Chapter 13, Joe's confession, and the missing counselors
Wind whipped and snow flurried heavily on the rag-tag, beaten up, exhausted group of boys dragging and limping across the obstacle course's finish line.
At this rate, the snow was turning into a blizzard, fast.
Joe Hardy helped John support Frank as they crossed the line themselves, the last to do so.
Joe panted hard, coughed, and shivered, squeezing tightly to Frank's side as Sergeant Boone yelled:
"The snowflakes win!"
He had just a millisecond to feel that victory, when to his horror, he felt Frank collapse in his arms.
"Frank!" Joe cried out, terrified as he took on Frank's full weight against himself to keep his brother from falling to the snowy ground.
His heart hammered in fear, seeing how pale Frank was, even against the snow.
John helped him to lower Frank down gently, until he was resting against Joe's chest as Joe sat in the freezing cold snow.
All around them boys cheered, but time seemed to slow down for Joe, as his fear picked up.
He fumbled on Frank's neck for a pulse, thankfully finding a steady beat, but Frank was in rough shape. Even in his unconscious state he looked to be in pain.
"Frank…" Joe choked on his tears, "Wake up, come on big bro. Wake up."
Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly anymore, John laid a hand on Joe's shoulder in support, the briefest hint of concern in his eyes as well.
"Phones will be passed out after dinner tonight!" Sergeant Boone was yelling out now, to more cheering, "BUT don't take this privilege for granted! You will only have the phones for a little while. At some point, without warning, we will take them away again!"
Joe tried to focus on the exciting news, but after shaking Frank gently a few times, and tapping him lightly on the cheek, Frank still wasn't waking up…
"Frankie… you hear that?" Joe whispered, "We got the phone privileges. We can call Dad, and get out of here! I think what we've seen by now is proof enough of something bad going on here… but you have to wake up!"
But Frank wasn't moving.
A few tears rolled down Joe's face, the only hot thing on his freezing cold skin. And damn was he getting tired of crying, all the time here.
He was ready… ready to call in reinforcements. Ready to let go of his pride a little and ask for help.
Ready to go back home and spend what was left of Christmas break with his family and friends… and his big brother who didn't have to be in pain all the time, or scared all the time for him anymore.
To spend the last Christmas holiday before Frank went off to college somewhere, as normally as they could…
But for all of this, Frank had to wake up.
"Frank, please…"
"OFF TO THE NURSE'S OFFICE WITH HIM!" Boone suddenly cried over them, making both Joe and John flinch.
Joe hadn't realized, in the time that it took him to plead to Frank to wake up, and to get lost in his head with thoughts, everyone else was starting to head to lunch already, only a few looking back at them with concern before continuing on their way. Probably having realized even if they wanted to help, being associated with their group in any way was like a death sentence at this point.
John and Joe met terrified eyes. The nurses office? If they brought Frank there, next thing they knew he'd probably end up like Montgomery, slowly losing himself and then disappearing before their eyes. Or, miraculously healing from his migraine and cuts and bruises, but never acting the same again.
No. No way.
"I SAID! GET HIM TO THE NURSE'S OFFICE!" Boone yelled again, his veins popping in anger.
"Frank, Frank, wake up! Please." Joe pleaded to Frank, then to Boone said, "No please, he's fine. He'll wake up."
The sergeant growled, clearly losing his patience, but before he could scream again or call for backup, John slapped Frank's cheek, and finally, finally, Frank awoke with a start, taking in a big lungful of air.
"Huh? Wha-?" He looked around in shock, shivering and squinting from pain, and swerving around to face Joe in confusion.
Joe didn't even have it in him to glare at John or tell him off for hitting Frank, when really, he probably just saved him. Without another word he pulled Frank into a tight embrace, squeezing him close, shaking with both emotion and from the cold.
Frank, even in his whonked out headspace, grabbed Joe back just as tightly.
"See? He's fine." John said to Boone.
Who just rolled his eyes in disgust. "Fine, whatever, doesn't matter to me. But you boys better hurry up or you'll miss lunch, and the afternoon drills!" Then Boone was walking away, leaving them alone in the blizzard, which was getting heavier and heavier still.
"Come on," John urged them, "We need to get out of the snow."
Frank still hadn't said much, but he looked more alert now, but still in terrible pain. So the other two boys had to help him again, and they trudged forward in the growing snow, to the cafeteria.
