Neighbourhood Watch (MF/FF)

[lanadelgagged]

The glow of the full moon below the horizon defines the shape of the hills and mountain tops, as far as the eye can reach. The top of the mountain lies crowned by a communications antenna, a mast that touches the sky with a flickering red light on top.  It’s 9:20 PM and the streets become lit by the warm haze of the street lamps, drawing the path of the roads with the twists and turns that lead into a quiet residential area. Had it not been for the company of her colleague Nana would have never taken the job, much less so the night shift. The ambience of the night is made up of the sound of her and Bonnie’s footsteps on the tarmac, a cricket in the distance and the occasional vehicle pulling up into the set of houses. Under the candid lights of a street lamp, Nana’s blue hair is almost imperceptible contrary to Bonnie’s perfect blonde. The wind blows, cutting through the casual chatter of the co-eds. They talk about their summer thus far, their aspirations as soon-to-be college graduates and the forbidden things girls in their mid-twenties talk about. The warmth of the night is about to be replaced by a chilling breeze leading into the night, the couple walks across the main road with their dark green jackets and shorts.  
 
 
Tonight, they’ve decided to do the rounds in the neighbourhood riding their bikes. It breaks the monotony of neighbourhood watch duties, and with the bumpy steep roads, it keeps them fit. Set on the foot of a hill the modern housing estates make up a significant part of the area’s landscape. From the sky, it better resembles an intricate maze of interconnected street crossings and intertwined pathways surrounded by modern houses varied in architecture. The hazy orange glow of the street lamps disguises the wide range of colours and nuances of the architecture, rows of houses lined up with the road and the space between them filled with green lawns. The complex road layout is a consequence of the unevenness of the terrain, which makes riding bikes or any wheeled vehicle unusually entertaining. Nana and Bonnie set off from the side of the road, as they plough through the steep roads outside the confines of the residential area. The night is quiet so they agree to venture beyond for a while, coming back to the housing estates and checking the houses. Most of them have the lights on, with families gathering to have dinner or settle down for the night. The ones which don’t, belong to owners that have gone on vacation, or remain vacant.  
 
 
They park their bikes at the entrance of the residential area, where a wooden shed has been set up as a security surveillance post. The shed overlooks the road that leads into the housing estates and most importantly provides a clear view of the main streets even at nightfall. Inside the surveillance post, cold beer cans and a CRT television await them. They make up for most of the entertainment for the long shift, Nana occasionally fights with Bonnie in regards to the channel choice, but she usually wins the battle for the remote. Nana cracks open a cold one, handing it to her colleague as the sizzling sound invades the shed. They drink and ease into the night, with the remote in hand Bonnie zaps through the channels. Their faces are only lit by the bluish glow of the CRT screen. Nana removes her shoes and places her feet on the table, stretching into the back of the chair in the act. She lays her feet to rest right next to a rolled-up newspaper, one of the articles reads “Wave of burglaries rattles neighbourhood”.  She checks the time on her cheap digital watch, it’s nearly 23:00. The cold breeze has halted, and now the calm of the night is only interspersed by the low hum and sounds from the television. Empty beer cans begin to pile up on the back of the shed, Nana and Bonnie cannot remember the last car they saw get into the residential area. It is perhaps too calm of a night, unusually silent, too light of an atmosphere.  
 
 
A series of soft creaking noises erupt from the bushes behind the shed, where vegetation surrounds the small surveillance post. The cheap television speakers drown out the sounds coming from the outside. 
 
 
“Did you hear something?” – Inquired Nana, turning her head to look outside.  
“Not really, must have been the breeze.” – Bonnie brushed it off, too invested in the program to be worried. 
 
 
The noises ceased for a second, then resumed. This time much louder than before, more localised and closer to the shed’s surroundings. Nana’s attention was diverted to the show they were watching, she too would decide to disregard the noise from outside after checking the closed-circuit cameras.  
 
 
“Could you imagine being one of these actresses?” – Bonnie inquired with her eyes fixed on the screen, sipping on the beercan. 
“I’d much rather be a proper film actress you know. The amount of work they have to do to get new episodes every week must be exhausting.”  
“But the money must be so good…” – Insisted Bonnie. 
“Not as good as Hollywood Bonnie, also you don’t get the same recognition.” 
 
 
Bonnie smirks, with her gaze still fixed on the unremarkable soap opera.  
 
