Postby thepmac189 » Fri Oct 27, 2017 2:38 am
Chapter 7
“What?”
“He didn’t tell us why, but he said that if we didn’t want our lives to become a living hell we had to everything he told us. The voice sent us both copies of everything Vernon had made. He said that we had 24 hours to turn over the evidence we’d been given, or he’d do it for us. I volunteered to do it because Mike refused to even speak or untie me afterwards. He begged me not to turn in his brother, but I refused. Mike’s parents finally came home so he had to let me go”
“Mike wouldn’t do anything?”
“Mike was always trying to prove that he belonged, especially to his brothers. I told my parents what happened and came out to them at the same time. The military police took a dim view of what happened and Mike’s brother, Vernon, ended up in prison. Mike wouldn’t take the stand in court, but I did. At first it seemed like everything was done and over with; other than that, first message the voice never bothered us again. What finally made us have to move was when I got kidnapped just before Christmas that year”
Thinking about this memory always made me feel cold.
“You have another sweatshirt?”
Brant was back with another hoodie within seconds. It was a little big for me, but its warmth was very welcoming.
“It turns out Vernon’s brothers didn’t like what I’d done. I was working out at school when they took me. Mike spiked my water, I remember him saying sorry just as I passed out. When I woke up I was in the trunk of a car tied up. Vernon had gotten out on somehow and wanted revenge in the most brutal way possible. Him and his brothers decided to bury me in a coffin and leave me. Those couple of hours were, terrifying. After I was found the police asked me to name everyone complicit and I named off all of Mike’s brothers but I left his name out. I just couldn’t bring myself to do that to him. Due to reprisals from the locals though we had to move and my parents left the navy. I still feel guilty about ending their careers”
I felt my body shiver as I lost the ability to speak.
“I’m sorry about today”
Brant’s concern for me melted my heart.
“No! No, you, you, uh, don’t have to apologize for anything. Actually”
I’d originally planned to say something else but instead my body made the decision to reach over and pull Brant into me with as much force as I could muster. I planted my lips directly on his returning his kiss from earlier with as much force as I could muster. As I pulled away I could tell that he looked lightheaded and slightly dizzy. He sat there turning from side to side for a minute before answering.
“Damn. You’re really good at this”
I couldn’t help but laugh as I hugged him and buried my face in his shoulder.
“You are too”
“You wanna read the message?”
I heard Brant exhale with irritation as we pulled apart and went to his computer. He sat in the chair and I stood behind him as he pulled up his email while I checked the phones. The phones had been preprogrammed so they could only send and receive calls and messages to and from an unknown number. Each phone had instructions laid out in text messages. I compared the two and found no difference. Brant’s email had the same instructions. As we read them both of us got more and more uncomfortable.
“What the fuck is he thinking!?!”
Brant voiced his anger loudly.
“Should we ask your mom for help?”
Brant shook his head.
“I tried waking her up, but she wouldn’t budge. I checked the wine she was drinking, and it smelled funny like it had a sedative in it. She won’t wake up until tomorrow and I can’t put her in danger. I’m guessing you feel the same way?”
I hesitated but ended up agreeing with him.
“Yeah”
“You will find Evan Wolf and get him to join the swim team. I will take care of the rest”
“So, who’s Evan Wolf?”
Brant turned to me with a hesitant look on his face.
“I have no idea. He’s the kid you share a class with but never really know. I mean I think we’ve shared maybe two conversations together in all the years we went to the same school? Okay maybe more than that but he’s not even athletic”
“How do you know that?”
“He takes off like a rocket once school lets out every day. The girls don’t even try flirting with him anymore”
“Are you sure? I mean maybe you just don’t know him all that well”
Brant looked at me like I was nuts.
“Everyone calls him Wolf because of what happened last year”
Brant quickly remembered that I hadn’t been here to experience this story.
“It happened just after I came back to school last year. They said he assaulted another player in the
locker room after PE. He had to take anger management classes and have his schedule reorganized”
“What’s he look like?”
Brant pulled up a picture of Evan on his phone.
“Damn”
“Don’t drool on my phone”
I couldn’t help but grin. Evan’s face looked like it had been chiseled from a beautifully tanned sandstone
and his eyes were a dark brown.
“Sorry”
Brant snatched the phone back before sneaking a peek at the picture prompting me to punch him in the
arm.
“Okay his eyes are nice”
I leaned onto Brant’s back as I stared at the email.
“So, has he ever played sports?”
Brant nodded.
“Wrestling. They banned him from the team and all wrestling events though. No, I’m not showing you
any team photos”
“Please just one?”
Brant lightly slapped my arms.
“Shush or I’ll gag you”
I smiled as I refocused myself.
“So, where’s he live?”
Brant pulled out his copy of the school’s student directory then entered the address on google maps.
We were both surprised when we saw that Evan only lived a few miles away.
“You never said he lived so close”
Brant shrugged as he reread the instructions again and saw that this request had a bit more time
attached to it then slowly got out of his chair and pulled me into a hug.
“Well we’ve got time at least. You wanna try and sleep?”
The thought of sleeping didn’t sound entirely appealing to me right now, but I didn’t want to be dead
tomorrow.
