The hostages

They took rope and tightly bound their crossed wrists behind their backs.
They shoved a bandanna into their mouths and held it in place with rope between their teeth and around their heads.

They pushed them into the back of their Jeep.

They tied their ankles with more rope.

"If you boys cause any trouble I will blow your fuckin' heads off!"

Now they had their Jeep.
Now they had their hostages.

The drive began.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jesse Radcliff answered the knock on the door of his cabin in the woods.

He came face to face with a automatic weapon.

"What the fuck?
What do you want?"

"Shut the fuck up.  Who else lives here?"

"My kid brother."

They bound Jesse's wrists and gagged him.

Then they marched him into his cabin.

Young Justin Radcliff watched as they dumped his brother onto the floor.

"On your belly boy!

Justin did as told and soon the boy was bound hand and foot and gagged.

He watched as one of them left and returned with a man tied up on his shoulder.  He was dumped on the floor.  He left and returned again with another man bound and gagged.

He pulled off Justin's gag and shoved a gun into his face.  "Do you have more rope here?"   "Yes, in the barn."  They gagged him again and carried, one by one the four men into the barn.

They brought Justin in first.  He showed the rope used to bail the hay.  "Please, that rope is very rough.  My brother once tied me up with it.  It cuts the skin!"   They slapped the boy hard and he fell to the floor.  "That's perfect."  They began to hogneck the four men.

If I moved or struggled I would either choke, slit my wrists, or rip the shin off of my arms and neck.

They re-tied us with the barn rope.

This time it was pure suffering and agony.

They took my bound wrists now with the barn rope, shoved my hands high up my back, tied my wrists to my neck.  They roped my elbows and forearms together, and weaved the rope between my biceps, pulling them as close together as they could.

The stripped me of my boots socks and pants.

Roped up my thighs, knees and ankles.

Bent my legs back.

And tied a rope from my ankles to my neck.

They left us like that.
The four of us.

Hognecked.
Gagged.

Motionless.
Helpless.

Tortured.

Finally, they decided they could move on.

They took what was left our our cloths and
blindfolded our sweaty heads.

We could not escape.

The state troopers found us two days latter, unconscious, bleeding, half- dead.