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Tripod Beware

By: Funk You



PART ONE

The dressing room was devoid of people. An old brown leather couch, a swivel chair seated before an old-fashioned wooden dressing table, and another chair in the corner with a guitar case leaning against it furnished the space, yet it still seemed empty. An eerie silence loomed over the room, but it was instantly broken as the door swung open and three hyped up Tripod boys bounded in, slamming the door behind them. The whole wall shuddered and swayed precariously as though it was about to collapse, but the boys were too distracted by their own excitement to notice the possible danger. 

"We killed 'em!" exclaimed Scod as he slipped his guitar into its case, clicked it shut, and carefully propped it back up against the chair. Yon nodded in agreement with a slight grin of satisfaction and immediately began stripping out of his green Star Trek-like outfit.

"Did you see those three hot chicks down the front? They wanted me so bad!" Gatesy remarked enthusiastically. Yon sighed and shook his head at his friend's naivety. He really did think too much of himself – he wasn't that good looking! It was just the make-up he put on that covered up the fact that he was a bloody ugly bastard! 

"How do you know they weren't looking at me or Scod?" Yon asked, grinning as Scod stopped undressing out of his matching blue outfit and shot him a puzzled frown. Scod didn't usually get girls idolising him like they did with Gatesy, or even Yon, so it was a bit unusual for him to mention Scod in that context. Gatesy was now standing topless in the middle of the room and he turned to Yon with a disbelieving smile on his face. He threw his matching purple top at Yon, who caught it and immediately threw it back at him.

"Yon, Yon, Yon…" Gatesy murmured, shaking his head slowly "Will you just admit it? I'm the one the girls drool over. I've got the looks and the body," he smiled smugly, flexing the muscles in his chest and arms to prove his point "They want me, not you two puny little midgets!" he chuckled lightly. Scod and Yon never took anything Gatesy said seriously anyway, because he rarely ever meant it, so they were used to shrugging off his name-calling and remarks.

"Well you never know mate, maybe they want the one with the brains or the musical ability. Looks aren't meant to be as important these days, so it's very possible that they weren't looking at you." Yon had a point and he knew it, and he would stick by it no matter what Gatesy retaliated with. Gatesy simply raised his eyebrows in amusement and continued getting changed. 

Scod was already dressed and ready to go, and he stood beside the door watching the exchange between his two friends. He never could work out why they enjoyed arguing so much, but figured that they were just freaks.

"So what're we gonna do tonight fellas?" Scod asked, interrupting their argument, which had continued until well after they'd finished getting changed. Before they got a chance to answer, there was a quiet knock at the door.

"I bet that's those girls coming to see me now!" Gatesy grinned triumphantly, bounding ahead of Scod to get to the door, Yon following closely behind. Upon opening the door Gatesy's grin grew even wider and Yon's mouth dropped open. "I told you!" Gatesy said smugly, smiling lecherously down at the three girls standing in the hall.

The one in the middle was shorter than the other two, but seemed to be the leader of the group. She had long slightly wavy blonde hair down to her waist and emerald green eyes. She wore a black long-sleeved see-through lace top over a black singlet top, a tiger print skirt and knee high Doc Martens. The one on the left was slightly taller, with shorter black hair, wearing a pair of body hugging denim jeans and an ankle length leather jacket over a low cut black top. The one on the right was the tallest of the group with long reddish-brown hair, wearing purple flared jeans, a light blue singlet top and matching blue Converse sneakers. The two on either side of the one in the centre both had deep chocolate brown eyes and they looked quite similar so Gatesy wondered if they were sisters.

"Hi boys," said the leader, batting her eyelashes at Gatesy. He was practically drooling over the beautiful creatures standing before him, but chose the one in the middle to seduce that night. He looked her over slowly and she smiled up at him.

"Good evening ladies," he crooned, not taking his eyes off the gorgeous blonde, "Is there anything we can do for you?" 

"We just wanted a chance to meet you up close and personal," she replied suggestively, reaching out and running a finger down Gatesy's hand where it rested casually on the doorframe. He shot her a half smile and she dropped her arm to her side once more. 

"Well you've come to the right place," he said, his eyes glinting mischievously. Scod noticed that Yon was still standing frozen in shock with his mouth hanging open and he gave him a sharp poke in the ribs with his elbow, causing him to gasp in surprise and glare at Scod before turning back to the girls. The middle one was quite stunning, but he knew that she'd already been chosen by Gatesy so he opted for the one on the left. He smiled coyly as she grinned at him and pushed past Gatesy to enter the room and stand before Yon, who turned to face her as she moved. The other two followed her inside and moved to stand together again. "I'm Gatesy," he continued "And this is Yon and Scod," he added as an afterthought, gesturing vaguely in their direction. The one on the left waved at Yon and he blushed, sending a small wave back.

"I'm Lucille," said the girl who Gatesy had his eye on.

"I'm Jade," the girl on the left piped up, looking Yon straight in the eye until he looked away awkwardly.

"And I'm Jen," said the third, going to sit next to Scod, who had been sitting on the couch studying her intently ever since they'd entered the room "Hey Scoddy," she grinned, patting him on the knee. He smiled widely at her and looked back at his friends, who were already completely absorbed in hushed conversations with the other two girls. Gatesy had his arm around Lucille's waist and brought his other hand up to stroke her thigh lightly, moving up further and further with every slow smooth stroke. Yon was speaking so softly that Jade had to lean right in to hear what he was saying, but they seemed to be quite taken with each other. Scod turned back and began having a quite pleasant conversation with Jen about music, but before they even got the chance to move onto a different topic, Lucille interrupted.

"What do you say we go back to my place now?" she announced, turning away from Gatesy quickly and raising her voice to get everyone's attention. Jade and Jen nodded automatically.

"Oh yeah," Gatesy murmured huskily, slipping his hand up the back of Lucille's top and running it across her smooth skin "I think that'd be a good idea." She shivered under his touch and stared deeply into his eyes with an unreadable gaze, then hastily rose to her feet and pulled him towards the door impatiently. 'Ooh, this one's gonna be good!' he exclaimed to himself.

"Come on! Let's go!" she ordered, and the other girls reluctantly got up, closely followed by Scod and Yon, Lucille leading the way out the door.

PART TWO

The night air was surprisingly cold despite it still being summer, and Scod was glad that he'd decided to bring his jacket just in case. He and Jen hadn't stopped talking since she'd come up and sat next to him in the dressing room. They had so much in common; they liked the same types of music and she even played the guitar and the drums. He hoped this wouldn't just be a one-night thing, because he really liked this girl. It would be fun to hang out with her and maybe have a bit of a jam one day. Suddenly he realised she must be freezing wearing that skimpy little blue top. He looked over and sure enough she was hugging herself and rubbing her arms trying to keep warm. Quickly he slid out of his jacket.

"Here, you wear this, it'll warm you up," he said, holding the jacket out for her, and she slid her arms into it.

"Mmmm," she smiled, wrapping the huge jacket around her slim figure and snuggling into the warmth that had been transferred into it from his body "Thanks, but if you get too cold tell me, okay?" she asked gently, slipping her arm around his waist and rubbing his back. He nodded and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in closer.

Yon took a sidelong glance at Jade as they walked along the footpath in pairs. 'She's so gorgeous. What does she want with me?' he asked himself. Their hands kept brushing together every few steps, causing his breath to repeatedly catch in his throat almost every time they touched. She looked up at him and smiled gently and his heart missed a beat. There was just something about her – she was different to other girls. Finally he took the initiative and tentatively slid his fingers across the palm of her hand, holding his breath, waiting for some kind of rejection, but instead she copied his movements until their fingers were intertwined. She smiled up at him again and he sighed, his head swirling with thoughts and feelings that all mixed together to form an indecipherable blur. Yes, there was definitely something about this girl!

Gatesy slid his hand down over Lucille's buttocks and pulled her to a stop, kissing her ardently and grinding his body into hers. Her arms automatically came around his back, her tongue exploring his mouth. He sensed the urgency behind the kiss grow and his body began to heat up rather rapidly. He heard a tiny moan escape her lips, but then suddenly she paused and pushed him away gently, looking him straight in the eye, before continuing walking. He quickly caught up with her and slid his arm around her shoulders. He was getting desperate. Every time he made a move she began to respond, but then stopped. Why was she trying to play hard to get? At first he had thought it was fun, but now he was getting sick of it. He didn't want to play games anymore – he wanted her – now. How far away was this girl's house anyway? It seemed like a lifetime! He couldn't wait much longer.

"Here we are," she announced solemnly, stopping outside a beautiful old two-story house. It was so big, it was an understatement to just call it a 'house' – it was more-like a mansion.

"Wow," breathed Scod as he and Jen reached where the other two couples were standing "This house is amazing! Is it yours?"

