Hidden Away
“Yeah, I
really enjoyed Alicia’s party – it was a good night.”
Cassie Craig
was sitting on my bed, with her wrists tied together behind her back, and her
ankles crossed and tied together, the rope sitting over her white socks as she
wriggled round. That was all I’d done to
her, which was unusual, but it was just the two of us, sitting and talking.
Oh, I nearly
forgot – hi, I’m Lisa, Lisa Williamson.
I live across the road from Cassie and her family with my family –
little brother Charlie, Mum and Dad. We
used to live way across town, but moved here last year – and that was when the
tie-up games really started in earnest.
Not that it
was something new to me – Charlie and I had been playing games like this for a
couple of years before, starting with the day we peeked in on Mum and Dad
playing a game. Charlie’s a couple of
years younger than me, but he was hooked on the idea of keeping a girl hostage
– and guess who was volunteered.
What really
helped was that we soon discovered how much Mum and Dad like to play these
games as well, and I really liked been tied up, while Charlie really liked
tying up – so eventually, every day if it wasn’t a school day (and sometimes
even if it was) I and sometimes Mum as well would end up tied up or gagged in
some way.
Dad would
sometimes tie us up as well, and I have to admit, I loved every second of it –
even if I didn’t know how to tie a knot, I loved wriggling round or just lying
still like that.
Then we moved
here, and I met Cassie and her sister Jenny, and the rest of her family. And that was when the fun started – because
within a week of moving in, she, her cousin Patty and their friends Suzie and
Rachel were here when a gang of masked men burst in and held us hostage!
I knew they
were real, and Cassie and Suzie did as well, but we pretended it was a game at
Dad’s suggestion, and I had to admit, I was a lot calmer because of that –
especially when the leader of the gang turned up. Apparently, Cassie had met him twice before,
and he was nice, spoke in a soft Geordie accent, and he put us totally at our
ease - even if we spent the night fully bound and gagged in our beds.
After that,
Cassie taught me how to tie someone up, with help from her family and friends –
and what friends! Suzie, for example, is
the granddaughter of Lord Holderness, and through her we got to know all her
family and their friends – especially a lovely American lady called Sarah.
So what else
happened after that? I was invited to a
sleepover at Suzie’s big new house, me and all their friends were kidnapped
just before New Year by the boys they knew and held hostage overnight in the
cellar of the house, we got invited to a big wedding at the Manor House, all
sorts of wonderful things, and life was fantastic.
And then
there was that really horrible day and night, when it didn’t seem like a game anymore. Jenny, Cassie’s sister, and Cassie had come
over to stay the night, and Dad had gone to work – he runs a big group of
accountants – when a group of men just burst into the house, tied all four of
us and Mum with zip ties, gagged us and then bundled us into a van, before we
were driven to an empty warehouse outside of town.
When we got
there, they really tied us up, and they were really cruel to us. They said they were going to hurt us if we
didn’t keep quiet, didn’t treat us nice, we had nothing to eat and drink –
unless you count the water they put in dog bowls and suggested we drink it from
there.
Jenny, though
– Jenny was the bravest girl I had ever seen.
She said we had to hide our fear somehow, show them we were not going to
be intimated, and then she said they had made a big mistake – because she knew
someone who would come to our rescue and make sure we would not get hurt.
She inspired
all of us – and then when they left us with a box that had a counter ticking
down, unable to move, unable to speak, she kept reassuring us until the miracle
happened.
They’d taken us
hostage to force Dad to do something for them, but he’d somehow got free and
asked Sarah and her husband Brian to help.
He came into the room we were in, and somehow stopped the counter. I was really scared, and so were Mum and
Charlie, but he untied us and took us out to where a friend of ours was
waiting, before he went back to the warehouse – and then brought Sarah and Dad
out!! He’d come to rescue us!!!
But I could
see even in the dark he was frightened as well – very frightened, as he hugged
and kissed each of us, and we went home.
Sarah and Brian’s friend – Kayla, I think her name was – checked us all
and then stayed the night, as we tried to get some sleep.
The next day
Sarah came and sat with me and Charlie, holding our hands as she asked us to
talk about what happened. I still don’t
know how she did it, but it was like all the fear and all the tears just flowed
away as we talked, with Mum there as well – and we slept for a while after
that. When we woke up, we felt a lot
better – and Mum and Dad have been friends with Sarah and Brian ever since.
So we kept
going after that, playing games, attending parties, right up until Alicia
Bowden’s party last week. Now Cassie and
I were sitting, just talking, about boys and what school was going to be like –
both of us were going to different schools after the summer, in fact both of us
were going to the same school Alicia, Jenny and her friends went to.
“So anyway,”
Cassie said as she wriggled on the bed, “how’s Charlie spending the holidays? I thought he’d be here tormenting both of
us.”
“I’m not
sure,” I said as I sipped my drink, and then let Cassie drink hers through her
straw, “he seems to be sneaking out most of the time recently.”
“Charlie
sneaking out? He’s not going to see Rachel
is he?”
We both
giggled as Cassie said that. Charlie has
this real soft spot for Patty’s friend Rachel, even if he wants to deny it.
“Nah – Mum or
Dad would drive him if that was the case, and he’s not doing that. No, he’s sneaking out for a few hours at a
time, and I have no idea where he’s going – just that he comes back a few hours
later.”
“I suppose
that means he leaves you alone,” Cassie said, “but I wonder where he’s going
off to?”
“Like I say,
no idea.”
“But aren’t
you curious? Whatever it is, it’s so
important to him he even stops tying you up?”
I stopped and
looked at Cassie for a moment. She had a
point, but still I didn’t like the idea of spying on Charlie.
“When’s he
likely to slip out?”
I looked at
the clock, which showed it was twelve.
“After lunch, “I say.
“Right – why
don’t we slip out after him, and see where he goes to? I really want to know what’s taking such an
important part in his life!”
Now I was
curious as well, so I nodded as Mum called up “Lunch in fifteen minutes.” I untied Cassie and watched as she slipped
her trainers on, while I put on my black Ugg boots over my jeans, and then
pulled a sweatshirt on. Operation
“Follow Charlie” was a Go!
After we had
finished lunch, mum chased us out of the kitchen in order to clear up, and said
“Go outside for a little while.” So we
went into the back garden, until after a few minutes Cassie said “there he
goes.”
We watched
Charlie as he slipped out through the garage, and we followed behind, letting
him get a way ahead of us before we went through the garage and followed him
onto the main road. He had turned right,
so we went down after him, trying to keep out of sight.
He didn’t
seem to see us, as he crossed the road and want through a gap in the
fence. There was a field on the other
side of the fence, and as we went over I saw him walk down a dirt track through
the field, towards a small forest on the other side.
“Any idea
where that goes,” I whispered, before we both scuttled back as Charlie turned
round. I look over very carefully as he
turned back and kept walking to the tress, and then took a path that ran into
them.
“Come on,” I
said as Cassie and I followed, and went into the forest, Charlie a little way
in front of us. He stopped and turned
again as we both dived to hide behind trees, then kept going as we followed,
until he turned left in a fork on the path.
We both
followed as he walked on, through the trees with the birds singing, until he
left the forest by a gate and turned left again. We walked quickly forward to catch him up,
and found ourselves on a road, Charlie walking down before he turned left
again.
It was only
when we took that left turn that I realised we were back on our road!
“He must have
seen us,” Cassie said as we walked towards my front door.
“Now what
might have given you that idea?”
I groaned as
we turned round and saw Charlie behind us, pointing a toy pistol in our
direction.
“Oh I don’t
know – this,” I said with a smile as Cassie giggled.
“All right –
inside. I can see I need to keep you two
from following me.”
We nodded and
walked into the house, Charlie closing the door behind us. Mum was upstairs, so he took two chairs from
the dining table and set them at the corner.
