Changes
By: Aubrie1234
"I thought this was supposed to be a simple case!"
"Nothing we do is ever simple!"
"Yeah, but this is too much!" Joe and Frank were running through the forests of Bayport furiously, obviously trying to lose something that was tailing them.
"We would have never taken on this case if we knew it was going to go like this!" Frank said.
"You know we had to! Besides, A. T. A. C. is stretched as thin as it is lately! They couldn't put anyone else on this case!" Joe said.
"I know that!" Frank glanced back, "Do you think we-" He then tripped on a raised root, but Joe quickly grabbed his brother and pulled him forward. Lucky he did, as a large wolf burst out of the foliage behind them and it torn away some fabric off of Frank's pants' leg, but didn't hurt him.
"Run!" Joe yelled and pushed Frank to go faster.
"I'm doing the best I can!"
"Then do better!" The boys continued to run, Joe practically pushing his brother on as the wolf continued to chase them. However, with one big leap, the chase was brought to an end as the wolf tackled Joe to the ground. Frank staggered forward, the push throwing off his balance, but got it back in time to hear his brother shout in pain. Whipping around, he saw that the wolf had bitten Joe's neck severely and had raised a paw to make the finishing blow. Though he wasn't as athletic as Joe, Frank was smarter and with his quick-thinking, he grabbed a sturdy branch from the ground and swung it at the wolf, hitting it in the side of the head. Dazed, the wolf shook its head as it lowered its paw to the ground, and Frank took the chance to swing at it two more times, which scared it off. Once it was gone, Frank dropped the branch and quickly knelt beside his brother, assessing Joe's injuries.
"Oh man..." he whispered. Joe's neck injury seemed worse than Frank had thought (and the blond was also unconscious, probably blacking out from the pain), and there was no way an ambulance could get here, wherever they were. He would have to tend to Joe as best he could before carrying his brother on foot until he could find out where they were and call an ambulance. Running from the wolf had made them get lost, and now it could cost them Joe's life if he didn't get his brother to the hospital soon. Taking off his jacket, he tore it into strips and wrapped them securely yet gently around Joe's neck before picking up his brother and starting to carry him away; as he did, Frank thought about how they got into this mess in the first place...
Flashback:
"Look, another game cartridge!" Joe said, picking up the box. They were in their room, having just gotten back from school, and had found the case clue lying on Frank's bed.
"And it has a full moon and a big wolf on the front. What do you think that means?" Joe asked.
"I have a few theories, but I think we should check this out with Dad." Frank said. Joe nodded and followed him as he went back down the stairs, where the spotted their dad, Fenton, in the kitchen, tinkering with a device.
"Dad?" Joe spoke, getting their father's attention, "I know we're supposed to solve the meaning of these clues ourselves, but we're not exactly sure what this one means." Joe then showed him the box.
"Well, lately a large wolf has been spotted around Bayport, and has been disturbing the residents for some time."
"Then why haven't we known about it?"
"It isn't in this part of the city. Anyway, A. T. A. C. has been getting more and more cases lately, so you two are the only available ones who can do this."
"Where has it been showing up and when?" As usual, Frank wanted the details.
"The south side of the city, in the denser part of the forest, and it only comes out at night."
"Thanks a lot, dad." Their father smiled at them.
"You're welcome, but be careful you two, and good luck." The boys waved goodbye as they rushed out, hoping to start on the case early.
Frank had driven them out to the woods so they could gather clues before trying to catch the wolf, and Joe spoke up about what Frank had mentioned earlier.
"By the way what were your theories?" Frank shrugged.
"Nothing at all, really. One of them was basically what Dad told us, and the other didn't make any sense."
"Your theories always make sense, so why doesn't that one?"
"Well, it's based on the legends of the mythical werewolf, which, of course, isn't real, so in no way could that theory be plausible."
"In English, please?"
"There are no such things as werewolves, so my second theory can't be possible." Joe rolled his eyes.
