Vicki and C. J. immediately shielded their faces from the pieces of broken glass. There was no time to get directly out of the way. After the sound of shattering glass faded, they removed their hands. Neither was harmed. They had made it out lucky.

The girls ran to the door and flung it open. The street was deserted of people. Vicki sighed in frustration. He had gotten away again. They went back inside and looked at the damage.

The package that lay on the floor was wrapped in dull brown wrapping paper. The girls exchanged glances before C. J. picked it up. The object or objects inside thudded on the side of the box, muffled by the packaging.

Hesitantly, C. J. took off the wrapping paper. Upon cutting the tape and folding back the flaps, the object inside was revealed.

The remote control vehicle was a green van. Except for the make and model, it was exactly like C. J.’s own. The main differences however, were the damages done to the model. The front end was smashed in and doors bent at awkward angles. The pieces representing the headlights were broken and the tires were punctured, just like Vicki’s had been. Both girls could see the unwritten threat in the item.

 

The next thing to be done was call the police and report what had happened. Knowing that no evidence was in the room, they cleaned up the pieces of glass from the carpet.

Upon calling the glass replacement company, Vicki found that they could come the following day. In response to this, C. J. offered for Vicki to stay at her house for the night. They covered the window the best they could. C. J. went to her house to straighten some things out before Vicki arrived.

A few minutes later, Vicki had gathered all her things and was ready to go over to C. J.’s. Locking the door behind her, Vicki exited the house and headed to the two-story that stood two down from her own.

Diane Summer, C. J.’s mother, greeted Vicki as she entered the house. Vicki talked to her for a moment and immediately went up the stairs to C. J.’s room. She laughed upon opening the door and stepping inside.

Most people expected C. J.’s room to be as neat and organized as her personality seemed. That wasn’t the case, as clothes, CDs, and other objects littered the floor. C. J. herself was trying to clean up quickly, but her efforts failed. Vicki’s laughter caused C. J. to turn and glare at her. The glare quickly faded and C. J. sighed.

“I hope you don’t mind sleeping on the floor,” she said, “I have a few sleeping bags.”

“No problem,” Vicki replied, “As long as we’re in the same room. We have to keep an eye out.”

C. J. looked over what her friend brought. Her expression changed to be more serious.

“Vicki, you might want to bring your prom dress over here. I don’t want anything to happen to it. And I did find some pictures missing too. ”

“Okay,” Vicki sighed, “I don’t think anything’s going to happen, but I see no point in risking it. I’ll be right back.”

Vicki exited the house and once out of sight of C. J.’s window, raced to her door. She hadn’t wanted to appear too serious about C. J.’s theory that something more would happen to ruin the special night to come.

Once she entered her house, she noticed that her bedroom door was open. Knowing that she had closed it, she didn’t bother being quiet and raced upstairs, footsteps pounding.

The darkness was her major disadvantage, as something crashed into her when she stepped inside. Vicki hit the floor hard, her head being the first thing to hit. She felt hands pushing on her shoulders as the figure pushed themselves off of her. A dull thud came when something hit the floor.

In those few seconds, the figure had time to rush downstairs and to the front door. Vicki was slightly dazed by the impact and could do little about it.

“I guess C. J. was right,” Vicki muttered to herself, pushing herself off the floor. She felt along the wall for the light switch, still a bit unsteady from the fall.

Once the room was filled with light, she could see the closet door was open. She almost laughed at this. Stepping entirely inside, she closed the main door to her room and looked behind it. There, still wrapped in the department store’s plastic cover, was her dress. Whoever it was didn’t know where to look.

Grabbing the hanger off the door hook, she checked it anyway, just to be sure. Relieved at the sight of her dress without damage, Vicki suddenly remembered the object she had heard hitting the ground when she had entered.

Turning her attention to the floor, the silver glinting object wasn’t hard to spot. A small, but sharp knife was only inches from where she stood. Vicki had no doubt about what the intention was.

Gathering her shoes and jewelry, Vicki closed both doors on her way back to C. J.’s house. She felt a bit safer upon entering her best friend’s house again. While Vicki’s own house was empty except for her, C. J.’s parents were in town. C. J.’s mom also worked from home, making crafts to sell. There was less of a chance that something would happen during the day.

“Vicki, would you do me a favor,” Mrs. Summers asked. Vicki paused at the foot of the stairs and turned to her, “Could you give this to C. J?” She handed Vicki an envelope, “It came for her today. I forget to give it to her earlier.”

“Sure Mrs. Summers,” Vicki responded and took it from her. She then resumed going up the stairs.

Vicki told C. J. what happened after the door was shut behind her. Then she gave C. J. the envelope. The front declared her name in neat cursive handwriting. She looked at it curiously.

As C. J. opened it, an interesting perfume scent arose from inside. But the overall scent of roses smelled strangely sweeter than normal. Almost immediately, dizziness overcame C. J. and Vicki a moment later. The words on the paper were blurred because of this.

‘I said that you’d be next’ was proclaimed in bold letters that slowly faded out as darkness took over.

 

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.