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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 Turns 11 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.
It only took a few minutes for the three boys to change, and join Israel. Ronnie started with Mark, and tied just his hands and feet, before gagging him with a bandana. "No trying to get loose until I get all of you tied up!" he declared. Mark "mmmppfff'd" agreement, while Doug, Scott, and Israel agreed vocally.
Ronnie tossed a couple of pieces of rope to Charlie, and asked if he wanted to help, but Charlie declined. "To be fair, they all gotta be tied the same, and that means they all gotta be tied by you." Charlie told him, and Ronnie did see the logic in Charlie's denial. "You got no idea how hard it was to turn Ronnie down." Charlie softly told Allen.
Ronnie went ahead and tied Israel, then Scott, and finally Doug. All were tied identically at the wrists and ankles, and dressed identically in chambray shirts, fringed buckskin pants, and Apache boots. The one difference, was that Doug and Israel were gagged with red bandanas, and Mark's and Scott's gags were blue.
Not surprisingly, Doug was the first to get loose, followed by Mark, who beat Scott only by about 15-20 seconds. Israel couldn't do much more than sit and watch, as his escape ability was only slightly above zero on a scale of 1-10.
"That's one for me!" Mark proudly trumpeted.
"Bull!" roared Ronnie. "Doug got free first!"
"So what?" Mark shot back. "I only have to get tied up with Doug, not get loose before he does! I gotta get loose before Scott, and I did!"
"He's right." Charlie said. "When you added Doug, nobody ever said Mark had to get loose before Doug. Doug only said it would give him something else to TRY and beat. He never said that Mark HAD to beat him to win."
"Wha'da we do with him?" Red Jeff asked, pointing at the still tied and gagged Israel.
"I'll put him back with his friends, and bring Packy in." Allen said, and took Israel to the next room. Inside, he untied Israel, and said that the Indians were tied up two rooms down, but that Mark still had challenges involving Packy, Rusty, Tagg, Little Beaver, Red Jeff, and Kevin. "The rest of 'em are all yours, so why don't you and the twins make sure Joey, Davy, Swift Arrow, Keena, and the rest, don't bother us while Mark finishes up his challenge."
Israel seemed to think that was a good idea, although he was reluctant to leave Packy and Little Beaver to be tied and gagged with Mark, Doug, and Scott. But Allen told him not to worry; that as soon as they were done with their parts in the challenge, they'd be free to catch up with Israel and his captives. "I'll tell 'em to go to your cabin." Allen said. "And besides, you're getting a great deal. You got Joey, Davy, Pee Wee, Mark, and Andy, and all of 'em are wearing those blue pajamas you guys made us wear. The other two pair are on Attuma and Spotted Elk. We thought it would be a neat touch."
"Neat!" exclaimed Israel. "Me and the twins will take 'em to my cabin, and wait for Little Beaver and Packy to show up."
"Cool!" replied Allen. "And remember, you're gonna owe us for this little gift." Israel nodded, and hurried down the hall to untie Red Horse and Wild Horse, and then, to get 12 captives off to his cabin.
Mark, Doug, and Scott had changed into their own jeans, and had been given checked shirts, identical to Packy's, to put on. Again, all four boys were tied just hand and foot, and were gagged with bandanas. This time, Doug and Scott got the red ones, and Mark and Packy got the blue.
Doug and Scott both got free before Mark, so the second challenge went in the loss column, as did the third, when the three of them were tied up in Indian buckskins with Little Beaver.
The fourth challenge was with Red Jeff, and for this one, Mark got to wear his new (to him) scout uniform, and be tied not only at the wrists and ankles, but the arms and legs, as well, making escape a bit more difficult. This time Mark was up to the challenge, escaping before both Doug and Scott, much to Doug's amazement.
Rusty was brought in for the fifth challenge, and for this one, Doug, Scott, and Mark traded their brown uniforms for blue ones like Rusty's. There was a small difference, in that Rusty wore a uniform with two yellow stripes on each sleeve, while Doug, Scott, and Mark wore uniforms with no rank stripes.
Rusty said that he'd been tied and gagged with bandages, and suggested that for this challenge, all of them be bandage tied and gagged. "We call that a kidnap." said Charlie. "We saw a show where a kid was kidnapped, and the dumb kidnappers forgot to bring rope, so they tied him up with long strips torn from a bed sheet."
