Chapter 9: The Winner Takes Them All
And while Ethan hesitated at the entrance of the Lynx shed, Dylan had already returned with his Falcons to the cabin where they were keeping the prisoners. Alongside Nate and Luis, they had also captured two boys from the Blue Otters and one from the Green Wolves along the way. Although Dylan was considered one of the physically weaker leaders, he was still stronger than most of the boys, and his help had been crucial in capturing the new prisoners. A wave of celebration swept through the cabin, while the captives stood silently, their heads lowered in defeat.
"Tie those two Otters to the second post, and these three Wolves—you can hogtie them like him," Dylan ordered, pointing at Connor, who had been lying on the floor in a hogtie for hours. The Falcons quickly followed his instructions.
“Gag them all and blindfold them. The game will be over soon, and there’s no need to interact with them until it is. You stay here and guard them. I’m going to check if your buddies are keeping a good eye on Cameron, okay?” Dylan told his Falcons.
"Wait! Take someone with you. What if one of the Wolves or Otters ambushes you again and takes you prisoner? We still haven’t caught them all," Sam warned.
"True, but we already caught the strongest Wolves, and the Otters… well, they're harmless anyway," Dylan joked, though he agreed and picked two of the older, bulkier Falcons to go with him in case of trouble. And so, the three of them headed toward the lakeside cabin, while the rest continued securing the new prisoners.
* * * * * * * * * *
Back at the Lynx cabin, Ethan slowly began taking hesitant steps inside, unable to leave Cody at Noah’s mercy. Still, he kept pausing, torn by doubt. “Who knows what he’ll do to me now, he already tormented me earlier for no real reason,” he thought to himself. But then another thought quickly followed: “And what will my boys think of me if I run away now and leave them behind?” The second thought won out. Ethan clenched his jaw and started walking with more resolve toward the room where the other Hawks were still tied up.
“I knew it… You just can’t help playing the hero, can you?” Noah sneered, a wicked grin spreading across his face as he put the worm back into the bait jar.
“Alright then—on your knees, hero,” Noah barked, and Ethan had no choice but to obey.
Noah grabbed a pile of ropes from the table and gave Ethan a quick once-over. His red shirt was now a dark, grimy mess, soaked with dirt and sweat. He wore only black socks on his feet, his sneakers still off from the escape attempt.
Noah approached him and shoved him roughly to the ground, forcing Ethan onto his stomach once again. Ethan’s heart pounded in his chest, and he couldn’t hide the concern on his face, as he had no idea what Noah would do next.
And then it began. Noah sat on Ethan’s legs and began tying them tightly with an excessive amount of rope, securing each section—feet, ankles, knees, thighs—until they were completely immobilized. “Let’s see how are you going to escape now,” Noah muttered with manic satisfaction. Then he shifted position, sitting on Ethan’s back, and began wildly wrapping ropes around his shoulders. With a grunt, he pulled as hard as he could, trying to force Ethan’s elbows together behind his back—a nearly impossible task, given how muscular Ethan’s arms were. “Come on! I thought you were more flexible,” Noah growled through clenched teeth, struggling as Ethan let out muffled groans of pain through his gag.
Seeing the pained expression on Ethan’s face, Cody whispered softly, “Thank you.” Ethan tried to smile in return, but the effort barely showed. Once satisfied with the bindings around Ethan’s elbows, Noah tied a new rope to his ankles and began pulling them upward. Ethan already knew what was coming—a hogtie. But this time, it was going to be much tighter and far more uncomfortable.
“Don’t even think about pulling that cramp excuse again,” Noah said coldly. “You’re staying like this until the game’s over.”
Finally, Noah attempted to tie Ethan’s head to his feet, so that he couldn’t rest it on the ground. But after several failed tries, he grew frustrated and threw the last piece of rope aside in irritation. Ethan felt a small wave of relief—at least he’d be able to keep his head down on the floor.
But that relief didn’t last long. Noah still wasn’t satisfied with his work. His eyes landed on Ethan’s worn-out black Nike sneakers, lying on the floor next to him.
“So that’s how you got your legs free... We should’ve taken those off before we tied you up.”
Noah picked up one of Ethan’s sneakers and slowly crouched down beside his head. Then he pressed the shoe against Ethan’s nose and tied the laces behind his head, securing it in place. Ethan didn’t even try to resist—he didn’t have the strength, nor did he see the point.
“Mmm... do you like your own aroma?” Noah mocked. “A fine blend of sweat, dirt, and loss. It must be delightful. Perfect for the stinky leader of the Hawks. Enjoy it!”
Ethan didn’t respond. He no longer showed any signs of resistance or defiance. Forced to inhale the foul stench of his own sneaker, his eyes filled with tears for the first time—he just couldn’t take it anymore. And yet, he gathered enough strength to hold those tears back. He knew that if he broke, it would only feed Noah’s satisfaction and deepen his own humiliation.
Whether for better or worse, a few minutes later, Ethan heard Tyler’s voice shouting joyfully in the distance: “Woohoo! Victory is ours!” Ethan was good friends with Tyler and knew he wouldn't allow the humiliation to go further. But that also meant the rest of the Hawks had probably been captured. Noah rushed to the window, and when he spotted Tyler approaching the cabin, he panicked. He hurried back to Ethan and untied the sneaker from his face, placing it next to the other one. He knew his leader wouldn’t approve of what he had done.
Tyler entered through the cabin door, followed by the rest of the Lynxes and the captured Hawks. He congratulated Noah on a job well done and immediately made his way over to Ethan.
“There you are, bro! How are you holding up?” he grinned. “Whoa, my boys really did dirty on you—sorry, you know they’re a bit wild, just like me. Who tied you up like this?”
“I did,” Noah said proudly.
“Nice work! Look at those knots—tight and clean. Can you move at all, Ethan?”
