Joe jumped back. He glanced at Frank. His brother’s face was even paler than he realized. He could see two puncture marks on his neck. Frank’s chest was rising and falling ever so slightly. Frank was alive. He knew he had to get Frank out of there.  

The woman got to her feet. “No one will stop me,” she said. “We are destined to be united.”  

“You won’t get away with it,” Joe said. “Frank is coming with us.”  

The woman charged at Joe, knocking him on his back. She wrapped her hands around his neck. She tightened her hold. Joe struggled to break free. He grabbed her wrists with his hands. He tried to break her strong grip.  

Joe glanced at the bed. He saw Nancy struggling to bring Frank around. He could se she wasn’t having any luck. He knew he needed to help her.  

Joe focused on the woman. He pulled his knees up and tossed the woman of him. He scrambled to his feet and hurried over to the bed. He picked Frank up on his shoulder. He looked at Nancy. “We’re leaving.”  

Together they started for the door with Joe leading the way. He stopped quickly when he heard Nancy call out.  

Turning, he saw the woman had Nancy in a headlock. The woman was bending her head to the side. She was getting ready to bite Nancy’s neck. He knew he had to help Nancy. He slowly set Frank down on the floor.  

“There’s no reason to hurt her. She hasn’t done anything to you.”  

“You both will be taken care of. No one will stop me.”  

“I’ll stop you.”  

Joe grabbed one of the candles. He threw it at the woman. She released Nancy, who fell away from the woman. Nancy hit the floor and the woman screamed.  

Joe kept his eye on the woman. He could see Nancy crawling toward him out of the corner of her eye.  

“You will pay!” The woman screamed.  

She charged at Joe knocking him to the floor again. She wrapped her hands around his throat cutting off his air. The woman squeezed.  

Joe could see Nancy was trying to get the woman to let go. He was having a hard time breathing. He wasn’t sure he could get free.  

Meanwhile, Frank blinked his eyes. He could hear voices and struggling. He wondered where he was. He slowly turned his head. He wondered where he was. He saw the woman struggling with the boy. The girl was trying to get the woman to stop. The boy and girl seemed somewhat familiar, but he couldn’t remember who they were.  

He tried to lift his head, but he couldn’t. He felt he had to help the boy and girl. He felt they were in danger. The woman was hurting them. He couldn’t move. His body was weak. He closed his eyes.  

* * * * *  

Joe used his last ounce of strength and threw the woman off with the help of Nancy. He gulped for air as he rolled to his knees. He struggled to his feet with Nancy’s help. Joe gasped, “Let’s get out of here.”  

Joe stumbled to where Frank was. As he made his way to Frank, he knocked over a candle. The rug caught fire quickly. The fire moved to the drapes that were hung on the walls.  

“We need to hurry,” Nancy said. “The fire’s spreading.”  

Joe picked Frank up and draped him over his shoulder. He made his way into the hallway. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Nancy was right behind him.  

“Go ahead of me,” Joe said.  

Nancy hurried past. They made their way down the stairs. They could hear the fire alarm ringing. Joe said, “Keep going.”  

Joe was breathing hard. He knew they needed to get out of there.  

When they finally reached the lobby, they hurried outside and across the street to the grassy area. Joe set Frank down on the ground. He knelt beside Frank and tried to bring him around.  

“Joe.” He looked at Frank. Frank was still out. He looked at Nancy. She said, “Look at the top floor.”  

Joe looked at the penthouse. Flames were going through the roof. He looked at the windows on the top floor. He could see the woman there. A moment later, the flames came out the window, and she was gone.  

He watched the flames for a few minutes, He realized all that had happened was now over. He let out a breath. He turned and focused on Frank. Frank’s face was still pale.  

He turned Frank’s head and took a closer look at his brother’s neck. The marks were small. He knew they had just made it in time. He leaned back as Frank’s eyes began to flutter.

 

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The Hardy Boys Fan Fiction authors of the Hardy Detective Agency 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.