“Sit down,
hands on your heads,” he said, and as we did so he fetched a bag of supplies
from the hall cupboard.
“You first,”
he said as he opened the bag and took out some ropes, standing behind Cassie
and taking her arms through the gaps in the back of the chair, before he tied
her wrists together and then to the chair back itself. At least, I presume that’s what he did,
because that’s what he did to me right afterwards.
He then tied
some rope around my waist, and around Cassie’s, before he crossed and tied her
ankles together and secured them to the table leg in front of me, stretching
her legs out. He did the same to me –
and I realised he did this in an attempt to stop us moving together and trying
to escape.
He then
slapped a strip of duct tape over our mouths – that was it, just duct tape –
and went out again. I tried to move my
arms, but he had been as skilled and tight as usual, even if he had not tied us
fully. I figured I could get out of it –
and I knew for certain Cassie could – but I was still fuming at the way he had
tricked us.
A few minutes
later, Mum came in, took one look at us and burst out laughing. “Did Charlie do this to you,” she asked, and
we both nodded as she untied us and removed the tape from our mouths.
“Come on,”
she said, “you can help me start to get dinner ready.”
When Charlie
finally got back, Mum looked at him and said “what are the rules about leaving
the girls when you play the games?”
“Sorry Mum,”
he said as he looked at us, “it won’t happen again.”
“Where did
you go anyway?”
“Just playing
outside – honestly,” he said with a smile.
“All right –
just don’t let it happen again.”
As Charlie
nodded and went to his room, Cassie said “I need to head home – thanks, Mrs
Williamson.”
As I walked
her to the door, however, she said “Tomorrow – meet me at the entrance to the
forest, one o’clock. We’re going to find
out what he’s up to!”
Not that the next
day led us to the answer either. Cassie
and I slipped out after lunch, and hid as we watched Charlie go down the dirt
path again. This time we let him get just
far enough in front of us that we could see him, and followed him into the
trees, watching as he turned right at the fork we turned left at yesterday, and
then go on through the trees. We moved
as fast as we could, but he was quicker and soon disappeared out of sight.
Eventually we
came to another choice in the path.
Cassie looked at me and said “Right?”
“Right,” I
said, so we turned right – and walked in a great big circle until we found
ourselves back in the field we had entered the trees from!
“He did it to
us again, didn’t he,” I said as we walked back to my house.
“Never fear,”
Cassie said, “tomorrow, you come over to my place, and we set off earlier – I
think we might solve this then.”
So day three
of operation “Follow Charlie” dawned, and I went round to Cassie’s house,
wearing an olive green sweatshirt and dark grey joggers. Cassie had put on a brown hoodie and jeans,
so we both felt we were ready for the task that lay ahead – especially after
the bacon sandwich that Cassie’s mum made for us!
So it was
that we found ourselves, at about twelve, hiding in the bushes near the second
fork in the road.
“Are you sure
he’s going to come this way,” Cassie whispered to me as we looked round.
“We are
talking about Charlie here,” I said quietly, “Mister Dependable. The only thing that might stop him is if Dad needed
his help with something – and when I asked Dad what he was doing today, he said
he would be working all day at his office.”
“Well, if
that’s the case, we’d better – duck and cover!”
She pushed me
down as we saw Charlie walking along the path, whistling to himself as he kicked
some stones along the path. He was in a
checked shirt and shorts, and not paying much attention to anything –
otherwise, I’m sure he would have seen us again as he passed, and then turned
left in the fork in the road,
“Let’s go,”
Cassie said as we climbed out from behind the bush, and walked down the path,
as quietly as we could. Charlie didn’t
turn round once, as he left the forest and climbed over a fence.
We hung back
a little and then went to the gap in the trees, stopping as we both looked
round.
“Where are
we,” I said as we looked left and right.
“I think
we’re on the other side of Holderness,” Cassie eventually said, “that looks
like Louise’s house over there – I was with Patty when she drove there with her
mother one day – and I’m fairly sure that is Fiona’s place on the hill over
there.”
I guess that
was possible – Holderness is actually not that big a town, and it is in the
country, with quite a lot of farms around the perimeter.
“If that is
Louise’s place,” Cassie went on, “then that is one heck of a short cut – going
by road you have to go round the ring road.”
“There he
is,” I said as I looked directly in front of us. There was a large farmhouse on the other side
of the fence, with a field that had cows and a couple of horses roaming around
between the yard and us. There was a
barn there as well, and between the house and barn Charlie was playing with a
boy who looked as if he was the same age as him. He had short dark hair, and was wearing a
pair of denim dungarees with a red t-shirt underneath.
“So he’s
found a new friend,” I said as I looked over, “but why on earth did he want to
keep it a secret?”
“Gee, I don’t
know – perhaps we should ask him.”
We both spun
round at the sound of the voice, to see two boys standing behind us. One of them I recognised – Brian Hampton,
Colin’s cousin, with his red hair and wearing a blue polo shirt and grey
shorts.
I’d never
seen the other boy before, so I looked carefully at him. He seemed to be about twelve as well, and was
wearing a grey t-shirt and brown trousers.
He had light brown hair that went down to his neck, the most clear blue
eyes, and a smile that seemed to draw me in to him…
“Fancy
meeting you two here,” Brian said as I suddenly noticed the toy gun he was
pointing at both of us. “Any particular
reason you were snooping round here?”
“I could ask
you the same question, Brian Hampton,” Cassie said with her arms folded, “what
are you doing here?”
“Walking with
my friend,” Brian said with a smile. “But
I’m forgetting my manners – Eric, this is Lisa Williamson and Cassie
Craig. Lisa, Cassie, this is Eric
Cottrell, a friend of mine from school.”
“Pleased to
meet you,” he said in a West Country accent that sent a little tingle down me.
“Eric, do you
have a clean handkerchief I could borrow?”
“Sure,” he
said as he took one out of his pocket, “why?”
“Thanks,”
Brian said as he took one from his own pocket, and then handed Eric the toy
pistol, “I need to take these two trespassers prisoner.”
“Great,” Cassie
said as she rolled her eyes, but she allowed Brian to use one of the hankies to
bind her wrists behind her back, and then he used the second one on me.
“What are you
doing,” Eric said as he stood and watched.
“Don’t worry,
they’re used to this,” he said as he made us walk in front of him, through a
gate and across the field before we came into the farmyard. As we got closer to the other two, Eric
called out “hey – look who we found spying on you.”
The other boy
took one look at Cassie and me, and bolted into the house, closing the door
behind him. Charlie looked at us, shook
his head and said “Honestly – I try to keep a promise to a friend, and then you
find out...”
“Don’t worry
about it,” Eric said quietly, “Frank is incredibly shy, and he really hates
when strangers appear unannounced.”
“Frank?”
“My younger
brother – I think Charlie’s the first real friend he’s made around here.”
“He asked me
not to tell anyone else we were friends, because he didn’t want them coming
round and scaring him,” Charlie said as he looked at us. “Kinda like what you just saw. Congrats, sis.”
“Sis – so
this is your big sister Charlie,” Eric said as he looked at me. I giggled, and Cassie just stared at me for a
moment.
“Come on,” he
said as he walked to the door, “you might as well meet him now.” He opened the door and showed us in, our
hands still tied behind our backs, Charlie and Brian coming behind us.
“Frank,” he
called out, and then looked in the front room.
“Come on in,” he said, and as we all walked in we saw Frank sitting on
the couch, staring at me and Cassie.
“Frank, this
is Lisa Williamson and Cassie Craig.
Lisa is Charlie’s big sister.”
“Pleased to
meet you,” he said in a voice little more than a whisper.
“Hey,” Cassie
said, “it’s all right, we don’t bite.
How come we haven’t seen you around town?”
“I don’t like
going out,” Frank said, but at least he stood up and came over to join us.
