During the Fall of 1977, when I was twelve years old, my parents were invited to a party one Friday night. And so I stayed over at my neighbors, under the watchful care of Marie (age 16), and in the company of her siblings Mona (11) and Tyler (9). I wasn't planning on playing any tie up games, but I did--and while I was extremely happy at first, I had no idea then that I would soon find myself in one of the most bizzare and...interesting moments of my young life.
As it happened, Marie, Mona and Tyler's parents were also out for the evening, and we four yucked it up as best as could. These kids had been exposed to a real live tie up game that we played this past summer, when my cousin Shirley teamed up with Mona to take my other cousin Donna and myself. When I arrived at their house right after school, I promptly spent most of the day and evening regaling Marie, Mona, and Tyler with stories of my more recent adventures with the gang at my Aunt Jean's house. Actually, Tyler and Marie appeared to be the only one who was really interested in what I had to say. Mona, however, kept shaking her head and rolling her eyes at me in disbelief.
Around 11:30 pm, Marie insisted that we kiddies get to bed--a decision that was met with howling disapproval by Mona and Tyler. But their parents would be home soon, because they had an early day tomorrow. They were taking Tyler and Mona shopping for clothes. Marie wasn't going because she'd already bought clothes for herself.
I knew they all had to get up early the next morning, so I offered no protest (not that I normally would, anyway). My bed consisted of nothing more than a sleeping bag on the floor of Tyler's bedroom. While Tyler was out of the room, I undressed and got into the sleeping bag. No sooner did I lay down than Tyler stormed into the room. He knelt down beside me and said that he absolutely had to show me something right now!
Of course, having been a willing captive in more tie up games then I could count by now, I knew a set up when I saw it. But since I wasn't tired--and I really wasn't looking forward to trying to sleep in this lumpy sleeping bag--I was more than happy to go wherever Tyler wanted me to go. I was barefoot and clad only in a pair of blue cotton shorts. When I stopped to put something on, Tyler nearly had a fit. "Don't bother with that!" he said impatiently. "Just come as you are!"
I put on my robe and left the front unfastened.
A narrow staircase led to the attic, which was a gothic wonderland. The roof of their house was crowned with many dormers, which resulted in the attic ceiling having multiple sharp angles. As we walked through a maze of boxes and furniture, the bare wood floor felt gritty beneath my feet. In short, it was a great place to get tied up in. Lots of moody atmosphere to feed my overactive imagination.
Tyler led me over to one of the dormers, where a massive sofa lay in storage. I saw what appeared to be a multitude of narrow strips of cloth material that were laid out neatly on top of the upholstered seat. There was even a strand of cloth with a knot tied in the middle for use as a gag. The fact that I was going to get tied up couldn't have been more obvious now--Tyler might as well have installed a flashing neon sign that read: Prepare to be bound!
"I got you!" Tyler screeched in triumph as he jumped up and down in place.
I held my hands up, not only in the official surrender gesture, but also to quiet him down. "Ok, ok, you got me. Don't wake everybody else up, all right?"
He ordered me to get on the sofa, and I did. I knelt on the cushion with my back facing him. "I'll do whatever you want," I said in my best timid captor's voice, "just don't hurt me."
Tyler grabbed a strip of cloth and used it to tie my hands together behind my back at the wrists. He then took the cloth with the knot in it and cleave-gagged me with it, making sure the knot was snugly inside my mouth. Then, the little creep blindfolded me with a black strip of cloth. He helped me to lay down on my left side, with my back facing the edge of the sofa. Once I lay my head against the cushion, a stale, musty odor permeated my nostrils. I let out a muffled grunt as Tyler tied my ankles together, then he bound my knees for good measure.
The cloth bonds were just as effective as rope. My limbs were securely bound, without the annoying sensation of the rope digging into my skin. I lay there, my heart racing with excitment, and my mind quickly supplying a fantasy for this scenario: I was abducted from my bed and stashed in this warm, stuffy attic--bound, gagged and blindfolded--until my ransom was paid by my parents. I didn't dare try to escape, for my abductor was still in the room with me.
Tyler was barefoot, like I was, and yet I could still hear him. He was always a very rambunctious kid who could never sit still for very long. And now, no doubt euphoric over having just bound and gagged his very first captive, Tyler sounded like he was bouncing off of the walls. Every now and then, he would give my bonds a sharp tug, as if to make sure I was securely tied. I didn't struggle; I hardly moved a muscle. I merely laid there quietly, acting like the terrified captive.
