A Day Off

Chapter Ten

Frank awoke groggily, his head pounding. He slowly opened his eyes and realized that he was in some sort of construction site. Confused, he tried to sit up, but found that his hands were tied tightly behind his back and his ankles were bound together with rope. A gag was in his mouth, making speech impossible.

Then he saw something that made his heart stop-Joe was propped up against a large wooden beam, no more than two feet away, and he looked horrible! He had a black eye, and bruises covered his face. A gigantic, bloody knot was on the side of Joe's head, almost at his temple. His eyes were closed, and Frank had no way of knowing if he was okay or not.

At that moment, heavy footsteps could be heard. not too far away, and seconds later, Chuck stepped into the room.

'Chuck! I knew it!' Frank thought desperately to himself, struggling vainly to escape his bonds.

As the criminal came closer, Joe slowly opened his eyes, and Frank was horrified to see the pain-filled look in those sapphire depths. Joe stared at Frank as if he was from another planet. Frank knew that his brother was surprised to see him there.

"Well, glad to see you've both joined me," Chuck said, grinning evilly. Joe shifted his horrified gaze from Frank and stared at Chuck, obviously scared out of his wits. Frank couldn't blame him-this guy was insane!

"Well, now that you're both together and conscious," Chuck said, sneering at Joe, "it's time for some real fun. Have either of you realized where you are being held?" He paused, cocking his head as if he expected an answer, then continued. "This is where the newest roller coaster is being built. They already have made most of the tracks, and that's a good thing. You want to know why? Because those roller coaster tracks are going to play a big part in my revenge against your father."

Chuck smirked at the boys, then turned to Frank. "Your brother here has caused me quite a bit of grief," the villain informed him. Despite their situation, Frank felt pride well up inside him at his little brother. He knew that Joe was excellent at giving people grief, and that he had been right in thinking that Joe would fight back with all he had. But now, glancing at his little brother, Frank realized that Joe was pretty bad off. He didn't have much fight left in him.

"Yes, a lot of grief," Chuck went on. "He escaped and nearly ruined my cover and my plan. You see, I was going to dispose of him and then come after you, Frankie. Then I was going to kill you, and make your father suffer at the loss of his two boys. But your brother's annoying antics and your snooping around has changed all that. You see, Frank, I'm not going to kill you. After I'm finished here, I'm going to leave you here for your father to find and then skip town. I want you and your father to suffer. You've all caused me grief, but since Joey here seems to be the most troublesome Hardy kid, I'm going to kill him, and leave you two to suffer!"

Frank and Joe exchanged frightened glances. But Chuck wasn't finished yet. "Before you die, Joe, I want you to know me for who I really am. I am Sampson Black."

A gear suddenly clicked in Frank's mind. Sampson Black, he realized, was a serial killer his dad put in jail a long while back. A life sentence, no chance of parole. No wonder this guy was bitter. His whole life had been ruined, and he blamed it on Fenton. 'But it wasn't Dad's fault,' Frank thought, 'it was his own. He was the one who made that decision to become a killer. He ruined his own life.' But Frank knew there would be no convincing Black of that.

"Now that we're all acquainted, let's get ready for the ride of your life, Joe," Black said, an evil glint in his eyes. He sliced the bonds on Joe's ankles, and Frank was appalled at the bloody scars on his brother's feet from the knife. Black yanked Joe to his feet, but the young captive wavered unsteadily. Black sneered and taunted, "Joey's not as tough as his daddy. He can't take a beating." And as if to prove his point, he drew back his fist and punched Joe in the gut. The boy grunted in pain and staggered back. Frank jumped and struggled to free himself.

"Oh, poor Frank doesn't like seeing baby brother get hurt," Black said. "I definitly made the right choice. Killing this brat and leaving you to suffer would be worse for you than if I killed you, right?" Without waiting for an answer, Black grabbed Joe by the hair and dragged him a ways down the track, still in Frank's line of vision. Then he shoved Joe down onto the track and pulled ropes out of his pockets.

Joe realized what was happening and struggled as best he could in his condition to free himself. Black slapped him and continued binding him to the track. Soon he stood up, and Joe was left lying spread eagled on the tracks, each wrist and ankle bound to separate parts of the track. Frank felt his eyes well up with tears at the sight of his little brother in such a horrible position.

Black pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and knelt beside Joe. He ripped Joe's gag out, saying, "You yell, or say anything to your father about where you're at, and you'll die here and now. I won't even wait for the roller coaster car to run you over you." He then dialed a number, and shoved the phone up to Joe's ear.

"Hello?" came the frazzled voice of Fenton Hardy.

"Dad?" Joe croaked; it hurt for him to speak; he had nothing to drink in a long while.

"Joe! Where are you? What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Dad," Joe lied. "Please...don't worry..."

Black snatched up the phone and hissed, "Remember me? Your kid's going to take the ride of his life-the last ride of his life." He then hung up. Black ruffled Joe's hair. "I'm gonna miss you, kid," he said, smirking. Then he went to the control room and started the roller coaster. Joe closed his eyes and waited for the impact as the car began rolling down the tracks toward his immobile body...

~Emachinescat ^..^