Sticky Struggles

She hadn't a clue how they had been discovered. But that was irrelevant now. Careful laid plans gone completely to waste, Sophie rushed forward, fully prepared to rescue her friend. She got to Rich first and landed a well aimed thunk squarely on his head. But one thunk was all she managed. Clearly she had underestimated the almost-midnight marauders

In less than thirty seconds flat, she was on the ground alongside her fallen companion…. And rendered just as immobile. And boy was she glad she had gotten that thunk in when she did! Only wished she could’ve gotten in a few more.

Not having the luxury of double-ended carrying this time around, each of the Almost-Midnight marauders took hold of one captive, and promptly dragged them back over to the door of the little brown shed. The floors and walls again prepared their welcoming committee, although it was a slightly softer one now, thanks to the occupant already inside. Once there, they did have to team up to pitch each girl in, remembering from last time to pull back a little at the end of the swing…. Just in case their heads were not made of quite such sturdy stuff as Eric’s.

Linnaea was caught first, so in she went. Clearly there was some strategy to these marauders. In order and only in order was this going to be done. Eric cried out on surprise as he was landed on and Linaea as she landed. And in another moment, Sophie landed haphazardly atop the both of them.

"What's the matter with you guys?" Eric was yelling. "More??! Who is this... Oof... Get offa me..."

Rich and Nikki were both laughing hysterically as the door swung shut. The three captives could hear their laughter fading off into the distance. Linnaea tried her best to squirm off of him and into some corner—any corner—any corner—but she was held quite firmly in place by Sophie, who had landed directly on top of her. She would’ve asked (very politely, of course) that the elbow be taken out of her back, and the other elbow get off her braid, which was very stuck and therefore keeping her head from turning…. But she didn’t wanna be the first to say something. He didn’t need to know it was them, did he? It was pitch dark, he’d only know if they told him! Seriously though, they DID need to get off the poor guy before he was completely flattened.

"I'm trying..." Sophie groaned, squirming frantically. Linnaea’s braid was freed in the struggle and she turned her head in relief... But it was only a very minor relief. She was suddenly exceedingly thankful for feed bags, for that must be what was over Eric's head and that guaranteed he couldn't see her. Upside down and tangle-limbed wasn’t exactly the most flattering of positions to meet someone in, let alone THIS someone!

"Hey! Linnie, you okay down there?" Sophie’s voice peaked with worry and a muffled laugh came from the bottom of the stack.

"They got you too, didn't they?" Eric said as Linnaea groaned. "So much for heroics... The scamps... Rich didn't learn his lesson from almost drowning you, clearly I'm gonna have to pound some sense into him... Seriously though, ARE you okay, Linnaea?"

“Yeah, I’m fine. Ish. As fine as anyone can be in the middle of a sandwich…. I feel like the filling being squished out of one.”

Linnaea spoke up semi-reluctantly, with a giggle trailing into the tail end of the sentence…. And a gasp finished it off.

“And if that’s what I feel like, what must the bottom slice of bread be going through???”

"Squashed flatter 'n a pancake, of course," Eric mumbled. "But don't worry bout me, I'll survive."

"Nope, we're rolling," Sophie laughed. "and it be a leap of faith, for I know not what is on the other side..." And with a tremendous effort, she managed to drag herself off the pile and landed sideways and cramped up in the tiny remaining bit of space 

“We’re gonna be wedged in here like hotdogs,” groaned Linnaea despairingly. “I know this shed…. We’ve had sleepovers in here, and it is a one person habitation for good reason!”

With a burst of effort, she rolled off him too, careful to land on the opposite side of the shed. He sucked in a grateful breath of un-squashed air.

"Better?" Sophie grinned and the feed bag rustled as Eric nodded.

"Ish, yeah," he laughed. "Good 'n ready to get outta here."

"Now what?" Linnaea asked the question whilst staring up at the ceiling as if it somehow held the answer. She was heartily conscious of the fact that her head was squashed up against his shoulder, albeit a feed-sack-covered shoulder... And despite her squirming, couldn't get away from it.

She remembered that shoulder all too well…. And it wasn’t helping her think clearly, not one bit. She shook her head, trying to clear those particular cobwebs from it. And of course, since the wall was on one side, and he was on the other, he automatically assumed she was trying to say something, and asked what it was. She promptly resolved to hold very still after this, because she was not about to give an honest answer on this one.

"Nothing," Linnaea mumbled and lapsed into silence. For a very painfully long moment, it was very quiet and very dark and very squashed. And at last Sophie, deciding that the other two were rendered incapable of speech, attempted devising a plan... Although all imagined attempts were so ridiculously impossible.

"How long d'ya suppose till they come back?" She asked. Eric roused himself, though Sophie did not seem to hear. 

“Heard ‘em say something about midnight before…. Anyone got a watch?”

Linnaea did hear this.

“Hey, my phone is in my pocket! Does that— Awww shoot, and I can’t get at it for love nor money!” She regretted some of that the moment it left her mouth.

