## Up at the Lake

Post by dreadnaught3200 » Mon Sep 07, 2009 12:24 am

Hey Everybody
Yep it's me again, and I've finished another story featuring my usual cast of characters. I considered posting this one in pieces, but I decided to send it all together. I think it's better to have the whole story available then to have to wait for updates. That being said, this one is... well... massive.
I guess you guys are starting to get used to me and my mistakes, and hopefully they don't distract from the story.
So! Grab a drink, put your feet up, and enjoy!
Up at the Lake
July had passed in a blaze of sunshine and good times, leading to the depression of late August as the days became shorter, and the threat of returning to school began to loom. Though this was no ordinary August, the five were all waiting in nervous anticipation of starting university, a great landmark on the roadmap to adulthood.
For the time being though, they were quite content to enjoy what little summer they had left.
In late July, Xander had the idea of bringing his friends up to his familyâ€™s cabin at Emerson Lake for a week. They all loved the idea, and Xander appealed to his parents. After a bit of convincing they relented, and hesitantly allowed them to go by themselves. After all, they were supposed to be adults.
Meeting at Xanderâ€™s house around six in the morning, the five piled into his SUV and began road tripping north to the lake. Speedboat in tow.
Eight hours, and several detours later, they arrived in the middle of nowhere, and the nice little house built in it. After dropping their bags, they all pitched in the effort to lower the speedboat into the water, then went for a swim as Xander fueled it and did maintenance.
As the sun dropped beneath the mountains, they all collectively made dinner, and began planning their week together.
At around ten oâ€™clock the two genders decided to go their separate ways.
Being the gentlemen that they were, Justin and Xander had decided to set up mats and sleeping bags for themselves in the basement, while allowing the girls to have the two bedrooms upstairs. Xander and Sarah had silently agreed to keep an eye on Justin and Beccaâ€¦ just to make sure they didnâ€™t try anything.
The two guys unrolled their mats and sleeping bags, brushed their teeth and were sitting on their mats within a matter of minutes. Though neither of them were particularly interested in sleeping at that point, so they talked about the next dayâ€™s wake boarding while Xander quietly strummed his guitar, oblivious to the conspiring that was going on two floors above them.
Earlier, Sarah and Becca decided that they would share one room while Maya would have one to herself. But that didnâ€™t stop her from coming and staying with them until three in the morning.
After theyâ€™d been chatting for a while, Sarah darted her eyes towards the door, making sure the guys were nowhere to be seen.
â€œYou have your devious smile out.â€ Becca noticed.
â€œYep. I think itâ€™s time we get a little payback on the guys.â€ Sarah replied.
â€œFor tying us up?â€ Maya asked, still a little unsure.
â€œYeah.â€ Becca answered.
â€œOk, whatâ€™s up with that?â€
â€œItâ€™s kind of a game we play. It started a while back before you came, and we were all in the musical. They all tied me to a pole in the auditorium, then I had to get revenge on Becca, and she had to get me back and so onâ€¦â€ Sarah explained.
â€œIt can be pretty useful though.â€ Becca remarked.
â€œOh yeah, she and Justin probably wouldnâ€™t be dating if me and Xander hadnâ€™t done it to them.â€
Maya paused.
â€œOhâ€¦ ok.â€ She said finally.
â€œIf youâ€™re not comfortable with it, thatâ€™s ok.â€ Becca told her.
â€œNo! No, itâ€™s fine. Who knowsâ€¦ it might be funâ€¦ though last time sure as hell wasnâ€™t!â€
â€œNo.â€œ Becca agreed.
â€œSo whatâ€™s the plan?â€ Maya asked.
â€œOk, well Xander said weâ€™d go out on the boat tomorrow, and he said that they have an old tree fort on one of the other shores. I figure that would be a perfect spot. â€œ
â€œOk, but how do we get the jump on both of them?â€ Becca asked.
â€œI thought we could use Justinâ€™s own trick.â€ She replied, smirking.
The smirk jumped from Sarah to Becca as she considered how fitting it would be.
â€œSo you two grab Xander while I distract my boyfriend?â€
â€œExactly.â€
â€œThen what do we do with them?â€ Maya asked.
â€œWe get creative.â€
â€œI know for a fact that Justin is a lot more ticklish then heâ€™d like to admit.â€ Becca added.
â€œI donâ€™t really want to know how you learned that.â€ Sarah said.
They all laughed.
The three continued plotting until four in the morning, where Maya decided she could stay up no longer and went to her own room. Becca and Sarah turned off the nearby lamp soon after.
Meanwhile downstairs, the guys had long since turned off the light and tried to go to sleep. However, Justin had other plans, and quietly slipped out of his sleeping bag and stood up. As stealthily as he could, he made his way toward the stairs.
â€œDonâ€™t even think about it.â€ Xander said without opening his eyes.
Justin didnâ€™t say anything.
â€œYouâ€™re no ninja, pal.â€
Justin shrugged and went back to bed.
Given that all of them had stayed up very late, no one stirred before nine oâ€™clock the next day.
Becca was the first up.
In keeping with the plan theyâ€™d made the night before, she slipped out of bed and checked the basement. After seeing the guys were still sound asleep, she slipped out the back door and walked over to the shed nearby. Once inside she checked the shelves for anything she could use to capture them. She found several lengths of white and black speckled marine rope, a few oversized rolls of duct tape and a box of zip ties.
â€œThatâ€™sâ€¦ convenient.â€ Becca thought to herself. After a minute it hit herâ€¦ Xander was planning ahead.
Taking the supplies sheâ€™d found, Becca slipped down to the dock and to the speedboat moored to it. She lifted off a corner of the cover and stowed the supplies in a compartment under one of the seats.
With her work finished, she darted back to the house and back up to her room.
