Something heavy landed on my shoulder and shook me hard. I blinked my eyes but all I saw was blackness. I breathed in to ask what was going on and nearly choked on whatever was covering my face. I had the sensation of being half-dragged somewhere else and dropped onto what felt like another cot.

I started to get up but felt like I couldn’t move. It didn’t feel as if I were tied down or anything. I just felt...weird. Before I could seriously dwell on it, I faded off to sleep again.

Not two seconds later, someone shook me again. Only this time I woke up to sunlight streaming through the open flap of the tent. Man, that was some crazy dream. I sat up and looked over at the other cot but Frank wasn’t there.

I still felt weird, like waking out of a really deep sleep. Frank was usually the first one up in the morning, so it didn’t surprise me. A shadow darkened the tent opening and I looked up, expecting to see my brother.

I blinked. The girl in the doorway had long blond braids tied with string and vivid green eyes. “Uh, hi.”

She flashed me a smile. “Good morning. Sleep well?”

Did I? “Yeah, guess so. Where’s my brother?”

She shook her head. “I was only told to get you. We must go to breakfast and take care of the compound now.”

Something in her tone gave me the heebie-jeebies, kind of like when Petal zoned out. “So what’s your name?”

She cocked her head to one side and smiled. “Willow.”

“Hi, Willow. I’m Joe.” I got to my feet, felt the tent do a 540 around me and I sat back down. “Whoa.”

“Father said you were stranded in the desert yesterday. You’re probably still dehydrated. I’ll go get you some water.”

I watched her leave, trying to sort out the thoughts in my brain. It felt extremely fuzzy this morning, more so than usual. Frank had said something about the water yesterday, but I couldn’t recall what he’d said. I watched Willow come back with a canteen.

She took off the cap and gave it to me. I was thirsty so I drank some of it, then handed it back to her. She shook her head and made me drink more. She took the canteen back. “I’ll let you get dressed and ready for breakfast. I’ll be back in thirty minutes.”

I nodded and this time I stood up more slowly. There, that was better. “I’ll be ready.” As soon as she left the tent, I got dressed in a light-colored T-shirt and khaki shorts. It was too hot for anything else. I still had a little water left in the bottle from yesterday, so I brushed my teeth and splashed a bit on my face.

Once I slipped my shoes on, I walked outside. I saw more people this morning, busy working around their tents or working several feet away in what looked like a garden. It was quiet which was unsettling. I did a slow turn, searching for my brother and found something else missing. Where was the windowless building?

It couldn’t have just disappeared, that much I knew. Another thought popped in my head and I darted back into the tent. I found my duffle and the clothes I’d just changed out of, but there was no sign Frank had ever been there.

Where the heck was my brother?

I hurried out of the tent and nearly ran Willow over. “Where’s Frank?”

She looked puzzled. “Who?”

Oh no, we were not going to do this. “My brother. He was with me yesterday.” I thought a moment. “Petal. Where’s Petal?”

“She is not here.”

I frowned. Had Frank gone somewhere with her? What on earth for?

“Is there a problem, Willow?”

I turned to see Mondo right behind me. “You! You saw me come in yesterday with my brother. Where is he?”

“He is busy at the moment. You will be with Willow for the day.” Mondo turned on his heel and walked off.

I glared at him and started walking in the opposite direction. Willow grabbed my arm. “Where are you going?”

“To find Frank. Let go.”

“You must stay with me. You heard Mondo.” She looked around almost furtively. “Please, you must not leave me. I will get in serious trouble with Father.”

“He’s not your real father, is he? Why do you call him that?”

“He requests it as a term of respect. We are all one big family out here.”

I decided not to say the first thing that came to mind. Of course it helped that my empty stomach chose that moment to growl. “Where’s breakfast?” I asked, hoping against the odds that it wouldn’t be tofu.

Willow pointed to the biggest tent. I remembered that one from yesterday. “That’s the dining hall,” she said. “They’re having rutabaga muffins this morning.”

I felt my stomach flip over and twist inside out. She must have seen the look on my face because she added, “There is also fruit – apples, oranges...”

I followed her to the tent, making a cursory look around the compound. Now that we were closer to the large tent, I could see the windowless building. It was obvious now, they’d moved me to a different tent. The question was why?

Then another thought popped up. We were in the desert, not exactly a place for orange groves and apple trees. Where did they get the fruit? Landers?

There was an odd cloying scent in the dining hall and I saw a table spread out with dark brown muffins. They didn’t look too appetizing. On another table were apples, oranges, bananas and grapes. They looked fine, no bruises or anything. And it made me wonder even more. I helped myself to an apple and some grapes and followed Willow outside with her muffin.

I scanned the area for my brother but I didn’t see him. I was getting a bad feeling in my gut that there was something seriously wrong here. Why else would they separate us? Not to mention how did they manage it?

I looked over at Willow and studied her. She was slender and pretty with a nice tan. Her blond braids hung nearly to her hips. She flashed me a shy smile. “You will stay with me today and help me with the chores?”

I munched on the apple a moment, and searched the compound again. If I got her busy, maybe I could drift off to find Frank. It was bothering me more and more that they separated us. I had to find him. I smiled back at her. “Sure. Whatever help you need.”

“Thank you. We must take our turn in the garden this morning before it gets too hot.” She took my free hand and led the way. I didn’t bother to tell her I hate to get around plants, and Mom has to drag me kicking and screaming to weed her flower garden with her. I’d sneak away and look for Frank while she was busy.

I had to find my brother.

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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.