“Honestly,
they’re not that bad,” Charlie said with a laugh as Frank walked round and
looked at us. “Why have you got your hands tied together behind your back,” he
finally said as he looked at us.
“It’s a game
– one Charlie likes to play a lot,” I said as I glanced at brother
dearest. “Isn’t that right, Charlie?”
“Yeah – yeah
that’s right,” Charlie said as he rubbed the back of his neck.
“You play a
game where you tie each other up?”
“Yeah – you
see…”
“Frank, Eric
– who’s in there with you?”
The woman had
a Northern accent, as Brian quickly untied our wrists and gave Eric back his
hankie. She then came in, a friendly
faced woman with long black hair covered by a scarf, wearing a set of dungarees
and an old blouse underneath.
“And who do
we have here,” she said as she looked at them, “Apart from Charlie and Brian
that is?”
“This is
Charlie’s sister, Lisa, and Brian’s friend Cassie,” Eric said quickly, “they
were passing by and we asked them to come in.”
“Well it’s
nice to meet you both,” she said, “have a seat and I’ll bring some snacks and
drinks in.”
“Eric’s in my
class at school,” Brian said as we sat down in the leather seats, “I’ve got to
know him since they arrived in town last September.”
“This used to
be my Grandpa’s farm,” Eric said, “but when he died, Dad came back to help run
the place.”
“Oh so you’re
a farming family?”
“Yes, and
no,” he said as he looked at me. “Dad
actually works for a financial firm, but we run the farm as well.”
“Here we go,”
Eric’s mum said as she carried in a tray of drinks and cookies, “so where do
you know Brian from, girls?”
“His cousin
goes out with my sister,” Cassie said, “and we have some other mutual friends
as well.”
“Well, I’m
glad you’re here – with the chores, the boys don’t get out too often, so
friends coming round is something I’d encourage.”
So we sat and
told her about our families, and the friends we had, as we drank and ate. Apparently they had lived in the north until
last year, when their dad inherited the farm, so he had come home.
“So he grew
up here? Maybe he knows your dad
Cassie?”
“Your
father?”
“My dad grew
up here with my aunts Cassie and Connie.”
“I’ll have to
ask him when he gets home,” their mum said.
A little
while later, we were about to go when we saw a familiar face passing in front
of the front of the farmhouse.
“Louise? What brings you down here,” I called
out. She seemed surprised to see us, as we
came down to her.
“What are you
two doing here,” she said as she greeted us.
“Long story –
do you know the family?”
“No, no – I
was just passing by,” she said as she looked past us. You’d almost think she was looking for
someone.
“Can I help
you girls?”
We suddenly
turned to see a tall, sandy brown haired boy standing behind us, pushing a bike
in his hands. A boy all three of us
recognised.
“Hang on – I
saw you three at Alicia’s party didn’t I?”
“Hi Mark,”
Eric said as he came out with Brian and Charlie, “the girls just dropped in to
meet Frank.”
“Oh – well,
that must have been interesting,” he said, as he pushed his bike to the
door. “Come on then – we’ve got the
chickens to clean out before dinner.”
“Work calls,”
Eric said with a smile. “Nice to meet
you girls.”
“Come on,”
Charlie said, “I’ll walk you back.”
The walk back
was a bit quieter, as Brian and Charlie talked, and Cassie and I just enjoyed
the walk. It was only when we got back
to her house, and we were in my bedroom, that Cassie looked at me.
“You like him
don’t you?”
“Like who?”
“Eric
Cottrell – you could hardly keep your eyes off him from the moment we met.”
“Oh come on
Cas,” I said as I sat on her bed, “don’t be ridiculous.”
“Okay – describe
him.”
“As tall as
Brian, deep blue eyes, cute smile, nice hair…”
“See – you’ve
fallen for him already. And you’re
blushing, so don’t lie to me Lisa Williamson – you like him!”
“All right,
all right, I think he’s cute,” I said with a smile. “What are you going to do about it?”
“Me? Nothing – but don’t let Patty find out or
you’ll never hear the end of it.”
She had a
point with that – so I decided I wasn’t going to say anything.
“So do you
think they can be brought into the gang?”
“To play our games? Possibly – I mean, his big brother saw what
happened at the party, and didn’t bat an eyelid. I’m not sure about Frank though.”
“Yeah –
unless we sic Patty and Rachel onto him.”
We both
started laughing, before Cassie said “oh no – let’s not do to that to the poor
boy. Not yet anyway. Still – reckon they may want to join in?”
“We can but
ask,” I said with a smile before I got up.
“I gotta head back – see you tomorrow?”
“Sure,”
Cassie said as I went back to my house.
As we sat at
the dinner table, Dad looked over and said “And where did you two get to
today? Your mum says you were out all
day.”
“I was round
at Cassie’s all day,” I said quickly, looking at Charlie to see if he would
give me away. He didn’t, just saying “I
was out in the woods all day, looking for things.”
Mum and Dad
looked at each other, and nothing more was said, but I wondered why I had
lied. Was I really too scared to admit I
had met this boy, and had a bit of a crush on him?
As we went to
bed that night, Charlie knocked on my door and said “Lisa?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks – I
won’t say anything if you won’t.”
I nodded in
agreement, and nothing else was said – then.
As always seems to be the case, however, things changed soon after.
Three days
later, actually, and it started at breakfast when Dad said “Charlie, I need you
to come with me this morning and get some new shoes – I’ll drop you off
afterwards before Gran gets here.”
Mum and Dad
had been invited to a dinner, which usually meant they wouldn’t be back until
the next morning, so Granny Williamson was coming to babysit today. When I saw the look on Charlie’s face,
however, it was clear he’d forgotten.
“Today? Can’t it wait?”
“Afraid not,”
Mum said, “because you’ll need them when we go on holiday in a week’s time. Now eat up and get changed both of you.”
A few minutes
later, I was putting on some socks in my room when Charlie came in.
“Lisa, I need
to ask a slightly huge favour.”
“You’re
asking me for a favour? This must be
serious,” I said as I put on my sleeveless pink jerkin, over my white jumper
and jeans. “What’s up?”
“I promised
Frank I’d let him borrow my copy of Harry Potter and the Cauldron of Fire, but
now I’ve got to go into town with Dad. I
don’t suppose you could take it round to him, could you?”
“Well, I
don’t know, I mean…”
“Please?”
“All right,”
I said with a shrug of my shoulders, trying not to smile, “let me have it and
I’ll take it round today.”
“Thanks Sis –
I owe you one,” he said as Mum called up “Lisa, Cassie’s here!”
“Tell her to
come up,” I said as I sat down and pulled my sneakers on. Cassie soon appeared, in a blue t-shirt, blue
leggings and trainers.
“So what are
you up to today,” she asked as he sat on the bed.
“I’ll tell
you in a minute,” I said as Charlie put the book on the bed, said “thanks” and
then ran down at the sound of Dad calling him.
“Harry
Potter? I thought you read them all.”
“I have – he
asked if I’d take it round to Frank later.”
“Oh yeah,”
Cassie said with a smile. “And if Eric
is there, that’s just a happy coincidence, right?”
“All right,
all right, don’t start today,” I said with a smile, before Mum called up and
asked us to help her in the front room.
So it was
after eleven by the time Cassie and I finally got of the house, and walked down
the road, the book safely under my arm.
We’d got about – oh, ten steps before we heard a familiar voice saying
“Where are you two going?”
“Oh boy,”
Cassie said as she turned round to see Patty standing there, wearing a blue top
with white spots, matching leggings and a denim skirt, looking at us through
her glasses.
Louise was
with her, wearing a white short sleeved blouse and a knee length grey denim
skirt with trainers.
“Hey Patty,”
Cassie said, “where were you heading?”
“Your place
actually,” Patty said. “Louise came over
on a play date, Rachel’s in town with her mum, and Fiona went off for the day
with her parents. So we thought we’d
come round and have some fun at your place.”