“Yeah. Would you mind if I slept in your bed?”
Brant gave me a light kiss and smiled.
“Haha. It’s cute that you think I’d let you sleep anywhere else. Now come on I’ve been fantasizing about
cuddling with you all day”
I initially thought that between Brant and what we’d both just gone through I wouldn’t be able to sleep
at all. I ended up being wrong and slept well despite everything.
“Morning sleepy head”
I opened my eyes to see Brant looking down at me still wearing his sweatshirt but now with a swim cap
on his head.
“Come on and we can get a swim in before my mom finishes making breakfast”
Brant pulled the bed sheets off me as I rubbed my eyes.
“Oh, and that’s a stunning piece of driftwood you’ve found”
I looked down and covered up the evidence as I felt my face heat up in embarrassment.
“Sorry”
Brant smiled as he threw a swim cap at me.
“No need to apologize babe. I think it’s really hot that I have that effect on you”
I smirked as I rubbed my eyes again and pulled the swim cap onto my head. Brant waited for me
downstairs while I went to the bathroom. Stephanie was wearing a white silk bathrobe and slowly
sipping a large cup of tea judging from the smell.
“Good morning Mrs.-”
She held up a finger as she looked at me with a tired face.
“Stephanie please and good morning Aidan”
Stephanie turned her back to me as she headed towards the television we’d been watching last night. I
wondered if I should talk to her but I felt bad about saying anything without talking to Brant about it
first. Before I could seriously consider that option he’d already pulled me out to the pool and started
pulling his sweat shirt off.
“Should we tell her?”
Brant shook his head.
“I don’t know. You know more about this voice than I do”
Brant put his goggles on and jumped into the pool with a small splash.
“I don’t know much but I don’t want to put anyone else in danger because of me”
“We’ve got time to think about it. Now let’s work on that breaststroke”
We didn’t talk much for the next hour and Brant spend most of the time correcting my mistakes. At the
end of the hour he timed me on each stroke and was impressed at the improvements I was making.
After the swim we ate breakfast and Stephanie left for work. Brant decided that it was best for me to
approach Evan so I called my parents to find out our new address to see if I could use the new kid on the
block approach. It turned out that we lived halfway between Brant and Evan’s house. Out of curiosity I
googled a picture of our new house. The only one I could find was one from a few months ago when it
was still under construction.
“So, you’re sure you know nothing about him?”
Brant shook his head for the 20th time. We’d walked the distance to his house because I never learned
how to ride a bike. Something Brant thankfully didn’t try to rub in. The neighborhood was a marvel to
me because of all the trees. All you could hear was the trees blowing in the wind and each of us
breathing.
“Damn”
Brant’s words weren’t inappropriate. Evan’s house was huge. A three-car garage and a huge lawn in
front. Then we saw the gate. We walked to the speaker on the side and proceeded to argue for several
minutes about who should make the call when a voice interrupted us.
“You guys lost?”
We both jumped back in surprise.
“Sorry. The speaker’s kind of loud”
I swallowed and spoke before my courage left me.
“Hi my name’s Aidan. I was told Evan lives here?”
The speaker was quiet.
“I’m Evan. Do I know you?”
I shook my head immediately feeling stupid as only Brant could see me. He elbowed me to say
something instead of just shaking my head.
“Oh, uh, no, no, you, uh, don’t”
Brant finally exhaled in frustration and stepped forward.
“Hi Evan, its Brant; we were in science last year. Aidan’s new and I’m showing him around the
neighborhood. He wanted to meet you”
“Brant? Aren’t you the kid who was out of school for a couple months?”
Brant didn’t answer right away.
“Yeah, yeah that was me”
I reached out and grabbed his shoulder then Brant put a hand on top of mine.
“Wow man that sucks. I used to live next to Zander before we moved over here. I
was really pissed when he got out”
Brant squeezed my hand harder.
“Thanks man. That means a lot”
The gate started opening then.
“Why don’t you guys come in; I hate trying to talk over this thing”
We walked past the gate and up the dirt path toward the house. I reminded me of Florida with all the
grass and the small lake out front. As we got to the front door it opened revealing a bulky teenager with
dark brown hair. His skin was tanned, and he wore long jeans with a long-sleeved shirt without shoes.
“Hi Aidan. Nice to meet you”
I shook his hand much less firmly than I would have liked.
“Hello Brant”
Brant gave Evan a small smile.
“So, you’re new here?”
I nodded.
“I just got here two days ago. I’ll be living down the street”
We walked inside, and Evan showed us to his room. His room was on the second floor at the back of the
house with a beautiful view of his backyard and the trees beyond it.
“Have a seat anywhere you’d like sorry for the mess”
As far as the rooms of teenage went the bedroom wasn’t any messier than mine was at one time or
another. I sat on the bed while Evan sat at his desk and Brant sat next to my legs on the floor.
“So, is it just you here?”
As I spoke I noticed that Brant had moved closer to me until he was leaning into my right leg.
“Yeah. My brother just moved to Portland for school and my parents both work. Yours?”
I nodded.
“I think they’re taking care of any last-minute stuff for the house now”
Evan had turned back to his computer just in time to see his character die.
