LK3869 wrote: ↑5 years ago
Yeah, great idea! Andy as mini-blackmailer... and future tier
( I think you downgraded him from 9 to 6 years-old two chapters ago, when he first follows the others... digit dyslexia?
)
Actually I had originally made him 6 but later decided as events progressed that this was too young to be believable and aged him upward to age 9. I thought i had caught all the places where i had made him 6, but evidently missed some. I'll go back and fix that when i find it. Thanks for the heads-up.
Meanwhile i may as well post the next chapter now rather than wait until tomorrow.
Part 48.
“It’s a shame we didn’t bring the diving mask and snorkel,” Paul commented to John with a grin. “Then we could take you for an underwater swim. Submerging is more fun here than at the pool; especially when the ducks are swimming in the water too. Oh well, maybe next time. We’ve got all summer.”
All summer as a prisoner, John mused to himself. Funny, but that thought didn’t really horrify him so much anymore. It was uncomfortable sometimes; but it wasn’t really bad when accepted the situation and behaved the way the others wanted him to. It was even quite fun at times actually. Such as right now, being the center of attention in a way he’d never been at school.
Sure; Corey and Paul could do anything they wanted to do to him and he wouldn’t be able to stop them; they could even drown him right now and no one else but Will would ever know. But after nearly a week of captivity with Will and Paul, and a couple of days with Corey, John actually felt as safe with them as he did with his folks at home. He knew without a doubt that none of these boys would ever really hurt him; and even when he misbehaved and had to be punished they were careful and concerned for his welfare, and comforted him afterward when he’d learned his lesson. He…
Wow… when had he started thinking of his captivity from their point of view, John wondered idly to himself. When did he start accepting this as normal, natural… even desirable? But it somehow felt so natural now. He was a slave; Will and whoever else he designated were his masters. If he acted properly, they treated him like – well, like a dog. Despite the negative stereotype, that wasn’t a bad thing; many people liked and treated their dogs better than they liked and treated most of the people around them. If John remained a well-behaved slave, pet, or whatever, then he’d be treated well in turn. Right now, there seemed nothing wrong with that.
He looked briefly back to where Matt lay hogtied on the rocky stretch of ground beside the pond. Seeing him, John wondered if his arrival didn’t have something to do with his recent and considerable change in attitude. It seemed to John that Matt brought down all his current troubles on his own head; acting up the way he did. He looked back at the way he was when he first realized he’d be a slave here all summer (was it just a few days ago? It seemed like years now). Had he really acted as bad then as Matt was acting now? No wonder Will and Paul had been forced to punish him so much. He’d really acted like a punk back then, hadn’t he; trying so hard to escape when he’d already signed a contract virtually agreeing to be Will’s slave all summer.
Geez; that was only yesterday? What the heck had he thinking, trying to escape when he saw the front gate wide open like that? No wonder Will had been so upset with him! Seeing Matt now, John could only wonder why Will had taken it so easy on him. He’d have to thank Will for that the next time he saw him.
John enjoyed swimming with Paul and Corey. The cool water felt so good on this hot and humid day, and it was so relaxing to just go limp and trust his two companions… or, rather, masters… to keep him afloat and safe from all harm as they carried him along in their lean, strong arms. Corey and Paul were in a good mood; playfully splashing each other (but carefully avoiding splashing John while he was unable to use his arms and hands to fend for himself) and talking to John like he was simply a younger kid learning to swim than a helpless captive they were towing all along the duck pond. They weren’t just his captors or his masters; they were his friends. He trusted them, he liked them, and he felt safe and at ease now with them.
Life didn’t really get any better than this.
Matt watched as Corey and Paul towed John all along the duck pond. Were those two crazy? They could drown that other kid! What if they DID drown him?! Then he’d be all alone with these crazy kids. He began to sorrowfully wonder if he was any better off now than he had been at the camp he and Paul had fled from. There, at least his tormentors had been more or less impersonal; however more numerous. The other boys there hadn’t make tormenting him their sole activity; it’d just been one recreational activity among many others they had available; such as canoeing or hiking. Nor had he been tied or chained up constantly; he’d had been free (to hide or flee) more often than not. But here he was almost the sole target of his captors’ attentions, and hadn’t had a moment’s freedom since he had arrived!