 
“It’s one thing to be on NBC every Tuesday night, and a completely different one is to be on the big screen. You become a household name, could you imagine?” – Nana would say after leaving her beer can on the table.  
“Go big or go home, like you always say.”  
“Exactly, I just don’t see the appeal of it like you do. It’s mostly ab– ggggmmhhh, MNNNNHHH!”  
 
 
Nana’s discourse was violently cut by the grip of a gloved hand that was pressed against her lips from behind. The sheer force of the embrace caused her to move back into the chair. “What the – HHHHHMMMMHGG” As Bonnie turned her head to meet her friend’s gaze she too was apprehended by an invisible force. As the assailant pressed the palm of his hand against her lips, Bonnie would drop her beer to the floor and chaos ensues. With a firm grip on her head, Bonnie’s body was pulled backwards until she fell from the chair. Now on the floor, she could catch a glimpse of whoever was the source of trouble. Before her eyes, a man dressed in black from head to toe concealing his identity behind a ski mask. From the floor she watched Nana squirm in her seat, trying to counteract the irresistible force of the other assailant. The silhouette of a woman dressed similarly to her partner was ominous in comparison to Nana, who started to succumb to her struggles. Nana raised her arms from behind and started to punch the mysterious lady. Her force was no match to hers, with the free hand the assailant drew a roll of black electrical tape and held it to Nana’s lips. The lady in black tore the tape until it started unrolling in front of Nana’s pleading eyes, the sound was almost imperceptible, like a whisper that cut across her colleague’s muffled complaints. “NO PLEASE, I WON’T SAY A WORD. PLEA- MMMPGGGHH, MMMMGGRR…” The blue-haired belle didn’t stand a chance, the palm of her captor’s hand was pressed firmly against her lips, sealing them in the act and proceeding to wrap the black tape multiple times. Bonnie’s fate wasn’t too dissimilar, once his assailant held the roll of silver tape against her mouth she knew it was over.  
 
 
Right in front of Nana, the walkie-talkies remained on. Still with her free arms, she reached for one of them and quickly keyed the microphone. “HHHMMMMGP, MMMMMPHHHHH PLHMMMGGHH”. She may have been successful in the attempt, but the efficiency of her gag prevented her from making any legible statements. The lady dressed in black took the walkie-talkie from Nana’s hand and smashed it against the floor, prompting her to grab her wrists. Nana felt her arms being brought to the back of the chair, and with the screeching sound of the tape unfolding her wrists were pressed against one another. She squirmed and wiggled in her seat but it was no use, her captor pulled the chair away from the table and started to tape her legs. She took her ankles and taped them to the legs of the chair, each time the tape was wrapped securing her skin closer to the chair. More tape was applied under her knees until her claves were pressed flush against the chair’s wooden legs. To ensure her lower body was truly immobilised, the lady in black began to wrap more tape on Nana’s thighs, fixing them against the seat of the wooden chair, as the pressure mounts Nana’s thighs bulge around the tape. It serves as a testament to the severity of her bonds, that her very move causes the chair to rattle and the tape to stretch. When the tape stretches it leaves no slack, instead, it counteracts the efforts clinging to her skin and forcing Nana back into the chair. Finishing touches, the tape is wrapped under her breasts, brought around the back of the chair, and wrapped against her upper body again. This time between her bosoms and the clavicle, her back pressed against the chair putting a slight strain on her body. The position is strict but not yet uncomfortable, however, the tightness of the tape ensures the blue-haired cutie won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.  
 
 
Unable to help her colleague, Nana helplessly witnesses Bonnie being subjected to the shivering embrace of silver tape. The strips of tape neatly arranged and pressed against her skin prevent any form of intelligible communication between the two, their eyes tell the tale of despair and helplessness accompanied by a muffled silence that speaks louder than words. Bonnie looks at Nana as if they were looking for answers in each other’s gaze. Her hands were tied behind her back and fashioned into mittens that removed any use of her fingers. As the captor bound the ankles and calves together, the girls yelled in unison against their gags.  
 
 
“Cut it will ya, it won’t do you any good…” – The man exclaimed as he wrapped tape around Bonnie’s thighs.  
 
 
Nana continued to struggle, her every motion resulted in the chair moving inches closer to her helpless colleague. The mysterious lady was nowhere to be found, from the reflection in the glass pane she saw her silhouette disappear into the dark of the night, and probably into the houses. The masked miscreant fashioned a chest harness with the remainder of the silver roll of tape, this had the effect of pulling Bonnie’s arms against her back and further discouraging any efforts to struggle free of the bonds. The miscreant unrolled the tape with urgency, when he was satisfied he stood up and tossed the tape on the floor.  
 
