Stories of Tie Up Games

jennifer's stories
01 - Adventures in Babysitting
Story index at the bottom

By jennifer

Mon Jan 18 21:29:30 PST 1999

At the age of 16 in Colorado I took up the traditional American Job for a teen age girl: Babysitting. I had the usual mix of kids: Some good, some real brats, but no real misadventures until at age 17 I baby-sat 3 kids who gave me a very interesting time.

The kids did not have a bad reputation (the kind where you could charge a extra $1.50 and hour and have the parents pay it because they were glad to find any kind of sitter).

They weren't brats, just normal kids who got a little carried away in the excitement of having a baby-sitter as their captive. The trio consisted of a girl, age 12, and two boys, aged 10 and 7. I will call them Jane, Jesse, and Billy.

It was to be a day job--the parents would be back around Seven O Clock and I had to be there by Ten in the morning. It was summer, so I rode my bike over. I was dressed in hiking shorts, and a short sleeved khaki safari shirt. I liked the Banana Republic look which was popular back then. I was a little over six foot high and had long brown hair.

The family lived in a road on the outskirts of town and the houses were separated by about fifty yards and each was surrounded by pines--a little isolated from each other.

When I entered the house, the parents gave me a quick tour. I noticed that the kids built a makeshift Teepee in the back yard. "Oh, the kids like playing Indians", the mother said.

Alarm bells should have gone off but they did not. I got the final instructions-routine- and I was left alone with the kids.

I had met the kids before. They lived just down the road from the home of Maria, a girl who was one my closest friends at high school. The trio I was sitting were often playing with Maria's younger brother and sister when I visited Maria. As a matter of fact, Maria was the kids' usual sitter. but she was busy that morning and suggested me for the job. She would be back in the Afternoon and would drop in on me. Maria was a good friend, but liked to play jokes on people-her friends in particular.

The first few hours passed quietly. The kids seemed nice although a little rambunctious.

Jane at first was a little hostile. She--and many other 12 year olds--feel they are too old to need a babysitter and have a basic resentment at having one. But I went out of my way to treat her as an equal, and she warmed up to me and after a couple of hours seemed to like me.

But things got interesting when they suggested that I play cops and robbers with them.

I was no fool. I knew that in any game of cops and robbers, the baby-sitter was likely to be tied up. But I had been tied up in Cops and Robbers a couple of times before by my charges, and in both cases the ropes were so loose that I could have slipped out in a couple of minutes. The gags on these occasion had been a scarf tied over my mouth or between my teeth--I could easily talk through them.I was expecting nothing different this time, and had fun playing with the kids. So I walked into it with eyes wide open. I did not know that unlike the previous occasions, these kids knew how to securely tie and gag someone. After I said I would play the kids nominated me as the cop. They gave me a toy badge and my job was to find them before they could rob the bank, the bank being a box full of Monopoly money in the basement. I had to start outside the house.

After a few minutes of chasing around the kids managed to elude me. I decided to head for the basement and ambush them. As I walked in I thought it was about time to phone Maria's house and see if she was in. The basement was dark. Good, I thought, I can surprise the kids when they come down.

Needless to say, the kids were waiting in the basement to ambush me. I felt my arms being grabbed as the lights went on.Jane and Jesse were holding my arms while Billy had turned on the light. Jesse,the ten year old, pulled my hands behind me, while Jane took a piece of cord and tied my hands together . I could feel that Jane was tying me much tighter then the kids in my previous baby-sitting adventures. When Jane was done I pulled on the ropes, there was no slack whatsoever. Jane asked if the ropes were hurting me. I said No.

My wrists were tied tightly but not to the point of pain or numbness.

"Good", Jane said, "Now Move out,Copper!" With that Jesse grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the stairs. Not hard, just enough to show me they wanted me to go upstairs. I obliged. At the top of the stairs there was a mirror. As I looked at myself in safari style clothes with my hands tied behind me I thought I looked like the heroine of a Jungle Epic who had been captured by the evil ivory poachers. I considered calling a halt to the game but I was getting into my role of captured policewomen---and I've always liked playing with kids.

The kids led me into the living room and sat me on the couch. Jane knelt down and begun tying my ankles together with the same skill she had shown in binding my wrists.

I thought "A Gag is next". As if she read my mind Jane took out a scarf with a knot tied in the middle of it. A minute later I was tightly cleave gagged with the knotted scarf.

Now Jane took a long piece of clothesline and tied my arms tightly to my sides, winding the roped around my body about half way between my breasts and my lap.