Misery loves company though, and at least there was one other boy to share his fate and draw some of his captors’ attention. But for some reason this other boy, John, seemed to be a lot more accepting of his captivity, and the two with him were treating him much more gently than they’d been treating Matt so far.
It figured. Wherever Matt went, he was always the one to get picked on the most. Well, he’d show them! He’d fight back against their treatment with every fiber of his being. He’d find some way to escape from this place and sic the police on his tormentors. They’d be sorry they’d ever tricked him into coming here; from the frying pan into the fire! They would be very, very sorry!
Andy continued to watch the other four in complete fascination; taking pictures of them every few seconds with a huge grin on his face. Is this how all older boys had fun? It was like cops and robbers, only way cooler! But Andy was a bright and cautious lad, and was instinctively aware that the other boys – or the ones who weren’t held captive at any rate – would not be too pleased to see him there watching them. But Andy decided that he wanted to get in on this game… and to do that he needed a way to ensure that his wishes would not be denied.
Spending a couple of days with Will had already had a huge and unanticipated effect on this bright, curious, and highly impressionable youngster. Will and his young cousin had much more in common than either of them realized at the time, and this would become obvious to both – and to the others around them - over the course of time.
Andy watched as the three boys in the water swam back toward the one who’d been left hog-tied nearby, and the two free boys escorted their captive out of the water. Andy took as many pictures as he could with the camera phone as they set John down on a comfortable grassy spot in the shade of a birch tree and then turned their attention to Matt. Although not tethered in place, John made no attempt to move away from the spot where he’d been placed - or even to speak without permission. He simply made himself as comfortable as he could right where he was and watched the other three.
“Ready for your swim?” Corey asked their second captive as he and Paul squatted down beside his still recumbent form.
“Get stuffed!” Matt tried to reply rudely. However, his gag was firmly in place, and is reply was almost incomprehensible. However, his intended sarcasm and disrespect were still plainly evident from the expression on his face (what could be seen of it anyway). His glaring at them alone was more than enough to give them the gist of his answer. This secretly pleased them of course, as it was often more fun to punish a captive than to reward him - and Matt promised to give them many opportunities to practice their disciplinary skills for some time to come. They kept this well-hidden from their captive of course, and looked down at him with stern, uncompromising expressions.
“So, you’re still unhappy being here with us, huh?” Paul asked idly; not expecting any kind of coherent answer of course. “Well, I guess it’s time to cheer you up some more.”
Matt looked at Paul with dull incomprehension at first as the older boy brushed his hand against a few of the taller specimens of grass growing nearby, selected a few, and handed some of them to Corey. Matt’s eyes grew wide with fear and complete comprehension however when both boys approached his feet and began to ever-so-gently brush the blades of grass up and down his bare, naked soles and toes.
Matt began to struggle and writhe from side to side like an arthritis snake in his frantic attempts to get away; already laughing almost uncontrollably into his gag. But his hog-tie was already too strict to allow much movement and in addition both of his tormentors used a free hand to clamp onto one his ankles to further immobilize him. Even worse, Corey gave up his tickling, wrapped his long, slender legs around Matt’s neck and shoulders in a scissors hold, and began to put on the pressure. Even when Matt went limp in surrender, leaving Paul to tickle torture Matt’s feet by himself, Corey continued to squeeze with enough pressure to make it difficult for Matt to breathe let alone laugh. In fact, Matt’s face was turning a bright shade of red from the combination of tickle-torture and choke hold before Corey relented on the pressure. He kept Matt’s head trapped in a scissors hold however; ready to re-apply the pressure if Matt started to misbehave.
Andy was gleefully taking pictures of all this when the phone went off again. Fortunately Andy had thought to turn the ringer off; leaving it set to vibrate. He checked the phone; as he figured Will was trying to call again. This time he left a text message: Can’t find Andy. Be on lookout. Call me ASAP.