“Fuck it”
He quickly turned off the game he was playing.
“Destiny 2 has to be one of the most boring sequels I’ve ever played”
I could partially agree with that.
“Yeah I don’t think Bungie put anywhere near as much effort in as they would have us believe. Except
for the guys that made Eververse”
Evan nodded emphatically.
“Damn micro-transactions”
Brant seemed a little indifferent over the discussion.
“What about you Brant? You play Destiny 2?”
Brant laughed.
“I don’t like first person shooters. They make me sick to my stomach”
Evan leaned forward in his chair and was gripping his hands together tightly.
“Have you heard from Zander?”
Brant shook his head. Evan seemed to gauge the room again before speaking.
“He contacted me”
I put a hand on Brant’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry I told the police. Nobody should have to go through what you did”
“So, what happened to you?”
Brant pinched my leg making me flinch.
“It’s okay Brant, I don’t like letting my past control me. The guys on the wrestling team were always
trying to hook me up with a girl or get me to go with them to do something stupid. One day they
brought a girl into the locker room and I tried to get away but there were more of them than me. One
thing led to another and I learned just how much better at fighting I was than them. I got the girl out but
the coaches didn’t see things my way and the girl was too scared to do anything but agree with the
team’s version of what happened”
Evan looked at the only wrestling trophy on his wall.
“You’re taking it really well it seems”
I was always more physical about my emotions when I was mad.
“I’ve learned that there’s nothing I can do about it, so I just let it go. The only thing that sucks is that I’m
banned from wrestling and everyone thinks I’m a steroid freak”
I could tell that last part of that stung.
“You could always try a different sport. Like swimming”
Evan looked at Brant and rolled his eyes.
“Swimming is for guys that can actually move at a decent speed in the water. I move like a walrus with
one fin”
“You’d be surprised dude. Brant here has been teaching me and I’m no expert yet but I’m getting
better”
Evan looked at me as he leaned forward and rested his head on his hands. It was at this point that I
really noticed his size; he wasn’t much bigger than Brant or me.
“Did you play football?”
I nodded.
“Hmmm. Receiver?”
I nodded again.
“What made you switch”
I decided to tell him the same story I’d told Brant. By the end Evan’s face was a mask of anger.
“Fuck we’re a bunch of messed up kids, aren’t we?”
That made all of us laugh.
“Well since I’ve got two swimmers here why don’t we go for a swim? I’m sick of swimming by myself”
Brant and I both agreed. I also silently thanked Brant for making me wear a speedo under my shorts just
in case. Evan walked over to a pile of clothes and found a pair of swim trunks and left his room to go the
bathroom and change then we went down to the pool. The pool was a simple square that was less than Olympic size or so Brant told me.
“Are you guys swimming in your clothes?”
Evan had already thrown off his shirt and was heading for the diving board. Brant looked at me with a mischievous smile as he yanked off his sweat shirt and started taking off his shoes.
“Come on babe or do you need help?”
“Ass”
“Yes, my ass is quite lovely”
I flipped Brant the bird while I started taking off my shoes. As I pulled off my shoes I heard Brant jump into the pool. I decided to sit on the edge and stick my feet in first. As he walked towards us I could see that Evan was a bit stockier than Brant and me but not much different.
“So that’s the infamous Mountainview speedo huh?”
“Yeah. Brant gave me one of his. It’s a lot more comfortable than I was expecting”
Evan hopped out of the pool and sat next to me.
“So, you were banned from wrestling? Like completely banned?”
“Yeah. After they made me return my uniform they banned me from attending wrestling events or even setting foot in the wrestling room”
Brant emerged from under the water and stood in front of us.
“You wanna race?”
Evan and I looked at Brant like he was nuts.
“Come on. I won’t compete, and I’ll even have Aidan give you a head start”
Evan puffed up his chest.
“I’m not out of shape or an invalid”
Evan hopped back into the pool and waded to the opposite end of the pool.
“Definitely not but racing in trunks against a speedo? The drag will slow you down”
Brant said as he hopped out of the pool and sat on the edge.
“Bullshit!”
Evan stood at the wall looking at me expectantly. I slid into the water and stood next to Evan and waited for Brant to drop his arm. The instant he did I took off from the wall with a push like he’d taught me. Evan was neck and neck with me the whole time and both of us gave it everything we had. As soon as I hit the other end of the pool I flip turned perfectly, a small burst of triumph filling me as I pushed off again. As I reached the other end I saw Evan touch the wall less than a second after I did. As we both stood there heaving in air he held up his hand and I high fived it making him smile.
“That was great! You were right about the drag to Brant. I can’t believe people swim in these. Where do they sell speedos anyway?”
As I leaned on the wall recovering my breath Brant and Evan began discussing the intricacies of swimsuits; thinking of Evan wearing one was a tremendous distraction, a beautiful one.
“You can come shopping with us! I was gonna take Aidan shopping for some suits once I talked to his parents about it”
Now I definitely wasn’t getting out of the water in the near future.
“Cool! I’d love to go”
As I looked at Brant and Evan talking I could see his eyes flicking down every few seconds. If I didn’t know better Brant was intentionally popping a tent right now.
