The Boy Who Mumbled Wolf (Mmm/fmm)

[Detective-Gag]

Mr. and Mrs. Taylor had just gotten home after having gone out for a lovely dinner together, arms locked together affectionately as they strode through the front door of their home.

“Samantha…!” Mrs. Taylor called out, as she hung up her coat on the rack, and her husband crossed through the foyer towards the kitchen to deposit his keys. “We’re back!”

The couple had hired a sitter to look after Zachary and his two friends; which freed up the time for the parents to enjoy themselves amidst their busy schedules.

“Mmmm…!” came an unusual sound; echoing up from the basement.

“Samantha?” Mrs. Taylor murmured, frowning, as she approached the stairs leading into the lower level. “You all down there…?”

The mother was about halfway down the stairs when she gasped at a most shocking sight: her son, Zachary, was laying down on the carpet, and the sitter Samantha sat just next to him, sitting in a chair.

…except that the boy had lengths of white rope looped around his arms, knees & ankles; and his hands were tied behind his back with the same material.

“Mmph! Hlmph!” Zachary mumbled, and the boy’s mother saw that a gray bandana had been pulled over his mouth, and tied behind his head over his dark hair. The boy was lying on his belly looking up at his mom, continuing to grunt through the fabric as he flopped around on the rug like a caught fish.

“Zachary!” Mrs. Taylor cried out, quickly stepping down the rest of the stairs, as she looked from her son to where Samantha sat in the chair. “What happened!?”

She, too, had been tied up…the same white rope had been used to to lash her wrists to the arms of the chair, and her feet to the front legs. More rope looped around her waist to the backside of the furniture like a seatbelt. A pink bandana had been pulled tightly over the sitter’s mouth & long blonde hair.

Curiously, though, Samantha did not seem to be struggling…rather, the expression on her face appeared to be one of annoyance.

“Mmph,” the older girl grimaced, jutting out her chin towards Mrs. Taylor, who had been bending over to aid her son.

"You want me to take that off...?" Mrs. Taylor asked the girl, who nodded.

The mother strode over & pulled the pink cloth down from the sitter's mouth. "Sorry, Mrs. Taylor," Samanthan immediately said, a strained expression on her face. "We were playing a game. Things got a little out of hand..."

"Ha! Gotcha!" came a cry from off to the side of the basement; as two boys about Zachary's age leapt from around the corner, brandishing toy machine guns. "This is a robbery!"

Mrs. Taylor immediately recognized Zachary's two friends and brothers, Dylan and Elliot. "Ah, I see," the mother said wryly, unimpressed.

"Give us your valuables, lady, and nobody gets hurt!" demanded Dylan, the older brother.

"Then we'll get you nice and tied up like your friends here!" Elliott added, gesturing the plastic gun in the direction of the bound sitter and Zachary.

"Yeah...I don't think so, boys," Mrs. Taylor told them, as she strode over to untie Samantha's wrists from the chair. "It's getting late."

"Aw, c'mon!" whined Elliott, his shoulder sagging.

"You two were supposed to untie us BEFORE Zach's parents got home," Samantha snapped at them, as her hands were freed.

"You DID tell us that you could get yourself free on your own," Dylan remarked, as the sitter fixed the older brother with a murderous stare.

"Everything alright down there...?" came the father's voice, as he came halfway down the basement stairs, surveying the scene. "Hooboy."

"Just the boys playing another one of their tie up games," a bemused Mrs. Taylor told her husband, as she helped Samantha up from the chair.

"How'd you do, kid?" Mr. Taylor said to his son, who was still trussed up on the floor.

"Mmn clmnd't gmnt lsmph," Zachary mumbled through the gray bandana, still rolling from side to side on his belly.

"Keep at it," the father encouraged jokingly, and waved a hand at the other two boys. "Dylan, Elliot...you guys come upstairs and I'll drop you off back home."

"Alright, Mr. Taylor," said the brothers, discarding their fake weapons and sprinting up the basement stairs after him.

"Apologies again, Mrs. Taylor," Samantha repeated, as she followed the boys upstairs soon after.

"Not your fault, dear," the mother assured, casting a sidelong glance down at her son, who had rolled onto his side.

Mrs. Tayor knelt over and began unfastening Zachary's wrist bindings. "This is two straight weeks of you boys playing these silly "cops & robbers" games," the mother said to him, untying the ropes from around his arms. "And then you involve your babysitter!"

"We were just horsing around," Zachary said, slipping the gag down from his mouth once his hands were free. "And Samantha went along with the challenge!"

"Be that as it may..."

"Don't worry, Mom!" Zachary said brightly, as he untied his legs. "It's just a game!"

--

Several days passed, and Mrs. Taylor was finishing up another day at the office.

As she was sending out the final emails, Mrs. Taylor's cell phone went off with a "ding!" as it received another notification.

She let out a sigh, thinking that it must be one of her clients, calling her at the very last second of her shift with some complaint. Shutting down her computer, Mrs. Taylor picked up the cell phone...and frowned, when she did not recognize the number of who sent it.