"Yeah," Lucille replied "My grandmother passed away two years ago and left it to me."

"God, I'd love to have a place like this!" he exclaimed, unable to take his eyes off the exquisitely picturesque structure. It was his dream home. Ever since he was a kid he'd seen houses like these and become enthralled by their size, shape, their style, the mood they gave off – eerie yet superbly elegant. The thought that he was about to actually go inside one of these magnificent buildings was mind-blowing.

"Hmm," she murmured disinterestedly "Come on," she said, grabbing Gatesy's hand. Upon opening the gate it let out a startling screech, causing Yon to jump back in surprise. Jade gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and led him along the path and up to the doorstep after the others. He looked down at their entwined fingers and smiled. He couldn't believe his luck. She was the perfect girl in every way and he had to physically pinch himself to convince himself that it was real – he wasn't dreaming.

Gatesy watched Lucille unlocking the door and eagerly reached out to open it, pushing her inside in the hope that they could get down to it straight away, but the girls seemed to have other ideas.

PART THREE

The door slammed shut behind them and Scod stood stunned, his mouth hanging open in awe at the beautiful architecture of the old mansion. They stood in a massive ballroom. Deep crimson drapes trimmed with gold lined the walls, and a huge crystal chandelier hung elegantly down from the intricately plastered and painted ceiling. At the opposite end of the ballroom was a wide staircase leading off in two different directions at the top, and then walkways running all the way around the walls to join above the entrance doorway. In the centre at the top of the staircase was a huge painting of a creepy but dignified looking man in a black tails suit. He had dark slicked back hair and a curled moustache, and his eyes were so dark and mesmerising that Scod couldn't take his eyes off them for a moment. Hallways also led down behind either side of the staircase on the lower floor. On the left wall was a doorway leading to the dining room and to the right was an identical entrance leading into what looked like a study or sitting room. It was as though the whole house had been frozen in time and nothing had changed since the day it was built. Scod took his arm from around Jen's shoulders and slowly walked further into the room, turning in circles and drinking in everything around him. 

"Wow! This place is incredible!" Scod mused aloud.

"Want me to show you around a bit?" Jen asked, linking her arm through his and leading him towards the staircase.

Lucille watched as they turned right at the top of the stairs, and then she turned to Gatesy. His eyes lit up as she sent him a slow seductive smile and reached up to play with the collar of his shirt, then turned and began walking towards the steps, glancing back at him as he quickly jumped to action and bounded after her. Finally! He was going to get some! They went in the opposite direction to which Scod and Jen had gone and she led him towards what he presumed was a bedroom.

Yon felt Jade squeeze his hand and he turned to look at her. She smiled sweetly at him and he felt himself blush. He still couldn't believe she was interested in him. She was just too perfect. She was almost unattainable, but for some reason she seemed to have let him cross the barrier. Now that the other two couples had left, silence filled the enormous room. He suddenly felt the desperate need to fill this gap before it became awkward.

"So," he began nervously, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet "What are we going to do?"

"Are you cold?" she asked, looking at him curiously. She must've thought he was bouncing because he was cold, but it was actually just a habit he had. He did it a lot when he was nervous or uncomfortable.

"A little," Yon replied, noticing the slight chill that lingered in the air for the first time.

"Why don't we go into the study and light the fire? That'll soon heat you up." He smirked and felt his face flush with warmth once again as he nodded in agreement. She gave his hand another squeeze and then led him into the next room. Two walls of the room were made up entirely of bookshelves filled with thousands of old books. He wondered if anyone would ever get the chance to read them all, or who would even want to. She let go of his hand and went to stand in front of the fireplace, bending over and looking into the flu. "Uh…do you know how to do this? I'm not quite sure. Lucille usually lights it when we're here."

"Yeah I know how," he answered, walking over to stand beside her. He began to put some wood from a pile sitting against the wall into the fireplace and once she seemed sure he knew what he was doing she went and got a beanbag from the corner of the room and plonked herself down into it.

Gatesy followed Lucille into the room and closed the door behind him with a click. He turned around to face her but found that she had walked across the other side of the room and was now sitting at the stool in front of a intricately decorated dressing table and mirror. He grinned and sidled over to where she was, sitting on the bed behind her. Lucille got a lipstick out and ran it over her lips, slowly and smoothly, Gatesy watching her every move. She looked at him in the mirror as she pressed her lips together and put the lipstick back in her bag again.

He licked his lips, feeling the desire beginning to rise in his body. His eyes dropped to rove over her body as he slipped his hand onto her hip and leant in to drop kisses along her neck. Lucille reached her hand back and gently stroked the back of his neck, pulling him closer, and she leant back with her eyes closed. In the meantime Gatesy let his hand roam down her leg and slip under her skirt. He paused slightly before sliding his hand up the inside of her thigh. He sucked on her earlobe lightly and smiled when he heard Lucille's sharp intake of breath.

Scod put his arm around Jen's shoulders once more as they leisurely walked along the hall. He grinned as he took in every tiny detail of the house. It was absolutely amazing. He'd never been in a place so beautiful and elegant, and he knew this would be an experience he'd never forget. 

"I can't believe I'm actually here. This place is just so…incredible!" Scod exclaimed. Jen opened the first door and they walked inside. He stared in amazement at the king sized four poster bed, complete with all the trimmings.

"Yeah it's a pretty good house. Luce is thinking of selling it soon. She's sure to get a lot of money for it."

"What!?" he gasped, turning to gape at her "Why would anyone want to sell a place like this? It's perfect! I tell you, if I had the money I'd buy it myself for any price she wanted!" Jen smiled and continued taking him through the rest of the rooms on the right hand side, then all the way around to the left, missing the last room before they came to the staircase again. Scod was about to ask why he couldn't look in there, but then he heard a muffled moan coming through the door and he instantly knew the reason, stifling a giggle as they continued on downstairs once more.

The fire now burning away happily, Yon turned back to Jade as he pulled up the back of his jeans where they had slid down a little when he had been crouched down in front of the fireplace. She smiled up at him from where she was seated and he returned the smile before regarding the beanbag quizzically.

"Come on!" she urged, patting the bag beside her. He shuffled awkwardly for a moment and she got up and took him by the hands, pulling him gently towards the beanbag until their backs were to it. "Ready?" she asked, grinning at his confused expression "Go!" she yelled, and before he knew what was happening she had grabbed him and they were falling backwards. He let out a loud yelp as they fell into the beanbag, Jade almost landing in his lap they were so close. Once they had stopped falling Yon looked up and their eyes locked. She smiled at him gently and slipped one hand onto his leg. His breathing and heart-rate quickened as he stared at her in amazement, and then finally he brought a hand up and stroked the hair back from her face before leaning in and tentatively bringing his lips to hers.

PART FOUR

Jen began to show Scod through the downstairs rooms, answering any questions he might have and smiling politely at his comments. These rooms were just as impressive as the upstairs ones. All the curtains throughout the house were a deep blood red colour and trimmed with gold and the rooms were equipped with antique mahogany furniture. As they entered the kitchen her watch beeped. She looked at it and frowned.

"It's cold here. Let's go to the study," she said quickly. Scod frowned. He was a bit disappointed that he wouldn't get to see all of the house, but he nodded his head in agreement. It was getting a little chilly, and he didn't want her getting cold just because of him.

Gatesy pulled Lucille in and kissed her deeply, his tongue searching her mouth as he cupped her breasts in his hands. He leant down and took one in his mouth, swirling his tongue around the hard nipple, and Lucille eliciting a soft moan of pleasure. She ran a hand down his bare chest and into his partly open jeans. Gatesy shuddered and bit his lower lip as her hand closed around his throbbing erection and she began to stroke lightly up and down the shaft. He was just beginning to run his hand down her body when her watch beeped. She groaned in what sounded like annoyance and slid off him, then began getting dressed again.


Tripod Beware



"What are you doing?" Gatesy asked in alarm. She couldn't just stop there! He was too far gone just to stop! She finished putting her clothes back on and then looked back at him with a slight smile. He frowned in frustration. By now his body was begging for release and he couldn't do anything about it.

"Later," she said, and then left the room, shutting the door behind her. Gatesy stared at the closed door in confusion, then quickly threw on his clothes and bolted after her, easily catching up.

Yon's head span as Jade kissed him back ever so softly. He couldn't believe that she wanted him! It was absolutely astounding! His hand found the back of her neck and he plunged his fingers into her hair, reveling in the silky smooth feel of it between his fingers. She was almost sitting in his lap as she stroked his face, and the kiss deepened and became more heated. They were only kissing, but already he could feel himself beginning to harden against her hip. They were oblivious of everything except each other. They didn't even notice when her watch beeped. It was only when Yon felt a tap on his shoulder a few minutes later that he realised they weren't alone anymore.

