Nancy opened her eyes blearily, squinting around the dark room as her eyes adjusted to the lack of light. A faint silvery glow illuminated her surroundings: she could make out the vague outline of the cedar dresser beside the door, the rug laid out on the oak flooring of her bedroom, and the bedside table. What time is it? she wondered in confusion. The light streaming in from the window indicated that it was still hours before morning, and a quick check of her watch on the table showed that it was just about 4:00am. Well, as long as she was up, she might as well check around - something had woken her, but Nancy had no idea what.
Thump. She was midway through swinging her feet onto the floor when she heard the noise. Nancy froze - what was that sound? She was immediately on alert for another sound, but it was temporarily silent. She slid silently out of her bed, pushing back the sheets as she went. The air was chilly, and Nancy was grateful for her sweatpants and thick sweater.
A robber? The saboteur? Nancy's mind raced. For all she knew, it could be as harmless as a branch knocking against the cabin's side in the wind, but she operated under the assumption that something sinister was going on. Her keen hearing picked up the faint sound of scratching as she eased into the cabin's upper hallway, peering around in the shadows. She winced as the floor boards creaked: nothing loud enough to alert anyone potentially downstairs to her presence, but she didn't want to rouse Bess or George.
Tiptoeing her way past Bess' room, Nancy turned to make her way down the stairs, still hearing an odd scratching sound. It was vaguely familiar... almost like the sound of Togo walking around in the middle of the night, but this sound was harsher, more of a clacking than the soft scrape of her bull terrier's paws against the floor at home. It was enough to confirm her fears: someone, or something, was wandering around right now. Based on the sound, she would guess that, whatever it was, it currently was wandering around in the living room to the left of the staircase.
Nancy breathed as quietly as she could as she carefully eased her way down the stairs, the carpet muting her footsteps almost entirely as she peered into the living room. Luckily, her eyes had almost completely adjusted to the dark, and combined with the moonlight she could make out most of her surroundings save for the dark shadows in the far corners of the room. Nothing looked out of place: the front door was closed, the curtains open The sound was stronger now, and she could make out a snuffling noise. A wild animal?
She didn't know how it had gotten in, but there was no mistaking it: as she waited tensely, the clatter of claws against a hardwood floor moved towards the closer wall, just passing the edges of the window. It wasn't huge, but if her fears were correct, she was staring at a wolverine moving about the living room.
A hand landed on her shoulder and Nancy almost shrieked, stopping herself at the last moment. Her heart beating like she'd just run a sprint, she turned to see George standing on the staircase, her short-cropped hair sticking up in all directions. George's face was clearly that of confusion: she hadn't noticed the wolverine yet, and was wondering why Nancy was up in the middle of the night. She was a particularly light sleeper sometimes, and the creaking in the hallway had made her curious so she'd left to investigate.
As Nancy gave her a hastily whispered explanation, though not knowing herself how a wolverine had made its way into the cabin, she still kept an eye on the shadow shuffling about in the dark and desperately hoped it didn't sense them yet. They needed a plan - wolverines could be vicious and Nancy didn't like their chances against those claws. And then Bess woke up.
AaA
Bess had been enjoying a lovely dream involving dancing in a ball and a romantic dinner when her cousin and friend rudely awoke her up with all their moving about in the house, the creaks pulling her from some much needed rest. Geeze, she thought in annoyance. Are they having some kind of party down there?
She sighed. Once up, it was always difficult to go back to bed. While she was loath to abandon her warm comforter, she slipped on a pair of fluffy slippers and made her way out of the room to see what was going on, grabbing a brush on the way. Even if her only company would be George and Nancy, she liked looking her best when possible.
Suppressing a yawn, she blinked sleepily and shuffled downstairs, giving her hair a half-hearted brushing to remove the worst of the tangles at the very least. She smiled thinking about her dream, picturing herself dancing away the night with a certain dashing blond clad in a tuxedo next to Nancy and George. Hmph. Nancy and George are going to hear it when I find them...Wait.. she squinted down the stairs. Two figures, Nancy and George, she presumed, were huddled together in the dark, slowly inching their way back up the staircase with their backs turned to Bess.
She narrowed her eyes. Something was very wrong about this entire situation. She could swear there was something black at the bottom of the stairs. Why was it so dark, anyway? Well, Nancy and George could stand around in the dark if they wanted to but Bess would rather see what was going on. She flicked the light switch on, and screamed at the sight before her.
AaA
Frank was up and moving the moment the scream cut through the night, followed immediately by Joe. The scream cut off almost as abruptly as it had started, but whether that meant the threat had passed or it was already too late, Frank had no idea. The two brothers simultaneously pulled on their boots, not bothering with coats over their clothing, and dashed outside to where Nancy, Bess, and George were all staying for the night.
