"Joan, you must be crazy!  I can't possibly do that."

"Why not, Kristen?  You like to run around outside naked and chained."

"Yes, but that's in the summer.  There's snow on the ground now!"

"But it's melting.  The air temperature is over 40; to somebody from Minnesota that's shirt-sleeve weather."

"Yeah, but it's not bare-assed naked weather."

"OK, Kristen.  But if I had lost the bet I would have done what you told me to do."

That made me stop and think.  Joan and her sister Jane were the closest friends I'd made since I moved to northern Arizona.  That they were interested in bondage games was a bonus, and I didn't want to do anything to strain our friendship.

"Tell me again what you want me to do."

"It's simple.  We'll drive out of town to this farm road I know about.  You take off your clothes and I fasten your hands behind your back.  The wrist cuffs from that bilbo you made will be fine for that, since you don't like police handcuffs.  Then you get out and I drive down the road a half-mile or so.  You run to the car.  It won't take you more than five minutes, and then we come back here for some more fun."

"You promise that you'll be there?  I know how much your family likes practical jokes."

I really know.  Since I met them they've made me believe that I was going to be branded and sold as a slave girl, and that I was going to be branded and used as a bondage dummy by a sadistic sorority.  

"I promise.  I won't drive more than a half-mile, and I'll wait in the car with the door unlocked until you get there."

I thought about it.  If it were summer I could believe that Joan might drive away and leave me naked in the middle of nowhere, but now it was too cold to be outside and naked for very long, and I knew that she'd never do anything that might damage me.

"OK, I'll do it."

"Great!  It'll be a lot of fun.  I'm glad that you have weekends off now."

I work as a diesel mechanic at a big truck stop on the Interstate.  Until recently I worked days with Tuesdays and Wednesdays off, but I recently changed to the second shift with weekends off.  I didn't have to be back at work until Monday afternoon, so it was like I had a three-day weekend every week.  It still seemed kind of strange to me that it was Saturday morning and I wasn't at work.

Joan collected what we'd need and we drove until we were about five miles outside of town.  She made a U-turn and stopped the car.  She opened the door and said, "OK, here we are."

I looked around.  The road was narrow, but it was paved and it didn't look to me like it was some farmer's driveway.

"Joan, are you sure that this is the right place?  This looks like a public road."

"Well, it is, but it doesn't go anywhere except to a few farms farther along.  There is almost no traffic.  But would you really want a private road?  I thought that you got a thrill out of the chance of discovery."  

She was right about that.  I could feel the familiar sensations building inside me.  I got out of the car and took off all of my clothes except for my socks and running shoes.  Zowie, it was cold!  My nipples instantly hardened.

Joan stepped behind me and put my wrists into the U-shaped cuffs and fastened them together with a bolt that went through the holes near the open ends of the cuffs.  My forearms were parallel, with my hands pointing in opposite directions, and I could almost touch my elbows with my fingertips.  I had made these cuffs to fit me, so they were snug without being tight enough to restrict my circulation, but the position of my arms was putting a strain on my shoulders.  Joan was still working on the cuffs and I looked back and saw that she had pliers in her hand.

"What are you doing?"  I asked.

"I'm putting a cotter pin through the hole in the end of the threads.  That will make it more secure."

Yes, it would do that.  It also meant that I could be released only by somebody with tools.  

Joan got into the car and drove off, and I started to jog after her.  There was snow piled at the edges of the road, but the pavement was dry and it wasn't any harder to run than it usually is when my hands are tied behind my back.  I had been running for a few minutes when I heard a car behind me.  I looked back and saw that it was a police car!

I turned and ran off the road.  I didn't expect that I could outrun the cop, but I thought if I could get onto private property it might make it harder to bring a charge of public indecency.  I didn't get too far.  The snow piled up at the edge of the road slowed me down, and I hadn't even started to climb the wire fence at the edge of the field when I felt a hand grab my upper arm.  I started to lose my balance and I threw my head back and felt it hit something.

The cop yelled, "OW!  That's my nose!  What is this, some sort of sorority initiation?"

I was kind of flattered that he thought I was young enough to be a college girl.  I nodded yes.

