Night Shift at Cresswell Mall (M/?, ?/M; CYOA)

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Charmides
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Night Shift at Cresswell Mall (M/?, ?/M; CYOA)

Post by Charmides »

(Quick author's note: Hi there, folks. So, truth be told, I've been a lurker on these forums for an awfully long time, both here and on the old site. Many apologies for skulking around; I'm glad to be among you, and I apologize in advance for what's about to happen in the text below. That is all.)

Instructions: This story is choose-your-own-adventure style pulp, and you can read/play in one of two ways. Option one: You can use this online dice roller (https://www.wizards.com/d20modern/d20mdice/dice.htm), or any physical dice you own, to roll whatever dice the story instructs you to roll, and move from stage to stage based on the results. Or, option two: You can forget the dice and choose whatever path tickles your fancy. (The protagonist slot is gender neutral, and you'll be going up against three males.)

There are nineteen possible endings. You can reach some endings via multiple routes, and some fates are tough to avoid. On the other hand, some endings are a little trickier to unlock. A few endings are noted at the bottom of this page as "achievements," just because they're probably the toughest to crack.

Okay, I've done enough stalling. Thanks most graciously for reading -- here's "Night Shift at Cresswell Mall."




PART 1: Welcome to Cresswell Mall; a big, sprawling complex in a moderately-sized town. It’s the sort of place you might find in bad B-movies, a spot where teenagers hang out and make trouble. It's exhausting. But at least when night comes, you have the place to yourself.

You’ve been hired as a security guard. You handle the night shift alone; it's an easy gig, to help you learn the ropes of the job. You divide your time between wandering the dimly lit floors with your flashlight, and monitoring the security cameras down in your office.

During your rounds one night, you turn a corner, and something catches your eye; a shadow, ducking out of sight. You sweep the wide hall with your flashlight. (Roll a d20.)

1-7: You shrug and continue making your rounds. It was probably just your imagination. (Go to part 2.)
8-14: You shout “Hello?” into the empty mall; you listen for any noise, and keep your eyes peeled for movements. (Go to part 3.)
15-18: There’s someone here. You shout “Hey!” and sprint ahead, in the direction where you think the shadow disappeared. (Go to part 4.)
19-20: There’s someone here. You rush back down to your office; it’s no use getting in a footrace, but maybe you can catch a glimpse of the trespasser on the security monitor. (Go to part 5.)


***

PART 2: You continue on your way, unaffected and whistling a tune. As you pass by a desolate Cinnabon, you suddenly hear the sound of quick, light footsteps behind you. Before you can turn around, crack; a blow to the back of your head. You sink to the floor, and the mall fades to darkness.

(Go to part 7.)


***

PART 3: Silence. Thirty seconds pass. You tread cautiously forward. Suddenly, there’s a sound behind you like footsteps. You’re ready for it — you whirl around, flashlight out. A man was rushing up behind you, all in black, his head obscured by a hood, his lower face hidden by a red bandana. He skids to a halt as you face him. He drops into a combative crouch, a short length of pipe in his right hand. (Roll a d20.)

1-5: Stunned by the intruder, you try to point the flashlight up in his face, but drop it. As it clatters to the ground, you instinctively bend to pick it up — and wham, a blow to your head, and you slump to the ground. (Go to part 7.)
6-13: You lunge forward. The intruder raises his pipe over his head, but you tackle him to the ground. You struggle for the weapon. (Roll a d4. On a 1-2, go to part 8. On a 3-4, go to part 9.)
14-20: You wait for him to make a move. After a tense stare down, he lunges at you. You nimbly step to the side, and make your move. (Go to part 6.)


***

PART 4: Your voice carries through the empty mall as you charge ahead. You round another corner, and hiding behind a potted plant are two men, all in black, both with hoods up, one hiding his face with a red bandana, the other, blue. Seeing you rushing at them, they’re spooked. Red-Bandana bolts into the shadows; Blue-Bandana tries to follow, but slips on the newly waxed floor, just as as you reach him. You grab him.

“Wait, stop!” he cries. “Don’t hurt me!” (Roll a d20.)

1-9: Release your grip and interrogate him. (Go to part 19.)
10-17: Secure him so he can’t get away, then interrogate him. (Go to part 29.)
18-20: Secure him, and make sure he can’t alert his friends. (Go to part 31.)


***

PART 5: You quickly make your way back down to your office. Soon enough, you’re standing just outside the door, which stands ajar. (Roll a d4.)

1-2: You open the door and walk inside. (Go to part 14.)
3-4. Wait a minute. This door was closed when you last left it, you’re sure of it. (Go to part 15.)


***

PART 6: From behind, it’s easy to wrestle the pipe from his hands. You throw it to the ground. You now have the intruder in a bearhug, totally at your mercy. He squirms and grunts in your arms. “Let me go!” he yells, trying to stomp on your toes. You reach into your belt and grab a zip tie. (Roll a d4.)

1-2: Take him with you back to your office. (Go to part 10.)
3-4: Take him with you back to your office… but in case he has any friends around, make sure he can’t alert them. (Go to part 12.)


***

PART 7: Slowly, you come back to your senses. You’re lying on your stomach, on a cold concrete floor. You open your eyes; you’re in a utility closet. You try to stretch out your aching limbs, but you can’t — your legs have been tied together at the ankles, and your wrists are bound behind your back. In your periphery, you see an intruder wearing a red bandana-mask crouching over you, tying off the ropes holding your wrists. (Roll a d20.)

1-9: Thrash and struggle against your bindings, calling out for help. “Someone! Please, get me out of here! Help!” (Go to part 11.)
10-18: Struggle against the ropes, to get free and to buck off your captor. (Go to part 13.)
19-20: Stay still. Say nothing. Wait for an opportunity. (Go to part 18.)


***

PART 8: As you struggle with the intruder on the floor, he cries out into the dark mall: “Tom, help!” You try to clamp a hand over his mouth, but he’s too slippery. You hear another pair of feet racing down the hall, and suddenly there’s another figure standing over you, this one in a blue bandana-mask. He grapples your legs while Red-Bandana pins your arms to your sides. You try to fight them off, but it’s two-on-one, they’re too strong for you.

(Go to part 20.)


***

PART 9: You have the upper hand. Can’t take any chances that this guy could get away. You push him down to the floor and use a zip-tie to cinch his hands behind him. You do the same for his his feet, and then his elbows for good measure. He squirms and yells, demanding for release. “I swear,” he says, “if you don’t let me go, you don’t even want to know what we’re gonna do to you. Untie me.”

You notice that a roll of duct tape is hanging from this guy’s belt. You pick it up, and pull off a strip without removing it from the roll. The harsh ripping sound of tape echoed in the mall, and for a moment, Red-Bandana stops struggling.

“I know what you’re thinking,” he says, “but if you even think about putting tape on my mouth, you’re gonna be sorry you ever — GWAH!” You start wrapping tape around his mouth, turn after turn encircling his head.

Trouble is, for the first half-dozen turns or so, he refuses to close his mouth, so at first the tape just forms a big, super tight cleave gag. Plus, you’re wrapping the tape over his red bandana, which is now being forced into his mouth by the tape. But soon, through sheer volume of tape, you finally start to catch his whole mouth under the roll. For good measure, you make four or five turns of tape underneath his jaw and over his head, to keep him from opening his mouth. Next you add a few more wraps around his mouth for security’s sake, and then your wrap some tape over his eyes, leaving Red-Bandana effectively gagged and blindfolded.

You step back and watch him struggling on the floor, his head nearly mummified. The police can deal with him later. You give him a commiserating pat on the shoulder (which actually just makes him struggle harder), and you head off to your office to check the monitors for more mischief, leaving your captive wriggling on the mall floor.

