Rivals
Written and Illustrated by Frank Fessler
Chapter Two
Lynn couldn’t believe it. She was in her $50 room at Motel 6 getting ready for the class reunion, deciding between her more elegant little black dress or her trashier leather mini/tight tee shirt combo when he called. Danny Goldstein! That former Dungeons and Dragons dork had hit the jackpot in the dot.com boom and was one of the few to still be a millionaire. She’d heard that he’d invested in a few domain names early on and then resold them later, she really didn’t know or care. He was a rich, unmarried boy now, and he’d somehow grown taller, darker and handsomer since she’d last seen him ten years ago, sweating behind the podium while giving a speech to the class of ’96 as Class President. Not that she concerned herself with anything as frivolous as looks; she was willing to date a fatass, as long as a fat wallet was attached. He was the catch of the Reunion regardless of appearance. That he apparently looked like he hopped off the cover of a Harlequin was an added bonus.
Danny told her to meet him a couple of hours before the reunion in the storage room behind the high school’s auditorium. Lynn had to steady herself on the motel room’s plywood dresser when he told her the rendezvous point. In her days as a coed at Mount Mary High, many a football and track star had taken her to that dusty room full of old props, ropes, and wooden planks. Every girl at Mount Mary knew what it meant when a boy asked to meet you there. At other high schools it was below the football field bleachers. One of the most eligible men in the county had asked her to meet him in a primo make out spot. So swept away was she that she never wondered how a man she hadn’t seen in years had gotten her cell phone number.
In no time she threw on her tight leather mini and pulled the low cut shirt over her ample breasts. She remembered Danny as being on the short side, so she chose flats instead of heels. She gave herself a once over in the dresser mirror, primped her voluminous blonde hair one last time, and headed out for her date with destiny.
Mount Mary High School was unlocked although it was a Saturday, in anticipation of the reunion. She walked down the main hall and past the cafeteria, where boys on ladders were stringing paper streamers and balloons for tonight’s gathering. She slowed her walk and glanced over her shoulder, catching a few of the boys gawking at her lithe physique. She smiled at them, then at herself, confident knowing she could still get 18-year-olds. She gracefully went on to the auditorium.
She went into the theatre’s side entrance and walked across the empty stage, exiting stage right. She opened the black door backstage that led to the legendary storage room that for time eternal youngsters of Mount Mary High had been using for something other than the room’s intended purpose. As soon as she opened the door a burst of noise blared out, “MMMPH! MMMMPH!”
What the hell?
“….Danny?” She asked nervously, even though the voice grunting sounded too high pitched for a man.
“HMMMPH!” The noise continued.
Deciding whoever was inside needed help, she crept, trembling, into the dark room. She didn’t stop until her head hit a swinging light bulb hanging from the center of the ceiling. She reached up and clicked the light on, wondering who or what was rustling in the blackness. Lynn froze at the sight of a young woman gagged and trussed up on the floor, hair flailing wildly as she writhed to get loose. It had been ten years and the woman’s lower face was covered in some kind of white tape, but Lynn thought she recognized the terrified girl. “Jas?”
Lynn’s old classmate looked up at hearing her name, then shook her head vigorously, grunting desperately through the gag. Her taped up face was the last thing Lynn saw before one powerful hand yanked her right arm behind her and twisted it up her back, while another hand forced a sweet-smelling rag over her mouth. Lynn struggled frantically but the arms that held her were as taught as steel cables. Her eyes fluttered and all went black.
* * * *
“Looks like someone’s ah-waaaayke!” A woman’s voice announced, sweetly and sarcastically in a voice usually used for toddlers. “How are ya’ cupcake?”
Lynn gradually awakened to find herself bound hand and foot, tape slapped over her lips. The realization of her captivity sent a jolt through her body and she struggled against the bonds. The only result was the ropes cutting into her tan skin.