"Well, you're still under arrest."  He looked at my hands.  "You seem to be cuffed securely enough."

The deputy sheriff (as I now knew he was) opened the back door of the patrol car and helped me inside.  He tucked a blanket around me and fastened my seat belt Then he pulled a black nylon hood over my head.  I heard the ratchet as he tightened a cable tie until the bottom of the hood just touched my neck, and he twisted the hood until a hole was opposite my mouth.  I could breathe, but I couldn't see anything.

I asked, "What's this hood for?"

"New policy.  The hood makes it harder to escape and it's also part of the lawsuit settlement."

"What lawsuit?"

"Some women sued the county.  They said they were humiliated and degraded by being displayed in public in handcuffs.  If you're hooded nobody can tell who you are, so you can't be humiliated."

He closed the door and we drove off.  Before too long I could hear traffic sounds and I knew we were in the city.  After a while the car stopped and the deputy helped me out of the back seat.  He rewrapped the blanket and held it closed in the back as he guided me up some stairs and through a door.  I was led across a room and seated in a chair, and a leg iron was locked onto my right ankle.  I tried to move my foot but the other leg iron was attached to something solid.  

The deputy said, "Hello, Marge.  How's it going?"

A woman answered, "Oh, just the usual.  Who have we here?"

"Just the usual.  She's naked under that blanket.  Can you find something for her to wear?"

"We don't have any spare clothing, but I'll see if I can find something."

The deputy got my attention and read me my rights.  He asked what my name was, and I considered giving a false one, but I decided that they could identify me easily enough and I didn't want to risk an additional charge of lying to the police.  I told him who I was and where I lived and all the other usual information and I guess he wrote it all down.

The deputy pulled me to my feet and took the blanket.  I thought about protesting but decided it was too late to bother, because he had already seen all of me.

"OK, Marge, she's all yours.  See you later."

I could hear the leg iron being released from whatever it was fastened to and then it was locked on my left ankle.  A hand grabbed my bare arm and urged me across the room.

"Now I'm going to fingerprint you and then I'll let you use the toilet.  I know you won't give me any trouble when I free your hands."

"I won't cause any trouble.  Please, can I have something to wear?"

"When we're finished with this."

Marge must have had some pliers, because she removed the cotter pin and unscrewed the nut on the bolt holding me in the cuffs.  I groaned with relief when I could move my arms again.

My fingerprints were taken and then I was guided into the rest room.  Marge helped me wash the ink off my fingers and then led me to a toilet stall.  When I was alone I tried to remove the hood, but the tie around my neck kept it in place.  I peed and dried myself by touch.

When I came out of the stall Marge put my cuffs back on me the way they were before.  I asked her to put them on in front but she curtly refused, and I didn't think it would be smart to annoy her.

"Please, Marge.  What is this place and what is going to happen to me?"

"You're at the county courthouse, and pretty soon you'll have a custody hearing."

"A custody hearing?  What's that?"

"It's something the court set up mainly because of all the college students in this town.  Before, they would get arrested Friday night and they'd have to stay in jail until they were arraigned on Monday.  That was costing the county plenty even before the Federal court ordered an end to the jail overcrowding.  Now someone who is arrested has a hearing today before a magistrate who decides to either hold them in custody or to release them on their own recognizance; usually only people charged with a felony are held in custody.  You got here just in time.  If you had been an hour later you'd have been too late for the hearing and you would have been in jail until Monday."

I felt a lot better when I heard what Marge had to say.  Indecent exposure was only a misdemeanor, so I should be out of here in an hour or so.

Marge led me into another room and I stood there while she did something with paper.  I felt something go over my head and cover my body, and then I heard a stapler and felt the covering get tighter.

"What is this, Marge?"

"It's your new outfit.  All I have is a roll of brown wrapping paper, so I made you a poncho.  The sides are just stapled together, so don't put any strain on them or you'll be exposed to the world.  Let's go, it's almost time for your hearing."

Marge led me into another room and sat me on a bench.  I could hear a chain rattling to my right.

A woman asked, "Hello, is someone there?"

"Yes.  From your question I'd say that you're hooded, too."