John, not trying to eavesdrop but being so close, couldn't help but hear that the few words Frank did whisper through his pain, were reassurances to his younger brother, and his heart ached for his own brother who'd been missing for so long now…
The three boys made it to the cafeteria only a little after everyone else, and forced themselves to eat hearty meals. Who knew what the afternoon drills would be. Even Frank finished all of his food, only gagging and scaring the others a few times but managing to keep everything down. He was barely functioning, but hadn't passed out again.
What Frank really needed more than anything else, was rest. Something that for the first time in their lives, was a luxury they didn't have.
Trying to keep an air of distraction up, Joe explained in a very hushed whisper to John, about the two undercover counselors that were meant to be helping them.
"But now that I mention it," Joe said so softly that only John could hear, "We haven't seen them anywhere, in a while."
Not out at the obstacle course, patrolling hallways, at drills, or even in the cafeteria.
Wherever the two 'counselors' were, they were gone. Disappeared just like their two good friends had.
But unlike with Tyler Hall and Brandon Montgomery, Joe couldn't even bring himself to worry or care that they'd gone missing.
Not even a bit. It's not like they were helpful anyways.
"They sound like two useless idiots." John responded, and that got a quick chuckle out of Joe.
But the good mood couldn't possibly last, what with Frank burrowing his head in his arms again, or with the cold frigid air around them. The cafeteria had a terrible heater, so everyone inside could feel the growing storm all around them.
"ATTENTION, CAMPERS." A loud speaker overhead blared to life as lunch was coming to a close. "Due to the blizzard bringing several feet of snow, with no end in sight- all drills for the rest of the day have been canceled. Everyone is expected to go back to their rooms. Dinner will be delivered to your barracks later this evening."
Everyone gaped, they couldn't believe their luck, and soon the cafeteria was full of cheering once more.
Joe felt relief flood him. Normally in this situation, they'd use this time to continue their investigations, but with how bad off Frank was, this would be the perfect opportunity for Frank to heal and feel better again. Several hours of uninterrupted sleep usually took out his migraines.
So with that, the three boys made their way back to their rooms with everyone else, wishing they could revel in the joy and excitement everyone else was feeling. A rare thing indeed for this terrible place.
By the time they got back to their rooms, Frank was so heavily exhausted and in pain, that he was panting. And there was no way Joe was leaving him like that.
"I'm staying with you guys." He said to John and Frank, "At this point there is no doubt that they're watching us, what with the others going missing…"
All three boys shared a melancholy look for their missing friends.
"So, there's no reason to hide it anymore, if they haven't done anything to stop us visiting each other's rooms so far, they're not going to stop us now."
John nodded his agreement. "That's fine with me. But listen, I am not going in the room right now."
Frank and Joe gave him a curious look.
"I am going to try and do some more digging, try and see if I find anything, while we have this time off."
"Be careful, John." Joe said, before Frank could try and dissuade him.
Maybe, it was a bad idea for John to go out and snoop right now, in fact it was probably a really bad idea. But they were running out of time. And Joe knew whatever he said to their British friend wasn't going to stop him anyways.
"I will." The brit nodded, then left quickly, as quick as a snake.
Joe helped Frank inside before closing the door behind them.
"I really hate the idea of John being out there by himself, especially if there's the chance that they might be watching us." Frank said through gritted teeth, his migraine longing for some peace and quiet, and causing him a lot of pain.
"I know." Joe agreed, "But hopefully he finds something and gets back here safely." He helped Frank over to his bed, "In the meantime, you really need some rest."
Frank nodded, and allowed Joe to help him lay down, putting his arm over his eyes and letting out a long relieved sigh.
"Alright, I will get some rest. Then tonight, we can finally talk to Dad on those stupid flip phones."
Joe nodded, "Yeah… and I think it's time we call him in."
This had Frank sitting up, surprised. "Really?"
Joe nodded, feeling the shame in his cheeks. "Yeah Frank, it's time, don't you think? I know we don't have the exact evidence Dad needs, but surely Tyler and Brandon going missing has to be enough for them to swarm this place. I'm starting to think, if we don't ask for the help now, we'll never make it out of here alive."
Joe expected some push back, or at least some hesitancy from Frank. They were so close to possibly figuring things out.
But instead a look of pure relief washed over Frank's face and he smiled gently at Joe.
"I think you're right." He said, "It's time. I know we wanted to solve this mystery on our own, but it's hard to do that without any form of backup."
Joe blanched, "So you don't think this is giving up?"
