Summer Camp Adventures - Conclusion

by RichardUK

I felt the boy pinning me down arise but I was unable to use my hands, since the draw cord on the hood and neck of my sleeping bag had been pulled tight, effectively sealing me in it. I was unceremoniously rolled onto my stomach and the bag was loosened and turned back until my shoulders were uncovered.  My arms were seized and pulled behind my back; my wrists were crossed and I felt my hands being tied uncommonly tightly with the familiar lashing.  Our captors were clearly still cross and had no intention of our escaping.  After cinching the rope off, I felt it being knotted off at the back of my wrists, well out of reach of my fingers.  One by one Stuart and then James were pulled half out of their sleeping bags and their hands duly tied behind their backs in the same fashion.  The whole operation had been carried out in complete silence and had clearly been thoroughly planned.  It was most unlikely that any one would be woken - the nearest tent containing our three comrades was at least twenty feet away and they were all as exhausted as we had been. We could only lie there waiting to see what would happen next.

Stuart's legs were now freed, he was hauled to his feet and, escorted by two of our assailants, he was frog-marched away.  Five minutes passed and then James was dragged out of his sleeping bag and led off.  Finally, after a similar interval I felt my legs being untied and I was hauled out of my bag.  With a boy holding each of my arms we made our way silently out of the camp.  The ground under the trees was largely sand, covered in pine needles but my captors guided me carefully over rough spots since I, like James and Stuart, was barefoot.  Finally, we arrived at a steep rocky path about 400 yards from the camp which led up to a clearing.  With my hands tightly tied behind my back, I needed help to climb up.  A light breeze was blowing and the pre-dawn air struck chill.  We three prisoners were all dressed the same in nothing but blue cotton PE shorts, the nights being too warm for tee shirts but I now shivered involuntarily, both with the cold and the thought of the ordeal that lay in front of us.    James and Stuart lay on the ground before me, their ankles bound, and tightly hogtied. I was ordered to kneel, my ankles were efficiently and tightly tied; I was pushed forward onto my stomach and within moments, I was in a similar position, the lashing between wrists and ankles so tight that my fingertips were brushing my heels. There were no knots within reach of searching fingers.  I realized with a feeling of impending doom that all the members of Mike's patrol were present.

We had been laid side by side in a rough semi-circle and now Mike stood before us and spoke softly. 
"I suspect you know why we have brought you here, but I have some questions to ask you.  As I am sure you know, we were ambushed a few days ago on the way back from the beach and we suspect your involvement, rightly or wrongly.  Provided we get satisfactory answers we will treat you as generously as we possibly can under the circumstances.  Unfortunately, we cannot risk your attracting attention so your gags will have to stay put, at least for the time being.  Just nod or shake your heads as appropriate".  I lay, staring up at him wide eyed feeling unbelievably vulnerable.  I blanched at the thought of Mike's "generosity" and wondered what the others were thinking.

Mike moved to a position in front of me and spoke quietly, "Would you be surprised to hear where we found your handkerchief?"  I could have a pretty fair guess - I shook my head. 
"I guess that places you, at least, at the scene of the crime".  I felt I at least had nothing further to lose and nodded my assent. 
"What about your friends here?"  This time I made no response.  He moved to Stuart and James in turn asking each of them to confess their part in the attack but they each made no movement. 
Mike then moved to Stuart and said, "Richard has admitted his part in the attack on us and in our experience where he goes, this one" - pointing at James - "invariably follows.  They regularly suffer for their activities but I am sorry that they got you involved this time.  Rather than be too harsh on you, we are going to give you the opportunity to see what happens to miscreants".

I was deeply indignant at this little speech - it implied that I was the ringleader, which was wholly false. James was the mastermind of all our schemes and on this occasion I had been led into it unwillingly by him and Stuart.  On the other hand, if Stuart hadn't been sharing our tent he would not have been involved, so I was grateful that it appeared he would be let off lightly.  James and I were used to this sort of thing, after all!

Mike returned to James and me and asked us if we were prepared to acknowledge our crimes.  I took a sidelong look at my bound friend who made no movement whatever. It seemed we were both resigned to our fate.

At a signal from Mike, some of the boys released Stuart from the hog tie and untied his feet.  With his hands still tied behind his back he was led behind us so James and I were unable to see what was happening.  James was next and once more, after his feet were freed, he was led out of sight.

The anticipation of what was about to happen was almost too much to bear, but within a few minutes our captors turned their attention to me.  My ankles were untied and I was hauled to my feet and led to the edge of the clearing, which was surrounded by pine trees of varying sizes. I didn't have time to take in what had happened to my comrades before I was pushed towards a young tree, very straight and smooth, and approximately 6 inches in diameter.  I was made to turn around and forced onto my knees, my back against the trunk (so far as my bound hands would allow).  I was "persuaded" to kneel bolt upright, my knees forced apart. I felt hands seize my ankles, which were crossed behind the trunk and lashed together tightly.  Before I had time to take stock of my situation, hands pushed my shoulders forward and I felt my wrists being untied at last.  My new found freedom didn't last long - my arms were now seized, stretched above my head, my hands were pulled backwards and my wrists crossed and retied, once more behind the trunk of the sapling.  Our captors stepped away to admire their handiwork, giving me time not only to appreciate my own predicament but also to see my two companions.

Stuart was standing upright against a much stouter tree to my left, his ankles bound and lashed at the base of the trunk while his arms had been pulled around the tree, crossed, and his wrists tightly bound.  To ensure his complete immobility, a further rope had been tied above his elbows pulling them back as far as they would go and making it impossible for him to free him self in the (unlikely) event of his getting his hands free.  James was to my right and the circular nature of the clearing meant that we were almost facing one another.  He was tied in exactly the same manner as I was.

I have mentioned before that we were both rather skinny. Our respective parents tended to buy our clothes on the large side and our shorts were no exception.  To get round the difficulty of having to hoick our pants up from time to time we had both adopted the practice of wearing a belt and, in the absence of belt loops, of turning the tops of our shorts over the belt to keep them in place.  This was more than satisfactory but had the effect of making them both shorter and tighter.  Looking at James now, I realized that he was kneeling with his back arched, his skin taught over his ribs and a telltale bulge in his pants that suggested he was enjoying this!  Suddenly, I blushed deeply as I realized that I was showing the same telltale signs.  I put it down to fear of the unknown rather than "enjoyment".

Mike approached and surprised me by saying, "Sorry we couldn't bring your shirts - I noticed you shivering a little while ago but it is now 4.15 and the sun will be up in another half hour or so which will warm things up.  I'm afraid you are going to be here for a few hours unless you get free" - Some hope! - "so make yourselves comfortable.  We will try to entertain you to stop you getting bored!"  He gave a signal and another boy stepped behind me and started to untie my gag. 
"Don't even think about calling out - you must be thirsty by now and we are going to give you a drink".  Only then did I notice a large water carrier and some bottles on the edge of the clearing.  Each of us guzzled greedily from the offered bottle which seemed to please Mike inordinately.

When we had finished he said, "Sorry but the gags go back".  There seemed little point in resisting and I obligingly opened wide while the wad was stuffed into my mouth and the scarf tied back in place. 
"Most of us are going to leave you now for a while, but don't worry, Matthew is going to keep watch over you and make sure you get water from time to time".  With that he and six of his followers silently crept away leaving us to ponder our predicament and our aching limbs.  It was clear that our ordeal wasn't over by a long way but what did we have in store?  And why had James and I been tied up differently from Stuart?

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