39 - By the Dawn's Early Light
Story index at the bottom
By Tom Ford
Monday, September 2nd 2002 - 06:41:25 AM
Summer - 1966
"By the Dawn's Early Light"
During the last game, Angela and I planned another attack on Andrew and company. The plan was successful. We were able to catch Andrew by luring him upstairs, then David when he suddenly and unexpectedly barged in. We then went downstairs, grabbed and tied-up Robert and Jerry. After which we marched them upstairs. We then tickled them, and when we left, they were not able to escape. Thus we won our Sixth Victory in a row, and our tenth total victory since our games started on the spring.
After all the boasting, bragging and promises of revenge, Andrew's first statement surprised me.
"Where's my comic book?" he asked.
"What comic book?" I replied, surprised.
"The one you said was missing!" Andrew answered.
"Oh that! Angela took it. Ask her!" I replied.
"Hey Angela, where's my comic book!" Andrew asked. Angela promptly returned it. I then borrowed it again because as you remember, I haven't finished reading it. Surprisingly, considering what just happened, Andrew lent it to me.
But before I could read it, we have to eat dinner. It was eight in the evening already, so we went down to the dining area where we ate dinner. We boasted to our parents, while our opponents tried to downplay their defeat. Anyway, our parents just listened to us and on occasion ignored us. They scolded some of us for talking with a full mouth, and for our dreadful conduct at dinner, but not on playing the tie-up game. In fact, each of them gave tips on how to escape or how to make our bonds more escapable.
Anyway, after dinner, I went to my room to finish the comic book I was reading. Well, our hero was heading for the villain. The villain, who had failed to blast our hero with our blaster ray, then went to his plane to try to escape. He was able to take off but our hero, using his strength, was able to hold the plane. The villain then jumped out from the cockpit and in his rage, he decided to engage our hero in a hand-to-hand combat. Big Mistake for the villain!! He soon was clobbered, our hero stripped him of his suit that gave him powers, and was sent to Alcatraz Island.
I went to bed at the late (or early, depending from one's viewpoint) hour of ten p.m. Frank followed at about ten minutes later. I was wearing blue pajamas with stripes, while Frank was wearing one with orange spots. Barney was already fast asleep by that time, while Frank and I talked to each other while in bed. We talked about our games. We generally agreed that it was fun, and that it would be a shame if it would stop. We also talked about Angela. We praised her and admitted that she caused our six victories, but she still a girl, and so on and so forth. Anyway, we soon talked ourselves to sleep, and we drifted into dreamland. Nothing (well, almost nothing) could have prepared me for what would happen at the dawn's early light.
It was about 4:45 in the morning. The sun was beginning to rise. It is five days before Summer Solstice so the sun will rise this early. It was dawn, and unlike the sun, I had no plans to rise this early, solstice or no solstice. But the choice was not mine to make.
I was fast asleep, when something was inserted into my mouth. I was partially awakened by that, but before I realized what was happening, my mouth was duct taped. Then, they forced me to rise so that they can wrap more duct tape around my head. They then took hold of my right arm, twisted it so I was forced to turn and lie on my stomach. They then took my left arm and pulled it behind my back. One of them then began wrapping my wrists (which was crossed and palm to palm) with rope. They then turned me so I was again lying on my back (and on my bound wrists) and forced me to rise again. By that time, although it was still dim, it is still bright enough to recognize who my captors were. It was (not surprisingly) Andrew and David. Oh did they do well this time! They executed their plan without any noise, without any warning. I was caught off guard. They wrapped rope around my waist, cinched it and knotted it off, and tied the loose ends to my wrists, pinning my arms to my back. They then pushed me back to the bed. They then crossed my ankles and tied it with rope. They then tucked my entire body with a blanket, from neck down. They even tucked it even under the mattress to further tightened it. By that time, I was fully awake, but not in any position to do anything. I soon found out by the taste of what was in my mouth that it was a sock, not a handkerchief. I tried to struggle, but it was for naught, for they did their usual thorough tie-up job that it was impossible job. Anyway, except for the fact that I was leaning on my arms and hands behind my back, I was generally on a comfortable position on the bed compared to my positions on previous tie-up games.
They then went up the second floor of the double bed to tie-up Frank. They tied me up in a manner so quiet that they didn't even disturb Barney and Frank. And my gag was so effective that my mmmpphhhsss were not very faint indeed. I listened. As usual, they did it in so quiet a manner that I was barely able to hear anything of significance, beyond the ripping of duct tape and faint mmmpphhhsss. And though I feel it in the bed, I heard almost nothing. Twelve minutes later, they came down the double bed.
"Whew! At last they both were tied up." Andrew remarked.
It was now dawn, at twilight. David, pointing to us, then gave a speech on my condition that I would never forget.
