ILLUSIONS
by
AUTHOR D
Chapter 2
The Chapters
Lying on the soft bed of hay, Joe closed his eyes, reveling in Vanessa’s complete and total attention. Her soft lips brushed against his neck and Joe pulled her closer, thinking it was vaguely ironic that he wanted so badly to get away from his family’s undivided attention yet couldn’t get enough of his girlfriend’s. As Vanessa’s hand slipped under his shirt, Joe got a chill… and realized it wasn’t from her gentle touch. He suddenly had the sensation they were being watched.
Joe opened his eyes, taking a few seconds to adjust to the semi-darkness and then he stared, wide-eyed at the image of a small boy standing in the corner of the stall… watching…
“Help her…”
Joe gasped when the child spoke, as Vanessa giggled seductively, apparently thinking she was the cause. Suddenly the image of the boy flickered and disappeared.
Joe swallowed hard and closed his eyes again. Telling himself the hallucinations were not making a sudden reappearance, he tried to relax under Vanessa’s touch.
“Help her...”
This time Joe’s eyes flew open. The little boy was back, closer now and beckoning Joe to follow him. As Joe stared at the child his image flickered.
“Help her…”
Abruptly Joe sat up, pushing Vanessa off him yet never taking his eyes off the small boy.
“What’s wrong?” Vanessa asked, worry and apprehension in her voice.
His mouth too dry to speak, Joe simply pointed to the boy. Just as Vanessa turned around, his the image flickered once more and disappeared.
“What, Joe? What is it?” She reached out and laid a hand on his arm, clearly concerned.
“A little boy…” Joe replied, still pointing at the now empty spot where he’d stood seconds earlier. “He was… watching us…”
Vanessa raised her eyebrows. “Well that’s not good,” she observed, sounding relieved that it was a voyeur – albeit a rather young one – and not a recurrence of the hallucinations.
Now thinking the image of the small boy was a projection, part of the whole Frightland experience, Joe pushed himself up to a standing position. “Wait here… I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?”
“Just making sure we’re alone.”
Vanessa rose to her knees and grabbed his hand. She pulled him back towards her and gave him a long, deep kiss. Her voice was low and husky, “Hurry back.”
Joe grinned. “Oh, I will…”
Walking out into barn, Joe looked around, everything exactly the same as it had been when they arrived. Continuing on outside, he still saw nothing different from when they had entered. Shrugging, he turned to go back into the barn.
“Help her…”
Spinning around, Joe saw the little boy, motioning urgently. It was obvious he wanted Joe to follow him. The boy turned and started walking away, his image flickering as he moved. Hesitating, Joe looked from the boy back to the barn, wondering – hoping – that the boy was indeed part of the Frightland cast.
“HELP HER!”
Joe felt a strange sensation wash over him, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. As if drawn by some force, he followed the little boy around behind the barn and beyond until a sound stopped him. Cocking his head to the side, Joe listened until he heard it again. A whimper. Soft and sad. He continued walking, the full moon periodically being obscured by passing clouds making it so dark he could hardly see. Stopping to listen once more, Joe heard the whimpering again… this time accompanied by crying. Stealthily, he crept forward, the moon reappearing and providing enough light for him to see a line of trees, and just beyond them, a small shack. Closer now, he could clearly hear crying coming from the shack. And standing next to the shack was the little boy he’d seen in the barn, his image fading quickly.
“Please… help her…”
As the boy’s image disappeared completely, Joe stood there, puzzled. They had all been given maps of Frightland, with the property lines clearly marked. The trees – and the shack – were definitely off the Frightland property so there shouldn’t be anyone associated with the production there, whether it was the projected image of a small boy or someone in the shack. Inherent curiosity pushing him on, Joe walked toward shack. Stopping at the door, he looked down and saw a rusty, old padlock that obviously hadn’t been opened or closed in a very long time. Walking around the side, he saw a small broken window and peered inside.
Joe gasped as he saw the outline of a person – a young girl – maybe eleven or twelve judging by her size, bound and gagged and shoved in the corner. Seeing Joe in the window, she began moving around frantically, sobbing and motioning to Joe with her bound hands, but what struck him the most was the absolute fear in her eyes. She was terrified and Joe was sure she wasn’t acting.
“Joe? JOE?! Where are you?”
Joe jumped, startled by the sound of Vanessa’s voice. He looked over his shoulder towards the barn.
“Joe? Come on, Joe, this isn’t funny! Where are you?”
“Damn!” Joe cursed softly. Hearing the concern in Vanessa’s voice he looked back at girl, torn.
“JOE!” Vanessa called again, clearly starting to get alarmed at his lack of response.
Joe sighed, knowing he couldn’t make Vanessa wait, and worry, any longer. “Don’t worry,” he said to the girl. “I’ll be back. I promise.”
Apparently realizing Joe was going to leave the girl began frantically shaking her head no, her eyes huge. She obviously didn’t want him to leave and he really didn’t want to. He was now certain she was not part of the ‘Frightland’ cast but was being held against her will.
“I’ll be back…” he promised again. His heart broke as he heard a soft whimper when he turned away.
Hurrying back towards the barn, Joe met Vanessa halfway there. Running up to him, she threw her arms around his neck, relieved. “God, Joe, where were you?! I was starting to get really worried!”
“I know, I’m sorry,” Joe began, gently pulling her arms away and stepping back so he could look her in the eye. Quickly he told her about the boy leading him to the shack and the girl, bound and gagged, inside. When he finished, she looked at him dubiously.
“Joe, they’re part of the whole show,” she said, waving her hand around.
“No, Van, she’s not. The shack - it’s over the property line,” Joe insisted, grabbing her hand and pulling her in that direction.
“Well, she probably just got confused,” Vanessa responded, unwillingly following him. “You said she’s a kid, right? She probably doesn’t realize she’s on private property.”
Joe spun around, annoyed. “Van, I know what I saw! She’s in trouble and she needs help!”
Vanessa’s eyes widened for a split second and Joe saw something flicker in them – the same something he’d seen in his parents eyes when he insisted one of the hallucinations he’d just had was real. Softly she asked, “Are you sure, Joe? I mean they’re supposed to make it look real.”
“Yes, I’m sure!” Joe exploded, angry at being doubted. “Come see for yourself!”
Joe forcefully pulled her along behind him, arriving back at the shack in record time. He pointed to broken window angrily. “See for yourself! Go ahead and tell me she’s just acting!”
Vanessa looked through window and squinted, her eyes slowly sweeping the small confined space. Slowly she turned back to Joe and looked at him nervously.
“Well?” Joe said, fully expecting an apology.
“Joe…” Vanessa said, her voice gentle and tinged with concern. “There’s no one in there.”
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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.