When you get to your office, you find the door ajar. (Roll a d4.)

1-2: Rush inside. (Go to part 14.)
3-4: Assume there’s an intruder inside. Try talking. (Go to part 35.)


***

PART 10: You zip-tie his hands behind him and push him down the hall, back to your office. You get there, and the door is ajar. Suddenly, Red-Bandana yells: “He’s got me — kick his ass, Mateo!”

As the door swings open, Red kicks you in the stomach. You try to dodge his foot, but the distraction is just enough so that a new figure, this one wearing a green bandana as a mask, leaps out of the doorway and punches you in the face. Disoriented, you fall to the floor. Green-bandana’s shadow falls over you.

(Go to part 41.)


***

PART 11: Red-Bandana goes to a nearby shelf, and pulls down what looks like an old sponge about the size of your fist. “Did you hear me?” you say. “Untie me right nMMPH!”

He shoves the sponge in your mouth. It expands as it hits your tongue, leaving your cheeks bulging. Before you can spit it out, he’s already sealed it in with half a dozen tight turns of duct tape around your mouth. Red-Bandana chuckles and pats your cheek, right before joining your wrists and hands with another length of rope, in a strict hogtie. As you rock around on the floor and mumble angrily into your gag, Red-Bandana walks to the door.

“Better luck next time, cutie,” he says with a wink. He turns out the light and leaves, the door shutting with a click behind him. You hear the door locking from the other side, and realize he’s taken your keys.
(Roll a d20.)

1-3: Give up. You’ve lost. (Go to part 23.)
4-18: Struggle for all your worth. (Go to part 24.)
19-20: You think about struggling… but actually, this bondage kind of feels great. (Go to part 25.)


***

PART 12: You pull the red bandana off of the intruder’s face. He’s not a bad looking guy; mid-twenties, sharp features, hazel eyes, full lips. You tie a knot in the middle of the bandana. His snarl is replaced with a look of confusion.

“Hey,” he says, “look, I don’t know what you think y-GLMMPH!” You shove the knot of the bandana into his mouth. “Thmmt nmph cmm! Lhmm hmm GMPH!” He continues to curse you out and struggle against the zip-ties binding his hands. Trouble is, he’s still pretty loud, and he could definitely alert his friends this way.

Luckily, you see a roll of duct tape dangling from his belt. You tear off a strip and start wrapping it around his head, over the knotted bandana. Ten-turns later, his shouting is entirely incoherent, and much quieter. Satisfied, you push him toward the office.

(Go to part 21.)


***

PART 13: You try to throw your captor off of you, but he straddles you from behind, and keeps your struggling to a minimum.

“This won’t do at all,” he says, and reaches to a nearby shelf to take down more lengths of rope. He ties your legs at your thighs, knees, and shins. Then, he forces your legs to bend, and secures your calves to your thighs. Next he lifts you up, and flips you into a kneeling position. From there, he ties your arms at the elbows, forcing them together, followed by another longer rope that he wraps over and over around your torso, pinning your arms to your back. Finally, he pushes you onto your butt, and pulls your trussed legs up against your chest, and then proceeds to tie your torso to your thighs, leaving you in some sort of ball-tie. You squirm, you writhe, but it won’t give.

“This isn’t over,” you say.

Red-Bandana pulls a rag from a shelf and shoves it in your mouth. You’re too surprised to spit it out, before he’s sealed it in with a few turns of duct-tape around your head.

“Actually, cutie,” he says, “it’s over.” He rustles your hair, turns out the light, and leaves, the door shutting with a click behind him. You hear the door locking from the other side, and realize he’s taken your keys. (Roll a d20.)

1-3: Give up. You’ve lost. (Go to part 23.)
4-18: Struggle for all your worth. (Go to part 24.)
19-20: You think about struggling… but actually, this bondage kind of feels great. (Go to part 25.)


***

PART 14: You walk inside your office. Your eyes immediately go to the wall of security monitors; you notice that they’re all blank. You hardly see the strange dark shape waiting for you behind the door — at least, not until after it jumps out and smashes something over your head. Your drop to the floor, your mind a blank.

(Go to part 37.)


***

PART 15: You knock on the door. No answer. “Hello?” you call out. Nothing. Slowly you walk inside, taking in as much of the room as you can. The security monitors are off; and there’s a curious human-like shadow behind the door. You turn just in time as a man dressed in black, wearing a green bandana as a mask, bursts out of the shadows and wrestles you to the ground. (Roll a d20.)

1-14: Your attacker overpowers you. (Go to part 38.)
15-20: Somehow, you’re able to get the better of your attacker. (Go to part 34.)


***

PART 16: You calmly call the police while Green-Bandana thrashes on the ground like a beached shark. They’ll be over soon, the police say, and you thank them for their service and wait.

“I’m gonna kill you if you don’t let me out!” cries Green, flailing on the floor hard enough to work up a sweat. “I swear to God! I’m not going to jail! Let me GO!”

With a sigh, you walk over to Green-Bandana and pull his bandana off. He’s a handsome latino guy, with full lips and piercing green eyes. He glares at you.

“What’re you gonna do, huh?” he says. “You’ve got nothing. You’re just some nobody mall security guard. Just wait for the real police. You think you’ve got power? All you are is a —HMMPH!!”

You knot the bandana in the middle and shove it into Green’s mouth, tying it behind his neck with savage tightness. His cheeks distort from the strictness of the gag as he scowls up at you, face turning red from attempted profanity. “Ymmp mm-hm FHMM-hmph! Gmmp hmph mm hm-mm HMMP!”

You sit back and listen to the music of Green-Bandana’s gagged, muffled ramblings. No, there’s not a lot of power being a mall security guard. But sometimes, there’s just enough. (END.)


***

PART 17: You haul your struggling captive over your shoulder and into a heavy nearby wooden chair. You use some spare duct tape and computer cables you have lying around to wrap Green’s chest to the back of the chair, leaving his bound wrists trapped behind him. And just to be safe, you tie a length of rope to Green’s already-bound feet, and feed it through the chair to connect with his bound wrists. You pull the rope tight, and create a sort of sitting-hogtie. And all the while, Green shouts and screams at you.

You pull his bandana off. He’s a handsome latino guy, with full lips and piercing green eyes. He glares at you.

“What’re you gonna do, huh?” he says. “You’ve got nothing. You’re just some nobody mall security guard. Just wait for the real police. You think you’ve got power? All you are is a —HMMPH!!”

You shove the whole bandana in his mouth, past his strong lips until it fully packs his cheeks. Before he can spit it out, you use another good ol’ zip tie to hold it in place. Now, Green’s cheeks are full to bursting as he scowls at you, face turning red from attempted profanity. “Ymmp mm-hm FHMM-hmph! Gmmp hmph mm hm-mm HMMP!”

You call the police, who will be arriving shortly. Then you sit back and listen to the music of Green-Bandana’s gagged, muffled ramblings. No, there’s not a lot of power being a mall security guard. But sometimes, there’s just enough. (END.)


***

PART 18: Your captor finishes tying a knot, then goes over to another shelf for more rope. While he’s gone, you realize you can still feel your keys on your belt — he hasn’t taken them yet. Quietly as you can, you take the keys from the back of your belt (tough to do, with your hands tied behind you), and place them on the floor next to you. You shift your body, and now you’re lying on top of the keys, which are safely out of sight. At least now you can’t be locked in this closet.

Red-Bandana returns with some new ropes, humming as he ties his final knots. He ties your feet to your wrists in a firm but comfortable hogtie. Then he takes a roll of duct-tape and wraps it a few times around your mouth, gagging you. Red-Bandana walks to the door.

“Better luck next time, cutie,” he says with a wink. He turns out the light and leaves, the door shutting with a click behind him.

