Re: Tau Upsilon Gamma [M+/M+] [update - 2/6/25]
Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2025 3:32 pm
by wataru14
It's been waaaaaay too long, but I managed to get my creative juices flowing again. Hit a literary dry spell for a while. But hopefully that's past and I can continue. As an "I'm Sorry" for being absent for so long, this next chapter is significantly longer than usual. Enjoy!
Chapter 7 â The Amazing Race
Earlier that dayâŚ
Ray was up before everyone else, even after the festivities the previous night. Or, at least he thought he was. It wasnât even 6:00 yet when he slipped out of bed, and Masonâs bunk above his was empty.
âHuh?â Ray thought. Unless he had a math competition or something, Mason never got up this early. Especially since the sun hadnât even risen yet. Whoever his âbuddyâ was today must have wanted to get a really early start. Shrugging it off, Ray changed out of his jeans and into a pair of running shorts he had packed for early morning workouts, and then headed out to the hall.
Scott was already in the kitchen, setting up for breakfast and looking fresh as a daisy.
âMorninâ, Sporto,â he said, tossing Ray a banana from the counter.
Ray caught the banana and peeled it, taking a big bite before answering. âHow are you up so damn early?â he asked, rather incredulously.
âOh please,â Scott said, cracking some eggs into a bowl. âYou think half a six-pack and a shared blunt is going to knock me out the next day? You forget who youâre talking to, rookie.â Ray cackled in response. âBut of course youâre up before the sun. Your dadâs a marine, right? Youâre probably used to doing pre-dawn workouts, complete with cadences.â
âYeah,â Ray said. âEspecially during wrestling season. Ever since I was a kid. It just feels natural now, you know.â
âYou sound like Danny,â Scott scoffed. âWhich reminds me⌠heâs already outside. Heâs waiting for you. Good thing youâre already changed.â
âDanny, huh?â Ray said, dropping the peel into the garbage can. âSo Iâm guessing itâs something physical then. Good. Iâve been looking to let loose.â Scott gave a wry chuckle but said nothing else.
Ray felt a surge of anticipation as he stretched out one last time and headed out the back door to the yard. Whatever Danny has planned was no doubt going to be grueling. But Ray welcomed that. He always liked Danny. He was the first active to support him during his âtrial,â even if it was part of a power play. He always admired Dannyâs drive and ambition. He was hungry. Something that was lacking in most of the other Actives. Brett was already successful and both Shane and Hoss seemed willing to coast through life using their considerable assets and talents. Scott was a lost cause. A follower with no direction. But Danny knew what he wanted and went after it. Ray couldnât help but respect that.
Just off the porch was a makeshift sign. It simply read âRAYâ and had an arrow pointing toward a path in the woods off to one side. Hoss was adjusting something in the engine of a jeep in the other direction. Ray gave him a quick nod of greeting before starting to jog in the direction of the arrow. âBetter get the blood flowing early,â he thought. The path was short, only about 1,000 feet or so, and emptied out into a huge meadow. The size of two football fields, the meadow was crammed with wooden posts and walls, old monster truck tires, mud pits, and workout stations. It reminded him of how his dad had described the boot camp training setup in the Corps.
Danny stood a few feet from the end of the path, arms folded across his chest in mock impatience. A camouflage-print bandana covered his head and his face was painted in a forest camo pattern. A flippant mockery of a drill sergeant, and Ray couldnât help but chuckle.
âPresent and accounted for ser-GEANT!!!â Ray joked, snapping into a flawless ready position. He knew how to do it perfectly. The Major would accept no less.
âAt ease, maggot!â Danny barked. There was a moment where he held character, but then he chuckled as well. âI figured youâd appreciate a little drama, Mr. Hollywood.â Ray smiled at the jibe and looked around.
âPretty nice setup,â he said, relaxing into a casual stance. âSo whatâs the plan? We go through our paces and see who has the best time?â He had wanted to go head-to-head with Danny in something, ANYTHING, for a while now.
