frank."

She gazed at his hand but didn't shake it. "I am called T'Leira."

Joe blinked. "That's...an unusual name."

T'Leira gave a one-shouldered shrug. "It is a common enough name where my ancestors are from." She took another step back, started to turn around and then stopped to look at them. "I was headed for the Officer's mess. Do you wish for sustenance?"

Joe started to say something but Frank stepped forward. "Yes, thank you. Lead the way."

"What did you just say yes to?" asked Joe in a low voice.

T'Leira turned to look at him. "Sustenance is that which sustains life, otherwise called nourishment." She paused a moment. "Food."

Joe looked at Frank, surprised T'Leira had heard him; he'd asked the question in a whisper. "Uh, thank you. Yes, I'm starved."

She arched an eyebrow and turned around. She led the way down the corridor to what looked like a pocket door set in the metal wall. It slid open and the brothers found themselves entering a tiny octagonal room. Joe looked around as she gripped a handle against the wall. "This is kind of small, huh."

T'Leira didn't respond, she merely twisted the handle and said, "Deck Six."

Joe nearly fell when the room moved first down, like an elevator, and then moved sideways. "What the—?"

Frank staggered and pressed his hand against the nearest wall to steady himself. Automatically, he grabbed Joe's arm to steady his brother as well. "What is this?"

T'Leira arched both eyebrows and then looked more intently at the brothers. "Oh, you are—" She cleared her throat. "I did not realize..."

"Realize what?" asked Frank, feeling just a little aggravated. Everyone seemed to be evasive here.

"You are not familiar with the current technology. If I had known..." She let go of the handle and the room stopped moving. "Perhaps I should return you to Sickbay."

"But what about food? Sustenance?" asked Joe. "I wasn't exaggerating--I'm hungry."

T'Leira stood there for nearly thirty seconds, heaved a sigh and grabbed the handle again. "Very well. Resume."

The room moved a few feet further and came to a halt. The door slid open and the brothers saw another corridor, people walking back and forth. T'Leira led them to what appeared to be a wall only to see it split apart with a faint swish that was starting to annoy Joe. Inside were tables with people seated at them, eating and talking.

Joe was all ready to follow T'Leira in when something so unusual caught his eye, he stopped dead in his tracks. Frank rammed into him but didn't knock him over. Frank grunted. "Stop doing that. One of these days, I'll just trample you."

"What are they doing?" asked Joe, pointing at the line of people. One at a time, a person would walk to the wall, speak to it and a moment later, they would step away with a tray of food.

"Getting their food," said T'Leira, giving both brothers an uneasy look. "It is fairly simple to use. You merely tell the computer what you want and it will replicate it for you. Some programs are more complex than others—"

A tall blond-haired man rushed up to them. "Lee, we're waiting on you. It's T.J.'s birthday."

"I am aware of the date, Jakob. I am also aware that you are in a rush. That is no cause for rudeness. Jakob Callaghan, this is Frank and Joe."

Jakob Callaghan looked over at Frank and Joe and then did a double take. "Whoa. Nice costumes. C'mon, Lee," he said in a softer voice. "You have to sing."

T'Leira arched both eyebrows and for the first time Frank saw a hint of emotion in her green eyes. She was furious with Jakob. "I will deal with you later. I am assisting these gentlemen in acquiring nourishment."

As if she'd slapped him, Jakob took a jerky step back. "I'm sorry." He gave the brothers a distracted nod and bolted away.

T'Leira gestured for the boys to fall in line behind her and in a few moments, they were facing the wall. Up close, they saw there was a small speaker grid as well as a bank of colored buttons. T'Leira gestured again. "Tell it what you want. We have a wide variety of foods, some quite exotic and alien but whatever you wish for, will be replicated."

Frank narrowed his eyes. "Replicated?"

T'Leira turned to the nearest speaker grid. "Garden salad with extra tomatoes and shredded cheddar cheese. Blue cheese dressing on the side. Chamomile tea, cold."

A panel slid up and a tray popped out, bearing a garden salad and a glass of tea. Joe's eyes widened. "Anything?"

"Joe, don't get carried away," said Frank, still somewhat stunned by how fast it had worked.