She pressed the button on the screen, opening the message...and very nearly dropped the phone.

The text message contained a portrait-sized image; and in this picture was her son, Zachary...except that the boy had several strips of white duct tape pressed over his mouth; his expression urgent & his eyes wide.

"What in the world...!" Mrs. Taylor gasped, looking down at the screen in her palm...the photo had been taken at a downward angle, and she saw that Zachary was sitting in a wooden chair; seemingly secured to it was what looked like hempen rope. How had this happened!?

Before she could react further, there came an audible "blip" as another message was sent; another text box appearing beneath the photo of her bound & gagged son:

[WE HAVE YOUR SON. PAY THE RANSOM OR ELSE.]

Instinct took over, and Mrs. Taylor scrambled up from her desk, collecting her things & almost running from her office...and then she stopped at the doorway.

Zachary was at his friend's house.

Collecting herself, she slowly looked back down at the phone, scrutinizing the image.

She then pressed the phone number she didn't recognize, and held the cell phone up to her face as it rang.

"...Mrs. Taylor?" came the sound of the boy, Elliot, on the other end of the line.

"Young man, put my son on the phone this instant!" Mrs. Taylor demanded.

There came a muffled sound in the background, and rushed whispering.

"We can't," Elliot replied after a moment. "He's, uh...tied up...and he can't talk."

Mrs. Taylor rubbed the bridge of her nose in exasperation. "Just...keep him there until I come to pick him up," she breathed. "I'll bring your "ransom"...and a VERY stern lecture about texting me while I'm at work."

--

Zachary was still fastened to the wooden chair when his mother arrived at his friend's home.

The two brothers were lounging on the couch playing a videogame, while Zachary was struggling & mmphing through the duct tape in the corner.

The son's eye widened when his mother came into the room; her arms crossed & one foot tapping ominously on the ground.

"Mmph!" Zachary mumbled apologetically; the white tape moving slightly as he tried to speak. "Mmph srrymph!"

"Hey, Mrs. Taylor!" Dylan greeted the mother, as though nothing were out of the ordinary.

Mrs. Taylor cleared her throat. "You two...untie my son, right now," she commanded.

"Prisoner transport!" Elliot laughed, leaping up from the couch to untie the ropes from around Zachary, while Dylan followed and began unfastening the ones around his legs.

Mrs. Taylor strode over to her son, frowning, and slowly peeled the duct tape away from his mouth.

"Gah...Mom, I can explain!" Zachary said instantly, once the gag was removed.

"Save it," she told him. "We're going home...and YOU'RE doing your homework."

She looked around the basement, and down at the discarded ropes. "I'm guessing you didn't do ANY of it while tied to a chair."

--

The following day, Mrs. Taylor was sitting at the dinner table with her husband.

"...I was about ready to call the police," Mrs. Taylor told him, her fork scraping against the plate.

"Really?" Mr. Taylor asked, standing up to take his empty dishware to the sink.

"...well, in hindsight; I should have realized what was going on right away," Mrs. Taylor admitted. "I mean...our son, kidnapped? For ransom? The photo should have been a dead giveaway."

"You talk to their parents?" Mr. Taylor inquired, referencing Dylan & Elliot as he turned on the sink.

"No, no," Mrs. Taylor said with resignation. "Boys will be boys...and it retrospect, it WAS pretty funny; I even saved the photo & put it as my new background."

"Where is the lad, anyhow?"

As if on cue, Mrs. Taylor's cell phone "dinged!" again; as a message from Zachary's phone was sent to her inbox.

"Having dinner with his friends, where else?" the mother murmured, as she opened the text. Attached, was a file.

She scrolled over & clicked the file; opening a video.

She sighed.

"What is it?" her husband asked, as he turned off the sink and wiped his hands.

His wife didn't even respond; instead setting the cell phone down on the kitchen table & pointing at it.

Mr. Taylor approached the table, and his wife turned the volume on the phone up.

"...have kidnapped Zachary and are holding him hostage," came the nasally voice of young man from somewhere off-screen. "Do not call the police, if you wish to see him again."

On-screen, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor saw their son sitting on the cement floor of some basement or shed, leaning up against a pole protruding from the ceiling above. The space seemed lit only by a single dangling light bulb.

Silver tape had been wound around his ankles, over his knee-high socks; and it looked like his wrists had been handcuffed behind his back, keeping him tethered to the pole. A dark blue handkerchief was tied tightly over the boy's mouth.

"Hlmph!" Zachary yelled through the blue fabric, as he kicked out with his taped feet, banging them on the hard floor. "Hlmph mmph!"

The parents could hear the sound of two boys laughing in the background; with no question that it was those two pesky brothers playing another one of their tie-up games.

"You know...our son might have a future career in acting; if he keeps this up," Mr. Taylor mused, as he watched his son continue to struggle on the video.

"What I don't understand is why Zachary can’t have a turn tying THEM up," Mrs. Taylor pointed out, as the video ended.

