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Aftermath Mark's Birthday, Plus a Day This story is a work of fiction, all characters and plot lines are fictional. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Ronnie and Mark trudged home from a two-night scout house sleepover, both tired, but determined not to let their parents see it. After all, it was supposed to have been a sleepover, with the key word being "sleep." But a gang of nine rowdy boys between 11 and 14 usually does not get much sleep when left to their own devices, and this was no exception. It had been an 11th birthday present, put together for him by his older brother, Ronnie, aided by Ronnie's best friend, Charlie, and Charlie's cousins, Allen and Scott, with more help from their friend, Doug. Three other boys, Big Chris, Red Jeff, and Mark's best friend, Little Kevin, came along for the ride. Their parents had hosted a party the previous night, which resulted in a second night of sleeping at the scout house, and when they got home, they were chased right back out again. They talked in normal voice, but their mother kept telling them to "Quit yelling," so it was fairly obvious that the party had lasted well into the wee hours of the morning. That being the case, Ronnie and Mark had about enough time to shower and change clothes, and told to either be quiet, or take it outside. The showers did seem to energize them a little, but not all that much. Despite being clean, they were far from fresh, as they decided not to press the point with their parents, and headed over to Charlie's, Allen's, and Scott's house. Apparently, Scott's and Allen's parents, who were also Charlie's aunt and uncle, were in the same situation, and from the presence of Doug and Big Chris, it was plain that their folks had also been among those adults who had been letting their hair down, and partying hard. A few minutes later, they were joined by Red Jeff and Little Kevin, making the original nonet complete. All of them had the same story - their parents had a little too much party the previous night, and were paying for it by either having a splitting headache, or by being totally zonked out. "Dad got promoted!" Ronnie said. "Yeah!" chimed in Mark. "They really celebrated.” "So did everybody else," Doug added, and the rest of them laughed. Red Jeff opined that he had not seen his parents party like this since New Year's Eve. "Dad made lieutenant colonel," Ronnie interrupted. "He gets a fat raise." "Cool," was Big Chris's reply, echoed by seven other boys. "Well, now what?" Doug. "Let's go back to the scout house," Little Kevin suggested. "If we're tired, we can sleep. If not, we can replay our adventure through the portal yesterday." "Neat idea!" Charlie exclaimed. "And I still got the key." "Thank heaven for small favors!" Ronnie practically yelled. "I thought I lost it, and was gonna catch all kinds of hell." "We all got your back, Ronnie," Scott declared. "C'mon, let's go." Five minutes later they were back at the scout house, and almost immediately, the three oldest, Ronnie, Charlie, and Allen had collapsed on cots. Big Chris, Red Jeff, Scott, and Doug were a little more energized, while Mark and Little Kevin were still full of vinegar, and probably could have gone all day again. "Well, they ain't gonna be any fun," groused Doug, pointing at the three boys on the cots. Allen raised an eyebrow, and said that he wouldn't be any fun, either, tied and gagged, and stuffed in the uniform exchange room. Doug just laughed, and said, "Bring friends!" "He's got friends!" said Charlie, and with new found energy, rose from his cot. "OK, OK!" Doug said, but it was too late. Charlie moved with the quickness of a cat, pinned Doug's arms to his sides, then pulled his hands behind him. "Get some rope!" he ordered. Little Kevin brought two strands of rope, one about six feet long, and another, about twice that. "I'll hold his hands; you tie him!" Charlie directed, and Little Kevin was only too happy to comply. Quickly, he tied Doug's hands together, while Red Jeff slipped a loop around Doug's feet, and got them tied. "I get to gag him! I get to gag him!" Mark shouted, waving a blue square neckerchief. Nobody objected, and Mark rolled the thick double neckerchief, and tied it tightly over Doug's mouth. Doug, wearing his grey sweat suit, sat helplessly, while Mark added another, final touch, by finding another piece of rope, and tying it around Doug's arms. "That ought to keep him out of the way and quiet," Allen laughed. "Any of you other turkeys was a piece of us?" From the others, there was nothing but silence. "Let's tie up Scott with him," suggested Red Jeff. "After all, they are best friends." "What did I do?" Scott protested, and Red Jeff just laughed, and said it was just because Scott was Scott, and that he thought Scott deserved to be, or needed to be, tied and gagged with his best friend, Doug. Seeing that there was no getting out of it, Scott surrendered, but said that he wanted Mark to tie him. "Just say it's a free tie I'm giving him for a late birthday present," Scott said, and again, there was no opposition. Mark got the necessary rope, and, as an afterthought, asked if Scott was tired. "Yeah, a little," Scott said. "If you're tired, you better get ready for bed!" Mark laughed, then held out a pair of pajamas from the uniform exchange, and told Scott to put them on. Scott wanted to protest, but thought the better of it. Besides, he could always extract payback later.