1-3: Give up. You’ve lost. (Go to part 23.)
4-18: Struggle for all your worth. (Go to part 26.)
19-20: You think about struggling… but actually, this bondage kind of feels great. (Go to part 25.)


***

PART 19: You release the man in the blue bandana, raising your hands in an open-palm gesture. “I won’t hurt you,” you say, “but if you run, we’re gonna have problems. Now take off that bandana.”

Blue-Bandana nods, and lowers the cloth. This guy couldn’t be more than 19. Very soft features, and pale, with light blue eyes, which right now look terrified.

“Now” you say, “you don’t seem like a bad kid. Tell me what you’re doing here, and be honest. You can still get out of this okay.”

Blue hesitates a moment — then, “Okay. Okay. Please, I don’t want to go to jail…” So, Blue tells you the whole story. He’s working with two of his friends, to rob a few key stores in the mall; a jewelry store, a shoe store, whatever that have time for. Red-Bandana has probably fled for good. But there’s another guy, Mateo, who snuck into your office earlier in the night. His job is to disable the security monitors, and to disable you, if you go back to your office.

You nod. “Okay. I’ll deal with your friend in my office.”

Blue swallows. “What about me?” he asks. (Roll a d20.)

1-5: Let him go. (Go to part 32.)
6-15: Take him with you to the office. (Go to part 33.)
16-20: Leave him here for the police — properly restrained. (Go to part 42.)


***

PART 20: It doesn’t take long for Red and Blue to find the zip-ties you keep on your belt. They bind your wrists behind you, and your feet together. At first, you thought they might stop there, but instead, they bind your knees and thighs together, then your elbows. Finally, they join your feet and your wrists with one more length of plastic, leaving you to thrash on the floor in a savagely tight hog-tie. Red-Bandana squats down in front of you, a roll of duct-tape in hand. He looks at you with a smile in his eyes. (Roll a d4.)

1-3: Make a ruckus. “Let me out of here now!” you cry. “You’re crazy if you think you’ll get away with this! Untie me!” (Go to part 27.)
4: Glare and say nothing. (Go to part 28.)


***

PART 21: You get to your office, pulling the protesting and gagged Red-Bandana all the way. The door is ajar. Red shouts something at the door: “Mm-tmph! RMMPH!” It’s too muffled for decipherable words, but it’s the tip-off you need; someone’s inside.

“Hey, Victor, that you?” says someone from inside the office. “Thought I heard your voice…” The door opens. Standing there is a tall muscular guy, also dressed in black, but wearing a green bandana over his face. He stops dead when he sees you, holding his bound and gagged friend by the arm. For a split second, he’s surprised. This is your chance. (Roll a d4.)

1: This guy looks dangerous. Run. (Go to part 22.)
2-4: Tackle him. (Go to part 47.)


***

PART 22: Nope. This guy definitely works out. You take off running back the way you came. No more stalling — time to call the police, before you get swept up in the thrills of vigilantism any more.

Using your superior mall-knowledge, you take a few shortcuts and through lesser-known areas in an effort to lose any pursuers. A few minutes into your flight, you steal a look behind you: no one is on your tail. You allow yourself a victorious smile… before you trip over someone’s outstretched foot, and go sprawling to the ground. Thunk goes your head on the floor — lights out.

(Go to part 49.)


***

PART 23: You sigh into your gag. It’s useless. These ropes are too tight to escape; why exhaust yourself? Might as well settle in for the long haul.

And so you wait, hoping that you can get through the night intact. In the morning, someone will find you — a janitor, some mall administrator, who knows? In any case, it’ll be hard to explain to your boss how you wound up trussed up and gagged in a closet. That pay raise you were hoping for? Yeah. Forget about it. (END.)


***

PART 24: You roll around in the darkness, desperately trying to wriggle your way out of the ropes, shouting muffled cries for help through the door. The ropes show no sign of loosening, and it’s extremely unlikely that anyone outside can hear you. And so you struggle, locked in a dingy utility closet, reduced from a security guard to tightly packaged parcel, unable to do anything but squirm pathetically until some janitor hears your muffled pleading through the door. But that’s many hours away. For now, you’re stuck. (END.)


***

PART 25: Sure, maybe this isn’t exactly a fantasy of yours… but it ticks a lot of the right boxes. You writhe in your ropes, crying out for help — but in brutal honesty, you’re only really half-trying. This is the sort of thing that doesn’t happen to a person everyday. If there’s a way to enjoy it, well then, who can fault you for being optimistic in a dangerous situation? So you struggle and shout and enjoy the feel of the ropes encasing you, knowing that tomorrow someone will find you, and that until then, the night is yours. You’ve been made to play the part of a kidnapped, bound, and gagged security guard. Might as well play it well. “Hlmmph!” (END.)


***

PART 26: You writhe around on the floor, grunting into your gag, hoping that the ropes will give. After about twenty minutes of struggling, you realize that the ropes around your wrists have loosened slightly. Hardly able to believe it, you double your efforts — and sure enough, your right hand slips out of the ropes. In no time at all you’ve freed your other hand, your feet, and you’ve torn off your wrap-around tape gag (not the most pleasant sensation). You feel around in the dark for your keys, put them back on your belt, and leave the closet. (Roll a d20.)

1-3: Well, that was embarrassing. Hopefully no one ever finds out about this. (Go to part 43.)
4-15: Rush to the parking lot; maybe you can still catch this guy. (Go to part 44.)
16-20: Rush to your office; maybe one of the security cameras caught your captor’s face. (Go to part 45.)


***

PART 27: “Wow,” says Red-Bandana, “this guy could wake the dead. Tom, grab his socks.”

You feel Blue-Bandana pry your shoes off and peel off your long black work-socks. He hands them over to Red, who sadly shakes his head at you. “No one to blame but yourself, my friend.”

“Wait a minute,” you say, “what are you gonna do w—HMMPH!” And just like that, Red is suddenly stuffing one of your long black socks in your mouth. It takes some poking and prodding, but finally the whole thing is in, bulging your cheeks and threatening to explode past your lips. Then Red takes your second sock and cleave-gags you with it, trapping the huge black stuffing inside. And just for good measure, he takes a roll of duct-tape and makes at least a dozen turns of tape around your head, turning everything from your nose to your chin into taut surface of silver plastic.

“Thanks for your cooperation,” says Red, and then he and Blue disappear into the darkness. You struggle and yell for help as best as you can (“Hgmmp! Hmblmm! HMMPH!”), but you’re stuck there on the open floor of the mall.

(Go to part 30.)


***

PART 28: “Aww,” says Red-Bandana. “You’re kinda cute when you know you’re beaten.” With that, Red wraps the duct-tape around your mouth half-a-dozen times, making an imprint of your lips and turning your cheeks beet red.

“Thanks for your cooperation,” says Red, and then he and Blue disappear into the darkness of the mall. You test your binds and you test your gag (“Hmmph? Glmmp!”), but you’re not going anywhere.

(Go to part 30.)


***

PART 29: You pull a zip tie off of your belt and secure Blue-Bandana’s hands behind him. You can feel him shaking.

You turn him toward you and pull down his blue bandana. This guy couldn’t be more than 19. Very soft features, and pale, with light blue eyes, which right now look terrified.

“Now” you say, “you don’t seem like a bad kid. Tell me what you’re doing here, and be honest. You can still get out of this okay.”

Blue hesitates a moment — then, “Okay. Okay. Please, I don’t want to go to jail…” So, Blue tells you the whole story. He’s working with two of his friends, to rob a few key stores in the mall; a jewelry store, a shoe store, whatever they have time for. Red-Bandana has probably fled for good. But there’s another guy, Mateo, who snuck into your office earlier in the night. His job is to disable the security monitors, and to disable you, if you go back to your office.

