(You hear sobbing coming from behind a door to a typical bedroom. Curious, you open the door to see Foxy121 sitting on the floor, cradling a laptop and crying brokenheartedly.)
You: What's wrong?
Foxy: I left Nancy unconscious on the back of a horse being kidnapped by a cowboy-thug-gangster-maniac, Frank injured and desperate in a helicopter, and Joe seriously trashed up by his side, FOR LIKE A WHOLE MONTH!
You: ...
Foxy: (more crying)
You: Sorry, but that IS rather cruel...
Foxy: I KNOW! And my wonderful readers! I let them all down!
You: (sniff) Yeah.
Foxy: But no more! I AM UPDATING!
You: Yay, maybe we can call off the angry mob with the torches and pitchforks that were on their way over to -
Foxy: (looks up, confused) (sniffle) What?
You: Whoops. I didn't say anything!
Foxy: Okay! (presses the Submit button while trumpets play)
So yeah, I cannot express the remorse and shame with which I post this late update. If you still have the grace to read it, thanks so much! BUT REMEMBER! I promised never to abandon this fanfic. And I shall not! (battle cry)
I do not own Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys.
"NANCY!" Frank shouted frantically, and dashed for the door of the helicopter. Startled cries came from the paramedics and the rest of the personnel on board, and three men grabbed his arms, restraining him.
Struggling, Frank looked longingly at the retreating horsemen. "No! Stop, you don't understand! They'll kill her!" He yelled, desperately grabbing at things to give him leverage.
Black clouds hazed around his vision, his wounds taking their toll. Joe was calling his name. Joe. He's hurt. I should go to him…
Frank felt dazed. What was happening? Nancy. Where was Nancy?
"Nancy?" Frank whispered as he felt hands ease him down onto the floor of the… Where was he?
His eyes closed.
Nancy cracked one eye open.
She was lying on the ground. Her head throbbed. Her mouth was parched. Frank, we were so close, Nancy thought despairingly. Now she had no chance.
No! I'm Nancy Drew, for Pete's sake! Buck up! You're NOT giving up now! Nancy immediately scolded herself. And suddenly she felt that much better.
With a smirk she remembered all the times she, the Hardys, and her friends Bess and George had cheated death and put the bad guys behind bars. I can't wait to bring these guys down. I may have to do it single-handedly, but hey, more bragging rights.
Shifting, she tested the tightness of the ropes binding her hands and feet. Very tight. Grass poked and scratched uncomfortably, and she peered cautiously at her surroundings, not wanting to appear awake.
Another meadow. It was tranquil and peaceful. A warm but pleasant day. The horses were gathered in a makeshift round pen formed with small dead trees, some grazing, some sleeping. She didn't see Bart. Nancy sighed. She hoped that horse hadn't died. Or been killed.
Where were the men? Peering around, she saw them grouping together with their guns – all of them. Except for David. Nancy's heart gave a sharp pang, but she pushed the thought aside and focused. They headed out into the woods. Smiling grimly, she realized that they were going hunting, assuming she either wouldn't be awake by the time they got back, or she'd be too weak to escape.
"Well, you've underestimated Nancy Drew," she whispered as they disappeared.
Waiting a full, excruciatingly boring five minutes, Nancy finally sat up. Looking around, she saw a mangled stump with broken roots sticking up at odd angles nearby. Perfect. Inch-worming her way over, the redhead sat with her back to the stump, and raised her bound hands, hooking the rope over a particularly jagged root. Getting onto her knees, Nancy leaned forwards, pulling against the rope hard. After a minute, she unhooked the rope and tested it again.
Twisting her wrists to the side and making her hands as small as possible, she was finally able to slip them out. "Yes!" Nancy rejoiced. She took a moment to rub the red rope marks on her wrists, and gave a glare in the direction of the woods for good measure.
Within minutes she was able to untie her feet. Getting up, she was about to run for the horse pen when she spotted Kyle's tent.
Gulping, she noticed the cowboy lounging casually on his stomach, propped on his elbows, watching her from the tent door this whole time. She hadn't noticed him. Nancy mentally kicked herself, even as her chest constricted with fear.
"Well done. Nancy, wasn't it?"
"Keep away from me," she growled through gritted teeth. The cowboy stood to his feet, then barked a laugh when she flinched.
"Skittish as a bobcat," Kyle scoffed. "You thought you could outsmart me? Guess again, darlin."
He advanced, then stopped again as she continued to back up. "Fine. A walking game of chase. Doesn't make any difference, girl. You can't get away from me."
As he spoke, he walked slowly and lazily towards Nancy. Relax, she told herself. Think. Use your surroundings.