"Just my size," Doug thought, looking at the big '26' on the bag, which indicated the jeans in the bag had a waist size of 26 inches. The door to the uniform exchange room was closed on Scott and Doug, while Charlie, Allen, and Ronnie resumed their positions on their cots. Well aware of what had just happened to Doug and Scott, Mark, Little Kevin, Big Chris, and Red Jeff decided that it might not be a wise idea to annoy Ronnie, Charlie, and Allen, and suggested that since there were four cots in the uniform exchange room, there might be less noise if the three moved in there, and kept an eye on Doug and Scott. The three older boys seemed to agree with the idea, and picked up their stuff and carried it, only to find Doug and Scott had both escaped, and were now looking for payment in kind. "I told you ya should'a hogtied 'em!" Ronnie snarled. Mark looked back at his older brother with his big blue eyes, and whined, "Ya never told me." The penalty had been demanded, and everyone knew that it could be deferred, but if any or all of them did, the payback was sometimes more than expected, so despite the fact that they were tired, Allen, Ronnie, and Charlie opted to take their penalties like scouts, and not whine and complain over it. Scott wanted to make them wear pajamas, as he'd been made to do earlier, but Doug wanted to just tie them and be done with it. Scott went along, but he still thought Allen would look better wearing the white and brown pajama pants Scott had been forced to wear a few moments earlier. After taking care of Ronnie, Charlie, and Allen, Doug and Scott turned their attention to Mark and Little Kevin, and this time, Scott was adamant. "These two little weasels made me wear pajamas, so they're gonna get tied up in THEIR pajmas!" he declared. Doug didn't bother to argue, as Scott was a compliant kid, who often just went along with whatever the others wanted, but this time, Doug could see that there was no changing Scott's mind. He caught the two pieces of rope Scott tossed him, and said, "You take Mark; I'll take Kevin!" Doug nodded, grabbed Mark, and pulled his hands behind his back, and started tying them together. "So, Mark, what did you think of the party we arranged for you yesterday?" Doug asked, as he finished wrapping Mark's hands, and knotting them securely. "It was way cool!" Mark declared, as he watched Doug take another piece of rope, and wrap his ankles together. "Me and Packy and Israel and the Indian kids nearly had you guys, and getting tied up with them taught me about working together. And don't tell any of the others, but I thought it was really neat when I had to wear Israel's buckskins, Apache boots, and blue shirt, and later, when I wore Little Beaver's Indian buckskins." Doug continued tying his young prisoner by finding a longer piece of rope, and winding it around Mark's arms. Mark continued his description by saying that he had a "really neat time," but complained about not winning. "Can't have everything," Doug told him, then said that the next time they go, he remembered seeing on TV, some Indians wearing buckskin pants and blue uniform shirts like Rusty's, or just the opposite - blue uniform pants and a buckskin shirt. "Maybe you can do it with your cub scout uniform, and they won't notice," the tall teenager laughed. "So you bunch of turkeys can tie me up for wearing a split uniform?" Mark sneered. "No wonder we all think you're a weasel." "Why, thank you, Mark!" Doug grinned. "Ain't you done with him yet?" Scott interrupted, pointing at Kevin, who Scott had just finished tying. Kevin wore a pair of striped pajama pants with a white T-shirt, and Scott had tied his hands, feet, arms, and legs, and topped it with a thick scout neckerchief gag. "I'm interrogating him!" Doug shot back, as he knotted the rope holding Mark's arms, and rolled up another neckerchief to use for Mark's gag. "Sorry, Mark, but this is a discussion we'll have to continue later," Doug whispered, then tied the neckerchief over Mark's mouth. "There, I'm done! Are you happy?" he grumbled at Scott. Scott just gave him a dirty look, and mumbled, "It's about time!" "What about Red Jeff and Big Chris?" Doug asked, and Scott said he thought they should be left alone. "Hell, they ain't done nothin' to us, and they ain't helped Ronnie, Allen, and Charlie tie us up earlier." "Good reasoning," Doug replied, "But you ever hear of a pre-emptive strike?" "Wha'da'ya mean?" Scott asked. Doug just grinned, and said, "We tie them up before they get it into their heads to tie us up." "You're just full of good ideas today," Scott giggled back. "Well, Mark just said I have a reputation for being a weasel," Doug laughed.
