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by Dingbat
This story is a work of fiction, all characters and plot lines are fictional. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Mark Gets Schooled! remains the property of the author. The story or characters may not be reproduced or republished elsewhere without the expressed written consent of the author.
Kevin wondered if it was just his imagination, or if Doug had been spending more time with him since he returned from vacation, and, almost overnight, turned in to one of the best captors in the neighborhood. His cousins out west were part Indian, between an eighth and a quarter, but he was just one sixteenth. Still, he had that Cheyenne blood in him.
He'd told his cousins about the games of "hide and go seek" and "team chase" that he played at home, and his cousins were eager to learn more. Kevin gladly explained the rules, and the other end of the bargain, was that they taught Kevin how to tie knots, and, more importantly to Kevin, they taught him how to tie up a captive, and keep him tied.
Now the 11 year old was back home, and within a week after resuming the games, and being the guest at a couple of sleepovers, Charlie, Ronnie, Red Jeff, and Big Chris seemed to notice that he had gotten better. But his new skills had gone almost unnoticed by Doug, Allen, and Scott, as they were all fairly decent escape artists. One other boy picked up on it, and that was his best friend, Ronnie's little brother, Mark.
"You learned how to tie while you were on vacation!" Mark declared, and Kevin, who normally didn't say a whole lot about that part of his trip, admitted that he'd gotten some "instructions" from his cousins. "Teach me!" Mark demanded, but Kevin told him that Charlie and Ronnie had found out, and made him promise not to teach anyone, and especially not Mark.
"But I had my fingers crossed, so it don't count!" Kevin laughed. "But if I'm gonna teach you, we need a couple of captives to practice on!"
"Ronnie and Charlie are out, but what about Scott and Allen, and maybe Doug, too?" Mark asked. "Doug'll do it!" Kevin answered. "He likes showing off how he can get loose from being tied up! And anything Doug does, Scott'll go along!"
"What about Allen?" Mark asked. "Maybe, maybe not!" Kevin answered. "But Doug and Scott are our best bets! Besides, my mom thinks Doug and Scott are cool kids!"
"That's a joke!" Mark said. "They teach you to play dirty tricks on your friends! They both are no good, low down, rotten, nasty, grouchy, grumpy, sneaky, and mean!" "Yeah!" Kevin replied. "And those are their GOOD qualities!"
"Well, speak of the devil!" Mark said, pointing up the block to where Doug and Scott were approaching. The two younger boys raced up the street to greet their two teenaged friends.
"Where you guys goin'?" Kevin asked. "Oh, just out and around!" Scott said. "Allen's over at Bill's house, and I think Ronnie and Charlie went swimming at the pool, so we're just out looking for something to do!"
"I just need a couple more things for second class, and Mark can pass his tenderfoot right now!" Kevin said. "C'mon to my place, and help me finish up!" Scott gave Kevin a funny look, and said "Is it just me, or is it every time I go to your place, I wind up tied and gagged?"
"Well, every time I go to either of your places, the same thing happens to me!" Kevin joked. "Hey, me too!" Mark chimed in. "That's 'cause you two little pests deserve it!" Doug teased.
"I'll show you!" Kevin growled. "My house or yours?" "Mine!" Doug answered. "Mom's shopping, and Dad's playing golf, so we won't be bothered!"
It took only a couple of minutes to walk to Doug's house, and when they got there, Doug took them upstairs to his bedroom, where he pulled a bag full of rope, bandanas, neckerchiefs, and bandages from his closet. Doug handed the bag to Kevin, and said "OK, termite, let's see wha'cha got!" "Fine!" Kevin replied. "Get face down on your bed, and put your hands behind your back!"
"What about Scott?" Mark asked. Scott looked at Mark, and knowing first, that he was fairly good at getting loose, and second, that Mark was probably the worst kid with ropes and knots within 50 miles, just said "I'll take the guest bed, and you can tie me, Mark!"
It wasn't often that any of the older kids just let Mark tie them up, and Mark was quick to take advantage of the opportunity. Scott emulated Doug, by laying face down on the guest bed, and crossing his wrists behind him. Kevin tossed Mark several strands of rope, then mouthed "Watch this!"
Mark looked on as Kevin tied Doug's hands together, then did the same thing to Scott. Doug looked back, and saw Kevin mouth the words, and said "Hey, you're teaching him to tie, and you promised Charlie and Ronnie you wouldn't!"
