During the early summer of 1978, when I was thirteen years old, my cousins came up to my house for a two week visit. They brought along Karen (14), a neighbor of theirs who also became a very good friend of mine over the years. On Thursday of the first week of their stay, we had all learned the good news that Becca and her brother Jim would be spending the weekend with us, starting tomorrow. It was something that had been in the planning stages for a while, but now, everything was a go. We kids were excited that Becca and Jim would be joining us by the lake, because then it would seem truly like a reunion of the Usual Suspects. The only person who was less than enthusiastic was my father--who, for the last week, had been muttering about how he felt like a summer camp counselor.
When my father left for work that morning, my youngest cousin George (age 8) and I saw him off. Just before he left, my Dad turned to me and said, "If you ever want a little brother, then you'd better kidnap George, because that's the only way you're going to get one."
Now, my father never knew about our tie up games. And when he said that, George and I both laughed and took it for the joke that it was. But after my father left for work, I stared at George in a new light.
I was barefoot and shirtless, clad only in a pair of cut off shorts. And George, who had this weird habit of trying to dress exactly like I did, was also barefoot and shirtless, clad only in a pair of cut-off shorts (I was amazed to see that he had even packed a pair of cut-offs).
George had stared out the window, lost in thought, until he noticed me staring at him. An alarm must have went off in his head, because George started to slowly and warily back away from me.
I reached out and grabbed him by the nape of his neck. Then I leaned forward and said, "Well, my father did say I should kidnap you...."
George let out this hysterically funny little squeal as he tried to get away, but I caught him in a bear hug from behind and hand-gagged his mouth. "Shhhhh!" I went in his ear. "Shhhhh!"
I glanced up and saw that we were being watched. George's sister Shirley (12) stood in a doorway, enjoying every moment of her little brother's "abduction". She wore a light, summer dress and was barefoot.
"Don't try anything funny," I told her, "or the little guy gets it!"
Shirley happily put her hands up in surrender.
I put my hand on the back of George's neck, then grabbed Shirley's arm with my other hand and led them to my room, where I got my bondage bag. Then I took them both to the deepest, darkest area of my home that I could think of: the basement. My house was situated on a slight hill overlooking the lake, so we never had to worry about our basement getting flooded (in fact, many years later, when the lake overflowed its banks, half of our back yard was submurged, but our house--and the basement--still stayed dry).
I tied George's wrists together behind his back, then I tied Shirley's wrists in the same fashion. I gagged their mouths with strips of duct tape. Both little brother and big sister huddled together with their hands tied behind their backs, and stared at me over their gags with wide eyes. Little did they know that I was just getting started.
Our basement had these thin support beams that held up the house above our heads. I made Shirley and George sit down on the opposite sides of one of these beams, then I tied them to the beam by wrapping a rope around their torsos. I made sure that the rope wasn't too tight--I didn't want them to be uncomfortable, I just wanted them to be held in place. I bound George's ankles together with rope, then I went around and tied Shirley's ankles, as well.
I stood over my captives and gave them a satisfied smile. I imagined that I was holding them for ransom. But I was missing their oldest sister Donna (14) and her friend--as well as mine--Karen (also 14). I grabbed my bondage bag and went hunting.
I found Donna and Karen outside. It turned out that after they helped my mother clean up after breakfast, they went looking for Shirley, George and me. Donna was clad in shorts with a tank top while Karen wore jeans and a t-shirt. Both girls were barefoot. I strode up to them and asked, "Looking for Shirley and George?"
Donna and Karen stared at the bondage bag in my hand, then gave me a wary look, as if to say, "What are you up to?"
"Come with me, and I'll show you where Shirley and George are," I said.
They exchanged a knowing look. Then Karen shrugged as she put her arms up in surrender. Donna did the same. I escorted my new victims back into the house and led them to the basement.
Once there, I got the shock of my life.
Shirley and George were gone! All that was left of them were strips of rope that lay on the floor like dead snakes. The tape that I used to gag them also lay on the floor. To say that I was amazed would be putting it mildly. I was stunned!
But a further shock was waiting for me once I descended the stairs and placed a bare foot on the cool concrete floor. Shirley and George came out from under the steps and held a pair of plastic pistols in my face. "WE GOT YOU, WE GOT YOU!" they both screamed with joy.
At no point in my game as captor did I actually use a toy pistol. So, technically, I was unarmed and could be taken captive by these little creeps.
Remember how I was so careful in not tying too tight the rope that bound George and Shirley to the beam? Well, I guess I was too careful for my own good, because that rope was just loose enough for George to writhe around the beam until he was able to reach his sister's hands and untie them.
Shirley and George's screaming caught the attention of my mother, who came downstairs and shooed us out of the basement. She gave the classic mother's speech about how it was too nice a day outside for us kids to be in the basement all day.