“M-m,” Ethan groaned and shook his head, gagged.
“That’s how it should be. Can’t be mad at Noah for this, he did it better than you would. You know you suck at tying knots,” Tyler teased.
“Now, let me show you how it’s done. Pay attention, alright? Bring me this naughty little Hawk!” he shouted, pointing at Jimmy, and instructed the Lynxes to handle the other three Hawks.
“This kid caught me earlier—can you believe that? And he was full of attitude, too. I think he’s earned the same treatment you got,” Tyler added, helping Jimmy lie down in front of Ethan. Then, he began tying him up the same way, demonstrating each step to both the Lynxes and Ethan. “So—you wrap it around a few times, always thread it through here, then wrap again, and finish with a knot. Got it?”
In a couple minutes, Jimmy was in a firm hogtie, barely able to move. Though clearly uncomfortable, he stayed silent, glancing toward his leader to see what fate awaited him. Tyler crouched next to him and said to Ethan, “You know, this kid’s got quite the mouth. He actually threatened to gag me with his sock. Can you believe the disrespect? I think he needs to be punished for that. So I figured I’d ask his leader—you agree?”
Ethan nodded looking at Noah, who was standing behind Tyler, nervously swallowing.“
Perfect! Then let’s get to it,” said Tyler with a mischievous grin. He kicked off his white Adidas sneakers and peeled off his black socks—the same ones Jimmy had mocked earlier. Realizing what was coming, Jimmy panicked and began pleading.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it like that! Please, don’t do this,” he begged.
“Too late,” Tyler replied, his tone suddenly losing its usual playfulness. “Don’t waste your breath! You know I’m not letting this slide.”
“Come on, this could be dangerous, right? They’re dirty, I could get sick or something! What about bacterias?” Jimmy continued to panic.
“Relax, Jimmy. You’ll be fine. It’ll be a little salty, but it won’t kill you. Just brush your teeth afterward and there’ll be no bacteria left. Now open up.”
Jimmy hesitantly opened his mouth just a bit. Tyler began pushing the sock in, then used both hands to open Jimmy’s jaw wider. The socks were a bit longer, and Jimmy’s mouth was small, so Tyler barely managed to stuff one sock inside. He wrapped the second sock around Jimmy’s mouth, tying it off to hold the first in place. With the help of two Lynxes, Tyler pulled Jimmy so that he lay next to Ethan.
“There we go—leader and apprentice, side by side,” Tyler chuckled, unaware that his own apprentice had earlier stuffed his sock into Ethan’s mouth too.
At that moment, Mr. Parker’s voice echoed over the loudspeaker once again: “The game ends in one hour.”
“There you go! You won’t have to wait long in this position,” Tyler said. “We’ll relax and have a little chat—you guys just stay here and behave.”
* * * * * * * * * *
Meanwhile, Dylan had reached the cabin where the Falcons were keeping his roommate, Cameron. I haven’t mentioned this before, but I should have. The leaders slept in two small cabins in the center of the camp, so each of them could quickly reach their team. Both cabins had three beds. Jason and Ethan had the privilege of sleeping alone in one of the more comfortable cabins since they were more experienced leaders, while Dylan, Cameron, and Tyler shared the other one.
Marcus, Ian, and Josh were thrilled to see him. They excitedly retold everything they had done while he was away—how they escaped onto the boat, how they guarded Cameron. Dylan proudly listened to his boys, praised them, and handed out high-fives, while Cameron lay on the floor wondering whether Dylan would finally bother to acknowledge him.
“Ohhh… Cam, there you are? I’ve got to admit, I was confused when I saw just your legs, but they really tied you up well. Take off his bandana, guys, I want to have a little chat with my roommate,” Dylan finally said.
“So, did they take good care of you? No trouble, right?” Dylan added, standing tall over Cameron. He didn’t want to crouch, enjoying the way he towered over him.
“Yeah, they were nice. Everything’s fine,” Cameron replied.
“Great! We caught a few of your Otters. They said that they’re keeping Jason captured. I can’t believe it…,” Dylan commented in surprise.
“It’s true. I saw them taking him away, just before Ian, Marcus, and Josh caught me,” Cameron said with a faint smile.
“Interesting… I would never send my guys after the strongest leader. I sent them after you,” Dylan said mockingly, as Cameron’s smile faded. “Anyway, the reason I came here is… the game ends in less than an hour. After that, we’re supposed to present our prisoners like trophies, and I think it’s only fitting that I bring you along—as the leader captured by my boys. I hope you behave nicely… unless you want to sleep outside tonight.” Dylan chuckled, wanting to show his boys who the real boss was in their cabin.
Cameron nodded in shame, while Dylan kept taunting: “You know what they say—The winner takes it all, the loser’s standing small...” And as Dylan laughed with his Falcons, Cameron’s eyes were fixed on Dylan’s filthy New Balance sneakers, just inches from his head.
“You’re so dirty. That’s not like you at all,” Cameron muttered with a hint of irritation, wanting to jab back at Dylan.
“Oh yeah. That’s because of those savage Green Wolves of Jason’s, but I took care of them. Just look at this mess.,” Dylan said calmly, raising his foot above Cameron’s head. As he lowered it, Dylan deliberately dragged his muddy sole across Cameron’s face, leaving a brown smear on his cheek.
“Oops… Sorry, bro. Total accident,” Dylan feigned, while a storm of anger swirled inside Cameron mixed with a feeling of helplessness—an all-too-familiar feeling by now.
“No worries, boss. We tied him up so he could work as a rug for us. He’s fine,” Ian added, sending the whole cabin into laughter, while Cameron stayed quiet and humiliated, lying on the floor.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TO BE CONTINUED…
Remains to be seen how long their luck & clever planning will last.