âNah, fam,â Danny scoffed. âI ran this course my freshman year. When I wasnât the Adonis I am today. This is all on you. You run each event, then after each one I add a restraint. Then you run the next and I add another. And they stack, so by the end youâll be cooked, bro. And you can tap out at any time. Donât forget.â
Ray wasnât going to let THAT little jab slide. âNo fucking way! Iâve been running courses like this since I was 10!â He stopped, a little miffed that he rose to the insult so quickly, almost automatically. But that was the reaction Danny wanted. Maybe heâd been taking lessons from Shane?
âThatâs what I thought,â Danny said. âSo letâs get started. First up is something easy. A little wall climb.â Danny put his arm casually over Rayâs shoulder and walked him over to the start of the course.
There were three wooden walls. Boards over a thick log frame. Each subsequent one was larger and more complex than the one before. Ray looked at Danny and said âIâm ready, coach. You got your stopwatch?â
âOh, weâre not checking for time,â Danny said. âIâll be observing you, but Iâm looking for something besides how fast you can finish. All of these little excursions are about observation. Hoss and I are having a little⌠disagreement over the outcome of our respective outings, but I think this will prove my point.â
Ray was unsure of what that meant, but just shrugged. âAll right then, Iâm ready.â
âGo!â
The first wall was only about 8 feet high. And Ray could tell climbing it in the traditional way was a distinctly BAD idea. It was rough and unsanded, with splinters and broken slats jutting out in all directions. Using any of the slats for handholds would not be wise. With a running leap, Ray planted his foot on the wall and launched himself up. He grabbed the top of the wall and held on, then planted both feet on the rough wall surface to keep his body away from the splinters and vaulted up to the top. Danny nodded approvingly and Ray hopped down and charged at the second wall.
The second wall was much taller: about 20 feet. And while the first was rough and jagged, this one was smooth as silk. Sanded and painted, there was almost no texture to it. But there were grips spaced intermittently around going up the entire length. Ray hopped up on the billowy safety mat. Couldnât get a running start on this one. He grabbed the first grip and pulled himself up.
The amount of upper-body strength needed for this was daunting for even him. As he ascended, he couldnât rely on previous grips to serve as footrests to stabilize him. Sometimes they were just too far away. And some grips required him to stretch almost beyond his limits, sometimes even having to push off against the wall and half-jump to reach them. His muscles strained and ached, and he almost slipped once or twice. By the time he reached the top, his arms were like Jell-o. But he made it.
Ray stood on the top of the wall and did a double-bicep pose, shouting âFUCK YEAH!!!â so loud they could probably hear it in the house. Danny gave a dismissive golf clap that made Ray laugh as he jumped down into the billowy safety mat below. But there was still one wall left.
The third wall was the same height as the second, but it wasnât straight vertical. It was set at a 45-degree angle facing Ray, so the top was directly above him and the base far ahead. A rope hung down from the top, reaching the ground. It was thick and good for climbing, but there were no knots along its length. Ray also noticed on the underside of the wall, spaced fairly evenly, were metal rings. They could be used like monkey bars to pull himself up. He had a choice to make, it seemed.
Ray decided to go for the rope. His arms were already wobbly from the last wall and the rope would be easier on them since he could use his feet to climb, too. He grabbed on with both hands and pulled. He had been climbing ropes like this since elementary school, but never after such a grueling arm workout as he just had. His going was painfully slow. By the time he reached the top and pulled himself up, his arms felt like they were going to fall off. Panting and sweating, Ray hopped on the slide built into the rear of the wall and whooshed down to the ground.
âNice work!â Danny praised, patting him on the back. âBet your arms feel like shit right now, eh?â Ray was too winded to answer. He just took deep breaths and nodded. âWell, in that case, weâll take them out of the equation and let you rest them a little.â Danny walked over to a stump where he had laid out a bale of rope and a pair of handcuffs. âAnd since you chose the ropeâŚâ Danny said, picking up the bale and unwinding it.