Kevin said nothing, but rolled up one of Doug's red square scout neckerchiefs, and started to tie it over the mouth of his captive. Doug protested. "You can't gag me until after you got my feet tied!" he complained. "You're a tied up prisoner, and I can do whatever I want!" Kevin snarled back. He looked at Scott, and asked "You got any complaints?"
Scott shook his head and said "Not me!", but Kevin said "Gag him anyway!" Mark picked out another neckerchief, rolled it up, then told Scott to pretend he was at the dentist. "Open wide!" he laughed.
Scott opened his mouth and allowed Mark to gag him without any protest. Once satisfied that Scott was not going to be making a whole lot of noise, Kevin looked at the two tied boys, and said "Yeah, I'm teaching' him! So what? And since you guys are tied up prisoners, and have to do what we say, I'm telling you two to not tell Charlie and Ronnie that I am teaching' him!"
Doug and Scott nodded that they would comply, then Kevin tied Doug's feet together. Mark watched, and tied Scott's feet the same way. Scott struggled a little, and thought that Mark had improved, at least up to the level of Red Jeff or Big Chris. But Mark would need a few more lessons to reach Kevin's ability. Scott figured maybe another few months, and by the time he turned 11, and was ready to join scouts, he'd be just about there.
"Before you guys try to get loose, what are you doing tonight?" Kevin asked. Doug softly "Mmmppfff'd" through his gag, and Kevin pulled it down. "Scott's spending the night here!" Doug said. "Other than that, nothing!"
"You two ask your moms if you can stay the night at my house!" Kevin directed. Scott and Doug nodded. "Mark is already coming over!"
Finally, Kevin told Scott and Doug that they could start getting loose. Scott, tied by Mark, found it fairly easy. Doug, tied by Kevin, had some difficulty, but freed himself some two and a half minutes later.
Normally, Doug and Scott would have taken a turn on Mark and Kevin, but Doug suggested that Mark and Kevin switch captives. Kevin would tie Scott, and Mark would tie Doug. Scott gave Doug a long stare, but relaxed it a bit when Doug told Kevin "You owe us for getting loose, and you owe us again 'cause we put off tying you guys, and you'll owe us more when we escape again! But we'll trade you, one for one, for the penalties you have on Ronnie, Allen, and Charlie!"
"OK!" Kevin said. "But you guys still can't tell Charlie and Ronnie that I'm teaching Mark, and you gotta help me teach him, too!" "Agreed!" said Doug.
Scott put his hands behind his back, and let Kevin tie him while Mark watched, then tried to duplicate what he had just seen on Doug. Scott had a couple of words for Doug, saying he thought Kevin and Mark got the better part of the deal just made. Doug said "Hell, don't worry about it! We're both 13, and if we can't handle getting tied up by a couple of 10 and 11 year olds, we'd be pretty sorry!"
Before Scott could agree, Kevin had tied a gag over his mouth, and watched as Mark finished tying Doug's feet. "I like that rule about gagging captives!" Kevin laughed, as Mark rolled up a bandana. "I think blue's his color!" Kevin continued, after Mark had pulled the bandana between Doug's teeth, and tied it off behind his neck.
Doug was impressed, not with how Mark had tied him, but with how Mark had gagged him. "Nice and tight!" Doug thought. "But there are a few tricks I can teach him!"
This time, Doug escaped first, and about two minutes later, Scott had joined him. Doug was also quick to complement Mark on the tie, even though it wasn't really that good. But the complement did boost Mark's confidence, and that was the big thing.
"C'mere, Mark, I wanna show you something!" Doug. Mark came next to Doug, and Doug rolled up a bandana, and tied it over Mark's mouth. Then, he untied it, and used a regular triangular scout neckerchief as a gag. Next, one of Doug's old square neckerchiefs, and finally, a long white bandage. "Which one is best?" Doug asked. "I dunno!" Mark answered. "I guess the big neckerchief, and then, the bandage!"
"That's about right, Mark!" Doug said, but here's something neat!" Doug rolled up two red bandanas and again gagged his young pupil. "How's that?" Doug asked.
"Wow, that is neat!" Mark exclaimed, after pulling away the gag. "It's just about as good as the big neckerchief!"