“Don’t bother, Lynn,” the redheaded witch cackled at the sight of the blonde’s struggles. Lynn’s eyes sparked with surprise at hearing her name come from the mouth of this femme fatal. “Jas there writhed for quite sometime and got nowhere. Just relax, sit back, get comfy, and you’ll be fine. I’m not going to hurt either of you, I just need you two stashed out of the way for the next few hours.”
Lynn gradually awakened to find herself bound hand and
foot…. 
The woman was quite stunning, Lynn had to admit that in spite of all she’d done to her. The redhead’s tall, creamy body was in a flattering black, tube tight dress that allowed her long legs to shine in dark nylons. The four inch heels made her top out at about 5’10. Her red hair probably was her real color. I’m being held hostage by Brenda Starr, Lynn thought.
But who the hell was she? Lynn ran through all the redheads she knew and none of them held a candle to this beauty. “You girls don’t even know who I am, do you?” The bitch said. The captives exchanged glances, then looked back up at her. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll take the gag off, and if you say my name, you’re home free.” She knelt beside Jasmine and peeled back the gauze over the girl’s mouth, but left the tape hanging off the side of her lips.
“HEEEELLLLLLMMMPH!” was as much as Jasmine got out before the captor re-plastered the tape.
“Not too bright, that one. C’mon Lynn, I’m sure you’ll have the answer, most likely to succeed and all. Now remember, the only words I want to hear are my name, lest the gag go right back on.” She peeled the tape from Lynn’s lips.
“Listen,” Lynn pleaded, “Let us go. We wont telmmmmph.”
“Tsk, tsk.” The redhead scolded as she smoothed the tape back over Lynn’s mouth. “I thought a former honor student such as yourself would remember. I’m not surprised you don’t recognize me though. We didn’t exactly sit at the same lunch table. Still, I’d think someone would recall Veronica Mirth, or ‘Earth’ as you bitches used to call me.”
Jasmine and Lynn’s wide eyes shot disbelieving glances at each other over their taped jaws. “Yes, the same Veronica you used to tease and sarcastically nominate for Homecoming Queen. As you can see, I’ve changed. After you and the rest of the girls put me through four years of hell I decided to lose weight, you see. I joined the Marines, who whipped me into shape in no time. I saw service in Iraq, then got a job doing intelligence work.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a curious black box with tiny holes in it, like a little speaker. She held the gizmo over her throat. “That’s where I got this gadget that makes my voice sound like a guy’s.” For the moment the device was over her throat Veronica’s angelic face emitted a husky bass tone, as if she were half of a sick ventriloquist act. The bound girls instantly recognized the voice as the one on the phone that had lured them into this trap. Veronica put the voice-box gadget back into her purse, “Neat, eh girls? Anyway, like I said, I won’t hurt you. I just need you two out of the way so I can have Danny Goldstein to myself. I’ve earned him, girls. You got the top picks in your day. My time is now. Just sit here and be good little girls. You can’t escape. I’ve tied up men many a time, strong men who knew how to evade capture, and not one has ever gotten free of my bonds. That tape over your mouths is designed specifically to gag people. Guantanimo tested. You two are going nowhere.” Lynn tested the ropes and gag one last time and learned that indeed, nothing was moving. “Now just sit tight and relax,” Veronica went on, “I’ll come and check on you two now and then just to see if you’re breathing. Maybe, if you’re good, I’ll swing by and untie you at the end of the night. Otherwise the janitor is sure to find you in the morning. Ta-Ta!” With that, she snatched up her purse and walked towards the door.
Jasmine writhed against her bonds and groaned furiously through her gag, pounding her bound feet as before, whipping her hair furiously. “Oh honestly, Jas,” Veronica giggled, “Not the sharpest tool in the shed. Veronica opened the door and Jasmine let out one final “MMMMPH!” praying that someone, anyone, might hear, before Veronica slammed the door behind her. The two girls now sat side by side, bound, gagged, and completely helpless.
The two girls now sat side by side, bound, gagged, and completely helpless.