About half an hour later Justin stirred. He sat up and stretched, giving his eyes a minute to open fully. Moving off his mat, he did ten push-ups to get his blood flowing, and headed upstairs to make breakfast. A few minutes later his buddy also stirred, heâ€™d never understood why Justin insisted on doing push-ups first thing in the morning.
The guys started making a double batch of pancakes from a dry mix, and theyâ€™d been at it for ten or so minutes when the ladies finally came down. With everybody helping out breakfast was up in no time, and they made light conversation as they did it.
â€œSo do you guys want to start with tubing or wake boarding?â€ Xander asked.
There was a pause.
â€œWhatâ€™s better?â€ Sarah asked.
â€œWell thereâ€™s more to it than that.â€
â€œTubing is really easy, wakeboarding is more fun but it takes a while to learn.â€ Maya said.
â€œYou sound like you know this from experience.â€ Justin mentioned.
â€œYeah, my cousins have a boat, Iâ€™ve driven it a lot.â€
â€œOh cool.â€
â€œYou mentioned something about a tree fort on the other shore or something like that?â€ Becca asked, not very in-conspicuously.
â€œYeah, I figured weâ€™d pack lunch and eat it there.â€ Xander answered.
â€œOhâ€¦ cool.â€
He wasnâ€™t sure, but Xander saw what he thought was the corner of a smirk on her face. He decided to ignore it.
After breakfast, they quickly cleaned up the kitchen and changed into their swim suits. After packing a cooler full of drinks and a picnic lunch, they headed down to the dock and climbed onto â€œPalmerâ€ the speedboat. Neither of the guys noticed when Maya quietly slipped an extra bag in with the lunch.
Xander threw a line out of the back while Justin strapped the wakeboard onto his feet and jumped in the water. A few seconds later, the throttle was gunned and Justin was lifted out of the water.
He rode the wake, back and forth for twenty minutes before his arms gave out and face couldnâ€™t take any more crashes onto the waterâ€™s hard surface. Pulling back in, Xander decided to go for a round himself and trusted the wheel to Maya, who did an excellent job of pulling him along.
When Xander had his fill they began the long process of teaching Sarah, whoâ€™d never boarded in her life. It was a frustrating hour for everyone as she fell, over and over again.
When Sarah finally dragged herself back onto the boat, Xander turned back for home and collected the triple tube. Everyone took a turn on it as they motored back and forth across the lake. Though Justin, Becca and Sarah all noticed a slight rivalry growing between Xander and Maya on boat driving prowess. When they switched driving, each tubing run got progressively more wild.
Finally, as the boatâ€™s clock hit two thirty, Becca suggested:
â€œHey guys, maybe itâ€™s a good time to stop for lunch?â€
Everyone agreed, and the boat steered for a deserted stretch of shore on the western side of the massive lake.
Pulling up to the beach, Xander brought the boat in as close as he could to land and dropped anchor off the bow. Meanwhile everyone else collected the picnic materials, jumped off the boat and waded onto shore with the stuff over their heads. Justin and Xander were still oblivious to the extra bag that was coming on shore with them.
The beach they stood on was at the end of a small clearing in the forest, off to the left the shore inclined into a short rock cliff, perfect for jumping into the water. True to his word, in the forest was a small wooden hut that looked like it had been bought elsewhere and assembled there. Next to it, a simple ladder of boards had been nailed into one of the trees leading up to a platform and a rope bridge to another platform on the tree next to it. Also hung between the two trees, near the ground was a hammock, Xanderâ€™s favorite part of the setup.
â€œCool.â€ Sarah remarked.
They all walked over to the edge of the forest, and laid down the cooler and the bags of food.
Not long after, Becca quietly came up and nudged her boyfriend. Without saying a word she motioned over to the forest and winked. Attempting to be sneaky, the two walked away from their friends and into the forest.
Xander noticed. It struck him as strange, but not strange enough to be worryingâ€¦ Or was it?
Sarah and Maya didnâ€™t say a thing about it, and continued to work. Quietly Xander took the boat keys and snuck them into his back pocket.
â€œThey must have noticed.â€ He thought.
Sarah subtly moved towards a bag near the cooler, one that he hadnâ€™t seen before. But he saw all the bags get packed onto the boatâ€¦ where did it come from?
Instinctively he knew something was up. But before he turned around, it was too late. Sarah and Maya caught him off guard, each grabbing one arm and pulling them together while Sarahâ€™s hand clamped over his mouth.
Within a few seconds Maya had a zip tie secured around his wrists. Sarah pressed the handgag and said quietly:
â€œThis is payback!â€
Xander couldnâ€™t help but chuckle. The last game they played had been very much at the girls expense and he knew it.
â€œNow would you please just co-operate? You know you deserve this.â€
Xander nodded.
â€œIâ€™m going to take my hand off, but donâ€™t make a sound. You understand? Just let us have our fun!â€
Xander gave them a thoughtful look and nodded again slowly.
â€œAlright.â€
True to her word, Sarah pulled off her hand. Xander stayed true to his and remained quietâ€¦ For a few seconds at least.
Meanwhile in the woods nearby Justin and Becca were in the middle of one of their rather passionate make out sessions, when he heard his comrade in arms yell through the trees:
â€œJustin! Run! Itâ€™s a trap!â€
He looked into Beccaâ€™s eyes and she gave it all away. Instinctively he tore off towards the beach, running to his brotherâ€™s aid. Becca chased him, yelling indiscernibly.
He hit the clearing and saw Maya and Sarah standing by Xander whoâ€™s hands were already bound. Sarah hung onto him while Maya joined in the chase. Now with two enemies on his tail, Justin made a hard left turn and headed back towards Xander, not knowing where else to go.