I knew what
she meant by “fun” as Cassie said “Well, we can go there later, but right now
Lisa and I need to run an errand.”
“Oh? Where are you going?”
I decided to
tell a half truth, and said “Charlie asked if I’d drop a book off with a friend
of his, at the Cottrell farm.”
“I’ll come
with you,” Louise said without a moment’s hesitation. Cassie and I looked at each other, then at
the blushing Louise.
“Oh yeah,”
Patty said as she looked at Louise. “I
think I want to see this place for myself – why don’t we all go?”
“All right
then,” I said with a shrug, so we made our way through the woods and into the
farmyard. The chickens were running
around, which made Patty jump a little, before I knocked on the front door.
“Oh hello
Lisa,” Mrs Cottrell said as she opened the door. She was wearing an old Fair isle jumper and
jeans. “What can I do for you?”
“Charlie
asked if I would bring this over for Frank,” I said as I showed her the book.
“Oh – well,
Frank is out with Mark for the day at his uncle’s, but Eric is here. Look – why don’t you come in? I was about to do some sandwiches, and I can
make some for all of you as well.”
“Thank you,”
I said as we went into the front room.
Eric was there, wearing a short sleeved checked shirt and jeans, but he
looked up as we came in and smiled.
He smiled…
“Hey,” he
said, “I didn’t know you were coming round today.”
“Charlie
asked me to bring something round for Frank,” I said as we came in. “Oh – this is Cassie’s cousin Patty, and our
friend Louise.”
“Hey,” Eric
said as he looked at Louise. “I’ve seen
you around – you live just down the road don’t you?”
“That’s
right,” Louise said quietly, “nice to meet you.”
“Well sit
down,” he said, “Mum’s fixing some sandwiches.”
He looked at the book and said “Oh yeah – he’s working his way through
them.”
“Your mum
said Frank and Mark were at your uncle’s place?”
“Yeah – he
lives in London, so Dad took them in this morning and he’ll bring them back
tonight.”
“So this is
your farm?”
“My dad’s”
Eric said, “but we all help out. Why?”
“I’ve never
seen chickens running around loose before.”
“Oh they’re
all right. Honestly.”
We sat and
talked while Mrs Cottrell brought in sandwiches and glasses of milk, me
enjoying everything Eric said and did, oblivious to what Patty may have been
looking at it.
Eventually, I
looked at my watch and said “I think we need to get on our way. I didn’t realise it was after two. Thank you for the milk and sandwiches, Mrs
Cottrell.”
“You’re
welcome,” she said, “and please, feel free to…”
That was when
the door to the main room opened, and we all stared at the people who walked
in, while I gripped the seat cushion with my hands.
There were
four people, dressed in boiler suits, and wearing gloves and ski masks over
their heads so only their lips and eyes showed.
I could see one of them was a woman, but I could also see the guns in
their hands, and for a moment I was back in that warehouse with those horrible
men again.
Then one of
the men spoke, and I recognised the voice – the soft Geordie voice that said
“Well, this is an unfortunate surprise.
We have got to stop meeting like this, young Cassie.”
I looked over
at Cassie, who was showing no fear whatsoever, and that made me feel better as
she said “Not again Mr Edwards.”
“I really am
sorry about this – I had promised I would never do this again, but we just keep
crossing paths. With regret, it means we
must once again…”
“Play the
hostage game,” Patty said as she jumped up and down. “It’s all right,” she said as she looked at
Louise, who was staring straight ahead, “This is the man who played that
weekend game with all of us.”
None of the
others had said anything, but then the woman said in a Scottish accent “Jay, do
you know these girls?”
“Unfortunately
yes – Mrs McPhee, may I present Cassie Craig, Lisa Williamson and Patty
Pickering – and you are?”
“Louise
Hobson,” she said quietly.
“Louise –
very pleased to meet you all,” she said, her voice so calm, so reassuring I was
starting to feel better already.
“As I was
saying, with regret, I will need to keep you hostage here with Mrs Cottrell and
her son. Isn’t that right, Mrs
Cottrell?”
I suddenly
realised Eric and his mother had said nothing, but now she slowly nodded her
head and said “Yes, it’s a game, and we’re going to play along, all right Eric.”
I smiled at
Eric, who slowly nodded as well and said “All right – please, don’t hurt us.”
“None of us
are going to hurt you so long as you behave,” Jay said. “Cassie, would you come with me for a moment
please?”
“Sure,”
Cassie said as she went out with Jay, and Mrs McPhee looked at us.
“All right,”
she said, “we’re going to be staying a while, as if we are holding all of you
hostage. Once this young man’s father
comes home, we’ll talk to him, and then he will play along as well. It’ll be fun, all right?”
“Don’t worry
Louise,” Patty said as she hugged her friend, “it is just a big game, and we’ll
have lots of fun, all right?”
Louise nodded
as Jay brought Cassie in. “Now, while we
check nobody else is home, I want you all to give my friend your mobile
phones. You, check the main phone and
internet are disconnected.”
One of the
other two men nodded as he, Jay and Mrs McPhee left the room, and we handed our
mobile phones over to him, watching as he placed them to one side.
“It’s a very
realistic game,” Eric whispered to me.
“Yeah – Patty
likes it that way,” I whispered back as the other three returned.
“Now then,”
Jay said, “this is a hostage game, so we need to make sure none of you can move
about for a while. So we’re going to tie
you up, and I am going to need your help.”
He then pointed at Eric, who started shaking and said “Do I have to?”
“Yes you do –
come here please Eric.”
“How do you
know my name?”
He looked at
me and Louise, and then stood up, saying “what do you want me to do?”
“My friend
here is going to tie your mother up, and you are going to tie the girls up.”
“But I don’t
know how to do that!”
“That’s all
right,” Patty shouted out, “Cassie can teach you!”
“Thank you
Patty,” I heard Cassie mumble under her breath.
“All right,”
Jay said with a smile, “you tie Patty up, and Eric can copy you on one of the
others.”
Cassie stood
up and took two lengths of rope. She
handed on to Eric, and then watched as one of the other masked men crossed and
tied Mrs Cottrell’s wrists together in front of her.
“Double the
rope like this Eric,” she said, “and then copy on Lisa what I do to Patty.”
I watched as
Cassie put Patty’s wrists together in front of her. “No, behind me,” she said as she looked at
Cassie.
“Maybe
later,” Mrs McPhee said, “for now, do what we say.”
“All right,”
Patty mumbled as I held my wrists out and watched Eric as he copied Cassie,
tying my wrists together in front of me.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he kept saying.
“It’s all
right,” I said quietly as I felt him wrap the rope around my wrists, and then
his hands on mine. It was a funny
feeling – but a nice one. Even nicer
than when Charlie does this.
He then
copied Cassie and the masked man as he tied my ankles together, and then my
legs below my knees, his hands on my legs as he did so. It was exciting, and strange, and nice, and
all sorts of funny feelings, as I sat back and watched Cassie tie Louise up,
and then Eric. She made him sit next to
me, and we rubbed shoulders as he watched her tie her legs together.
“This is
strange,” he said as he wriggled his wrists, “what are we going to do all
afternoon?”
“Well,” Mrs
McPhee said as Jay tied Cassie up, “do you have a board game?”
“We have
trivial pursuit?”
“Well, we can
play that for an hour,” she said as she found the box, set it up and we played
the game for a while.
Eventually,
however, Patty said “I need the toilet.”
“All right,”
Mrs McPhee said as she untied her, “and after that?”
She looked at
us, and said “I want to be really tied up.”
“No, we don’t
need that,” Mrs Cottrell said, but Jay looked at us, and then said “All right –
we’ll untie you all, and then we’ll do that, but you will be untied for dinner,
all right?”
