Chris did as he was told and Mike and I were forced to watch helplessly as the man began to tie our younger brother's hands behind his back. He wrapped the rope around both wrists both horizontally and vertically and tied it off. He then took a bandana, balled it up and held it in front of Chris's face.
"Open up," the man told Chris. Chris refused, staring stone-faced ahead. "Open your fucking mouth or I will blow you away right here, kid."
"Chris, just do it," I said.
"Smart man. Do as he says, Chris," the man said. Chris grudgingly opened his mouth and the bandana was shoved in. The man pushed it completely into Chris's mouth, making sure none of it showed. Chris's cheeks were bulging from being stuffed with the fabric. Next the man folded another bandana into a strip, stuck it between Chris's teeth and tied it around his mouth, holding the other one in place in a tight cleave gag. Then the man tied Chris's ankles.
"Your turn next, blondie," the man said. He tossed some rope and two bandanas to the unseen man behind Mike.
Mike slowly put his hands behind his back and the man grabbed them. He rolled up Mike's sleeves a little so that he could be sure he was tying Mike's wrists and not just his sleeves. When his sleeves were up I could see Mike had the outlines of fire tattoos that went from his wrists up his forearms. They looked new.
"So that's why he always wears long sleeves," I thought to myself. His 18th birthday was in two months, so I guess he was going to get the rest done then so Mom and Dad couldn't say anything. I'll bet they didn't know he had the outlines.
Mike grunted slightly as his hands were bound behind his back like Chris's. He didn't resist like Chris did, so his gagging went smoothly. His feet were tied as well, and then it was my turn.
My hands were roughly yanked behind my back as the rope and bandanas were passed in my direction. The rope was wrapped horizontally around my wrists in a tight figure-eight, then wrapped vertically across the middle before it was tied off. The knot was away from my fingers. When my captor was finished, I checked my bonds. They were secure, but not tight. There was no pain or loss of circulation, but I could not move my hands at all. Something seemed weird about that.
After my hands were tied, I waited for the gag, but it didn't come. I felt the gun pressed into the back of my head and I saw my brothers, one by one, lifted off the floor and seated on the couch. Rope was wrapped around their knees and their chests, completely rendering them both helpless. When that was done, I felt myself being roughly lifted to my feet.
"OK, you," the leader said. "You are going to show us where the safe is and how to open it. March!"
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