“So, um, Brant I heard something about the swim team and I was wondering if you could tell me if it was true?”
Brant nodded as he brought one leg up under his chin and dropped the other into the pool.
“Do you guys tie each other up?”
Brant smiled.
“If I said yes what would you think?”
Evan’s brown eyes went wide as his tanned face turned a slight red.
“I’d ask what it felt like and why you do it”
Brant dropped his other leg into the pool and leaned back with his arms behind him as he looked at the clouds.
“Well it feels good as long as you know what you’re doing. As for the why, well it’s a team bonding thing and because it’s fun. Have you ever been tied up?”
Evan adjusted his legs to his growing tent.
“My brother and I used to do it before he moved away”
I was quietly looking on at Brant’s beautiful visage as the sun slowly broke through the clouds and began reflecting off his red hair.
“What’s the longest you’ve ever been tied up?”
Evan was doing a good job of holding back his excitement I thought. I was surprised that him and his brother got along well enough to even do that stuff. Mike had mentioned that his brothers tied him up a lot, but it was never something he looked forward to.
“Well there is the time that we replaced one of the shark’s speedos with a pink one”
“Sharks?”
Brant smiled as he looked down at me.
“The seniors are called sharks, freshmen are dolphins, sophomore are stingrays and juniors are killer whales”
“Dolphins!?”
Brant leaned toward me and pulled me out of the water sitting me next to him.
“Yeah why are we dolphins?”
I was genuinely curious too. In the back of my mind I wondered if all of this was being recorded or if I was just being paranoid. Although I found that equally problematic because I’d been threatened with the imminent death of either someone I didn’t know or a member of my family. The more I ran the word family through my head I the more I found that Brant fit with my definition of family. That realization distracted me until I felt a hand messing with my hair.
“Aidan! You spaced out”
Brant was leaning in close to me with a warm smile on his face.
“Sorry”
“You guys hungry? I’m hungry”
Evan’s mind immediately refocused as he walked towards a small weber grill that was on his patio. He took the top off and after looking it over went into a small shed and took out a bag of charcoal.
“There’s towels in that closet”
Evan grabbed a towel from the closet on his patio and wiped himself down. Now I caught Brant looking.
“Daddy can we keep him?”
The annoying voice I used had been silenced as Brant firmly planted a hand over my mouth. I breathed in the scent of his hand and the chlorine as they mixed together into a scent that I immediately associated with Brant. The scent was addictive and calming at the same time. I felt myself slightly pushing into Brant’s hand trying to increase the smell while he stared at Evan body. I slowly reached my arms forward and ran them down his legs catching water droplets with my fingers making him shiver.
“I so wish I could be tied up with you right now”
At first, I thought Brant was talking about Evan, but he turned his head back towards me and at the same time lifted me out of the water just after his hand left my face and he pulled me on top of him. I was too shocked to move or say anything as I laid there. I was also only vaguely aware that Brant had grabbed one of my hands and put it on top of his mouth. I saw out of the corner of my eye that Evan had went into the house leaving just us outside. I looked down at Brant whose hand went back to my mouth. As soon as his hand touched my face I felt the bulge in my speedo throb. At the same time, I felt Brant’s bulge throb into mine making both of us mmmmphhh into the other’s hand.
“You guys like hot dogs?”
Brant and I both flew apart even though both of us couldn’t help but laugh a little bit. We got towels and went to watch Evan cook the plate of hot dogs he’d brought out. Instead of walking away he threw himself into the process and meticulously flipped and cooked each hot dog until all of them were cooked just enough to have grill marks but not enough that they were overcooked.
“Come on inside. Looks like it’s about to rain”
Evan put the plate of hot dogs down on the table while he reached under the towel he had draped around his waist and dropped his swim trunks into his hand. Brant and I both toweled off, grabbed our clothes and followed Evan inside.
“I’ll meet you guys in my room after I get some stuff”
Brant and I both went up to Evan’s room and soon heard the tapping noise of raindrops on the window. Evan came in a few minutes later with hot dogs, buns, plates, a bottle of ketchup, a sleeve of plastic cups and a bottle of coke.
“Finally! Someone else that understands the importance of ketchup!”
Brant sounded like he’d just made an important discovery.
“I know right!”
Evan set the stuff down on his bed as he started digging through his closet. He came back out wearing a t shirt and short pajama pants. Seeing Evan wear pants that short made me comfortable enough to just stay in my speedo and a shirt while Brant did the same thing.
“So, is this your summer?”
I realized how blunt my question was after I asked it.
“You can gag me now”
Evan laughed as he took a bite out of his hot dog.
“It’s okay. Since that crap at school, yeah, this is my life. I go to school, come home, sleep then repeat. I have plenty of time to do my summer reading at least”
Evan was about to take another bit of his hot dog when he dropped it back onto his plate.
“Damnit. I haven’t even started that piece of shit book”
Evan looked at the book sitting on the shelf above his bedroom door.
“Maybe we’ll get an English teacher that won’t care if we read it or not”
Brant and Evan looked at me like I’d just grown two heads.
“We all got assigned the same book to read over the summer so that means we got the same teacher. Probably Mr. Felt”
Brant’s comment made me wonder if the teacher was related to the guy that was Woodward and Bernstein’s source during Watergate.
