"Ya know I really appreciate you giving me a second chance to help you guys out," Joe said, trying to draw the two seniors out. "What exactly did you want me to do again?" he asked innocently.

"Not you, bozo. Your geeky brother," Jonathan said rudely.

Joe fought back the urge to simply hit Jonathan, hating when his brother was called names just because he was smart and excelled at computer science.

"Okay, what did you want Frank to do?" Joe replied evenly, proud that he was able to keep his temper in check.

"We want him to get the disc that Brahms keeps his tests on. Specifically the one for his government class that all seniors are required to pass," Steven explained.

"You want him to steal it?"

"Steal it, copy it, write it on his hand… who cares as long as he gets it," Jonathan scowled. "Kinda stupid, aren’t you, Hardy?"

"Hey, ease up, man," Steven advised his friend although Joe didn’t miss the smirk on his face. "Joe’s okay. He came to his senses and realized it was better to join us than fight us, now didn’t he?"

Joe shifted uneasily, not liking the mocking tone in Steven’s voice nor the amused looks passing between him and Jonathan.

"Ya know, Hardy, once you prove yourself we might even let you help us welcome the freshman girls to Bayport High," Steven offered, while Jonathan grinned.

"Welcome them?" Joe repeated. ‘Come on, gimme some details,’ Joe thought. He didn’t really want to hear the sordid details of how the seniors on the football team took advantage of freshman girls but he desperately wanted them to pay for it – for thinking they could assault Iola!

"Come on, you’re not that innocent," Steven chuckled, darkly. "Welcome them, break them in, de-flower them as it were."

Joe swallowed feeling a little sick. Still he needed more than just vague references and innuendo. "And they’re all… willing? They want to - do it - with you?"

"A few of them," Jonathan replied. "And the ones who don’t, well a little Rohyphnol in their drinks and they’re out for the count. When they wake up they don’t know who they’ve been with – can’t remember a thing…" he sighed contentedly.

Joe felt the bile rise in his throat, knowing this was exactly what they had planned for Iola.

"But don’t worry, Hardy. If you pass the test tonight, the Morton chick is all yours," Steven assured him.

Joe felt Jonathan lean in close, his voice low. "And if you don’t, she’s mine."

As they drove, Joe tried to keep his composure, all the while getting the two boys to elaborate on the hazing that had been going on at Bayport High and getting progressively more violent over the years. Listening to the two seniors happily trade stories of inflicting sprains, concussions and broken bones on their fellow students, even leaving one student almost in a coma, Joe knew whatever he had to go through tonight would be worth it to rid Bayport High of the hazing.

‘It stopped being hazing a long time ago. Now it’s assault and rape…’ Joe thought, chilled, as he stared out the window.

Steven’s laugher and Jonathan’s whoops of delight snapped him back to reality. Joe gasped as Steven tore through a red light, almost hitting a station wagon that had the green light. Joe looked back over his shoulder at the vehicle, which was already a speck in the distance, hoping the occupants weren’t hurt by the sudden jolting stop.

Minutes later, Steven roughly veered to the left, steering the truck down a rutted dirt path that would have been invisible in the darkness had it not been for the full moon. The rain from the afternoon had cleared out leaving the sky full of stars and a brilliant light from the moon that could be seen even through the canopy of trees they had ventured into.

Following the narrow path for several minutes as it crossed through the woods, the truck came out into a huge field. Steven drove wildly across it, coming to a stop on the opposite side. Climbing out of the truck, Joe gazed around, getting a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Wordlessly, Jonathan and Steven began walking back across the field to the woods they had just emerged from, motioning for Joe to follow. Once they reached the edge of the tree line Steven turned to Joe.

"Okay, Hardy, here’s the deal. It’s about a hundred yards from here to the truck."

"The length of your average football field," Jonathan supplied helpfully.