“Please,” Mrs
Cottrell said, but Mrs McPhee said “Don’t worry – I’ll do it, and I’ll keep an
eye on all of you. Now, let’s untie you
and you can go to the toilet if you need.”
A few minutes
later, as I came back in, I saw Mrs McPhee hand some sponge balls to Patty, Mrs
Cottrell, and then to me. “Make a fist
while holding these,” she said as she picked three rolls of white tape from the
bag, “and we’ll do all three of you at the same time.”
So she stood
in front of Eric’s mum, Eric in front of me, and then Cassie in front of Patty,
as we gripped the sponges, and they wrapped the white tape around our wrists.
“Turn round
now, and cross your wrists behind your back,” Mrs McPhee said, her soft voice
so calming and nice as we all did so. I
felt Eric tremble as he touched my arm, so I said “It’s all right, it’s part of
the game Eric. Just do what they say.”
I tried not
to smile as I felt the rope around my wrists, as Eric did a good job of tying
them together, and then passing the rope around my waist so that my wrists were
against my back.
“Now copy
me,” Cassie said behind me, as Eric started to tie some rope around my lower arms
and stomach. I looked over at Mrs
McPhee, who was wrapping rope around his mother’s arms above and below her
chest, and hoped Patty would be content with this for now.
I looked at
her, and she nodded as we were made to sit down, and then our ankles and legs
secured as before. “Now,” Mrs McPhee
said as Louise came in with Jay,” Take a cloth each, and put it in their
mouths.”
I shivered as
I watched Eric push the cloth into my mouth, and then copied Cassie by tying a
knotted length of towel between my lips.
“Fknu,” I mumbled as he tied the strip round, looking at the other three
as they got the same treatment, and then back at Eric as he put his hands on my
shoulders.
“Are you sure
you’re all right,” he said, and I nodded as Mrs McPhee said “now, use the tape
and wrap it round their heads.”
“Plssennn,”
Mrs Cottrell said, but she was first, Cassie and Eric copying as we all fell
silent.
We watched as
Cassie then tied and gagged Eric, and Mrs McPhee took care of Louise, before
she bound Cassie. Jay then came in, and
said “Mrs McPhee will look after you, but Mum needs to rest.” He picked her up and carried her out of the
room, while Mrs McPhee said “Right – what would you like to play a game of?”
“Espppy,”
Patty said, Cassie and me rolling our eyes.
“Hey,” Mrs
McPhee said as she looked at both of us, “you two are stars for keeping the
others calm. Keep up the good work.”
We both
blushed at that as Mrs McPhee said “I know – we can play one of these DVD
games. You grunt the number of the
answer you want to give.”
She set up
the player and found one of those games where you have to answer questions
about clips and so on, before setting us up and starting it. I nudged Eric in the side with my arm and
said “rulrrt” to him.
He turned and
nodded to me, and I could swear he was blushing as he did so.
The game was
actually a lot of fun, as we ran a close run contest – and even Louise and Eric
were playing along by the time Jay came back down and joined in. Seriously, it was like a normal day at home –
except we were hostages.
“Whrssmmm”
Eric said as he looked at Jay.
“Your mother
is fine,” Jay said, “she’s on her bed, and you’ll see her later. Don’t worry Son – you’re all doing just
fine.”
Eric nodded
as Jay looked at his watch. “It’s time,”
he said as he stood up. “Just keep nice
and quiet kids – Eric’s dad is on his way home, and we want to give him a big
surprise.”
We all nodded
and waited until we heard a car pull up outside, and then the front door open
and close. “Linda, Eric, where are…”
Mr Cottrell
stooped in the doorway, eyes wide as he looked at us.
“What on
earth…” he stammered as he saw all five of us sitting there, tightly bound and
with white tape round our mouths, as Eric said “msreeddd.”
“Good
afternoon Mr Cottrell,” Jay said as he stepped in front of us. “My name is Jay Edwards – perhaps you have
heard of me?”
“Jay… But I’m just a farmer, surely you can see
that?”
“Indeed – a
farmer who has very good taste in antique furniture, and who is also a highly
placed stockbroker,” Jay said with a smile.
“As you can see, we have your son and his friends safely secured, and
your wife is upstairs. I strongly advise
you continue to play the game, understood?”
He looked at
us all, before saying “Have they hurt you Eric?”
I smiled as
he shook his head, while Mrs McPhee said “They haven’t been hurt Mr
Cottrell. Just do as we say, and
everyone will be just fine.”
“I want to
see my wife.”
“Of course –
Mrs McPhee, keep them company while we talk?”
As he went
off with Jay Edwards, she turned the television to the Disney Channel, and we
started to watch Phineas and Ferb. Mrs
Cottrell looked in, with one of the other two masked men behind her, and asked
if we were all right, before she was taken into the kitchen.
As we sat
there, I started thinking about this situation.
There was no doubting that as kidnappers go, Jay Edwards was one of the
nicest outside of the likes of Angela I had ever met – he even stopped in for a
few minutes and sat with us as we watched the television.
It was Mrs
McPhee I found the most comforting though – even though we had never met, it
was almost as if she knew exactly what to do or say to make me less
scared. Cassie was also amazing in that
respect, and so was Patty if truth be told.
I felt
something nudging against me, and I turned my head to see Eric looking at me,
almost smiling under the tape. I smiled
back as well and nudged him, the two of us giggling as we were watched.
“I think you
can remove the tape now,” Jay eventually said as the program finished, so Mrs
McPhee went round each of us, unwinding the tape and then removing the cleave
gags and the cloths.
“I need to go
to the toilet,” Eric said, so he was untied and then taken by the other masked
man.
“Now,” Mrs
McPhee said, “you are going to be staying here tonight, but we’ll make it like
a slumber party and sleepover. You’ll
need to let your parents know however.”
“I’ll do it
first,” Cassie said as she looked at us, “just tell them you’re staying with
one of us. We’ve done it before, and I
don’t think they’ll object. It also
means they won’t worry about us.”
The others
nodded as Mrs McPhee said “Which phone is yours Cassie?”
“The blue
one,” she said, all of us watching as the masked woman found a number and
dialled it, before putting the phone to Cassie’s cheek.
“Mum? Listen, is it all right if I sleep over at
Lisa’s place tonight? We really got into
a game and we want to see it through to the end.
“Yeah, I’ll
be careful. Thanks Mum – I’ll see you
tomorrow.”
She nodded to
show Mrs McPhee she was finished, before she looked at me and said “You next.”
“The black
iPhone,” I said, and as I licked my lips she put the phone to my ear.
“Granny? Hi it’s Lisa.
Listen, I know you’ve come to watch us, but is it all right if I sleep
over with Cassie Craig tonight?
“Yeah, that’s
right my friend from across the road. We
went to see a film and she’s asked me round for tea.
“All right,
I’ll wait for you to call back.” As the
call ended, Jay stood up and went to check something.
“She just
needs to call my dad first, but he’ll say yes,” I said as we waited for my
phone to ring again. It only took a
couple of minutes, before it rang.
“Hi
Granny? That’s great – I’ll see you in
the morning.”
Nodding, I
watched as Mrs McPhee collected the other two phones, and Patty and Louise made
their calls. Patty said she was staying
with Cassie, while Louise said she was staying with Patty.
“That’s
better,” Mrs McPhee said as she put the phones back, and started to untie
Louise. “Now, you go with this man here,
and get ready for dinner, and the others will join you and Eric shortly.”
We all
watched as Louise slowly walked out of the room and up the stairs, before Mrs
McPhee turned and looked at us.
“You are all
incredibly brave girls, to make this a game for her.
“It worked
for me last time,” Patty said with a smile, “so I imagined it would work for
her as well.”
“You… “
“Oh come on
Cassie,” Patty said as she looked at us, “I’m not that stupid. I know this is a real robbery, I know these
are real criminals. Mum eventually told
me what really happened that weekend.”