It occurred to Andy that, however much fun this was, he’d better get moving with the next step of his plan before Will found him before he was ready for him to. Taking a few last pictures of Matt being tickled tortured (and getting raps on the skull from Corey’s knuckles in the bargain); Andy slowed and quietly backed away from the scene. Once he was sure he could safely move with more speed and less stealth, Andy turned away and walked back to where he assumed the house was. He soon found a trail between the pond and the house he had not seen before, and this enabled him to make good time. He had no fear of using it until he got closer to the house, and there was no reason for Will to be looking for him here. Even so, Andy did not entirely sacrifice stealth for speed, and so he made his way more slowly than normal in order to make sure he didn’t bump into Will before he was ready to.
The phone vibrated again. Another text message from Will: Where R U? Am coming there.
Andy paused to get his bearings. If he had his own location pegged even vaguely accurately, and if Will was a the house or anywhere near it, then Will wouldn’t be going anywhere near where Andy was now, and would be long gone by the time Andy was close enough to the house to make finding him more likely. Andy picked up the pace; slowing down only when he got within sight of the house again.
He stood at the edge of the woods, with a long wide open lawn between him and the house. And at once he saw Will a long ways off to his right; just entering the woods at more or less the same spot where Andy had seen him go in before (and Andy himself had followed afterward). Andy allowed a few moments more to make sure that Will was well out of sight of the house, and then he ran to the house as fast as his short legs would carry him.
Andy was small even for his age (he was only four foot one inch – 124 cm – tall), but he was also light and wiry and could run pretty fun. This was no accident; he got picked on so much because of his over-active imagination and under-developed sense of discretion that evading bullies provided him with a lot of practice running (and hiding too). The door was unlocked of course, and so it was only mere moments before he was safely inside his own room.
Luckily, his room was furnished with a fairly new laptop computer with an Internet connection. With an alacrity and skill that would have amazed even his own mother – let alone his contemptuous older cousin, who had consistently underestimated Andy’s intelligence as well as his common sense – Andy connected Paul’s cellphone to the computer and downloaded its entire memory stick online to his own computer account at home. This included the well over 200 pictures Andy had taken with it, but also included numerous other pictures Paul would not have liked most people to even know about let alone see.
Once the downloads of the images were safely completed and password encrypted so that only Andy himself could access them on any computer other than his own, the boy carefully selected a few particularly interesting (and incriminating) pictures of the other four boys and sent them through the printer.
It was only then that Andy saw the fatal weakness in his plan. He had loads of pictures of Corey, Paul, Matt, and John… but none with Will interacting with any of these other four. Knowledge of Will’s activities wasn’t going to be enough! He’d need proof he would be able to show others – or threaten to show others at any rate – in order to have the kind of hold over Will that he was going to need in order to get what he wanted. He needed pictures of Will helping his two friends torment the other two boys!
Andy considered returning to the woods to see if he could catch Will in the act without being caught himself. Naw, too risky. Besides, Will was evidently too concerned about Andy’s whereabouts by now. He’d be too alert for Andy’s spying on him while at the same time searching for him rather than play with his guests.
It took Andy a few more moments to come up with the obvious solution. He checked Pauls’ cell phone for Will’s cell phone number. Then he looked for the landline phone downstairs. Good, it had caller-id and a memory. Andy checked to see if that Will’s cell number was also there (indicating he’d been called with this phone before). Good, it was. That meant no awkward questions about how he knew how to call Will’s phone! Good.
Andy speed-dialed Will’s cell phone with the landline phone. Will picked up a few seconds later. “Hello?” asked Will’s familiar voice in a bit of puzzlement. “Andy?”
“Hi, Will!” Andy replied in his usual chipper voice. “Where are you? I’ve looked all over for you and I can’t find you anywhere!”
“Uhhh… out looking for you!” Will replied quickly. “You all right!?” He didn’t need to ask where Andy was; his own caller-id told him what number his cousin was using and so he knew he had to be right inside the house.
“Sure I’m all right!” Andy replied cheerfully. “But running around looking for you has me all tired out. I’m gonna go take a nice long nap up in my room. Think you can manage without me for the rest of the afternoon? I really need to sleep.”