"Well, it would take serious acrobatics but maybe I can reach it," Sophie giggled. "At least our hands are taped in front, thank goodness for small mercies, eh? If I could just... Oof... Ouch!" She attempted to reach Linnaea, but would have had to roll over Eric to get to her. Linnaea struggled to her knees, trying to get closer…. Which meant they both had to lean over top of him, and they were squishing him again. Sophie managed to reach Linnaea's pocket, painfully aware of the muffled groans coming from beneath them. She grasped the phone and struggled back into her tiny corner and again, Eric gasped for breath.

"Who should I call?"

"911, probably," Eric moaned. 

“Just whatever you do, don’t hit Nikki’s number!!” This from a suddenly lively Linnaea, foreseeing visions of doom. Julie gasped in mock horror that was more horror than it was mock.

“Well for goodness sake, tell me what it looks like so I don’t!”

“Well—oh, just give it to me and I’ll do it, can’t risk a mixup this late in the game! We’re in hot enough water as it is…” Linnaea sounded just slightly like something was getting on her nerves now. She reached over again, trying hard to keep her distance from Poor Eric in the middle, and failing miserably…. Fell with a crash, and a howl rose from both crash-er and crash-ee.

"I give up," Eric groaned as she lay limply across his stomach, frozen with horror and fright. "I'm gonna die out here for sure."

"You just sit still, Linnie, and you'll be okay," Sophie shot back, sounding mildly annoyed herself. "Now. Here is your phone, now call! Gracious, at this point, it wouldn't be so bad to just wait till they came back. I mean seriously... They wouldn't leave us out here all night, would they?"

Linnaea retrieved herself with great embarrassment and a giggle that desperately wanted out, yet was not appropriate in the least. The poor guy really was having a rough time of it…. And what on earth must he be thinking of her??

“Oh, Eric…. I’m so sorry…. Are you okay?? Oof, what am I saying, of course you’re not!!”

Her voice had just the faintest touch of hysteria, accompanied by what to the untrained ear could not possibly sound like the verge of tears, but was. Also hysterical laughter. Swallowing both back with a gulp, she continued to make a proper apology of it before ruefully taking the phone that caused the whole difficulty. 

Eric struggled wildly a moment, as if making a desperate attempt to sit, but he gave up. 

"Linna..." "I AM okay, honest. Just got the wind knocked outta me..."

“Ohhh yes they would leave us out here, if they felt like it,” Linnaea retorted at Sophie with more control gathering in her voice. “At least Nikki would, Rich did save us after he tried to drown us, after all…. He may have mercy.”

"Phooey on Nikki," Sophie mumbled. "C'mon, let's call someone and get it over with. Who's the safest person out there?"

“Bekah.” Said Linnaea firmly, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that there were exactly 3 options, and two of them were not options at all. “If she can just pitch me my purse in here, I guarantee you I can get us out! Thank goodness for speed dial….” The phone rang for so long that everyone started getting a little nervous.

"Hello?" There was a unanimous sigh of relief as Bekah's voice filtered over the phone. “Linn, where on EARTH are you?? And where is Sophie for that matter? And Nikki's still out and Rich and Eric's truck is still parked out here and they're nowhere to be seen and..." She paused for breath, thus giving Linnaea a chance to speak.

"You're not gonna believe this," she said slowly, hearing muffled chuckles coming from her fellow captives. “We’re stuck. Very stuck, yes, in the shed, that’s what I said, isn’t it? Yes, all of us…. But not Rich and Nikki, they’re the ones that got us stuck. Just bring me my purse and I’ll explain later, okay?? Toss it in the door and then skeddadle, or you’ll end up right in here with us. I’m telling you, they’re ruthless!!”

Bekah was justifiably confused and justifiably curious. She promised to grab Linnaea's purse and hung up quickly. The three captives waited in silence, well, mostly silence, punctuated by giggles every now and then. And after an eternity, the door opened and a very startled Bekah peered in, Linaea’s purse flying in just before her.

Three voices whisper-shouted thankyous and dire warnings at her, and she fled the scene still no less confused. The purse, wouldn’t you know it, sailed like an arrow straight for the center of the shed…. Hitting the wall over Eric’s head, and veering at the last moment, it tumbled over into Linnaea’s lap.

"Man, he's lucky," Sophie observed with a laugh. "Narrowly missed being knocked out by that purse."

"It was a bullseye," Linnaea said proudly, rummaging through her purse and coming up with a pocket knife. "Aha!"

Eric, who couldn’t see, whereas they could see all of Not Much, was not impressed by this.

“Aha what? How about giving me a play-by-play so I know when monumental things are going to occur, eh?”

"The monumental thing is that Linnie has discovered a knife in this miraculous purse of hers," Sophie cried cheerfully, thrilled at thought of rescue. And as stiff and cramped as she was, she couldn't begin to imagine how poor Eric felt.

Linnaea giggled softly to herself as she rummaged through her bottomless purse.

“They’ll never laugh again when I say my purse is half survival kit!”

