Lost in Lies
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE (DO NOT SKIP): Hi everyone and thanks for reading! This book isn't exactly a part of a series, but you have to read my other book "Dead Serious" as well. If you don't, this book really won't make too much sense. It is also very important that you read them in the right order. Therefore, I will always write at the beginning of the chapter which part of "Dead Serious" you should read before starting. I know this sounds strange, but I hope it will be worth it! Enjoy!
Follows: Prologue of "Dead Serious."
Disclaimer: The stories I have borrowed in this chapter are real, and therefore, not my own. You can find them all on this site. I have asked all authors I have used books from for permission to use their work, but some haven't answered. If I shouldn't use some of the stories, just tell me and I will remove them. Also, I don't own the Hardy-boys. Big surprise?
To all Nancy-lovers: This is NOT an attempt on offending you. I am sure she is a wonderful character. My point: Please don't kill me!
Dedicated to Exactly –
Thanks for your idea, I really hope this doesn't disappoint you!
Chapter one – A discovery
"This is how it feels like to be kidnapped and held hostage. And I am the one to decide whether you are gonna live or die. You are warned."
The bald man closed the door. Yet, the young girl in the basement wasn't alone. The cameras kept her company, restraining her like nothing else could. She knew he was watching her. The man, her captor. The maniac who had kidnapped her nothing more than five hours ago. The crazy lunatic who wanted her, no, forced her, to cooperate.
With trembling fingers, the girl looked at the paper he had given her. His orders. Her work. Azure-blue eyes held a terrified expression by reading the black words:
Victims: Frank and Joe Hardy
Guilty: You
And there was more. Much more. Words that sent chills down her spine, that made the black depths in her eyes swallow the sparkling blue iris. Sentences that made her nauseous, who managed to get the guilt to well up in here even before she had done what they asked of her.
Eyeing the cameras once more, she opened the brand new computer in front of her. Her fingers, quick as a pianist's, flew over the keyboard. Just one thing were written in her mind:
If you refuse, I will kill you. Break every bone in your body, shatter you until there's nothing left. And they will follow.
The threat. At the bottom of the document. The one killing the last glimpse of hope she had ever had. The threat that made her obey. And because she obeyed, she sentenced three human beings: Herself, and a detective-duo.
F&J F&J F&J F&J F&J
"It's official: I am bored."
The announcement came from Vanessa Bender, a tall, beautiful girl. In the moment, she lay sprawled at the Hardy's couch, her grey eyes twinkling in sheer boredom. Judging by Biff's yawn, Phil's dead eyes, Callie's sigh, Tony's frantic chewing gum-chewing, Frank's Rubik's cube and Joe's pacing, she wasn't alone.
No one answered. Not even Joe, her ever-talking boyfriend. He was too bored to come up with anything. Eventually, Frank looked up at his brother with soft, albeit at the moment a bit glanced over brown eyes. "If you continue, we will soon have a hole in the carpet" he informed matter-of-factly. "Besides, you are making me dizzy."
Doing halt, Joe stared back. "So tell me what to do!" he exclaimed, shaking his head in exasperation. When he didn't receive any kind of reply, he decided to fetch his laptop and do… something. Anything. Something that wouldn't destroy the carpet.
Placing himself in the sofa, he stared blankly at the screen. "What are you doing?" It was Vanessa's voice. Joe remained silent another ten seconds, pretending he hadn't heard the question. Then, finally, his sapphire-eyes lit up. "My dear Vanessa, I am gonna read. And I am going to choose really, really bad books."
Eyeing the blond-haired teen in front of her, Vanessa asked suspiciously: "And may I ask why on earth you are going to read exactly bad books?" Joe smiled back. "I thought that was obvious! If I decided to read a good book, you could come to believe I did it because I wanted to. However, I am only reading because I have nothing better to do. Therefore, it's only natural to choose a book matching my mood."
Frank, listening to the conversation, shook his head in disgust. "And that makes a whole lot of sense" he muttered resigned. "Course." Pretending Frank meant it seriously, Joe shot him a smile as sweet as sugar.
A few moments later, Joe had finally found something. "I think I have it, guys!" he declared satisfied. "It's a site called fanfiction. Everyone can write stories there, and the characters aren't even their own. It's actually strange, but I suddenly got tons of advertising for it. Like, literally tons. Anyway: I bet it's stuffed to the breaking point with boring stories!"