Meanwhile, over on one of the beds, Charlie thought that he and Allen and Ronnie should have hogtied and gagged the other seven right away. "If we'd'a done that, me and Allen and Ronnie could be taking a nap, instead of sitting here all tied up." he thought. "But we do owe Doug and Scott a favor for not tying us up in pajamas like they're doing to Mark and Kevin." Red Jeff looked at the evil grins on Doug's and Scott's faces, and said, "You guys thinkin' what I think you're thinkin?" Scott's and Doug's evil grins turned to evil laughs, as they demanded Jeff and Chris put their hands behind them. Big Chris put up a weak protest, but Red Jeff just turned around and put his hands behind him. "C'mon, guys, let's do this and get it over with." "He gave up almost as easy as you do," Scott snickered. "I like willing captives," Doug said, as he wound a strand of rope around Jeff's hands. "And since he was willing, I'm not gonna hogtie him." Red Jeff showed a little vinegar when he snidely said, "Thanks a bunch, you turkey." "Tied up prisoners don't talk!" Doug growled, and to drive home the point, he tied a blue bandana tightly over Jeff's mouth before tying his ankles, Jeff tried to protest, barely getting out that it was customary to finish tying a captive before gagging him, but that didn't seem to bother Doug. "Sorry, Jeff, but you know a tied captive has to do what his captor tells him, and I had your hands tied, and that's all that matters. If I feel like gagging you before I've got you completely tied up, it's my privilege." Jeff "mmmppfff'd" in protest, but it did little good. Outside, sneakered feet climbed the fire escape ladder, and a dark haired boy peeked in. He saw Red Jeff getting his feet tied, and Big Chris getting a bandana tied over his mouth. His vantage point did not allow a look into the uniform exchange, where Mark, Kevin, Allen, Ronnie, and Charlie had been stuck. Quietly easing back down the ladder, the boy said to a friend, "It's just Doug and Scott, and they got Red Jeff and Big Chris tied up like Christmas turkeys! We can take 'em easy!" His friend looked back, and said, "Don't count your chickens just yet, Bill. Where Doug and Scott go, Allen and Charlie usually ain't too far away." The boy speaking was Mike Houghton, a boy in a rival scout troop. The other boy was Allen's best friend, Bill, also in the rival troop, and sometimes they were each other's eyes and ears about what their friendly rivals were doing. Mike and Bill snuck around to the door, and crept up the stairs. Seeing that Big Chris and Red Jeff were still tied and gagged, the two of them confronted Doug and Scott. "Well, well, well, look what we found!" said Bill. "Yeah!" echoed Mike. "You guys are toast!" Before he could say anything else, Allen's hand clamped over his mouth from behind. Ronnie grabbed Bill the same way, and Charlie stepped around in front of them. "I'll just bet you two want to see Red Jeff and Big Chris tied up and gagged," Charlie said, and Mike and Bill nodded their heads. "Well, you're gonna get your wish!" Charlie declared. "But you two are gonna be tied and gagged with 'em! And with Kevin and Mark, too," he added "And you ain't gettin' loose, either," laughed Ronnie. "We're gonna tie you guys up real good!" Obviously, Allen, Ronnie, and Charlie had gotten loose, with the greatest probability being that Allen got loose, then freed the other two. Doug and Scott were a bit surprised that the three older boys chose to ambush Bill and Mike, when they could have had them, but finally dismissed it as Allen, Ronnie, and Charlie wanting to nail the kids in the rival troop, rather than kids from their own troop. Supposedly, Bill was Allen's best friend, but Allen seemed to take some kind of fiendish delight in tying and gagging Bill today. Perhaps it was because they were in rival scout troops, or more probably, because Allen was tired and wanted to catch a few "Z's." Being bothered, even by his best friend, was not what Allen had in mind. Charlie and Ronnie apparently didn't want to be bothered, either. Between the three of them, Mike Houghton and Bill Berville were quickly tied and gagged, and put in the clothing and uniform exchange room. "Bill'll get loose," Allen said. “And when he does, he's gonna want payback." "Wantin' it and gettin' it are two different things," Charlie said. But if we can keep 'em out of our hair for the next couple of hours, I might get a second wind, and be ready for whatever