“He’s a retired college professor and teaches for fun. Word is he’s a hard ass that enjoys “pushing his students”. My brother had him when he was a freshman. Said that he was one of the most opinionated and picky teachers he’s ever had”
That made me even less confident about my chances of passing that class. I’d gotten a free pass in several of my classes due to what had happened, but the trade-off was that I’d had to do several at home assignment to at least make an appearance that I was making up the work. The principal of my new school was supposed to evaluate them once school started to assess where I stood academically.
“That’s comforting”
Brant put a hand on my shoulder and spoke with his mouth full of hot dog.
“Ihhss ohhkayhh. I wonht leh yooh fai”
“Thanks”
After we ate Evan put the food away and left the bottle of soda behind. After we briefly skimmed over the cliff notes for A Midsummer Night’s Dream the power went out and the weather turned even worse.
“So how good are you at tying people up?”
Evan had two blankets wrapped around his shivering body as he tried to recover body heat. Brant sat across from him also wrapped in blankets. I sat between them trying not to laugh.
“Shut up Aidan!”
Hearing Brant yell only made it harder for me not to laugh. When the power had gone out Brant and Evan had decided that they should try to go outside and check the breaker after reading an article about how to reset breakers on the internet; even though said article came from Wikipedia and contained several spelling errors.
“I’m pretty good. I’ll be better once I can feel my fingers again”
I pulled out my phone and checked the weather.
“According to the national weather service two storm cells have collided over Newport Bay. Rainfall is expected to be at least an inch”
I had a huge grin on my face as I passed my phone to Brant. Luckily the other two phones hadn’t gone off at all and were still hidden in the bag that Brant had brought with him.
Out of desire to rub in how bad the storm was supposed to be I decided to check my phone again only to discover that cell service had just gone out.
“Do your phones still work? Mine can’t get any signal at all”
My words were prophetic as Evan and Brant moved faster than I’d ever seen.
“5GX network reliability my ass”
Brant picked the blanket back up and wrapped it back around his body, his face flush with irritation.
“You sure you guys don’t want to borrow a pair of pajamas? I got plenty of them”
“Thanks, but I can’t stand those long flannel things. They make my legs itch”
I thanked Evan for the offer but decided to stay dressed like I was. It hit me at that point just how much I liked wearing something that had once held Brant’s cock.
“So, Brant how many speedos did you bring?”
Brant was about to answer Evan’s question when he walked toward his bag and opened it instead.
“That’s a good question”
I smiled as I brought my arms up to me chest and wrapped my arms around them marveling at the intensity with which Brant began digging into his duffle bag.
“Six”
Brant had a triumphant look on his face that made me laugh. Evan looked on with curiosity.
“So, you want to try one on?”
I couldn’t tell from Evan’s face whether he was disgusted, embarrassed or intrigued. In my brief time I’d spent with Evan I’d decided that his face was a bit like staring at a very pretty and stunning mountain; inscrutable from a distance and jaw dropping up close.
“Okay”
Brant smiled as he stood up from his bag and handed Evan the pile of speedos. Evan chose the dark green one and immediately left the room. With Evan out of the room I went to Brant’s side and pulled him into a bear hug that he returned with equal strength.
“Is it right for us to be here? He’s a great guy and I feel wrong about this”
Brant hugged me tighter.
“We don’t do this, and our families might die. We don’t do this and someone we don’t know might die. I don’t know what choice we have”
A crashing noise outside made both of us bolt outside Evan’s room. The darkness slowed both of us down just enough that we didn’t see the trip wire that had been placed in the hall. Both of us went flying forward just in time to crash into each other and onto the floor in one tangled heap.
“Glad that worked”
Brant and I looked up and saw several people we didn’t recognize.
“It’s nice that people think Evan’s allowed to have friends”
I saw Evan standing in the back. He only wore the green speedo now. His arms were pulled behind his back and a large muscular hand was clamped over his mouth.
“You two have broken one of our teams’ most sacred rules: Evan’s not allowed to have friends or visitors”
“Mmmmmmphhhh!!!!”
Evan struggled more against the guy holding him.
“You’ve lost muscle mass Ev and these two seem like typical fags from the bay. You really are gay, aren’t you? I have to admit up until now I thought that all that stuff with Neal wasn’t entirely real. I mean you have the personality of a dead pig so why would Neal want to hang around with you let alone like you that much?”
Brant later told me that Newport Bay was kind of like a city within a city that had a large gay population that didn’t always get along with the more conservative residents of the rest of the city.
“Mmmmphhhh!!!”
Evan struggled more until another one of the guys punched him in the side.
“Quiet! You’re still not allowed to talk in my presence. I guess we’ll have to extend the rules onto these two also”
Brant and I didn’t have time to react as we were both hauled onto our feet and our hands pulled behind our backs.
“First rule: no talking to us”
The three of us immediately had wads of material shoved into our mouths and tape wrapped around our heads. The wad of material in my mouth had a rough texture to it that
“Now that that’s settled we can speak without being interrupted. Evan are you gay?”
Evan refused to react to the prodding as he stood there. He stared daggers at the tall guy speaking.