She then smiled and said “Having said which, you are both very nice and
kind people, Mrs McPhee. If I am going
to be held hostage, I’m glad it’s by Jay and you and the others.”
“I’ll take
that as a compliment – and thank you,” Mrs McPhee said. “How do you feel Lisa?”
“Not nearly
as scared as I did when you walked in,”
I said – truthfully as well.
“Thank you for being so gentle with us.”
“You’re
welcome,” she said as Louise walked past us.
“Your turn Patty.”
“While I’m
very glad to meet you girls, I’m really sorry it had to be this way,” Mr
Cottrell said as we sat round the dinner table, eating the chicken and vegetables
that we had been given. We five were all
tied tightly to the chair with rope around our waists, and our ankles and legs
tied together, but our arms and hands were free as we ate.
“Do you grow
these on the farm,” I said as I looked at Eric, smiling as I did so.
“Yeah – we
raise the chickens as well,” he said as he smiled back, and I saw his parents
looking at each other.
“Well,
there’s apple pie and ice cream for afters,” Mrs Cottrell said as she looked at
the four masked intruders.
“You’ll enjoy
that,” Mrs McPhee said as she watched us all.
“Now, as
Cassie will tell you, after dinner Mr Cottrell will go with one of my friends
to take care of a little business for us,” Jay said quietly as the plates were
cleared away, “and you will stay here with us.
So long as nothing goes wrong, tomorrow morning you’ll be able to tell
your friends all about what happened.”
“Will we be
tied and gagged like before?”
“I am afraid
you will be, but just watch how the girls behave,” he said as he looked at us,
“and follow their lead. That pie does
smell good.”
“Thanks, I
guess,” Mrs Cottrell said as she took the pie from the oven, and then set it on
the table, before cutting slices and handing them round on plates, as well as a
large tub of ice cream.
“What will
you to do to them after I go,” Mr Cottrell said as he looked at Jay.
“They can
watch television for a while, and then they will get ready for bed, where we
will make them comfortable. I am afraid,
Mrs Cottrell, we must impose on you to find something for the four girls to
wear.”
“They… They can borrow some of Eric and Frank’s
pyjamas,” she said, “but why must you do that?”
“It’s part of
the game,” Mrs McPhee said, “to be the hostage all night, unable to raise the
alarm. Isn’t that right Cassie?”
“It’s all
right Mrs Cottrell,” Cassie said, “we can cope, and I know you and Eric can as
well.”
“You’re all
very brave,” Mrs Cottrell said, “so we will be as well. Won’t we Eric?”
I smiled as
he nodded, and I saw him smile back at me – that made me feel better too.
“Right,” Jay
said as the plates were cleared away, “we’ll go through to the main room with
the children now. Your father will come
with us until the dishes are washed and cleared away.”
We all nodded
as our wrists were secured behind our back with zip ties, and then we were
released from the chairs, Mr Cottrell coming with us as we sat down and watched
TV again.
Half an hour
later, Mrs Cottrell came in, and we watched Mr Cottrell as he got ready to go
out. “Please, don’t hurt them,” he said
as he put his jacket on.
“Just do what
we ask you to do, and they’ll be fine,” Jay said as one of the masked men took
Mr Cottrell’s arm. He looked at all of
us, and said “keep safe” as he was taken out, and we heard the car drive off.
“Now then,”
Mrs McPhee said as she helped Eric’s mother to stand, “I want you to come with
me and change into your night clothes, and then we can begin to get the
children ready.”
“They are
perfectly safe with me,” Jay said as she went upstairs, returning twenty
minutes later wearing a pale blue long nightdress and a matching gown over it.
“Patty,
Louise, will you come with me now please,” Mrs McPhee said, the two of them
going upstairs with her. When they came
back down, Patty was wearing a pair of blue long pyjamas, with a picture of a
Transformer on the top, while Louise was wearing a pair of checked shorts and a
blue t-shirt.
“You two
now,” Mrs McPhee said as she took me and Cassie upstairs. At the bathroom door, she cut our wrists free
and we went in, finding two sets of what looked like Eric’s pyjamas there.
“Well, fancy
meeting you here,” Cassie said with a smile as she started to strip off.
“This is just
so different from last time,” I said as I stripped off and washed, then picked
up a pair of blue pyjama bottoms and pulled them on, before putting the long sleeved
top over my head and pulling it down.
“Not nearly
as scary, right?”
“No, not
nearly,” I laughed as I watched Cassie out on the top and bottoms – it was like
she was putting on a black blouse and pants.
We knocked and came out, Mrs McPhee taking us back to the front room and
then taking Eric out.
“They suit
you,” he said as he looked at me, and I blushed a little bit.
He came down
soon after, in a red t-shirt and shorts, before Mrs Cottrell went with Mrs
McPhee to the kitchen and brought through some glasses of milk and cookies.
Eventually,
however, the inevitable happened as Jay stood up. “Time to go to bed,” he said, “Show me your
youngest son’s room first, Mrs Cottrell.”
We went up
the stairs in single file, and went into what was obviously Frank’s room from
the pictures and books. As we lined up
against the wall, we watched as Jay and Mrs McPhee started to bind Patty and
Louise, covering their bunched hands in white tape before tying their wrists
together behind their backs, and their arms to their bodies with rope around
their waists and their tummies.
“Now, are you
two ready,” Jay said as he held two folded cloths in his gloved hands. They nodded and opened their mouths as he
pushed them in, then tied a knotted length of towel between their lips, before
wrapping the white tape tightly round their heads.
“Remember to
lie on your side or stomach,” Mrs McPhee said as they sat on Frank’s bed and
watched as their ankles and legs were tied together, “and breath in and out
through your noses.”
They both
nodded as they lay facing each other on the bed, and Mrs McPhee picked up a
book. “I’ll stay until they settle,” she
said as Jay and the other man took us into Eric’s room.
“All right,”
Jay said, “I’m going to need your help again young man. You copy me this time.”
“You do me
Eric,” I blurted out, Cassie raising an eyebrow and then nodding. So I stood
still as Eric copied Jay and tied me up.
It just felt
so good, his hands holding me and then binding me. I mean, I’ve seen how Cassie feels when
Bobby ties her up, or Rachel when Charlie does it – and as Eric tied my arms to
my side, I had to admit I understood it for the first time. As he then gagged me, his hands on my lips, I
wondered if we could be friends like Cassie and Bobby? I made a promise to myself then to ask Cassie
how to do that as we sat on the bed, and allowed him and Jay to tie our legs,
before we lay down facing each other, and Jay tied our ankles to the bottom of
the bed.
“Sleep well
girls,” he said as he turned the light off, the room dim as we looked at each
other.
“Hrelllksu,”
Cassie said as the door closed.
“Yhelkhmtt.”
She nodded as
we both slowly drifted off to sleep…
“LINDA!!! ERIC!!! GIRLS!!! WHERE ARE YOU?”
I opened my
eyes to see Cassie looking at me, and as I rolled over to face the door I saw
it open and Mr Cottrell standing there, his eyes wide and his clothes
dishevelled.
“There are
two girls in here as well,” a policeman behind him said, and as they moved on a
policewoman came in and looked at us.
“Don’t move
girls,” she said as she unravelled the tape from my mouth, and then untied the
cloth and removed the rest of the gag.
“We’re all
right – Patty and Louise?”
“The two
younger girls,” she said as she ungagged Cassie, “they’re a bit stiff, but all
right. You two?”
“We’re fine,
but stiff,” Cassie said as she worked her jaw, “you need to make sure that…”
“Oh god
Andrew,” we heard Mrs Cottrell say, and the policewoman smiled. “Let’s get everyone free and downstairs, and
then we’ll talk to you all about what happened, all right?”
We both
nodded as she started to untie our legs.
As we went
into the front room, we saw Eric and Mrs Cottrell sitting there, her arms
around him.
