In Their Own
Words – Family Time Redux
For this week’s
episode of In Their Own Words, we return to the topic of families in peril –
and look at how different people coped with different situations. Tak e, for
example, Alison and her twelve year old daughter Sue…
We live in
Reading, where my husband works for one of the tech companies at Green Park –
but when this happened, he was away at a conference leaving me with my daughter
Sue. We had decided to go to the
Showcase to see a film, and got back home at about six o’clock. I had on a grey sweatshirt and blue pants
with black ankle boots, a black great coat over that, while Sue was wearing a
black t-shirt and a short blue denim skirt, with white tights and long black
biker boots. She was wearing a black
quieted jacket as we went into our house – and met the man who was searching
our front room.
He saw us as
well, and grabbed Sue, putting a hand over his mouth as he told me not to shout
or raise the alarm. Well, what could I
do? I nodded and quite meekly handed
over my mobile phone, before he pushed Sue over and I held her in my arms.
He was young –
not much more than twenty I reckoned – but he was looking nervously at us,
before he came over and took Sue by the arm, and asked me if I had any duct
tape. I slowly nodded as he told me to
go and get it – and to remember he had Sue in his hand.
I went as
quickly as I could to the store cupboard and found a large roll of duct tape my
husband kept in a toolbox, shaking all the time as I came back into the front
room. He then made me tape Sue’s wrists
together behind her back, and then round her stomach and arms, before he told
her to sit down and took the roll of tape from me.
I had to look
at Sue, hear her tears as the man took my hands behind my back and I felt the
pull as they were taped tightly together, and then the tape round my arms and
upper body a swell. He then pushed me
onto the other seat and knelt down, taping my ankles together and them my legs
above and below my knees. I twisted my legs
round and watched as he taped Sue’s legs in the same way, and I told her not to
cry, I’d make sure she stayed safe.
He then pressed
silver tape down over her mouth, and dd the same to me, so that we both had a
real problem trying to talk. I was just
glad she had calmed down and was breathing through her nose, looking at me as
she sat as still as she could.
I could hear
him moving around upstairs, probably taking my valuables – and then he ran past
the room door and on his way out. I
squirmed round, trying to get free, before I saw Sue start to jump over and
then sit on my lap, rubbing her cheek on my side as I kissed her forehead with
my taped lips.
We just had to
wait until my husband got home later that night…
For Jenny
and her two daughters, it was a case of making it a time when they could be
together…
I’ve got two
daughters – Samantha who is ten and eight-year-old Kerry – and we love it when
we get to spend time together. We also
love Ugg boots – and on this particular day, we all had on the same style. Brown, with white fastenings at the side. The only difference was mine had white fur trim
on the top.
Anyway – we had
gone for a walk in the country round our farm.
I had a peach-coloured rugby shirt on with blue jeans, Samantha was
wearing a black and white checked blouse over a white t-shirt and jeans, and
Kerry? Kerry had on a black fleece over
a white dress with a red floral print – and no jeans.
So we went for
the walk, and came back in – and I told the two girls they could go and watch
some television while I sorted the washing out, before I brought them a drink
and a snack. They both went into the front
room, while I went to the utility room and di what needed to be done.
From there, I
went to the kitchen and poured out two glasses of milk, putting some biscuits on
a tray and then carrying the tray into the front room – then stopped as I saw
the sight there.
Samantha and Kerry
were sitting back-to-back on the floor – but they had their arms round each
other’s back, and I could see the brown rope that held Kerry’s wrists together
in front of Samantha’s stomach. There
was another length of rope running from Samantha’s wrists to Kerry’s legs –
where more rope was holding them together below her knees, and then another length
holding her ankles together.
She looked at
me, her lips closed over a black scarf which was tied round her head, as I
slowly walked round – and saw that her sister was also bound and gagged as she
looked up.
I then heard a
man say to put the tray down, and to put my hands behind my back. They both mewled, the bands tied round their heads
and pressing their long blonde hair in place, before I put the tray on a side
table and put my hands behind my back – then I felt the rope as whoever it was
secured them together.
I asked the
girls if they were all right, and they both nodded as whoever was doing this
wound more rope round my arms, forcing them against my sides. I was then told to lie face down on the couch
behind the girls, before I felt them cross and bind my ankles tightly together,
and then my legs below my knees – and then a rolled-up scarf was pulled between
my lips as well, keeping me quiet as well as I rolled onto my side to look at
the girls.
And then I saw
who had done this – my husband’s assistant, who really looked scared as he went
out of the room. He must have known he
would not be there today – and he had decided to rob us!
I screamed at
him behind his back and struggled like mad, but the ropes were too tight – it
was two hours later when my mother found us…
Some girls
like to be exactly like their mothers – and when Alex and her mother were surprised,
that went all the way…
Alex is nine
years old, with long brown hair while I have long blonde hair, but apart from
that we always seem to dress the same way – and the day she called, we were
both wearing tunic tops, the top and sleeves blue with white thin stripes, and
the bottom half mustard coloured, blue suede pants and brown boots. There were slight differences - my tunic was
shorter, and my botts came up over my knees, while Alex’s top came to her knees
and her boots were mid-calf ones.
