Here Comes the Hardaways!

A monkey stared upward at the twinkling chandelier, caused by the moonlight streaming through the lone, unboarded window in the abandoned mansion's shadow-lined dining room. Fascinated by the dazzling display, the small primate never heard his best friend's footsteps.

"Koko-Koo, what are you doing?" the slim-built teen with shaggy brown hair questioned, throwing his hands out. "I thought we were scrounging up some grub?"

Koko-Koo squeaked a response that only Ziggy Grasshoff could understand.

"Dude, I know this is a haunted, abandoned mansion. It's also called Marmalade Manor! C'mon, there's got to be goodies somewhere in the kitchen pantry," Ziggy said, leaning down.

With the monkey crawling up on his shoulder, Ziggy returned to the kitchen. Having already checked the cobweb-lined cabinets, he next opened the grime-covered refrigerator. The oversized door took several hard tugs to open. And when it did, a foul stench hit Ziggy and Koko-Koo's noses.

"Yikes!" the teen exclaimed, slamming the fridge door shut. Koko added a screech. "Maybe the icebox in a--What?" Ziggy questioned after his monkey's insistent tapping on his head.

Turning in the direction where the refrigerator's open door had been seconds earlier, Ziggy's eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped. In response, a purple blob with yellow eyes cackled.

"G-Gh-Ghost!" Ziggy stammered.

After a three-second staredown that felt like three minutes, Ziggy's feet began shuffling a million miles per hour before he launched forward as if a catapult fired. Racing through the Marmalade Manor's dining room, he missed the door to the hallway, continuing into the study. Taking a wide trajectory, Ziggy--with Koko-Koo clinging to his hair for dear life--shot out of the study door into the grand foyer.

Heading back past the foyer entrance to the dining room, Koko screeched as the ghost did a double-take while slamming to a halt before it reached the study. Ziggy saw it too, throwing his hands up in the air. He also spotted Wilma Hilda at the far end of the hallway, waving him toward the conservatory.

"It's the Grape Ghost!" Ziggy screamed, passing the grand staircase to its right.

"Now!" another voice yelled.

Suddenly, Ziggy and Koko-Koo tumbled to the floor. A wide net had fallen down from the ceiling, entangling them. Immediately, Zig sensed the danger, turning over in time to see the Grape Ghost stop at the sight of the trapped teenager. The purple blob let loose a hearty round of laughter.

"Plan B, Tish!" the voice from above called out again.

With its laughter trailing off, the Grape Ghost looked up in time to see a large object swinging down on a rope from the second-story landing. The stone bust slammed into the purple phantom, disintegrating in the process while also knocking the frightful fiend into a giant grandfather clock.

"Let's get him, gang!" Rex Hardaway, a dashingly handsome blond teenager, ordered, sliding down the staircase's long railing.

Landing on his feet expertly, the leader of The Question Society dragged the rope line toward the moaning costumed crook. Off its feet, it was now evident that the Grape Ghost wasn't a real phantom but a person in a long, flowing purple cloak.

Neither Rex, Ziggy, nor Koko-Koo noticed the grandfather clock had continued sliding slowly along the wall. Where it once stood now revealed an opening.

"Rex, watch out!" Wilma yelled from the end of the hallway.

A colossal brute emerged from the new opening.

"D-Dr-Drago!" Ziggy sputtered as one of their past villains turned menacingly toward Rex.

"Leave him alone, monster!" a voice ordered from the second floor.

Then, an athletic, strawberry blonde jumped off the second-story railing. Swinging down on a rope attached to a beam underneath the vaulted ceiling, she slammed into the brute from behind with her feet.

"Thanks, Tish," Rex said in response.

"Anytime, Rex," Tish Satin declared, standing atop the **** ogre's back.

Out of nowhere, a blur slammed into the strawberry blonde as she posed for effect, sending her to the floor.

"Swamp Vixen?' Rex gasped, surprised at the appearance of his mystery gang's second past villain.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed from the opening next to the grandfather clock. With Tish and Swamp Vixen rolling around on the floor, Rex, Wilma, and a still entangled Ziggy turned their heads toward the footstep sounds. They all gasped as a person thought to be dead emerged.

"The Question Society? How did you find The Masters of Mischief's hidden lair?"

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Kid Casanova. Life isn't always hugs and kisses," Rex proclaimed, standing tall with his hand posed on his hip.

"And The Question Society will discover tonight's answer is their last!" Kid Casanova threatened, drawing an arrow from his quiver.

Suddenly, the image flickered before vanishing entirely.

The lights turned on.

Standing where the projection had been was a man with short blond hair, blue eyes, and a dashingly distinguished and handsome face.

"I am Rex Hardaway, founding leader of the original version of The Question Society, the greatest teen detective group in history."

