Postby bzzart » Sat Dec 17, 2011 12:10 am
But Thorn was right. Nothing happened. We watched out for ourselves the rest of the day, being careful with our activities. We locked the doors at night and had an uneventful night. I could tell everyone was still excited about it, as whispers were always through the air. Julie was being asked to recall her story multiple times, each time gasps and questions echoed through the air.
It was as if they had struck and withdrew. I could tell Jade was worried, still thinking that we should get out of here. I still agreed, but I was starting to be more relaxed. Call it letting my guard down, but if they weren’t going to do it, there wasn’t anything to fear, right?
We were spending our third day here playing hide-and-seek. I used to think hide-and-seek was a kid’s game, but actually playing it with a lot of people was tons more fun. It was thrilling to hear a looker run past you. The way we played it was when someone got found, they became a looker, making it harder for the rest of the hiders. Of course, the hiders wouldn’t be there without good hiding places.
I was currently hidden behind some tri-fold cardboard displays that were used for science projects. Apparently, Mr. Smithers fourth grade class was having a science fair. Good for me.
I had been waiting five minutes. Lately, my hiding places were found fairly quickly. The past four games I had not made it into the final four still hidden. But I hoped that his hiding place was better than the others. I had not started as a looker because the last person found became the next looker.
I waited, becoming bored. It was kind of dark, and every few minutes I would hear someone walk past and I would hold my breath in anticipation. I think I daydreamed a little bit, and thought about Julie. She actually seemed pretty okay with it, not wanting us to leave because of her. I thought she was being too nice, not wanting to ruin our trip.
Wait, what was that? I could hear a soft trickle of conversation. I listened closely and tried not to breathe too loudly. It sounded like guys, the voices were deeper and they were louder.
I scurried out of my hiding place. I had to get a closer look on these guys.
They were walking out of the hallway. I had to choke back a small gasp.
There were two boys, one had dark skin, and was tall. Another had sort-of spiked up blond hair and was a little younger and shorter, but both were a year or two older than me. My friend Helen, a girl of 15 and with her blond hair always in two braids, was being carried over the shoulders of the taller one. Eliza was being carried by the other.
Eliza had green ribbon all around her. Her knees, thighs, and ankles were bound tightly with it, and the ribbon wound unevenly, crisscrossing in random places so only about half of her jeans were showing. Above and below her breasts ribbon tightly pinned her arms, which I could see was also tied behind her back. Wide ribbon blindfolded her, and I could see another was thrust between her teeth and tied behind the back of her head, pulling at her cheeks Helen was likewise bound but with red ribbons.
What could I do? If I got out in the open they would surely catch me. I could see they were also carrying the respective ribbons that bound Eliza and Helen. All they would need to do was drop them and tie me up too. I would have to go back and tell Jade.
“Mmph, mm,†Eliza complained.
“Shut up,†Spikey-hair said.
“Hey, don’t be rough,†the other one warned. “We don’t mean any harm. This is just like a, umm….â€
“It’s kind of like sport,†Spikey hair said.
“Sort of. All for the fun.â€
Helen and Eliza made muffled complaints and struggled to free themselves from the ribbons. But no luck, for it seemed tight and secure without any room to wiggle free.
I continued to follow them, always behind something to cover me. I had to wait until they walked all the way across the hallway and turned right. I hurried after them as quickly and quietly as I could. I was so nervous my foot slipped and I almost shrieked. I flew my hand to the wall with a semi-loud THUD.
I heard them stop. My eyes flew around me. Some lockers to my right, and some children’s pictures to my left, which I had currently slammed into. I backed up.
“You hear that?†I heard the taller guy’s voice say.
“Duh, you think it was someone?â€
“No harm in checking it out.â€
I ducked into a classroom, scrambling. Where to hide, where to hide? There! The teacher’s desk was littered with papers under it, better to hide me more. I almost was sure they wouldn’t check so thoroughly.
“Hey, Tanner, I think it came from here,†I heard the tall guy say.
“You sure?†Tanner asked.
“Not really. Maybe it was nothing.†I heard them enter the classroom.
“Nothing is here dimwit.â€
“I’m in charge Tanner, don’t get cocky. It was worth checking out.â€
“No, it wasn’t. There is nothing here. Let’s go, we’re wasting time.â€
“Whatever, don’t give me orders.â€
I started hearing them walk away. I got up after I couldn’t hear them for two minutes. I was about to get up when I heard someone whispering.
“Hey! Over here!†It was Tammy! She was cleverly concealed inside a closet behind some extra desks and tables. She must’ve been hiding here for hide-and-seek.
“Tammy! We have to find Jade!†I said.
“Jade’s not the only one in charge,†Tammy said. “Let’s go follow them ourselves.â€
“What?†I exclaimed.
“You have to learn to take action,†Tammy said. “We can’t rely on Jade for everything. Let’s do it ourselves.â€
I grit my teeth. “Fine. But we’re going to find her later, deal?â€
“Deal. Let’s go.â€
We hurried out to find them. From what I saw, they were heading right after their recent turn. We started there, running as fast and quietly as we could, in case there were more of them hiding in ambush or something. I had no interest in getting tied up like Eliza or Helen. I wished the rest of my troop shared my caution.
Finally, we saw them opening a door outside. They had apparently left their captives, because both were empty-handed.
“Let’s follow them,†Tammy said. “We might be able to find out where they stay.â€
“No!†I protested. “We need to find Eliza and Helen first.â€
“I’ll go after them, you find Eliza and Helen,†She suggested. “Okay, I’m off.†She gave me a small salute and started running quietly toward them.
“Wait! We need to stick together!†I half-whispered, but she wasn’t listening, and before I knew it she had opened the door and gone off. Great.
I checked each classroom to find them. First one, nope. Second one, no. Third one, no tied girls. Finally, on the fourth one, I saw them. Thankfully, the door wasn’t locked.
Both of them had their arms and leg bindings also tied with ribbons to desk legs on opposites corners of the room.
My eyes darted around the room. I would have to free them as fast as possible to catch up with Tammy. Scissors! Just what I was looking for. I dashed to the side of the room where a bucket of blue scissors were. I took the biggest and went to Helen who was closest.
“Mm?! Mmph mm!!†She mumbled in surprise. I tore off her blindfold and I swear she tried to smile past the gag. I worked the scissors through the ribbons, which there were quite a few layers of each binding. I was almost sad to cut it, as it really was beautiful ribbon. She was free in less than five minutes.
Helen ripped off her gag and spit out a cloth and hugged me. “Thank you!†She exclaimed. “How did you find us so fast?â€
“Questions later, free Eliza now,†I replied. Quickly, we started cutting through the ribbons restricting Eliza. With Helen’s help we got through in half the time. She was free in no time.
“Thank you!†She said happily. “But I’m not going to hug you!†She said with a sly smile.
“Not much time for talking,†I said. “Tammy is spying on those guys that got you.â€
“Then let’s find her.â€
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