"Make sure you call us every morning and night."
"I'll try Mom, but the reception up that way is spotty," I told her. "If you don't hear from me it doesn't mean anything. I'll be fine."
"I don't see why you can't go with someone," she said for the hundredth time. "Have you asked your friend Kenny?"
Kenny was the reason I had decided to go on this camping trip, because unknown to my parents, my "friend" Kenny was much more than a friend, and we had an argument earlier in the week. Long story short, Mom would not be seeing Kenny around the house anymore.
I was hurting, and when I felt like this all I knew is that I wanted - needed - to be alone. A couple days of seclusion, and time to sort things out in my head, and I would be fine. Kenny wasn't the first guy I had dated and broken up with, he was the second. I'm sure there would be another someday, but for right now all I wanted to do was sulk and pout.
No better place to do that than up around Forked Lake in the Adirondacks, or so I figured. There was a place way back off the beaten path, and up in that area even the paths weren't that well traveled. There was a place that my father had taken me years ago that was as secluded as you could ask for. You could stay back there a week and not see another person, and that was what I wanted.
To make sure, I purposely "forgot" my cell phone at home. Mom would see that and fret and fuss, and then nag me when I got back, but it would be worth it in the end.
****
The little clearing at the far end of the oddly shaped lake was just as I had remembered it. The lake itself was unnavigable for anything but canoes, making it less popular than most places, and because it took a couple of hours to backpack in from the highway, most people didn't venture this far back.
My backpack probably weighed close to half of my own 150 pounds, but I was so pumped for this getaway that I hardly noticed it. I saw nobody - not even on the actual trail, and once I got to the bushwhacking part I knew there would be nobody around.
"Beautiful," I whispered to myself after I had set up camp and looked out from the boulder that served as a chair out near the shore of the lake.
It was a warm evening, and after I set up and had a light dinner, I decided to take a dip in the lake. No need for a bathing suit back here, so I went in naked, the chilly water making me shiver as I waded in.
I'm not much of a swimmer, so I didn't venture out all that far, only to where the water was chest high. From there, I could see down around the bend to the main body of the lake. As the sun began to hide behind the mountains there was nary a ripple in the water. Not even a canoe could be seen. Seclusion.
All of a sudden, I heard the snap. A branch being stepped on over behind where my campsite was set up, and there, looking out at me while I was wading, was this man. When our eyes met he quickly looked away and retreated into the woods before I could get a good look at him, but what I saw was disconcerting to say the least.
He looked like an older man, rather tall and thin, and was wearing denim. The weird part was that he looked like he had on one of those fake nose and glasses - either that or he was one ugly guy.
Why would anybody be wearing a disguise back here, I wondered as I crouched down into the water. At first I supposed that my eyes might have been playing tricks on me, because after all it was dusk and the light wasn't too good.
Probably a guy who had known about this spot too, and had planned a secluded getaway just like I had. Thankfully he wasn't one of these social guys who decides to make a new friend and sets up camp next to you. Not much I could have done about that, because the woods are free and all, but it would have been hell and not what I had been looking for.
Now the crackling of the twigs was getting more and more distant, as I assumed the man went to try and find another place to camp. I came out of the water, my hands over my privates, and came to shore.
I dried off and put my jeans on, and in the fading light I made sure that my food was hung up in the tree high enough to keep the bears away, and made a tiny fire in the little fire ring that had been there since before I was a boy.
The night was clear and the bugs weren't bad at all. I was debating whether or not to sleep outside, because the tent seemed like it might be humid, and as I stared up at the sky and tried to pick out the various constellations above me, I remember a feeling coming over me. A feeling that I was not really alone.
I believe I started to sit up, but was pushed back down and something came over my face. The smell reminded me of something from Science class back in 7th grade, and while I'm sure I tried to fight off what was happening to me, I know I wasn't successful.
I recall feeling like I was a child again for a moment, being carried off to bed by my father, but that feeling went away, and when I woke up, I found myself here.
*****
Where exactly "here" was I did not know. I was on my back, and what I was resting on felt like a mat of some kind. Cold plastic against my bare back. I was blindfolded, and there was something stuck in my mouth. My hands were tied above my head with what felt like clothesline.
Scared? I was beyond scared. My head was still spinning as whatever had been used on me began to wear off, and I wanted to spit out whatever was in my mouth, but I felt a hand on my face when I tried to get rid of it.
"Are you alright?" the voice asked. "Nod if you are."
I nodded. The voice was eerie. Almost robotic in nature, it was a deep monotone that reminded me of something mechanical or coming from a person who had speech problems. Whatever it was, it didn't make me any less terrified.
"I'm going to take the gag out of your mouth," the voice said. "You can scream if you want, but you know that it would be futile. You know that no one will hear you. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise you that, just so long as you don't try anything stupid. Understood?"
I nodded and was rewarded when that cloth was removed from my mouth. I choked and coughed after it came out, and when I was able to talk I asked for a drink, because my mouth was parched.
"Here," said the voice, and I felt a straw at my lips. I sucked on it and whatever it was, it made my mouth wet. After greedily drinking all I could, the straw was taken away.
"What are you doing?" I asked, noticing the scent of a candle that had to be very nearby. "Why am I tied up like this?"
"You won't be for long," the voice said, and the voice was now farther away.
I could hear a clicking sound, much like a camera, and after that stopped I heard the rustling of clothing coming from above me. The man was undressing, and so I assumed that the mat I was resting on was on the floor.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Ssh," said the voice, and what sounded like a belt hitting a floor was followed by the swishing sound of pants being taken off.
"You shouldn't be out in the woods alone," the voice said, and I could feel his knee against my side. "Especially a young fellow like you. How old are you, son?"
"Eighteen," I said, jumping when I felt a hand on my chest. "Nineteen at the end of the month. I - I really want to be nineteen."
"You will be," the voice said, his hand feeling large as it gently rubbed my chest. "I would never hurt you. I've never hurt anybody in my life."
"Then why am I tied up?" I said.
"For safety. Our safety," the voice said. "It won't be for long."
"I mean, I'll do anything you want me to," I assured him.
"I know," the voice said coldly.
"No, I mean if you want me to do things - I'm... bisexual," I finally blurted out, not quite ready to admit that I was only interested in one gender these days.
"That's nice," the voice said, his hand sliding up towards my neck, moving my necklace out of the way, and from there his fingers stroked my nipples. "How many male lovers have you had?"
"Two," I said, gasping when the stroking of my nipples became plucking, and my little buds became rock hard despite my fear.
"I remember when I was your age," the voice said as the hand slid over my collarbone and began toying with the tiny wisp of hair under my arm. "So fresh and innocent. Two male lovers, you say?"