You nod. “Okay. I’ll deal with your friend in my office.”

Blue swallows. “What about me?” he asks. (Roll a d20.)

1-5: Let him go. (Go to part 36.)
6-15: Take him with you to the office. (Go to part 33.)
16-20: Leave him here for the police — properly restrained. (Go to part 42.)


***

PART 30: About twenty minutes later, you once again hear the sound of footsteps. Three figures pass by you — the two who tied you up, and a third one; a man wearing a green bandana-mask. They’re all carrying bags, no doubt filled with money, jewels, or whatever else of value they could find in the mall. Green-Bandana whistles softly as the trio passes you, writhing on the floor.

“Damn, Victor,” says Green, “you really got him trussed up good, huh?”

“Well, you know me,” says Red. “Never leave a job unfinished.”

You shout indignantly at them through your gag, but they ignore you. The three burglars disappear into the mall as you struggle against your bindings. You don’t relish the prospect of being stuck like this until morning — or worse, having to explain this to whoever finds you. Settle in. This is going to be a long night. (END.)


***

PART 31: You pull a zip tie off of your belt and secure Blue-Bandana’s hands behind him. You can feel him shaking.

You turn him toward you and untie his blue bandana. This guy couldn’t be more than 19. Very soft features, and pale, with light blue eyes, which right now look terrified. Too bad. Those puppy-eyes won’t save him now.

You push him down to the floor and zip-tie his ankles together. Then with another strip of plastic, you join the ankles and the hands, so he can’t run off.

He winces as you pull the plastic tight. “Please,” he says, unable to see you as you wad up his blue bandana into a ball, “it doesn’t have to be so tight. I’ve surrendered, all right? I promise I won’t try to — GRMMPH?” Blue’s eyes widen as you stuff the wad into his open mouth.

“Sorry,” you say, pushing in the cloth so it fills every cranny. “Can’t have you yelling a warning for your friends.”

Before Blue has time to spit it out, you grab another zip tie and pull it around his mouth, cleave-gagging him and keeping the massive stuffing in his gob. He looks up at you with pleading eyes, his jaw stretched open by the bandana. You shrug at him.

“Next time,” you say, “don’t break into my mall.”

“Hmmlmph!” he whimpers, squirming in his bonds on the floor.

You’ll come back for him later. Meanwhile, you’d better get back to the security monitors in your office, and see if Blue-Bandana has any more accomplices running around.

When you get there, you’re unsurprised to find your office door ajar. (Roll a d4.)

1-2: Rush inside. (Go to part 14.)
3-4: Talk through the doorway, presuming there’s someone inside. (Go to part 35.)


***

PART 32: You give Blue a long, searching look… finally, you sigh. “Go home,” you say. “You were never here.”

Blue’s body softens, as if he’s finally able to breathe again. “Right,” he says. “Never here. Of course. Thank you. Just… thank you so much.”

He turns and disappears in the direction of the mall’s exit. As for you, you head down to your office.

You’re unsurprised to find your office door ajar. (Roll a d4.)

1-2: Rush inside. (Go to part 14.)
3-4: Try to talk to the intruder through the doorway. (Go to part 35.)


***

PART 33: “You’re coming with me,” you say, and grab Blue by his arm. You escort him down to your office. When you get there, you’re not surprised to find the door ajar.

“It’s over,” you declare to the door. “One of your friends is gone, and the other has surrendered. Come out now.”

Silence. You nudge Blue in the ribs.

“Mateo,” says Blue, “it’s Tom… I screwed up. I’m sorry.”

The door opens. A man in a green bandana stands there, staring daggers at you both.

“Yeah,” he says. “You did.” Suddenly, he lunges at you. (Roll a d20.)

1-14: He’s too strong; you’re quickly overpowered. (Go to part 46.)
15-20: Somehow, you gain the upper hand. (Go to part 48.)


***

PART 34: Finding an inner strength you didn’t know you had, you manage to clamber on top of your attacker and pin his arms behind him. You quickly bind his hands in place with a zip tie from your belt. Then you wrap another one around his ankles, before he has a chance to break your nose with a stray kick. You stand up, short on breath, and watch your attacker squirm. He turns to you and shrieks through his green bandana mask, “Hey, untie me! I’m not kidding! Get this plastic crap off of me!”

What now? (Roll a d20.)

1-3: No need to overdo the restraints. Just call the police. (Go to part 16.)
4-15: Secure this man before he tries to escape. (Go to part 17.)
16-20: Attack you? This calls for some revenge. (Go to part 39.)


***

PART 35: “Your friends are gone,” you say. “It’s over. Come out now. Don’t make this difficult.”

Silence. A moment passes. Then, a voice from inside:

“You serious?”

“Yes.”

“Jesus Christ.” Another silence. Then: “Okay. Come in.”

You gently push the door open, and slowly step inside — and suddenly, from behind the door, a huge black shape rushes in your direction. A voice shouts, “Try to trick me, asshole?” A warm body smashes into you, and you both fall to the floor in a heap. (Roll a d20.)

1-14: This guy is too strong for you; you can’t take him. (Go to part 38.)
15-20: You somehow force your attacker into submission. (Go to part 34.)


***

PART 36: You give Blue a long, searching look… finally, you sigh. “Go home,” you say. “You were never here.”

Blue’s body softens, as if he’s finally able to breathe again. “Right,” he says. “Never here. Of course. Thank you. Just… thank you so much.”

He turns to leave. Then, with some hesitation, he turns back around. “Um,” he says, “I’m still kind of tied up here. Is there anyway that you can… cut me loose?”

“Afraid not,” you say. “Consider it your punishment. Also, um… to be honest, I don’t have any scissors on me, and a zip tie is a nightmare to cut through. Find a way out yourself. And no more robbing malls.”

Blue-Bandana nods, his eyes on the ground. He turns and runs for the exit, his hands still tightly tied behind him. As for you, you head down to your office.

You’re unsurprised to find your office door ajar. (Roll a d4.)

1-2: Rush inside. (Go to part 14.)
3-4: Try to talk to the intruder through the doorway. (Go to part 35.)


***

PART 37: You come to with a start. You’re sitting in your office chair; a big, heavy, wooden monstrosity that you were really hoping your boss would replace soon. You look down at your hands; your wrists and forearms have been tied to the arms of the chair with an assortment of rope, tape, and some old computer cables that had been lying around. In fact, your whole body has been tied this way; your chest is roped to the back of the chair, your thighs to the seat of the chair, and your feet to its legs. You’ve been gagged, too — a huge, soft mound of cloth is holding your mouth open, held in place by something that feels small, sharp, and tight; probably one of the zip ties you keep on your belt. Your left foot feels cold, and you realize that one of your long black work socks has been removed. Unfortunately, you can guess where it ended up.

Standing across the room from you, arms crossed in a gesture of casual victory, is a tall, muscular looking guy, wearing all black, plus a black hood and a green bandana to mask his face. He snickers at you.

“Did you get much training for this job?” Green-Bandana asks.

You stare at him with a mixture of disbelief and fury, and all you can say is, “Hmmbph.”

“Hell, I could do this job! Don’t get me wrong, though. I’m glad I’m not you tonight. Anyway, better get going. Stores to rob. You know how it is.”

He goes to the door, and before he leaves, turns to you again. “Sorry, did you say something?” (Roll a d6.)

1-3: Before you can remember you’re gagged, a muffled “Gmmph?” pops out, through force of habit. (Go to part 40.)
4-5: Curse him out from under your gag. “Nmmp, ymm gmmph-hmh! Fhmmph-ymph!” (Go to part 40.)
6: Say nothing. (Go to part 40.)