Joe was thinking furiously about the events of last night: after he and Bess had fallen asleep on the couch, Frank had woken Joe up and dragged him back to their own cabin. Bess had probably moved back up to her bedroom before falling asleep, which meant that if there was someone in the house they probably wouldn't find Bess just sleeping there defenseless. But that scream... he pushed it to the back of his mind and slammed into his older brother, who had stopped short near the front of the cabin.
"We need a plan," Frank said grimly. "We can't just go in there defenseless or we might just make the situation worse. We have to trust that Nancy and the others can manage without us."
Joe groaned. He hated it when Frank was logical, because it normally meant he was right. They split up and searched the area as quickly as possible, meeting at the back patio. "Anything?" Joe asked hopefully.
"The only thing is a trail of footprints leading to the door and back away again - there's no other evidence of a forced entry unless they made their way in through the front door somehow, and I checked to make sure that it's still locked."
"So whoever came is gone, now," Joe said. "Which means we're all clear to figure out who screamed, and more importantly, why."
Frank looked doubtful, but he wasn't eager to wait any longer either. "Okay. But we need to split up. Follow those footprints and see where they lead."
Joe grumbled. His older brother was right again, of course, but he hated when he got all bossy. He glanced at Frank, clad in t-shirt and sweats. He was wearing a thick sweatshirt himself, and he wouldn't be as cold as Frank would. "Fine - just make sure everyone's okay."
Frank snorted, "You know I can handle myself." Not wanting to waste anymore time, Joe started at a run after the footprints, trusting the moonlight to guide his way.
Frank grasped the handle of the back door and tested it: unlocked. He pushed open the door as quietly as he could. He estimated that it had been about five minutes since the scream. He needed to find Nancy fast and figure out what was going on.
The stair light was on, but the kitchen and living room were both empty and covered in shadow. He could hear a weird snuffling sound, combined with an insistent scraping noise coming from the upstairs hallway where the girls' bedrooms were located.
Frank bound up the stairs, throwing caution to the wind - his instincts told him he wasn't dealing with a robber or saboteur right now, but based on the sounds, he was more concerned that the three girls were being cornered right now. He turned into the hallway and came face to face with a full grown wolverine, brown fur, black eyes, small claws and all. Yeah. That was pretty much exactly what he was hoping he wouldn't find.
Recognizing the defensive stance the animal was taking, Frank decided that right about now would be a pretty good time to get out of there and draw it away from the bedroom door, where he assumed Nancy, Bess, and George were currently stuck in.
He turned on his heel and flew down the stairs, the sounds of paws hitting the ground after them. To his knowledge, wolverines weren't incredibly fast so he would likely be able to outrun it. He just needed to lure it outside and away from the girls. Luckily, Frank hoped, the wolverine was still on his tail. He dashed down the hall and ran out the door, spinning to the left and pressing his back against the wall.
The wolverine kept running, and as soon as it was out the door Frank stepped back in and quickly shut the door. Now that it was back in the wild, where it was used to being, he had a feeling it wouldn't be aggressive and would return to wherever it came from. There was no way an adult wolverine had accidentally made its way into a cabin with all the doors and windows closed. The resort was known for wild animals as well, but they weren't supposed to be anywhere near the residential area. He hoped Joe was making some kind of progress.
Nancy was the first to find him, still leaning against the back door. "Frank?" she called out in surprise. "How did you know- the scream," Nancy realized, answering her own question. It was pretty loud, and she wasn't surprised it had woken up both brothers. "Wait, where's Joe?" she said, noticing his absence for the first time.
"Sorry about that, by the way," Bess said, holding up a hand and shrugging. "I plead guilty - I scream when I'm scared."
George laughed. "And when you're excited, or happy, or angry..." she trailed off.
Bess humphed, but there was a smile on her face.
"I guess we have you to thank for our rescue, Hardy," Nancy said with a grin. "We owe you one - I was already evaluating my chances of jumping out the window when the scratching on the door stopped."
George opened her mouth to speak, but yawned instead. "I think I'm going to turn in now. Bess?"
"I'm down with that. I hear my pillow calling," she joked, linking arms with her cousin and heading back upstairs with her, a hairbrush held limply at her side for some reason.
Nancy gave Frank a quick peck on the cheek, hoping the dark hallway would cover her blush. "Thanks, Hardy. Really."
Frank reached out a hand and ruffled her hair. "Anything for my favourite detective," he grinned, as she batted away his hand, trying to hide her smile.