"Oh! Say can you see,
By the Dawn's early light,
What so proudly we bound,
At the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad ropes and bright gags,
Through the perilous night
Over the sidelines we watched,
They're so gallantly struggling?"
Both of them laughed after David's "speech!" He recited the national anthem and replaced some words. I groaned at their audacity of using it. But what struck me is the almost literal accuracy of their statement. It was dawn all right, almost at sunrise. Oh I wish I could've thought about it. Especially on a date so near Independence Day.
They laughed together and left. I, for my part, was so struck by the statement that I spent the entire time not struggling but trying to remember the exact words David used. But I was still sleepy, and I soon drifted off to sleep.
It was 5:30 when I was woken up again by Andrew and David. It was now bright. They somehow managed to get Frank down to the floor without removing his bonds. He looked just as I expected him to look. He's hands were tied behind his back, and his mouth was covered with duct tape'in fact, like me, duct tape was wound around his head. His waist was also tied-up, like mine. The only thing that was different is that his ankles and feet were not bound at all. Something's telling me that we were going somewhere.
They then removed the blanket over me, and made me stand up.
"You think we could hop him over there?" David asked.
"No." Andrew replied. "He might have an accident if we hop him in the stairs. Better let him walk. It's safer."
"Okay!" David answered.
They untied my ankles and feet, and David clutched my left arm using his right hand, while he clutched Frank's right arm with his left. We were walked to the corridor, where Andrew and David separated. David stayed there, guarding us, while Andrew walked in the direction of Donald's room. After about five minutes, he emerged with Angela and Donald. My heart sank. Now I know we definitely lost the game. Angela was wearing a yellow nightgown that hangs until the floor. Because of that, I can't see any part of her feet. She was gagged with a scarf tied around her head. Presumably her mouth was stuffed too. Her hands were tied behind her back, and her waist was also tied-up. Donald was wearing blue pajamas. He was gagged with duct-tape around his head, and his mouth was also presumably stuffed. His hands were tied behind his back, and his waist, like Angela's, was tied too.
They marched us to the attic. We were barefoot, so by the time we reached the attic, our feet were filthy. And the hem of Angela's nightgown was dirty. They (Andrew and David) were quiet, and didn't talk among themselves. The attic was still dim, so it was necessary for Andrew to switch on the lights. I was led to an old couch. It was old, but was not dusty. There, they made me lie on it on my stomach. They then tied my crossed ankles. Then, they took a piece of rope, tied one end of it to my wrists, and tied another end of it to my ankles, putting me on a hog-tie. Angela was led to a post in the middle of the attic; there she was tied to it standing up. She was tied at the shoulders, at the waist, at the knees and at the ankles to the pole.
Donald was led to a chair, and they bound his upper body to the backrest of the chair. They also tied each ankle to a chair leg. Frank was placed in another chair and David tied him there similar to the way they tied Donald in the other chair. Andrew and David then drew back to admire their handiwork.
"I think it's time!" Andrew said coldly.
"Yea, let's go!" David replied with the same lackadaisical tone. I expected them to tickle us, but instead, both of them left us.
What struck me about this game is the lackadaisical mood of our captors. They seem so serious, so quiet, that one gets the feeling that if this was not a game, but the real thing. Anyway, as soon as they left, we began to struggle. I twisted my wrists and pulled and pushed back and forth, but it merely irritated my wrists. After ten minutes of this futile exercise, I gave up. I then tried looking for knots, but Andrew and David managed to place all knots beyond the reach of my fingers, and I soon gave up that idea. And in my position, moving towards the others is out of the question. The other soon gave up. Donald long has given up, while Frank also gave up. Only Angela seems to persist, but after fifteen minutes also gave up.
Twenty minutes after they left, Andrew and David returned with Robert and Jerry. The lackadaisical mood seems to have vanished, and an enthusiastic one replaced it.
"I wouldn't have believed it until I've seen it." Robert said. "Nice plan by the way."
"Yup. Who would have thought at attacking this early in the morning?!" Jerry added.
"Hey, the early bird gets the early worn!" Andrew replied.
"Hey, let's stop this useless talk and proceed with the tickling, shall we?" David interjected.
"Right on, David! Right on!" Robert shouted. "Let's tickle them!"
With that, they began their tickle torture. To say that it was not a pleasant experience would be an understatement. Oh it was torture! They tickled us in the feet, in the ribs, in the tummy and in the armpits. We laughed and laughed and laughed. Fortunately, the 2-3 minute tickle breaks was able to prevent me from tearing up. But aside from that, it was pure torture. I laughed, I shouted, but it all came through the gag as mmmppphhssss. I struggled, trying to distance my body with their ravenous fingers. But my hog-tied position made it impossible. The others guys were in no better shape than I was. They tickled us for thirty minutes. They seem to relish every minute of it. I guess if you were on the receiving end of tie-up games for six straight times, you would act like they did. I guess that they wouldn't have give us the 2-3 minute breaks, had not Andrew, who once again stood at the enforcer of our unwritten rules, restrained them.