Xander suddenly pushed Sarah and broke free of her grasp. Grabbing the keys out of his back pocket, he turned around and threw them blindly into the air with his zip tied hands.
They landed on the ground and Justin swooped by and picked them up.
â€œTake the boat and run!â€ He yelled.
â€œWhat about you?â€
â€œIâ€™ll be ok, just go!â€
Sarah caught back up with her prisoner and grabbed fast onto both of his arms.
â€œYouâ€™re going to regret that.â€ She hissed.
As he ran, Justin did some fast thinking. He realized that even if he did get away on the boat, Xander would be at Sarahâ€™s mercy for however long he waited. He needed a bargaining chip if he was going to get Xander out. The solution was obvious.
He curved around towards Sarah and Xander one more time, the other two still hot on his heels. Though it wasnâ€™t Sarah he was interested in, so much as the box of zip ties next to her. He ran by and grabbed a handful, though most of them slipped out and he was left with only one. He dropped it in his buttoned pocket.
Next he turned right and headed towards the hill. Once he found a spot right on the edge of the cliff, he turned around and came to an abrupt halt. Becca ran strait towards him with both arms extended. As she came close, he grabbed both her arms and used her own momentum to throw her strait over the edge.
She landed in the lake with a splash, and immediately started clambering her way back to shore.
Meanwhile Maya tried to wrestle with him, but was completely outmatched. When he saw that Becca was back on shore, he picked her up, threw her over his shoulder and jumped off the edge.
As fast as he could, he waded over to the boat with his prisoner on his shoulder, who shoved as hard as she could to escape his grasp.
Becca had turned right around and was wading towards the boat, in an attempt to save her comrade. But Justin had enough of a head start to reach the boat, clamber up onto the swimming platform, pull Maya on board and dash to the drivers seat.
â€œNo! No! Let me go!â€ Maya yelled.
But to no avail. Holding on to her with one arm, Justin pulled the keys out of his pocket and stuck them in the ignition. Throwing the boat into reverse, he slowly cranked the throttle and pulled the boat with its anchor away from the shore.
Becca was left in the wake.
Once he saw Becca had given up swimming, he stopped the boat.
â€œThis sucks.â€ Maya whined.
â€œWhy?â€ He asked.
â€œBecause we were supposed to be getting revenge on you guys!â€
â€œOh well, life isnâ€™t fair.â€
Justin chuckled, Maya wasnâ€™t so amused.
â€œItâ€™s ok Mai, Iâ€™m just going to use you to get Xander untied and weâ€™ll call it a truce.â€
â€œFineâ€¦ fine.â€
â€œBesides, I know you like it.â€
â€œYeah. Shut up.â€
Justin pulled the zip tie out of his back pocket. Maya graciously put her hands behind her back and made it easy for him. Though he was a little unsure what to do next, considering he only had one zip tie, and just tying her hands wouldnâ€™t be enough.
He scanned the boat looking for something, and it hit him.
Justin escorted her to the left side passenger bench and sat her down. Reaching over to the back of the boat, he retrieved the wake board theyâ€™d been using.
â€œHuh.â€ Maya remarked.
â€œYeah!â€
He positioned it by the seat and strapped her feet into the holsters. She tried moving around and discovered her feet were thoroughly stuck. She could only hop at best.
â€œWow, I canâ€™t believe that worked.â€ Justin said.
â€œYeah, neither can I.â€
With his prisoner secured, Justin moved to the bow and pulled the anchor back into the boat. Once finished, he climbed into the drivers seat and looked over the controls. Heâ€™d driven Xanderâ€™s speed boat once or twice before and had a basic idea of how to use it.
â€œWe should wait a while before going back I think. I know Becca, sheâ€™ll need a little while to calm down before sheâ€™s reasonable again.â€ Justin said.
â€œYeah Iâ€™ve noticed that.â€ Maya agreed.
â€œWell, they have the cooler. So letâ€™s go back and get some drinks.â€
â€œOk.â€
Back at the beach, Sarah and Becca were being far less charitable to their prisoner. Heâ€™d ruined their plan, and they were angry.
Sarah had held onto him tightly as the rest of the chase went down, but was powerless to stop the smile that crossed his face as his comrade escaped with prisoner in tow. He knew that gave him a chance of getting out of his situation, or at least getting out of it sooner.
Becca turned around and walked towards him, fuming. Though nothing she could do could take away his smile as he saw Justin reel in the anchor and drive away. But with him gone, he had to face his fate.
â€œWhy did you do that!?â€ Sarah screamed.
â€œTo screw up your plan.â€ Xander chuckled.
â€œWell, thatâ€™s unfortunate for you.â€ Becca said coldly.
They both gave Xander the scariest death glares they possibly could. He just continued to smile, as they got angrier, his smile got wider, until finallyâ€¦ they all burst out laughing.
â€œYou guys canâ€™t stay mad at me, and you know it!â€ He said.
â€œI know.â€ Sarah said. â€œOh well. Come on you!â€
She pulled him back towards the trees and he went obediently. Becca stopped to pick up the bag of materials and followed.
â€œWhere do you want to put him?â€ Becca asked.
â€œWell heâ€™s tied me to a pole twice now, I think I should return the favor.â€ Sarah replied.
â€œOk.â€
Xander sighed.
All too quickly they backed him against a tree and Sarah held on while Becca reached into the bag and retrieved a pair of scissors and a single length of rope. She and Sarah each took one arm as she cut the zip tie and they pulled his arms back around the tree. The tree wasnâ€™t overly large, giving Becca just enough space to cleanly pull her friendâ€™s palms together and tie his hands. She wrapped rope around his wrists and cinched it vertically in the normal way.
Sarah meanwhile went back to the bag and retrieved three more lengths of rope. Taking the first in hand, she began wrapping it around his legs with both ends at the same time, after cinching the tie with both ends, she pulled it tight and wrapped it around the tree trunk over Xanderâ€™s ankles several times before knotting it off behind the tree.
