Chapter 22

Frank ran, the frigid wind whipping his face and making his eyes water. He didn't have to worry about checking behind himself to see if the pudgy man was following him. frank could hear the man's heavy breaths behind him clearly in the night air. He didn't know where he was going or what was going to happen when he would have to eventually stop. Frank's body was already growing tired and he didn't know how much longer he was going to be able to stay ahead and out of reach of the man behind him who scarily seemed to get closer to him all the time.

A car's headlights blinded him for a second and he squinted against the pain of the sudden brightness. The car zoomed past Frank who was on the sidewalk and as it passed him time seemed to freeze. His left foot forward about to set down on the concrete, his arms frozen mid forward swing in his haste to get away from the man. His heartbeat slowed and the roar of blood in his ears seemed to lessen like a tide that recedes back into the ocean. Even the wind seemed to have stopped mid gust as a lone tear slid down Laura's face and caught her older son's eye.

For that split second Frank could feel her worry for them and it made his heart ache at how much more she was going to worry when she didn't find him with Joe at home. The second passed though and the wheels of the car spun, Frank's foot hit the concrete, his arms finished their swing, his momentum began, and he was running again. Running from the man behind him and away the safety of his family. A tear matching his mother's slid down his cheek when he looked back and saw his parent's car going out of view. "I'm sorry" he whispered as two more tear slid down his cold cheeks before he wiped them away and ran even harder.

In that moment Frank had decided to keep running and not call out too or find some way to get his parents attention and it was the hardest moment he had ever faced. He was a 13-year-old boy who was in danger and he was scared. The urgency to keep this bad guy away from his family and his precious little brother had awakened something in him. Something that words couldn't seem to describe but in that split moment Frank had matured when faced with danger and that maturity would stick with him for the rest of his life. The feeling of finally being able to do something, to protect someone had been granted to him. So, he ran faster and harder than he had ever ran.

His breath was getting shorter and his muscles burned with pain. No matter how hard he sucked the cold night air into his lungs it didn't ease the pain. He looked back and froze when he couldn't see the pudgy man behind him. As Frank thought about it the last quarter mile or so he hadn't even heard the man's breath behind him either. what surprised frank even more was that he just then realized that he wasn't on the sidewalk anymore. There were trees everywhere and the slits of moonlight lit up patches of grass and tangled underbrush.

He was in a forest and Frank was quite sure that he was lost.

A/N AHHHH PLEASE FORGIVE ME! I know it is totally unfairly short and I apologize for that. I know that you all like the longer chapters but please keep in mind that except for a couple of chapters all of the other chapters have been short ones too. Thank you all for reading and reviewing!

Guest: aww you are so sweet thank you!

Exactly: sorry! I haven't read the story yet. I haven't really been reading much stuff lately unfortunately. your story idea sounds very interesting! a couple of questions just to keep things clear. 1, who is in the smuggling ring frank or Joe? I'm guessing Frank since you said that frank was never part of the hardy family. 2, why didn't frank go to jail with his smuggling ring if Fenton caught all of them?

it really sounds super awesome though! you have a really good idea there. :)