A glint of something metal to the side caught her eye as Kyle rambled on. Smoothly, she circled around another tent, swiftly picking up the explosives and concealing them. At the same time, she pressed a button on a crude metal remote.
60, 59, 58, 57, the numbers blinked a countdown.
Breathing faster, Nancy circled around again, leading the amused, condescending kidnapper after her. He thinks I can't outsmart him, he has another thing coming, she checked the timer again.
Suddenly she spotted a trap the cowboys had set that was chained around a tree. It was a regular step-triggered animal trap. And she was about to catch a criminal with it!
40, 39, 38…
Pretending to be much more frightened than she was, Nancy dashed around the side of the tree. Kyle laughed and approached.
Taking a deep breath, she launched herself out from behind the tree, and pushed the surprised cowboy backwards. With a shout of anger, he stumbled backwards, then howled in pain. Snap! The trap closed on his ankle. Nancy spun around and took off running at top speed. The trap wouldn't hold him for more than a minute. She knew it wasn't strong enough to break his ankle.
Darting between the tents, Nancy checked the timer again.
27, 26, 25…
Thinking quickly, she grabbed the first explosive and set it down between the herself and the tents, then around in a line, blocking off Kyle from getting to her. With one explosive left, she set it down near where the others had gone into the woods.
7, 6, 5…
Nancy's eyes widened, and she ran as fast as she could towards the horses. Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, her heart and feet seemed to pound at the same speed. Kyle yelled curses at her in the background. Diving for the ground, she covered her head with her arms.
BOOM!
Beep, beep, beep, beep…
The steady rhythm penetrated Joe's thoughts. Slitting his eyes open, he stared at his bright surroundings, confused. Is that rubbing alcohol? Wrinkling his nose in disgust, Joe opened his eyes more.
He was in a bright hospital room, with an IV attached to his left arm, a blood pressure cuff around his right arm, one of those clip-thingies on his pointer finger, an oxygen tube blowing into his nostrils, and his leg propped up and wrapped. Confused, he stared. It was bandaged and braced, but not in a cast yet. Why not?
A familiar head of perfectly curled, long blonde hair met his eyes, and he smiled. Bess was asleep on the couch.
"Hey," he croaked, then cleared his throat. "Bess."
The girl shot to her feet so fast that she had to catch herself against the back of an armchair. "Joe?" Bess whispered, her eyes wide and hopeful.
Smiling, Joe gave a small wave. "Hey."
Bess shrieked and flung herself at him, and at the last moment grabbed the railings on either side of him instead of squashing him. "You're okay!" the blonde breathed, staring down at him like she couldn't believe he was there.
"Yeah, Bess. I'm fine," Joe chuckled. Their faces were about six inches apart, and her curls hung down on either side of his neck, tickling him.
The sound of someone clearing their throat discreetly made Bess get off of him, blushing a little.
George strode into the room. "Hey, Joe. Frank's awake, too, and demanding to see you. The doctors don't want him up and about, but I think if they don't let him he'll just come in by himself whether they want him to or not. You've got a very protective older brother there."
"You're telling me," Joe snorted. "Besides me getting an infection, he was probably worse off than I was. Am I right?"
"I think so," George nodded. "You had an infected compound fracture, along with the bone in the lower half of your leg – I forget what it's called – being basically shattered. Frank has a gunshot graze on one shoulder, a large cut on his cheek, and wounds from a cougar on the back of his neck, along with other scraped and bruises. Both of you are malnourished and dehydrated."
"Wow, the whole package," Joe whistled. "I think he beat me this time."
"This is a competition?" Bess raised an eyebrow.
"Sort of. Usually I win, though."
"I'm sure you do."
George left the room for a minute, then they heard the slow shuffle of someone coming down the hall.
Frank slowly entered the room in scrubs, pulling the IV with him. George walked beside him.
Coming to Joe's bedside, Frank eased down into the armchair. Leaning forwards, elbows on knees, he gave his younger brother a half smile. "Hey. How are you feeling?"
"Like a boulder fell on top of me," Joe joked. Then he sobered, remembering that Nancy was still missing. "You okay?"
"As okay as I can be, I guess," Frank sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I just got a phone call from one of the helicopters still on patrol out in the area we were in. They just witnessed an explosion and fire nearby and are going to go check it out. SWAT teams and the police are on their way."
The girl cousins gasped, and Joe felt the blood drain from his face. "Do you think it was Nancy?" he finally asked softly.
His head in his hands, Frank sighed. "I really, really hope not."
I PROMISE. I will NEVER go that long without updating again, I don't know how much I can apologize to you guys! Love you all so much, please review! Only one or two more chapters left! :)
- Foxy121