And so Shirley and George's retribution against me had to wait until we could figure out where it would take place. The answer arrived in the form of my neighbor Mona (12). She had become good friends with Shirley when they first met last year. She came over to my house to see if Shirley wanted to do anything. When Shirley replied that she'd love to, but she had to get back at me for tying her up, Mona suggested we go over to her house.
And so Doug the hostage was escorted up the street to Mona's abode, which she shared with her older sister Marie and little brother Tyler. Marie and Tyler weren't home at the moment, and Mona's parents were out working, so this made their house perfect to keep me captive.
Karen delayed going with us because she wanted to go back inside my house and change out of her jeans. She said she would meet us up at Mona's.
Once we arrived at Mona's, I was taken to--of all places--the living room. I was made to lie right down in the center of the room on the carpeted floor. George and Shirley got busy binding me, while Mona got busy with her mouth. She ran on like a chatterbox while my wrists were bound together behind my back by Shirley, who casually chatted with Mona all the time. George busied himself by tying my legs together at the ankles and knees. Donna leaned against the side of a recliner and watched this with great bemusement.
I was gagged with duct tape by Shirley, who then proceeded to step over me and stroll out the room with Mona. They never paused their conversation once.
George knelt next to me and rechecked my knots--until he was called over by Donna, who spoke to him in whispered, conspiritorial tones.
I watched them as I lay face down on the carpeted floor. George had collected the roll of tape and leftover rope and placed it back into my bondage bag. Then he ran over to Donna, and they both slid down in the corner, right behind the recliner. They were hiding. But from what? I certainly wasn't in any condition to bother them.
After a good ten minutes of steady silence, broken only by my cousins' whispered giggling, I heard the creak of the floorboards. I glanced up and saw Karen.
She stood in the living room doorway, staring at me with wide eyes. Barefoot, she traded her t-shirt and jeans for a tank top and shorts. From the way she cautiously entered the living room, and the overly frightened manner and which she glanced around, I could tell that Karen had used this situation to act out another of her Nancy Drew fantasies. I really didn't mind. Because what was about to happen next made it all worth it:
Just as Karen knelt down before me (with her back turned to the recliner) Donna and George sprung out from behind the recliner and tackled Karen...right on top of me. There was much laughter (which I also joined in, despite the gag on my mouth) as Donna pulled Karen off of me and sat her up on the floor.
"I knew you were gonna do this," Donna said, as she waved a finger at Karen. "I just knew it! So, you wanna join him?"
"Do I have a choice?" Karen asked, as she glanced up at Donna and George.
My cousins exchanged a glance, then Donna said, "No."
Karen was bound and gagged right on the floor next to me. Her wrists were tied behind her back, and her legs bound together at the ankles and knees. Donna gagged her with the duct tape.
"Have fun!" Donna said, as she and George left Karen and me on the living room floor.
The living room, with its rich, exquisite decors, that only added to this situation. In my warped little mind, I figured that Karen and I were a pair of junior detectives who were prowling around the bad guy's lair until we got captured. We were left bound and gagged, still clad in our casual summer clothes, in the villain's parlor.
If Karen was savoring the moment, she didn't show it. Instead she wiggled and writhed her way over to me (a sight which I'm always pleased to see) until we lay within reach of each other's bound hands. I craned my head over my bare shoulder as I delicately tugged at the knot which bound Karen's wrists together. After a few good tugs, the knot came undone, and Karen sat up and removed her gag.
I lay there, waiting patiently, while Karen bent over and untied her legs. Finally, when she was completely free, Karen came over and knelt down before me. I lay my head against the floor and waited for her to untie my wrist...and I waited...and waited...and waited.....
When nothing happened, I glanced up and saw Karen looming over me with her hands dangling over my bare torso. She had this insane look on her face as she said, "Ticki Wicki Woo!"
Nancy Drew goes psycho! Film at eleven!
I tried to curl myself up into a ball in a feeble effort to protect myself. But all it took was Karen tickling my sides and I was a mass of wiggling jello. It was...awful, just awful. (Well, all right, it wasn't that bad). At the end, when I was nothing more than a quivering wreck with tears (of laughter) streaming down my cheeks, Karen finally untied me.
"Well, that was fun," Karen said with satisfaction.
After I had untied my legs, I got to my feet and said, "Not as much fun as this is gonna be!"
Karen let out a shriek as I chased her throughout the entire house. We wound up doing a high speed tour of the entire ground floor of my neighbor's home. Marie and Tyler came home, bogged down with groceries, just as Karen and I came charging into the kitchen. Karen stopped on a dime and quickly volunteered to help with the groceries. She stayed close to Marie--all the while watching me carefully out of the corner of her eye. It was just as well, because by this time, the both of us were drenched in sweat. Later, Tyler kept bugging me to play a tie up game with him right then and there, but I was too tired. After we helped with the groceries, all of us hung out in the back yard. Tyler bemoaned the fact that he just missed a tie up game, and probably would never ever play another one again. Oh, little did Tyler realize just how wrong he was! Next time, fun with Becca & Jim. As always, thanks for reading.