The Hanging Tree

f o u r

ARE YOU ALL HIKING TO THE TOP too?" A middle-aged woman stared back at the odd group of seven, oblivious to the current situation. "That's so exciting! We can hike together! Frank, Carolyn, Trenton! Get over here! I found us some hiking buddies!" She called off behind her.

Nancy watched as her captors exchanged a look that clearly translated to, 'do we shoot her, or not?' Nancy prayed that they wouldn't, because then they might actually have a better chance of escaping or calling for help.

The rest of their "hiking buddies" - who must've been known as Frank, Trenton, and Carolyn - jogged over to greet them. They took turns introducing themselves and Nancy discovered that the mother's name was Melissa, Frank was the father, and Carolyn and Trenton were their children.

Her kidnappers must've decided to prolong their decision of whether or not to kill this family. But Nancy had no clue what went on in their demented minds. For all she knew, she could wake up the following morning and find that they all had bullets through their heads.

"So, what brings you all here?" Melissa asked. "We just have a passion for hiking. We go out every Friday after the kids finish their studies and hike all weekend."

"We decided to try a family hunting trip." The woman [who said her name was 'Claudia' - Nancy doubted it] spoke up, covering her tracks.

"Forgive me for asking so many questions, but why are you two wearing masks?" Melissa questioned, pointing to Nancy's captors.

"There are some terrible bugs up here," The man [who was apparently 'Gary'] quickly answered, obviously frightened - and not at all forgiving - about all the questions.

"Why don't the kids have any protection, then?" Frank inquired.

Nancy wanted to yell out the fact that they had been taken, but she remembered the threat about Jess and clamped her mouth shut.

"Oh, we don't mind a few bugs," Damian forced a smile, coming to the rescue. Surely they would've been punished if he hadn't stepped in.

"What happened to her?" Trenton pointed to Jess, who was still slack over Gunnar's shoulder.

"She slipped and hit her head on a rock." Nancy managed to get out through clenched teeth, internally yelling at herself to let them in on what was really happening.

"Ooh, yikes." Melissa didn't really look concerned at all, which made Nancy suspicious. Something fishy was going on with this family. Nancy narrowed her eyes at the supposedly preppy mother and she began stomping up the mountain, determined to get to the bottom of this new occurrence.

"Chop chop, people," She yelled back at them. "This mountain isn't going to climb itself." Nancy put on a brave face, but she was really freaking out on the inside. Now that there was another 'mystery' to solve, she definitely had to enlist someone else to help her decipher the intricate case. Who did she trust? Well, she didn't [and couldn't] exactly trust anyone [at least, not when you're being held captive and brought to your death] but if she had to pick someone [which she did] it would be Drew. He was her counterpart, in order to solve the mystery he had to be by her side so as to complete the infamous name - Nancy Drew.

Right as she was concluding her thoughts, Drew sidled up next to her. "You know, I've been analyzing your actions and-"

"That actually sounded really creepy, not going to lie." Nancy nudged him with a slight smile. "Continue, though."

"I was going to say I've seen that look on your face a lot in this past day, and I think it means you're scheming." He pointedly looked at her.

"God, you're good! How did you know that?" Nancy was appalled by this boy's [seemingly] never-ending skill.