 
“All right ladies, sleep nice and quiet tonight. Be good and don’t call the police on us, not as if you could…” – He takes the remote and turns the volume up, in an attempt to drown out the muffled sounds from her captives.  
 
 
His taunting words were met with muffled disapproval as he too would disappear into the night to join his partner in crime. Perhaps they should have read the newspaper on the table instead of ignoring it, but now there’s no time for regrets. With no means of calling for help, the girls have to rely solely on their strength to battle the bonds. Bonnie squirms in her place, wiggling her body and stretching her arms in an attempt to find a break in the tape. Nana inches closer to her colleague, she makes slow progress but never ceases to kick her feet against the floor with all her strength. She stretches both her legs with the minimal slack the tape allows, her left leg is fixed almost perfectly to the chair, the tape on her right leg however seems to be giving in. Focusing all her strength on her right leg, the electrical tape starts to stretch hence separating from the chair. Nana finally manages to free up her right leg. Once she’s close enough, Nana brings her feet closer to Bonnie’s cheeks and focuses her efforts on removing the strips of tape with her toes. She tries to scrape a break in the tape, but the material sticks strongly against the skin. Bonnie too tilts her head against Nana’s feet, but it’s no use, the tape has formed an unusually strong bond that keeps her lips sealed and her mouth quiet. Out of frustration, Nana’s struggles become more intense, the violent motions cause the chair to rattle. She shakes her body to her side, with a disproportionate force. All of the sudden Nana loses her balance, the chair swings and finally tips over, she falls with the chair as they both find a place on the floor right next to Bonnie. She nearly missed Bonnie from the fall, both girls now lie on the floor struggling helplessly, with the roll of tape right in front of their noses as a humiliating reminder of their predicament. They look at each other, and for a moment they could see the reflection of their helplessness in their eyes as they drift into the cold symphony of the night…

[Trammel]

Fantastic start and very well written. I hope you plan to continue this. Ironically, I participate in a neighborhood watch program but no alcohol and nothing like this has ever happened, although it sounds like fun...at first.

[harveygasson]

Great work!

[lanadelgagged]

Fantastic start and very well written. I hope you plan to continue this. Ironically, I participate in a neighborhood watch program but no alcohol and nothing like this has ever happened, although it sounds like fun...at first.

Thank you for your comment, I really appreciate your kind words. <3

I was indeed planning on continuing this, since writing it brought me great joy. What a coincidence that you partake in a Neighbourhood Watch program yourself, I can only wish for nothing similar to the story happening to you... (at least the last part :p)

[lanadelgagged]

Great work!

Thank you very much!

[Mr Underheel]

Love it! Keep going! You have a wonderful command of the language!

[lanadelgagged]

Love it! Keep going! You have a wonderful command of the language!

Thank you so much for your comment! As a non-native speaker this truly is reassuring^^

[Mr Underheel]

Love it! Keep going! You have a wonderful command of the language!

Thank you so much for your comment! As a non-native speaker this truly is reassuring^^

Non-native? Well! As they say, practice makes perfect and you certainly are practicing! Your stories are long and detailed! I need to set aside a block of time to carefully read them properly. Well done!

[lanadelgagged]

Love it! Keep going! You have a wonderful command of the language!

Thank you so much for your comment! As a non-native speaker this truly is reassuring^^

Non-native? Well! As they say, practice makes perfect and you certainly are practicing! Your stories are long and detailed! I need to set aside a block of time to carefully read them properly. Well done!

I truly am flattered!

[Mineira1986]

Oh, this is nice!

The first three paragraphs are great! An impressive introduction with very well done descriptions. The rest of the story is also great. This is a very good job!

Hopefully there is a part 2.

[lanadelgagged]

Oh, this is nice!

The first three paragraphs are great! An impressive introduction with very well done descriptions. The rest of the story is also great. This is a very good job!

Hopefully there is a part 2.

I plan on expanding this in the future with a second part that better describes the different stages of their captivity through the night...

[GreyLord]

I'm just getting to this. Earlier commenters attest to the quality of your writing. Hopefully, it is never too late to wish for you to continue this story, [mention]lanadelgagged[/mention].