"No! Of course not. This way we can get everyone who is still alive, still here, out of here before it's too late for everyone. And who knows, maybe with Dad here, we can find the missing boys as well."
Suddenly, Joe felt angry. And he didn't know why. He was the one to suggest they call in Dad! Maybe he just hadn't expected Frank to give in so easily, maybe he was hoping Frank would be the strong one, and push for just a little bit longer. They were on the edge of something, he just knew it.
"NO! No, we have to see this through!" He sat straight up on John's bed, where he was now sitting across from Frank's, "No I was wrong, we can't just give up Frank! What about Tyler and Brandon? And John's brother Henry? And all the other missing boys. If we call Dad in, while still not having any proof… then they're as good as gone! They'll shut this place down, and we'll never get the whole truth. We'll save ourselves and these kids, but not the others. How can we live with ourselves if that happens?"
Joe was crying again, damnit! And Frank, even in his pain, came over to his side quickly.
"Joe, if we call in Dad, maybe they'll find the missing kids when they ransack this place. You're right that would mean we didn't finish our part of the job, and it'd make it harder to keep this place shut down for good, and could put Dad and the police force in some hot water with the people working so hard to keep this place open, but it would mean that us, and so many others would be safe, even for just a little while. And you're right, Tyler and Brandon going missing has to be enough evidence to at least get them here… we…"
"NO!" Joe yelled, shoving Frank back a bit, "I should never have suggested it. Gosh! I am such a fucking mess!" He buried his face into his hands and started to cry in earnest. "I am such a mess Frank. But I never should've suggested it. We can't give up on the missing kids. We can't!"
Frank sighed, and pulled Joe into a tight hug. "But Joe, we can't save anyone, if we're dead, too."
Joe shook hard, almost wailing in grief, fear, and pent up feelings he'd buried down that couldn't be buried any longer.
"Don't say that! Ok? Don't say that!" He glared at Frank, "Don't tell me this last mystery we're having together was a failure, that we went through all of this, just to give up! That we wasted the last normal holiday we have together, just to call on our DAD to fix everything!"
Frank, taken aback, pulled back a little in shock.
"What? Is this what you've been so upset about?" He asked his blonde haired little brother, "This whole time? You think this is the last mystery we're ever going to do together?"
Joe paled immediately. Well shit. The secret was out.
He shook with emotion, squeezing his hands into fists. "Yeah, ok?! You're going off to college in August, somewhere far away from po-dunk Bayport, and I am going to be stuck at high school for another year. You'll start your own life, and you won't need me anymore! NOTHING is ever going to be the same, ever again!"
Well, that was it. The weight he'd been holding onto for months, the pain, the sadness, the unfair feeling of betrayal and being left behind, all of it. Out in the open, no longer hidden.
Joe had failed this mystery, and now he was failing his big brother too.
He couldn't even look Frank in the eyes, just buried his head in his hands again as his shoulders continued to shake with heavy sobs.
Nothing in the world felt right anymore.
Frank sighed again, and Joe expected him to be defensive, or embarrassed for Joe even.
But of course, he was Frank, so he wrapped Joe in a tight hug again, this time a much softer one.
"Oh Joey, come on. I am never going to leave you behind." He stroked Joe's back softly, "I'm so sorry you felt like you needed to keep this from me for so long… I should've shared something important with you a long time ago. I am an idiot for not realizing you'd feel this way."
Joe looked up to meet his brother's eyes with confusion, but still too deeply emotional to be able to speak.
"I'm staying in Bayport." Frank continued.
Now, Joe found his voice, "Wait what? No! Frank you can't-"
"Bayport college has the 3rd top rated criminal justice program in the United States. I am going there. Well uh, I hope to anyways. I am waiting to hear back from the early decision board. I applied in secret, and was going to surprise you when… if… I get in there. I'm sorry, I never should've kept it from you."
Joe gaped. What?
He opened and closed his mouth a few times, struggling to find the words like a fish out of water.
Frank took that as an opportunity to keep going. "Before you say anything about me settling for third best, this was MY choice Joe, and I didn't just make it so I can be close to home. I won't lie and say that wasn't part of the decision, but also, I prefer this school over the others because of the professors they have there. Gordon Stevens, and Johnathan McNeil, two of the top detectives in recent history are retired and work as professors there now. I also want to go to Bayport because of them."
Joe, furiously whipped away his tears, shock and relief, and embarrassment flooding him. "How? How did I not know this about Bayport college?" He finally asked.