“Uhh, sure!” Will replied with an even tone of voice to conceal his sudden relief and concurrent glee. If the brat was home AND taking a nap, then he could spend some time with his friends without fear of something bad happening to Andy or that Andy that somehow stumble onto them by accident. “I’m sure I can find something to do. It’s a nice day so I’ll probably be outside for a while. If you can’t find me in the house when you wake up and want some company, just call me again and I’ll head right back in.”
“Okay, Will,” replied Andy with a loud, exaggerated yawn to make sure his older cousin could clearly hear it over the phone. “But I’ll probably be asleep until supper-time. Mom and your folks will probably be back by then. Okay?”
“That’s fine,” Will answered happily; unable to believe his good luck. “You have a nice nap, okay?”
“Sure will, Will.” Andy replied cheerfully. “See you at supper-time.” And he hung up the phone even before a relieved Will had time to reply.
“Danger, Will Robinson!” the doleful voice of the robot from Lost in Space echoed inside Andy’s head. This was accompanied by a vision of the robot - its red-lit face panel flashing urgently - waving its tentacle-like arms wildly about and its metallic torso twisting back and forth in evident agitation; causing the youngster to chuckle happily as he headed out the door. “Danger indeed, Will.” He cheerfully mimicked the robot as he ran across the huge sunlit lawn toward the woods.
Much more at ease now that he knew Andy was safe, at home napping, and out of his hair for a few precious hours, Will hastened toward the tree-house to find the others. He was momentarily concerned when he found the picnic site deserted, but before he could decide where to extend his search, the sound of familiar voices coming from the direction of the duck pond reassured him that all was well in this quarter too. In fact, as he was starting down the trail toward the pond, the others could be clearly seen returning from that same direction.
“Hey, Will,” Corey called to him as waved a greeting with his free hand; the other hand holding a leash connected to a collar around John’s neck. “Back for more fun already?”
“I was worried about you,” Will replied with only a modicum of exasperation. “Andy went missing, and when I tried to call you guys I got no answer.”
“My phone’s off,” Core replied. “Wasn’t expecting any calls, didn’t want to get any from home, and thought we were supposed to having ‘radio silence’ anyway.”
“I left my phone here,” Paul added as he led Matt along on his own leash. “I guess we were too far away to hear it. Sorry.” It didn’t occur to him to check his phone then, or he would have noticed immediately that it was missing. “So Andy’s missing? You want us to help look for him?”
“No, it’s cool now,” Will replied. “He called me while I was on my way here. I guess my idea of playing hide-and-seek with him backfired on me, and we were probably just chasing each other all around the yard or something. But he’s home now taking a nap, so that leaves me free to chill with you guys until my folks get home.”
“Great! We were just thinking about playing a new game with these two when you showed up.” Paul told him. “Got any good ideas?”
“Lots,” Will replied with a grin. “But most of them I want to save for freedom challenges; and this wouldn’t be a good time for one right now. Once Andy and the others are gone and we have the whole place to ourselves again, then we can do one. But we can still have a contest to see who gets to spend the evening quietly and who gets to be played with after I leave. Meanwhile, we can have fun tormenting them both.”
Matt and John were lead to the tree which held the tree-house and mad to stand under one of its overhanging branches, which at one point dipped to just a couple of feet over their heads. Will climbed into the tree and onto this branch, causing it to dip down even lower, until he was almost directly above the others.
At Will’s direction, one of John’s wrists was freed of his handcuffs; the other wrist remained locked. John was then told to raise his hands as high as he could above his head. Without hesitation and without speaking a word, he did so; his hands brushing against the branch as he did. Will leaned down from his perch, grasped Will’s handcuffs in his hands, and swung the free end up and over the branch before locking around John’s free wrist again. John’s wrists were now trapped against the main branch and another smaller branch that grew from that point; rendering him unable to lower his arms. He was still solidly on his feet and in no particular comfort however, as his own weight was enough to cause the branch to dip even lower than before… now putting it with the somewhat shorter Matt’s reach as well.
Matt was now also partially freed and bid to lift his hands up for similar treatment. But Matt was foolish and stubborn and tried to resist. The ensuing scuffle between him and his two captors on the ground was exciting but so short-lived Will didn’t even have to jump to the ground to join in. It also provided the perfect distraction for Andy to come in close, unheard and unseen as he began taking more pictures of this interesting development.
