The Games Player – Playing Together
It was one of those times when events kind of –
escalated out of hand, but in the end, it was worth it.
Funnily enough, that was the name of the family I was
visiting – Worth. To be specific, Belinda Worth, who was married to a
successful businessman and made a good living as a literary critic as
well. She lived in a large house on the
outskirts of the town with her husband and their two daughters – thirteen year
old Caitlyn and eight year old Donna.
It was a crisp Autumn Saturday afternoon as I made my
way up the driveway – my car was parked a mile or so away, but I had my
rucksack on my back, and my leather jacket zipped up to my neck. As I approached the house, I looked round,
and then walked up the side, pulling the stocking down over my heads first and
then putting on my own gloves.
It only took mew a moment to open the back door, and I
walked into a spacious kitchen – to be joined a minute or two later by Belinda Worth
herself. The forty year old woman had
long red-brown hair, and was wearing a red velvet sweater over a white t-shirt,
and blue jeans with the legs tucked into knee length burgundy red leather
boots. She took one look at me, and then
at the starting pistol in my hand, before she said “oh sh…”
“Indeed – so let’s all stay quiet and calm,” I said
with a smile as I looked at her. “I have
no desire to hurt you or the girls, but I do need to make sure you all do as I
say.”
“And how are you going to do that?”
“I’m so glad you asked,” I said as I slipped my
rucksack off, “we do this by you convincing the girls this is a special game
that you are all going to play – that way, it is less scary and can be fun.”
“The girls – all of them?”
“Yes, both of them…”
I then saw Belinda’s look, and said “do they have friends here?”
“Yes – and their mother will come to collect them in a
while. What do you say to that?”
“I say,” I replied with a smile as I opened my
rucksack, “the more the merrier. So,
please, turn round and put your hands behind your back. I promise you, it will not be too
uncomfortable.”
“And if the phone rings,” Belinda said as she turned,
looking over her shoulder as I removed a length of rope and crossed her wrists
before I started to bind them together.
“We trust to your answerphone – on which note, where is
your mobile phone?”
“In the front room,” Belinda said as I pulled the rope
tightly around and between her wrists, “why?”
“So that we make sure it is switched off,” I said with
a smile as I secured the ends together out of reach of her fingers. I then took a longer length of tope from the
bag, and doubled it over before I wrapped it round her arms and forced them
against her sides, forming two bands that framed her chest before I tied it off
behind her back.
“I trust that is not too uncomfortable?”
“not really,” Belinda said as she twisted round, and I
picked up my rucksack, “so now what?”
“Where are the girls?”
“In their bedrooms – why?”
“Youngest first…”
I knocked on the door as Belinda said “Donna, can I
come in – I have a surprise for you.”
“Sure Mum,” a young voice said, and I opened the door
to allow Belinda to go in, me following.
Donna was sitting on her bed, a white hairband holding her copper red
hair back from her face. A short sleeved
grey wool dress was over a long sleeved black top, and her black leggings were
tucked into a pair of black mid-calf suede boots with buckles on the side.
“Oh wow – what happened Mrs. Worth?”
I turned and looked at the second girl in the room –
she looked a little older than Donna, and was dressed in a completely different
way. A yellow tiered sleeveless top over
a short brown skirt, black over the knee socks visible under a pair of black
mid-calf boots that had white ruffs at the top, and a wide gray band tied round
her head, holding up her long blonde hair.
“This is Donna’s friend Alex North,” Belinda said,
“Donna, Alex, this man is here to play a surprise game with all of us. I want you to have a look at me – he is
playing the part of a home robber, and he has to make sure none of us can raise
the alarm.”
The two girls stood up and walked over to us, looking
at Belinda’s arms and wrists as I put my rucksack down, and took two lengths of
rope out.
“Are you going to do that to us,” Donna finally said.
“I am – and to your sister and her friend?”
“You mean my big sister, Holly?”
“I do – and thank you for telling me her name,” I said
with a smile. “I want your mother to sit
on your bed, Donna, while I make sure you both have your wrists and arms
secured as well, so stand facing her, and put your hands behind your back.”
“What are you going to do with us, Mister Robber,”
Donna said as I started to tie her wrists together. I looked round and said “I think you both are
going to stay in here, but we’ll put your television on and you can watch
whatever you want.”
Donna nodded as I pulled the rope between her wrists
and tied the ends off, before doing the same to her friend, the white rope on
her bare wrists as she said “that’s tight.”
“But it doesn’t hurt, does it?”
“No – no it doesn’t” Alex said as I tied the rope off,
and then took the longer length round her upper body, forcing her arms against
her sides as I made tow bands, and then tying that off as well.
“You look funny,” Donna said as Alex twisted round,
and then she felt the ropes on her own body as well as I secured them to her
body. When ‘I was finished, I said “okay
– please stand up, Belinda, and let the girls sit down on the bed.” As they both sat down, I took more ropes out
of my bag, and used them to secure their ankles together, the rope sinking into
the soft material of Donna’s boots as the rope was pulled tighter, and then
squeaking as the material rubbed on the leather of her boots.
Two more lengths of rope were used to secure their legs
together below their knees, as I took the rope around and between their limbs
before they sat side by side on the bed, looking at the television screen. I then used yet more rope to secure their bound
ankles to the metal frame at the foot of the bed, before I said “so, you are
both going to be quiet, but what would
you like to watch?”
“Do you have Disney+?”
Donna nodded as she said “how long will we be here?”
“A while.”
“can you start Phineas and Ferb?”
