No Charge
“Thanks -
this will do fine,” Amanda said as the motel manager showed her into the
room. It was basic, but at least it had
a fridge, a bed and a television, as well as a microwave and a kettle - all she
really needed for the next few days.
She had
really needed to get out of town - the last week of October was never really
fun for her, not since the incident with the home invaders. Her parents understood, so each year she took
herself off to a quiet town somewhere warm, and spent the time on her own,
catching up on her reading or just lying in the sun.
She placed
her bag on the bed and stretched as the room door closed behind her. Amanda was wearing a black round necked
sweater top, the bottom of which she had ticked into a pair of white shorts,
and sneakers with no shorts. It was how
she preferred to drive distances, and she felt comfortable in it.
“Yeah, this
will do,” she said to herself as she looked in the fridge, making a note of how
much she could fit in there, and then grabbed her purse, heading out of the
door to pick up supplies. She didn’t
look back as the door slowly closed, and didn’t see what was happening as she
headed for her car.
An hour
later, Amanda returned to the motel, and opened the trunk of her car to take
out the two grocery sacks. Carrying them
under one arm, she slammed the trunk closed with her free hand and put her car
keys into her handbag, fishing out the room keys with the other as she did so.
The sun was
starting to set in the western sky as she unlocked the door to her room, walked
in and placed the sacks on the work surface, turning and closing the door
behind her. Opening the door of the
icebox, she put her microwave meals, milk and drinks in, and then closed the
door, crumpling up and throwing the bags into the bin as her cell phone began
ringing in her bag.
Taking it
out, she put it on the counter and looked at the caller id as she rubbed the
back of her left ankle with her right foot.
“No Mum I do not
want to talk to you about how I’m feeling,” Amanda said to herself before she
refused to take the call, and then looked round the room. “Right then - one microwave Chinese takeout,
and then I can mpphhhhh!”
Her voice had
been cut off by the large hand that had clamped itself over her mouth, and she
had been taken by surprise as an arm was wrapped round her waist, pulling her
off the floor as she tried to kick out.
“Not a word,” a voice whispered into her ear as she glance dot her side,
and she saw a man’s face, the grey beard neatly trimmed as he started at her.
“Whstggnggg,”
she screamed out as she tried to wriggle out, falling slightly to one side as
she did so. “I said not a word, and stop
struggling,” the man continued to whisper quietly, “just calm down and behave
yourself. I’m not going to hurt you - I
just need somewhere to hide out for a couple of hours, and you didn’t close
your door properly when you left earlier.”
Amanda’s eyes
widened as she crossed her legs, and realised that, at least in part, she had
allowed this to happen. “Nttggnn” she
mumbled as she tried to pull the hand and arm away, but he was proving to be far
too strong, as he said “I told you to stop struggling. Now, calm down - if I take my hand away, will
you scream?”
Amanda
stopped struggling, and slowly nodded her head.
“That’s better,” the man said as he took his hand away, but kept his
grip on her. “What’s your name?”
“Ammmm - Amanda.
What’s yours?”
“Call me
Tony, all right Amanda? Now, like I
said, I need to lie low for a little while, and I need you to be kept out of my
way.”
“Lie
low? Why?”
“Small
disagreement with the local sheriff over some jewellery - I want you to lie
down on the bed, and put your hands behind your back. Do it quietly, with no fuss, understand?”
Amanda
nodded, and as Tony let her go she walked slowly over to the bed, looking at
the window with the curtains open.
“Don’t even think about it,” Tony said as he walked up behind her,
taking a length of what looked like thin white cord from his back pocket. Knowing he was there, Amanda lay down and put
her hands behind her back, watching as Tony crossed her wrist and tied them
tightly together, then drew a second length of the rope out and tied her ankles
together, side by side.
She could
feel the cords cutting into her skin as he pulled the binding tight, but she
bit down on her lower lip and said nothing, fighting back memories of her in
her nightdress, lying on the bed as the masked man tied her so tightly she
would have screamed had a cloth not been taped into her mouth.