Matt wasn’t too athletic but he was strong-willed and had plenty of strength and fight in him. However, he was still hobbled, tired and sore, and outnumbered two-to-one by opponents who were bigger and stronger than he was. It wasn’t long before he lay flat on his back on the grass, with a shirtless Corey straddling his chest, bony knees grinding mercilessly down on his shoulders, and lean but strong arms keeping his wrists immovably trapped beside his head. Meanwhile Paul was straddling Matt’s thigh and pinning down Matt’s knees. Between the two of them Matt was helplessly trapped firmly in place. Despite this, he struggled valiantly anyway. His two tormentors let him; waiting for him to exhaust himself. Meanwhile, Will remained perched in the tree branch and grinning down at the scene in evident enjoyment. John merely sighed, rolled his eyes in faint sympathy, and turned away in some disgust for Matt’s foolishness and ill manners.
Matt continued to struggle; trying to swear luridly at his tormentors but unable to get a single coherent word out because of his tight-fitting gag. He did his best to make his displeasure well known to the others however, but succeeded only in amusing them as well as annoying them.
“Keep it up dummy, and it’ll only be the worse for you,” Corey insisted as he released one of Matt’s hands momentarily only to slap him hard across the face before pinning that hand down again. When Matt continued struggling (and cursing through his gag) he repeated the process with his other hand. When this seemed to make no real impression, Corey forced the recalcitrant Matt’s wrists underneath his knees; keeping his prisoner’s arms trapped while his own arms were now free for other things. He began slapping Matt hard and fast in the face with both hands alternately; apparently as hard and as fast as he could. Matt still continued to struggle.
Taking a cue from this, Paul turned around and, still straddling Matt’s legs, began to hit him close to (but not directly at, yet) the groin.
“John, you’re standing close to them,” Will suddenly spoke. “Kick Matt in the side.”
John looked up at Will in puzzlement at this unexpected request, and then down at the combatants close to his feet. Sure enough; Matt was close enough for John to give him some solid (if barefooted) kicks. He paused for a moment, decided it’d be far better to have John mad at him than Will (let alone Will’s cronies) being mad at him, and then swung his foot out to make a solid connection against one of Matt’s kidneys.
“Traitor!” Matt wanted to shout, but his accusation was rendered just as incoherent as everything else he’d been trying to say lately. He tried to glare at John reproachfully, but Corey’s continued hard slaps of Matt’s now beet-red face rendered any steady eye contact impossible. Meanwhile, John simply kept kicking Matt as he’d been told to.
“All right! Enough! I GIVE UP!” Matt tried to shout as he writhed in agony rather than struggled now. Unfortunately, either his tormentors couldn’t tell the difference or – more likely - they just didn’t care – and continued pinning him down while John kept kicking, Corey kept slapping, Paul kept whacking harder and closer to the groin, and Will kept laughing derisively at the entire scene. Meanwhile, unknown to them all, Andy was gleefully documenting the entire encounter.
But it still wasn’t enough, thought Andy. It was hard to take shots of Will with the other boys, and he still wasn’t really doing much of anything to any of them. But perhaps with a little more time and opportunity…
Finally, either finally as a result from exhaustion or an attack of common sense, Matt went completely limp and, though still obviously conscious and aware, remained silent and unresisting to his captor’s punishments. Finally this was noticed – or at least acted upon after a certain interval after being noticed – and the various assaults on Matt’s helpless body ceased.
“You gonna cooperate now?” Corey asked him sternly; flicking his nose hard at the same time to ensure he had Matt’s undivided attention (and for the sheer fun of it).
Matt nodded his head slightly in weary resignation; not even bothering to try making any sounds through his gag.
Corey and Paul quickly got off their unwilling seat (comfortable as he had been compared to the logs and boulders lying around) and quickly and roughly hauled him to his feet. “Now raise your arms like we told you if you don’t want a bloody lip and a black eye,” Paul snapped at the captive. Although he and Corey were a bit disheveled and little the worse for wear compared to Matt, he was ticked off now and eager for revenge… uhh… that is, he was eager to impose a little needed discipline on a stubborn and unruly slave. Paul had brought Matt into the fold, and by God he was going to train him right!
