George took a deep breath. She had fallen, hard, against her seat belt. It had knocked the wind out of her. But it had saved her life. She looked to her right. Bess was sitting upright, staring at the back on Nancy's seat. She, too, looked pale and terrified. George touched her cousin's shoulder.

"You okay?" George sounded like she was exhaling as she spoke.

"I guess so." She closed her eyes and tried calming her body down.

"Ned? Are you alright?" No response came. George leaned forward in the seat. Ned looked up at her. He was grasping his left wrist. George remembered hearing a faint thump as the car jolted to a stop. Ned had probably fallen against his wrist. Otherwise, however, he looked okay.

George wished she could say the same for Nancy. Her eyes were shut, her head propped up against the window. She didn't look too banged up, though something weird was coming from her eyes. It was clear. Tears?

Ned looked at his limp friend, and touched her cheek. "Nancy? Nan? Wake up." It was no use. She was clearly unconscious. Bess, now looking less sick, opened her door and went to the other car. Ned joined her, while George stayed behind to watch Nancy and call the police.

The SUV didn't have much damage to it, just a large dent in the front of the car. There were four men in the car, all about Ned's age, maybe slightly older. One, who sat in the passenger's seat, was going bananas. He saw Bess and Ned, and looked more terrified of them then Bess did from the accident. "Are you guys okay?" The people in the backseat were moving. The guy in the driver's seat, however, remained still.

"One of ours is unconscious. We're calling an ambulance."

"What about him?" Bess pointed at the knocked out driver. The teen looked at the unmoving human, then waved a hand. "He's fine. He's just drunk. You see, we just came back from a huge rave, where Kenny here got really hung over. He stole my keys and took my car. We got in the car before he took off, but we couldn't get him to stop. Oh, my god." The teen was clearly scared out of his mind. "If anyone dies, oh, gosh, I will never forgive myself."

Bess couldn't help feel but the teensiest bit sorry for their crasher, though didn't find being drunk a reasonable excuse.

The ambulance arrived. White-suited people rushed out from inside it, and immediately went to Nancy's and the drunk driver's care. Chief McGinnis arrived with them, his face held no shock.

"Nancy Drew, in trouble again." He wasn't happy that she had been here, but it was no real surprise. George relayed the details of the event, explaining how it really had nothing to do with Nancy.

"It'll be the first time any coincidences happened to Nancy Drew."

George didn't bother argue.

•

"Good morning, Nancy." Nancy didn't open her eyes, but yawned and stretched her arms. She pulled back in pain. Her shoulder felt slightly bruised.

"My name is Dr. Stevens. I'm here to help whenever you need it." Nancy must have appeared confused, yet still didn't open her eyes.

"Nancy," the way the doctor spoke, Nancy thought she was going to die. "Please be very careful when you open your eyes. Do it slowly." Nancy did as commanded and was shocked. She hadn't opened her eyes. She tried again. It was still dark.

"Why are we in the dark?" She asked a stupid question. "We aren't. I feared this. Blindness is a common side-effect for car accidents."

"I'm blind?" Nancy froze. The girl felt a rush of emotions. It was as if she couldn't remember what color was. How it looked. What anything... everything looked like. She felt a sturdy hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. It's most likely temporary. However, we cannot be certain. Therefore, you will need to move around and go to normal places. Restaurants, malls, so forth. This will help you get familiar with things, and be able to recognize objects by feel, sound, and smell."

I'm blind, Nancy's mind hadn't yet caught up to all the doctor was saying.

"Can I..." Nancy suddenly remembered the accident. "My friends! Are they okay? What happened...?"

"Please," she was interrupted between her rant, "your friends are fine. You were hit by a drunk driver. They have a few scratches; Mr. Nickerson had a sprained wrist. You were very lucky."

Not exactly how I would put it. Being blind was not on my to-do list. "So, can I see, er, talk to them?"

There was a pause. Nancy figured the man was hesitating. "I suppose." Nancy heard decreasing footsteps, followed by muffled voices outside the door. Soon, she heard many sets of feet walking towards her.

A pair of arms wrapped around her neck, something rough brushed her shoulder. "Hey, Ned," Nancy knew it was her boyfriend, for she recognized the rough material as that made for a cast.

"Hey, Nancy. Look, I'm sorry that... I mean, I can't believe..."

Now I know how a disabled person feels. "Ned Nickerson, don't start stuttering on me now. I don't mind knowing I am blind. I figured it out after not seeing anything."

"The doctor says you have to stay here for the night, but you can leave with us tomorrow. They will give you special glasses. They're meant to not stress your eyes, and keep you from having serious eye trouble." The female voice was deep and to the point.

"Sounds good, George."

Bess's voice now spoke: "You need something, Nancy?"

My eye sight would be nice. "I'm kind of hungry." There was a pause, followed by a thump sound. "Here you go. Soup, crackers, watermelon, and a ham sandwich." When Nancy was confident the plate was firmly in her lap, she started to eat.

She spoke a moment later, "So what are you guys gonna do, now?"

No answer.

"Guys?"

They had left. At first, the teen felt hurt. But she soon realized that they were probably forced to leave. But she didn't want to be alone. She wanted her father. Would he be able to take a break from the case and see her?

Slowly, she sipped her soup and thought. As she brought the spoon to her mouth, she felt a sharp pain as she hit her teeth with the metal utensil. She held her mouth. It got wet, from what she guessed was blood.

"You okay?" Nancy jumped when she heard the voice. She couldn't place the male voice, then smiled when she figured him out. She felt a tissue being pressed against her lip. She took it and thanked her friend.

"How are you, Frank?" Frank Hardy was a dear friend of Nancy's. Though the two of them were friends, there had always been more then that between them. However, Nancy had Ned, and Frank had Callie Shaw, so they never got closer then best friends.

"I'm better then you."

"What am I, chopped liver?" Joe Hardy, Frank's seventeen-year-old brother, joked.

"Chopped liver smells better." Nancy teased the boy.

"If you weren't blind... and stronger then me, I'd have socked you for that."

"I don't think she needs any help. That spoon got the best of her," Frank laughed as Nancy kicked him. However, she missed his leg, and smacked him in his hip. He fell off the bed with a start.

"Frank?" Nancy dearly missed her sight. She bent in her knees and hugged her legs.

"Are you okay?" Joe was concerned for his friend.

"I am." Nancy couldn't have convinced the most gullible man in America.

"How about we cheer you up? Say, with a case?" Nancy jumped out of depressed mode. She hadn't been on a case with them for months now. She was in dire need of adventure.

"What are we doing?"

Nancy felt the end of the bed weaken. Frank was sitting at her feet. "Joe and I recently caught a guy that was part of a kidnapping gang. We checked his emails, and found out that a dozen kidnappers are getting together to talk about trading their... kidnapees."

"That's disgusting."

"I totally agree." Joe continued his brother's story with, "The cops don't want to go in there and bust them; they might get away. They want Frank and me to go undercover as... well... kidnappers."

Nancy wanted to laugh. It sounded so funny. "And you want me to join you? As a kidnapper?"

There was an uneasy silence. "Not exactly. We want you to come as our kidnapee."