When Becca was finished she took another length of rope and wrapped it directly around his waist and the tree, looping it many times before knotting it off behind the tree. Finally they both took the last piece of rope, and wrapped it around his entire body, pinning all of him to the tree.
â€œWowâ€¦ talk about overkill huh?â€ Xander remarked as he futilely tried pulling against his rope prison.
â€œOk, no more complaining from you!â€
Becca reached for the cloth and the tape.
â€œNo, no! I wasnâ€™t complaining I was just--- mmmmmmphâ€
She paid no attention to his excuses as she shoved the cloth into his mouth. Sarah pulled a few pieces of tape off the role and stuck them over Xanderâ€™s lips.
â€œMmmmph.â€ He groaned.
â€œWellâ€¦ Doesnâ€™t he look so cute all trussed up like that?!â€ Becca yelled, while pinching his cheek.
â€œThat was low.â€ Xander thought.
â€œHe sure does!â€ Sarah agreed.
The two gave each other a very satisfied look.
â€œWell it wouldâ€™ve been better to have gotten both of you, but seeing you all tied up like this does make me feel better.â€ Becca said. â€œOk Sarah! Letâ€™s have lunch shall we? We can torture him later.â€
â€œTorture?â€ Xander tried to say, though it came out â€œHmmph-mmmph?â€
What could they possibly mean by that?
Justin pulled up at the cabin within a matter of minutes and gently pulled the boat into the dock. Leaving Maya to her own devices, he ran up to the building and grabbed a couple of sodas from the fridge. Before leaving he grabbed a long clean dishcloth and started back down to the boat.
Before he arrived, he decided to stop at the shed and check for any more supplies. He noticed an empty spot on one of the shelves. Too bad Xander had hidden the supplies all in one place.
He searched all the shelves until finally he came across some bungee cord.
â€œMight come in handy.â€ He thought.
Taking the bungee in hand he ran down to the boat. It wasnâ€™t surprising that Maya had lowered herself onto the floor and was frantically searching for something she could cut herself loose with.
â€œLucy! Iâ€™m home!â€ He said.
She groaned.
â€œSorry Mai.â€
â€œItâ€™s alright.â€
Justin sat down next to her and opened both cans. After taking a swig of his own, he held the can up to her lips and poured it in.
â€œWhy canâ€™t you just untie my hands and let me drink it myself?â€ She asked.
â€œCause thatâ€™s just not as much fun!â€
She rolled her eyes.
After they spent a few more minutes drinking, Justin got the boat started again. Pushing it away from the dock, he burned a hard left turn and started heading back towards the beach to make peace,
At about the half way mark, Justin suddenly stopped the boat.
â€œOk Iâ€™m sorry but I have to do this.â€ Justin said.
He pulled the dish cloth out of his pocket, and before Maya could say anything in protest, he had it tied through her mouth into a cleave gag.
Trying not to notice her gagged glare, he got back in the drivers seat and kept going.
Back at the beach, Justinâ€™s friend was in the midst of torture by his captors. Coming back from lunch and ending Xanderâ€™s hot stuffy wait in the forest, the two began brain storming ways to make his life uncomfortable.
The first thing they tried was tickling. Using the ends of their nails, they both viciously attacked their prisonerâ€™s armpits and stomach. But besides some minor irritation, he didnâ€™t flinch. Xander was not ticklish in the slightest.
Feeling a little bit more evil, Becca simply picked up a long stick from the ground and started poking him with it. After a few pokes, she saw it was working and Sarah joined in the fun.
This really bugged him, it was the sort of poke that made you want to shrink back away from it, but he couldnâ€™t move an inch. It seemed like ages, but finally after a while they got tired with the poking and stopped to rethink their strategy.
After some quiet deliberations, they disappeared for a moment. When they returned they were carrying the cooler.
â€œWhat are these sick twisted women going to do?â€ Xander asked himself.
Opening the cooler, they each retrieved several ice cubes and started throwing them at their prisoner.
The sudden shock of the ice cold pellets was quite uncomfortable. Sarah and Becca had struck pay dirt.
Xander prayed that the barrage would be short lived. And much to his surpriseâ€¦ it was. After Sarah and Becca had been throwing ice for a couple of minutes, they heard Justinâ€™s voice echo through the trees.
â€œIâ€™m back! I want to negotiate!â€ He yelled.
Xander was relieved.
â€œOh thank God!â€ He said into his gag.
â€œBring Xander!â€ Justin added.
Becca and Sarah looked at each other. He had Maya, they had to play along. Reluctantly, the moved over to the tree and began unwrapping Xander from his rope imprisonment.
Once the foot and waist bindings were removed, the two repeated the process theyâ€™d done earlier on his hands, and each grabbed hold of an arm, while Sarah released the ropes with one hand. Pulling his arms from around the tree, they promptly used the same rope and retied them behind his back.
â€œOk. March.â€ Sarah ordered.
Xander obeyed and the three walked out from the trees and back onto the rock cliff on the beach. The speedboat loomed in the distance and Justin stood next to a bound and cleave gagged Maya. It looked like a scene out of a cheesy action movie.
â€œAlright. Iâ€™m listening.â€ Sarah said.
â€œVery simple. You untie Xander, I untie Maya, and thatâ€™s the end of it.â€
â€œNo way!â€
â€œWhy not?â€
â€œCause we started this to get back at you two! And we want our revenge!â€
â€œWell if thatâ€™s how you look at it, then Iâ€™ll just have to take the boat and go back to the house and wait for a few hours while you change your mind.â€
â€œAnd let Xander get tortured in the mean time?â€
â€œAnd youâ€™d be leaving Maya at my mercy at the same time, and sheâ€™s the only really innocent one here.â€
Maya nodded.