Next, a woman with long, strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes, medium-sized breasts, and a toned ass stepped forward.

"And I'm Tish Hardaway! Co-founder with Rex of The Shrouded Veil."

"Mystery-solvers of America, welcome to the eighth edition of the Young Sleuths Challenge!" Rex threw his arms up as a smattering of applause began from the assembly in the camp's dining hall. "You just witnessed Hollywood's version of The Question Society and its adventures. But, as with all film interpretations, there is some truth mixed with an abundance of fiction. For one, none of our past culprits ever broke out of prison to form a super-group such as The Masters of Mischief."

"And the studio replaced my cousin, Andromeda Nebula, with a monkey," Tish added, shaking her head.

"I hate that monkey," Rex growled under his breath while clenching his fist. Then, he raised his voice again. "Our real-life investigations weren't stumbling upon a few clues along with a heavy dose of happenstance. No, The Question Society's casefiles are filled with danger, thrilling moments, costumed crooks, and unique settings."

"A portion of which we like to bring to the Young Sleuths Challenge," Tish teased.

"As you're all fully familiar with, the YSC is a premier, one-of-its-kind event that tests and trains the next generation of teen detectives," Rex continued, not noticing the sizable number of shrugs from this year's competitors. "The challenge takes place every three years because of our meticulous planning and careful attention to every detail."

"We scout and select locations based on unique local lore. Wicket Valley features not only tales of lost outlaw loot but also a haunted ghost town, along with an alleged supernatural grove," Tish explained.

"The challenge is comprised of three phases. The first begins tomorrow and tests your teamwork abilities. The second revolves around your clue-finding and witness interviewing skills. And finally, the grand finale will test all of your various skills in a mystery reminiscent of our old Question Society investigations," Rex announced.

"As your brief tours showed, there are several public locations that you will regularly visit to interact with our staffers portraying potential witnesses, suspects, and red herrings. Besides the park itself, Mr. Matcham, the owner of this camp, has allowed us to use his family's abandoned ranch. Also, the Buckle family has graciously offered the use of their Rusty Buckle Lodge. Now, Mistcreek, the once thriving mining town turned ghost town, has questionable ownership claims. However, none of the sides involved in the legal wrangling have objected to our using the currently named Creaky Town," Tish continued to explain the YSC's locations.

"There are several rules for the YSC that must be followed. One: Use of the internet is forbidden. We're testing your minds, not your typing skills. Two: Cheating of any kind will result in expulsion. Three: We understand that you're all teenagers with teenage hormones. However, sexual relations should occur only during designated break and rest periods and inside your cabins. Do not engage in sexual conduct during the investigations or at the locations. We do not want a repeat of the previous Young Sleuths Challenge," Rex declared.

"Yes, the last YSC experienced multiple issues besides the sexual shenanigans," Tish revealed. "We had more accidents than usual happen to competitors, along with several teams getting lost or trapped. Although circumstances can differ, we believe most of those problems occurred because of sloppiness or an obsession with sex."

"To return the YSC to its roots, we have brought back the last four winning team captains for the first time ever. These individuals have an appreciation for the honor that it is to call themselves a YSC alum. So Tish and I would like to welcome back Rhett Bragg, the captain of the Clue Cultivars, the reigning winner of The Spectacled Sleuth Cap," Rex said, offering a round of applause to a dark-haired college student.

"We're also thrilled to have a trio of female leaders return with Olivia Vane, Jessica Galloway, and Fawn Graff. They represent the championship teams from six, nine, and twelve years ago. Jessica will also be handling most of the transportation along with her regular duties. Similarly, Jennifer White, a competitor from six years ago, will be in charge of safety and security. In addition, many members of the YSC staff will have secondary roles. This includes Taylor Bishop and Peyton Tarver, who will provide any first aid assistance," Tish listed while motioning to each young woman.

"Speaking of Bishops, I'm absolutely thrilled to have Zachary Bishop as one of this year's team's captains. Zack's father, Daniel Bishop, won our first-ever challenge twenty-one years ago. This milestone represents everything we wanted with the YSC. Passing the torch from father to son just warms my heart. A true generational changing of the guard."

"Rex," Tish hissed, motioning toward the staffers.

"Oh, right, Daniel is also Taylor's father as well," Rex added belatedly. "However, for Tish and myself, this year represents a parent's dream too. Although our daughter has been at nearly every YSC, she hasn't been allowed to participate in any meaningful way for legal reasons. Now a freshman in college, our little girl will finally be a staff member. Mystery, come on up here. C'mon on!"

A nineteen-year-old with long, straight strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes, medium-sized breasts, and a tight ass gave off a loud sigh. Not appearing as happy as her parents, Mystery **** herself to stand up and give the rest of the room a wave. Only at her mother's prodding did the coed say anything.

