Callie brushed back her blonde locks away from her face and let out a frustrated sigh. Glancing down at her watch she wondered what was taking Frank so long. He had called her almost two hours ago, inviting her to the beach. Callie knew that Joe had just gone into the shower – that took care of twenty minutes – another twenty for Frank. She was sure that it wouldn’t take them too long to gather a few items to take to the beach. Hearing the sounds of a car approaching, Callie ran to the front window.

“Frank, where can you be?” she mumbled as she watched a silver SUV drive by.

*****

Fenton Hardy drove his car into his driveway and a puzzled frown crossed his face. He saw the ice chest lying on the lawn, its contents scattered across the grass. As he was stepping out of his car, Chet pulled up to the curb.

“Hi Mr. Hardy – we came looking for Frank and Joe.”

“Hello Biff – Chet. I haven’t seen the boys since breakfast. Did you have plans with them today?”

Fenton pointed to the ice chest, a questioning look on his face. Before Chet or Biff had a chance to respond they heard the phone ring inside the house. Following Mr. Hardy as he approached the front door they came to a sudden stop.

“Stay out here, boys,” said Fenton in a soft voice.

Chet let out a frightened gasp when he saw that the front door was ajar. Cautiously approaching the entrance, Fenton reached inside his suit jacket. He didn’t like having to use this weapon; he considered it a ‘necessary evil’. He took out the gun from his holster making sure that the safety was off. As he entered the house he heard the answering machine pick up, then Callie’s voice came over the speaker.

“Hi Frank, did you forget your cell phone? I called but got your voice mail. Well – I guess since you’re not there you’re on your way here. Bye.”

*****

Frank groaned as he rolled onto his side. He felt sick and his head hurt. Frank was wondering why his bed felt so hard when he remembered seeing Joe lying on the garage floor. His eyes flew open; the light in the room caused him to shut them again.

“JOE!”

Frank quickly sat up and immediately regretted it. He slowly sank back down on the floor, hoping the room would stop spinning. Taking a few slow, deep breaths, Frank carefully rose up to a sitting position and opened his eyes. He let out a relieved sigh when he saw that the room was no longer spinning. Deciding it might be safe to stand, that was when Frank noticed that someone had taken his shoes.

“What is going on here?” Frank wondered with dismay. Despite wanting to know what was happening, he was more worried about Joe’s whereabouts. Looking around the room, he saw a door located halfway across the room, and headed for it. Concerned and worried about Joe, Frank didn’t see the shattered glass that was strewn a quarter of the way towards the door.

“ARRGH!!” Frank screamed out in pain as he backpedaled, hastily moving backwards. He sat down on the floor, his surprise turning to anger – anger at himself and at whoever had scattered the shattered glass on the floor. As he sat inspecting his right foot the door suddenly opened.

“What in the world?” mumbled Frank with puzzlement.

“Welcome, Frank,” a disembodied voice spoke overhead. “Welcome to my game room.”

“Who are you – what do you want?!” Frank shouted, trying to keep the fear out of his voice.

“All in due time Frank, all in due time. It’s time to play…”

“I’m not playing anything until you tell me who you are and what you want!”

“That’s too bad – I don’t think Joe is going to like your decision very much.”

Frank got to his feet, ignoring the pain he felt, his heart pounding with fear.

“Wh-what does my brother have to do with this?”

The voice chuckled softly before replying: “Come out and you’ll find out, Frank.”

Frank stared down at the floor. He could see that there was no way he could avoid stepping on the glass. It had been spread all across the doorway. He limped over to the other side of the room. Checking his pockets, Frank sighed with relief when he found that his Swiss Army knife was still in his pocket. Sitting back down, he took out the tweezers and began to take out the few slivers of glass that were imbedded in his foot.

When he was done, Frank got back up. He took in the size of the room, noting that it was slightly larger than a storage closet. He shook his head; there wasn’t enough room to build momentum. Frank had to hope that whoever this madman was he hadn’t spread the glass too far out the hallway. Walking to the opposite end of the room, Frank gazed at the open doorway. Taking several deep breaths he took a running start…one, two three – JUMP!

Frank hissed in pain when he landed on the other side. He had landed on some more glass. He stumbled a few steps, managing to avoid falling on his knees. Frank looked back, a small smile on his face. ‘Coach would be proud’, he thought silently. Taking in his surroundings, Frank noticed some writing on the wall.

This way, an arrow pointed the way. Taking a deep breath, Frank limped down the hallway. He saw a desk with a video monitor sitting on top at the end of the hallway. To his right he noticed another door with an Exit sign above it. To his left was another hallway entrance. As he got closer to the monitor, an image began to appear. Frank gasped when he realized it was Joe!

*****

Finding no signs of a struggle inside his home, Fenton asked Chet to call Callie.

“I guess I should call Vanessa,” said Biff sadly.

Fenton knew how the young teen felt – he wasn’t looking forward to talking with Laura. Not wanting to tie up the land line, Chet and Biff used their cell phones to call Callie and Vanessa. Fenton was about to call the police when the phone rang. He quickly picked up the phone, hoping that it was Frank or Joe saying they had car trouble.

“Hello, Hardy residence.”

“Mr. Hardy – Fenton Hardy?”

“Yes, this is he.” Fenton replied with some caution.

“Good – I’m sure you are wondering what happened to your sons. If you’d like to see them go to www dot wicked games dot com.”

“Who are you – what have you done to my sons?!!” Fenton shouted but the only answer he got was the dial tone.

Chet and Biff stared at Fenton, their eyes wide with fear as he ran out the door. He came back a few seconds later with his laptop, a Father’s Day gift from Frank and Joe. He placed it on the dining table and waited impatiently for it to boot up. Fenton then hurriedly typed in the link that the caller had given him. He let out a gasp when a split video screen came up. The first screen showed Frank jogging down a hallway – the second screen showed Joe in what appeared to be a small room. Fenton peered closer at Joe – was Joe standing in water?!

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Disclaimer

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.