When Jane was done she said "That should hold you". Silently I agreed. I was now eligible for membership in the Bound and Gagged Baby-sitters club. My previous tie-ups did not count because I could get out of them at will. But it would be a while before I could get out of this one.

Then I remembered with a shock that Maria was coming over. Maria would have fun with this. I could hear her now: "Boy, Jen, I get you a job and you end up a tied up baby-sitter out of a TV Sitcom!" Maria would have a lot of laughs at my expense over this one.

My Three captors gloated over me for a few minutes,and Jane had to use the oldest tie up game joke on earth: "If you get a phone call, Jennifer, I'll just tell them you can't come to the phone, you're all tied up at the moment." I moaned behind the gag. When me and my brothers had tied up my mom in a game as kids, we used the same line.

After that the kids seemed to lose interest. I decided my best bet would be to wait until the kids got bored and let me go, or until Maria showed up to untie me. I sat perfectly still. I did not struggle because I doubted it would do much good, and it might amuse the kids, and I wanted to bore them into ending the game.

At one point Jesse walked over to me and reached toward my bare leg ( My Shorts went only to my knees.) and said "Are You Ticklish, Jennifer?" At this I did make loud protest-or as loud as my gag permitted me to make, it was pretty effective in keeping me silent- and to my relief Jane, who was the obvious ringleader came over and gently kicked Jesse in the shin.

"That's not part of the Game!" Jane said.

Jane had definite ideas on what was permitted as part of the game and what was not--although I think the only game being played now was watching Jennifer the Tied Up Baby-sitter. Now Jane laid down the law "We aren't going to do anything to Jennifer that we wouldn't do to each other in a game. No teasing, no tickling".

Jane thus made herself my protector as well my captor in my trussed up situation. She was trying to balance her pride in having engineered my capture, binding ,and gagging with her liking of me as a person. But any hope of an early end to game via boredom came to an end with Jane's next words :

"Hey" Jane said," what if we switch from Cops and Robbers to Cowboys and Indians? We can be the Indians and Jennifer can be the captured Cowgirl".

Whoops of approval followed from Jesse and Billy. I then resigned myself to being burned at the stake before the afternoon ended. That was the standard fate of Captured Cowboys and Cowgirls in the version of Cowboys and Indians played in my neck of the woods. My only hope was Maria as the Cavalry coming to my rescue. Ironic because Maria had a good deal of Cheyenne blood and was proud of it, although her appearance was much more Italian then Indian.

The two boys ran off to get the equipment, and Jane came over and said "Don't worry, we will only tie you to the stake and my brothers will dance around you and whoop and beat a drum.. Just don't freak out like Maria did when they pile firewood around your feet.

They've burned me lots of times. Maria said you loved playing with kids. and would have fun as our captive."

It was a good thing my Gag was fairly tight; otherwise Jane would have heard what I called Maria My "friend" had not warned me that the kids liked burning baby-sitters at the stake. This was a major violation of Baby Sitter Ethics. Exchanging notes on kids was Baby Sitter Professional Courtesy. I was mad at Maria, but not with the kids. They were just playing. I and my brothers had burnt a babysitter once ourselves.

The Boys reentered with head bonnets and feathers and rubber tomahawks. "We can pick up more rope outside to tie her to the stake with" Jesse said. Jane kneeled down and untied my ankles. When they were free I stood up until I was sure that any stiffness had gone out of them and then begun walking. My attitude was now one of Let's get it over with.

They led me, still bound and gagged outside into the back. I Saw a gazebo with a couple of posts--I guessed that one of the posts would be my stake.

But then there was a delay One of the kids remembered there was a TV Show on they wanted to watch. Jane was not interested in the show and wanted to get on with my burning. A brief discussion was held and it was determined I would be held in the Teepee until the show was over-about half an hour. Jane would guard me. Then the Barbecue would commence.

AN ADVENTURE IN BABYSITTING PART 2

I was escorted into the Teepee and Jane helped me to sit down. My ankles were retied and for good measure Jane then tied my knees together also. She thought for a moment and then left me saying "I'll be Back in a minute"

As soon as Jane left I begun twisting in my ropes, trying to see If I could free myself. I did not have much expectation of success, and my expectations were right. Jane was skilled with her ropework. I gave up.

After about five minutes Jane returned. To my surprise she had a clean scarf and a can of soda pop. She ungagged me, and opened the can of pop.

"I thought you might be getting thirsty, Jennifer",she said.

I was--a gag dries out you mouth--so I sipped the pop as Jane held the can up to my mouth.

"You can stay ungagged until my brothers come out. But I'm going to keep you tied up. I would not be a good Indian chief if I didn't."