they got in store for us. Allen had an idea. He motioned Charlie and Ronnie to follow him in to the uniform exchange room, and told the two captives, "Hey, if you two agree to go home, or for that matter, anywhere but here, and keep your brothers and friends away for the next two - two and a half hours, we'll invite you guys over the next time we have a scout house sleepover." Charlie and Ronnie looked at Allen kind of funny, but he just motioned them to hold off for a minute. Then he turned back to the two captives and said "How about it? You guys agree or not?" Bill and Mike nodded and "Mmmppfff'd their approval, and were freed. A moment later they were gone. Ronnie could not hold it any longer. "You bonehead!" he yelled. “What the hell are you doing, inviting them over the next time we have a sleepover here? Are you nuts?" Allen just smiled. "I didn't say I'd let them tie us up, did I?" Ronnie looked like a great truth had just dawned on him. "No," he said. "Hey, wait a minute, you invited them over to get tied!" "You're getting smarter every day," laughed Allen. Now, let's get a couple of hours of down time before they come back. "What about Scott and Doug?" Charlie asked. "What about us?" Doug replied. "Same deal," Allen said. "Leave us alone for a couple of hours, and we won't tie your hands to the bedpost of a cot, or to your belt or belt loops so you can't get loose." Scott and Doug agreed, then asked if Kevin, Mark, Chris, and Jeff would be OK. "Yeah, no sweat," Ronnie said. "They weren't tied to anything, and while Chris has all the common sense of a doorknob, it shouldn't take too long for them to figure out that if they get back to back, they can untie themselves. Hell, I bet Mark and Kevin get out first. He acts dumb sometimes, but Little Kevin is a lot smarter than he lets on." "Yeah, I know," Doug said. "Give him a couple more years, and he'll be almost as big a weasel as you all think I am." "Almost?" Scott giggled. Doug and Scott agreed to the terms set out by Charlie, Ronnie, and Allen, who then went back to their cots, and collapsed in sleep, still in their street clothes. The two younger teenagers went back to the uniform exchange room, where Kevin was free, and Mark almost free. Jeff and Chris were back to back, trying to untie each other's hands. "Better leave Charlie, Ronnie, and Allen alone," Doug told them. "They said that the next time somebody bothers them, that somebody, and anyone else around, will get hog tied, gagged with a double rolled scout neckerchief, and tied to a cot, so you can't get back to back and untie each other." Mark and Kevin verbally agreed; Chris and Jeff, still working on getting their hands free, just nodded, indicating that they understood. In case they missed it, Doug also repeated what the three oldest boys had arranged for Bill and Mike and their friends from their rival troop. "I think if I was given a choice of tyin' up them turkeys from Mike Hayworth's troop, and getting tied up with or by them, I'd choose tyin'em up!" Scott told them. There was agreement all around. Doug and Scott stepped apart, and Doug laughed. "I don't know about that," Doug said. "Mike, Mike, and Bill usually give me pretty good challenges. So does Jimmy, and even Little Chris." "So you WANT to be tied up by them?" Scott asked.
"No, I want to escape from them, but to escape, I first gotta be tied up," Doug answered. "And they tie me better than anyone, except maybe for Israel, Rusty, and the Indians on the other side of the portal. Mark McCain and Joey Newton are pretty good, too." "I don't know about you, Doug," Scott said. "I think you're a little flaky, but I also think that's what makes you and me best friends. That, and all the crap you get me into." "Hey, Scott, we've all said it before, and we all know it's true," Doug said. "Adventure and danger are always more fun when they are shared with a friend." "And the next time we go through that thing, I'm gonna have lots of friends," came Mark's voice. "Having lots of friends means sharing a lot of danger and adventure," Doug told his young friend. "Huh?" Mark said. "What's that mean?" "It means you and your friends'll get tied up a lot." Scott laughed. Doug just nodded and grinned. "Maybe I ought'a get a bunch of friends," he thought. "I'd sure get a lot of practice, and maybe get as good or better than Allen at getting loose from being tied up.
© Copyright Dingbat 2008
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