“Are you
girls all right,” she said as she looked at us.
“We’re fine,”
I said, “it’s not the first time we’ve met him.
How are you?”
“I’m all right,”
Eric said as he looked at me, “I was more worried I had hurt you.”
“You didn’t”
I said with a smile as Cassie nudged me.
“Hey – how
are you?”
“We’re fine,”
Mrs Cottrell said as Patty and Louise came in, and we all sat down.
“Where’s your
dad,” Louise said to Eric.
“Talking to
the police – apparently they’ve already…”
“LOUISE!”
“Oh – hi
Dad,” Louise said as her father came in, knelt down and hugged her, before he
looked at her.
“What
happened? The police called and said you
were held hostage, and…”
“It’s all
right Dad – it was a game for me and Patty, isn’t that right Patty?”
“That’s right
Mr Hobson,” Cassie said, “we treated it as a game.”
“We had to
call you and say it was a sleepover to stop the alarm being raised – I’m really
sorry I lied to you Dad.”
“You didn’t
have a choice,” he said as he kissed her forehead. “I’m just glad you’re all right.” He suddenly looked over and said “sorry, I’m
Jack Hobson, Louise’s dad.”
“Linda
Cottrell – and this is my husband Andrew.”
He stood up
and shook Mr Cottrell’s hand. “I can
only imagine what this was like for you.”
“CASSIE!”
“Hi Dad,”
Cassie said as Mr Craig hugged her, and I hugged Mum and Dad.
“You have got
to stop doing this, young lady – who was it?”
Cassie made a
strange face and said “Jay Edwards?”
“Again! What is it with you and him?”
“What on
earth were you doing here anyway,” Mum said as she kissed my forehead.
“Er…”
Mrs Pickering
came in and picked Patty off the floor as the police officer came in.
“We need to
talk to Mrs Cottrell and the children,” he said quietly, “before you take them
home. A paramedic also needs to check
them over, but I don’t think they’ve been harmed physically. Apparently three of the girls have met this
man before?”
“Sadly, yes,”
Cassie’s dad said, “can we stay with them?”
He nodded as
Mr Cottrell said “Let me get some drinks for all of you.”
“Mr Cottrell,
how are you,” I asked.
“As sore as
the rest of you,” he said with a sigh.
“Drinks first.”
When I walked
into the front room, Granny Williamson and Charlie were sitting waiting for me.
“Thank god
you’re all right,” Granny said as she gave me a hug, and I looked at Charlie.
“I’m sorry, I
shouldn’t have asked you to…”
“Mum, thanks
for sticking around,” Dad said as he hugged Granny, “you helped a great deal.”
“Come on
Mark,” she said in her soft West Country voice, “I wanted to be sure she was
fine. But I do need to get going.”
“I’ll see you
out,” Mum said as Granny hugged and kissed me again. Dad looked at both of us and said “sit down,
both of you – we need to have a talk.”
Charlie and I
looked at each other and nodded as we heard Mum saying goodbye to Granny, and
then closing the door. As she came back
in, she sat down and looked at us.
“We had a
chat with Mr and Mrs Cottrell before we brought Lisa home,” Dad said, “so we
know you’ve been going round there for the last couple of weeks Charlie. We also know now that you’d been round there
before yesterday Lisa. The question we
have to ask you is, why didn’t you tell me or your mother where you were?”
We looked at
each other, before Charlie said “I’m sorry Dad – I met Frank, their youngest
son, when I was exploring in the woods, and we became friends, but he’s
incredibly shy, and he made me promise not to tell anyone that we were friends.”
“And you
agreed because,” Mum said as she sat back.
“Well, when I
say incredibly shy, I mean he runs away if he sees someone he doesn’t know – he
did when you first met him, didn’t he Lisa?”
“That’s right
Dad – he ran straight into the house when Cassie and I went there with Eric and
Brian…”
I suddenly
blushed as I looked at Mum and Dad. “And
you met him because?”
“Well, Cassie
and I wanted to know where Charlie was sneaking off to, so we followed him to
the farmhouse, only Brian Hampton and Eric surprised us as well. The two of us became friend with Eric and
Frank, but we wanted to protect Frank as well.”
“I see,” Dad
said, “so yesterday?”
“Yesterday,
Charlie asked if I would take a book round to Frank, but I didn’t tell you
because we were keeping it a secret – for Frank’s sake. Cassie came with me, and then Patty and
Louise joined us. We got there, stayed
for a sandwich, and – well, you heard me tell the policeman what happened after
that.”
Mum and Dad
looked at both of us, before Dad said “Well, having met Frank today, I can see
just how shy he is. So I understand why
you did it, but in future you need to tell us if you are visiting again, all
right?”
“Yes Dad.”
“Right, I’ll
start tea,” Mum said as she left us, Dad following.
“Thanks,”
Charlie said, “and I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“It’s all
right, I survived,” I said as I hugged Charlie.
“Where are we
going, Dad,” Charlie said as he sat next to me in the back of the car. It had been five days since the incident, and
we were a few days away from a surprise holiday to the US. Mum and Dad had told us about it the day
before – a two week trip to New England.
“Well,” Dad
said, “I know you don’t read the papers, so you may not have heard that the
firm that Mr Cottrell worked for has collapsed, and he has had to look for a
new job. Fortunately, he did not have to
look very far for one.”
“Oh,” I said,
“where did he get a new job?”
“Working for
me,” Dad said as I realised we were heading to the Cottrell farm. As we stopped outside, Mr and Mrs Cottrell
came to the front door.
“Hello Mark,”
Mr Cottrell said as he shook Dad’s hand, “thanks for coming round for lunch
today.”
“Thank you
for inviting us,” Dad said as we went in.
Mark, Frank and Eric were all sitting in the front room, Eric smiling as
I came in.
“Why don’t we
go through and eat,” Mrs Cottrell said, “and then the boys can take you
somewhere while we talk.”
Lunch was
delicious – sausages and mash with onion gravy, and sponge pudding. After we had eaten, Charlie and Frank went
out into the yard, while Mark and Eric took me to Eric’s room.
As soon as
the two of us went in, however, Mark said “Sorry guys, I have to go somewhere –
have fun.” He ran off, Eric smiling as
he said “He’s probably gone to see Mary.”
“I heard they
were going out,” I said as I sat down, Eric sitting next to me.
“Yeah – he’s
lucky,” Eric said. We sat in silence for
a minute, before he said “Lisa, about the other day…”
“Yeah,” I
said as I looked at him.
“Well… I… I just wanted to say I thought you were
incredibly brave.”
“Thank you,”
I said with a smile, “you were brave as well.”
“Not really –
I was scared witless, but I realised…”
“Yeah?”
He turned and
smiled as he said “I realised if you could be brave, so could I.”
I smiled as
well as he said “Want to know something?
They were so gentle and kind, I forgot I was a hostage and just
relaxed.”
“Yeah – that
happened the first time I met him,” I said.
“Lisa?”
“Hmmm?”
“Can I tie
your wrists together – in front of you?”
I nodded and
watched as he took a skipping rope and held my hands, looking at me and smiling
as he wrapped the rope around my wrists and tied them together. It was simple, but I could see he was really
good at tying knots.
“You’re
good,” I said as he picked up a second rope and tied my ankles together.
“Well, I have
to tie bundles here – I was just so nervous that night that…”
“It’s all
right,” I said as I moved my arms and legs, “I understand.” No way was I getting out of these without
help. He then produced a pack of cards
and said “want to play Go Fish?”
We played
cards for an hour or so, and then he said “Lisa, I’d like to play again
someday, if that’s possible?”
“I’d like
that very much,” I said with a smile.
“You can come round to my house any time you want.”
“No I can’t”
he said as he shook his head, “it’s an hour’s drive away.”
“Actually, its
fifteen minutes walk.”