Ray continued to get his breathing back under control as he obediently put his hands behind his back and crossed his wrists in the proper manner. This was part of the rules, after all, and he was actually grateful for the opportunity to give his arms a rest for a while. It was a good ache, but they ached all the same, and if we was being tied up, whatever was to come didnât rely on arms. Danny strutted around behind him and began to bind his wrists. This was rope from Wadeâs, not Home Depot, so it was smooth and supple. Almost comfortable. Not the course twine that Ray was expecting. And Danny took his time, wrapping the rope around his wrists in both directions, weaving it in and around itself, to create a secure bind. âCanât have it slipping out while you do the rest, can we?â Danny joked. Ray chuckled, but deep in his mind he thought that if Danny was so concerned about the rope coming loose, what was to come must be just as extreme as what he did, if not moreso.
Once the ropes were tight and snug and Danny had given them a final inspection, Ray was led over to the next station. It wasnât so much a station as it was the edge of the meadow. Just an open expanse.
âYou did strength,â Danny said. âNow we do speed. When I say go, you will run. Run as fast as you can. All the way to the end. When you get there, knock over the flag to show you went all the way and then run back.â At the far end of the meadow was a wooden pylon. Atop the pylon was a flagpole that flew the banner of DIX. The green and white flag was aged and filthy, and ragged from exposure to the elements. Ray chuckled at the symbolism. âAnd for extra motivationâŚâ Danny smirked. He put a pair of protective goggles over Rayâs eyes and picked up a paintball gun. âIf I think youâre slowing down⌠pop pop muthafucka! I might also just take shots at you for the hell of it. You never know. Heh heh.â
Ray rolled his eyes and got into position. Not being able to use his arms for stability as he ran was interesting to him. It would not be his best sprint ever, but it would have to do.
Danny shouted âGO!â and Ray took off like a bat out of hell. His gait was awkward and jerky without the use of his arms, but Ray didnât let that stop him. The first paintball splattered against his bare back after about 10 feet. Danny cackled like a Wildman. And it hurt like hell. âAt least he waited until I was outside point-blank range,â Ray thought, familiar with the gameâs rules. Now that he knew that Danny would be shooting at him regardless of his speed, Ray knew he had to zigzag and maneuver as he ran. And with Danny behind him, he wouldnât know when the shots were coming.
He got popped a few more times on the way, which stung like a bitch. Normally you had fatigues and chest armor when you played paintball, but Ray was shirtless. His back was splattered with TUG-red paint and there would be welts for sure. But he didnât let that stop him. He managed to evade more shots than he took, though, and even Danny was impressed by that.
When he got to the flag, Ray was prepared to do a showy jump kick to collapse the pylon. Soar through the air like Liu Kang. But as he prepped, all he could see was Travis. How miserable he was in DIX. How they treated him. How they made him suffer. And Ray just snapped. He barreled into the pylon shoulder-first, bulldozing it. He completely stopped running and commenced to stomping on the DIX flag, smooshing it into the dirt. Danny even stopped shooting as he watched, his eyebrows raised in concerned fascination.
After a few seconds, Ray felt the rage ebb and leave him. He looked down at the filthy flag in shock. What came over him??? His musings were cut short as a paintball smashed into his bicep and Danny hollered out âYouâre not done yet, frosh! Get your ass back here!â Ray shook off the cobwebs and started running back. With Danny now in front of him, he could at least see where the shots were coming from.
He took one in the gut and one in the left pec as he barreled down the meadow, weaving this way and that, but he dodged even more. As he made his final sprint, Danny had to dive out of the way. Ray was clearly setting up another shoulder tackle to finish things off. Danny managed to leap to safety at the last moment as Ray came to a stop.
âYou sonnafabitch!â Danny said, howling with laughter. âAfter all that you still got the balls to come at me! Suck it, Hoss, Iâm right about this one.â Ray didnât know what Danny meant by that, but he didnât question it. His legs were on fire and he felt his calves cramping slightly.
âHere, let me take care of that for you,â Danny knelt down and started to rub Rayâs calves. The dude had magic fingers. Maybe he was on the right track with the whole doctor thing, Ray thought. There was something oddly tender about the treatment from the normally acerbic Danny that gave Ray pause. He wondered if Danny was like this with Mason⌠and he felt ashamed. If Danny noticed that, he didnât say anything.