"Yeah, we do that when we catch those turkeys from Mike Hayworth's troop!" Doug said. "And on Charlie and Allen when they decide they want to be pains in the butt!" Scott cut in.
"I got something!" Scott said. "What?" asked Mark. "Watch this!" he said, and picked up the long bandage that, a moment ago, was one of Mark's gags. "Get me two more!" he said, and Doug fished them out of the bag.
"You can also use these to tie up a captive!" Scott said. "They come in handy if you're out of rope!" With that, he pulled Mark's hands behind him, and tied them with the strip of bed sheet. The one that had gagged Mark earlier, was tied around Mark's feet, and the third one, a little wider than the first, was tied over Mark's mouth.
"Do me, do me!" Kevin demanded, and Scott quickly had him bound and gagged like Mark. "We call this 'being kidnapped' Doug said. "We saw a kid get kidnapped on TV last year, and the kidnappers forgot to bring any rope, so they tore strips from a sheet, and used them to tie and gag their victim!"
"I think Corporal Rusty was tied up with strips from a sheet about four or five Saturdays ago!" Scott added, and Doug nodded. "Yeah, I think so!" he said.
Meanwhile, Kevin and Mark had moved themselves back to back, and had picked each other's hands free. Soon, they had pulled free their gags, and were clearing the last of the linen strips from their feet. "Wow, that was cool!" Kevin said. "Yeah!" said Mark. "I can't wait to tie Ronnie like that! And Charlie, too!"
Doug and Scott laughed, and said "You two will get your chances!" Almost in unison, Mark and Kevin said "Cool!"
The sound of a car pulling in reached the ears of the four boys, and Doug looked out and announced that his mom had returned from shopping. Rope was gathered up and put away, while the bandages, bandanas, and neckerchiefs what had been used for gags, were set aside to be rinsed out.
As Doug's mom walked in, Mark and Kevin walked down the stairs, and called back "Thanks, Doug! You too, Scott!" Doug and Scott followed them down, and his mother smiled. "You're a good boy, Doug, helping out the younger scouts like that!" she said. Doug reddened a bit, and said he was going over to Scott's for a little bit, and that he and Scott were going to continue to help Kevin and Mark. "Kevin's asked us to stay the night with him!" Doug said.
"That's fine, Doug. Just mind what Kevin's mom tells you, and be back by 10 tomorrow morning!" his mom said. Doug replied "Yes, Mom!" and headed for the door. "Doug!" called his mom, but Doug's mind was elsewhere, and he didn't reply. "Don't slam the . . . " WHAM! " . . .door!"
Allen and Charlie had already gone to Bill's and Ronnie's houses, and the bedroom which Scott shared with his brother and cousin was, for once, quiet, rather than in its usual state of perpetual bedlam. Scott packed his overnight bag, aided by Doug's hints and recommendations, and obtained the necessary permission from his parents to spend the night at Kevin's. Then it was back to Doug's house so Doug could pack his bag. Scott thought it was a bit odd that Doug tossed in his old blue cub scout uniform, as it had been almost two and a half years since Doug had graduated from cubs to scouts, but Doug had always been a little flaky, and more so than usual during the last week, so Scott just let it go without saying anything about it.
Doug also packed his scout uniform, as had Scott, but Scott had no idea why, other than Doug said he should pack it. Both boys packed a change of clothes and pajamas, and both had brought a bag with rope, bandanas, neckerchiefs, and bandages. One more time they were out the door, and this time, Doug remembered not to slam it.
Doug and Scott arrived just as Kevin's mother and father were leaving for another neighborhood "to do." "Thank you for watching out for Kevin and his friend, Mark!" she said. "He said you were 'neat kids,' and that's high praise coming from him!"
"Hey, no problem, Mrs. Coleman! Kevin's a pretty neat kid, himself!" Doug replied. "And don't worry! If he and Mark give us any problems, me and Scott will find some rope, and tie 'em up, and put 'em in the closet!"
Kevin's mother laughed at what she perceived to be a joke, and said "OK, boys!" Scott just gave Doug a strange look, as if to say "I can't believe you said that to Kevin's mom!" Doug just laughed.
"Hey, you guys gonna stay out there and yak? C'mon in here!" Kevin chided, and Doug and Scott walked in. Mark was parked in front of the TV, half watching TV and half reading the TV section from last Sunday's paper. "There's a neat late show on at midnight!" he said, and showed the program grid which listed "Killer Zombie Brains from Uranus."