Matt wearily lifted his arms up, and a gleeful Will soon had them trapped in place much as John’s arms had been. Will then jumped out of the branch to look at them both. The absence of his weight caused the tree branch to rise somewhat. Not as much as it been as he combined weight of John and Matt still dragged it down, but it was still straightened up enough now so that John was almost standing on his toes. Matt, some inches shorter than John, didn’t even have that much. Were it not for a convenient but loose rock that happened to be in the right place to give him a toe-hold to the ground, Matt’s feet would have been swinging two inches off the ground altogether and his body-weight carried entirely by his handcuffed wrists.
Matt started to make frantic, pleading noises as he struggled to stand tip-toe on the loose rock and avoid accidentally kicking it away. If it moved too much, he would literally be left hanging!
“See what you can do to help him, would you?” Will asked John with a smirk.
John looked at Will in puzzlement for a moment, and then understood. He was slightly further along the branch than Matt was. If he let his legs sag underneath him a bit, his weight would pull down on the tree branch more. He tried this. Yes, it definitely made a difference; Matt’s toes and the front part of his feet were now on the ground and helping to support his weight. But at the same time, less of John’s weight was being supported by his legs and more of it carried on his own bound wrists. His handcuffs were starting to dig into his wrists, while his legs and shoulders were also starting to ache.
“Okay John, that’s good,” Will complimented him. “Relax now.”
John did so, and Matt found himself hoisted almost entirely off his feet once more.
“Feel free to help Matt with his burden as much as you like, John,” Will added as he found a small sub-branch growing from the main one, tore it off, and began swinging it back and forth through the empty air in front of him experimentally a few times. “But every time you do, I’ll be whacking your back with this. Meanwhile, whenever you relax, I’ll be striking Matt with it instead. So, knowing that, help Matt just as much as you want to. No more, and no less.”
While John was still puzzling that one out, Will walked up to behind Matt and began using his switch on his helpless captive; striking him again and again on his bare back, bare legs, and buttocks. These last were covered by his Speedos, but they seemed to providing damned little protection at the moment.
Matt squealed at looked at John pleadingly. ‘Help me!’ Matt’s eyes silently but clearly said. John was standing only a few feet in front of his fellow captive and faced him directly, and so there was no doubt whatsoever what Matt wished him to do, and which Will had given him permission to do. If he let his own body take the strain, Matt’s body would have relief – both from the strain of semi-suspension and from the vigorous switching that Will was giving him. But then John would be enduring both semi-suspension and being switched himself.
John saw it clearly now. He was given a choice Matt was denied; would he be noble and willingly share the punishment with his fellow captive, or would he let Matt take it all?
John thought about it as he watched Matt writhe in his torment of being switched while he strained to shift some of his weight off his wrists and shoulders and onto his feet. He could sympathize; having been in this same position Matt was in just a day or two ago.
Awww, screw it! Frikking Matt had brought all this down upon himself! Let him take all the punishment for his own actions, just as John had been doing all this time!
John looked away and remained standing on his feet; ignoring the muffled pleas for mercy and the cries and groans of pain as he continued to endure his flogging, the ever-increasing ache in his wrists and shoulders, and the jeering taunts from Corey and Paul.
Although somewhat sympathetic, Andy gleefully continued taking pictures of the entire incident. Now this was more like it. This was definitely what he needed: pictures clearly showing Will himself eagerly torturing another kid. Once Andy safely had these in storage, Will would have to do whatever his younger cousin wanted. No one would be able to pass what Andy knew off as merely a vivid imagination this time!
By this time Andy had finally discovered that Paul’s phone had a video-recorder function and had learned how to use it. Now he was getting beautiful footage of Will flogging Matt while the captive suffered in mute misery and Corey and Paul looked on and jeered. Perfect. He was digitally capturing every sound and motion in much detail, as only a modern cell phone device could make possible. Will would never be able to explain this one away! All Andy had to do was upload this video to a safe site where Will couldn’t alter or delete it, and Andy would have his older cousin eating out of his hand!
No, I didn't check them out last time at all, did I? (Now where's that "innocent" icon? Oh, there it is, right next to the lying b****** one!) 