“Glad to see you can still pull off the death stare. I can’t believe that tactic of yours ever had any effect on me”
Evan tried to break free again only to be slapped so hard that he slammed into the wall. His anger was so great that he catapulted himself at the boy yelling at him instead of trying to rip the gag off his face. Evan’s assault ended before it started. From the side he was shoved, from behind he was grabbed and from the front he was hit. The group held Evan down while one of them tied Evan’s wrists together with several rounds of duct tape.
“You three belong together”
“MMMMPPPHHHHH!!!!!!!!”
“Get them ready”
Brant and I had our sweatshirts removed and our hands tied behind our backs. Then tape was wrapped around our arms and chests. The tape felt tight around my arms and wrists; far tighter than it ever had been before. Next the tape was wrapped around our ankles and knees. We were carried down through the house and into the garage where they’d left a door open. The sound from the rain made it difficult to hear anything. I also notice the cold, it stung every inch of my body.
“This time we’ll leave you three here. Hopefully you’ll be able to untie yourselves before you get hypothermia”
We were dropped on the concrete floor. The cold concrete made me shiver within seconds of touching it almost making me forget the pain.
“Now one last touch before we leave”
They made one last round with tape, this time around our eyes.
“You two will never see Evan again and you Evan will remember that you’re meant to be left alone and miserable because that’s what you deserve”
The group of guys then left us there. As soon as the door was closed I started calling out until I found the general direction of Brant and Evan. I went for Brant first. As soon as I got close to him I rubbed my head on him. He recognized me immediately and held still. I started tapping out a simple message with my head.
“Hold still. Will lay down behind you. Get wrist ropes”
Brant grunted back an acknowledgement as I started moving.
It was slow going but I eventually reached Brant. I found his hands and turned my back to him. I tapped out ‘ready’ with one of my fingers and waited for Brant to get to work. He stopped once every few minutes to call out to Evan but never received a reply; after each time I felt Brant’s hands working harder and faster. Finally, I felt the tape was looser and Brant tapped out a message ‘all yours’. I got to work but it still took me a while to make any more progress. Finally, the tape around my wrists gave way and I pulled the tape from my eyes and mouth.
“Hold on Evan we’re coming!”
I untied Brant’s wrists then hopped over to Evan who wasn’t moving. The tape around Evan’s wrists had been pulled tighter than ours has been. I pulled off every bit of tape I found as fast as I could until all of it was gone. He slowly sat up shivering heavily. Brant came over a minute later looking down at Evan with a face full of pain but unable to say a word. I remembered the numb tiredness that I felt right now from being stuck in a coffin. This time I couldn’t hold back the panic as I felt my breathing quicken and I fell onto my knees feeling lunch come back up. Brant was next to me within seconds with a hand on my shoulder.
“I’m sorry”
Even over the storm I could hear it.
“It’s not your fault”
I could barely choke the words out.
“I’ll find some cleaning stuff. Can you keep an eye on him?”
Evan nodded and scooted next to me. As soon as I got next to him I reached over and hugged him tightly feeling my eyes sting with tears.
“Sorry about your floor”
I’d wanted to say something else but that was all I could get to come out.
“It’s okay”
I lifted my head and saw Evan’s face was a mask of silent anger. He pulled me tighter against him. Brant came back in and silently cleaned up the mess I’d made and the piles of tape.
“Did you guys come here because of a message?”
I couldn’t bear to lift my head. Brant stood up and turned away from Evan.
“Was it a voice?”
Brant still couldn’t bring himself to turn around.
“Yeah”
Evan kept a tight hold of me.
“A male voice? Modulated?”
Brant turned around and I finally considered Evan’s face.
“Yes”
In a quick series of movement Evan picked me up and held me in his arms. I would have thought about
jumping but of his arms but the tight grip he had me in was so warm.
“Come on, Aidan’s cold. We can talk afterwards”
Evan walked out of the garage. He didn’t say another word or hesitate at all even in the darkness. We
went to a larger bathroom with a walk-in shower. Evan opened the door to the shower and stepped
inside. He turned the knob and warm water came out instantly. I looked at Evan’s face and much of the
sculpted hardness from before was gone. Like a layer had been cut away. We stood under the water
letting the warmth permeate our bodies. Brant stood on the other side of me shivering under the water.
Finally, Evan turned the water off and put me down.
“I’ll get some towels”
Evan came back a minute later holding three large towels. We all dried off and went back to Evan’s
bedroom just as the power kicked back on.
“Wait here. I’ll be right back”
Evan came back later with three insulated mugs full of hot chocolate. Evan inhaled his while Brant and I
sipped ours. As soon as he finished his mug Brant reached into a drawer of his desk and pulled out a cell
phone that looked exactly like the ones we’d been given.
“Did you guys get phones that look like this?”
The design was the same. As was the text message alert tone. We all jumped back in fear
sending hot chocolate everywhere. Afterward Evan picked up his phone and clicked the video link
included with the message.
“I’m glad you tried to show initiative Aidan. That kind of quick thinking will be essential to you in the
future. Brant, you need to pay better attention to my instructions. I never said that you couldn’t tell
Evan about me. And you Evan”
The speaker paused.