"Yes, I am.  My name is Linda.  I can't believe this is happening to me!"

"My name is Kristen.  What were you arrested for?"

"I don't really know.  I was driving less than ten miles an hour over the speed limit and I was stopped by a traffic cop.  I was annoyed, because my driver's license expired three weeks ago, and I knew I'd get another ticket for that.  The officer took my license back to his car and I guess he checked me out on his computer.  Then he came back and pulled me out of my car and arrested me!  He handcuffed me and put this hood over my head, and I've been like this for hours."

"It might be mistaken identity.  There may be a warrant out for someone with the same name as yours."

"I hope that I can get it straightened out soon.  I live in Tucson and I've got to get back home."

An official-sounding voice called Linda's name and I heard her chain rattle as she got up from the bench.  It sounded like her hood was removed.

The official voice said, "You have been charged with driving with a suspended license.  Since this is a felony you will have to be held in custody until your arraignment on Monday."

Linda protested, "But my license wasn't suspended!  It had just expired because I forgot to renew it."

"That may be true; the Motor Vehicle Department computer reported that it was suspended, but it's notorious for having bad data.  However, the purpose of this hearing is only to determine if you can be released on your own recognizance or if you have to be held in custody.  Is there anybody who will be responsible for your custody?"

"No, I don't know anybody here.  Please, can't I post bail?"

"I'm not authorized to set bail.  That can only be done after you have been arraigned.  I'm going to have to order you held in jail.  The local jail is full to capacity, so you will be transported to Phoenix and jailed there."

"Oh, God, no!  Everyone knows that place is a hellhole.  Please don't send me there."

"I'm really sorry, but that is the only option.  Your arraignment is set for 10 o'clock Monday morning.  Court will recess for ten minutes."

I could hear Linda crying, and then another woman's voice broke in.  It sounded cruel.

"Hi, Sweety.  I'm going to drive you to Phoenix, and I've got to secure you for the trip.  Turn around."

"What are you doing?  Oh, please don't strap my elbows.  That's too tight!  I can't stand it!"

"You sure are noisy.  Open up."

"No, please don't gag me!  I'll be mmuphh."

"What do you mean, too tight?  There must be two inches between your elbows.  I bet I can make them touch."

I heard a grunt, and then Linda started screaming.  Even with the gag the screams were loud.  I heard a cable tie ratchet as the hood went back on.  The screams continued.

"I'm going to put you in the car.  We'll leave as soon as I can collect the bag lady."

A door closed and I could no longer hear the screams.  A voice called my name and a hand on my arm helped me stand up.  My hood was removed; I blinked in the light and looked around the courtroom.  Joan was seated in the audience section, and she looked worried.

The judge said, "You have been charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer.  Since these are felonies you will have to be held in custody until your arraignment on Monday."

I almost fainted from shock when I heard this.  "My hands were fastened behind my back!  How could I resist or assault anybody?"

"It's not the purpose of this hearing to try your case.  Is there somebody who will be responsible for your custody?"

Joan spoke up, "I'll be responsible for her."

The judge gestured for Joan to come forward.  When she was standing next to me in front of the bench he spoke to her.

"Before I accept your offer I want to be sure that you understand the responsibilities that you will be assuming.  You are guaranteeing that the prisoner will appear at her arraignment.  If she doesn't appear you can be charged with aiding an escape, which is a felony.  You will also be required to keep her restrained so that she cannot be considered a threat to public safety.  If you don't do this you will be cited for contempt of court, and you will spend some time in jail.  Do you understand?  Do you still want to take custody?"

"Yes, sir.  I understand and I want custody of her."  Joan licked her lips.

The judge turned to me and said, "You don't have to let her take custody.  You can be jailed instead."

I thought about it.  Joan is a dear friend and I know she wouldn't really hurt me, but sometimes she lets her enthusiasm for bondage overpower her compassion for her captive.  Being in her power for almost 48 hours might be more than I could stand.  Then I thought of Linda's screams and of the reputation of the jail in Phoenix.

"I agree to be held in her custody."

The judge turned to Joan and said, "It has always been a problem to keep the prisoner properly restrained.  Usually custody is held by a friend or relative, and they are understandably reluctant to cause the prisoner discomfort.  Scientists at our local university have come up with an experimental device that they say will solve this problem."