“What?” Eric looked at me as if I had grown a second
head.
“Untie me and
I’ll show you.”
Eric untied
me, and then I grabbed his hand, taking him down the stairs and out of the
house before we headed to the trees and along the path.
“Where on
earth are we going,” he said as we walked along.
“Short cut –
it’s how Charlie gets from our house to yours,” I said as we walked across the
field, turned right and walked down the street.
“And here we are – this is my house on the right hand side here.”
“Oh my
goodness,” Eric said quietly, “I never realised we lived so close to each
other.”
“Relatively
speaking,” I said as I looked at our house with him. “So you see, you can come round any it…”
“Eric? Lisa?
I thought you were at Eric’s house today?”
I turned
round to see Cassie and Jenny standing there.
Because I was visiting, I had on a summer dress that came to my knees,
and shoes, while they wore jeans, sweatshirts and trainers.
“Oh, hi,” I
said, “yeah, I was showing Eric how to get here, in case he wants to come round
with Frank.”
“Yeah,”
Cassie said, “I can see you brought him here.”
“Oh – well,
we are here and…”
“And you’re
holding his hand.”
We both
suddenly looked down, then at each other as we turned bright red and let go of
each other’s hand.
“Forgive my
sister,” Jenny said, “I’m Jenny Craig - so you’re Mark Cottrell’s brother?”
“Yeah,” Eric
said as he rubbed the back of his head.
“Anyway, we’d
better get back,” I said as I looked at them, “see you later Cas?”
“Sure – and I
won’t tell Patty,” she said as we walked back…
We got back
just as Mum, Dad and Charlie were saying their goodbyes to Mr and Mrs Cottrell.
“Oh – and
where did you two get to,” Dad said as he looked at us.
“I was
showing Lisa round the farm,” Eric said as he looked at his parents.
“All right
then,” his mum said, “we’ll see you soon, Mark and Yvonne.”
“I look
forward to it,” Dad said as we got into the car and drove off.
When we sat
down to tea that night, Mum and Dad had something else to tell us.
“It’s long
past time we took a family holiday,” Dad said as we were eating, “so we’re
going in a week’s time?”
“Where to,”
Charlie said as he cut into his steak.”
“Maine.”
He stopped as
he looked at Mum and Dad. “Maine? As in The US?”
“That’s
right,” Mum said, “and I hope you don’t mind, but Alicia and her Uncle
Alexander will be coming out with us.
Sarah and Brian have asked them to be godparents for their babies, so
they are going over for the ceremony.”
“We’re going
to America? That’s wonderful!” I said as
I looked at them. “When?”
“I’ll tell
you next week – for now, eat up and then think about what you might want to
take.”
I was in my
room the next morning when there was a knock on the front door. At first, I wasn’t worried about it, but then
I heard Mum says “Charlie? Lisa? Will you both come down please?”
We both same
down from out rooms, me in my shorts and t-shirt, Charlie in a pair of chinos
and a shirt, but were taken completely by surprise when we saw Frank and Eric
standing there.
“Hi,” Eric
said, “Sorry to drop in unannounced, but Frank wanted to come and play with
Charlie, and he was too scared to come on his own. So I said I’d come with him and show him the
way.”
“I hope
that’s all right,” Frank said quietly as he looked at Mum.
“It’s all
right – we’re glad you came round, aren’t we Charlie?”
“Oh yeah –
come on up, Frank,” Charlie said as he took Frank by the hand. “We’ll be in my room, mum.”
“Thank you,”
Frank said as he went up with Charlie.
“Well, I’ll
be back later to pick him up,” Eric said, but as he turned I said “Listen – you
know how scared Frank can be. Maybe you
should stay with him – we can play in my room if you want?”
“I’d like
that,” Eric said as he took his mobile phone out, “just let me call my folks
first, and let them know I’ll be here.”
Once he’d
made the call, I went up to my room with him following, Mum shaking her head as
she went back to the kitchen.
“Frank did a
very brave thing,” I said as I closed the door and sat on the bed.
“Both of us
really,” Eric said quietly. “How are
you?”
“I’m fine –
why do you ask?”
“Curious,” I
he said as he looked at the rucksack.
“Sorting some things out?”
“Yeah – we’re
going on holiday in a few days to America.”
“Wow – that’s
nice,” Eric said as he kicked his legs to and fro. “So, yesterday, when we played that game in
my room?”
“Yeah,” I
said as I went to my bookcase.
“I really
liked playing that game, and I was wondering if you want to play it again,
only…”
I turned and
looked at Eric, saying “Only?”
“Only – I was
wondering if I could do some more today.”
“Such as?”
“Such as,” he
said as he blushed, “tie you up really tightly, as tightly as we both were at
the night-time. I mean, I understand if
it would bring back bad memories, and if you would not want to, but…”
“Yes.”
“Sorry?”
I took my box
of supplies out from under my bed, and said “I would very much like you to tie
me up like that, Eric.” I opened the
box, took out some tape and two sponges, as well as a pair of old sports socks,
and put them on the bed, holding the sponges in my fists as I said “Please, use
the tape and the socks to cover my hands.”
Eric smiled
as he covered my hands in the white tape, and then pulled the socks over my
hands and arms.
“You can use
the tape to secure the socks to my arms, “I said quietly, “and then you can
start.”
So he did,
taping the socks to my bare arms, and then crossing and tying my wrists tightly
together behind my backs, then to me with rope around my waist.
“That’s not
too tight, is it,” he said.
“No, that’s
fine,” I said with a smile as he tied my arms to my sides, and then sat me down
on the bed.
“Hey you two,
Frank and I were wondering if…” Charlie
stopped and looked at me and Eric, before he said “Well now – I see you’ve
really joined the club.”
Eric blushed
as Frank looked at me. “Coo – are you
all right Lisa,” he said quietly.
“Don’t worry
– Lisa and I and our friends play these games all the time. We’ll leave them to it,” he said as they left
the room, and Eric knelt down, tying my ankles and then my legs together.
“That’s
good,” I said as I wriggled about, and then sat on the bed. “So what are you going to do to me now, you
foul fiend?”
“Tickle
torture you,” he said as he started to tickle my sides, making me wriggle round
and call out as he did so.
“Oh yes?”
I turned to
see Cassie standing in the doorway, a smile on her face as she looked at
us. “Enjoying yourselves?”
“Yes, we
are,” I said, “Why?”
“She came
over and looked at the ropes, then at Eric.
“Can you do the same to me?”
He looked at
me, and I nodded as I said “Plenty of supplies in the box.”
I watched as
Eric did as good a job on Cassie as he did one me, and then we were both
sitting on the bed, watching as he took out some strips of towel, with knots
tied in the middle, and two small hankies.
“It’s all
right,” I said quietly, “you can do it,” and opened my mouth as he put one of
the folded cloths in, and then pulled the knot between my teeth. Once he had Cassie as quiet, he wrapped the
tape round our heads, and then helped us both to lie down, rolling us to face
each other before he pulled my ankles back and tied them to my chest.
Cassie looked
at him as he said “Jay Edwards did this to mum – you don’t mind if I do it to
you?”
I tried
moving my ankles and shook my head from side to side, watching as he did the
same to Cassie.
“Hlrsnsfsts.”
“Mmmyshds.”
I looked at
Eric as he sat and started to read a book, and then back to Cassie.
“Hrrlrlkskuu.”
“Hdntstrrtt.”
“Lssandrccsttngintrr…”
It was like
that for an hour, before Mum looked in, saw us and said “Eric, your mum called
– you need to take Frank home. I’ll take
care of the girls later.”
“See you when
you get back, if not before,” Eric said as he looked at me, and I nodded in
reply as he left the room.
Cassie raised
an eyebrow, and I could see she was giggling, but I didn’t care. I had my Bobby now, and it felt
fantastic.
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