“What’s
wrong, Amanda?”
She looked
over her shoulder at Tony, grimacing slightly as she tried to twist her wrists
round, and said “This just brings back some bad memories - ones I came here to
avoid.”
He nodded and
said “Yeah - we can’t always run away from things.”
“Says the man
hiding from the local police.”
“Touché,”
Tony said with a smile as he looked in the icebox. “No reason you should starve - what were you
going to eat?”
“The chow mien
- why?” She watched as Tony took the
meal out, removed the cover and peeled the corner back. “No reason why you should starve,” he said
quietly as he put it into the microwave, “so let me feed you and give you a
drink.”
“Well, thanks
- I guess,” Amanda said as she tried to make herself comfortable, watching as
Tony heated the food up, and then said “All right - sit on the end of the bed,
Amanda, and relax - this might be hot, and I don’t want to burn you.
For the next
twenty minutes, Amanda found herself in the incredible position of been fed by
this man who was holding her captive. He
head short brown hair, and was wearing a light grey t-shirt and tan slacks, as
he fed the food into her mouth and waited as she swallowed.
“Now,” he
said as he put the empty carton down, “What would you like to drink?”
“There’s a
peach tea in there,” Amanda said, as she watched Tony fetch it, take the top
off the bottle and hold it to her lips as she drank, holding a paper napkin
underneath. Once she had drank her full,
Amanda said quietly “Thank you - so what happens now?”
“Well, I’m
afraid I need to go and find out what’s happening, so I’m afraid I need to secure
you a little more. Does that thought
frighten you?”
“A little,”
Amanda whispered.
“then I’m
sorry,” Tony said as he reached under the bed and drew out a paper bag. Opening it, he took a skein of rope, shook it
loose and then knelt behind Amanda on the bed, wrapping the rope round her arms
and body below her chest and pulling it tight so that her arms were locked in
place. She gasped a she wound it round
twice more, then tied the rope behind her before he passed it between her arms
and body to lock them into place.
“Look, I
promise I won’t raise the alarm,” Amanda said as she tried to move her arms,
and then watched Tony as he knelt in front of her, and tied her legs together
above her knees, passing the rope between her legs to tighten the binding.
“I know you
won’t,” Tony said as he reached back into the bag, “because you’re going to
stay on the bed, and I’m going to make sure you stay nice and quiet.” Amanda wondered what he meant, but then said
“Please, don’t” as he pulled out a long length of white cloth, pulled it taut
and then forced it between her lips.
Amanda stared
ahead, eyes wide open as Tony wrapped the ends of the cloth round her head and
pulled them tight, forcing the corners of her mouth to be pulled back as her
gag was secured. She bit down on the
cloth with her teeth and said “Plslsdntlfmlkths...”
“It will only
be for a little while,” Tony said as he placed his hands gently on her
shoulders, “I know this is scary, but just relax and you’ll be fine.”
Amanda
struggled a little, not noticing her right sneaker falling off as she was made
to lie on her side and look at Tony. He
smiled as he walked over, pulled the curtains closed and said “All right - have
fun.” He kissed her gently on the
forehead and left the room, locking the door behind him as Amanda wriggled on
the bed, pushing the blankets to the side.
After a few
minutes, she calmed down and breathed in and out through her nose, calming
herself as she looked at the light shining through the curtains. She let her mind go back to the time she was
trying not to think off - the men shouting at her through those black ski masks
to shut up and lie down. The sound of
her mother crying as she was forced to walk past her room, her dressing gown
pulled open under the bands of rope around her upper body. The feel of her fingers brushing her bare
ankles as her feet were pulled so far back they rested on her bottom. The tight, tight, constricting ropes, the
aches, the pain...
As she
thought about it, Amanda realised that this was not as bad as that time. In fact, as she stretched her legs to and
fro, she was finding it quite comfortable.
It was giving her time to think, to get used to her immobility, and even
- even to like it?