The judge leaned over the bench and handed an open metal collar to Joan.

"This collar contains sensors that measure movement, muscular tension, and neural flows.  It uses this information to calculate a restraint coefficient, and if the restraint is inadequate the collar will beep.  These beeps are counted and if they are excessive you will be cited for contempt.  After four hours the restraint measurement is suspended for half an hour, and to let you know this the collar will chime once at the start of this time and twice at the end.  This does not mean that all the prisoner's restraints can be removed, only that they can be relaxed so she can be fed or use the toilet or something else of that nature."

"Arraignment is set for 10 a.m. Monday.  See the clerk and sign the paperwork."

Joan turned to me and locked the collar around my neck; the collar chimed as it closed.  Joan picked up the hood and pulled it over my head.

"Wait here.  After I've done the paperwork I'll take you to my house."

Joan was soon back.  She took my arm and guided me out of the building, and we walked for some time before we reached her car.  I could hear people all around us.  Normally, being chained in public would have embarrassed me, but with the hood over my head I wasn't bothered; the hood really did eliminate humiliation.

When we got to her house Joan removed the hood and took me down to the basement.

She said, "We don't have much time before the collar starts to beep.  I've got to get you ready."

Joan ripped off my paper poncho.  She led me to a toilet and helped me sit down.  When I'd finished peeing she wiped me dry.

"Don't say I never provided personal service."

We went back into the main part of the basement and she put a cushion on the floor next to one of the steel support pillars.

"Sit there.  I'll use the bilbo to secure you for the next four hours."

She pulled a chain around my waist and the pillar and padlocked it.  Then she removed the leg irons and the cuffs on my wrists.  The collar chimed twice and then it started to beep.  Joan put my wrists and ankles in the cuffs and fastened them with one bolt.  This held my ankles together with my wrists on the outside of my ankles.  The beep rate slowed down, but it didn't stop.

Joan said, "It seems to want you so you can't twitch.  Move your arms away from your body."

I hunched over and moved my arms as much as I could.  Joan pulled a rope across my chest and under my armpits and tied it behind the pillar.  The beeping stopped.

She had pulled the rope really tight.  I complained, "That hurts.  Loosen the rope some."

Joan said, "Listen carefully.  You are going to be tied up for the next two days.  I expect that much of the time you aren't going to like it, but I don't want to hear any complaints, and I don't want to hear any pleas for release.  If I do, I'm going to gag you and put the hood over your head, and you will stay that way until the next time the collar chimes.  Maybe longer.  Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mistress."  I meant it to be sarcastic, but Joan got a funny look on her face for a minute.

Joan put a small plastic box with a button on it close to my right hand.  "This is a wireless doorbell.  If you have a real emergency push the button and it will ring upstairs.  John's there and he'll come to see what's wrong.  I told him to stay out of the basement unless you called him, but that he could play with you if he did get called.  Pubescent boys sometimes let their hormones get the better of them, so don't push the button unless you really, really have to."

Joan walked over to the VCR and said, "I've got to run some errands.  I'll put on a movie to entertain you until I get back."  She held up a tape so I could see the title.

"Not TITANIC!"  I wailed.  "You're supposed to restrain me, not torture me."

Joan started the video and headed towards the door.  She said, "Pretend that it's you handcuffed to the sinking ship.  See you later."

Soon after the video ended Joan's sister Jane entered the basement.

"Can I do anything for you?" she asked.  "Except let you loose, of course."

"It's cool in here.  Can you put a blanket over me?"

"Certainly.  I'm going to make some lunch.  Do you want some?"

"Yes, please."

Jane tucked a blanket around me and went upstairs.  After about ten minutes she returned carrying a tray.

"Egg salad sandwiches and milk.  Just what you need."

Jane fed me a sandwich.  "How do you feel?  Are you in pain?"

"The rope across my chest is cutting into me and it really hurts.  Except for that I'm not too bad.  I'd like to stretch my legs, but otherwise I'm OK."

Jane went behind me and loosened the rope and rubbed the grooves that it had cut into me.  I said, "Thank you.  It feels much better now."

