Once I Was You
Author's note: Next chapter! I know, I know, this was supposed to be the last one, but as always, the characters are doing all sorts of weird stuff and leaving me to deal with the consequences. I apologize on their behalf! Thanks a lot for reading and reviewing, it is really, really appreciated!
HappyReadingGirl: Yeah, tragic indeed… :'(
Caseykam: Who, me? This is all on the Hardys'… Thanks a lot for your review!
T4swp: I am glad to hear that! :D
Sofia: You are officially getting an award for the best review ever! Have you read Shakespeare? It sure seems that way! I can't write that *grandiloquent* myself! (Yes, I did use thesaurus for that one…)
Hardy Boys Fan: Lol, I am glad you liked it! So glad to hear from you, as always.
Chapter eight – Awakening of a Yeti
Frozen in shock, Con Riley could only watch as Frank shook his brother. Tears ran unchecked down the older brother's cheeks. "Joe? Joe, wake up!" The desperate plea was accompanied by a sob. Joe, however, was limp and unresponsive. Dead?
"Frank?" Con Riley was startled to find that he was the one speaking. Immediately, Frank's head whipped around, brown eyes boring into the officer. His face went stark white. "C… Con?" he muttered.
"Is he…?" Unable to finish the sentence, Con fell to his knees beside the brothers. His shaking hands felt for a pulse. It was there. Strong and firm.
"Frank! He is alive!" Tears of relief blurred Con's vision. For a moment there he had actually thought… but there was no need to think about that now. Joe was alive, and that was all that mattered. "I'll call for an ambulance," he offered, already reaching for his walkie-talkie.
"No!" Frank's hand shot out, gripping the officer's in an iron-grip. "Don't call the ambulance," he begged. "Joe… he doesn't need it."
"Of course he does!" Con Riley replied, shocked. "Unless he just faked his death, he is in a rather serious need of some medical attention. Please tell me what happened."
"Nothing!" Frank cried out. "Nothing happened! I just got kidnapped and Joe pretended to be a y…, whoopsie, that was a close call, wasn't it, Joe? Anyway, he pretended to be the FBI or something, and then we took down the kidnapper together. Except from that, there is nothing going on whatsoever."
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Con Riley sent Frank an incredulous gaze. "Nothing happened? Then why is your brother lying unconscious before my eyes?"
"He isn't," Frank replied. "He is fighting for an Academy Award. Am I not right, little brother?" Waving his hands half an inch from Joe's face, Frank prayed for a miracle. If Joe didn't open his eyes soon, he would have to do something. But what? It had to be something that wouldn't contradict with the bet, too…
"Frank? Are you alright?" The concern in Con's eyes was unfathomable. "You don't seem to be quite yourself today. You sure you can't tell me what happened?"
"I already have told you!" Frank answered, exasperated. "Joe is not hurt in any way, shape or form. There is nothing wrong with anything or anyone. Might need to arrest a guy, but that is the end of trouble. For today, in the least."
If possible, the horror in Con Riley's eyes grew even stronger. Not bothering to reply, he turned on his walkie-talkie. "Collig? I think we might need two ambulances. Joe is unconscious, and Frank seems to have gone into shock. He is in denial and refuse to believe that Joe's been hurt."
Listening to the one-sided conversation, Frank's eyes widened. "Joe?" he hissed silently. "You gotta open your eyes right now! They are calling an ambulance!" When long seconds passed without any sound from Joe, Frank smacked him on the head. Hard. "I'm gonna kill you with my bare hands!" he promised heatedly.
Con Riley, absorbed in the conversation with Collig, didn't see Joe opening his eyes a crack. The sapphires twinkled with mischief. "Remember: You begged for it," he whispered, before letting his eyes fall shut. Now downright terrified, Frank stared at the "unconscious" boy. He had a feeling this was going to get messy.
"How is he?" Con Riley, who had just ended the call, turned back to the brothers. To the officer's surprise, Joe was now struggling to sit up. "Whoa, take it easy!" the old man exclaimed, trying to push Joe back down. "We don't know how badly hurt you are yet. How are you feeling?"
"Terrible," Joe moaned pitifully. Con frowned at the answer. If Joe admitted to feeling bad, he really must be unwell. "Could you please tell me what happened?" Con asked carefully.
Joe nodded. "Yeah, I can. It was all Frank's fault. He smacked me in the head while I was lying on the ground, barely alive and unconscious."
"If you were, then how did you notice?" Frank shot back. Joe only shrugged before continuing his story. "That was even after I had been stabbed."
"Stabbed?!" Con Riley was white as a sheet. "By whom?"
Recalling the dagger he had conjured up, Joe took on a pathetic expression. "By myself," he admitted. "I deserved death. I had eaten my aunt's cookies. A little angel with a celiac disease had to suffer because of it. Tell Benny I am sorry…" Joe, who really was aiming for an Oscar, forced a lone tear out of the corner of his eye.
"Dear me, the boy is getting delirious." Con Riley seemed to be on the verge of tears. It wasn't until he saw the flashing lights of the ambulance that he breathed in a sigh of relief. "Finally! Now we can get him to a hospital," he whispered.
"Who, me?" Joe sounded far too alert to be bleeding half to death. "I don't need a hospital! I'm fine!"
"Nonsense." Con Riley brushed him off, too used to Joe's complaints to really consider them. When Joe saw it was of no use to argue while remaining on the floor, he decided to call his acting career quits. In the least for now. A stay at the hospital was so not worth an Oscar.
Making it to standing position with a jump, he shot the officer a triumphant smile. "Fooled ya! I am not actually hurt. I did stab myself, but since I didn't have any dagger available, I only used a piece of air. Sorry if I scared you."
Long seconds passed in complete silence. Con went from red to white and back to red again at an alarming speed. The twitch in his yaw didn't promise well either. When he answered, his voice was dangerously soft. "Sorry if I scared you?" he spat. "Mr. Joseph Hardy; if you aren't dead within the day – don't thank me! Anyone having a baseball bat available? Oh, and don't cancel the ambulance."
Once again, a little bit of a short chapter, but I didn't have time for more. It seems like there a still a chapter left of this story, but we ain't complaining, are we? Thank you so much for reading, and stay tuned for the dramatic end of this horrifying tale of distorted personalities and brutal kidnappings. Let's not forget the angel with the celiac disease either! Sweet, little Benny wouldn't like to be left out of the fun…