"I want a pizza," Joe told the speaker grid. "Canadian bacon, Italian sausage and pepperoni, with extra cheese."

The panel slid up in front of him and out popped a tray with a large pizza just as Joe had ordered sitting on the tray. "Oh," added Joe. "And a cherry cola."

Another tray appeared with the beverage. Joe pulled it out and took a sip. "Whoa, tastes just like it."

Frank stood there a moment and then said softly what he wanted. A minute later a tray appeared with a well-done steak and baked potato. A glass of regular cola sat on one corner of the tray.

T'Leira arched an eyebrow at his food choice but merely picked up her tray and led the way toward a long table half full of people. She stopped and looked around, despite the people at the table motioning to her. Finally, apparently not seeing another spot to sit, she continued toward the table.

Frank set his tray down and took a quick look at the people seated on both sides of the table. A tall man with his long black hair in a low queue nodded gravely to them. "I am Ezekiel Farwalker, welcome."

Next to him, a diminutive woman with bright red hair and gray-blue eyes smiled. "I'm Dusty Randall."

Another woman, with café-au-lait skin, dark brown hair and hazel eyes, was seated next to Dusty. "Robyn Bannister. But my friends call me R.K."

"Not to confuse her with C.K.," spoke up a man with dark blond hair and brown eyes. "C.K. is a guy--should be easy to tell them apart."

"Shut up, T.J., you're babbling," drawled a woman that at first glance looked like she might be the man's kin with her own dark blond hair and brown eyes. She turned to look at Frank and he realized he'd been mistaken. "I'm Cal. Short for Callista."

Across from Callista was another blond guy with hazel eyes. His broad shoulders strained at the seams of his red shirt. "I'm C.K., by the way," he said, smiling. "Short for Christian Kade."

Seated next to C.K. was a black-haired man with turquoise eyes. He nodded to the brothers. "Conor Griffin. Have a seat." His gaze shifted to T'Leira and an odd expression crossed his face.

Frank couldn't see T'Leira's face but wondered at the exchange. He settled down in a chair as his brother skirted the table and sat down across from him. Joe nodded to everyone. "I'm Joe and he's Frank."

"Nice to meet you," said Ezekiel. "Interesting costumes. The last time I—"

Callista cleared her throat loudly. "Sorry. Had something in my throat." She shot a glance at T'Leira. "Well? T.J. can wait only so long. Let's get this over with."

"Hey, it's my birthday for twenty-four hours. You have to be nice to me. All of you." He nudged Callista. "Especially you. I want that present you forgot to give me last year."

"I did not forget to give it to you," replied Callista, archly. "You were being a brat, playing that ridiculous game for three hours straight."

"Hey, I was winning. You know I never win at that game. I was finally winning, trashing all his ships. I mean I got the carrier and the battleship in one fell swoop."

C.K. arched a brow. "I thought that was when they were playing – no, you're right. It was that conversation we were having about fairytales while they were playing."

"I let you win," said Jakob smugly. "I was tired of sitting in that damn chair for three hours."

"You let me win? How dare you. I want to win – or lose as the case usually is – all on my own." T.J. grunted. "How rude."

Jakob rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Suddenly, softly, T'Leira began to sing the traditional Happy Birthday song. Frank and Joe stared at her. Her voice took on a distinctly Irish lilt and for the first time Frank saw a trace of humor and sparkle in her eyes. Strange how she never seemed to show emotion, he thought absently.

When she was done, the entire room applauded and she ducked her head. "Thank you," she said quietly and T.J. grinned. "Thanks, Lee."

"You are welcome."

Conor looked first at Frank and then Joe. "Ahh." He slid a glance at T'Leira. "Well?"

"I was not aware of it until we were in the turbolift," answered T'Leira almost defensively.

Just then a loud blaring siren went off, startling everyone. Everyone at their table stood automatically and started for the exit. T'Leira looked at Joe and Frank. "Perhaps it is better for you to return to Sickbay."

Joe winced at the noise. "What is that?"

"A red alert," answered Conor. He moved swiftly to the exit and was gone.

Frank and Joe shared a look. What the hell was a red alert and just where were they?

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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.