After a while, I heard Tyler quiet down. Then the whole attic grew silent. Some more time had passed, and I decided to test my bonds by giving my wrists a slight twist. I was startled when a hand grabbed my arm. Another hand pulled the blindfold from my eyes, and I found myself staring into Marie's face. Marie just shook her head at me as she untied my wrists. "You really love this game, don't you?" she whispered, with a bemused look on her face.
I could only give her a sheepish smile. I could feel my face blush a bright lobster red.
Once my wrists were free, she went to work untying my legs. I sat up and pulled my gag down. I glanced over at my "abductor". Tyler had taken a seat in a plush chair that was directly across from me...where he promptly fell asleep. After I was freed, it took Marie three attempts to finally get Tyler to wake up. He stumbled to his room with me and collapsed on his bed. I got back into the sleeping bag. While I was annoyed at having our game cut short, it was just as well, for Marie's parents had just returned home.
I went to sleep, thinking that should be grateful for having a chance to play a decent tie-up game. But it didn't end there.
After several hours' sleep, I awoke to the pale light of early morning...and Tyler, who was shaking me awake. Once he saw I was awake, he abruptly ordered me to go with him back upstairs to the attic. I woke up real fast right at that point, because I realized that Tyler had every intention of continuing our game from last night. But his parents were home, and in a few hours, they would be taking him and Mona shopping. Yet when I asked him about this, he said, in his best gruff voice: "C'mon, get moving. I ain't got all day!"
Obviously, he wanted to get in a quick game before everybody else woke up. After making a side trip to use the bathroom, I went back up with him to the attic. The place actually looked even more creepy with daylight streaming in through the dormer windows. He led me over to the same sofa I was tied up on last night. My wrists were bound together behind my back while I stood, then I was made to take a seat on one end of the sofa, where Tyler cleave-gagged me again with another strip of cloth. My feet were bound together at the ankles, and Tyler secured them with another strip of cloth to the sofa's leg. I was barefoot and still clad in the same outfit I had on last night: just the cotton shorts and my unfastened robe.
I heard the dinstinctive sound of people talking and going about their business from downstairs. When he heard this, Tyler promptly excused himself and left me alone in the attic. Despite how the gag garbled my words, I still called for him to untie me right now, but Tyler just kept walking away from me. I was afraid to try and shout or cry out, lest the wrong people--namely Tyler's parents--heard me. At least Tyler was smart enough to shut the attic door behind him.
As I sat back against the sofa and listened to the house come awake beneath me, I grew scared--and it wasn't the play-acting scared, but the bloodcurdling real sensation of panic. I mentally beat myself up for ever going along with the little creep. After what seemed like an hour, Tyler returned to the attic. He was now fully dressed, and he casually checked my bonds.
"Untie me!" I snarled through my gag.
Tyler replied that there was no reason for me to worry: he hid my clothes and told everybody that I had already left! I started shaking my head furiously as Tyler slowly backed away from me with a huge, toothy grin on his face. "I gotta go now, Doug. See you later!"
I could only stare in shock and outrage as the little $#@% turned on his heel and strode out of the attic. I was left alone once more. It took me several minutes just to regain my composure. I had to get out of here, but first things first: I had to get myself free. That was easier said than done. Tyler decided to double-bind my wrists together with two strands of cloth this time. And I was also hampered by the fact that my ankles were tied to the sofa's leg. But I forced myself to think of a way that I could free my ankles from the sofa leg--then I would worry about freeing my ankles, and then I would worry about finding a way to untie my wrists. Nice and easy, one step at a time.
I tried contorting my body so I could reach my bound ankles from where I sat on the sofa, but this proved to be impossible. I realized that I would have to get on the floor in order for my bound hands to reach my ankles. And so, I slowly and carefuly slid off the cushion into a kneeling position--at least, that was what I planned. What actually happened was I misjudged my balance, and when I slid into a kneeling position, I fell forward and landed flat on my face on the floor. ow!
After I spent a few moments to heal my bruised ego, I writhed and squrimed along the very gritty and dirty wooden attic floor until my body was bent back almost as if I was hogtied. In this position, my bound hands could finally reach the knot which secured my ankles to the sofa leg, and I went to work. While I pulled at the knot, I overheard the sound of car doors slamming shut outside, followed by the rumble of an engine starting up. I let out a sigh of relief when I heard this, because I now knew I at least didn't have to worry about somebody walking in on me.