"How do you feel in general?  Is this still a turn-on?"

"I was aroused at first, of course, but after a couple of hours the pain was all that mattered.  I'm not used to being tied up for so long.  Two hours was my limit when my boyfriend played these games with me."

Joan entered the basement and said to me, "Good news, Kristen.  I talked to a lawyer friend of mine and he'll look into the case against you.  I explained what happened, and he doesn't think the prosecutor has much.  I also have some presents for you."

Joan opened a sack and dumped out leather wrist and ankle cuffs.  She said, "If I lock these cuffs on you I'll be able to quickly untie and re-tie you.  This will give you more time to move around during the half-hour break."

When the collar finally chimed I was really ready to get out of the bilbo.  Joan released me from it, and while I was stretching she locked the leather cuffs on my wrists and ankles.

Joan said, "Finish eating, and then you can use the toilet.  I want to have you tied up before the beeping starts."

It felt good to be able to move my arms and legs, but I was still fastened to the pillar by the chain around my waist.  Before she unlocked this Joan locked my wrist cuffs together in front, and then she put the hood over my head.  She pulled the bottom tight around my neck and I heard a lock click.

Joan said, "This hood is very useful.  You can have your hands almost free, but you won't be tempted to resist. I threaded a chain through the hem of the hood so I don't have to use those cable ties."

After I had used the toilet Joan moved me to the center of the basement and tied my wrist cuffs to hooks in the ceiling.  My arms were spread apart, and Joan pulled until my heels just left the floor.  Then she fastened a three foot spreader bar between my ankles.  I was strained and hurting, and then the torture really started.  Joan turned on the TV and tuned it to FOX.

When Joan let me down four hours later I was tired and in pain.  She locked my hands behind my back and fed me.

"If you lock my hands in front I can feed myself."

"I like to feed you."

When it was time to tie me up again Joan said she wanted to try something more stressful.  First she locked my hands behind my back.  She tied a rope around my waist and then ran a rope through my crotch, around my wrists and back to the front.  She pulled until my back was arched and my hands were welded to my butt.

Next she took some quarter-inch nylon rope and tied a loop around my chest just under my arms.  The free end of the rope went up behind my head and through a hook in the ceiling, and Joan pulled until I was on my toes and the loop was very tight.  I didn't think I could stand this for four hours, but I knew that Joan wasn't kidding when she threatened to gag me, so I kept quiet.

Joan saved the worst until last.  She tied a rope to the cuff on my right ankle, ran it through the hook in the ceiling, pulled until my knee was bent at a right angle, and tied the end of the rope to the cuff on my left ankle.

She said, "There!  When you get tired of standing on one foot you can hop to the other foot.  The rope around your chest will keep you from falling."

I couldn't stand this.  I begged, "Please, Joan.  Don't leave me like this."

"What did I tell you about whining?  Open your mouth."

Joan pulled my gag out of her pocket and held it up to my mouth.  I kept my lips sealed.

"I'll give you a choice, Kristen.  You can accept this gag, which you can breathe through, without a fuss, or I'll force a ball gag into your mouth.  You know I can do it."

I did know it.  I opened my mouth and she put the gag in and tied it.  She pulled the hood over my head and locked the chain around my neck.

"See you in four hours, Kristen.  Have fun."

I was in hell.  I'd stand on one leg until it was trembling, and then I'd hop to the other foot.  Every time I hopped the loop holding me up would tighten until it felt like my chest would be crushed.  I was crying, and I knew it wouldn't be long before I was screaming.  I heard someone walk up to me.

Jane said, "This time you've gone too far, Joan.  Get her down, now!"

"It hasn't even been two hours.  She's OK."

"No she's not.  I knew you had a mean streak, but I didn't realize it was this deep.  Untie her!"

Joan grumbled, but she took the rope off of my ankles and untied the loop around my chest.  I would have fallen if Jane hadn't held me up.  Joan removed the hood and took out the gag.

Joan helped me to a bed.  Jane gave me some tablets and a drink of water, and I was out before Joan had finished tying me down.