As she
realised this, her eyes slowly closed, and Amanda drifted off to sleep....
“Good
morning.”
Amanda opened
her eyes to see Tony sitting in the chair, watching her as she lay on her side.
“Whttmst,”
she said as she looked at the bedside clock.
“Five in the
morning,” Tony said as he sat her up.
“Do you need to go to the toilet?”
Amanda nodded
slowly, as he said “Well, I cannot untie your arms, but I will untie your legs,
help you to sit down, and then do what you have to do. All right?”
Amanda
realised this was as good an offer as she was going to get, so nodded as Tony
untied her legs, walked her to the bathroom, pulled her shorts down and helped
her to sit, before leaving the bathroom.
Allowing herself to do what she had to do, she sighed through her gag,
as much at the relief on the pressure as at the way he had treated her.
“mdn,” she
eventually called out, as Tony came in and restored her panties and shorts,
then walked her back into the bedroom.
“No screaming,” he said as he removed the gag, and sat her on the stool
by the kitchenette.
“Thanks,”
Amanda said as she worked her jaw, then accepted the straw that Tony placed to
her lips, drinking in the orange juice.
“I’m afraid I
need to go in a few minutes,” Tony said as he held the bottle for her, “and
I’ll be taking your car. I’ll leave it
somewhere for the police to find.”
Amanda looked
at him, then nodded as she let the straw go.
“I guess I should say thank you - you at least treated me well.”
“Yeah - not
many of us gentlemen left,” Tony said with a smile as he put the bottle down,
then re-tied Amanda’s legs and ankles as he had before, her feet resting on the
crosspiece of the stool.
“Well, I’m
glad I met one,” Amanda said as she twisted her ankles from side to side. “This is not how I intended to spend the
week, but in a funny way you have helped me, so thanks.”
“You’re
welcome, I think,” Tony said as he stood up, and took a hankie from his
pocket. “Now, I’m going to tie the cloth
over your mouth, so this needs to go inside.
I promise you will not be uncomfortable, and I’m sure the cleaner will
find you in an hour or two.”
Amanda nodded
and opened her mouth, allowing tony to push the cotton pad in before she closed
it, and he wrapped the long length of cloth tightly over her mouth. Once he had secured the ends at the base of
her neck, he kissed her head, and said “Thank you” before grabbing her car keys
and leaving the room.
She stared
round the room, wondering if it would be possible for her to hop over to the
bed or not. This filled her mind for
some time, as she calmed herself, breathing in and out through her nose,
allowing herself to get used to her situation.
That last
time, it had been hours before the police arrived, and something in her was
hoping that would not be the case this time.
On the other hand, she was not frightened, and she felt she could...
“POLICE!!”
She heard the
door to the room burst inward, and before she could get a chance to look round
there was a deputy standing in front of her, looking at her body as she sat on
the stool.
“Whtrrulkngt,”
Amanda said as she stared back at him, watching as he holstered his pistol and
pulled the scarf down from her mouth, allowing her to push the handkerchief out
with her tongue.
“It’s all
right, Miss,” the deputy said as he looked at the ropes around her arms and
body, “we got your kidnapper as he tried to drive off. He won’t hurt anyone again.”
“My
kidnapper? I wasn’t kidnapped.”
The deputy
stopped and looked at her before saying “You weren’t?”
“No - Tony
and I booked in here to play some - adult games, and he was taking my car to
get some more supplies.”
“He was? But he’s wanted for....”
“I don’t care
what you want him for,” Amanda snapped back, “he did not kidnap me, and I will
swear that in court. Now let him go!”
“What’s going
on?”
The deputy
looked past Amanda, then said “No charge, boss - she says they were playing
games and she knew he had her car.”
“Well, we
still need to talk to him about yesterday - untie her. Please, stay here miss, we may need to talk
to you later.”
Amanda nodded
as the deputy started to untie her. She
was going nowhere - and she wanted Tony to come back. There were more things she wanted him to help
her with...