Everyone was quiet while they finished putting on their wigs and masks. When they were done, Tara made a few adjustments. She tucked in loose strands of hair peeking out of Rachel’s wig, then handed the red lipstick to Mandy and told her to put some on.
Although Tara was nervous about tonight, she was glad Kyle was going to be taught a lesson. The moment Pamela said she wanted to make Kyle pay for what he did to her, Tara had gotten an idea. They’d started brainstorming and come up with a plan. Tara’s parents would be staying overnight in San Francisco. When the time came, Pamela would tell Kyle that she’d decided to forgive him and even had a surprise for him. If everything went well, they would be arriving here at Tara’s house in the next ten minutes.
Tara pushed herself to her feet and went to the computer sitting on her built-in desk. She clicked on the tab and opened the YouTube video she’d saved that showed a group of girls, mostly in their twenties, who called themselves The Slayers. They mimicked the Black Wigs by getting revenge against college men accused of date rape. Every few weeks The Slayers uploaded a new video. The room they used looked like a dark cave with a bed in it. Once their target was tied to the wooden slatted headboard, they would make a show of sharpening their knives while explaining to their viewers what was going to happen. The guy would either beg to be let go, curse them out, or scream until his voice gave out. The Slayers never hurt anyone physically. All their targets were released, but not one guy had come forward.
Tara readied the camera on the tripod and then looked through the lens. She could see her full-size white canopy bed with its fluffy pink duvet and matching shams perfectly. “Where are the zip ties?” she asked.
“Right here.” Mandy held up a fistful of plastic ties that Tara had found in the garage.
Tara checked the battery in the camera. It was full. The bin had one more mask and wig for Pamela, but for now the bin would have to go into the walk-in closet, way in the back, so they would have room to hide.
“Here they come,” Laura said from the window. “Everybody grab a zip tie and hide!”
Tara had left the main door to the house unlocked. Pamela would ring the bell and then make her way inside. Once Pamela brought Kyle upstairs to the bedroom, she would tell him that they had the house to themselves.
When the doorbell rang, they all giggled like ten-year-olds at a pajama party and ran into the closet. Tara quietly shut the door. Her heart was racing. It wasn’t long before they heard the front door open and close and then the sound of Pamela’s and Kyle’s voices as they walked up the stairs.
This was really happening.
“Where’s Tara?” Kyle asked when they entered the bedroom.
“Tomorrow is a Staff Development Day. No school. She’s spending the night at Laura’s.”
“What about her parents?”
“Gone for the night.”
“So it’s just me and you?”
“Surprised?”
“Yeah, I am. I thought you were mad at me after what happened between us.”
“I was, but I’ve had a change of heart. I thought maybe we could start over.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes,” she said. “But this time I want to be in charge. Take your shirt off and lie on the bed.”
“Whoa. What’s the hurry?”
“What do you mean?” Pamela asked. “I thought you liked it fast and furious.”
“Yeah, sure, I guess. But hold on. What’s the camera for?”
“Tara makes videos to post on social media. You’ve seen her videos.”
“I saw one. It was stupid.”
“Well, if you’re not going to do what I ask, then you might as well take me home.”
“Okay. Okay.”
Tara could hear him climbing onto the bed.
“Now what?” he asked.
“Now I get to tie your hands to the bedposts.”
“Getting kinky, huh?”
“You could say that again,” Pamela almost purred.
Silence, and then Pamela said, “Okay, girls. You can come out now.”
All four of them poured out of the closet. Tara and Laura rushed to fasten his ankles to the bedposts. They were so quick, he didn’t have time to fight them off.
“What are you doing?” Kyle asked.
His face and neck are as red as the roses growing in my backyard, Tara thought.
“Let me go!” Kyle said. “This isn’t funny.”
Tara ran into the closet to get Pamela a mask and a wig.
She tucked her blonde hair into the wig first, then stretched the elastic band over her head.
Kyle struggled to get free. “I want out of here. Now!”
Rachel turned as white as the shag carpet and ran from the room.
Laura ripped off a piece of duct tape and covered his mouth. It took another two pieces of tape to shut him up.
Tara hurried over to the camera and hit record. She then retrieved two pairs of scissors from her desk drawer and handed a pair to Pamela. They both worked on cutting his jeans from his body. Tara looked at Kyle with narrowed eyes. “You never should have raped my friend,” she growled. “We’re going to make sure you never do it again.”
Kyle squirmed, pulling on his restraints, trying to get free.
Mandy ran out the door. A few seconds later, she ushered Rachel back into the room just as Pamela cut off Kyle’s underwear.
For a moment, they all stared at his junk.
Rachel looked disgusted.
“Haven’t you ever seen a penis before?” Laura asked her.
Rachel shook her head. “It’s ugly.”
They all burst out laughing.
Tara had almost forgotten the curling iron! She ran to the bathroom, then brought it to the bedside table and plugged it in. Holding it up in view of the camera, she opened and closed the clamp for fun. Just the idea of using a hot curling iron on Kyle’s most vulnerable parts would make for good tension on YouTube.
When Tara noticed Rachel still staring at Kyle’s dick, she found a pen and then leaned over the side of the bed and used the pen to lift up his penis. “See that! Those are his ball sacks.”
Laura laughed. “Also known as testicles.”
Pamela reached into the desk drawer and pulled out a carving knife and a honing steel. As practiced, she made a big show in front of the camera of scraping the knife against steel, sharpening the blade.
“It’s time to make Kyle squeal,” Pamela said in a matter-of-fact tone that caused chills to crawl up Tara’s spine.
That line hadn’t been part of their plan, but Tara liked the effect, since she knew they weren’t going to harm him.
Kyle’s eyes widened. Snot dripped from his nostrils. His words were muffled beneath the tape, making it impossible to understand what he was saying.
Pamela set the sharpener down before climbing on top of the bed. Positioning herself at Kyle’s side, she made sure she wasn’t blocking the camera’s view before she picked up the knife.
Kyle struggled to get loose until Pamela slid the long, sharp blade of the carver’s knife beneath the stem of his penis. Then he froze.
The angry, determined look on Pamela’s face worried Tara.
“Are you sorry for what you did to me?” Pamela asked Kyle.
His head bobbed up and down like one of those bobblehead dolls, while his body remained stiff; he was most likely afraid of making any sudden moves.