Ray was so lost in thought that he didnât feel the clink of metal around his ankles until it was too late. After he heard the ratcheting, he looked down in surprise. Danny looked up at him, shit-eating grin on his face. Around Rayâs ankles were a pair of heavy-duty prison-grade leg irons. Like the kind they used to transport inmates offsite. They were heavy steel, and there was barely two feet of chain between them. Whatever was next, Ray wouldnât be running, THAT much was clear.
âWe took your hands out of play, now we take your legs, too,â Danny chortled. Back to his usual sarcasm.
âItâs all good,â Ray said, turning up the bravado.
âThatâs what I like to hear,â Danny replied. He put his hand on Rayâs shoulder, careful not to touch the still-tacky paint, and led him back into the athletic stations. They stopped at a series of balance exercises. Balance beams of varying lengths and slopes and sets of stumps arranged in a line of differing heights. Ray scoffed.
âThatâs it? Even with my hands and legs tied thatâs nothing!â he boasted.
âYou think so?â Danny sneered. âBut I havenât gotten to the best part yet!â Before Ray could ask, Danny hopped up and climbed onto Rayâs shoulders. He laid face down across Rayâs back in a firemanâs carry. âNothingâs that easy, Sporto! Maybe Iâll be nice and just be dead weight. Or maybe I wonât be nice. Now get going.â
Ray rolled his eyes and hopped up on the first balance beam. Despite his bravado, moving along the incline wasnât as easy as he thought. Danny kept himself balanced, but with Rayâs hands tied behind his back he could barely do the same for himself. And with his ankles manacled, he had to take short and careful steps. This beam was fairly wide, but he could see that it narrowed the further along it went. And the incline increased, as well. He was wobbly and awkward, but he made it. There were a few near-falls, but Ray managed to slog through it. Although admittedly it wasnât his most elegant performance.
The stumps were worse. He had to hop from one stump to the next. If his legs werenât shackled, he could have easily run across in long strides. âIf either of us falls off, you have to start all over again,â Danny warned, which made Ray extra careful. It required extreme focus to keep balanced. And the shackles on his legs made hopping difficult. It became even more difficult when Danny decided to ânot be nice.â Ray had just landed on a tall stump a little over halfway through the course when a sharp pain flashed through his chest. He looked down and saw Danny tweaking his right nipple. Impish grin on his face.
âOf course,â Ray scoffed.
âHey, donât hate the playa, hate the game,â Danny joked. âAnd zip that lip or Iâll do it in mid-hop. I also have a clear shot at your balls from here, ya know.â Ray blanched at that threat.
The rest of the stump course was an exercise in focus in the face of torment. Whenever it looked like he was concentrating on lining up his hops, Danny would intercede with a juvenile act. Squeezing Rayâs butt at just the right moment. A finger in his ear. A tickle on his bare ribs. It was maddening. Ray almost slipped off the second-to-last stump, but managed to keep his balance through some small miracle. The final jump was to the tallest stump of the lot. And Danny was determined to break his focus in any way possible. Just as Ray was about to prep for his jump, Danny made good on his threat. Ray felt a hand close around his crotch and give a firm squeeze. He was only wearing running shorts and not the jeans that everyone else was wearing, and right about now he was regretting that choice. Through a supreme act of willpower, Ray managed to stay his jump and remain balanced. If he had gone for it, heâd have missed the stump by a mile. As soon as the grip relaxed, Ray took his shot and leapt.
He had misjudged the distance and juuuuust caught the edge of the stump. He felt himself slipping but did another quick tiny hop forward and managed to slide onto the center. He stood still, desperately trying to maintain his balance. It was a tense moment, and Danny mercifully refrained from screwing with him until it resolved. But Ray held his position, standing tall. After that it was a quick hop to the ground and the course was over.
Danny slid off Rayâs shoulders onto his feet. He had some paint streaks on his camo BDU pants and his abs, but he didnât seem to mind. âNice, niceâŚâ he said, praising Rayâs fortitude. âYou did that pretty well. Even if that last hop was touch-and-go.â Ray smiled at the praise. A compliment from Danny was rare enough to be worth something.