***

PART 38: Before you know what’s happening, a muscular arm has wrapped around your neck in a chokehold. You flail with your fists, trying to hit something, but you’re getting low on oxygen. Your movements become slower, and you can feel warm breath on your neck… the room is spinning, your vision… is fading…

(Go to part 37.)


***

PART 39: With a heart full of vengeance and a wicked smile on your face, you pull off the green bandana from your captive. He’s a handsome latino guy, with full lips and piercing green eyes. He glares at you.

But before he has a chance to say a single word, you’ve shoved the whole bandana into his pretty little mouth. “GLMMPH?!” he muffles in shock as you pack the whole thing in. Quick as lightning, you pull off Green’s shoes, then his socks; long, white, and not the cleanest looking. One of them, you shove into his mouth right alongside the bandana. Green’s muffling gets more and more desperate (“Hmmph? Plmmph! HLMPH!”) as you finish packing the sock in, and then you hold the whole thing in with the second sock, which you use as a thick cleave gag to make the stuffing compact and secure.

Now that breathing isn’t the easiest thing in the world, Green isn’t struggling as hard. You have no trouble getting him onto his feet, and you start to wrap his whole body in whatever you can find lying around. Duct tape, wires, cables, a few spare lengths of rope; even some electrical tape from your desk. By the time you’re done, Green is nearly mummified, from ankle to shoulder. You lower him back onto the ground. He looks up at you with those brilliant green eyes, now staring at you with something between resentment and fear.

You smile down at him. “Oh, so you’re on your best behavior now? Good. And just to keep it that way…” And to top the whole thing off, you wrap some black electrical tape a few times around Green’s already excruciating gag, and add a few turns around his eyes as well, completely blindfolding him and leaving him as a totally helpless, squirming bundle.

When the police arrive, they’re a little confused by your tactics. But you explain the situation, and they seem to be okay with it, and take Green-Bandana away as-is, carrying him over an officer’s shoulder like an old rolled-up carpet. Sure, you might have gotten some strange looks from the police that night. But, you performed your duty — and no one can ever take that away from you. (END.)


***

PART 40: Green-Bandana laughs. “That’s what I thought you said,” he says. He bounds across the room and picks up a roll of wide black electrical tape from your desk. He runs over to you, straddles you, and starts to wrap the tape around your already stuffed and cleave-gagged mouth. Electrical tape is sticky, and super stretchy; ideal for wrapping something up fast and tight. In this case, your mouth.

After four or five turns around your head, Green-Bandana breaks off the strip and pats it down flat. The pressure on your face is extreme — you probably couldn’t close your mouth if you tried. He leans in close, so that his shocking green eyes are inches away from yours. “Don’t struggle much, you’ll have trouble breathing,” he says. “Hey, count yourself lucky. This coulda been worse.”

As Green-Bandana leaves, it’s difficult for you to imagine how this could be worse. But then you remember that one of your coworkers will be coming in to relieve you in the morning. And that they’re going to find you here, melded to a chair by rope and tape and computer cables, mouth stuffed up and gagged with a huge sock, a zip tie, and a ridiculous amount of electrical tape.

You struggle uselessly in your chair. Oh yes. Things could be worse. (END.)


***

PART 41: Everything that happens next, you only see through a haze, like you were half asleep. You vaguely watch Green Bandana cutting off Red’s zip tie. Then, the two of them lift your body into the office. You feel things being wrapped around your body, tight things, from your shoulders to your toes. You hear voices, far off and distorted, like they were underwater…

You snap back to reality. You’re lying on your back on the floor. You look down at your body. You’ve been nearly mummified in duct tape, rope, discard computer cables… and Red-Bandana is sitting by your legs, finishing the job. Your shoes and socks have been removed. Red is just finishing wrapping your feet together with duct tape. Even your big toes are tied together with twine. Red notices you stirring and glowers at you. Then he smiles.

“This,” he says, “is what they call payback.”

You blink at him, still coming back to your senses. “What… are you… doing…”

Green-Bandana walks into your field of vision. “Hey, man, this asshole’s waking up,” he says. “Can I take care of that mouth?”

“By all means,” says Red.

And just like that, Green is straddling your chest, looming over your head. He holds up a black lump, which you register to be one of your long work-socks just as he plunges it into your mouth. “Ghmmph!” you cry, as he shoves and crams the sock into place. Then, just as he gets it all stuffed past your lips; not an easy feat; he holds up another bundle. Your second sock.

“No one said this was gonna be easy, friend,” says Green, and begins pushing the second sock in your mouth, in front of the first. You’re convinced it won’t fit, that you’re bound to choke. But somehow, between finding extra room in your cheeks and sheer persistent shoving, he gets it all in. Your jaw has never been stretched so wide in your life.

“Glmmph?” You look up at Green with pathetic, pleading eyes. Green grabs a roll of electrical tape.

“Yup, that’s right. You had this coming.” Green starts winding the wide black electrical tape around your mouth, six, seven, a dozen times, the stretchy material tightening with every turn. When it’s finally done, he pulls out three spare white bandanas and ties them over your mouth, the last one pulled over your nose and entire lower face. It’s an effort to breathe, let alone talk.

“Now,” says Red, “let’s finish up here.” You watch as Red and Green produce a large, long brown sack, like a potato sack, and bring it toward your head. You protest, you squirm, but you’re quickly swallowed in darkness; they pull the sack from your head all the way to your feet and tie it off at the bottom, leaving you trapped. You feel additional ropes being tied all around the sack, binding you even more.

They’re not done yet. You can feel them positioning you on the edge of the office’s small 6 ft. carpet, and with a mighty heave, they roll you up in it. More ropes are bound around the carpet. Now, you can’t even flop around like a fish — the carpet’s too thick for that. Finally, they lift the carpet upright and stow it in a nearby metal closet, hardly wider than a locker. Before they shut the door, your hear Red’s voice:

“Hope someone finds you. I doubt you’ll be able to bang on the door, seeing as your mummified and tied up in a sack and rolled up in a carpet and all. If I were you, I’d practice making some noise. Just pretend that two-sock gag isn’t even there. See ya.”

You hear the metal closet door slam with a crash, and a padlock is locked on the outside of it. You try to move, you try to scream, you try to do something — but there’s nothing you can do. You’ve never been more helpless in your life. As you squirm uselessly inside your layered prison, you pray that someone will find you tomorrow morning. Because there’s probably no worse fate than being trapped like this, bound and gagged and bagged in a locker, waiting for the miracle of release. (END.)


***

PART 42: “You’re gonna have to stick around a little longer,” you say. You grab Blue-Bandana by the arm and lead him over to a nearby bench, bolted to the mall floor. You grab a few more zips ties and secure him to it; one goes around his ankles, and another anchors his bound feet to one of the legs of the bench. You tie another zip tie around his knees, just in case. Then, another one connects his bound hands to the back of the bench. Finally, just to be safe, you pull another zip tie tightly around his chest, pinning his arms to his torso. He tentatively tests his bonds.

“How long will I have to be like this?” Blue-Bandana says. “It’s pretty tight, and I promise I won’t try… to…” His voice fades as he watches you, standing in front of him, balling his bandana into a thick wad of cloth.

“Don’t make this difficult,” you say. “Just open up.”

He looks like he’s about to say something… but then thinks better of it. With a sigh, he opens his mouth, and you immediately stuff in the wad of fabric. He makes an involuntary “Hlgmph!” as you cram the whole thing in, then hold it in place with another zip tie, tight around his head. Blue looks up at you with pitiful eyes, body bound and cheeks bulging. You pat his face.

“Save the doe-eyes for the police,” you say.

“Hmmph?” Blue says, but you’ve already turned and started toward your office, leaving Blue to struggle and moan behind you. Time to take care of his friends.