â€œIt would seem that we have reached an impass!â€ Becca declared.
There was a long tense silence.
â€œI ha n iea!â€ Maya said through her gag,.
â€œWhat?â€ Justin asked.
She rolled her eyes at him.
â€œOk, ok.â€
He pulled the cloth out of her mouth and left it hanging around her neck.
â€œI have an idea.â€ She said.
â€œYeah we figured as much. Those gags are kinda useless.â€ Becca replied.
â€œWe settle this on the tube.â€
â€œWhat?â€ The three untaped ones said in unison.
â€œConsidering that this is becoming a competition between genders, the only way to solve it is to bet the entire team. So, we solve everything at once. I drive the two guys on the tube for ten minutes, Xander drives the three of us on the tube for ten minutes and so on. The first group to fall off, loses.â€
â€œThen all of them get tied?â€ Justin asked.
â€œYeah.â€
Everyone considered Mayaâ€™s idea.
â€œI knew you two were competing over driving!â€ Becca remarked.
They both nodded.
â€œAlright.â€ Justin agreed. â€œThat sounds fair.â€
â€œOk.â€ Becca said, looking at Sarah.
She thought about it for a moment longer. At this point her plan was ruined whether she liked it or not.
â€œFine.â€ She decided.
With that settled, Xander thrust his hands out behind him, eager for his captors to honor the agreement. Reluctantly Sarah obliged and started untying them. Justin meanwhile cut the zip tie around Mayaâ€™s wrists and she unstrapped her feet from the wakeboard.
As soon as Xanderâ€™s hands were released, he gratefully pulled the duct tape off of his face and spat the cloth onto the ground. With that done, he methodically massaged his red and welted wrists.
â€œAlright, whoâ€™s going first?â€ Justin asked.
No one said anything.
â€œOk Mai. Rock paper scissors.â€ He decided.
They played a single round. He won.
â€œOk! Lifejackets and get onto the tube!â€ Xander yelled.
Xander, Becca and Sarah all swam out to drifting speedboat and clambered in. The three girls honored the scared bond of rock paper scissors and dutifully geared up and climbed onto waiting triple tube.
Justin pulled out his watch and started the timer.
â€œGo!â€ He yelled.
Xander cranked the throttle and off they went. Sarah, Becca and Maya clung on for dear life.
He tried every trick he could think of. Donuts, sudden bursts of speed, very sharp turns. But after ten minutes g-forces, speed and water, the girls were undefeated.
â€œStop!â€ Justin yelled.
Unwillingly, Xander pulled the throttle back to neutral while Justin reeled the tube and its three shell shocked passengers back to the boat. They climbed off and began taking off their life jackets while Justin and Xander suited up and jumped on the tube.
â€œWait a minute!â€ Justin said. â€œThere are three of you and two of us, youâ€™re heavier, you had an advantage!â€
â€œYeah, but you guys are stronger and heavier than us.â€ Becca pointed out.
â€œThatâ€™s true.â€
â€œMy big strong man!â€
The two stared longingly at each other for a moment.
â€œHey! Focus!â€ Xander yelled to his friend.
Justin snapped out of Beccaâ€™s spell and back to reality.
â€œOk Maya! Do your worst!â€
She stared back at him, her left eyebrow raised.
â€œYour wish is my command.â€ She said quietly.
Within a matter of seconds, Xander was eating his poorly chosen words. Maya gunned the throttle in an uncharacteristic burst of aggression. After throwing them back across the wake a few times, she throttled forward and lowered the boatâ€™s wedge. She started a slow turn and threw the guys over the boatâ€™s huge wake completely sideways.
Yet their arms did not give out. Maya threw every possible boating trick at them and yet they did not falter. While Justin had look of terror on his face, Xander hooted and hollered in an ecstasy of adrenaline filled joy.
â€œStop!â€ Sarah yelled all too quickly.
Grudgingly Maya stopped the boat and sulked. Becca hauled the tube back to the boat and the other two got ready for their second run. The genders switched places and Justin got his watch ready again.
â€œGo!â€ He yelled.
Xander took off like a bullet, throwing his friends back into their seats. For the first few minutes he bided his time, throwing them back and forth across the wake, but not pulling out all the stops. After five minutes or so, he managed to lull them into a false sense of security, so much so that Maya was already planning her next run. So comfortable were they that they didnâ€™t notice Xander picking up speed and starting a slow turn.
They were slammed side on by the wake and thrown into the air. Wave after wave, and jump after jump they held on until finallyâ€¦. Becca could hold on no longer and her arms gave way. Falling off the back of the tube, she threw it completely off balance, catapulting the other two high into the air.
Xander stopped the boat and did a complete about face while he and Justin high fived.
â€œWe win!â€ Justin yelled to them in triumph.
â€œNot fair.â€ Sarah muttered.
The guys pulled their friends back onto the boat. Xander walked up to his rival and extended his hand. She grudgingly shook it.
â€œThat wasâ€¦ pretty good.â€ She admitted.
They both started laughing.
â€œNext time.â€ Xander said while he climbed back into the driverâ€™s seat.
The boat spun right around and headed strait back to the beach. Sarah sat and steamed at her defeat while Justin and Becca cuddled. But the trip was short lived, a few quick minutes later, and Xander stopped the boat and threw out the anchor.
â€œOk! Off the boat!â€ He announced.
Sarah dragged her feet over the edge and waded to shore with everybody. Xander and Justin busied themselves retrieving pieces of dropped rope, the roll of duct tape, the box of zip ties, and the bag with the still unused supplies.
â€œOk, letâ€™s split them up first.â€ Justin suggested.
â€œAlright. You wanna tie up your girlfriend?â€
â€œOk.â€ He replied all too quickly.
