Newspaper Boy

When I was 18 I did a paper round for a local newsagent, with the round always finishing near my old primary school. The school had changed since I had been there and along one side of the school had been built a plastic covered roof supported by metal poles. Whilst doing my Saturday morning round and delivering to my last house, I still had a number of papers left in my bag for my parents and the neighbours, I noticed some people messing around by the side of the building – my dad worked at the school and I knew they had a lot of vandalism at the weekend so I went to see what they were doing. I realised that as I got closer they were people a couple of years below me at school – Jack and James I think their names were that I had had run ins with before.

I left my bike by the main door to the school and walked around the side of the building. ‘What do you think your doing?’ I shouted at them. They looked up, startled, and then recognised me. Walking towards them I heard a noise behind me and as I turned saw that there were 4 of their friends – I started to get worried. Jack spoke first ‘we knew you would come over and see what was going on, you always were too nosy – that’s why you got us into trouble’ They were referring to the time, last year, when they had been suspended for bullying – I didn’t think they knew it was me that had grassed them up, but obviously my secret was out.

‘We have got plans for you, now take the bag off your shoulder and do what we tell you’ There was six of them but I wasn’t going to do what they said so ran for it. I got maybe 3 metres before they grabbed me, pulled me to the floor and pulled the newspaper bag off my shoulder. They then pulled me to the metal poles, pulled my hands behind it and tied them together with rope. They had been planning this for some time as they didn’t speak and they had the ropes in the pockets. 2 of the other lads tied my feet together at ankle height, then at knee height and then attached these ropes to the pole as well. Another rope was tied around my waist and pulled tight – firmly attaching me to the pole. I tried to shout for help and this resulted in James putting his hand across my mouth. ‘We need to shut him up’ was all he said. Jack took one of the newspapers from my bag, removed the front sheet and folded it over twice. He then forced it into my mouth, holding it in place with another rope tied tightly – it tasted awful and also stopped me from talking. Another sheet of newspaper was folded in the same way and then tied across my eyes – I was bound, gagged and blindfolded – attached to a metal pole and surrounded by 6 people preparing to do who knew what.

Suddenly it went quiet and I heard some shout ‘run’. I didn’t know this but someone else had arrived at the school and the lads had ran off not wanting to be seen, this person unlocked the side door and wheeled my bike into the building before coming out and looking at me. I could sense someone was nearby, but didn’t know who and couldn’t move. I felt the ropes holding my legs and waist to the pole being loosened and then my hands were released, as I moved them to remove the blindfold and gag I was pushed to the floor and my hands retied. Whoever this was they were strong and I knew it wasn’t the lads. I was lifted to my feet and dragged into the school, I could hear the door being locked. I was taken into the main hall at the center of the school and dropped onto the floor.

Finally my captor spoke: ‘I watched what they did to you, now you are in the school, no one knows you are here and no one else will be in the school until Tuesday due to the holiday. I am not going to hurt you unless you make me, but I am going to give you the chance to escape. I now am going to remove your gag – if you shout then I will hurt you. Do you understand?’

I nodded my head and then felt the rope behind my head being loosened and the newspaper taken out of my mouth.

‘I have a question for you and then I will tell you what is going to happen’ he said. ‘You do a paperround, but have newspapers in your bag, who are these for?’

‘I always have extra for my parents and neighbours, I have finished my round for the day’ I replied.

‘Good’ was the reply. ‘You have the chance to earn your freedom. I am going to tie you up, if you escape then you will be free to leave. If you don’t then, well lets just say that this was your last paperround.’

I started to shout, but he covered my mouth with a leather gloved hand. ‘If you shout again then this chance is gone and I will get rid of you now. Do you accept?’

I didn’t have a choice so nodded my head.

‘Good, by the way, when you were at this school you treated me badly – this is my revenge, but don’t worry I wont hurt you…..yet!’

I didn’t know what he meant and before I could say anything the newspaper was pulled back into my mouth and the rope tightened again. I heard the rustle of a bag being shook out and then felt a bag being slid over my legs, I tried to stop it happening and received a quick slap which indicated that I should stop struggling. The bag felt large and I realised that it must be a rubbish bag; I heard tape being ripped from a roll and felt it wrapped around my legs and above my knees holding the bag in place. A second bag was pulled down over my head and I began to panic that I would suffocate when my head pulled through a hole that must have been made in the bag. Again I heard the roll of tape and the bag was tied around my torso, pinning my arms to my side and making movement difficult. The rope around my mouth was loosened and the gag removed again. Then almost as quickly I felt a plastic bag being forced into my mouth and a second bag tied around my head holding it in place, this was even more effective then the newspaper gag that had been in my mouth.

‘Its time for you to see who I am!’ I heard and then the rope holding the newspaper across my eyes was removed as well as the blindfold; I blinked and as my eyes refocused I saw standing over me the school caretaker – I suddenly understood his earlier comment as my friends and I had taken great pleasure when we were younger hiding his things – often in the bins around the school! I struggled to get free and realised that the rope, bags and tape were holding me tight, my struggles were for nothing. The caretaker laughed and then reached for the tape again. He forced my legs to bend and then taped them together, forcing me into a ball shape. Another bag was unrolled and he manhandled me into the bag, tying it around my neck.

‘Nearly finished and then you can see your new home!’ I wondered what he meant as he picked up my newspaper bag and then pulled it down over my head. ‘Now I don’t have to look at your face, see you later’ and I heard him walk away. I struggled as much as possible, but only succeeded in making myself sweaty in the bags and knocking the newspaper bag from my head in the time he was away. By now it was getting dark, which meant that I had been tied up most of the day, when finally the caretaker returned.

‘People have been looking for you, but I got rid of them and since you haven’t got yourself untied its time for me to show you your new home. I am sure that you remember what you used to do to my things when you were at school and that’s what I am going to do to you now’

I was half carried, half dragged in my bag towards the back of the school to where I knew the caretakers office was based and then realised what he meant – he was going to put me into the rubbish bins. These bins were over 8 foot tall and where made of metal in the shape of a cylinder. I knew that they were emptied every Monday and suddenly got very worried. The caretaker smiled and I knew I was right.

‘Unfortunately you have probably guessed what will happen to you. I need to make sure that you look less like a body and then will cover you with rubbish and you will be collected on Monday!’

I struggled again, but is was futile. The caretaker pulled a page from a newspaper laying it over my head and then taped it in place across my eyes. I was blinded and felt more and more tape being wrapped around my head – I knew when he was finished that my head looked more like an old vase wrapped in newspaper then a boys head.

I felt myself being lifted and then dropped into the bin – I didn’t fall as far as expected and realised that I had landed on other rubbish bags and sheets of what felt like cardboard.

‘Now for the final rubbish’ I heard him say. I felt other rubbish falling ontop of me either in bags or loose. The amount of rubbish was making it harder for me to move and I was finding it harder to breath as the weight of the rubbish pushed against my newspaper covered face.

‘Bye’ was the last thing that I heard as the bags stopped being added to my prison and I lay in the bin wondering would he release me, or was this the end?

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13.06.10

story continues in Newspaper Boy 2

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