"Of course. Anyway, let's start searching before it gets dark." After a while, when coming up with nothing, Joe spoke up again.
"What if werewolves were real?" he asked, "How would we handle this case?" Frank glanced at Joe briefly.
"Joe, I've already said-"
"I know, but I just wanted to know how we would..."
"I'm not sure, exactly." Frank admitted, "We're the best at A. T. A. C., but no one could handle a werewolf without the danger of being bitten. Besides, all we're doing is checking out what's going on before calling Animal Control."
"Then why do I have a bad feeling about this case?" Joe muttered. Frank looked at him.
"What do you mean?" Joe shrugged.
"When we got here, I just got the weird feeling that something is going to go wrong. I've never felt this before, but it's serious."
"Maybe we should postpone the case..." Joe shook his head furiously.
"No way! We've gotta do this! Why would you say that, Frank?"
"I trust you, Joe, and if that's the feeling you're getting, then maybe we shouldn't do this." The blond stood his ground.
"No, we have to. If we don't, the wolf could hurt someone badly." Frank sighed.
"Alright, but I hope your feeling is wrong..."
"Joe! I found something!" After searching for hours, Frank finally found something after they had to walk a bit deeper into the forest. It was a piece of torn red cloth hung on a bush, obviously having been caught as something went by.
"Who does this belong to and what was this a part of?" Joe asked.
"It's similar to t-shirt material, but how should I know who this belongs to?"
"We could ask around when we get back, see if anyone-" Joe paused, however, and held up a hand for quiet. There was a rustling sound coming from a distance behind them, where they turned and looked through some bushes. There was a huge, dark brown wolf with green eyes sniffing around; it was as big as one of the dominoes Joe and Frank had to deal with on a case a while back, but the wolf was much more dangerous. In fact, it seemed angry, ripping up bushes and growling. Slowly backing away and quietly putting the bushes back, the two brothers looked at each other.
"That's it, isn't it?" Joe whispered.
"Seems like it." Frank pulled out his phone before frowning.
"No connection." he said, putting it away.
"Let's go quietly, so we don't attract attention." Joe said. Frank nodded and they slowly got up and walked away, before a snapping sound made them freeze. Looking down, Frank saw he had stepped on a small twig, and an angry growl sounded behind them.
"RUN!" Joe shouted and they bolted, running as fast as they could while the wolf started to chase them.
Flashback End.
All of this is my fault. Frank thought before looking around, pleased to see that he was in a familiar place reaching for his phone and checking it. Relived to see the signal bars, he dialed 911, then called home.
"Hello?"
"Dad, it's Frank." The brunette leaned his brother against a tree, keeping him steady as he checked Joe's wounds again, wincing at the sight of them, "Listen, this case got a lot worse a few minutes ago."
"What happened?"
"We found the wolf, but it hurt Joe badly. I just called an ambulance, so we'll meet at the hospital."
"Take care of him, Frank." His dad ended the call on a worried note and Frank put the phone away, keeping an eye out for the ambulance and hoping they could get here in time. Ending the call told Frank that their dad knew the value of the time they had, and knew not to waste it.
When the ambulances came, everything felt like it flew by. The paramedics wrapped proper bandages around Joe's neck and loaded him into the emergency vehicle, where Frank rode with him to the hospital and stayed with his brother the whole way until they took Joe to the ER. Frank waited outside, also looking for his father, but mainly worried about Joe.
"Frank." The brunette jumped at the sound, but was more than happy to see Fenton, whom he hugged.
"Hey, dad." Frank looked towards the ER again, "I know you told us to be careful, but no one could have predicted what would happen."
"What about you?" Fenton looked him over, "Are you hurt at all?"