“Of course I can,” I said with a smile as I set things
up, before saying “but as I said, you need to be quiet – so I want you both to
put your lips together and remain calm.”
Belinda watched as I took a wide roll of white micropore tape from my
bag, and tore a strip off before I pressed it gently down over Donna’s mouth,
making sure it stayed against the contours of her face. I did the same to Alex, as Belinda kissed
them both of the forehead, and said “I’ll check you girls later – enjoy the
film.”
“Fhnksmhm,” Donna mumbled as we left, Belinda waiting
as I closed the door before I said “well done – so, Caitlyn and Holly?”
Belinda nodded as we went to another door, and I heard
music playing as I knocked on the door.
This time, it was opened by another blonde haired girl – she was wearing
a long sleeved black cardigan over an aqua blue top, the bottoms of a pair of
capri pants in the same colour peeking out from under her yellow dress. A White band went round her head, and she was
wearing a pair of Grecian style high sandals made from brown leather.
“Mrs. Worth?
What’s… Oh my goodness –
Caitlyn…”
“What’s wrong,” I heard Belinda’s oldest daughter said
as the girl, who I presumed was Holly, backed up and let us come in. Caitlyn had the same shade of hair as her
mother, and was wearing a grey top with a wide black belt round her waist and
jeans tucked into high black felt boots.
“Caitlyn,” Belinda said as I closed the door, “I need
you and Holly to listen. This man – he’s
robbing us, and he already has your sisters tied up and gagged in Donna’s
room. He’s going to do the same to both
of you, but they think it’s a game I booked him to play with all of us.”
“I’ve heard of you,” Holly said quietly, “you’re one
of the Games Players?”
“that’s right, so I need you both to kneel down and
face the bed,” I said quietly, “and then I want you both to put your hands
behind your back. I’m going to leave you
both secured on the bed, with the radio on, and unable to raise the alarm – so
relax, and it will be a fun time.”
“Mum?”
“Best do as he says,” Belinda said as she sat in a
chair by the desk, both girls kneeling down and talking to each other as I
crossed and secured their wrists together behind their backs. I then used longer ropes to secure their arms
to their sides, like Belinda framing their chests as I did so, before I got
them both to lie face down on the bed.
Crossing their ankles, I made sure they both had them secured together,
before making sure their legs were bound below their knees - and then their
ankles bound to their chest ropes as their ankles were pulled back.
“I – don’t think we’re going anywhere,” Caitlyn said
as she rolled on her side and looked at Holly – in time for me to press the
white tape down over her mouth, and make Holly giggle before I tape gagged her
in the same way. Turning up the radio, I
said “We will check you later,” before I took Belinda out of the room and
closed the door.
“Now,” I said with a smile, “let’s start with your
bedroom, shall we?”
We spent the next hour or so checking the rooms,
Belinda watching as I filled my rucksack with her valuables and her husband’s
coin collection, but it was as we came out of her downstairs office, the safe
door open that we heard “Belinda?” We
both turned to see a tall dark haired woman in her mid-thirties standing there,
a yellow cardigan on over a grey top with a ruffed front, and over the knee tan
leather boots pulled up over the legs of her faded blue jeans.
“I presume this is Holly and Alex’s mother?”
“Yeah,” Belinda said as she nodded, “April, I’m afraid
you have walked into an unexpected visit – this is one of the Games Players.”
April stared at me, and then she said “the girls…”
“Safe upstairs,” Belinda said with a sigh. “I’m afraid you are going to be here a while longer.”
As April nodded, I took some ropes out of my bag, and
said “so here’s what is going to happen – I bind your arms as I have Belinda,
and make sure you both stay quiet, and then I’ll take you both to see the girls
before I leave you in her bedroom. I
promise you, it will not hurt - so long as you don’t struggle.”
April nodded as she said “does it hurt?”
“No,” Belinda said as I walked behind the latest
arrival and put her hands behind her back, then started to bind them with the
rope. “In fact, now I’m used to it, it’s
– different.”
“In what way,” April whispered as I bound her wrists,
and then wrapped the rope round her arms and body, pulling her cardigan to the
side as I did so.
“I guess you’re going to find out,” Belinda laughed as
I framed April’s chest, and then tied the ropes off before I said “You need to
be a little quieter.” Taking a small red
sponge ball from the bag, I compressed it in my mouth and said to Belinda “open
your mouth please.”
April watched as I pushed the ball into her friend’s
mouth, and the way her cheeks pushed out as the ball expanded in there, before
I covered her lips with the white tape.
“Your turn,” I then said to April as I pushed a second sponge into her
mouth, and then tape gagged her before I said “So – shall we head up?”
We walked up the stairs and I opened the door to
Donna’s room, Alex looking over and saying “hllmhm, uhrphlhnhswhl” through the
tape.
“Yhsshhm,” April said as she pressed her taped lips on
her daughter’s forehead while I checked the ropes. We then went into Caitlyn’s room, Holly
looking up as she said “Mhmm – hsshlhxhlrht?”
“Yhsshshss – hruh?”
The older girl nodded as Belinda said
“”Bhbhrffghrls.” Caitlyn nodded as well
as we went to the master bedroom, and I helped them both to lie face down on
the bed. They looked at each other and
tried to talk as I crossed and bound their ankles together, making sure the
binding was tight, and then doing the same to their legs below their
knees. I then bent Belinda’s ankles
back, and used rope to secure her ankles to the ropes round April’s chest – and
then returned the favour to April as they looked at each other.
“Thank you,” I said quietly as I left them there, and
made my escape…
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