Ronnie was all too happy to bind and gag his four captives with bandages, and even happier to see both Doug and Scott get free well ahead of Mark. The birthday boy had two more to go, and had to escape ahead of Scott twice, in order to win the challenge. On the other hand, Ronnie had two chances to win one, and he thought things were looking good for him.
Tagg was the sixth, and it was a foregone conclusion that Mark, Scott, and Doug would get free before he did. Tagg was in negative numbers when it came to escaping; worse even than Mark on a normal day, much less than when the just turned 11 year old had the escape ability of Scott, or better. So it really wasn't much of a surprise when Doug again was first to get loose. Mark's struggles were rewarded by again beating Scott, but not by much.
Still, a win is a win, and now, Mark's fate rested in his own hands. All he had to do, was get free before Scott in the seventh, and final challenge. It wasn't going to be easy. Kevin was the final challenge, and reasonably good at tying up captives. His escapes could use a little work, but he was easily better than Tagg, Rusty, Packy, Israel, and even Big Chris and Red Jeff, when it came to wiggling free.
But it was not Kevin's ability that was being tested; it was Mark's. And Ronnie had left the toughest of the challenges for last. The boys would change into grey sweat pants and white T- shirts for this last round, be tied at their hands, feet, arms, and legs, and they would all be hog tied.
The change was made, and Ronnie, who was taking a certain amount of delight in tying his little brother, went to work on him first, and in a few minutes, had him wrapped up like a Christmas turkey. Kevin was next, followed by Doug, and lastly, Scott. All were securely gagged with scout neckerchiefs.
All the boys generally took longer to escape from hog ties, and this was no exception. Ronnie was having some second thoughts - not about how well he had tied his captives, but for not imposing a time limit. The "unofficial" limit was 20 minutes, but since nothing had been said, it could go 200 minutes, or more than three hours.
That did not happen. The four boys went right to work, and this time, Scott was the first to get loose. Mark had a dejected look about him, but snarled through his gag, and vigorously shook his head when Doug, the second boy free, tried to untie him.
Ten minutes later, Mark finally was able to pull off an escape similar to Scott's and Doug's, by getting his hands under his butt, then untying his ankles, stepping through his tied hands, pulling down his gag, and using his teeth to untie his wrists.
"I win!" shouted Mark, as he untied the scout neckerchief from around his neck. Red Jeff and Allen, who were helping Kevin get free, turned and looked with surprise. "How could he make that claim?" Allen thought.
"Look!" demanded Mark, pointing at Scott. "The rules say you have to completely escape, and we agreed that it means taking off everything used on you." There were nods of assent, but looks of confusion.
"Look harder!" Mark thundered. "Scott ain't taken off his gag!" He was right, Scott had pulled his gag down, but had not untied it from around his neck, and thus, had not taken off everything used on him.
"Dammit, Scott, you're dumber than a sack full of bricks!" growled Ronnie, and that sentiment was echoed, especially by Allen and Charlie. Kevin, by this time, freed from his hog tie, gave his friend a high five, and said "Way to go, Mark!"
The nine boys collected their stuff, found their horses at the hotel hitching rack, mounted up, and rode for the cave where the portal would whisk them back to their own reality. Mark rode at the head of the pack, grinning from ear to ear, secure in the knowledge that when they got back, seven of them would be his prisoners overnight. The eighth boy, Kevin, was his best friend, and would help him keep the rest tied and gagged.
At the mouth of the cave, the boys dismounted and walked in. Mark still took the lead, and behaved as though he was king of all he surveyed. Charlie noticed, and thought that he'd better enjoy it while he can. "He'll be just another 11 year old next week, and paybacks are mothers." he thought.
Kevin, Allen Red Jeff, Doug, and Big Chris followed, with Scott and Ronnie at trail. Ronnie put a big hand on Scott's shoulder, and whispered "I dunno if it was an oversight, or deliberate, but not taking off that gag, and letting Mark win, was sorta neat. He don't know it, but he owes you one, and so do I."
Scott gave him a curious look, and said "OK."
Ronnie looked back at Scott, and told him in no uncertain terms, that if he ever told anyone about this exchange, he would "disavow all knowledge of Scott's actions," and laughed that "This tape will self destruct in five seconds." "If you EVER tell anyone, you'll be destroyed, too, but it might take a little longer than five seconds."