"No, just tore my pants' leg a little, but... it's my fault Joe was hurt. First I stepped on a twig, getting its attention, and then I tripped over a root, where Joe saved me and put me ahead of himself. It then leapt at him and forced him to the ground, where it bit his neck. I chased it off with a branch, but Joe's injuries were pretty serious; I would have called earlier, when we originally found it, but there wasn't a signal." Fenton hugged him again.
"At least you're safe; besides, you aren't the only one worried about him. Laura and Gertrude are worried sick about Joe, though they know as much as I did when you called. And you know how tough he is, he'll make it."
"I hope so..." Fenton looked at his son, who was still looking towards the ER sadly.
"Don't blame yourself, Frank; none of it was your fault."
"But what could I have done?" he asked, "I didn't know about the twig or see the root, and because of that, Joe got hurt."
"Frank, do you remember what I told you and Joe after catching Sarah the second time? You can't save everyone, and you also can't blame yourself for what happened. You did your best, and you probably saved your brother's life. Be thankful at least for that." Frank nodded as Fenton then took a second to look at his son's hands.
"And have you even washed your hands since tending to Joe?" Looking down, Frank saw the dried blood covering his hands; he had completely forgotten to wash them because of his worry.
"I'll wash up right quick." In minutes, Frank was back and they sat down together in the Waiting Room and, as the name suggests, waited.
Soon enough, a doctor, looking to be in his 20s, called for them.
"There's good news and bad news about Joseph's condition."
"Good news first." Frank said immediately.
"If all goes well, Joseph should be fine enough to exit the hospital in a few weeks, maybe with a few scars."
"And the bad news?" Fenton asked.
"He's had to have many stitches for his neck, can barely talk, and has some trouble breathing. It would be best for him to rest his voice until his neck has healed sufficiently."
"Can we see him?"
"We had to put him to sleep and give him pain medicine, but yes. This way." He led them down a hall to a door numbered 17, coincidentally matching Joe's age. Inside, Joe was sound asleep, neck wrapped in bandages, and a breathing tube was attached to his nose, probably for the breathing trouble. There was also a pulse monitor attached to the blond's wrist and a drip, probably filled with pain killers, attached to his other arm.
"This is in case his pulse becomes too slow. It will send an emergency message to the closest nurse or doctor the second it drops below 60 bpm." the doctor notified them before they could ask, "Also, since visiting hours were over before you came, I'm allowing you ten minutes to visit Joseph."
"Thank you, sir." Frank said, "By the way, what's your name?"
"Dr. Philips. I hope he gets well soon, too." Dr. Philips then left, leaving Frank and Fenton alone with Joe. Fenton took the chair beside Joe's bed while Frank stood.
"As soon as I can, I'm going to have not just A. T. A. C. on this case, but Animal Control and plenty of officers." Fenton spoke, looking intently at Joe, "You were right that this mission was dangerous, Frank. I don't want to nearly lose either of you, but you had a job to do."
"Well, this is going to be our last case for a while." Frank said, putting his hand over his brother's, "I'm not going back out as an agent until Joe gets better, and even then I'm not so sure I want to go on missions like this one anymore."
"I don't blame you, but think about what you're saying later. Would it be best for you to quit being an agent with everything the two have been through and the enemies you have?" Frank closed his eyes to think.
"...No, you're right, dad. It wouldn't just be selfish, we need to make sure we can stop who we can, and I think Joe will still want to go on missions, even after this." Fenton stood and patted Frank's shoulder.
"Remember, you don't have to make the decision just yet. Besides, it's time to go." Looking back at the still sleeping Joe, they said their goodbyes and left, Frank still wondering how the mission just went so wrong so quickly.
My first Hardy Boys story! I'm basing this off what I've read so far on the newest series, Undercover Brothers #20 DEADLY STRATEGY. I haven't read any of the other Hardy Boys books except for the original #36 SECRET OF PIRATES' HILL and Undercover Brothers #3 MAD HOUSE, but I'm basing this story just from DEADLY STRATEGY; give me tips if you want to or if I do something wrong, though.