The two parents shrugged helplessly, and finished putting everything away.

Later, when Dylan & Elliot's parents dropped off Zachary from their house; the boy came hopping through the house, evidently still taped, cuffed & gagged as he had been an hour or so before.

His mother was there to meet him again, slipping off the gag & letting it dangle around his neck. "I'm so relieved to see that you're safe," she said sarcastically.

Zachary grinned sheepishly. "What do you want me to do about it?" he asked her. "There's TWO of them; and only one of me!"

--

Days passed, and Mrs. Taylor was reading a novel in the living room when her phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered, putting the handset to her ear.

"WE HAVE TAKEN YOUR CHILD," came a garbled, electronic voice through the mic.

"Is that a fact?" Mrs. Taylor responded, her tone dubious.

"IF YOU WISH TO SEE HIM RETURNED, UNHARMED, YOU WILL COMPLY WITH OUR DEMANDS."

"The electronic voice is a nice touch," Mrs. Taylor continued to say, unbothered by the grim-sounding voice. "Are you boys using some kind of app?"

There was a moment's pause.

"UH...ANYWAY...YOU WILL RECEIVE AN EMAIL SHORTLY DETAILING OUR RANSOM DEMANDS," the strange voice went on. "DO NOT ATTEMPT TO..."

"...do not attempt to contact the authorities," Mrs. Taylor finished for them, interrupting the monologue. "Right. Got it. Anything else?"

"UM...NO...JUST DON'T TRY ANYTHING FUNNY..."

"Listen, boys, I like that you're stepping up the theatrics," Mrs. Taylor said with a sigh. "But you need to spice up you're script a little bit. It's starting to sound the same."

"...WHAT?"

"Just have Zachary home by dinner, okay?" Mrs. Tayor finished, disconnecting the call.

The mother blew a strand of hair out of her face, and picked up her book from the coffee table.

--

The masked man jerked his head away from the phone. "What the hell was THAT about?" he asked, perplexed, as he set the phone down on the desk in front of him.

"What'd they say?" asked his partner, who was operating the laptop they were using to scramble the phone call & send the ransom instructions.

"They said...she said to have him home by dinner," the masked man repeated, in a disbelieving tone.

His partner whistled. "Wow. Ballsy," he said, turning away from the computer.

"What...what do we do now?"

They both turned to the other end of the room...where three boys sat neatly in a row of chairs.

"MMPH! HMPH! GMPH!" the three children intoned, thrashing around wildly in the wooden seats. Rows of ropes encircles their arms & legs, securing them to the chairs.

Zachary, Dylan & Elliot hadn't made it to their usual stomping grounds that afternoon...instead, they had been grabbed by unknown masked men & shoved into the back of a van.

There, they had their hands bound behind their backs; then socks were crammed into their mouths, followed by several pieces of sticky, silver duct tape to keep them quiet.

Their abductors had driven them to some apartment, and they were led inside through the backdoor...taken down into the room they now found themselves in, the kidnappers then tied them to the chairs with more ropes; and finished gagging them with some white handkerchiefs tied tightly over their taped lips.

"Well, we might as well take advantage of this," the goon at the computer stated, as he observed the three boys struggling furiously while they yelled through the heavy gags. "Let's record this; and we'll send it to the parents in the email."

The man positioned the laptop so that the camera faced the fuming children, who strained & mumbled with wide-eyes into the lens.

"HLMPH!" they cried through the gags. "HLMPH MMPH...!!"

--

Later that night, Mrs. Taylor saw the email pop into her inbox while she was watching a movie; but instead of opening it, she closed the laptop.

"Boys and their wild adventures," she muttered, turning her attention back to the mystery unfolding in the flick.

Then her phone rang. It was Mrs. Hendricks, Elliot's and Dylan's mother.

"Hey, Janice," Mrs. Taylor said, answering the call. "Is Zachary behaving himself...?"

There was a moment's pause.

"No...no, Elliot and Dylan aren't here at my place," Mrs. Taylor said slowly. "I thought we were switching off this week..."

[TulHakkar]

Its amazing thanks friend.

[BoudBoy22]

Please, more!!!!

[harveygasson]

Haha what a fantastic concept for a story! Loved the mum's reactions throughout and could really picture the kids sheepish look and struggles throughout their different tug games, then the real thing. Although this might have been a one off story idea, I hope you decide to revisit the characters for more tie up fun.

[Detective-Gag]

Haha what a fantastic concept for a story! Loved the mum's reactions throughout and could really picture the kids sheepish look and struggles throughout their different tug games, then the real thing. Although this might have been a one off story idea, I hope you decide to revisit the characters for more tie up fun.

It was a request from TulHakkar (which helps with writer’s block a ton). Much credit for an amusing idea.

I’m also reaching that point where I’m running out of names for characters; and will probably have to settle on specific names, for repeated misadventures.

[harveygasson]

Definitely a good idea for a story. Well I look forward to what you come up with next.

[TulHakkar]

I have more ideas for stories, they are on the request story area and also i have other in mind