You arrive at the office, and are unsurprised to find the door ajar. (Roll a d4.)

1-2: Rush inside. (Go to part 14.)
3-4: Try to talk to the intruder through the doorway. (Go to part 35.)


***

PART 43: You resume your rounds. I mean, what else can you do? Your captor has almost certainly gotten away by now, and you don’t want to give him the satisfaction of losing a chase. No one has to know that you were tied up in gagged in a closet, like something out of a bad B-movie.

You pass by a jewelry store. The windows have been smashed, and the countertops have been cleaned of merchandise.

… Well, maybe being tied up and gagged in a closet isn’t the worst story. Especially come tomorrow morning, when you have to explain this night to your boss… (END.)


***

PART 44: You sprint to the mall exit and run out the door, into the cool night air. Across the empty parking lot is a lone black van. Three figures are throwing bags into the back (no doubt full of stolen goods). One of them turns to you, and in the distance, you can just make out the red bandana covering his face. He raises a hand and waves cheerfully in your direction. Then the three of them climb into the van, and before you can do anything, they’ve disappeared into the night.

You rub the rope burns on your wrists and sigh into the night sky. At least you were able to escape that closet. The next time something like this happens, you promise yourself… you’ll be ready. (END.)


***

PART 45: You rush down to your office and burst inside. The room is empty — but someone has been in here. The security monitors are down, now just blank screens. You look around, and realize that someone has pulled out some very important-looking wiring from the computers. A scrap of paper has been stuck onto a monitor with a strip of tape. You yank it off and read it.

“TOO EASY,” it says. You crumple the note in your fist. Tonight, they got away. But not next time. (END.)


***

PART 46: Green-Bandana climbs on top of you. Before you can muster a defense, CRACK — his elbow connects with your temple. Just before your vision fades to nothing, you see Blue try to escape… and Green reaching out for his ankles…

(Go to part 50.)


***

PART 47: You and Green-Bandana crash to the floor together. Red watches, occasionally trying to land a kick on you, as you wrestle for dominance. (Roll a d20.)

1-14: Green is too much for you; he incapacitates you with a punch to the face. (Go to part 41.)
15-20: You just barely manage to come out on top. (Go to part 51.)


***

PART 48: You scramble on top of Green-Bandana as Blue looks on, eyes wide. Somehow you’re able to get on top of him, pinning his arms behind his back. You yank a zip tie from your belt and quickly secure his hands, followed by his feet. Green sets his eyes on Blue and lets out a scream.

“You little bitch!” he screams at Blue. “You ratted us out! When I get out of this, you’re gonna wish you were —”

You removed Green’s bandana, and immediately tie it tightly through his mouth as a cleave gag. He makes an involuntary “GLLK!” sound, but continues thrashing around on the floor, making a hell of a lot of noise. You look around for something to help…

“What about that towel?” says Blue, nodding at a worn-looking towel crumpled in the corner of the room.

You give Blue a surprised look. He looks at the floor and shrugs. “To be honest,” he says, “it’s a relief for someone to finally shut him up.”

You nod and grab the towel from the corner. Before Green-Bandana knows what’s happening, you’ve pulled the towel into a taut cord, and pressed it between his teeth, as a second cleave gag on top of the first one. This one is many times thicker, and keeps his jaw wide open and his full lips completely parted.

“HPH-HLMMPH!” he shouts, as you casually draw his bound hands and feet together in a hogtie with another zip tie. “Hmmgmph. BMM-hmph!”

As you finish tying Green, Blue takes a tentative step toward you. “Um,” he says, “you mentioned I might not have to go to jail. Well… what happens now?” (Roll a d20.)

1-10: Let him go. (Go to part 53.)
11-20: Save him for the cops. (Go to part 56.)


***

PART 49: A cold breeze plays across your face, bringing you back to consciousness.You’re outside the mall, near an old unused loading dock. You’re standing with your back to a chain link fence. You try to move your arms, but realize that they’re locked in place on either side of you, outstretched in a T-shape. Two of the zip ties from your belt have been used to secure your hands to the fence. You test the bonds; you’re going nowhere.

Standing in front of you is a third man in black. This guy seems young, and he wears a blue bandana to mask his face. He wrings his hands and looks up at you.

“I’m sorry,” he says, “but I don’t want anyone to get hurt. If my friends find you… This is better. Trust me. Someone will free you in the morning.” Blue-Bandana turns to leave.

“Wait!” you call after him. “You’re just going to leave me like this?”

“Oh — no,” says Blue. “I almost forgot.” He walks back up to you and takes something out of his back pocket. “I’m really sorry about this,” he says, and jams a sock in your mouth.

“WHHMPH?” you garble into the gag as Blue takes another zip tie and uses it to hold the sock in place.

“Don’t worry, it’s clean,” says Blue, “I just stole it from JC Penny. Anyway… Good luck. Sorry again.”

“HMBLMPH!” You cry out as Blue turns and runs into the night. You struggle against your bonds and shout into the white sock in your mouth, realizing you might have to wait until morning for someone to release you.

… Except, you remember that this loading dock has been sitting in unused disrepair for months. It would be very lucky if someone stumbles across you in the morning.

And if this night has taught you anything, it’s that luck is not on your side. “HLMMPH! GMBLMM!” (END.)


***

PART 50: “… Hmmmph…”

You slowly wake up to the sensation of a thick, soggy mass filling your mouth. You blink away the bleariness and take stock of the situation. You’re standing upright. Your arms have been pulled high and tight over your head. Your wrists have been bound, then connected to a rope that’s tied to a pipe running across the ceiling. This position pulls your body so taut that you’re almost standing on your tip-toes. (You notice with some confusion that your feet are bare.)

Your legs are tied together at the ankles, shins, knees, and thighs. The gag in your mouth is held in place with some other cleaving strip of fabric. (Likely, your two missing socks are working in tandem to gag you.)

Across the room, Green-Bandana is straddling Blue. He’s just finished roping Blue’s heaving torso with an elaborate series of ropes, pinning his arms behind him; likewise, Blue’s legs are a mass of tightly wound rope.

“Wait!” says Blue. “I just wanted to get out of here, I thought I was done for — please, stop —”

“Goddamn traitor,” mutters Green, and looks around the room. He spies something on my desk; an apple-sized foam stress-ball, colored to resemble planet Earth. Green grabs it and walks back over to Blue. “You can stay here with this asshole guard until morning for all I care.”

Blue opens his mouth to say something — but Green stuffs in the huge foam ball. “HRMMPH?” shouts Blue, and continues to struggle as Green tie’s Blue’s blue bandana around his mouth in a ferociously tight cleave gag, keeping the ball lodged firmly in Blue’s mouth.

“That’s right,” says Green, as he reaches into his nearby backpack and takes out a long brown sack. “Quiet as a mouse.”

“Nmmph, plmmph!” Blue whimpers, but it’s no use — Green pulls the sack over Blue’s head, and in a moment Blue’s entire body has disappeared inside it. Green ties it off at the end, and suddenly Blue is nothing more than a moaning, squirming object on the floor.

Green turns to you. “Give him to the police,” he says. “Congratulations. You’re not a total failure.” With that, Green walks out the door.

You watch as the bag containing Blue-Bandana rolls around on the floor, bucking and muffling and struggling for freedom. You think about the long hours ahead before anyone finds you, and you think about the two burglars who got away. Well, at least you caught one of them. Kind of. (END.)


***

PART 51: You deliver a solid punch to Green’s cheek — WHAM. He collapses to the floor, dazed and confused. You pin him to the ground under you.

You see Red’s foot sailing toward your head; you reach out, catch it, and twist your arm, sending Red hurtling to the ground. Before he can get up, you grab another zip tie and secure his ankles with one deft movement.