Scod tapped him on the shoulder and Yon sprang back from Jade. He grinned down at his friend, who was holding his hand to his chest, obviously having just had a bit of a fright.

"Hey Yonny! Looks like you were having some fun, eh?" he grinned. Yon blushed and looked away. Scod looked around towards where he thought Jen would be, but found that she had disappeared. He frowned and walked over to the doorway and looked out, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Where'd she go?" he asked no one in particular, turning back to Yon and Jade, who shrugged.

"She'll be back soon," Jade said, "Grab a seat." Scod did as she said and sat on one of the couches facing the fire. Sure enough Jen returned a few minutes later along with Lucille and a very frustrated looking Gatesy. Scod knew that look – that 'I'm horny and can't get a root' look that Gatesy often had plastered across his face when a girl refused to satisfy his carnal urges. Scod snickered quietly to himself and Gatesy glared at him. Scod shut his mouth and held up his hands in feigned innocence.

Jen walked around the couch and sat down beside him. It was only then that he realised she had returned with a guitar and plectrum in her hands. She looked up at him and smiled and then began to play. Lucille led Gatesy over to the other couch opposite them and they sat down as Jen began to sing. Scod didn't recognise the tune or the words so he figured it was one she'd written herself. He had to admit that it wasn't that bad a song, if a little dark and eerie sounding.

Gatesy fidgeted restlessly as he sat on the couch. He tried to think of something; anything to relieve some of the tension in his body, but that muscle just wouldn't go down. He hoped Scod and Yon hadn't noticed. When Jen started singing he attempted to turn his attention to that and stop thinking about what was bothering him. It seemed to work too; instead of being frustrated, he was now becoming depressed. The song she was singing was just so tragic and mournful. He quickly forgot about his problem, and when he finally remembered it he was relieved to realise that it had gone down at last. He sighed when Jen finally finished her song. It was so damned depressing; he was glad it was over.

"Could you boys please do a song for us?" Jen asked, raising her eyebrows and offering Scod the guitar. Scod looked to Gatesy and he nodded. Anything was better than listening to more of that melancholy crap. Scod took the guitar from Jen and gave it a few quick strums to become comfortable with it. Gatesy made eye contact with Yon and then Scod began strumming out the chords. Yon and Scod began doing the backing vocals for 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' and moments later Gatesy came in:

"I will come for you at night time…" he sang softly.

PART FIVE

Gatesy, Yon and Scod sang about five songs for the girls, and then Scod put down his guitar. Yon stretched back, yawning widely. It was getting close to 2.30 and he'd gotten up fairly early the previous morning so he was pretty much buggered. All he wanted to do at that moment was go straight to sleep. Gatesy was obviously bored out of his mind, and Scod was flipping the plectrum back and forth over his fingers in a rapid blur of movement. Yon felt a movement on his chest and looked down, once again becoming aware of Jade's presence as she snuggled up to him. He smiled and gently pulled her in closer, leaning his head against hers. He was amazed at just how comfortable he had become with being close to her after only having known each other for a short period of time. He sighed and closed his eyes.

Scod flipped the plectrum over his fingers once more, then flicked it up into the air and caught it in his fist. He looked around the room at his companions. Yon and Jade were curled up on the beanbag together, fast asleep. That meant that they couldn't leave. Sure, he liked the place and would have loved to stay there until the end of eternity, but he felt that they'd been there long enough. He didn't want to outlive his stay. He wanted to be able to come back again and not have the girls become sick of them already. But now they were stuck, as Yon could be very irritable when woken up from a deep sleep and Scod didn't feel like going through all that rigmarole at this time of the morning. Gatesy was looking aimlessly around the room and he met Scod's gaze, sending him a not very convincing smile and rolling his eyes at Yon. Scod saw that Lucille and Jen seemed to be in a similar state of consciousness as Yon and Jade.

Scod's stomach churned and he groaned under his breath at the slightly nauseous feeling in his stomach. He hoped he wasn't coming down with some virus yet again. Not wanting to think about it in case he jinxed himself, he decided to go the same way as Yon had as he knew they wouldn't be able to leave for a while yet. He got himself more comfortable on the couch and then closed his eyes, quickly drifting off into a very heavy sleep.

Gatesy was not at all impressed. Now everyone was asleep except him. What was he meant to do? He hadn't even gotten any real action, and it was becoming more and more obvious as time went on that he wasn't going to get any either. Not off this set of girls. There was just something very weird about the whole situation, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Their staying there was pretty pointless. They might as well have been back in their hotel rooms, but now both of his friends were dead to the world he had no choice in the situation. They'd just have to stay there for the night and leave the next morning. Gatesy sighed exasperatedly and leant back in the couch, giving in to his exhausted body.

Yon smiled slightly. He was enjoying being so close to another human being without feeling nervous or embarrassed. It was different with Jade for some reason, and he couldn't help hoping that maybe she was 'the one', his soul mate whom he could spend the rest of his life with. He felt more content than he had in a long time. He was in that drifting stage between sleep and wakefulness, partly asleep but aware of what was going on around him as well, when he heard stirring coming from the two couches behind him. He was about to open his eyes but then decided against it when he felt someone walk around and stand in front of him. He could feel them looking closely at his face. Yon slowed his breathing and tried to stay motionless, hoping that he looked like he was asleep. Eventually the person moved away and stood behind him again.

"They're all asleep," the voice said. It was Jen. "What're we going to do about that?" she asked. Yon had a feeling she was pointing at him and Jade.

"We won't wake her." Lucille replied "She's becoming too attached to him. She might cause trouble. We'll have to complete the first part of the plan without her. After that she should come back to us without any problems." She paused for a moment and Yon heard some rustling and scraping sounds. "Ready?" Another pause. "I'll do these two. You do him, and make sure Jade doesn't wake up yet." Yon was becoming very worried at what he was hearing. What were they talking about? Things were getting really creepy and he felt a twinge of fear shoot through his body. There was no sound for a moment, but then he heard some muffled sounds and shuffling about on the couch to his left. He opened his eyes just in time to see Gatesy struggling against Lucille, his eyes wide as she held a white cloth to his face. Before he got a chance to go to his friends' aid his own face was covered with a similar rag. He struggled helplessly against Jen's grasp for a few seconds before falling into darkness.

PART SIX

Scod yawned and stretched his tense back as he slowly drifted awake. His whole body was aching and his bed seemed to be unusually hard. It was only when he stretched out a hand and felt that he was laying on a hard cold surface that he realised he wasn't actually on a bed. He frowned and opened his eyes, squinting into the darkness. He couldn't see a thing. He went to rub his eyes and was surprised to find that he still had his glasses on. He fumbled for his watch and pressed the button on the side to make the screen light up. 9.56am. Why was it still dark? He felt around and guessed that he was on a concrete surface, but where could he be? He remembered everything that had happened the previous night until he'd gone to sleep, but his mind was blank after that. He didn't remember any of the rooms in the house having concrete floors, unless he was in one of the rooms Jen hadn't shown him. That meant he had to be downstairs, because he'd seen all the upstairs ones. 'There must be a light somewhere' he told himself, rising up off the floor and beginning to shuffle slowly forwards, guiding himself with his hands stretched out in front of him. He stopped abruptly when his feet made contact with something heavy. He crouched down and warily felt in front of him until his hands came in contact with the thing. He frowned as his fingers searched the object. It felt very cold and almost…flesh like. Hang on…it couldn't be…could it? The light flickered on.

"Aaaaaarrrggghhh!!!" he screamed as the deathly white face lit up below him.

"Aaaaaarrrggghhh!!!" Gatesy shrieked as the light illuminated the face looming above him, its mouth open wide.

"Aaaaaarrrggghhh!!!" Yon yelled, letting go of the light cord, each of them jumping about a mile away from each other.

"Jesus!" exclaimed Scod.

"Fuck!" Gatesy gasped. Yon simply stood in the corner staring at them with his hand to his chest, breathing heavily. They merely stared at each other before any of them could speak again.

"I thought I'd found a body or something!" Scod laughed nervously. Gatesy stared at him for a second and then began snickering as well.

"I thought you were a monster going to kill me!" They both turned and looked at Yon. He was standing stock-still, staring into space, his breathing still not regular. "Hey Yon, are you okay mate?" Gatesy asked, moving over to where Yon was standing and reaching out a hand to touch his arm. He jolted away as though he'd just had an electric shock, and then came back to reality, looking up at Gatesy. He nodded his reply to the question. "Are you sure? You look a bit…strange."

"Yep…" he said very quietly. Finally reassured that his friend was okay, he turned back to Scod.