Frank just shrugged, and chuckled, "To be honest, I didn't know about it either until I looked up the program there just in case. I think we didn't know about it, because Dad has been talking about the University of Pennsylvania where his good friend went, and the University of Miami where he graduated, for so long, that Bayport college was never even on our radar. He spoke so highly of the criminal justice programs at those schools and several others, I didn't even expect to see that Bayport was the third rated when I randomly looked into it the first time. But as soon as I saw that, and who the professors are, I was hooked. I imagine Dad didn't mention it, cause he didn't want us to feel stuck to staying right at home, but Joe…" Frank put his hand on Joe's shoulder and forced Joe to look at him, "I mean it when I say this is my choice. A choice I am making not just for you and Dad and Auntie, but for me too. This is what I want. So don't even try to convince me otherwise-"
Joe threw himself into Frank's arms in a tight hug, laughing.
"Ugh! I am such an idiot. I should've just told you this ages ago, I was just trying to protect your feelings, and your future." He laughed.
Frank, with a soft grin of his own, hugged Joe back. "First, you're not an idiot. Second, clearly we both shouldn't keep secrets from one another. Finally, I don't know if I actually got in-"
"Of course you're going to get in!" Joe beamed, "You're Frank 4.0, you have a perfect GPA, and you have extra curriculars, and on top of that you're known around Bayport for solving mysteries. You're going to get in dude." Frank beamed back, "And… we're going to solve this mystery."
Frank's beam turned into a frown, "Joe…"
"Ok how about a compromise?" Joe interrupted, "We ask Dad to come help in 2 days. If we haven't solved it by then, we let them take over."
Frank groaned, "Joe, two days? That's like nothing. Why not just tell him-"
"Because I think we're close!" Joe interrupted… again. "We're close to solving this. I know we're in danger too, but if we give Dad the green light to come in a few days, at least we have a fighting chance to get this done!"
Frank still looked skeptical. "I don't know, Joe. I want to solve this as much as you do, but I also don't want any more close calls."
"Please Frank. Just give me this." Joe pleaded.
Finally, Frank gave in. "Fine. Fine! I don't like it, but fine. Let's solve this mystery."
Joe whooped, and Frank cringed.
"Oh geez, sorry, your migraine."
In all the excitement and drama of long held shame and secrets, Joe had forgotten the obvious pain Frank was in.
"Come on, get some sleep Frank, we'll talk more in a few hours."
At this point, Frank was too laid out to even argue. They turned the lights off, and he conked out immediately.
In the darkness, Joe looked up at the ceiling from Brandon's bed, thinking about how relieved he felt, and how stupid he felt as well, embarrassed too.
But it didn't matter. Frank was staying in Bayport.
Nodding off after a little while, Joe had a good dream about them in Bayport, back home near the fire, celebrating Christmas next week, safe, and happy.
Of course his dreams were interrupted several hours later, when dinner and their dumb flip phones were delivered, and Joe realized with even more embarrassment that John must've slipped in while they were sleeping and he was on his bed…
But John didn't say anything about that, ever the gracious one he'd become more recently, and just climbed off of Brandon's bed where he'd taken up the space instead.
The boys ate and discussed John's findings and their plan, with Frank finally looking better. John told them he didn't find much, sadly, but had gotten closer to breaking into the camp's system than ever before on an office computer he'd found. A little more time, and he might be able to break it open, which brought smiles to everyone's faces.
After dinner, the boys called their dad and asked him to come with the police troops in waiting, in 2 days. He reluctantly agreed, stating it might take that long to get there anyways through the blizzard.
And, after a relatively calm afternoon and evening, hopes rising, and hurts resolved, everything seemed to be winding down for the night in peace and quiet for once. The boys were about to settle themselves into their respective beds….
When Brandon Montgomery walked in.
Not saying a word, he walked right past the others and started gathering his stuff.
"Brandon!" Joe cried.
"You're back, thank God!" Frank exclaimed.
"What the fuck!? Where were you?" John growled.
Brandon ignored the flustered friends, but turned to look behind him.
Standing at the door, was the senior leader kid in army green clothes, smiling maliciously.
"He's with us, now." He stated simply.
A shiver of chills ran down the friend's backs.
And Brandon Montgomery, dead in the eyes except for a flicker of fear Joe swore he saw… walked out of the room with all of his stuff.
Not saying a word to them at all.