"You'll have a zombie brain if you watch that rot!" Doug laughed. "But first things first! You two still owe us from this afternoon!"
"Yeah, OK!" Kevin said. "By the way, did you bring the cub uniform I asked you to bring?" "Got it right here in my bag!" Doug said. "Why did you want it, anyway?" Kevin said he thought the bandage "kidnap" was kind of cool, and remembered where Corporal Rusty had been tied with strips torn from a bed sheet. A cub uniform was the closest thing to Rusty's uniform that was available, and he said "When it's my turn, you gotta wear it, and me and Mark will 'kidnap' you!" "What about me?" Scott asked. "You can wear my old cub uniform, and me and Mark'll 'kidnap' you, too!" laughed Kevin.
"C'mon and get me tied, so I can get loose and tie you!" Mark said. Scott laughed, and said "You're beginning to sound like Doug, but that's beside the point! Far be it from me, to turn down someone who actually ASKS to be tied up! You know the drill, Mark! On the bed, on your stomach, and your hands behind you!"
Scott just tied Mark's hands and feet, but reminded him about double rolled bandanas by rolling together a pair of blue ones, then tying them over his young captive's mouth. On the cot, Kevin got much the same treatment at the hands of Doug, getting tied hand and foot, then gagged with two red bandanas rolled together. After finishing with Kevin, Doug and Scott left the two younger boys alone, and staged a raid on the fridge. While they were doing that, Mark and Kevin had gotten together, and like they had earlier, picked each other's hands loose.
Downstairs, Scott looked at Doug, and said "You know they're gonna be loose when we get back up there!" "Yeah, I know!" Doug said. "But it makes them feel so good when they think they're getting over on us, and besides, it's a hell of a confidence booster for them!"
"And what next?" Scott asked. "Pretending we can't escape from their ropes and knots?" Doug laughed some more, and said "I don't think we'd go that far! Besides, I really don't think they'd buy it!"
"I think you're right, there!" Scott answered. "But I just thought of some kids who could teach them a thing or two about ropes and knots!" "Yeah? Who's that?" Doug asked. "Israel Boone, and his Indian friends!" Scott replied.
"Yeah! We could take the pair of them through the portal with us, and make it happen!" Doug said. "But they'd have to earn it!"
"Should we make it easy or hard? Scott asked. Doug thought for a moment, then said "Let's make it hard! We don't want 'em to think we're THAT easy to get over on!"
Scott and Doug returned to Kevin's bedroom to find their two captives free, and both with huge grins on their faces. "We got loose, so you're our prisoners, and you gotta do what we say!" Mark announced. Doug and Scott looked at each other and grinned, like being tied up by Kevin and Mark was not a big deal. But to Kevin and Mark, it was, and they relished every second of it.
Kevin was as good as his word. He asked Doug to change into his old cub uniform, and gave Scott his own old uniform to wear. Both uniform pants were a bit short but Doug's still fit him around the waist. Clearly, he had grown taller, but had added maybe just half an inch around his waist.
Kevin's uniform was tight on Scott, but if he sucked his gut in, he could get the pants buttoned and zipped, and while they were tight, they were not so tight as to send the waist button flying across the room, or to split up the backseam if he bent over. As for the problem of them being short in the legs, that was solved when Kevin said "The legs were never cut off, just turned under and sewn!" It didn't take long for Kevin to cut the stitching with his pocketknife, and let the pants down. "Too far!" Kevin thought, as Scott put them on again. From three inches too short, they had gone to two inches too long.
Doug and Scott put their hands behind their backs, and allowed Mark and Kevin to tie them with bandage strips. After tying their captives' feet, Kevin and Mark remembered what they had learned earlier, and selected the widest bandages for gags.
Scott and Doug easily escaped, but put on a show of struggling and "Mmmppfff'ing" for their captors before freeing themselves. This seemed to please Mark and Kevin, as they laughed and pointed at the two struggling boys until they had extricated themselves.
"Our turn!" Scott sang out after unwrapping the bandage that he had pulled down around his neck. "And you two are gonna get it good!"
"I gotta better idea!" Kevin told them. "Let's see if Mark has learned anything! We know you two can escape, but how good is he at tying a regular kid like me?" "Pretty darned good!" Mark said. "And I'm not afraid to prove it on you!"