"If you can make it from here to the truck before we catch you, you’re on the team and under our protection. Of course that means you’ll help us out, do whatever we say, whenever we say it, no questions asked," Steven continued. "And you will NEVER mention what has happened since you joined the team – including tonight. Now, if we catch you before you make it to the other side-"

"We’ll know you’re a wuss," Jonathan interrupted. "And that’s when the fun will really start," he finished, an anticipatory grin on his face.

"What he means is, we’ll know you need our help. We’ll toughen you up a little. Can’t be the star quarterback if you can’t take a hit or two."

"Or ten or twelve…" Jonathan muttered evilly.

Joe swallowed hard and nodded his consent – not that he had any other choice. He wasn’t sure he could out run the two of them but hoped if he put on a good enough show, he wouldn’t be beaten too badly.

"Well what are you waiting for," Steven asked, giving him a shove. "Get going!"

Joe turned to flee, hoping his speed would overcome their size. While he wouldn’t be considered small for his age, the other boys were considerably larger and all of it was solid muscle. Joe knew without a doubt what would happen if they caught him before he reached the truck.

Despite running all out, Joe could hear Steven and Jonathan gaining on him. He was trying to convince his already tired legs to put on an additional burst of speed when he was tackled. Joe was slammed to the ground so hard he couldn’t breathe, too dazed to grasp what was happening. Slowly he became aware of whoops of laughter and howls of delight.

Joe lay on the ground trying to figure out how to breathe again and hoping the small recording device in his pocket survived the fall, when a knee was pressed hard into his back. He grimaced as his arms were pulled behind him. He felt his wrists being tied tightly together with rough twine and heard Steven’s cocky voice.

"Well, you didn’t make it back to the truck before we caught you, but I like your spunk. I’m gonna give you another chance to prove you’re man enough to play with the big boys."

Joe bit back the sarcastic reply that was on the tip of his tongue, knowing it would only result in more ‘fun’ for Steven and Jonathan. He was allowed a brief moment of relief when the knee, which he assumed belonged to Jonathan, was removed from his back and then groaned inwardly as his ankles were also bound.

Joe was aware of movement above his head and realized someone was kneeling there. A hand grabbed his hair and yanked his head up, leaving Joe staring at Steven, who had a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

"We’re gonna leave you here. If you show up at school tomorrow, we’ll know you made it out of the woods and back home on your own. And that’ll be proof enough that you’ve got what it takes to play on the varsity squad."

"And if I don’t?" Joe asked.

"Then we’ll know we were right about you from the beginning," Jonathan sneered, his voice coming from somewhere behind Joe.

Joe was about to ask what that meant when he felt a crushing weight on his back and quickly realized Jonathan was sitting on him. With Steven forcefully pulling his head up and Jonathan now sitting on his back, Joe felt a sharp pain in his neck. Joe bit the inside of his cheek to keep from crying out when suddenly everything went black. He panicked for a moment and then realized something had been placed over his eyes and around his head.

As Jonathan tied the blindfold making sure to pull it as tight as possible, Joe heard the boy’s voice in his ear, answering his unspoken question.

"If you don’t make it home tonight, it’ll mean you’re a loser, Hardy! Always have been, always will be!" he cackled gleefully.

Joe felt the pressure ease from his back as Jonathan stood. He held his breath trying to figure out what was happening when he felt a sharp pain in his ribs, followed by another and another. Joe realized he was being kicked, repeatedly. Unable to protect himself, Joe couldn’t help but cry out in pain.

"Okay, okay, enough," he heard Steven mutter, sounding disappointed.

Joe gasped, wincing at the sharp, stabbing pain in his side when his head was pulled up once again. He heard Steven’s voice, menacingly low.

"NO ONE better find out about what happened here tonight or you’re dead, Hardy. Understand?" Steven threatened, giving Joe’s hair a vicious tug for good measure.

Joe nodded in acknowledgement seconds before his head was slammed into the ground. As he lay dazed and hurting, Joe felt a trickle of blood running down his chin. He listened to Steven’s and Jonathan’s voices fading away and wondered how his plan had gotten so completely turned around and how he was ever going to get himself out of this mess.