Danny rummaged through a box at his feet. âI noticed you were using your elbows to balance yourself,â Danny said. âSmart move, what with your hands tied behind you and all. But we canât have you doing that anymore.â He pulled out a leather chest harness. Like the kind of thing that would be on display at Wadeâs. Danny must have snagged it from Scottâs collection. Danny placed the ring over the center of Rayâs chest and pulled the straps behind him, over his arms. The paint on his body had dried out by now. Ray felt the confining leather straps being buckled behind him and locked, pinning his arms to his sides and trapping them there snugly. Whatever limited range of movement his upper body had was now gone. All he could do was twist and squirm.
âThere, that should do it,â Danny said as he buckled the final strap closed.
âGuess this means no more climbing,â Ray joked. Danny took him by the arm and walked him over to a plain brick wall. Ray almost got a âfiring squadâ vibe from it. And that was reinforced when Danny walked away and stood next to a plastic tub on the ground. A tub containing dozens of tennis balls.
âUp next,â Danny said, picking up a ball and squeezing in his hand in an oh-so-menacing way, âis an old classic. Love it or hate it, but youâll have to respect my version. Itâs⌠dodgeball!!!â And with that, he hurled a ball directly at Rayâs chest. It made contact with a dull thud and made the blonde freshman stagger back a bit.
âWhat the??? Whoa!â Ray gasped. He leapt to his left and narrowly evaded another vicious fastball.
âLetâs test those reflexes, son!â Danny said as he hurled another.
âGame on, bitch!â Ray retorted with a laugh.
Danny was almost as competitive as Ray, but he had the mean hunger of someone always in second place. People like that are dangerous, Ray knew. And Danny didnât let up. But Ray felt something strange in Dannyâs aggression beyond that. Almost like it was personal.
âI was thinking of taking Mason on a test run of the course before the weekend is out,â Danny said, his words loaded. âWithout the extra bells and whistles, of course.â A ball whizzed past Rayâs head as he ducked out of its path. âUnless youâd like to do it. You did promise him youâd help him train, didnât you?â
Ray froze. Dannyâs words hit him as hard as the tennis ball that bounced off his left shoulder. So THATâs what this about: Danny wanted to rub it in that Ray seemed to have better things to do than fulfill his promise to his best bro.
âBut you donât have to worry about it,â Danny said, launching another ball. âHeâs got me for that. You just keep on doing your movie and pining over your Juliet from DIX. Iâll make sure he gets the attention he needs and not just dump him on the side of the road when something better comes along.â
Ray snarled. If his hands werenât tied behind his back and his arms werenât strapped to his sides, heâd be pummeling that smug sneer off Dannyâs stupid face. But he was in no condition to fight anyone. He was too busy evading tennis balls being hurled at him with jackhammer force. This was more than just a training exercise, that much was abundantly clear.
âYou bastard!â Ray spat, ducking under another ball.
âMason lost his V-card at the pledge party,â Danny said. âAnd who was his wingman? Who helped him have the night of his life? It was Cody! And where were you? Getting high with Leo! Whoâs the one Mason spends all his free time with â while youâre too busy? Itâs Nate! He went to bat for you, bro. He placed his membership on the line to have your back when Brett was looking to kick you out. And how have you repaid him? Huh? HOW!?!?â
Ray snarled again. He was dangerously close to losing his cool completely. He deserved to be taken to task over his lax treatment of Mason, even he had to admit that. But this⌠this was beyond.
âShut your mouth!â Ray spat. âIâve had his back for years! Ever since we were kids! Youâve known him for what, three months? Iâve known him since we were five years old!â
At this point Ray wasnât even attempting to dodge anymore. Balls bounced off his chest and legs like bullets off Superman. He was so mad he didnât even feel it. And he was slowly advancing on Danny, little by little. âWho do you think kept all the school bullies off his case for 13 years? Who got him into every party? Who rode him to the hospital on his bike when he broke his arm playing war in the woods? Who was there for him and invited him over for every holiday when his own parents were too busy working? You? Please! Youâre just a flashy new thing that he picked up on the store shelf. Mason knows how much I care about him. Iâve proven it a million times over!â
Danny was almost out of balls to throw. By this point Ray was only about five feet away anyway.