"Thank God," Eric muttered in relief. "I am gonna get Rich sooooo bad for this..."

“You! Don’t you mean we??” This from an indignant sounding Linnaea who was muchly intrigued by the thought of revenge. “Don’t you even think of leaving us out of this, we wanna be full partners in this crime that is to be committed, don’t we Sophie?” She was heartily sawing at the generously applied tape holding Eric’s feet captive all the while she spoke.

"As long as you don't forget to lemme loose," Sophie spoke from the corner where she crouched. "I'm mad enough to take Rich on single handedly, this is the second time and boy is he in for it..."

"Wouldn't dream of doing it without you," Eric laughed. "From what I've seen, you've got plenty of schwunk and schwunk is exactly what we need.”

“No doubt about that, we’re the girls for the job! You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, mister.” This was from Sophie, impatiently waiting to be gotten out of this ridiculous duct tape. And just like that, Linaea severed the last thread at his feet, and pivoted painstakingly back around to her best friend.

“Here, Sophie, hold out your hands…. I’ll get you loose and then you can do mine, and we can both attack the sack together.”

"Attack the sack," Eric was laughing. "Should be a good fight. I never wanna see chicken feed again, long as I live..."

“Just go easy on it, eh? Remember I’m in here!”

Sophie laughed aloud at this.

“Oh, don’t you worry, we couldn’t forget that if we wanted to.”

There was a curious little mostly inaudible giggle in those words that made Linnaea start suddenly, hoping Eric didn’t hear that the same way she did.

"I am so, so glad we're wearing long sleeves, else this would hurt like crazy," Sophie sighed in relief as Linnaea peeled the last bit of tape from her arms. Bearing in mind that Rich and Nikki could return at any moment, they rushed to get Eric free. It took some careful maneuvering to get to his hands, because the sack had been taped firmly overtop… And besides, they were behind his back, and that meant more difficulty getting him into position. 

“Here, Sophie.” Linnaea felt around in the dark and handed her friend the knife. “My hands aren’t steady enough, I’m scared I’ll make a mistake…. You do it.”

"Jings crivvens, did they do a good job of this or what," Sophie cried softly as she took the knife. "Here, can you sit up? That'll help..." she tugged at Eric and between the two of them managed to get him upright.

"We need revenge," Linnaea whispered, clasping her hands tight in front of her as she waited for Sophie to saw through the tape. 

"You're darn right," Eric laughed through the sack. "And you're the ones to do it too, I hear you're pretty good at this revenge stuff..."

Linnaea and Sophie glanced at each other in consternation, even though they could barely see. Eric laughed again. 

"Don't worry, don't worry... I won't tell. And anyway, I owe you one."

"There," Sophie cried triumphantly. "We've done it!" and with that, she yanked the sack off Eric's head and he gasped for breath.

"Forgot what it felt like to breathe normally..." he grinned sheepishly, wiping the chicken feed from his face. He shook his head upside down and shook some of the chicken feed out of it with a grimace. Of course, they couldn’t SEE the grimace, but they got the picture when he laughed humourlessly and said they could at least have emptied it all the way first. It got down his collar, and stuck everywhere it had touched, especially his ears, just for spite.

Linnaea, finally seeing something she could do even WITH shaky hands, whipped a handkerchief out of her pocket, felt around for the bottle of water she’d seen on the shelf earlier, and wet it….  Handing it to him.

Well, trying to hand it to him. She ended up having to tuck it directly into his hand because it kept being waved aimlessly about in the air when she tried to just pass it.

"Man, am I gonna be sore tomorrow," Eric groaned, feeling gingerly at his ribs. "Nope, nothing broken! And that's something after having two people thrown directly on top of you too..." 

"I'm so sorry..." Linnaea grimaced with wryly sorrowful chagrin. "All those perfect plans we had and they got so spoiled and besides that, we practically squished the life outta you..." 

That's when Linnaea did something uncharacteristic. Overcome with remorse and worry and relief all at once, she threw her arms around Eric, wrapping him in a bear hug. He started, surprised for a moment, and then returned the hug. 

"So now what?" Sophie stood stiffly, brushing her skirt off. Eric grinned. Rising quickly, he helped Linnaea to her feet.

"Now we pounce."

"And lo and behold, there is duct tape right here," Linnaea turned to snatch a roll from a shelf. "Taste of their own medicine, eh?" She might have said more, but at that moment was interrupted by piercing howls just outside the shed. Simultaneously alarmed, amused, and decisive glances were exchanged. In that order. 

Eric whispered so low they could barely make out the words, and Linna choked on a laugh when she heard it.

“On the count of three,now….  We crash this gate to a 98, I sez let them truckers roll.”

Linnaea flashed a merry salute, and a confused Sophie followed suit cause it seemed like the thing to do.

“Ten Four, Mr. Rubber Duck, sir!”

"Okay, Rubber Duckie, I guess," Sophie grinned. "Let's do this."

Ready??? Set go and leap! Out the door with you!!!

Follow the Rubber Duck (;

Wearily Yours