"So, I'm guessing you're going to go follow Joe?"
"And I'm guessing you're not going to sleep another wink if you don't tag along," he smirked.
"You know me too well," she chuckled.
The two headed over to Frank's cabin after Nancy pulled on her parka and hat, and Frank got both his coat and Joe's on the assumption that he might want it wherever he was right now. They returned to the girls' cabin's again and began following Joe's footprints at a brisk pace, grabbing a small flashlight for the trip as well. Wherever the tracks lead to, Joe had followed them all the way out into the forest. Together, they began the path into the dark woods.
AaA
Joe grumbled and moaned for a while, but he wasn't really angry. He knew that whatever had happened, Frank would take care of it and make sure everyone ended up okay. Besides, someone had definitely 'fled the scene', so to say, and he intended on knowing who.
The tracks continued for a while, steadily moving towards the hotel. Joe was trying to run, but it wasn't easy in the snow. Luckily, the owner of the footsteps - who was male judging by their size and depth - didn't seem to be in a terrible rush. The footprints were spaced moderately apart, meaning if he kept up his pace right now he might just catch them.
The trees suddenly broke, and the white snow stretched out in front of Joe - and to his delight, a figure in black was making their way across the flat ground. Joe seized his chance and began moving as fast as he could, hoping to at least get close enough to identify him. Whoever it was, he was in bad shape - the snow seemed to have worn him out and he was bent over double, presumably catching his breath. As Joe drew closer, struggling to keep up the speed while minimizing sound, he finally caught his first glimpse of the man's face: brown hair peeked out from under his toque, and his face had a ruddy complexion. He looked old, but Joe wasn't certain exactly how much from this distance. The only other identifying clue was his portly figure, which was large even accounting for possible layers of clothes underneath the coat.
But then the man caught a glimpse of Joe and resumed his pace, going even faster than before. Joe almost laughed seeing him struggle through the snow. The snow hindered him even more than his unathletic physique, but he had a good head start on Joe. Not wasting any more time, Joe resumed his pursuit, not wanting to lose sight of his target.
He continued across the clearing, into the woods where the unknown man had run, but the tracks abruptly stopped at a small river, still flowing gently despite the chunks of ice floating along it. "Damn it," Joe swore under his breath. Left or right? The shadows from the towering trees loomed against the snow, the moonlight lighting up the sky. Unfortunately, it didn't help him see where his quarry had hidden.
Joe guessed that he would probably go the direction of the water flow, which would lead closer to the hotel, so he turned right first and headed out into the woods with the hope that he didn't choose wrongly.
Meanwhile, Nancy and Frank were only a minute or so behind him. The more the path was cleared in the forest snow, the faster they could move. Before leaving, they made sure a number of the stranger's footprints visible to examine them later. It was far from morning, but the more time that went by, the lighter it became outside. They reached the same dead end Joe had, but before they could begin a search down the creek, Joe appeared.
He shoved his way past the branches, his breath coming out in a huff. He was getting cold, and mad that he had lost the guy. Seeing Frank and Nancy, he offered a wry smile and an apology. "It's my fault. I lost him when he hit the creek and I have no idea where he went from here."
Nancy was disappointed, but suggested they head back until the sun rose completely. The adrenaline had woken Joe up fully, but the cold was starting to really set in and he happily agreed, taking the coat Frank offered. He described the man as he had seen him in the clearing, wondering if it fit any of the employee profiles Nancy and Frank had looked at last night.
Neither of them recognized the description, but they vowed to talk about it with Mr. White, the manager, to see if he knew who it could possibly be. They would also need to question desk clerks to see if they recognized a customer who looked like that.
But first things first, they really needed some sleep.
AaA
Nancy woke to the sunlight this time, shielding her eyes from the warm light. She pulled on an olive-green knit over her dark blue jeans and padded downstairs. Bess and George sat in the kitchen, chatting lightly over their plates of eggs on toast. The wolverine hadn't made any great damage, other than a few scratch marks on the wood paneling.
She was still a bit sleepy, but she was more eager to get started on today's investigations. She slung herself into the chair between the two and ate hungrily, needing energy after the events of last night.
After breakfast, she and George met up with Frank and Joe - Bess claimed she needed to do some shopping although Nancy had no idea where she would find stores to shop at. For that matter, where is Bess even going shopping? Nancy wondered. The lodge must have been bigger than she thought. She pushed the matter out of her head, and focused instead on the case. They finally had a solid suspect - now they just needed to figure out who he was.
Disclaimer: As well as not owning any part of Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys franchise, I have no idea how to deal with a wolverine in the wild. But those things are vicious.