âMason is his own man!â Ray growled. âHe needs to go out on his own and explore and experiment without me. I canât be standing over his shoulder forever! Is he supposed to live his entire life in my shadow? What kind of life is that? Since heâs been here heâs become more than I ever imagined! Heâs got a girlfriend. He goes skateboarding. Heâs making his own decisions and doing what HE wants to do, not just what I dragged him along for. You think heâs my pet? Some kind of vanity project to stoke my own ego? Youâre fucking delusional, bro. I got him to a place where heâs confident enough to do things on his own. Without me. And Iâm fucking stoked! Maybe it means he turns to someone else now and then. Maybe in some things it means I have to take a back seat and be second choice for once. But if thatâs what he wants⌠if thatâs what he needs, then Iâll do it. You think this is about ME? You donât know shit!â
Ray froze, the weight of his own words pressing down on him. He had been feeling that way for a while now, ever since Mason started hanging out with Leo more. But he was never ready to say it. He stopped his approach, the fury slowly subsiding. âIf I have to let him go to see him fly, then thatâs what Iâll do.â
Danny dropped the tennis ball he was holding back into the tub. He took a few steps toward Ray, closing the distance. Then he gave Ray a massive bro-hug. âYou finally said it,â Danny said, patting Ray on the back in the embrace. âMasonâs my Little Bro. And we talk. About you. A lot. He says heâs worried that youâre jealous. That youâre mad that heâs branching out and trying new things without you. He feels like heâs betraying your trust. You need to tell him what you told me.â
Ray stood silently and took Dannyâs words in, letting them stir in his mind. âHeâs not my son,â Ray said. âAnd I need to stop thinking and acting like he is. I⌠I need to treat him more like an equal, I think.â
âBingo!â Danny said, smiling from ear to ear. âHe knows that no matter what happens, youâll be in his corner when the chips are down. Iâve seen glimmers of that with all five of you, but with you two itâs already there. But you canât stifle him. Accept him for what he is and what heâs becoming. I think heâll surprise you.â
Danny broke the embrace and gripped Rayâs shoulder affectionately. âYouâve got a lot to think about,â Danny said. âYou two can talk it out tonight at the campfire. But that can wait. Thereâs still one more part of the course for ya. And I think weâve used enough⌠words for today.â
Ray scrunched his brow, wondering what Danny meant by that. But he got the picture loud and clear when Danny reached into the bottom of the tennis ball tub and produced a ballgag. The ball itself was the size of a tennis ball and cheekily painted in the same yellow color. It was far larger than the ones TUG usually used or kept on display in the wall cases at the house.
âYouâre a big boy with a big mouth,â Danny teased. âSo you should be able to handle âAndre Agassiâ here. Now open up, Sporto!â Ray opened his jaws as wide as he could, but even that wasnât enough. Danny had to force the ball behind his teeth and he felt the burn of his mandible muscles stretching. Danny gave Rayâs jaw a quick inspection to make sure everything was hunky-dory, and then buckled the strap behind his head. Ray already felt the drool pooling up.
âChew on that for a while, big guy,â Danny said as he took Ray by the shoulders and led him to the center of the course. âNow, welcome to the grand finale. And I shouldnât have to explain it to you, since this should be right up your alley. Itâs a Marine Corp gauntlet!â
Ray looked out and saw the pits of mud with ropes stretched out over them. The hallway of posts with arms meant to whack him as he ran through. He wouldnât be carrying any logs, but otherwise, itâs just like the Major described as the end of boot camp. Ray smiled as best he could with the massive rubber ball in his mouth. He SO had this.