“You’re a fine addition to my collection. Your first assignment is completed. I will be in touch”
Evan dropped the phone to the floor like it was diseased.
“So, you knew the whole time?”
Part of me felt betrayed at first but the more I thought about it the more I found that line of thought to
be hypocritical.
“I never thought you two would come here given my reputation. I was thinking up ideas of how to meet you guys when you showed up here. My instructions were to find both of you, make friends and find out what your instructions were. What were yours?”
“Make you join the swim team”
I put on a sweatshirt and threw one to Brant while Evan put on a shirt.
“What do you know about this guy?”
Brant looked at me as I thought things over in my head.
“I sort of met this guy before I moved here but I don’t know if we’re talking to a guy”
I told Evan about what happened in Florida and why I moved out here.
“Damn. I thought my life sucked”
Brant sat next to me and pulled me close while I hugged him.
“You two make a cute couple”
Evan gave a small smile.
“Were they lying?”
Evan knew what Brant was asking about even before the answer formed in his head.
“What started all my problems was meeting a guy at school; his name was Neal. He was the baseball
player and I was the wrestler. Up until then I’d never really thought about girls or guys. Then I saw Neal’s
face and something about just set something off in me. I still can’t explain it; to me he was just,
beautiful. We finally got to talk when we were paired together for a group project in English class. We
both really got into the project and when we finished it we started studying together. At first nothing
really happened but after a few more weeks I knew that my feelings for him were something else. I
mean you don’t fantasize seeing another guy in wrestling gear. Finally, at his house during a sleepover
we kissed for the first time”
Evan looked away as he picked up a pillow and punched it as hard as he could several times.
“For the rest of 7th grade we saw each other as much as we could. That lasted until 8 th grade started.
Neal and I were more open about our relationship than we should have been. We didn’t think anyone
would care that we loved each other; we were so naïve”
Evan kneaded the pillow in his hands clenching and unclenching it.
“I was in the locker room getting ready to go home after practice when Richard Collins and several of his
friends showed me a picture of Neal and me kissing. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t hear a word he
said. All I saw was some idiot jock giving me and my boyfriend shit. All I remember is everything going
blank like my conscious mind had switched off. I woke up in the hospital a couple hours later tied to a
hospital bed with a tube down my throat. I guess I’d put a good fight, but the guys took me down hard. I
couldn’t even talk for a week afterwards”
Evan flexed his hands in front of him like he was looking at someone else’s property instead of his own
body.
“When I woke up there was a note next to me. A nurse was nice enough to hold it in front of me so I
could read it. Neal had somehow smuggled a note to me before he left. He’d done everything he could
to stay and try to get me out of trouble but it hadn’t helped. His parents thought I was some corrupting
juvenile delinquent and tried to get me put away before I even woke up”
I remembered how unplanned my whole coming out experience had been.
“How did your parents take it?”
Evan rubbed his eyes, but a few tears still made their way through.
“They weren’t upset about me being gay. I have a few cousins that are so it’s not unknown to them.
They were more upset that I hadn’t told them, that they never got to meet Neal and that I’d been
ganged up on in the locker room. My parents stopped Neal’s parents from doing anything serious but
the school board decided that it would best if I was removed from the wrestling team permanently and
banned from all wrestling and other athletic events for the rest of the year. I just wish I could have seen
Neal one last time or if I could just talk to him again but I’ve never been able to find him”
I felt sorry for Evan. I hadn’t been banned from attending school events, but I hadn’t wanted to after
everything that had happened.
“Did anything happen to the assholes?”
Brant had a firm grip on one of my hands that had since turned into a firm hold on my waist.
“In school suspension for a few of them”
I felt Brant’s grip on me tighten when he heard that.
“Well you’ve got us now. Nobody hurts the people I care about”
“Sorry to hear about what happened to you Aidan. I can’t imagine what that must have been like and
I’m sorry you had to go through it again today”
Evan smiled at me in a kind way that reminded me of how soft Evan was on the inside.
“I’m okay. This time I got to be tied up with two hot guys in speedos, so it balances out”
I was glad that I’d made both Evan and Brant laugh, even if it was only a small one. After that Evan’s
parents called to check on him and he decided to introduce us over the phone. His parents insisted on us
staying there while they checked with Brant and I’s parents to see if they’d like to come meet them. I
was surprised when Evan got a call back a half hour later and that the idea had been approved.
“So, I’m supposed to join the swim team huh?”
“I think you’d like it and we protect our own”
I found it odd that any group would care that much about one of its members. Then again, I’d only had
football to compare it to.
“When are tryouts?”
Brant gave Evan all the information he needed.
“I never thought I’d be
“So, who started the whole tie up thing?”
Brant thought for a minute.
“It’s been a thing for as far back as I can remember”
Brant had told me that he’d been swimming with Mountainview since he was young enough to swim.
“When did you first find out about it?”
I was curious about this too.
“Not until I got to the fourth grade. I snuck into a closet one day and peaked through a crack into a room
and watched them play games once”
Evan sat next to me with his legs crossed as he turned his phone’s flashlight feature then pointed it at
the ceiling and put it between us.
“When was your first time?”
