Chapter 1: The Invitation
New assistant coach Jason Barns invited 21-year-old team captain Ryan Mattern to his house for a couple of beers and to see his gym and to fill him in on the wrestling team's strengths and weaknesses. After some small talk and two beers, he asked Ryan if he wanted to see his gym. They went down to the basement. The equipment and layout were amazing.
"This is awesome," Ryan said. As he looked around he saw a door with all types of ropes hanging from hooks.
"Jason," Ryan asked, "what's all that rope for?"
"It's part of a special training I do with only the toughest. Look at your arms." Ryan's arms were folded in front of him and his red, white and blue tank top.
"What about them?"
"Well, they are your power. But what if you lost that power, say by having your arms tied up behind your back, what could you do?"
"Try to escape. How about I try it and you tie my arms up behind my back?"
"Sure Ryan," the coach asked, "I don't want you to freak out!"
"No. I always wondered what would happen say if I were kidnapped and tied up."
Jason smiled. He wondered what Ryan would think if he knew he just pronounced his fate.
"OK kid, turn around and put your arms behind your back!"
The binding began.
Chapter 2: The Trap
Ryan thought maybe Jason would just tie his hands, but when he looped his elbows together, he began to realize something was wrong. The rope bit deep, eliminating any chance of leverage or escape.
"Hey, this is pretty tight," Ryan said, testing the bonds. His powerful arms, usually his greatest asset, were now completely useless.
"That's the point," Jason replied, his voice taking on a different tone. "What if you were really kidnapped?"
When Ryan started to complain, a chloroform rag was shoved over his face. He struggled to no avail, his bound arms making resistance impossible, and was knocked out.
This isn't training, was his last conscious thought.
Chapter 3: Awakening
Ryan came to cold, shivering and sweating, blind and gagged, and tortured by rope tied to a chair. It smelled like he was underground. His biceps were roped and frapped to the upper rung. His wrists and elbows tied to lower rungs. His whole body was crossed with ropes lashing him to the chair. Each of his ankles had been pulled under the chair and tied to each of the back legs. His thighs had been tied to each corner of the seat.
What the hell? This can't be real.
He struggled against the restraints, but every movement made the ropes cut deeper into his flesh. The technical precision was obvious—someone who knew exactly what they were doing had applied these bonds.
The rumors in the locker room... guys said the coach had a reputation for tying up boys, but I thought it was bullshit.
His mind hyperfocused on every conversation he'd dismissed, every warning he'd ignored. His teammates had tried to tell him, and he'd laughed it off.
Was this being held only for ransom, or did the coach have other fiendish designs on him?
The uncertainty was worse than the physical pain. His imagination ran wild with possibilities, each more terrifying than the last.
Chapter 4: The Torture
The coach came in and squeezed his biceps and forearms.
"I told you you had strong arms. Let's see how strong they are."
With a bat, he smashed Ryan's biceps, forearms and wrists, making them black and blue and causing the ropes to cut deep into his damaged muscle. Ryan screamed through the gag as bone-deep pain shot through his arms.
He's destroying them. He's destroying what he said was my power.
"These will make nice pictures," Jason said, photographing Ryan's roped and tortured arms from multiple angles.
Then he left him to his fate.
Ryan's head slumped forward. My arms might be broken from the beating. Nobody will ever find out what happened to me. I'm going to die here.
Pure panic consumed him as he realized this wasn't about ransom—this was deliberate torture, and he was sure he'd been left to die so nobody would ever discover the truth.
Chapter 5: Descent
Ryan went into deep unconsciousness, but even sleep offered no escape. He dreamed of being tortured, his subconscious mind conjuring scenarios even worse than reality. In his nightmares, the coach returned with a chainsaw, cutting off his arms completely while Ryan screamed and begged.
Even my dreams are against me.
His mind fragmented between the real agony of his broken arms, the phantom pain from his nightmares, and memories of every ignored warning. The boundaries between reality and dream blurred as trauma overwhelmed his ability to process what was happening.
I should have listened. God, I should have listened.
Chapter 6: Discovery
Jason's hubris proved to be his downfall. He couldn't resist returning to check on his victim, to see Ryan's deteriorating condition and perhaps take more photographs. It was during one of these visits that neighbors reported suspicious activity, and police discovered the underground chamber.
When the rescuers found Ryan, barely conscious but lucid enough to speak, his first words cut through the trauma with startling clarity:
"Get that son of a bitch."
During his statement to police, Ryan's anger helped him provide precise details about his ordeal. Every rope placement, every word Jason had spoken, every calculated step of the torture—his fury kept him focused and thorough.
Later, when he faced his teammates, the mix of guilt and vindication in their eyes was almost as hard to bear as the physical pain.
"We tried to warn you, man," one of them said quietly.
"I know," Ryan replied, his voice hoarse but determined. "I promise I'll never not listen to you guys again."
The scars on his arms would fade, but the lesson learned in that underground hell would stay with him forever: sometimes the people trying to protect you know exactly what they're talking about.