I made a comment that I never knew that a can of pop was the last meal for someone condemned to the stake. Jane snorted in disgust. "Don't be Silly,Jennifer. You know we aren't going to hurt you."

"I was just making a joke. I know you guys are just having fun. But if you keep me tied up too long my arms will start to ache. They are OK now but I hope the game ends soon."

Jane looked thoughtful. "You have been tied up a long time" she said. "Maybe I can talk my brothers into taping the show for later and finishing the game now"

Just then a head poked in through the teepee door. "Hi ,Paleface! The kids told me where you were". It was Maria, sounding very cheerful. And obviously amused by her close friend lying bound and helpless before her. I would have made a huge bet that Maria had set me up with the kids. I told her so and then said "It's a good thing for you I'm tied up. Otherwise, you would be in real trouble".

"Come on Jen, can't you take a joke?" This was a thinly veiled confession that she had help set up my captivity and fiery end.

"Besides", Maria continued, "It was kind of fun when I was burned. Just don't weird out when they pile the firewood around your feet. Jesse and Billy really get into playing my Ancestors".

"Aren't you always talking about how the Cheyenne did not torture their captives?"

"True, but you have to get even sometime". Maria was proud enough of her Native American heritage that she was able to joke about it.

Jane picked up the clean gag she had brought with her. "I am going in the house for a few minutes so I am going to have to gag you. Don't spoil the fun by helping her, Maria!"

Jane then regagged me. Maria seem to find this funny. Jane then left. For about five minutes I just sat there while my friend teased me about my situation. She told me how Jane had given her instructions when she was burned a couple of weeks ago on how to perish when the two boys had used a "torch" made of a wooden stick with red ribbons on the end to "Light the Fires". Maria hoped I would die as well as she did.

Suddenly I heard whoops and Jane and her brothers came in. Jane was carrying several more lengths of rope. She put them down except for one length. "

I put a blank tape in the VCR to record the show so we could get on to burning you. And", at this point the two boys grabbed Maria, "you are going to have some company!"

Jane then began to tie Maria's hands behind her. Maria was completely taken by surprise: before she really began to struggle Jane had tied off the last knot.

"Hey Guys, you've already burned me once!" said Maria.

"So you won't mind a second time!" Jane said happily as one of her brothers handed her a gag identical to mine.

"Maria, you talk too much!" Jane said as she gagged Maria. I was delighted by this turn of events; I was giggling beneath my gag. Jane then knelt down and untied my ankles and legs, and the rope binding my arms to my sides was untied as well. I stood up and I noticed that now Jane and Jesse and Billy had put on some of the cheap make up sold at toy stores as warpaint. Jane took the box of makeup,put some red on her finger and solemnly put a single stripe across my forehead, then did the same for Maria, who squealed beneath her gag.(They did not do this at her 1st burning)

"A mark for those condemned to the stake" she said. I remembered seeing this in a western on TV a few days ago where the hero and heroine had this done to them when they were about to be burned at the stake. Maria and I were then escorted out of the teepee.

Billy picked up a toy tom tom drum and begun beating a rhythm -the beat used in every bad western film featuring Indians ever made. Maria and I were gently grabbed by Jane and Jesse and walked toward the Gazebo, our hands still tied securely behind us. I noted the kids had collected a large pile of ropes of various lengths and had put them by the gazebo-Jane added the ropes she was carrying to the collection. When we reached the Gazebo Billy temporarily stopped beating the drum to take part in a discussion about whether it would be more fun to tie us to separate stakes or tie us together to one stake.

They decided to tie us both to one stake. Jane then thoughtfully looked at us, then at the center post in the gazebo-the stake. She thought for a minute and then said "I got it!"

She was figuring out the details of how to tie two people to one stake.

Jane took a long piece of rope and tied it around the center post, about waist high. She tied it so that two pieces of the rope, each about 2 feet long,hung from the main coil on opposite sides of the post.She then tied another cord the same way around the bottom of the post. She then went over, took my arm, and walked me to the post, and turned me so that my back was against the stake. Jane then used the two foot piece of rope already attached to the post to tie my already bound hands to the stake.

"Because there are two of you , we can't tie your hands behind the stake like we usually do, but this will do fine."

Jesse had already walked Maria over to the stake and had stood her up against the stake on the side opposite me. Jane tied Maria's hands to the stake in the same way so that we were back to back. All this time Billy kept up his drum beat. I began to think of English Class and "The Last of the Mohicans".

Jane then got two pieces of rope and used one to tie my ankles together, then did the same to Maria's ankles with the other.She then used the two lengths of rope from the rope tied to the bottom of the stake to tightly fasten our bound ankles to the stake.