"Let's hope so" Biff answered dryly, his voice showing more than a hint of sarcasm. Joe didn't care, though, he only scrolled through the endless list of fandoms. "What shall we choose? Harry Potter? Sherlock Holmes? Jane Austen? Or perhaps Alice in Wonderland? No, I think we need something more boring… hold on, two sec… WHAAAAAAAT?!"
The loud gasp pierced through the air, quickly followed up by a breathless "no way, you gotta be kidding me…"
"What? Joe, what's going on?" Biff suddenly seemed a lot more awake. His blue eyes twinkled in excitement. What had Joe found?
"I… Frank, our surname is Hardy, right? Spelled H-A-R-D-Y?" Frank stared back at his brother, quizzically. "Suffering a temporally amnesia, huh?" he asked. "But yes, you are quite right. Impressing, by the way. That you have learned how to spell your own name, I mean. After all, you are nothing more than seventeen."
The fact that Joe didn't answer with one of his usual death-glares, made it clear that he was really shocked. Needless to say, his friends were more than ready to hear what was going on.
«Frank, one more question: We are boys, aren't we?»
«What kind of a question is that?» Frank asked, more amused than irritated. «But to answer you: I suppose you are, but personally, I am eighteen and therefore a grown-up.» The elder boy made sure to emphasize the word grown-up. Joe, however, neither rolled his eyes or stuck out his tongue. Instead, he finally declared what he had found: «I think they are making stories about us. One of the fandoms is called Hardy-boys/Nancy Drew. That sounds like us. But who is Nancy Drew?»
«I have no idea» Phil answered, his brown eyes filled with excitement. «Never mind, though, I want to hear what they are writing about you.»
«Yeah, c'mon, read something!» Biff agreed.
«Okay, okay.» Joe held up his hands, demanding silence. «First one is "The Dept." The author is some guy named "Red Hardy." Perhaps one of ours relatives?" Smiling, he scanned over the first paragraphs. Before long, the smile turned into giggles. Seconds later, the giggling had evolved into a full-blown fit of laughter. "What isit?" It was Tony, and he was not happy. "Read out loud before I do something I will regret!"
Joe nodded, fighting to catch his breath. A breathless silence filled the room. Joe reached out for a sip of water, before placing his long legs comfortably at a pillow. Taking in a deep breath, he scanned his listeners. Had he waited long enough to get their full attention? Most certainly.
«Ahem.»
Joe cleared his throat in the most professional manner he could muster. Then he started reading, the passion clear in his voice.
«Author's note: (Read with tongue firmly planted in cheek.) In reading the stories here, I have noticed a disturbing trend centering on the kidnapping and merciless beating of ME! Just once, I thought, couldn't I be kidnapped by some GOOD bad guys? And so the following story was born. If I absolutely have to kidnapped, this is the way I would like it to happen…
Sincerely,
Joe Hardy"
A heavy silence filled the room. "What?!" Frank was the first one to break it. "You wrote that story?"
Joe smiled. "Oh, that's nothing. I have many hidden talents, that I can assure you about!" Getting serious, he added: "Honestly, this is a bit creepy…"
"You are not the only one with a bad feeling in your stomach!" Vanessa assured him. Joe could see her face getting noticeable paler.
"I agree… but I also want to hear the rest. Please continue" Biff begged, a mix of excitement and a slight fear filling his eyes. Joe nodded, and moved on to the story itself.
Creepy or not creepy: Five minutes later, the whole gang were laughing their heads off. The story was about Joe getting kidnapped by three men called Bobby, Brett and Bill. The reason why they kidnapped him, was to show their gratitude to Fenton through him. The younger Hardy was treated as a king, and in the end, he even got a Ferrari.
"I LOVE this story!" Joe's smile almost cut his face in two. "Didn't I speak about boring books? Well, I can't say I have read any!" The others agreed. Soon, they were on their second book.
"Okay, so the next one is «Cold Spell» by Phx. It's about me and Frank being lost in the arctic tundra. Whatever. Sounds dramatic."
