The yellow-orange flames gave off an acidic smoke that burned Joe's throat. His hands and feet were bound to the arms of the chair with coarse rope. He struggled as the flames crept closer and closer, hurting his already raw wrists that was tied to the chair.

His concussed head was feeling the strain, as he waited for Frank to turn up. His older brother was the smart one who didn't get himself caught by the psychopaths. He tried to remember how he had gotten into this situation in the first place.

It all started on their first day of the summer holidays when the weather was nice and hot. The two brothers were taking a trip down to the beach. Joe watched his brother from the passenger seat.

The boy in question was staring at the road, biting the side of his lip in concentration, something that their father did. Joe smiled when he thought of the similarities between the two. Frank Hardy was eighteen, a year older than Joe and inherited his father's looks. Girls always thought him to be the tall, dark and handsome type.

Joe was his exact opposite. He was a year younger, blonde hair and blue eyes, to Frank's brown hair and brown eyes. He inherited his mother's looks. However, the two were still best friends who would do anything for the other.

The cloudless, cobalt blue sky looked down on the two boys as they drove to the beach in the scorching heat. Driving along the road, music blaring in the background, life couldn't have been better for the teens as they thought about the swimming and the girls, in Joe's mind anyway.

Suddenly, their world jerked violently forward. A black SUV smashed into the rear of their silver Ford. Joe's head hit the dashboard. Frank started to turn the wheel frantically, trying to gain control of the car as it was pushed into the guardrail. He kept talking to Joe but the ringing in his ears was too much. Eventually, he gave in to the blackness.