Quickly, before he’s back in fighting shape, you get to work on Green. You tie him up the same way you did Red — hands tied behind his back, ankles together. You remove his green bandana. He’s a handsome latino guy, with full lips and piercing green eyes. You shove the bandana into his mouth just as he fully comes to, and secure it with a third zip tie.

You haul your two captives into the center of the room and watch them struggle, muffling obscenities at you and trying desperately to slip out of their bindings. You sit back and watch them for a time, admiring your work.

Finally, you get up to call the police. But just then, you hear footfalls outside the office. A figure bursts through the doorway, dressed in black, wearing a blue bandana for a mask.

“Mateo, I can’t find Victor anywhere, I thought we were meeting… at… the…”

He sees his two accomplices bound and gagged on the floor. He sees you standing over them. He gulps.
(Roll a d20.)

1-3: Let him go. (Go to part 55.)
4-20: Grab him. (Go to part 52.)


***

PART 52: Before Blue-Bandana knows what’s happening you reach out and pull him down to the floor. In no time at all, he’s bound hand and foot, same as his friends. You whip off his bandana. This guy couldn’t be more than 19. Very soft features, and pale, with light blue eyes, which right now look terrified. You stuff the whole bandana into his mouth, and hold it in with another zip tie.

You stand up and watch the three would-be burglars writhe on the floor. These punks deserve some swift justice for what they’ve done. You look around the office. You’ve got some rope and tape lying around.

Or, you could just call the police. (Roll a d20.)

1-10: Mercy. (Go to part 54.)
11-20: Justice. (Go to part 57.)


***

PART 53: You grab a pair of scissors from your deck. Blue’s body stiffens. He watches you the way a chipmunk watches a cat on the prowl.

You step behind him, and gently cut his hands loose from the zip tie.

He stares down at his freed hands. Then he turns and looks up at you. “I’m… I don’t…” He laughs. “I don’t know how to say thank you.”

“No need. Your friend here is more than enough for the police. Just get out of here.”

He smiles at you weakly; it might be a trick of the light, but it looks as if he might be holding back a tear or two in those big blue eyes of his. He runs out the door, down the hall, and out of sight.

You sigh and sit down, nearly oblivious to the still-moaning and struggling beefcake on the floor. Blue seems like a nice kid. Maybe next time he’ll think twice before doing something stupid. Now, it feels like you might be forgetting do something…

Oh, right. You call the police. (END.)


***

PART 54: You watch the three intruders struggle on the floor with a sense of great satisfaction. These jerks know that they’re beaten — no need to be petty about it.

Your captives’ stifled moans are music to your ears. You smile down at their upturned faces as you dial for the police. Blue-Bandana looks at you with desperate puppy-dog eyes; Red-Bandana just stares daggers at you; and Green-Bandana glares at you furiously, shouting and bucking in his bonds even more than the others. You snicker at them.

“Next time,” you say, “try robbing a different mall.” (END.)


***

PART 55: You look the young man up and down. “So,” you say, “you want to join your friends here?”

Blue-Bandana, still in a state of shock, shakes his head no.

“Well then,” you say, “I guess you’d better start running.”

Blue bolts out of the doorway and sprints down the hall. Red and Green shout muffled threats after him, but it’s too late — Blue is gone.

Red and Green writhe on the floor in defeat as you walk over to the phone, to call the police. Maybe this will be a lesson for Blue to turn his life around. Either way, at least you’ve trussed up two would-be criminals for the police, and your captives definitely won’t forget this night anytime soon. (END.)


***

PART 56: You slowly shake your head, and all hope in Blue’s eyes quickly dies. “It’s not my job to be nice,” you say. “I’m just a security guard doing my job. Nothing comes free, pal. Now get over here.”

You grab Blue by the arm and lead him over to a metal closet in the corner of the room, a glorified locker. You open the door and gesture for him to step inside. He pauses, fighting back tears, then does so. He turns to face you, standing upright in the closet.

“But maybe,” says Blue, “there’s some kind of… loophole, right? Some legal thing that can help me when I expl-GRMPH!” With a sad look on your face, you shove the blue bandana into his mouth, prodding it in until his whole mouth is stuffed, thus saving you the boredom of engaging in a legal conversation. You grab some nearby duct tape and wrap it a few times around Blue’s stuffed, pursed lips as he muffles defeatedly at you. “Bmm umm-hmm bmmbl! Whmm-nmm?”

“Sorry, pal,” you say. “Just sit tight and wait for the police. Okay?”

“Plmmph, jmmph-lmmlm!” he says as you shut the door in his face.

You stand there for a moment, taking stock of the night as you listen to the moaning of your two captives. This job isn’t always easy. But hey, it’s yours. And sometimes, you do it pretty well. (END.)


***

PART 57: By the time you’re done with them, these three burglars wish they’d never set foot in your mall. You grab some rope from a nearby closet and wrap up each guy tightly, head to foot. Now that you’ve got some time to spare, you employ a couple of Shibari techniques you’ve been looking up on the internet recently. Soon all three of your captives are entrapped in an intricate net of rope, flopping around like fish on the floor.

You grab some electrical tape from your desk and reenforce their gags. Each gagged mouth gets half a dozen turns of tight, stretchy tape, turning their faces red and their garbled complaints into muffled mewling.

Finally, you find that one of the burglars brought a backpack with him and left it here in the office (probably Green-Bandana). You open it up, and you’re surprised and thrilled to find three long brown sacks, about the size of an adult human body. You suppose that they brought these along in case they ran into a lot of guards. Well, turns out, they only ran into you.

One by one you stuff each of the three bound guys into the tight brown bags, head-first, sealing off the bottoms and turning each body into nothing but a trussed-up sausage. For good measure, you, wrap a few more rounds of tape around each body. They’re going nowhere.

You dump the three squirming packages into a pile in the middle of your office. You sit back and watch them worm around, making a chorus of muffled shouts and pleas. A sense of pride swells inside you. It wasn’t easy, but you did it — you protected your mall, and you tied up, gagged, and bagged the intruders. Maybe your boss will finally give you that raise.

You dial 911. “Hello,” you say. “I’d like to report a disturbance at Cresswell Mall.” (END.)




Achievements:

MERCILESS CAPTOR: Reach the part 57 ending.
HELPLESS CAPTIVE: Reach the part 41 ending.
NO STRINGS ATTACHED: End the story with no one left bound/gagged.
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FelixSH
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Post by FelixSH »

I just played a short round and will give this a few more goes later. This is really well done, and reads like one of the old CYOA books. Really nice. I'm glad you decided to post this here.

One suggestion would be for the author to decide if the player has a free choice or if he should role a die in each instance. Not a big deal, it's not that you can control it, it just felt a bit silly that the player can decide if he overpowers the criminal or not. But again, not a big deal. ;)
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FelixSH
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Post by FelixSH »

Played through it a few more times and with different routes. Had a lot of fun with it, and it's nice how you are tied up in a different way in every ending. Especially the "Helpless Captive" ending was enjoyably over the top, in how intense the tying is done.

I hope to read more from you in the future, and also that there will be more CYOA stories like this one.
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Post by Charmides »

[mention]FelixSH[/mention] Thanks for the kind words, pal! Glad you enjoyed it. (I was kinda worried I'd gone a little too over the top once or twice, but... in the end, I suppose this whole thing is meant to be on the campier end of the spectrum.)

And you're right; next time I do this, I probably won't include a no-rules option. As you mention, people will do what they will either way; but I can at least try to create an illusion of stakes. Thanks again!
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Post by DeeperThanRed »

[mention]Charmides[/mention] , I didn't notice you wrote this story. I knew the style was familiar.