And Joe was right. It really was dramatic – and funny. Especially Frank seemed to enjoy certain parts. In the book, the brother's were trapped in a kingdom of ice and snow, and the only food they had was a stick of chewing gum. Frank asked to get half of it, claiming he needed every calorie he could get. Joe didn't really know what to think about the conversation that followed, but Frank seemed to enjoy himself.
"Now, leave me half of the gum!" Joe imitated Frank's tired, irritated, short-tempered voice.
"It's calorie free!" Joe switched to his own voice, just with a pleading touch it didn't usually held.
"Yeah, well, so is your head, kiddo. Actually, forget about leaving me half; just give it to me now!" The sound of Frank's hysterical laughter almost drowned Joe's last words.
"You don't trust me?" Joe made his voice accusing, almost judging.
"Of course I trust you, Joe. I trust you with my life… However, with a half stick of chewing gum? That's a different story." Whatever being said next was lost in the sound of laughter. Everyone's (except, perhaps, Joe's) laughter, but especially Frank's. Wiping away tears, he exclaimed: "They seem to know us well!"
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"You done?"
The bald man entered the basement again. The girl stared at him, golden curls flowing down her shoulder. "Yeah…" It was a whisper, almost inaudible, forced out between cherry-red lips. "Yeah, I am done…"
"Good, let me see."
The long-legged captor placed the laptop in his lap and started reading. The heavy silence filling the cool basement made the guilt in the girls heart lit up with new force. As long as she did something, as she could feel the keys plop underneath her fingers, she had managed to keep the bad feelings stuffed down somewhere deep inside her. Somewhere very far away, so far she didn't knew if thy were real or not. But now, they fought their way to the surface, tormenting her. She was guilty. She was a criminal. Soon, she would be a murderer…
"Very good, very good." The sound of the captor's voice woke her from her thoughts. "Now, I want you to post this story at fanfiction under your own profile."
The girl slowly nodded. "And the title?"
"Dead Serious." The man's smile shone bright yellow. "You shall call the story Dead Serious. And don't worry, I will fix the rest."
F&J F&J F&J F&J F&J
Three hours later, at the Hardy's
"Wuhu." Biff sighed content. "That was some of a site, Joe!"
The friends had been through books after book, reading about bad guys and kidnappings, friends and a fictional character called Nancy Drew they apparently knew, ghosts and hospitals. They had even read books about themselves being married and having children!
"That's to be sure!" Joe agreed. "I wonder about one thing, though: Do you think it's still on-going books in there?"
"Dunno, check it out!"
Joe did as Phil had asked. Shifting the filter to recent, he clicked on the book at the top. "Whoa, this was published nothing more than one hour ago!" he yelled. "It's only a prologue, but we will read it anyway, won't we?"
The others nodded. "It seems like it's written in first person, and from my point of view! I bet it's funny… So, let's start!" Joe smiled and started to read.
"My name is Joe Hardy. Yes, that Joe Hardy you read about in the paper. The famous teen-sleuth. The youngest part of the unbreakable detective-duo. One of the Hardy-boys. Want to know something else about me? I wish I were dead."Joe stopped, staring at the text in front of him. "Okay…" he whispered slowly "I didn't know that…"
He continued to read, all while the bad feeling inside him grew by every word. But it was when he reached the sentence written in larger letters, in cursive and with an underline, he really felt his stomach twist.
My brother is dead.
Joe lifted his eyes, staring at his brother. He knew this was just fiction, just nonsense, but still, the words stung. He couldn't lose Frank. He couldn't. Such a thing simply could not happen.
"I dig my nails into my palms until it bleeds, I shut my eyes so closely it hurts. Overwhelmed by an all-consuming fire of red-hot agony, I throw my head back and screams."
That was the end of it, the end of the prologue. A scream. A dead brother.
Joe shuddered. Why on earth did Frank suddenly seem so pale? So ghostlike? And why did it hurt so much to stare into those soft, deep-brown eyes?
The words still echoed through his mind:
Dead.
Buried.
Swallowed by the darkness.
Dead.
Author's note: Hope you guys like it! And for those of you learning Norwegian, I have an important thing to say: If it's okay, I will answer your questions in the comment field of Imagine, instead of in the author's notes. That way, I won't have to write thousand words extra per chapter! Hope that is okay! (I will still answer everyone individually, though.) See you soon!