The problem with cloth bonds is that that knot sometimes has a tendacy to become tighter and actually shrink. Still, I was able to pick the knot loose and free my bound feet from the sofa leg. Then I went to work on freeing my ankles. The knot that bound them was on the opposite side of my ankles, out of reach of my hands. I solved this problem when I realized I could pull the cloth around my ankles until the knot swung within reach of my hands--this was something I could never do with rope bonds.
With my legs free, I got to my feet. I still had a major problem: how to get my wrists untied. I looked around for something sharp to cut them with, but that was dangerous--because, if I slipped, I would accidently cut myself, and that was not an option. I decided to go downstairs so I could use a mirror to see what kind of knot I was dealing with on my wrists. I carefully descended the attic steps, then turned my back to the door so my bound hands could twist the knob open.
Once I was in the second floor hallway, I saw what I needed. A huge mirror hung on the wall in front of a small table. I paused to stare at my reflection: a tousled-haired kid with a cleave-gag in his mouth stared back at me. His arms were pulled behind his back, and the robe he wore was covered with dust and grit from the attic floor. I looked absolutely ragged, and no doubt this was probably what a true kidnapping victim looked like. I strode up to the mirror and turned sideways so that I could examine the bonds on my wrists.
Just then, one of the bedroom doors swung open. Marie stepped into the hallway and gaped at me. She was barefoot and clad in a robe. I stared back at her with wide eyes. I had completely forgotten that Marie wasn't going shopping with her parents and siblings.
"Douglas! What the--" She stopped herself long enough to come over to me and pull the gag down from my mouth. Then she paused and placed her hands on her hips. "Tyler lied, didn't he? You were playing another tie up game, and he left you bound and gagged, right?"
"Yes," I croaked. My mouth was bone dry from the gag.
"Oh, Doug," she said as her hand touched the side of my face. But instead of a gentle caress, I cringed when Marie pinched my ear lobe. "You little idiot! What were you thinking?! I mean, look at you, jeez!"
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," I said through clenched teeth.
Just when it felt as if she was going to pull my ear lobe off, Marie finally released me. She explained that while it wasn't completely my fault--Tyler certainly bore the brunt of the blame for this situation--I wasn't completely innocent in this matter. I should have known better than to try and play a tie up game at such an inopportune time as this. And she was absolutely right. If I had excercied my better judgement and said no, I never would have been in this predicament in the first place.
Bear in mind that all the while she made this eloquent speech, my wrists were still tied together behind my back. Marie made no motion to untie me, and I was so sheepish, so embarassed by my plight, that I didn't have the nerve to ask her. She went into Tyler's room to get my clothes, but that was when we ran into a little problem. Tyler told me he hid my clothes, but he didn't say where he hid them. After turning his room upside-down, and not finding my clothes, Marie gave up. She came over and asked, "Are you hungry, Doug?"
I nodded instantly. I was famished! I turned my back towards her so that she could untie my wrists, but instead of doing that, Marie grabbed my arm and led me down to the kitchen. I was made to sit at the table, with my hands still bound behind my back, while Marie made me a quick but satisfying breakfast of cold cereal topped with sliced bananas. Just when I began to wonder how Marie expected me to eat with my hands tied, she finally freed my wrists and handed me a spoon.
Tyler could have hidden my clothes anywhere, so Marie decided that the best thing to do would be to simply wait for him to come home, since I wasn't going anywhere dressed as I presently was. I had fastened my robe, but that was little comfort. At least Marie remained in her robe, as well. I'm not sure if she planned it that way, but I felt better, because I wasn't the only underdressed person there--in fact, we were both dressed the same. While I ate, Marie peppered me with plenty of questions about the tie up games I played. She appeared genuinely interested, and I was only to eager to tell her about whatever she wanted to know.
Due to my lack of clothing (as well as the fact that everybody thought I had already left), I waited in Marie's room until Tyler returned with his sister and parents. When Tyler saw me, he broke up into laughter--then he let out a whine when Marie twisted his ear lobe between her fingers. "Get his damned clothes right now!" she ordered.
Tyler got my clothes (he hid them somewhere in the basement), I got dressed and sneaked out of the house. And that was that...at least, until a month later, when I would find myself playing an even more bizarre tie up game--a game that made this one seem tame by comparision; a game that had been initiated by none other than Marie herself. That one's next. As always, thanks for reading.