Evan and I both leaned forward as Brant let the blankets drop away from him exposing the
Mountainview sweatshirt he was wearing.
“At the end of 4th grade you move from guppies to starfish; that’s what we call them anyway. After you
make starfish there’s a party at the beginning of the summer for swimmers only. It was on the first
Friday after school let out. We had the whole club to ourselves”
Brant adjusted his sweatshirt to cover more of his waist and legs.
“I remember walking up to the door and reading the sign ‘wait here until summoned’. There must have
been like 25 of us. We all sat there and waited for what felt like forever. I mean the starfish guys all
talked up this party to us the entire year so we had no idea what we were in for”
We were all distracted as the thunder and lightning outside sounded in the distance.
“At first we thought it was gonna be the practice from hell but that was a prank. We got new swimsuits,
and got to hang out together; now this is where I think someone went all evil genius on us. After they
fed us a bunch of pizza they left a bunch of rope, pieces of fabric and duct tape in the room we were in.
Then a few of the older kids with us started playing around with it. Within a few minutes they’d tied up
and gagged one of their friends. A bunch of us watched them then they asked us if we wanted in on it”
Brant was laughing to himself now.
“Come on man we wanna know what happened!?!”
Evan had wrapped an arm around me and pulled me in closer. Experiencing this was making me blush
and had warmed me up enough that I didn’t feel the cold at all.
“15 of us said yes so we went to another room while everyone else stayed behind. The other room had a
big Mountainview crest on the door but this panther has silver bracelets on its legs. There were some
other guys inside; some in clothes and others in speedos. The first thing that they showed us was a new
crest ‘Panthers: mean when tied, bad when gagged’ and another Panther but this one had chains on its
legs”
Brant reached for his phone and pulled up pictures of both.
“At that point each of us was asked if we wanted to tie up someone else or be tied up ourselves. I don’t
remember the exact split but most of us wanted to know what it was like to be tied up. So first they
gave us a safety speech and told us that we had to keep it a secret. We found out later that the parents
were aware of what was going on; the secret part was more for the other kids than the
parents. I volunteered to go first. First, they asked if I wanted my hands tied behind my back or in front. I
asked for in back”
Brant moved his hands behind his back and stuck his legs out clamping them tightly together.
“Then they tied my arms to my chest and asked if I wanted to keep going. All I could do was nod I was so
excited, in more ways than one I’ve been told. Then they tied a band of rope around my ankles and
knees. Then they let me hop around the room. I jumped so high on one hop that I nearly banged
my head on the ceiling; I haven’t been allowed to jump around the room since”
Brant had a guilty look on his face that made me think that he’d never adhered to that rule.
“Everyone else got tied up next. Then we all sat around for a bit getting used to it. Then I asked if I could
be gagged first. We were all told about how to gag someone and the expectations we were expected to
uphold if we gagged someone”
Brant started ticking off things on his fingers like he was counting off some sort of bondage checklist.
“No gagging participants that haven’t agreed to it; we all signed contracts later that discussed this stuff.
The younger kids couldn’t participate except in special situations; I guess a few of the younger kids were
legacies that have been a part of things for years. Only approved tape can be used. Being gagged can be
a punishment, training tool or for fun. Those sentenced to silence are required to report any failures and
serve their full sentence except in certain cases. New members are required to be approved and
initiated. Bondage challenges must be accepted or denied, and the terms agreed upon by all involved.
Last, anyone that wishes to challenge a current record must apply to the team captain in advance for
approval”
Evan and I both asked the question at the same time.
“What records?”
Brant had a smug smile on his face as he continued.
“The club has several swimming and bondage records. All the typical swimming records you’d expect.
There’s a long list of normal and special bondage records too: longest time completely tied up and
gagged, longest time tied, longest stealth tie up, longest stealth gag, longest time gagged, most
elaborate gag, most elaborate tie up”
Brant took a gulp of his coke.
“Those are just the normal ones. I don’t even know all the special records just some of them: longest
time held prisoner on a road trip, longest time tied to a bus seat, best capture. There’s more but I
haven’t read much of the book”
My curiosity was immediately piqued.
“Book?”
Brant nodded as he took another gulp of coke.
“Yeah, the club has a book that lists all the bondage rules, record categories and some other historical
stuff. They said it goes back over ten years”
Brant got up and stretched his legs then laid on his stomach kicking his legs in the air.
“What’s a bondage challenge?”
Evan and I didn’t need any help paying attention at this point.
“I’ve gotten a few of those. Things like betting that I can keep a gag on longer than someone else. So far
I’ve won all of my challenges except one”
“Why’d you lose?”
Brant looked at me trying to hide his blushing face.
“I was, um, distracted by someone”
I smiled at Brant as I wondered what he’d been distracted by. Evan then asked another question.
“So, what’s a stealth gag?”
Brant quickly turned his face towards Evan.
“One type of gag challenge is a stealth gag. That’s when you have to be gagged in public for a certain
period without anyone finding out. If you make it past the time limit you win. There’s no rule on
how long these challenges can last and there’s no exceptions made for school or anything unless you set
them ahead of time. Why you want to give it a try?”
Evan finally took his arm from around me and crossed his arms in front of him.
“Gag challenge”