"So where do you think we are?" Scod asked, looking around the room for the first time. The room was completely bare except for the guitar leaning against the far wall. A thick layer of dust covered the floor. It obviously hadn't been occupied for many years. A staircase ran up one wall leading to a door at the top. Scod ran up the steps to the door and tried it. "It's locked."

"It looks like an old wine cellar or something." Gatesy said, obviously ignoring Scod's comment, which had meant that they couldn't get out "How do you think we got here?" Scod walked back down the stairs and moved to stand next to Gatesy again.

"They drugged us…" Yon whispered, his arms crossed over his chest, shivering slightly. His two friends turned to look at him, frowning slightly. He hoped what he was saying wasn't true, but he remembered it so clearly. It had been real, and now they were trapped.

"What?" Gatesy asked quietly.

"I…I was awake…I heard them…I saw them…" he said, looking at Gatesy with wide eyes.

"What are you talking about Yon?" Scod asked, his brow furrowing even further in what could have been either disbelief or confusion. Yon hoped it was the latter option.

"Lucille and Jen…they…they drugged us…" he gulped loudly, hugging himself even tighter. He hoped his friends couldn't tell how terrified he was, but he just couldn't help it. Being a bit claustrophobic and it being so dark also didn't help him calm down any.

"You're saying they drugged us and then brought us down here and locked us in?" Gatesy asked slowly. Yon nodded. "Why?" Yon shrugged. "Come on Yon, they wouldn't just do it for no reason!"

"I don't know, okay!?" Yon snapped, finally moving from his position and beginning to pace up and down the room. Gatesy shot a worried glance in Scod's direction and then carefully stopped Yon from walking by gently pulling him to a stop.

"It's okay mate, I just thought you might know. Don't worry about it, okay?" he asked calmly. Yon looked up at him and sighed, instantly becoming a little more relaxed. "Why don't you just tell us what you did hear and see? No pressure."

Gatesy had never seen Yon like this before. Sure he was a bit nervous and unconfident sometimes, but this was just a bit much. He was worried that there was something wrong with him. He was awfully jumpy. Yon nodded and began to slowly tell them what had happened. At some points he looked like he was going to cry, but Gatesy shrugged this notion off as just being in his mind. As Yon's story came out, he eventually began to see things more clearly. They really had been drugged. It was the only explanation.

Gatesy racked his brain for reasons why the three girls would do this, but couldn't come up with a rational explanation for their current situation. He just hoped they'd find out soon. The door clicked open and all heads turned towards the top of the steps as Lucille, Jen and Jade filed in.

PART SEVEN

Jen and Jade followed Lucille into the room. Jade stood slightly behind Lucille to the right and Jen stood at the bottom of the steps in a very authoritarian pose, obviously guarding the entrance to keep them from escaping. Lucille stood before them with her arms crossed, looking each of them up and down in the dim light, her eyes lingering appreciatively on Gatesy's body. Scod noticed his friend shift from one foot to the other uncomfortably. He had obviously believed everything Yon had said. Scod wasn't yet sure that it was actually the truth. He had to see some proof for himself before he could be certain of anything.

"I trust you boys slept well?" she asked finally.

"What's this about?" Scod asked, ignoring Lucille's question.

"What's this about?" Lucille repeated, turning and beginning to walk to one end of the room. She turned and walked back to her prior position, turning to look at Scod thoughtfully. "This is about you never performing for an audience ever again."

"Huh?" Gatesy asked. Lucille smiled at him slightly.

"You heard. You'll be playing for us and no-one else from now on. This is your new home. If you behave you will be allowed into some of the other parts of the house, if not we will be forced to keep you down here, but we hope it won't come to that."

"I…I don't understand," Gatesy stammered. He still couldn't quite grasp the reality of the situation. It just seemed too strange. It was like some freaky dream. 'Maybe it is a dream. Maybe I'm really asleep,' he tried to convince himself and pinched his arm to test this theory. It didn't work. "Damn." he whispered under his breath. Yon looked up at him, obviously just having heard what Gatesy had said, and sent him a grim smile. "Why are you doing this?" Gatesy asked Lucille.

"That doesn't matter right now. When you need to know you will be told. Your meals will be brought down to you. Each day you will be taken one at a time upstairs to have your showers. If you need to go to the toilet or anything else, press this button." She gestured towards a round red button in a small indentation in the wall next to the staircase, which they hadn't previously noticed "A bell will then be sounded upstairs, and one or more of us will attend to your situation. Are there any questions?"

"How long will we have to stay here?" Gatesy asked.

"We own you now. You can't leave." Gatesy shook his head in disbelief. 'Fuck, how could this happen?' he asked himself. It was obvious now that there was something seriously wrong with these girls. He cursed himself for not having noticed beforehand that something strange was going on, but it was too late for that now.

Yon's eyes had been focused on a pile of dust on the ground in front of him for most of the time since the girls had entered the room. At this prolonged silence he finally raised his head, his eyes automatically finding Jade, with whom only a few hours earlier he had thought she might be his perfect match. Jade caught Yon's movement and her eyes froze on his. He searched her previously soft gentle features for any signs of the tenderness he had seen the night before, but there was none. Her eyes were hard and cold – almost unfeeling. His heart dropped and he felt a lump growing in his throat. He tore his eyes away from hers once more and resumed his gazing at the ground once more. He was sure his dismay was showing clearly on his face, but he couldn't make the betrayed feeling go away. He just felt like such a cuckold, even though they'd only spent a few hours together.

"Do we even get beds?" Scod asked bitterly.

"Once we're sure you will co-operate with us you will be moved upstairs. That is all you need to know right now." Lucille paused, studying them carefully "Are you hungry?" All three simultaneously shook their heads. Yon felt as though if he ate anything he'd throw it back up straight away, he was that nervous. "Very well," Lucille continued "Your lunch will be brought down to you at 12.30." She looked at each of them before turning and leading the way up the stairs, Jen locking the door behind them. Jade didn't even give Yon a second glance. He sighed and walked across to the far side of the room, leaning back against the wall and sliding down until he was crouched on the floor, his knees huddled up to his body.

"Fuck!" Gatesy growled "What're we gonna do?" Scod shrugged.

"Wait," he answered simply "Someone's going to notice we're missing eventually and then they'll come and find us. In the meantime we just wait and see what happens. It doesn't seem all that bad really when you think about it, compared to what sometimes happens to other people when they're kidnapped." Gatesy stared at Scod. He couldn't believe he could be so calm about it. They were trapped in a cellar in an old mansion, no-one knew where they had gone or who they were with, and Scod was just taking it all in his stride! Gatesy rolled his eyes and put his hands on his hips. 

"Wanker," he muttered under his breath as he turned away from him and looked around the room. 'Now what?' he wondered. He got bored very easily and knew that if he didn't find something to do he'd go insane. He spotted the guitar in the corner at the exact same moment as Scod did. Seeing this, he instantly dashed for it before Scod got a chance to move. He picked it up and walked over to sit next to Yon, swinging the guitar onto his legs and quietly beginning to thumb out a few notes.




Tripod Beware



Scod sighed and ran a hand through his hair as Gatesy swiftly grabbed the guitar and plonked himself down beside Yon. Gatesy smiled up at him smugly and Scod looked away, glancing around the empty room before moving to sit on the opposite side to the other two. Now that Gatesy had the guitar he knew he wouldn't be able to get his hands on it for ages. Gatesy would be determined to keep it all to himself for as long as possible. Scod sighed and leant back against the wall. He wished he was at home playing Dungeons and Dragons.

PART EIGHT

Yon breathed deeply and closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the wall. Gatesy began playing the guitar and Yon hummed along quietly, but only loud enough for Gatesy to just hear, and for him to feel the vibration buzzing through his head. It was quite a soothing sensation and the softly strummed chords added to the calming effect. He felt the tension slowly begin to ease from his body, the music lulling him into a kind of trance where everything was okay. There was no worries or concerns. In his mind he was safe.

Gatesy watched Yon as he played. The previously tense and troubled expression slowly disappeared from his face and Gatesy heard him starting to hum along softly. It wasn't any particular song, he was just making it up as he went along, but Yon seemed to know the exact right tune to go with it. Gatesy kept playing and eventually started humming along in harmony, already thinking of lyrics that could fit the music. 'Well at least we're getting something out of being here' he thought wryly.