"Kidnap him, Mark!" Scott said, peeling off Kevin's old cub uniform, and changing back to his jeans. Kevin went along with the idea, and traded his own jeans for the cub uniform, and a few minutes later, Mark had his friend tied and gagged, and again had used a five inch wide bandage to gag him.
Doug pulled Scott aside, and asked if he had notice anything odd. "Not really!" Scott said. Doug then pointed out that the two of them, along with Kevin, were boy scouts, but had been tied up wearing cub scout uniforms. "Sorta like we got court martialed, and got busted back to cub scout!" Doug laughed. Scott laughed, too. "Hey, I'll remember that the next time we court martial Allen!" he said. "Too bad there ain't cub uniforms big enough for Ronnie and Charlie!"
Apparently, Mark had learned his lessons well, because Kevin was having problems getting loose from his knots. Doug and Scott nodded their approval, and smiled as they watched Kevin fight to get free.
But Scott and Doug were not overly concerned with Mark's new found ability, as over the past few months, both had escaped from being tied by Mark and Kevin, and, more than that, they had made it look easy. But that was before Kevin went on vacation, and learned a few things from his part Indian cousins, and before today, when the three of them has taken Mark under their collective wing, and passed some of their knowledge on to him.
"Sure, he can hold Kevin, but how will he do against his brother, or Charlie, or even Red Jeff or Big Chris?" Doug asked. Overhearing the question, Mark, with his confidence at an all time high, said "Bring 'em on!"
"Can't go wrong with that kind of confidence!" mused Doug. "Yeah!" Scott agreed. "But it doesn't take a lot to hold them guys! None of them could escape from a jail cell if the door was unlocked and open!" Doug snickered. "I think you're right!" he said. "They couldn't get out if they had three strikes on them!" "Ouch, that's bad!" Scott said.
Kevin pushed out his gag with his tongue, confessed that he could not get loose, and Mark untied him. Mark's ego got another boost when Kevin said he did a great job, and Doug and Scott agreed. His smile brightened up the room like a 300 watt light bulb.
It was late, and the four boys changed into their pajamas for the night. Mark was still excited about the midnight movie, but the others all thought it was a dud. "'Killer Zombie Brains from Uranus!'" sniffed Doug. "You got your head up Uranus if you think that's a good movie! It should have won a 'Golden Turkey' award."
"I got an idea!" Kevin said. "Since Doug doesn't like the movie, we could tie and gag him, and make him sit there and watch it for the full two hours!" "That's mean and nasty and rotten and low down, and I love it!" Scott said. Mark ran up the stairs to get some rope and bandanas.
Doug, knowing an opportunity when he saw one, quickly said "No! Anything but that! "I'll let all three of you tie me with rope, and tie me again with the bandages if I don't have to sit here and watch that turkey of a movie!"
Scott had Doug pretty much figured out. It sounded like something he might say, since he liked showing off how well he could escape. Kevin and Mark, though, were thrilled with the idea. The movie was forgotten, as they trooped back up to Kevin's bedroom, where Doug "assumed the position:" Face down on Kevin's bed, with his hands crossed behind his back.
An hour and a half later, Doug's three friends had finished their "gift ties." (Doug escaped all six times) Kevin said that his parents should be back by 2:00 a.m., 2:30 at best, and that it might be a good idea if they wrapped it up, and went to bed. "One of the few ideas he's had all night that makes sense!" Doug teased, to which Kevin replied "Keep it up, lizard legs! I still got two more penalties on you, and you'd look neat hog tied!" Doug said nothing in reply, but did think that he admired the way Kevin didn't take any crap from him, despite the fact he was more than two years older, almost a head taller, and a good bit stronger than the dimunitive 11 year old.
Barely perceptible snores came from Kevin and Mark, and Doug looked at the still form of Scott in the sleeping bag next to him. "Hey, Scott, you still awake?" Doug whispered.
"Not for long!" Scott replied. "Wha'da'ya want?"
"I think Mark's earned a trip through the portal!" Doug said. "Wanna take him through next weekend?" "Kevin, too?" Scott asked.
"Yeah, Kevin too!" Doug replied. "But he goes through gagged! Twice I've wound up a pajama Indian because of him, and if I'm gonna be one, the next time, it'll be on my terms, not his!"
END
© Copyright Dingbat 2007
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