I must say, this is probably the best story I've read on this site. All routes felt engaging and even though I cheated a bit in a few places, it felt very rewarding to get the Merciless Captor ending. And since all characters seen in different roles, they felt quite interesting, even the self-insert security guard.

Great work, I applaud you.
25-year-old bondage enthusiast who likes cute guys, underwear, and bondage, preferably together.

You can reach my list of written work here: https://www.tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?p=38808#p38808
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bigsmile21
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Post by bigsmile21 »

Thank you for the interactive story!
:)21
Kyle
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Post by Kyle »

Very good story. I tried it twice, once with the dice roller thing and once purely by my own choice, and got caught both times, so I'm clearly not a good mall security guard.
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Post by DTbound »

This story is awesome! I love the CYOA style!
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Post by harveygasson »

Fantastic work! Really well put together and seriously good fun! Wish the cyoa books I had as a kid featured stuff like this
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Post by Straitjacketed »

This was fantastic - compelling twists on a favourite scenario. I remember, when I was a kid, wondering how I might get a job as a night security worker purely because they seemed to get tied up on a regular basis. :)
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Post by Straitjacketed »

DeeperThanRed wrote: 5 years agoI must say, this is probably the best story I've read on this site. All routes felt engaging and even though I cheated a bit in a few places, it felt very rewarding to get the Merciless Captor ending. And since all characters seen in different roles, they felt quite interesting, even the self-insert security guard.

Great work, I applaud you.
Agree with all of this, except that for me the most rewarding payoff was the Helpless Captive ending. Superb!
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Post by Charmides »

Straitjacketed wrote: 5 years ago This was fantastic - compelling twists on a favourite scenario. I remember, when I was a kid, wondering how I might get a job as a night security worker purely because they seemed to get tied up on a regular basis. :)
[mention]Straitjacketed[/mention] Many thanks, friend! I've gotta admit, this situation has always been a favorite daydream of mine, too. Wish there was someplace out there where the both of us could apply for a night shift together. Well, one can dream. (And I'm super sorry about the super late reply to your kind words; I can be a slightly empty-headed jerk sometimes. Apologies!)
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Post by cj2125 »

Interesting concept! And I like the endless possibilities! My inner completionist demands me to stay hours trying every possible scenario XD good job!
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Post by bondagefreak »

[mention]chadmc90[/mention], [mention]Johnsnow[/mention], [mention]Xtc[/mention]
If ever the Admin team decides to create a Hall of Fame sorta thing, this right here will be my top nomination!

[mention]Charmides[/mention]
Simply brilliant! I can't believe how much work you've put into this and I seriously believe this project of yours deserves more spotlight.

I kinda skimmed over this thread a while ago and didn't give it a fair chance at first.
I'm a Dom, so I don't really get off from these types of games where you get bound up and gagged.
Imagine my surprise when I WAS THE ONE doing the tying and gagging! :lol:
I can't believe how you've managed to make this incredibly fun for both bondage-givers AND bondage-addicts.

You're seriously talented, man!
Cheers 8-)

EDIT: Looks like [mention]cj2125[/mention] and I are both "discovering" your talents at the same time.
Double cheers!
FOR A LIST OF ALL MY WRITTEN WORKS, CLICK HERE: BONDAGEFREAK'S STORIES

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Post by Charmides »

[mention]cj2125[/mention] [mention]bondagefreak[/mention] [mention]DeeperThanRed[/mention] You guys are too nice for words. I'm ecstatic that you enjoy this odd little project; I wasn't sure if folks on this site would take to this weird, aleatoric format, so it's a huge relief and pleasure that some of you guys are getting something out of it. Seriously, thanks kindly for the positive feedback.

... And now, I should shut up before someone stuffs a sock in my mouth (which doesn't seem like an impossibility in these parts).
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Post by Ducttapelover93 »

Really was a truly remarkable story, and such a innovative way to write here. I know it must of taken a while, but I do hope you do more of the CYOA stories in the future.
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Post by MaxRoper »

The DiskWorld avatar should be a giveaway that it'll be fun, and sure enough. The concept is perfect for this sort of thing and you pulled it off magnificently. I've played a few times and had different outcomes with each go.
Totally top shelf stuff here. Thanks for all the work involved.
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Post by Terry »

I have been through this quite a few times before I registered and gone through all the endings. I love the characters here and I like how they all have their own personalities also.

Burglars what just tie up their victims and particularly in the ways described here tend not to be common in real life. Shame too many tend to be too violent etc, robbing the poor and elderly and not skilled in tying up properly.

Anyway back to the point, the burglars here tend to be quite likeable and don't seem to want to hurt the security guard and seem to be really proud and spend more time time tying the security guard up than they are robbing. Also the times they get tied up also.

Mateo (Green) appears to be the leader of the trio from what I see, Victor (Red) seems to be the most skilled at the tying up while Tom (Blue) acts like he doesn't want to be there and in one ending, even Green turns on him accusing him of backstabbing them.

Overall, great story.
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Post by Straitjacketed »

Charmides wrote: 5 years ago@Straitjacketed Many thanks, friend! I've gotta admit, this situation has always been a favorite daydream of mine, too. Wish there was someplace out there where the both of us could apply for a night shift together. Well, one can dream. (And I'm super sorry about the super late reply to your kind words; I can be a slightly empty-headed jerk sometimes. Apologies!)
You're not a jerk at all! No worries about taking a little time to reply (although I did think, "hmm, I wonder if he's writing another of these?" and that was a very nice thought :D)

When I was growing up, in pre-Internet days of yore, I honestly thought I was the only person in the world who got off on this stuff. As a horny teenager, I remember seriously wondering which career choices might be most likely to lead to tie-up situations and, given that escapologist was really niche (and kind of obsolete, not to mention I liked the frustration of not escaping), night security officer seemed a possibility.

But yeah, hahah, I would totally work a tie-up themed night shift with you. :)
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Post by Varlance »

Made this into a game, waiting to hear from Charmides if I can publish it here...
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Post by Varlance »

Charmides has graciously granted permission to post the game, so here it is!

To play it, simply unzip the contents of the .zip file somewhere on your system, then open the html file (Night Shift at Cresswell Mall v1.0.3.html) in a browser.

I've tested the game with Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Edge and it should work okay. Safari should also work (based on experience with previous games I've worked on).

Let me know if you encounter any bugs.

Mega.nz download link: click here

Release Notes
  • Added in v1.0.3: You can now set the game to display the results of your dice rolls.
  • Added in v1.0.3: You now get a line of text telling you that you've found all 19 endings.
  • The game tracks all the endings you've visited. Can you find them all?
  • The game also tracks whether you got the three achievements mentioned by Charmides.
  • Use the Debug feature to skip to a particular passage, if you need to.
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Last edited by Varlance 3 years ago, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Charmides »

Couldn't be more thrilled that you took this thing and ran with it, [mention]Varlance[/mention]! I just gave the game a whirl -- you're really quite an alchemist with a text game, and I salute your skills. Many thanks for giving this little CYOA story some much-welcome experiential polish! Hope to talk with you more in these forums sometime.
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Post by Terry »

This is one of my favourite fics here and it is great to see it made into a CYOA game. Good work Varlance.
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Post by harveygasson »

I rediscovered this story/game again after remembering a distant memory of how truly amazing it was! Thought I'd bump it just for any newer members that hadn't seen it before. I have no idea if that's a prohibited practice as I've not done it before so apologies if that's the case
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Post by wataru14 »

I just found this and played through it for hours! Utterly incredible. Both the story and the accompanying game. This deserves a bump so it gets back into the spotlight. Any plans for a sequel? Maybe our trio of robbers get out on parole (or escape) and are seeking revenge on the guard who foiled their plans?
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