Scod ignored Gatesy for a while, determined not to talk to him if he could help it, but eventually he heard his faint singing grow slightly louder and more confident and he realised Yon was humming a tune and Gatesy was harmonising with him. Gatesy was watching Yon's face intently, frowning ever so slightly. Scod knew that look. He was writing a new song. Scod pretended to not notice what Gatesy was doing, but he actually tried to hear what exactly he was singing. He didn't like to admit it, but it actually sounded like a pretty good song. Eventually Scod decided to stop the childishness and he walked over to sit down next to him. Gatesy stopped playing and looked up at Scod, seemingly unfazed. To be honest, Scod didn't know what they were fighting about in the first place; maybe it was just the unusual situation they were in, but he felt that it just wasn't worth keeping up the act. Gatesy continued looking at him and Scod nodded and gestured towards the guitar. Gatesy smiled slightly and turned towards him, then began playing the song, singing louder than before, and sounding a little more confident as he went along. Scod watched his fingers, taking note of the chords and rhythm, and eventually Gatesy passed him the guitar and he began playing the song, varying some of the chords slightly to fit in better. Before long they were all singing along to the almost complete song.

Yon was a lot calmer because the song was taking his mind off what was happening, and he kept his eyes shut so he wouldn't have to see reality. He focused only on the feeling and the sound of their music. Suddenly there was a loud click from the top of the stairs. They abruptly stopped singing and Yon flung his eyes open wide, staring intently at the door. Jade and Jen entered the room and stood at the bottom of the steps. Scod and Gatesy jumped to their feet and stood awkwardly before them. Yon stayed where he was, not making eye contact with either of the girls. He glanced at Jade but then looked away quickly before he could let himself feel anything.

"It's shower time. Who wants to go first?" Jen asked, looking each of them over. Gatesy glanced at Yon, frowning slightly.

"I'll go." Scod said. Gatesy and Yon looked up quickly and Scod handed Gatesy the guitar. Before they got a chance to say anything he was led up the stairs and out of the room, the door being locked behind them. Gatesy turned back to Yon with his hand over his mouth and sighed loudly before sitting back down beside Yon. He tunelessly picked out a few notes on the guitar and then looked over at his companion. Yon was sitting with his head in his hands and one leg was shaking rapidly. Gatesy frowned and put the guitar down beside him.

"Are you okay mate?" he asked. Yon nodded slightly. Gatesy knew that his friend wasn't being completely honest with him, and the way he was reacting to the situation was beginning to worry him. "Mate, come on!" Gatesy said, a slight whine coming out in his voice "Talk to me!" Yon took a deep shuddering breath and then looked up at Gatesy. Gatesy became even more concerned when he saw the pained expression on his friends' face. "What is it?" he asked quietly.

"It's nothing. It's just stupid. Don't worry about me," Yon said finally.

"You know you can tell me anything Yonny. I won't speak a word, promise."

"It's just like…" Yon gulped loudly and looked down at the ground.

"Like what?" Gatesy asked.

"My dad…he used to…he used to lock me up when I was little. He used to lock me in the cellar…it was so like this, almost exactly the same." he stopped and rubbed his face with his fists. Gatesy couldn't believe it. Yon had never told him about when he grew up, and now he knew why. He wondered what else had happened that he didn't know about.

"Yon…" he whispered, momentarily lost for words. Before he could think of another thing to say Yon interrupted.

"I shouldn't have told you, forget it," he said shakily, waving his hand dismissively.

"No…Yon, you can tell me about this. We're mates, and even though sometimes it seems like I don't care about you, I do. You can talk to me, okay?" He reached out and rubbed Yon's head in a rare show of intimacy. Yon suddenly flashed a smile up at him. "Okay?" Gatesy asked. Yon nodded.

"Okay."

PART NINE

Scod was lead out of the room and upstairs to the bathroom, Jen and Jade each holding one of Scod's arms firmly. Lucille was standing outside the door waiting for them. She smiled mockingly at Scod and he frowned back at her. Jade opened the door and pushed Scod inside. He turned back as Lucille stepped into the doorway and the other two looked over her shoulder.

"There are towels, clean clothing and toiletries in the cupboard. Feel free to use what you need. The door will be locked. One of us will be standing guard outside. Knock on the door when you've finished and we'll take you back down to the cellar. Any questions?" Scod shook his head, completely baffled as to what was going on. In the beginning he hadn't believed it was real, but now it was becoming clear that it was. "Good. Don't try to escape; there's no way out. We know everything you do, so be careful." Scod looked around the room and the door slammed shut. He turned back as the lock clicked. He stood still for a moment and then began to explore the room.

Gatesy couldn't believe how many things he didn't know about his friend; all the pain and trauma he had gone through in his younger years. He felt like a complete prick for not knowing about anything, even though he knew it wasn't his fault. Yon had been physically abused for most of his childhood. His parents treated him like a slave and whenever they were annoyed at something, even if it wasn't Yon, his father would beat him and lock him in the cellar. His father did most of the damage, but his mother just standing by watching, not trying to stop it from happening, was enough to cause almost as much pain as the physical violence. When he was twelve he decided that he'd had enough, and ran away from home, away from the people who brought him into the world and seemed determined to take him out of it as well.

But the pain didn't stop there. For four years Yon lived on the street, stealing and begging in order to survive. He never hardened to the ways of the streets, and Gatesy guessed this was because of his parents' abuse. He got into drugs for a short time but got out of it before anything could come of it. Eventually he got caught stealing clothes from a surf-clothing shop and the police took him in to the station. They took sympathy upon him, obviously seeing he wasn't the type of kid who should live on the streets, and they found him a hostel to live in. He stayed there for quite a while and eventually got a few part time jobs and began making money. From then on things only got better, but he was still traumatized from the violence and suffering he had to endure in his earlier years. Gatesy was shocked by what he'd heard, but he was glad Yon had told him. After their talk he felt much closer to his friend, and he was sure Yon felt the same way. It had obviously helped him to have talked it through with someone, and he visibly looked more relaxed. He was acting more like the old Yon again, if a little more open than he used to be.

Scod stepped out of the shower and dried himself off with a towel from the cupboard against the wall. He wrapped the towel around his waist and then looked through the rest of the shelves, picking out some clothes to wear. He found that they each seemed to have their own shelf with their size and style clothing on it. He felt a shiver go down his spine as he realised that they had picked out the exact same after-shave, toothbrush and other toiletries as he used at home. How could they know that much? It was slightly eerie. Suddenly he felt as though he were being watched and he quickly got dressed into a shirt and jeans and brushed his teeth, then rapped loudly on the door. Almost immediately the door was opened and Jen took his arm and began to lead him downstairs. As they got to the bottom of the steps he suddenly tried to pull himself out of her grasp. She grabbed him before he had a chance to escape and she held a frighteningly sharp bowie knife against his throat. He froze as he felt the cold blade on his skin. He gulped and looked into her icy cold eyes. 'Fuck,' he thought 'This is more serious than I thought.'

"Don't try to escape," she snarled, pressing the blade firmer against his neck "Got that Scoddy?" Scod gulped and nodded ever so slightly.

"Y-yes," he whispered. Instantly she put the knife away in its sheath on her belt which he previously hadn't seen, and began walking him towards the door to the cellar. She unlocked the door and pushed him in. He stopped and took in Gatesy and Yon talking to each other quietly. They certainly looked very cozy. Jen pushed him so he was forced to walk down the stairs and the two guys stopped talking and looked towards them. Gatesy said something and Yon looked at him and nodded. Jen nudged Scod down the last step and towards his friends. Gatesy reached out and squeezed Yon's shoulder briefly and then Yon got up and took a step towards Jen.

"I'll go next," he said.

PART TEN

"What happened?" Gatesy asked after Yon had left with Jen. Scod outlined the whole process to him and Gatesy listened intently.

"I don't know how, but they know more about us than they should," Scod said, sitting down where Yon had been. Gatesy plonked himself down next to him.

"What do you mean?"

"Well for one thing, they know what clothes we wear. Well that's fair enough really – they might've seen us around town wearing those kind of things, but then they know other things. Personal things. They know what deodorant we use, shavers, even what underwear we wear. It's freaky."

"Do you think they've been stalking us?" Gatesy asked.

"Well I don't know. I suppose they could've. We don't live very private lives I guess, I just never would've thought this could happen."

"Me neither," Gatesy said, looking down at his hands which were firmly clasped between his legs. Scod and Gatesy were silent for a few minutes, then Scod spoke:

"They could kill us if they wanted to," Scod said quietly. Gatesy looked up at him questioningly. Where did that suddenly come from? "Jen had a knife. I tried to get away and she pulled it on me."

"Did she hurt you?"

"No, but she could've. We have to be careful with these girls Gatesy, they aren't sane."

"You're telling me," Gatesy muttered under his breath, leaning back against the wall.

Yon finished his shower and got dressed as quickly as possible. He didn't particularly want to go back down to the cellar, but he wanted to be near his friends. He didn't want to be by himself. He opened the cupboard and froze when he saw all the clothes and toiletries identical to his own at his place. He quickly pushed it to the back of his mind and got dressed. He tapped lightly on the door and it opened to reveal Jade. He blushed involuntarily and looked away from her. She took his hand and began to lead him along the hall. He looked up to her face as they walked slowly down the stairs.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked.