Jane then took a very long piece of clothesline--it must have been 25 feet. She walked over, made a lasso with a slip knot then put it over my head and pulled it down to a few inches below my bust. She then pulled it tight. My arms were very snugly pinned to my body. She then pulled the loose line over to Maria. and made a loop and repeated the process with Maria. Jane then wound the line around us both and the stake, cinching it when she had made a circuit. Jane repeated this four or five times until there was only enough rope left for a final cinch and a knot. I tested the ropes and found I could only twist a few inches. Now our bodies were tightly secured to the stake.

As a final touch , Jane then tied our knees to the stake but this was just for artistic reasons. The ropes around our hands and feet, and the several loops around our upper bodies already secured us to the stake.very tightly. Billy kept up the drum beat throughout our being bound to the stake. Jane then told us we had five minutes to try to escape or make our peace with the Great Spirit. Maria and I gave it our best shot but the ropes were too secure. As Maria said later, her ancestors would have liked the thoroughness with which Jane had tied us to the stake.

Jane ,when our escape period ended, said "Let the paleface woman and the woman of the enemy tribe be burned!" At this Jesse and Billy ran over to a large stack of firewood being stored for the winter. They each grabbed a couple of small logs ,headed back, and carefully placed them around my feet.

They repeated this, and when a pile of about a dozen logs was stacked next to my feet, they topped it off with some twigs and other kindling. You learn the proper way to build a fire at a young age in Colorado. I did not freak out, but I did make some stifled screams and twisted in my ropes, as the wood was piled around me. I thought I might as well give the kids a good show. Jane picked up immediately that I was playing a damsel in distress rather then freaking out and she gave me a thumbs up.

The boys, after watching my struggles begun piling wood around Maria's feet. At first Maria was silent, but when they begun piling the kindling on top of the wood, Maria begun to twist and moan through her gag. She then twisted her head toward me and gave me a wink. She was not freaking out this time, just trying to rival my performance.

Now the two boys begun a war dance ,whooping a screeching loudly as they ran around and around us. Jane did not dance but kept a beat on the drum. I occasionally twisted in my bonds, but I was saving my big stuff for the climax I had been told about where the boys would use a fake torch to light the fires. Jesse and Billy would occasionally act like they would hit me or Marie with their fake rubber tomahawks, but never made contact.

After about five minute of their dance around us, Jane said "Light the Fires!"

At this Billy ran and got the "Torch" a piece of wood with a large bunch of red ribbons attached to the head. He then ran over to me, waved the "Torch" in my face, and then touched the wood with it 3 or 4 times; each time in a different place. At the third or fourth ignition I really begun twisting in my ropes and screaming as loud as I could through my gag. Billy then set "fire" to the wood around Maria's feet. Maria tried to top me--or so Jane said later,--in twisting and screaming through her gag. After about two minutes I let out a final gagged yell and slumped forward and was still. Maria did likewise. After a minute there was a final shout from the Indians and then Jane said "OK, the game's over ; untie them"

First Jane ungagged us. While they were untying us, I complimented Jane on how impressive the burning was. I was not kidding. On a visit home from college five years later it did not surprise me that Jane was one of the leading lights of her high school drama program.

It took the kids about five minutes to untie us to the point where our hands could be freed.When at last my hands were untied my wrists were ok but I did have a little pain in my upper arms. when I stretched them in front of me. A few loosening exercises and they were fine but I suggested to Jane she might to put a hour limit on keeping someone tied up in their games. I figured my hands had been tied behind me for a little under two hours.Jane was aware of the danger of the ropes being too tight, and had been careful not to tie to the point of pain or circulatory problems, but she seemed unaware that being in one rigid position for a length of time can produce problems. She admitted she had not been tied up over 45 minutes in a game. Maria had been tied up for about half an hour and had no problems. The rest of the day was spent watching TV and a movie.

The parents got home around seven . The mother, just before I left, suddenly noticed something. "Was that a red Streak on your Forehead, Jennifer?" she asked. I said yes; I had not washed it off, I had just used a paper towel to rub it off.

"Did you have fun being burned at the stake?" the mom said. "They tied me up and burnt me last Saturday. They certainly get into their roles, don't they? It was nice of you to play with them" I was not surprised. I figured the mom was an obvious target. After making sure I had been a more or less willing victim the mom said good night and I bicycled home.

I considered a joke on Maria in retaliation but decided the kids had already done that by making her my partner in burning. It was kind of fun, but when I sat the trio again I was careful not to get involved in any games involving me being tied up.The kids, while meaning no harm, were just a little too enthusiastic for my taste.

Jennifer