Frank awoke at the sound of glass breaking. He turned to the side facing Joe and whispered for Joe.
"Joe, wake up! I think someone's downstairs." He hissed but then remembered that his brother had decided to sleep on the sofa after seeing the stripped bed.
Grabbing his watch he read 12:46 am. He got out of his bed slowly and crept to the door. Opening it a bit he peered into the hallway and seeing it empty, stepped out of the room.
"Is that you, Jo—?" He called.
He heard footsteps and turned about into a defensive stance but the intruder was faster.
A pair of hands seized his arms, pinning them behind his back, and a stout arm clamped around his neck, forcing his head back. He opened his mouth to cry out, but a crumpled cloth was crammed between his teeth, then another cloth was pulled tight over it and tied in place. Before he could get a glimpse of his assailants, a third band of fabric was put over his eyes.
Squirming frantically, he lashed out with his legs at the attackers. There was a muttered curse as one of the kicks connected. Something solid struck him hard on the right knee and he fell to his knees, doubling over in pain, with a gasp that drew the ball of cloth into his throat, gagging him.
"Who are you people? What do you want?" Frank tried to say but his words came out as grunts and moans.
"An eye for an eye," A voice chuckled. The young Hardy felt a bat whack him from behind and he sprawled onto the floor, gritting his teeth. The intruders landed multiple blows all over his body until he felt numb with pain. A kick collided with the side of his head and for a few moments everything went dark.
"Satisfied?" the same voice earlier asked.
"I don't know," another one answered slowly, as if in thought.
"Maybe we should take him to Council... that oughta teach him a lesson!" a deep voice suggested angrily. Frank could taste the blood in his mouth and coughed painfully.
"I hate Keepers," yet another voice, a shrill one, added.
"Yeah, but the others took care of them," deep voice said.
"So are we just gonna stand around here staring at it or are we gonna do something about it?" first voice said impatiently.
"Let's bring him," slow voice decided finally.
Frank tried to cry out in protest but weariness overwhelmed him. He could only call for Joe in his mind as he felt hands on his arms pulling him to his feet.