"We want you to be happy."

"But we were happy." Yon frowned in confusion.

"You'll be happier with us. We want to make you happy. We're the only ones who can make you happy."

"Is that what you think?"

"All those other fans and people you spent your time with are worthless. We're the best thing that's ever happened to you." Yon wanted to ask some more questions but by then they were at the door to the cellar once more. She opened the door and Yon willingly walked down the stairs to join his friends.

"How'd it go?" Gatesy asked in a hushed voice. Yon shrugged.

"It was okay. You'll be right." He smiled his encouragement.

"Just don't do anything stupid," Scod added. Yon turned to him and frowned as Jade called for Gatesy to come. 

"What did you mean by that?" Yon asked after they had left the room.

Before his shower, Gatesy searched the room more thoroughly than Yon and Scod had. He looked through all the drawers and cupboards, trying to find anything that could be of any use to them, but to no avail. There was nothing other than the necessities. He figured the only thing they could do now was behave until they got moved upstairs like they were told they would be, and hope that they would have more luck there. It would definitely be better to have a furnished room than a cold empty cellar anyway.

He had his shower, grabbed a towel and began rubbing his hair with it. Without warning the door swung open. He quickly wrapped the towel around his waist and then looked up as Lucille closed the door behind her. A slow smile spread across her face. Gatesy squirmed uncomfortably.

"Uh, what are you doing?" he asked as Lucille began to move towards him. She stopped in front of him and then pulled her top off over her head. Gatesy couldn't help but stare down at her naked chest. He cursed himself for becoming aroused so easily. He never could control his hormones, ever since he hit puberty.

"Touch me," she demanded huskily. Gatesy didn't move. She frowned slightly and grabbed his hands, placing them on her breasts. Gatesy's lips parted slightly as he felt his desire rising against his will. She slid her fingers under the top of his towel and let it drop to the floor. He panicked momentarily and moved to get it, but then Lucille's hand closed around him and began to stroke lightly up and down his shaft. His breathing became shallow and he closed his eyes as he ran his fingers over her hard nipples and felt himself pulsing in her hands. He mentally slapped himself and fought against his body until finally he pulled away from her, ignoring his unquenched desire. She stared at him in confusion as he finished drying off and tugged on his clothes. He avoided looking at Lucille in case she tried to seduce him again. He wanted her, but he couldn't betray his friends. It certainly wouldn't help them to escape any if he acted on his desires in a situation like this. Gatesy walked over and knocked on the door. After a minute Jen opened it. She caught a glimpse of Lucille buttoning up her top over Gatesy's shoulder. Looking slightly pissed off, she took Gatesy by the arm and closed the door, then took him back to the cellar. A few minutes after the three boys had exchanged stories once more a tray of pizza was brought down for them, which they devoured greedily. They hadn't eaten for hours so they were grateful to finally have something to fill their stomachs. They didn't think that the girls might have put something in their food.

PART ELEVEN

Scod's eyes flickered open to reveal pitch-black darkness. For a moment he forgot where he was, but then he remembered. They'd been kidnapped. He sat up but then a searing pain shot through his head and he groaned, flopping onto his back again.

"Scod?" a voice whispered. 

"Yeah," he replied, still groaning under his breath as he rubbed his head. Everything seemed all hazy and distant.

"You okay mate?"

"I don't know, I feel really weird."

"I'm gonna turn on the light, okay?" Before he could answer, dim light flooded the room and he shielded his eyes with his arm. When his eyes had adjusted to the light he looked over at Yon who was sitting next to him with his legs crossed, studying him worriedly. "You don't look too good." Yon reached out and put his hand on Scod's forehead. "Mate, you're burning up. I'll have to get help." Scod tried to object but no sound would come out. Yon had gone and pressed the button beside the door and returned to where he was before Scod could get a word out.

"No…" he protested weakly, grabbing Yon's arm.

"Mate you're sick. You need to be in a warm dry place. You can't stay down here the way you are, believe me."

"Wh-where's Gatesy?"

"He's still asleep." Yon looked over to where Gatesy was slumped against the wall, half-sitting but dozing peacefully. Scod frowned. It was unusual for Gatesy to be the last one of them to wake up. "I think they put something in our food to make sure we stayed asleep. Gatesy ate more than we did. Were you feeling strange before now?" 

"I felt a little off the first night we came here, but then I was okay until now." Scod's stomach turned and he groaned again, biting his lip and curling up on his side.

Scod looked absolutely terrible. Yon frowned as he took in Scod's sweat stippled upper lip and the shiny sheen covering his skin. In places the sweat was seeping through his clothing. He was shaking as though he was cold, even though his skin felt hot to touch. The door opened and Jen walked in.

"What is it?" she asked, then she saw Scod "What happened?"

"He's sick. He can't stay down here like this," Yon explained. Jen leant over and felt Scod's forehead.

"You're right. He'll have to be moved upstairs."

"C-can't they move up w-with me?" Scod whispered.

"No, not yet. We don't know if you can be trusted yet. You might try something."

"We won't," Yon said.

"Not yet," she insisted "A few more days then we'll think about it, but right now it's just him. It's only because he's sick." She walked over and pressed the button. The door opened again and Jade walked in. Jen told her what the situation was and then they got Scod to his feet and put his arms around their shoulders. Yon felt so sorry for his mate. He was almost doubled over in pain and it was clear that he was having trouble walking. The two girls wordlessly left the room, half carrying Scod out the door, and once more locking it behind them.

Gatesy had woken up to the sound of Scod and Yon talking but had pretended he was asleep the whole time. When the two girls and Scod had left the room he opened his eyes. Yon was facing away from him rubbing his face with his hands.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" he asked. Yon jumped and turned quickly towards him. "Sorry," Gatesy said, unable to keep a slight smirk from appearing on his face.

"I don't know. To me it looks pretty serious, but I guess I might be biased."




Tripod Beware



"No, it sounded pretty bad too."

"I think it's finally getting through to him just what these girls could do. It was almost like he was scared to be moved upstairs without us."

"I know. We'll just be really well behaved and hopefully we'll get moved upstairs before too long."

"Yeah."

"So…how are you holding up mate?" Gatesy asked warily.

"I'm okay I guess. Hell, I should be after all those years of going through this every day."

"Well if you need to talk, I'm here, okay? You don't have to hold back."

"Thanks mate." Yon smiled.

"No problem."

Yon didn't want to scare Gatesy by telling him what was really going on. The truth was, there was a constant feeling of dread hanging over him, and he was quickly sinking into depression. At night it was the worst. He was alone in the dark. It seemed so real. He could hear his father's voice so clearly, the whip cracking, feel the thin leather strip searing his back, chest, arms and legs. When he woke up he could almost see the welt marks imprinted on his skin, but by the time his two friends had woken up, they had disappeared. He couldn't shake the feeling that it had really happened, and that it would continue happening for as long as they were kept down there.

PART TWELVE

Scod was led upstairs and into one of the bedrooms he had been shown in by Jen their first night there. Through his slightly blurred vision he could distinguish the queen-sized bed situated at the far end of the room and he eagerly tried to move towards it, but the two girls pulled him back.

"Hey slow down Scoddy," Jen said, turning him towards her "Let's get you changed first."

Scod stared into space as the two girls undressed him slowly. He was oblivious to their hands on his skin and only became aware of them again when they began to move him towards the bed. He looked down and was surprised to find that he was wearing blue striped pyjamas. He must've drifted into unconsciousness or something. Scod drank something from a cup Jade gave him, and before his head even hit the pillow he was totally gone.

Gatesy and Yon were on their best behaviour for what seemed like weeks but was really only a matter of days. They didn't resist anything the girls wanted them to do if they could help it, but Gatesy avoided being alone with Lucille at all costs. He hadn't been caught in an awkward situation since the first time she had confronted him. 

On the sixth day Gatesy and Yon were sitting playing a song when the door opened and Lucille and Jade walked in. They stood up and waited expectantly for the girls to speak.

"You have been very co-operative over the past few days and we now feel confident that you will continue behaving this way from now on. Is this right?" Lucille asked.

"Yes," Gatesy and Yon replied in unison.

"We know that you only want us to be happy and we have realised that you're the only ones who can do that for us," Gatesy continued. Yon looked at him and Gatesy smiled slightly at the two girls. Jade grinned ecstatically and Lucille also let out a small smile.

"Oh, I just knew you'd come around!" Jade said, moving to hug Yon, but Lucille held her back.

"You will now be moved upstairs. There's a queen-sized bed and a fold out one. You can decide between yourselves who sleeps where." Lucille said. "Follow me," she commanded and began to move up the stairs.