Danny whacked him on the shoulder and yelled âGO!!!â
Ray took off like a shot. He made it to the first mud pit and dropped. He couldnât use his hands or arms to break his fall, bound up tight as they were, but the soft wet earth was cushion enough. He hit the mud with a wet âsplortâ sound. Dirt splattered all over him. Without the use of his hands, he was forced to crawl on his belly like a worm, using only his knees to push himself forward. As he crawled, he passed under the ropes stretched taut across the expanse of the mud pit at regular intervals. Danny cheered and make piggy comments, but Ray just laughed it off. When he passed under the last rope, he sprang to his feet.
Rayâs blonde hair, already unkempt and tangled from the exertion of the previous events, was plastered with mud. His face, arms and chest (already splattered with red paint) were stained with dirt. Both his knees were brown from crawling in the mud. But he didnât let that stop him. He raced on toward the gauntlet. Putting his head down, he barreled through between the rows of posts. Some of the arms were stationary and flexible, but firm, and gave him a lot of resistance as he tried to muscle through. Others started moving in a circular motion that reminded Ray of the brushes of a car wash. He thought how he could use a car wash right about now as he fought his way forward, being pummeled on both sides by the moving arms. He just hoped the welts would go away before classes started or heâd have a lot of awkward explaining to do.
After emerging from the gauntlet, there was one more long mud pit. But on this one, the ropes were stretched at differing heights. Some he would have to crawl under and some he would have to climb over. Which wouldnât be easy without the use of his hands. But he went at it with his usual gusto, alternating slinking along the ground and undulating up and over. When Ray finally crawled over the last rope and emerged from the mud pit, he stood up in one leaping motion and let out a bellow of triumph. If his hands werenât bound behind his back he would have raised both fists in victory. He actually forgot himself for a moment and tried to raise his arms, stopping and laughing when he felt the squeeze of the leather straps pinning them to his sides.
Danny ran over, cheering like a madman. Not caring that Ray was covered in mud, he grabbed the burly freshmen in a bearhug and spun him around wildly. âNow THATâs what Iâm talking about!â he cried. Ray was beaming with accomplishment as Danny began to undo his restraints. Once the adrenaline wore off, he began to feel the ache and fatigue in his arms and legs. His drive and will to finish the courses made him temporarily forget about it, but now it was all rushing back to him. Danny had to rub Rayâs arms to help restore circulation once the harness and ropes had been removed.
âThat was fucking EPIC!â Danny said as he deposited the filthy restraints into a plastic tub. âYou freshmen will be cleaning those up before dinner, of course,â he joked. Ray was an absolute mess. Sweaty, bruised, exhausted, and covered head to toe in filthy mud and dried red paint. Danny couldnât help but snap a few pictures on his phone âfor the end-of-year slideshow.â Ray was too tired and sore to protest. He just gave the middle finger and laughed.
âLetâs head back,â Danny said. âMost of the others should be back by now anyway.â He put his arm around Rayâs shoulder as they headed back across the course and into the woods toward the cabin.
But there was a burning question in Rayâs mind. One he just had to ask.
âSo, did I impress you?â he asked between labored breaths. âDo I get to learn your big secret?â
Danny thought about it for a second. âSure, why the hell not?â he said. âIt wasnât about the obstacles. I knew youâd pass those. I wouldnât have brought you out here if I didnât. But you came to a big realization and I think that deserves a reward. But donât get your hopes up. Mineâs not that big a deal.â
âWhat do you mean?â Ray asked.
âMy secret is: Iâm asexual.â
âHuh?â Ray asked, dumbfounded. âBut you⌠youâve been with half the girls and a quarter of the guys on campus. I mean, you even⌠with Mason⌠after the girlsâŚâ
âOh, that?â Danny asked. He just shrugged. âThat was just something to get his attention. It didnât really do anything for me. I just⌠donât feel that way. As for the âteeming multitudesâŚâ you know as well as I do that guys like us have an image to maintain. People expect to see rowdy horny party boys so thatâs what we have to give them sometimes. Itâs like, if Iâm with a girl or a guy at a party, and I can see theyâre clearly into me and expecting something, I kinda have to give it to them. If I donât, the image is tarnished. And people will talk, believe me. So I go through with it. I can perform physically, no question there, but I just⌠donât feel anything as I do it. Itâs not a big deal to me. Itâs like Iâm cutting my toenails or folding laundry. Itâs just⌠meh.â
âBut all the stuff TUG does⌠you mean you donâtâŚ?â Ray asked.