"Destroyed?" Scott asked.
"Well, maybe not destroyed, but I'll sure find every reason or excuse to tie you up!" Ronnie growled back.
Scott just laughed, and said "Bring it on!" Then, he added "Don't worry, Ronnie, I'll keep your secret, but you should know that everybody knows that the spat between you and Mark is all just a big act. Hell, I bet Allen and Doug that you probably teach Mark his knots, and allow him to practice on you when no one else is around."
Ronnie launched into a tirade about how it wasn't true, and that it was all bull, but Scott just snickered under his breath, and muttered "Sure, Ronnie, sure."
"We all here?" Charlie asked, and eight other voices announced their presence. "OK, if you're not here, raise your hand!" Charlie ordered, and was roundly booed by the others.
Just as they were about to step through, soft "Mmmppfff's" caught their ears, and Red Jeff suggested that they check it out. Deeper in the cave, they found Joey and Pee Wee, sitting on a rock, with their hands and feet tied, and their mouths gagged. A few yards away, they saw Keena in the same predicament.
"Wha'da we do?" Big Chris asked.
"Hell, don't bother them." Doug said. "Those three get tied up in caves all the time, and they always manage to come out smelling like roses."
Disregarding Doug's words, Charlie went over to Joey, and pulled down his gag. "What's the story on this?" he asked.
"We like how you told us about playing 'hide and go seek,' and me and Pee Wee are it." Joey told Charlie. "But we can't have help getting loose, so just put my gag back in, and leave us alone."
"If that's what you want." Charlie said, and replaced Joey's gag. Then, he turned his attention to Keena.
"Keena wasn't so reluctent to be turned loose, and thanked his rescuers profusely. "I owe you guys." he said, passing Joey and Pee Wee, and heading out of the cave.
"You can bet your ass we're gonna collect, too!" Charlie shouted, as Keena disappeared out the mouth of the cave.
With no further distractions, the nine boys stepped through the portal, and once through, took a few minutes to recover from the effects of passage. After recovery, they headed for the scout house to collect their sleeping bags from the previous night, and scattered for home.
It took about 20 minutes before phones started ringing all over the neighborhood. "I forgot all about Mom and Dad hosting a party tonight!" Mark excitedly told Kevin. "They said me and Ronnie could stay another night at the scout house if we wanted! Can you come?"
A few minutes later, it was Ronnie on the phone to Charlie, asking the same question. Half an hour later, approvals were given, and nine boys met at the scout house, ready to spend another night.
"You forgot your mom and dad were hosting a party? Scott asked, and Ronnie and Mark just shrugged. Both boys had a sheepish look on their faces. "You two know there's a price to be paid for dumbness." Scott added.
"Dumbness? Is that a real word?" Charlie asked.
"Let it go." Allen said.
"Yeah!" agreed Mark. "You guys got me and Ronnie for a dumb thing, and maybe Scott for using a new word, but you forgot one thing: I still got some penalties on you guys, 'cause I won that challenge back at the hotel."
"He's got us there." Big Chris said. "He earned 'em first, so he gets to take 'em first.
"Kevin's gonna help me and be on my side!" Mark declared. "The rest of you guys, get inside, and get ready to have your escape abilities seriously challenged."
Allen laughed, and said "Any tie up is a serious challenge for Charlie, Ronnie, Red Jeff and Big Chris." From the looks he got, it was clear that Charlie, Ronnie, Jeff and Chris took exception to Allen's little dig.
Charlie unlocked the door, and the boys trooped upstairs, where they found cots, and rolled out their sleeping bags. Once the preparations were complete, Mark found a bag of rope and gags, and grinned at his brother. "OK, Ronnie, it's tie up time!" he grinned, as Ronnie slowly crossed his hands behind his back, and allowed Mark to tie them together.
"Let's tie 'em up in their pajamas!" Kevin shouted, but Mark shook him off. "Later." he said. "We've got all night, and besides, Ronnie looks so cool, hog tied in his jeans and tank top, and gagged with that big red scout neckerchief!"
"OK." Kevin said, "But he'd look a lot better with that big red gag if he was wearing Big Chris's yellow pajamas."
"That can be arranged!" Mark declared, and both boys broke out laughing.
END
© Copyright Dingbat 2007
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