"Nancy?" she heard Ned ask as he touched her arm.

She quickly sat up and Ned gave her a hug even though she was soaking wet. She never felt as safe as she did right then in Ned’s arms.

"Are you all right?" Ned asked.

She shook her head yes while pushing her wet hair off her forehead. "I never felt the wind blow that strong."

"Did you see where they went?"

Nancy shook her head. "It was too windy. But I do know one thing."

"What’s that?" Ned asked.

"Nathan and Debbie definitely know where Frank is," Nancy said.

"They probably do," Joe said. "But we won’t find out now."

"Frank will be all right," Nancy said with confidence trying to believe the words herself.

"There’s no way we can get out of here," Ned said looking out the window. "So, what do we do now?"

"We can grab a couple mats from here and get some sleep in the hall," Joe said. "It’ll be safer there away from the windows."

They dragged three mats into the hallway to sleep on. Joe found his locker and grabbed an extra sweatshirt he kept in case of emergencies. He gave it to Nancy so she had something dry on.

Nancy and Ned sat on the mats in the hallway as Joe paced. Nancy wondered if the case would ever come to an end. She felt really bad and wished things had gone better. She knew if she’d been more careful, they would still have Nathan and Debbie. Then they would’ve been turned over to the police.

She glanced at Ned. He was taking the situation in stride. He always did. He supported her whenever she was on a case, even though he grumbled about how dangerous the work was. He knew how important investigating was to her.

She looked at Joe as he paced up and down the hallway. She could tell he was worried, but she couldn’t think of what to say to calm his fears.

Ned stretched out on the mat behind her. He said, "You need to get some sleep, Nancy. I’m sure we’ll find Frank in the morning."

"I hope so," Nancy said. She lay down with her head on Ned’s outstretched right arm. Nancy had her back to Ned and he wrapped his left arm around her waist after covering her with his jacket.

Ned whispered, "I love."

"I love you, too."

"Night, Joe," Ned said louder.

"Night guys," Joe said as he sat down on his own mat staring into the darkness.

*****

Nancy saw Frank standing in the distance. He was in a white fog. Frank reached out his hand and motioned for Nancy to follow him. She moved as quickly as she could to catch up to him, but he moved faster than she realized. He seemed to move up a hill and she followed.

"Frank! Please stop!" Nancy yelled. "I’m here to help you." Frank stopped and turned to face her. Nancy said, "Let me help you."

"Go back to Ned," Frank said. "You can’t help me. No one can."

"Please, Frank," Nancy said.

Frank started toward Nancy. She moved back as he got closer to her. There was something about the way he was walking that really scared her. As he got closer, he lifted his arms with the palms of his hands out as if to push her back.

Nancy took another step back with her left foot. She put her left foot down, but didn’t feel anything. She felt herself falling. She tried to grab onto Frank, but she noticed it wasn’t Frank, but Nathan. He was laughing as she fell backward.

Nancy closed her eyes and yelled, "NO!"

Nancy fell and could feel the bumps as she rolled down. As she rolled, she realized the bumps were actually steps. She finally came to a stop, the wind knocked out of her. She heard a voice yell, "Nancy!"

She remained still trying to catch her breath as she heard footsteps running toward her. She felt a pair of strong hands roll her onto her back and she opened her eyes. She saw Ned on one side and Joe on the other. Ned asked, "Are you all right?"

Nancy nodded and whispered, "Yeah."

"What happened?" Joe asked.

Nancy got her breath back and whispered, "I had a nightmare."

Ned helped her to sit up and she noticed a worried look in his eyes. She continued, "I guess my nightmare seemed real enough that I went for a walk. I’m sorry."

"It’s okay," Joe said getting to his feet. He looked up the stairwell and could see white clouds in the blue sky. "We can get out of here now. We’re in the clear."

"Are you sure?" Ned asked.

"Absolutely," Joe said pointing to the window. "Look up there."

Nancy and Ned looked up and saw the blue sky. Ned said, "Let’s get out of here."

"Good idea," Nancy said as Ned helped her to her feet.

Nancy grabbed her damp shirt and they made their way through the gym. Joe pushed the gym door open and held it for Nancy and Ned to go through.

As they walked outside into the sunshine, they saw a lot of trees had been uprooted. Joe closed the door and they worked their way around to the spot where Joe had parked the van. Fallen tree branches covered the van and the passenger window was broken. Joe carefully cleaned the glass off the passenger seat while Nancy and Ned pulled the branches off.

As they drove off the school grounds, Joe asked, "Where are we headed?"

"The police station," Nancy said. "We need to let the Chief know what’s going on."

"Let’s call him," Joe suggested. Joe dialed the phone and realized the line wee down. He picked up the CB and turned it to the police frequency.

Joe said, "Joe Hardy calling Chief Collig. Come in, Chief Collig."

The radio crackled with static. "Chief Collig here. Go ahead, Joe."

"We need to meet."

"Where?"

"My house. ASAP."

"No problem."

"Thanks, Chief."

"Over and out," Chief Collig said.

"Roger," Joe said and put the CB down.

"What do we do now?" Ned asked.

"We go to my house, then track down Debbie and Nathan," Joe said.