RESCUE
ME!
by
CQB
Chapter 0
The Chapters
Joe Hardy plugged in the last of the Halloween pumpkins that glowed an eerie orange against the window panes of his home on the corner of High and Elm Streets. “All set for the Trick-or-Treaters,” the blond teenager commented as he walked into the kitchen at the back of the house.
“Thank you, Sweetie,” Laura Hardy kissed her son’s cheek as he plopped into a kitchen chair. “I have the candy ready in these bowls. Trick-or-Treating starts at five and is officially over at seven, but Dad and I will be at the community center until eight, at least.”
“Are you still planning to meet us at the Morton’s annual Halloween party when you’re through?”
“Absolutely,” she nodded. “We’re taking our costumes with us to the center. After the candy inspection is over, we’ll change and head to the Morton’s house.”
“Great! The Morton’s always throw the most awesome Halloween bash,” Joe grinned.
“Where are your costumes?” Laura asked, referring to Joe and his older brother, Frank.
“Callie has them,” Joe answered. Callie Shaw was Frank’s longtime girlfriend. “She’s picking up Vanessa and meeting us here around seven or so. We’ll get dressed and be at the Morton’s before eight.”
“Laura? Are you ready, Honey?”
Joe and Mrs. Hardy both looked up as Fenton Hardy walked into the kitchen. In minutes, his parents were out the door and on their way to the community center for the town’s Halloween festivities.
Joe sat quietly in the empty kitchen, picturing his girlfriend, Vanessa, in her silky gold ‘lion’ costume. With his own ‘scarecrow’ costume, and Frank and Callie in their ‘tin man’ and ‘Dorothy’ costumes, they would make quite an entrance at the party.
Joe’s daydreaming was interrupted by the ringing of the front doorbell. Joe glanced at the wall clock. It was only four-fifteen; too early for Trick-or-Treaters.
He roused himself from the chair and hurried to the front door with the bowl of candy, just in case some kids had gotten an early start.
“Delivery for Mister Frank Hardy,” said the man outside the door. He was dressed in a brown uniform, and Joe saw the large brown delivery truck pulled into their driveway.
“I’m his brother,” Joe said, “Can I sign for him?”
“Sure,” the man handed Joe an electronic clipboard, “right here.”
Joe carried the large package into the house, glancing at the return address. He knew immediately what the package contained – Frank’s “new” notebook computer. It was actually a refurbished model, and Joe knew his brother had saved up for months to get the state-of-the-art device.
“Oh Frank,” Joe called up the stairs in a teasing voice, his sapphire eyes twinkling mischievously, “there’s a package down here for you from Bell Electronics in Southport.”
Eighteen-year-old Frank Hardy was trying to get in a little studying before the events of the evening got started. He closed his trigonometry book when he heard his brother call up the stairs. Frank hurried out of his bedroom and peered down the staircase to where Joe stood grinning.
“Where is it?” Frank asked, walking down the stairs.
“Where is what?” Joe asked innocently.
“My package.”
“Package? What package, Frank?”
“Joe! The package you just called me down here to get.”
“Oh…that package.”
“Joe.”
The younger Hardy grinned, but knew he was starting to push Frank too far. “You must be talking about the package that just arrived for you. I put it in the dining room on the table.”
Joe ducked and ran down the hall when Frank tried to swat him. Shaking his head, Frank watched Joe scurry to the kitchen before going into the dining room. The package was sitting on the table.
“Yes!” Frank exclaimed as he read the shipping label.
* * *
“We ran out of candy,” Joe announced two hours later as he walked into his brother’s room. Frank was hunched over his desk, staring at the screen of his new computer.
“Hello? Earth to Frank; did you hear me, bro?”
Still Frank didn’t respond.
Joe reached out and tapped his brother’s shoulder. Frank jumped and smacked his knee painfully on the edge of the desk.
“Are you nuts, Joe? You practically gave me a heart attack!”
Joe rolled his eyes. “I’ve tried to get your attention twice since I came into this room, but you were somewhere in cyber-space.”
“Oh. Sorry. What did you need?”
Joe chuckled. “Not a thing. I just wanted you to know that we ran out of candy. The same candy, may I remind you, that you were supposed to help me pass out tonight.”
Frank bit his lip and looked at his brother. “Sorry Joe. I kinda got caught up setting up my new laptop.”
Joe shrugged. “S’okay. I didn’t really mind. I turned off all the lights downstairs so the Trick-or-Treaters will know we’re out of business.”
“Good thinking, Joe.”
“So, is this baby everything you hoped it would be?” Joe asked, peering over his brother’s shoulder.
“Oh, yeah,” Frank replied, grinning.
“So, big brother,” Joe challenged, “impress me with your new toy.”
“You’ll like this, Joe,” Frank said as he clicked the mouse and brought up a game selection.
“Cool! Let me grab a chair.” Joe dashed into his own room and grabbed a desk chair, joining his brother.
Joe stared at the monitor as a colorful display of game titles, accompanied by a hard, rhythmic rock beat, filled the screen. “Awesome!” Joe declared.
“Hey, little brother,” Frank smiled at his brother. “Since I bailed on you during the Trick-or-Treating, you pick a game first.”
“Great!” Joe studied the list. Most of the games listed Joe had seen and played in some form or another.
“Here’s one I’ve never heard of before,” the seventeen year old stated, pointing to a name on the list.
“RESCUE ME,” Frank read, moving the curser and clicking the mouse. The monitor screen went blank and the boys waited. Frank frowned. It seemed to be taking too long.
He was just about to click the mouse again, when a flash of white filled the screen, almost blinding them both.
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Disclaimer
The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors 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.