Becca giggled.
â€œAlright, Mai you mind waiting for a few minutes?â€ Xander asked her.
â€œSure.â€ She replied
While Justin and Becca headed off to the trees, Xander grabbed two zip ties from the box and approached Maya. He motioned for her to turn around.
â€œI thought you wanted me toâ€¦â€
â€œThis is temporary. I donâ€™t want you pulling my trick and running away with the boat now do I?â€ Xander pointed out.
She couldnâ€™t help but laugh. The thought had occurred to her. But any hopes of that were dashed as Xander pulled her hands behind her back and zip tied them together, followed swiftly by her ankles.
â€œYou want to sit down?â€
â€œSure.â€
He helped her to the ground and left her there.
â€œOk Sarah!â€
By now Sarah had gotten over her bitterness and decided to just have fun with it. She did enjoy playing these games, even though she was disappointed about her failed plan.
Meanwhile Justin and Becca had gone to the line of trees right behind the little shed and hammock, making sure to stay in sight of the others.
â€œWhat do you think? Tree?â€ He asked.
â€œI guess so.â€ She replied. â€œI definitely donâ€™t want to be hog tied on that!â€
The ground was covered with pine needles and cones. That would hurt.
â€œYou wouldnâ€™t? Right?â€ She asked him nervously.
He smiled deviously for a minute. Long enough to get her heart beating before he assured her he wouldnâ€™t.
Not knowing what else to do, he gently backed her against one of the many pine trees, and got to work.
He was limited by the fact that he only had two ropes to work with. After thinking about it for a minute, he worked out his plan and set about it. Pulling her arms behind the tree, he crossed her hand diagonally and began pulling the two ends of the rope around her wrists both vertically and horizontally. Once the whole rope was used he took the two ends and knotted them on the high side of the tie, out of range of her crossed fingers.
Next he took the other marine rope and tied one end in a slipknot around her left ankle. With one end anchored, he wrapped it around her ankles several times, then pulled it vertically and wrapped it over many times to cinch the tie. Next he wound it around her ankles in a figure eight pattern to keep tension, and after cinching vertically one more time, he took the remainder of the rope and sent it up to her hands and pulled the rope around, securing her into a standing hogtie. He had enough rope to run it between her ankles and wrists twice, running it down on both sides of the tree trunk before knotting it off at the top of the ankle tie.
â€œWow. â€œ Becca remarked.
She tested her bonds and they didnâ€™t give an inch.
â€œI donâ€™t think Iâ€™m going anywhere.â€ She said finally.
â€œThatâ€™s the point.â€ He replied, raising his eyebrows playfully.
After staring into each others eyes for a minute, they started kissing.
â€œHey! When youâ€™re done would you mind passing the duct tape?!â€ Xander yelled.
Justin reached backwards and flipped him off without leaving Beccaâ€™s lips. Though after a few more kisses, he finally pulled away and replaced his lips with a long strip of duct tape.
â€œAwwwwfffâ€ Becca lamented as Justin slammed on a few more pieces.
With that finished, he tossed the role through the window of the shed.
Xander had decided that, seeing as he usually tied Sarah to poles, he try something different this time and went for the plastic deck chair in the little shed building. Heâ€™d picked up the last cloth and three pieces of the rope, leaving two for Maya.
The chair was wide with no arms, and three vertical bars that made up itâ€™s backing, leaving a perfect space to pull arms through it.
â€œOh so itâ€™s a chair this time is it?â€ Sarah asked him.
â€œYeah.â€
â€œThatâ€™s new.â€
â€œVariety is the spice of life you know.â€
â€œSure it is.â€
â€œOk, enough of your sarcasm! Sit down!â€
Sarah smirked while she did as she was told. Xander on the other hand went strait to work, taking a piece of rope and squeezing around behind the chair. The shed was so small that there was hardly enough room to pass by without squishing it against the other wall.
Once heâ€™d found his way around, he pulled Sarahâ€™s arm through the two spaces in the back and pulled them together palm to palm. Taking the rope he started tying her hands together in the usual way, horizontally at first and cinched vertically.
While her hands were being bound, Sarah amused herself watching Maya outside, who had decided she wanted to try standing up. And it wasnâ€™t going well. She rolled back and forth along the bumpy ground, hitting sticks and rocks at every turn and getting nothing for her troubles.
Once Sarahâ€™s hands were secured, Xander looked up and saw her antics as well.
â€œWhatâ€™s she trying to do?â€ He asked, chuckling.
â€œStand up I think.â€
He stopped to watch for a moment before resuming his work.
He took the second piece of rope and tied her ankles in much the same way as her wrists. And finally he took the third piece of rope and wrapped it around her waist and the chair back several times before knotting it off in front of her.
He stood up and checked over his handiwork.
â€œItâ€™s a lot more minimalistic then Iâ€™d like. Maybe cause SOMEBODY didnâ€™t bring enough rope along!â€ He joked.
He looked out the window and saw Justin making out with his bound girlfriend. Chuckling again he yelled:
â€œHey! When youâ€™re done would you mind passing the duct tape?!â€
â€œThey making out?â€ Sarah asked.
â€œYep.â€
â€œOh wellâ€¦ And besides! We only brought the rope that you set out!â€
â€œWell, some of the rope I set out.â€
Xander smirked.
â€œYou really did plan ahead didnâ€™t you?â€
â€œOh yeah, Iâ€™m cool like that.â€
Finally the role of tape came flying through the window.
â€œOpen up!â€ Xander ordered.
Sarah would do no such thing and jammed her jaw closed determinedly. Xander simply pinched her nose shut and waited for her to gasp for air. When she finally did, Xander shoved it in.
