“Authorities are searching for 40 year old Tim Carter, who escaped a prisoner transfer and was last spotted near Townsend. Police warn that he is considered armed and dangerous and caution residents to ensure their doors are locked and houses secure…”

Brianna who had been on her phone on the couch had tuned out the TV until it mentioned her area. Her eyes widened as she saw the news report, a man who had been jailed for home invasions, burglaries, robberies, etc. He looked scary in the mugshot that they showed onscreen and Brianna turned her attention back to her phone, where she had been texting her friend Alice down the street. Hey did you see the news about the burglar that escaped in our area? Crazy! Remember to lock your doors!

Taking her own advice, Brianna then went around her house checking to make sure all the doors and windows were locked. Her parents were still out at work so there wasn’t going to be anyone else home but as she checked her phone, she noticed Alice hadn’t read the message yet. Hm, she was just responding to me.

With a shrug, Brianna thumbed the call button and waited as the phone rang but no answer at all. Ok, let’s not jump to conclusions just yet. She told herself. Alice might just be in the bathroom or something, but just in case she should probably go over there and check. She checked herself in the mirror quickly, grinning at her outfit of a blue tank top, black yoga pants before stuffing her feet into converse and heading out the door. It was a short walk down the street to Alice’s house and she knew the garage code and where the spare key was to let herself into the house. “Alice?” Brianna called as she entered. “You here?”

The house was silent. Normally the house was very warm and welcoming but now it suddenly felt very cold and unfriendly. Taking a deep breath, Brianna padded deeper into the house, searching room by room on the main floor and finding everything empty. Her search then took her to the second floor, with the first stop being Alice’s room. The room was empty and Brianna continued her search, kicking shoes aside on the floor and poking her head into the closet but there was no sign of Alice. She did find Alice’s phone on her desk which was odd, so she might still be in the house since she didn’t go anywhere without that thing but she had no clue where her friend had gone.

With no clues in the bedroom, Brianna continued her search into the next bedroom which belonged to her sister. Still nothing. She called out for Alice again as she walked out of the room and finally got an answer. “In here Brianna.”

A wave of relief washed over Brianna as she headed towards the room that she heard the voice from which was one of the guest bedrooms. “Thank god Alice you had me so worried…”

She trailed off as she walked through the doorway and took in the scene in front of her. Alice was in the room but she wasn’t alone. Standing behind her was the escaped prisoner Tim Carter, who held a knife to her throat. The brunette girl looked absolutely terrified and was in no shape to resist, half a roll of duct tape saw to that. Bands of grey tape wrapped around her booted ankles, knees, thighs, wrists, waist, and above and below her breasts, complementing her tank top and leather shorts. “I’m sorry Brianna.” She apologized, a tremble in her voice. “I was just getting ready to go out and he forced his way in and…”

“Shutup.” Tim growled. “I’m just here to lay low but then you had to come poking your nose around. You know, if you suspected I was here all along, running around calling your friend’s name is a pretty poor way of sneaking about.”

Brianna wasn’t really sure how to react to his critique. “Well, uhhh…”

“That wasn’t a question. Advice in case someone scarier comes along. Now go over to the wall there and press your nose up against it with your hands on top of your head. No funny business.”

Gulping, Brianna did as instructed. At least Tim didn’t seem like he was intending on hurting the girls. With her nose against the white wall, Brianna wasn’t able to see what he was doing to Alice but she could hear that Alice’s voice was now muffled and more tape was being torn from the roll. She shuddered at the thought of what he may be doing and when footsteps sounded behind her, she steeled her nerves but still let out a yelp when his hands grabbed her wrists and pulled them behind her, crossing them over. The sticky tape was pressed against one wrist and then wound around and around several times to behind her wrists together.

It wasn’t the first time she’d been tied up with duct tape, she’d been voluntold to be the one duct taped to a wall at school during a spirit week but this was much different. It was far more deliberate, the way Tim wrapped her wrists in six turns of tape before ripping it off and pressing it down. Next he took her by the shoulders and pulled her back a couple of steps before taking the roll of tape and wrapping it around her waist. Brianna bit her lip as her tank top was now pressed down, some of the tape winding over her bare skin between her pants and top as her arms were welded against her back. “Hey…” She began to complain before she was spun around.

Now facing the room, Brianna could see what had been done to Alice and her eyes went wide as she saw her gagged face. Half of Alice’s face was now covered with wraps of duct tape, which looked extremely tight and uncomfortable and with the way her cheeks were puffed out, seemed to have something stuffed into her mouth as well. The tape was wrapped all around her head, over her hair which was probably going to be a disaster to take off later, but a jolt of horror passed through her when she realized that she was about to meet the same fate. And just as predicted, Tim forced a pair of socks into her open mouth as she tried to protest their treatment and despite Brianna’s attempts to expel the socks he plastered the end of the tape roll over her mouth and began winding it around and around her head. “Mmmmmmmph!”

It hurt. With how tight the wraps were her cheeks and face were twisted to the side and her hair was getting caught in each wrap but eventually, Tim was satisfied with her gag. Brianna let out another whine and realized there was absolutely no way anyone would hear her. Alice let out a similar whine from her spot on the bed but there was nothing the girls could do to help each other. Now effectively gagged, Brianna was pushed over to the office chair by the desk and forced to sit down. Her bindings were quick and swift following that, her legs taped at the thighs, knees, ankles, and for good measure around the soles of her Converse. To keep her in the chair, Tim added wraps around her waist and her thighs, keeping her butt firmly in the seat of the chair. “There we go.” He grunted. “Not going anywhere now blondie.”

“Pnmmmmm!” Brianna shook her head as she watched him return to Alice and force her friend to roll onto her stomach on the bed, before pulling her feet back against her butt and wrapping tape around her shins and thighs to pin them in place.

“Now don’t you girls go anywhere.” Tim said as he admired his handiwork. “I’m going to go search this very nice house for some things.”

He left the room and Brianna immediately began struggling but she realized very quickly she was not going anywhere. Alice also seemed to reach the same conclusion, her wide brown eyes looking very distressed over the mass of silver tape covering her face and Brianna could only offer comfort with her eyes to her friend. Being a bound and gagged prisoner actually was turning her on a little bit, but then Brianna realized she had a big problem. She hadn’t told anyone where she was, so no doubt once her parents were home they would be searching for her, not realizing she was being held captive a few doors over. Until Alice’s parents came home, they were Tim’s prisoners.