"I prefer to be called Misty. I hate the name Mystery," she revealed before sitting back down.

"Thank you, Mystery," Rex responded. "Now, I would like to introduce our competitors to this year's staff. First, we have a pair of siblings, Winchester and Abilene Kern. The Kerns are locals from this area, so they're a wonderful resource if anyone wants to know more about the valley or the terrain outside this pocket of greenery."

"We also have two former competitors from the last YSC that have provided additional help in planning and setting up this year's event. Sonnet Sangsom isn't in the dining hall at this moment. She's outside waiting for our late-arriving final team. Yet, Sonnet has helped these past two years in crafting many of the character roles that our other staff members will play in the events," Tish explained before continuing.

"Sherwin, please step forward. Thank you! Unfortunately, Sherwin Tinker's Questioneers team finished in last place three years ago. Yet, Sherwin showed remarkable ingenuity in discovering his lost team. They'd somehow gotten locked inside an underground prison on the plantation's grounds. This wasn't a location that either Rex or myself had been aware of, but Sherwin found and rescued his team. That feat and his considerable knowledge of past YSCs led to Sherwin helping plan the events you will participate in over the next week. In many ways, Sherwin is our assistant. So keep that in mind."

"Yes, yes," Rex said dismissively and impatiently. "To help correct mistakes from the last challenge, we've taken to hiring locals from each of our competing cities. So I'd like to introduce our staff members from Amethyst Shore, Greenwall, Honey Hollow, Redwater, and Azure Rocks. A few are even past YSC competitors."

As Rex and Tish alternated in rattling off the staff names, they allowed only brief moments for each staffer to step forward and wave their hand or nod. Many of the young men and women earned cheers or catcalls from the teens from their hometowns. Eventually finished, Rex took a moment to point out one town and its team.

"Cherry Cove only has Rhett listed officially as its staffer. However, as that is our hometown, we felt they didn't need as much support as they're the most experienced team at this year's challenge. Some of the other teams have limited experience in investigatory work. A few aren't more than reading clubs. However, recent world events have kept many of you indoors for the last couple of years. Your legwork skills might not be the sharpest, but we have faith in your minds."

"Don't consider yourself underprepared," Tish cut in quickly. "You might not have the experience level of The Cherry Clue Coterie, but Rex and I are just as excited to prepare your mystery-solving squads for the real-life adventures you'll encounter after leaving this year's event."

"And I have a strong feeling that apples don't fall far from the tree," Rex added, smiling broadly at the Azure Rocks' table. "Now, I'd like to introduce each of our seven team captains. Unfortunately, one team still hasn't arrived due to a flight delay. So for now, let's--"

Rex's next words died on his tongue as Sherwin raced over to whisper into Tish's year.

"Well, speak of the devil. It appears that our final squad has arrived," she announced, turning to face the main set of doors. "Ah, here's Sonnet."

A short, petite young woman with a black bob hairstyle, blue eyes (with eyeglasses), medium-sized breasts, and a fit ass walked through the door. Sonnet Sangsom didn't cause much of a stir, outside of the several men and a few women liking what they saw.

It was the white-haired teenager walking in the door behind Sonnet that caused a major round of gasps from the Honey Hollow table. That's because Olena Olesky happened to be their classmate. The immediate chatter among The Magnifying Bees got interrupted by a milder handful of gasps at the sight of a sturdy-built teen with a linebacker's physique that followed Olena inside. Several of them knew Jared Lockett from Rattle Ridge fairly well.

The next four individuals didn't raise an eyebrow from their table. But a blonde cheerleader-type that bounced in through the door next caused a stir at the Greenwall Wolf Pack's table. They couldn't believe their eyes as Kennedy Thomas flashed them a smirk. The same could be said for the Redwater Raiders' table as a large-breasted brunette stopped in the doorway to fix her hair. Only when satisfied did Shannon Lysette walk in as if she owned the Camp Wee Wicket dining hall.

The Amethyst Shore Assassins erupted when an athletically built, handsome blond teenager sauntered through the door. A blonde Assassin exclaimed, "What the fuck?!" when her eyes fell on him. While scanning the other tables for beautiful girls, Sam Wayne didn't pay much attention to his sister's reaction.

The final guy to walk in the door had Rex turning to study the Azure Rocks' section. He had a specific interest in how The Azures Nobles' captain, Zack Bishop, would react to his cousin, Harrison Cullen's surprise appearance.

Despite The Question Society and The Shrouded Veil founding member's claim that The Masters of Mischief didn't exist in real life, Rex Hardaway might need to rethink that assertion after studying the qualities of the newly assembled group.