â€œNot fair! Not faaaimmmmmmph!â€
With the cloth in, he ripped off a long piece and pressed it over her lips. He pulled off two more and stuck them on diagonally and finally pulled off a very long piece that ran from ear to ear.
â€œOk, Iâ€™ll be back to check on you later.â€ Xander said, and with that he left.
He walked out of the shed and looked back to check on Justin. But seeing he was busy tickling Becca into madness, he went to tie up Maya on his own. Just as well.
By this point Mai had given up standing and was simply lying on the ground staring out at the boat on the lake. She was almost relieved when she heard Xanderâ€™s loud footsteps coming up behind her.
â€œHey do you mind if I ask you something?â€ She said.
â€œSure.â€
â€œWhy did you name your boat Palmer? That makes no sense.â€
â€œCause this is Emerson lakeâ€¦ You knowâ€¦ Emerson, Lake and Palmer? Prog rock?â€
â€œOH! Ok!â€
â€œYou into rock?â€
â€œYeah kinda.â€
â€œCool.â€
Xander helped her to her feet.
â€œI should probably cut that.â€ He remarked.
â€œYes, yes you should.â€
Xander realized the scissors were back over in the trees, where Sarah and Becca had bound him an hour or so before. Running back into the trees, he scanned the ground until he found them.
Standing up, he looked over at Justin and Becca, taking a break from his merciless tickling fingers.
â€œHey guys.â€ Xander said.
â€œHi.â€ Justin replied.
â€œMmmmph!â€ Becca added.
Justin started tickling her again and Xander walked back towards Maya who waited patiently.
He cut the zip tie around her feet and she spread her feet apart gratefully.
â€œOk, what to do? What to do?â€ He wondered aloud.
Scanning around the area, he tried to think of somewhere to tie her that wasnâ€™t a tree or an inhumane hogtie. Suddenly it occurred to him.
â€œHow about the hammock?â€ He asked her.
She was a little taken aback.
â€œSureâ€¦ I guess.â€
As they walked to it, Xander figured out how the tie would work. The hammock was a solid canvas piece, designed to be hung between two points. The two ends of the cloth bed were sewn through two pieces of wood, from which several ropes ran to two hooks drilled into the trees.
Xander sat her down on the hammock and cut the other zip tie around her hands.
â€œOk just sit like that.â€ He told her.
Taking the first piece of rope, he tied one end of the rope around her left wrist to anchor the tie and wrapped the other end around both her hands in front of her horizontally many times, before cinching it vertically a few more and leaving it undone. He repeated the same process on her feet.
â€œOk, lie down please.â€ He told her.
Maya did as she was told and lay down on the hammock. He took her hands and raised them above her head, resting them over the ropes that ran from the end of the canvas to the hook. Taking the remainder of the rope, he wrapped it horizontally around her wrists and those supporting ropes several times, before cinching it all of vertically one more time, knotting it off away from her fingers.
He tied her ankles in almost an identical fashion, horizontally under the connecting ropes and vertically to tighten the tie into place. Though he didnâ€™t need to be quite as careful with the knot, as long as it was tight.
Maya looked up to her wrists and down to her feet.
â€œThis is actually pretty comfortable.â€ She admitted.
â€œGood. â€œ Xander said. â€œYouâ€™re kind of getting preferential treatment since you drove the boat so well. It was probably the best tubing run Iâ€™ve ever had.â€
He couldnâ€™t see it, but he could feel a dirty look shooting at him from the nearby shed. Shrugging it off, he started ripping pieces of tape off the nearby role and hanging them on the edge of the hammock.
â€œAwwww.â€ Maya complained. â€œI thought I was getting VIP treatment!â€
â€œYou are. Youâ€™re just getting strait tape, we only brought two cloths, Sarah is currently using one and Iâ€™m not going to make you put the one I used, in your mouth.â€
â€œThanks for that!â€ She replied, laughing.
One after the other Xander stuck the pieces of duct tape over Mayaâ€™s lips. She didnâ€™t want to push her luck by protesting. Once he was finished, he stood back to admire his handiwork.
â€œNow just out of curiosityâ€¦ Are you ticklish?â€ He asked her.
She tried to calmly shake her head.
â€œWow, I almost believed that.â€
Justin had decided to give Becca a break and went to check on Sarah, who he saw struggling through the shed window.
She stopped when she saw him and begged with her eyes.
â€œYou need some air?â€ He asked.
She nodded.
â€œOk.â€
He grabbed the tape from one of her ears and pulled it all the way off. Causing Sarah much discomfort. With it gone, she spat out the cloth and stretched her mouth back and forth.
â€œOk.â€ She said quietly.
Justin was surprised by this and leaned in to listen to her.
â€œIs it just me, or are Xander and Maya getting kind of close and personal?â€ She asked.
The thought had never occurred to him before, but it made sense. As discreetly as he could he leaned out the door and looked over at them. Xander delicately tickled Mayaâ€™s armpits while she looked on with stone faced determination not to break out laughing. Whichâ€¦ she did.
â€œMaybe.â€ He said to Sarah. â€œI hadnâ€™t really noticed it, but now that you say it, it makes sense.â€
â€œYou gonna ask him about it?â€
â€œYeah. I think it would be good for him.â€
â€œHer too, sheâ€™s not the most confident person in the world.
â€œWeâ€™ll see what happens. We have a week up here, so who knows?â€
Justin walked out the door and yelled over to his comrade:
â€œXander! Tape!â€
He wasted no time in reaching down and tossing it to Justin, who went back into the shed without another word.
â€œOh not again!â€ Sarah whined.
â€œSorry, but you lost fair and square.â€
â€œI know, I know.â€
Justin pulled a few more pieces off the role and slammed them down over Sarahâ€™s waiting lips. Much to her delight, he forgot about the cloth.
He headed out of the shed and walked over to the hammock.