Well after a half-hour of intense almost non-stop tickling, they stopped. My face was red from all that tickling. I was sweating. I was breathing heavily. I was relieved that the tickling stopped. After that, they left. We were too exhausted to struggle. I decided to rest, and pretty soon fell asleep. I again woke a half hour later by Andrew, David, Robert and Jerry. They bragged, boasted, and proclaimed their 16th total victory. (That's right, it's their sixteenth win). They then untied us. We swore revenge of course, but they dismissed them. Then we congratulated each other for a good game.
It was about six when they untied us. It was already bright, and our parents were already awake. Andrew and David invited us to breakfast downstairs. We accepted but since we were still in our pajamas (or in Angela's case on her nightgown), we went first to our rooms and changed into everyday clothes. We then went downstairs and ate breakfast with our parents. They seemed surprised that all of us are eating so early. Usually, they said, only Andrew and David wake this early, so they were surprised that we woke this early.
So Andrew and company won after being defeated of six consecutive times. A game played at dawn, started at twilight, just before sunrise, until early in the morning. It was indeed a game "by the dawn's early light." In retrospect, it was a game that only they could play, for only Andrew and David can wake early this morning without the aid of an alarm clock. Subsequent attempts by us to beat them at their own game failed because none of us would wake up on time.
So ends our string of victories. Our aura of invincibility that was beginning to be built around us crumbled like dust on face of our defeat. We expected revenge from them, but we expected that we could easily escape. We expected revenge, but not in the manner we just experienced. Maybe we've become too complacent, too confident in our prowess. And we once again underestimated the determination and resourcefulness of my brother.
Is this a start of a long series of defeats for us, or just a blip, an abnormality in a series of wins for us? Read the next part and find out!
Tom Ford
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Tom Ford's stories
- 01 - First Games (mm/m)
- 02 - Revenge (mmm/mm, mm/mmm)
- 03 - Surprises (m/mm, mmm/mm)
- 04 - Afternoon Attack (mm/mmm)
- 05 - Sunday Morning Offensive (mm/m, m/mmm)
- 06 - Victory! (mm/mmm, mmm/mm)
- 07 - Chester and Jay (mm/mm, m+/mm)
- 08 - Cops & Robbers (mm/mm, m/m+)
- 09 - The Unexpected Game (mm/F, F/mm)
- 10 - Another Victory! (m+/mmm, mmm/m+)
- 11 - The Perfect Plan (mm/mmm, m+/mmm)
- 12 - The Counterattack (m+/mmm)
- 13 - Angela (f/m)
- 14 - The Next Round of Tom vs. Angela (m/f)
- 15 - Curiosity Kills the Cat! (ff/mm, mm/ff)
- 16 - Déjà Vu (m+/mmm)
- 17 - The Next Morning! (m+/mmm, mmm/m+)
- 18 - Tom & Company's Attack (mmm/mmm)
- 19 - Angela's Revenge-and Request?! (ff/m)
- 20 - Negotiations (mmm/m+)
- 21 - The Initiation (m+/f)
- 22 - Angela's First Game (m+/fmmm)
- 23 - Last Game of Spring (m+/fmm)
- 24 - The First Game of Summer (mm+/fmmm)
- 25 - Vacation in Vermont (mm/fmm+)
- 26 - Robert and Jerry (mm+/fmm+)
- 27 - The Treasure Hunt (m+/m+)
- 28 - Revenge - Sweet Revenge (mf+/mf+)
- 29 - Angela's Fury (ffm/m+)
- 30 - The Hunter and the Hunted (m+/m+)
- 31 - The Night Attack (mf+/m+)
- 32 - The Second Cops & Robbers Game (m+/fm+)
- 33 - Capture the Flag (m+/m+)
- 34 - A Couple of Answers to Questions Asked
- 35 - A Father's Day Adventure (m/m+)
- 36 - A Father's Day Adventure - Part II - Dad's Boyhood Experience (MM/m+, mm/ff, ff/mm)
- 37 - Cowboys and Indians (m+/f, fff/m+)
- 38 - Flag Wars (m+/m+)
- 39 - By the Dawn's Early Light (mm/fm+ )
- 40 - Turnabout is Fair Play! (mm+/fm+)
- 41 - Tying-Up Mom and Aunt Rachel - and the Aftermath (fm+/FF, FF/fm+)
- 42 - The Island Adventure (mm/f, mm+/fm+)
- 43 - The Long Afternoon (f/mm)
- 44 - Defeat - Again? (mm/fm+)
Index of all stories in the "Archive for Everyone" section