Yon followed after Lucille, then Gatesy, and Jade last. Yon felt Gatesy reach up and give his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. He looked back at him and nodded as they made their way up the staircase to the second level. They had decided not to do anything yet. They hadn't seen Scod for days and needed to talk to him first before they did anything about escaping. If they got away without him, who knew what they would do to him before they could get help.

Scod looked up as the door clicked open and he quickly shoved the pile of paper and pen under the bed. He had been keeping a kind of journal since he had started to recover using toilet paper, tissues, and anything else he could write on. He figured that they just might end up needing it. Lucille walked in and held the door open as Yon, Gatesy, and Jade walked in. Upon seeing them he jumped up and stared at them in amazement. He was so happy to see them, he had to stop himself from hugging them, but he couldn't keep the huge grin off his face.

"Hey mate," Gatesy smiled. The two girls left the room once more, locking the door behind them.

"Fuckin' hell, I thought they'd done something to you guys!" Scod exclaimed "I'm just glad you're alright!"

"We were thinking the same thing," Yon said. Gatesy brought his arm out from behind him and Scod's mouth dropped open.

"The guitar!" Scod grabbed it and stroked the neck of the guitar like it was a beloved pet, then he looked back up at Gatesy gratefully. "I was bored out of my brains up here by myself with nothing to do. Thanks for bringing this."

"No problem, but don't hog it all for yourself, okay? I still wanna use it too!" Scod and Gatesy grinned at each other.

"Sure, sure…mate, you're a legend!" Scod instantly sat down on the bed and began playing a song, momentarily oblivious of his friends' presence.

PART THIRTEEN

The next day they began planning their escape. Going by Scod's notes, and various other clues, they found they could pretty much predict how the girls would react to different things, so they shaped their plans around these aspects. Scod had also drawn a map of as much of the house as he could remember, as he was the only one who'd been shown around the house, but there was a lot missing. They needed more clues. They needed to look around for things they could use. 

When the door clicked open at lunchtime Gatesy and Yon shoved their material under the blankets and Scod grabbed the guitar so it didn't look so suspicious.

"Hello Jade, you're looking quite stunning today if you don't mind my saying?" Gatesy grinned at her as she walked in with their tray of food.

"Thanks," she replied, blushing as she put the tray down and came to sit on the bed with them.

"We were wondering, seeing as Scod has already had the pleasure, if you wouldn't mind us having a tour of the house?"

"Well…I don't…" she began.

"It's such a beautiful place and it's a shame that we've only seen a small portion of it." Gatesy continued, shooting a look at Yon to say something, but he refused to open his mouth. "Jade?"

"Well I guess it couldn't really hurt," she shrugged "But what about your lunch?"

"That can wait. We're not really hungry yet, are we Yon?" Gatesy sent another look at Yon, but he still didn't say anything, only shook his head.

"I'll just go tell the others," she said quickly, and got up and left the room. Gatesy turned to Yon and frowned.

"What's with you?" he asked accusingly in a hushed voice.

"Nothing."

"Well start playing along, okay?" Yon nodded.

Jade ignored Yon completely as she showed them around the house, and instead gave all her attention to Gatesy as they talked non-stop about various subjects. As always, Gatesy ended up with all the girls . Yon let out a sigh and focussed all his attention on looking at things around him.

There was an upside to those two not noticing his presence though – he could take things and put them in his pockets and up his sleeves without having to worry about being caught in the act. By the time they got back to their room, Yon was fully loaded with all sorts of things he had found throughout the house. It was a wonder Jade didn't notice just how much more bulky Yon had gotten after their walk.

After she had left Yon stood beside the bed and shook all the things he had picked up out onto the bed. Gatesy and Scod gaped at him. Gatesy obviously hadn't noticed his mischievous antics either.

"Woah!" Scod exclaimed.

"How'd you manage that?" Gatesy asked.

"Well you two were too busy completely ignoring me, so I thought I'd do something of some use." Yon said quietly, watching Gatesy's face; he didn't register any reaction to Yon's bitter undertones. Yon sighed and shook himself slightly. "So, anything you think could come in handy?" he asked, looking from one friend to the other.

"Hell yes!" Scod said, picking up a letter opener from the bed and looking at it carefully. Some of the stuff would definitely come in handy. There was paper, pens, and other objects that could be used as weapons or as a means to try and break out.

Gatesy and Scod finished Scod's map on a new piece of paper and Yon sorted out all the bits and pieces he had collected, and eventually they thought they had everything worked out.

They decided to wait a few more days before they tried their plan out. It still needed some more fine-tuning and they wanted the girls to be a little more trusting of them yet, but Scod was pretty sure the plan was flawless. It was his plan after all, so of course it would work.

Yet again Gatesy was worried about Yon. He had thought that when they were moved up out of the cellar things would be different, but now they seemed to have not changed at all. Sure, he didn't seem scared like he had been, just depressed and quiet and Gatesy didn't know why. He had tried asking Yon to tell him what was wrong but he simply wouldn't. He hardly spoke anymore except when it was absolutely necessary. Gatesy didn't know what was wrong with him, and it was quickly becoming the main problem in his mind. He was thinking more about Yon's state than their plan to escape. Finally he decided he had to get the truth out of his friend once and for all. When Scod left for his shower Gatesy looked back at Yon, who was laying on his back on the bed with one arm behind his head, staring up at the plaster ceiling. Gatesy sat on the bed beside him and then flopped down so they were laying side by side.

"Tell me," he said gently. Yon turned to look at him, searching his eyes and face, and then nodded.

PART FOURTEEN

It was all a blur. A huge, horrible blur. It was like a nightmare, only real. He couldn't believe it. How could it happen? The main thing that stuck in his mind was the sound. The loud gunshot piercing the air and then the image of Scod's body hitting the hard polished wood floor. Gatesy rushing to his side. Blood. Screaming. It took Yon a while to realise it was him making the ghastly sound and not Gatesy. He dropped to his knees and covered his face with shaking hands, shielding his eyes from the horror.

Yon felt two arms slide around him and he and Gatesy cried together while the girls just stood around them staring. Scod was dead. Lucille had killed him, shot him in the chest. Why hadn't Scod just gone by the plan instead of trying to cheat his way out of there early?

Gatesy didn't look at the girls as he helped Yon to his feet and pushed them aside so they could get through. He gripped Yon's shoulder and accompanied him upstairs to their room. All Yon could see was Scod falling to the floor over and over again.

Now they were sitting together on the bed, staring into space. Gatesy had his hand on the back of Yon's neck, both of them silently comforting each other. It had taken all day for it to actually sink in, and now they were both drained of emotion – empty, unable to move for the grief, yet Yon had never felt so close to his friend as he did now.

Gatesy was still in shock. He couldn't speak. It was his fault. He could've stopped it. He could've jumped in front of Scod and taken the bullet himself. He should've seen what was coming – seen that Scod was going to do something. He should've, could've, but he didn't, and now it was all over. He was gone, forever. They'd known each other for years, and never once did he consider not having him in his life, never thought of what it would be like without him.

Lucille still kept pulling out all stops of seduction in Gatesy's way and even though she'd killed his friend and the thought of it disgusted him, he was still slightly attracted to her. He thought about this for a while and then thought up another plan. If he could do something to distract her while the others were shopping the next day, then maybe Yon could go get help.

Gatesy told Yon his plan and reluctantly he agreed that it was the only thing they could do. He was obviously worried about him, but Gatesy was pretty sure he could handle the situation. She wouldn't be able to resist. He knew it was corny, but at exactly 3.00 he got undressed into a towel and went and told Lucille he was going to have a shower. He saw her looking him up and down and he smiled seductively and then left her room. Yon was standing in the doorway of their room when he walked past and Gatesy gave him a signal and walked into the bathroom, carefully leaving the door open a crack.

Yon saw Lucille making her way slowly towards the bathroom, and then she stood and looked in the crack before soundlessly opening the door and walking in, closing it behind her. Yon crossed his fingers and hurried downstairs to the front door. He got the small set of cleverly constructed tools from under his jumper and went to work on the lock. After a while he had finally gotten all five locks unlocked and he jumped up and sprinted down the road.

Gatesy looked up as the door opened and watched Lucille carefully as she circled him.

"So you've finally decided to co-operate then, have you?" she asked. Gatesy nodded.

"I can't resist anymore," he lied, hoping he sounded convincing.

"Good," she replied and began to get undressed – somewhat a strip tease you might say. Gatesy stepped forwards and took over where her hands had been, unbuttoning her shirt slowly, trying to draw out the process for as long as possible. He didn't want to have to do anything with her if it wasn't necessary, so he hoped Yon wouldn't take too long. She watched him as he undressed her. He hoped he was pulling it off okay because he really wasn't feeling anything, but that all changed when she kissed him, sucking his tongue into her mouth. A moan rose from his throat at her expert kiss. He tried to regain control of his body, but all logical thoughts disappeared when she leant into him, slipping her leg between his and her thigh rubbing against his rapidly growing erection. He slid his fingers under her shirt and pushed it off her shoulders, then smoothed his hand over the small of her back as his other hand moved down to cup one of her now naked breasts. He hadn't thought he was still that attracted to her anymore, but obviously nothing had changed.