Sunday was the same as Saturday, except that Jane made sure that Joan didn't make my bondage too cruel for me to take.  Joan alternated compression and expansion.  I'd be tied in a ball for four hours, and then for the next four hours she'd stretch me out.  I was in constant, low-level pain, and I wasn't having any fun.

When bedtime finally arrived I was tied in a spread-eagle, face up.  I was hurting enough that I had trouble getting to sleep, but I finally dozed off.  The collar chime woke me.  Joan was on the bed with me.  She used her hands, lips, and tongue on my naked body until I came, and then she left the room.  She hadn't said a word the entire time.

For the final bondage period Joan had me stand with my back to the support pillar.  She locked my hands behind the pillar and then tied a rope around my waist.  For some reason the collar wouldn't stop beeping.  Joan got more and more rope and wrapped it around me until I was in a nylon cocoon.  When Jane saw me she laughed and said, "Gwendolyn!"

For the trip to the courthouse I was fastened the way had had been on Saturday, with the cuffs behind my back and the leg irons.  The big difference now was that I was wearing clothes instead of wrapping paper.  Joan locked me into the hood and we drove off.

At the courthouse Joan guided me into the courtroom and took off the hood.  We sat at the front of the room.

A man came over to us and said, "Hello, Joan.  This must be Kristen.  I'm Phil Marlow.  I looked at the evidence in your case, and there isn't much; I think we can get this dismissed."

The judge came into the room and a clerk called my case.  Phil, Joan, and I went before the bench, where a woman in a suit was already standing.  The judge officially noticed my presence and thanked Joan for keeping me in custody.

Phil said, "Your Honor, we move that these felony charges be dismissed for lack of evidence."

The judge asked, "Does the state object?"

The woman in the suit said, "No objection, Your Honor."

The judge said, "These charges are dismissed.  What about the indecent exposure charge?"

Phil said, "This was foolish, but it occurred in a rural area, and the only one who saw the public nudity was the arresting officer.  The defendant has already spent two days in custody.  I move to dismiss this charge in the interest of justice."

"The state has no objection."

The judge dismissed the charge and I was finally starting to relax.  Then the judge started talking, and I listened with growing horror as he said that I was to be held on an extradition warrant from Minnesota.  He said that I had been indited for aggravated assault against my ex-boyfriend, tried in absentia, convicted, and sentenced to four years in prison!

I was stunned, but I finally started to think, and something was wrong here.  I knew that trials in absentia were only used when the defendant was a fugitive beyond the jurisdiction of the court, and everyone back home knew where I was.  But why would the judge say what he did?  Then I knew.  Joan and Jane had got me again.

My safeword is 'Jingle Bells'.  I started to hum it, and everyone roared with laughter.

Jane said, "Kristen, I'd like you to meet some of the members of the Community Players, the amateur theater group I also belong to."

"You're all actors?  But how could you use the courthouse?"

Jane answered, "This isn't the courthouse, this is where the university law school holds its moot court.  Our next production is a courtroom drama, and the law school is letting us use this room for rehearsals."

"What about the collar?"

Joan answered, "John made it.  All it really does is make the chimes.  I used a remote control to make it beep when I wanted it to."

"Was the deputy who arrested me an actor too?"

"No, he's a real deputy.  He is also our brother, Jim.  Timing the arrest was the real challenge.  It had to happen after Jim finished his shift and before he had to turn in the patrol car."

"Well, you really fooled me.  Linda was particularly impressive."

The woman in the suit said, "Thanks for the compliment.  We all had a good time, and the improvisation we had to do was valuable practice."

The 'judge' said, "The law school wants their room back.  Court is adjourned."

Everyone started to leave.  Joan said, "I forgot to bring the pliers and the key to the leg irons.  We'll have to go home before I can let you loose."

Joan and I returned to her house and went down to the basement.  She said, "You know this was more than a joke."

"Yes, I know.  I like bondage, but I like it best when it's part of sex with a man.  If I were a sub, you'd be my Dom of choice, but that's not my kink.  We can still play games, though."

Joan kissed my lips.  Then she released me.

Copyright© 2001 by Zack.  All rights reserved.
I welcome your comments.  Email me at zack_writer@hotmail.com