And yes, I did
say she – a young woman, dressed in black, with gloves and a mask, who came
into our front room suddenly as we were watching a film, and made us stand up
with our hands in the air. Alex copied
me as I did so, and we were forced to walk up the stairs to my bedroom.
She told us
both to lie on the bed, and put our hands behind our back, so I lay down first
and Alex lay next to me. I had to watch
as she came and crossed my daughter’s wrists at the small of her back, and then
used a length of cord she had taken from a rucksack she had on before she bound
Alex’s wrists tightly together.
She asked if
the woman was going to tie both of us up, and the answer was yes as she tied
the ropes off. That was when she said
she wanted to be like me – completely like me.
I and the girl looked
at her, as I felt her bind my wrists together as well, and then I looked at her
and said it would be all right. She just
nodded as she took more ropes from her bag, and then made sure we both had our
ankles secured tightly together, and then our legs tied together below our
knees, each band cinched between our legs.
She then helped
us both to kneel, and Alex watched, her eyes opening wide as she took a longer rope
and made sure my upper body was secured, the bands above and below my chest,
and then taken under one arm, up and around the back of my neck, and under my
other arm.
I said to Alex
it was like being hugged, so she was almost happy as she bound her in the same
way – the two bands of rope, and cinched in the same way. She then took a roll of black tape, and wound
it round my head, lifting my hair out of the way as she did so and making sure
I was quiet – and she did the same to Alex before she helped us both to lie
down.
She then pulled
my ankles back and tied them to the ropes round my chest – and she did the same
to Alex, so we could both roll onto our sides and look at each other as she
robbed us.
My husband
found us later that night – but I was so proud of Alex, even as we struggled
and tried to talk…
Mandy and
her daughters, Enid and Grace, are also a family who like to dress the same way
– and to be bound and gagged the same way…
There were
three of them – and three of us. The men
were wearing boiler suits, heavy boots, gloves and stocking masks. We were wearing our dresses – the body black
with pink flowers, the skirt coming to our knees, the sleeves grey – and
boots. Mine were light brown suede and
came over my knees, Enid’s dark tan leather with a studded band round the top,
and Grace’s midcalf looser brown leather boots.
Anyway, three
of them, three of us – and given my girls are eight and five, I knew I had no
choice but to allow them to do whatever they were going to do. And what they did was reach to produce a
coiled length of rope which they had made a loop at one end of, and that loop
they dropped over our heads and pulled it tight around our arms and stomachs.
The girls
looked at me as Isaid not to struggle, and they nodded as the ropes went round
us a few times, and then was used to make sure our wrists were secured tightly together
in front of us. Grace was watching, her
dark brown hair going down her back, while Enid shook her head so the blonde
lengths fell freely.
I also had long
blonde hair, which was falling over one shoulder as I tried to control my own
fears – and then we were led like dogs out of the room we were standing in, up
the stairs of our house and into our main bedroom.
They made us
lie on our backs on the bed, me in the middle and the girls on either side, and
I watched as they took the ropes down our bodies, securing our legs together
below our knees, and then our ankles together, so that we could only roll round
– and hen they secured the ends to an iron stand at the foot of the bed.
So we were
stuck there – and then we had a chance to talk to each other as one of them
searched the bedroom for valuables, and another one took a phone out and
dialled.
I was able to
pick up on what was happening – we were hostages, and they wanted my husband to
do something at his work – but I wanted my girls to be safe, so I kept quiet. At first, voluntarily.
And then
because we had n co choice – they gagged the three of us with Elastoplast
strips, and then watched us until it was dark, which was when they left. We had to stay there in the darkness, until
the police arrived and freed us...
Finally for
this week, Amber and her daughter Ruby had some close personal time together…
It was a crisp
autumn day, as I drove Ruby home from her singing class. She’s thirteen, and was wearing a long black woollen
top with a purple design at the hem and shoulders, black and white Norwegian
style leggings and short black leather boots with studs up the sides. We both have long red-brown hair, hers held
back by a black hairband.
As for me, I
had on a brown tiger print blouse buttoned up over a red t-shirt, jeans and
short black boots of my own. Anyway – we
drove home, and I let Ruby go to her room to get a book she was going to show
me from school, while I walked into the front room – and got the surprise of my
life.
When ruby came
into the room, she got a shock as well – I was sitting at one end of a couch,
my writs held together behind my back by a plastic zip tie, and a second one
holding my ankles together as I looked at her.
The man who had
done this to me then put her hand on Ruby’s shoulder as she turned and looked
at him. He was wearing a three-piece
suit, shirt and tie – and dark glasses, as he told Ruby to give him the book,
and then to put her hands behind her back.
I watched, and
heard the rasping sound as he secured my daughter’s wrists together, before he
walked her over and sat her next to me.
We both watched as another zip tie forced her ankles together, and then
we both had our mouths covered with strips of white tape - as well as our eyes.
I had no idea what
was happening – but then I felt Ruby’s head on my lap as she lay down, and I
relaxed – she was safe with me. Bound,
gagged, blindfolded – but safe.
That’s all
from In Their Own Words this week – until next time…
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