â€œHey Mai.â€ He remarked.
She gave him a tired nod, still breathing heavily from the tickling sheâ€™d been subjected to.
â€œSheâ€™s a fighter this one.â€ Xander remarked.
â€œYeah Iâ€™d bet.â€
â€œShe tries to be stoical but it doesnâ€™t really work.â€
Xander gave his prisoner a toothy smile. She glared back at him playfully. Justin shook his head and walked away, beckoning for Xander to follow him, which he did.
â€œSo how long should we leave them do you think?â€ Justin asked.
â€œI donâ€™t know. Like an hour or so. Something like that.â€
â€œOk sounds good.â€
Justin walked over to the cooler and pulled out one of the drinks that had been left in it. Xander did like wise. They sat down on the grass, drank and talked about the tubing runs. Justin had never been so scared in his life, and Xander couldnâ€™t help but tease him for it. Xander had always found it interesting that Justin was bigger and more athletic then he was, yet he was the adrenaline junky out of the two of them.
Xander happened to glance over at the large amounts of ice in the cooler. And the memories of being pelted with that ice returned to him. He decided it was time for revenge.
He explained his idea to Justin who hesitantly agreed.
After emptying the drinks from the cooler, they carried it over to the shed.
Xander stuck his head in.
â€œHey Sarahâ€¦ this is payback for earlier. Sorry.â€
She was confused. Payback for what? Suddenly she was greeted by half a cooler of ice as it flew out of the box and onto her in one torrential downpour. She was soaked by the freezing water, and more than a little pissed off.
Taking the other half of the ice in the cooler, they carried it over to Becca, whoâ€™d seen what happened to Sarah and was preparing for it.
â€œSorry honey.â€ Justin apologized.
â€œPayback time!â€ Xander yelled as the rest of the ice left the cooler and crashed into Becca.
Fortunately since she was standing the ice and water rolled off of her pretty quickly, though it wasnâ€™t at all pleasant.
â€œHappy now?â€ Justin asked.
â€œYes, very.â€ Xander replied.
He started back towards the beach and the drinks. Though Justin didnâ€™t follow.
â€œIâ€™m going to stay here for a while.â€ Justin told him.
â€œI figured as much.â€
Once Xander had left, Justin walked up to his girlfriend and removed the tape gagging her.
â€œI kinda deserved that.â€ She admitted.
â€œOk, Iâ€™ll take your word for it.â€
Originally Justin was planning on resuming his tickling, but he suddenly found himself lacking the energy. He decided to lean up against the tree next to Becca and just talk. And he couldnâ€™t help but laugh that Becca noticed how close Xander and Maya were getting.
â€œI guess itâ€™s just that obvious.â€ He remarked.
Xander had sat down on the grass and finished his drink. He wanted to go over and talk to Maya, but decided that he couldnâ€™t just leave Sarah alone while Becca and Mai each had someone to talk to.
Looking around, he noticed that theyâ€™d brought a large picnic blanket with them. He grabbed it and laid it down beside the hammock. Taking a second to take the tape off of Mayaâ€™s lips, he ran back to the shed.
Sarah was still wet, and still angry.
â€œLook, if you promise not to cuss me out and throw a tantrum Iâ€™ll take the tape off.â€ He said.
Grudgingly she nodded.
Xander stuck to his word and took the tape off her face. Motioning over to the picnic blanket, he announced that he wanted move her over there and set to work. He untied the ropes around her waist and ankles. Squeezing behind the chair again, he untied her hands and let her pull them through the back.
After she stood up he retied her hands in the same he did earlier, grabbed the extra ropes and they walked over to the picnic blanket where he sat her down and retied her feet.
Leaving the extra rope on the ground nearby, the three made light conversation, just like any normal people wouldâ€¦ except that two of them were tied up. Not long after, Justin and Becca appeared, her hands still bound behind her.
The five talked, laughed and enjoyed each otherâ€™s company for the next few hours, until finally the sky began to change colour and the sun began to hang low.
â€œTime to go.â€ Xander decided.
Justin set about untying Becca and Sarah while Xander released Maya from the hammock. Though she was almost sorry to leave it.
Gathering up their things, they piled back onto palmer and sped back to the cabin. Changing out of their swim suits, they made a large dinner and devoured it hungrily, as only two of them had actually eaten their lunch that day.
After dinner, when the dishes were done, Xander and Justin went out and gathered up the bag of ropes, tape and zip ties, and returned them to the shelves from whence they came.
â€œWe going to be using these again you think?â€ Justin asked.
â€œMaybe. Who knows?â€
Joining the girls on the dock, the five friends watched as the sun finally dropped over the horizon, bringing the day to an end.
If anyone managed to read that in one sitting, I'm officially impressed! Now as you might have noticed, it is very possible that the gang might have a few more TUGs on this trip. I'd be happy to invent those if anyone is interested.
Thanks for reading, and please leave a comment!
There's a permanent tension in music isn't there? On one hand you have three chords, you know, four four and three chords. Then there's the people like me, who say "Well, why don't we add a fourth chord and put it in five four?" - Bill Bruford

### Re: Up at the Lake

Post by bondagefan » Mon Sep 07, 2009 2:57 am

Great story would love to read more,your writing is excellent.

### Re: Up at the Lake

Post by ilikebeingtiedup » Sat Nov 13, 2010 9:37 pm

Oh my gosh frickin' hilarious. I'm a wake-boarder myself and i have new plans for my boyfriend now muahahaha!!

### Re: Up at the Lake

Post by Chase Ricks » Sat Nov 13, 2010 11:10 pm

I can't believe I never once even noticed this story until now!
From whence I came and whence I went heaven said I was too evil and sent me to hell. Demons and devils succeeded in breaking my soul.