Biff Hooper and Chet Morton would regularly be called upon to tell the story of driving into Black’s Forest to collect the Hardy brothers and their girlfriends. With the campsite in view but still some distance away, Chet elbowed Biff and pointed.

‘Check Joe out,’ he said. ‘Looks like he’s getting some exercise in after all.’ Biff looked up from his magazine and saw Joe Hardy in the distance, bolting towards them, weaving in and out between the trees.

‘I wonder where the others are’, mused Biff, just as they heard what sounded like a gunshot. Joe appeared to duck and stumble slightly before continuing his mad run. Suddenly, to the boys’ horror, a stranger came into view, brandishing a rifle. Chet brought his vehicle to a jarring halt. Passing Chet the phone, Biff scrambled out of the 4WD.

‘Call for help!’ he yelled urgently as he began to run towards his friend.

As Biff began his dash, he thought he must be seeing things. One moment a crazed maniac was right behind his friend, taking aim with his rifle as he ran. The next moment, the man with the gun simply disappeared from view, as though the Earth had swallowed him up! The rifle became airborne and then descended to the ground. As for Joe, he continued his mad run before gratefully collapsing into Biff’s arms, his energy reserves more than spent. He was gasping for breath, unable to speak. As the adrenalin in his system began to diminish, he began to feel pain. Biff, feeling Joe’s legs beginning to buckle underneath him, held his friend tightly and began to ease him down onto the ground. Chet ran up and placed his rolled up jacket beneath Joe’s head. Joe continued to gasp for breath and began clutching wildly at Biff’s sweater.

‘Take it easy Joe,’ Biff told him. ‘It’s okay. You’re safe. I’m not letting you go. Just try and get your breathing under control.’

‘Here come the others,’ Joe and Biff heard Chet say. Joe grabbed a handful of Biff’s top and pulled himself up so that his mouth was directly at Biff’s ear.

‘Away from the hole,’ he managed to rasp. ‘Tell them to keep away.’

Biff, his arms still around Joe, passed the message to Chet. Chet cupped his hands around his mouth and called out to their friends.

‘Frank! Vanessa! Callie! Go around the tents! There’s some kind of hole in front of you!’

With the bizarre warning issued, Biff felt Joe’s body relax. He eased his friend down onto the ground and withdrew his arms from around him. It was then, as Frank, Vanessa and Callie came running up, that they saw blood all over Biff’s arms. Joe had been shot!

Frank practically threw himself onto the ground to kneel beside his brother. His relief at seeing Joe safely with Biff and Chet had turned to panic as soon as he had seen the blood. He gripped Joe’s hand tightly and looked searchingly into his brother’s face. Joe was grimacing and still breathing rapidly. He looked decidedly uncomfortable, but he was alive.

‘We’re all okay,’ Frank assured him, knowing that that had been his brother’s main concern. Too upset to speak, Vanessa tearfully placed kisses all over Joe’s face and rested her hand on his forehead. Joe drank in the sight of his brother and Vanessa. He was beginning to wonder if he’d ever see them again.

‘What..what about Cal?’ Joe managed to ask.

‘She’s fine,’ Frank assured him.

‘She’s getting the first aid kit and blankets from the car,’ Biff explained.

‘Joe, you’re bleeding,’ Frank explained calmly. ‘We’re going to have to look after you until some help arrives.’

Joe appeared not to hear Frank. He closed his eyes.

‘Callie’s a great girl Frank’, he mumbled. ‘Don’t you do anything… anything silly to lose her.’

Frank began to unbutton Joe’s heavy jacket so that he could try to locate where the blood was coming from.

‘What makes you think I’d do anything silly?’ asked Frank, hoping to keep Joe distracted from the pain and conscious at the same time. ‘I thought you had inherited the silly gene, not me!’ He gestured to Biff to help him roll Joe onto his side. Callie and Chet hovered close by with the equipment they had fetched.

‘We don’t mean it…mean it when we..when we argue,’ Joe murmured softly, his eyes still closed. ‘We just… both.. love...’

Callie stood clutching the blanket and fought to maintain her composure. Biff helped Frank roll Joe onto his side to reveal a bleeding bullet wound at the rear of Joe’s right shoulder.

‘We need to put some pressure on this to stop the bleeding,’ Frank told the others in a steady voice, despite his deep concern regarding the seriousness of the wound. ‘Once that’s done, he’ll be okay until he gets to hospital.’

Chet passed Frank some bandages. As the older Hardy dressed Joe’s injury as best he could, Vanessa marveled at Frank’s steady hands and methodical approach.

‘Are you with me little brother?’ asked Frank, worried that Joe had passed out. Joe gave a nod and squeezed Vanessa’s hand as a wave of pain shot through him.

‘We’re not gonna fight… anymore Frank,’ said Joe, gritting his teeth. ‘We don’t need to.’

Frank completed the dressing with assistance from Biff and reached for the blankets to cover his brother.

‘I phoned the police again,’ Chet told Frank. ‘They said they’ll make sure we get medical help ASAP.’

‘I guess we need to take a look at the kidnapper,’ said Frank. He began to reluctantly move away from his brother, but Biff placed a strong hand on his shoulder.

‘Chet and I will handle that, Frank. Joe needs you to stay here with him. Besides, you don’t look so crash hot yourself.’

Nodding his thanks, Frank sat back down next to Joe and accepted the blanket that Callie placed around his shoulders. Callie put her arm around him. Vanessa had managed to curl up next to Joe, her head resting against his uninjured shoulder. Joe, by this time drifting in and out of consciousness, opened his eyes a crack and saw Frank and Callie looking down at him with worry clearly etched on their faces. He whispered something that only Vanessa could hear. She smiled.

‘What did he say?’ asked Frank curiously.

‘He says there’s no need for you two to chaperone us while he’s in this condition,’ Vanessa told him, still smiling.

Frank buried his face in his hands with relief. If Joe was joking, he’d survive!

As Biff and Chet approached the well-disguised hole in the ground, they could clearly see the rifle lying by a tree trunk. Chet was about to pick the weapon up, but Biff told him not to in case he police needed to handle it first. Warily, they neared the edge of the hole. It was much deeper than they imagined it would be, and right at the bottom, sprawled uncomfortably, was the man they had seen pursuing Joe. He was clutching his leg and grimacing with pain.

‘He’s not going anywhere in a hurry,’ said Biff in disgust. ‘I reckon he can just wait there until the police arrive.’

‘He looks like he’s in a bit of pain,’ remarked Chet.