âNow THATâS a different story altogether,â Danny explained. âThereâs something alluring about bondage for its own sake. I like how it feels. I like the control and power exchange. I donât get off on it sexually like my brother or Hoss do, but I still fucking love it. Either side of the ropes. Itâs just something I really enjoy. Hey, whatever gets the dopamine flowing, right? I mean, tying a dude up⌠or being tied up yourself⌠doesnât HAVE to be sexual, does it?â
By this time, the pair had emerged from the woods and were making their way toward the house. Ray was lost in contemplation, taking in what Danny had just said. He was so engrossed, he didnât see the developing scene happening on the porch. Danny stopped the pair in their tracks and busted out laughing.
âWhatâs going on?â Ray asked. He looked up and immediately saw why Danny was howling with laughter. On the front porch, Cody was wrapped in ropes from collar to toe and was hanging upside-down from the eaves of the porch, suspended by his cowboy-booted ankles. Hoss reclined against a support post, casual as anything, looking like a champion fisherman posing with his catch. He spit into his water bottle and said âWow, you look like shit, Blondie. Danny mustâve rode you pretty hard.â
Ray ran his hand through his mud-encrusted hair and laughed as Nate and Scott popped in from behind the house. Their eyes were bloodshot and both were giggling about something no one else understood.
âJesus Christ!â Hoss scoffed. âScott, what did you do to him?â
âMe?â Scott shrugged, still giggling. âWhy not a thing. But enough about us, Bluto. Looks like youâve got a strapping prize all trussed up and ready for some good-old-fashioned funâŚâ
---
Elsewhere in the woods, Mason had set up camp for the night. He had snagged enough material from the toolshed to construct a basic lean-to and had a fire going. Brett was still tied down to the stretcher, which was propped against a fallen log a few feet away.
âThis is because my family is rich, isnât it?â Brett snarled. âWell if you think youâre getting a ransom for me, youâve got another thing coming. Do you know who my grandfather is? Heâs got friends and connections you canât even dream of! Heâll find me and youâll wish youâd never been born!â
Mason just rolled his eyes. Heâd been hearing Brett going off like this for miles. And Brett was being far too noisy. Not only were there animals in these woods, but whoever had initially abducted them might be anywhere. The last thing Mason needed was Brettâs yowling to alert them.
âIâm getting sick of all your yammering,â Mason said. âIf you wonât even listen to what I have to say, then at least shut the hell up before you make things even worse.â
âDonât think you can order me around!â Brett spat. âIf I werenât tied up like this Iâd end you myself! Youâd be beggingâŚâ
Brettâs words were cut off in midstream. Mason had finally had enough. He had grabbed a few dirty bandanas from the toolshed, just in case, and now he had a perfect use for them. While Brett had been spouting off, Mason had been compressing one into a tight ball. When he finally reached the end of his tolerance, he waited for the right moment and shoved it between Brettâs jaws with lightning speed.
âMMMPPPGGGHH!!!!!â Brett howled as the dusty fabric invaded his mouth. He bucked and struggled against his bonds, but they held fast. Mason took the second bandana, folded it into a wide strip, and plastered it over Brettâs mouth before tying it behind his head with a tight knot. He made sure he got it on before Brett could spit out the stuffing and go on another tirade.
âFinally, some peace and quiet!â Mason snorted. âLook, Brett. I donât know what else to do to convince you whatâs going on here, but right now Iâm too tired to care. There are wild animals and god-knows-what else in these woods and unless you want to bring all of that down on us, do me a favor and SHUT THE FUCK UP!â Brett snorted, but stopped his struggling. âGood,â Mason said. âNow try to get some sleep. We have a long way to go tomorrow.â
Coming Soon: Chapter 8 â Dazed and Confused
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