The kiss became more urgent and their bodies writhed together as Gatesy's fingers undid her fly and slid into her pants. He rubbed her slowly and she moaned, pressing firmer into his hand as he dipped his fingers into her moist opening. In return she pushed his towel down over his hips and let it fall to the floor to reveal his now agonisingly hard erection. She took him into her hand, alternating between stroking his shaft and caressing his balls. Gatesy was moaning as he felt intense pleasure thrumming through his body. His climax was coming on fast. He needed to be inside her, and he needed to be inside her now.

PART FIFTEEN

Yon's breath came out in sharp ragged gasps as he ran up the stairs and into the police station. Luckily it was only a few blocks from the house they had been held captive in, but he wasn't very fit so when he tried to tell the policeman at the desk the problem he could hardly get it out for lack of breath.

"Girls…holding us…hostage…big house…down the road. They…they…killed Scod…" Yon continued rambling in short quick bursts until he finally got the whole story out. Eventually the confused looking man understood and immediately sent out a rescue team to head off towards the house Yon had described to them

"God…oh god…" Gatesy gasped as Lucille's mouth and tongue rapidly pushed him over the edge. He had been trying to hold back but now he was totally gone. He cried out loudly, his head thrown back in ecstasy. He saw stars and his whole body shuddered compulsively. Lucille swallowed and licked him clean, then slid up his body and kissed him hungrily. Already he was becoming hard again, his erection pressing against her hip.

"Lucille!" called Jen's voice, accompanied by thumping up the stairs.

"Shit!" Gatesy whispered.

"Get dressed!" Lucille hissed. He wasn't going to refuse, and he quickly threw on his clothes. When he turned back to look for Lucille he found that she had already dressed and left the room.

"WHERE IS HE!?" he heard Lucille roar. He cringed.

"Shit shit shit shit shit!!!" he swore under his breath. They'd been caught. Yon was still gone. Holy fuck, what would they do to him if Yon didn't get back in time!?

Gatesy stood frozen in the middle of the room repeating the same word over and over before he came to his senses and finally bolted for their bedroom. He grabbed the pink handled ice pick from under his pillow and then ran back out and began to sneak along the wall down the staircase towards where he could hear their voices. He got to the last step and quickly peeked around the corner before ducking back again. Jen had been standing on the opposite side of the wall he was leaning against and the other two were a few metres away, closer to the entrance door. He couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but he did know that they were planning to do something to him, and it wasn't going to be pleasant. 

Gatesy gripped the ice pick firmly in his fist until his knuckles turned white and he looked up to the ceiling. He couldn't believe he was going to do this. He said a quick prayer, and before he had a chance to change his mind he swung around the corner, immediately yanking Jen backwards into his arms and aiming the sharp point of his weapon at her throat, the light glinting off the metal. He looked up to find that Lucille and Jade already had their guns pointed at him. He froze, his limbs suddenly feeling very heavy, but he shook himself out of it and quickly extracted Jen's knife from her ankle sheath and slipped it into his belt.

"Ah…if you shoot, I swear she's dead," he said, trying to keep his voice from shaking. Lucille simply smiled ironically at him.

"Do you think we really care?"

Suddenly the door crashed open and three cops barged in, aiming their guns at the three girls. Yon gaped at the scene before him. Lucille smiled at Gatesy and aimed at him and Jen. Next minute there was a loud gunshot and a scream as Jade jumped, taking the bullet before it got to her friend. She fell to the floor and stupidly Gatesy let Jen go as she ran to her friends' aid.

"Hold your fire or we'll shoot!" one of the policemen ordered, but Lucille didn't listen.

"Bitch!" she screamed, and shot Jen as well, then before Yon knew what was happening she raised the gun again, aiming it at him. He closed his eyes instinctively and heard a explosion of guns firing followed by two heavy thumps. He frowned. He should be dead. A sinking feeling of dread swam over him, and slowly he opened his eyes.

PART SIXTEEN

It was the first anniversary of his friends' horrific deaths, and even now the terrifying images stuck in his head as though it had only been yesterday. He remembered opening his eyes and seeing Gatesy lying at his feet, blood oozing out of the bullet-hole in the side of his head, right near his temple. His mind was blank after that and from what he'd heard from other people he had gone a bit crazy at that stage – crying, screaming, everything. He had been totally out of it and they had to restrain him because he might've hurt somebody, or himself.

It was only later when he was being checked up on at the hospital that he was told that the other thump he had heard was that of Lucille falling to the ground dead after she had been shot numerous times by the police. Finally it was over, but in the process he had lost both of his closest friends. Even now he still blamed himself for their deaths – especially Gatesy's. He was the one who should be dead, not Gatesy.




Tripod Beware



He was told that all the girls had died, but every night he had the same dream where he was locked in the cellar once again and the girls were there, alive, coming to get him. 

He had gotten himself a girlfriend, Christine, and they were hoping to get married in a year or so, but that morning she had left to go stay with her mother for a few days, and so Yon had the house to himself. He was slightly thankful for this, because that meant he could mourn the loss of his friends in peace.

He spent the day going through their old stuff: notebooks full of songs they had written in all their different stages, souvenirs – just token items – from when they were touring, one of Scod's guitars. He hadn't had the nerve to read Gatesy's journals until today. The first one was basically just a travel log that he had obviously written in while they were touring – there wasn't anything very personal in it. It was towards the end of the second one that things got more serious. It was written while they were being held hostage. Yon was surprised at how much there was about him and how Gatesy was worried about him. He read about what he had been doing back then – it was strange seeing how it was from someone else's point of view. He hadn't realised Gatesy cared about him so much – he never knew, and now it was too late to thank him for his help, because without Gatesy there to talk to, he was sure he would have gone out of his mind. Gatesy had saved him from himself.

Yon went to bed that night emotionally drained from all the feelings that had resurfaced that day. He closed his eyes and waited for the recurring nightmare to arrive, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

He could see them, waiting in the dark shadows. Yon backed into the corner, silently begging them not to hurt him, but they continued moving slowly but surely in on him. The first thing he saw was the weapons; the glint in the darkness as the light hit the knife blade, the loud click splitting the air as the chrome butt of the gun emerged into the light. Next all three girls stepped totally into the light, their faces holding expressions of pure evil. Jade brought up her hand and aimed the gun at him.

Yon gasped and sat up, looking around frantically. He was breathing unsteadily and his body was covered in a sheen of cold sweat. He flicked on the light beside the bed and checked all the obvious places, but he didn't see anything out of place. He sighed in relief. That had been the most real version of the nightmare he'd ever had! He really had to stop allowing it to affect him so much.

He threw back the sheets and lay down on top of the covers, trying to think happy thoughts so he wouldn't freak himself out, but as usual it didn't work – he kept imagining them to be there, in the shadows where the small bedside light couldn't reach. He shook himself and picked up a book of Christine's from beside the bed – some crap romance novel – but hopefully it would take his mind off the nightmare.

He read for half and hour or so, and it did help, but he couldn't budge the feeling of unease that was clenched in a tight fist in his stomach. He placed the book back on the table, turned off the light and closed his eyes. He was just drifting off when he heard a soft laugh and the familiar click of the gun. He groaned. Not again, not already. He pulled himself out of his slumber and stared at the darkness until his eyes adjusted a bit. The few tiny shards of light on the walls shuddered slightly then stilled. He frowned. He was sure he heard the laugh again. He'd felt they were here before, but now the feeling was stronger than ever. He could feel the breeze they made as they paced the room. He squeezed his eyes shut momentarily. Then he heard a creak right beside him. 'Shit!' he thought, silently panicking. He didn't even have anything to protect himself. Why had he let Christine talk him into putting the baseball bat away in the wardrobe after she'd found it under the bed?

There was a click as the light illuminated the room once more and he found himself staring straight into Jade's leering face. He tried to scream but no sound would come.

"Hello Yonny, long time no see," she hissed "I bet you miss your friends, don't you? I'm here to help you to join them. Who knows? We might meet again one day!" A maniacal laugh filled the room as she pressed the cold butt of the gun against his temple.

"N-no…please…" Yon pleaded, finally finding his voice, but the sound that came from his mouth was almost non-existent. 

"Goooodbyyyye!" she chimed in a singsong voice. A loud gunshot pierced the darkness. Then silence.

* * * * *

(c) Helen Looymans, 2001