We Dare You

Tod and Louise had been married about two years. Tod, was a physical education instructor and Louise, a yoga instructor. Both prided themselves on their health, looks, and abilities. They shared many interests, and were deeply in love although Louise sometimes resented Tod’s take-charge attitude about things. One thing they both did faithfully was watch the new television sensation – a program titled "We Dare You." Finally, after months of trying, they managed to secure two tickets to watch a taping of that very popular game show. All of their friends were envious because among almost anyone in the country between the ages of twelve and thirty-five, getting into see "We Dare You" was something worth working for. Couples had to submit requests with pictures, and those granted tickets were selected in a drawing held every two months. Tod and Louise loved the program, never missed it, and submitted requests at every opportunity. 

"We Dare You" had rocketed to popularity almost over night about the time Tod and Louise married. The program host selected individuals or couples seemingly at random from the studio audience and offered them money to do ridiculous, odd, gross, or even dangerous things. Awards could range from fifty dollars to thousands of dollars depending on the nature of the stunt. Women were often asked to hold spiders or snakes and one woman took home five hundred dollars for lying almost naked for fifteen minutes in a tank of squirming eels. Contestants were frequently asked to eat vulgar things like worms or chopped up brains or raw tripe. One young man received five hundred dollars when he allowed the program to strip him to a jockstrap with a cup, hang him by his heels and allow a number of women to hit him with Styrofoam baseball bats. Two girls got two hundred dollars each for stripping to thongs and wrestling in a tub of mud. And so it went, sophomoric hijinks calculated to titillate young adults. The show was a huge success and a big moneymaker for the network.

On the appointed night, Tod and Louise showed up at the studio. They received detailed questionnaires which asked about their general health, if they were taking any medications, if they had any physical disabilities, and so on. They were asked, if selected, if they would willingly participate in any stunt offered. Eager to try for some of the money, both Tod and Louise completed the forms and signed them along with the accompanying waivers, which absolved the sponsors, and the network of any liability should there be a mishap of any kind. Of course, they were assured that all precautions would be taken to avoid harm, but there was always a chance. Tod and Louise and all the other members of the audience were given another form on which they were asked if they were in any way related to or worked for any of the sponsors. 

Once all of the legalities were settled, the audience sat waiting for the show to start. The show had started as a weekly program, but then it increased to twice weekly and finally to airing nightly. Each episode ran for one hour, and the employee who talked to the audience explained that taping usually took two hours or more. The tape was then edited to the required length for a one hour-long program. Taped episodes were generally run during the following week.

Finally, with considerable fanfare and hoopla, a deep voice overhead announced Amos Johnston, the host of "We Dare You." Everyone applauded as the tall lanky silver-haired smartly dressed man casually walked onto the set, and the taping was under way. Amos called out the name of a woman who ran screaming toward the front. He offered her fifty dollars if she would sit for five minutes, bare bottom, on a block of ice. She hesitated, and Amos raised the amount to seventy-five dollars. Then he asked the audience, "What do we say to her?"

"We dare you." Everyone screamed.

The woman agreed, attendants brought out the ice, the woman lowered her pants and panties and to the delight of the audience sat on the ice. Squirming, she lasted the five minutes and happily collected her money.

Next two men were called. They too ran forward screaming and yelling. They were offered one hundred dollars each if they would put on Speedo swim suits and walk around the downtown area of the city together, holding hands, for half an hour. A camera crew from the program would follow them and tape the walk and the reactions of pedestrians.

"What do you say, audience?" Amos asked.

"We dare you!!" Came the loud chorus.

But when the men hesitated, Amos threatened to call another two audience members. Then both men agreed to the stunt and went off to change into the swimsuits.

Amos called up a man and his wife and offered them one hundred dollars to get into a tight telephone booth, which stage hands rolled onto the set, and change all of their clothes with each other while the audience watched. They seemed to be thinking about it when Amos shouted to the audience, "What do you say to them?"

"We dare you!" came the now familiar chant.

They finally agreed. As they wiggled around in the booth removing their clothes, the audience went wild. As they completed the stunt, they emerged to cheers from everyone. Then the two men in their skimpy Speedos came out greeted with catcalls and whistles. Off they went to walk around the city while Amos announced that the video of their adventures would appear the following night..

Amos then called out the name of one couple. The two ran to the front. Amos called a second couple and they too ran to the front. Finally Amos called out for Tod and Louise. Jumping up and screaming, they joined the other two couples. Amos had each of the six people introduce themselves and tell where they lived and what they did for a living. All six were about the same age, three nice looking women and three athletic looking young men. Amos then explained the stunt while stage crew people brought out three large rubber mats. Each of the women would be provided with rope and tape. They would have fifteen minutes to tie up their husbands (it turned out that all three couples were married). At the end of the fifteen minutes, each man would have thirty minutes to try to free himself. If the man stayed tied, the woman would receive two hundred dollars and a chance to go on for more money in a follow-up stunt. If the man managed to free himself, he would get five hundred dollars and the couple would leave the contest. 

"Do you think they should do it?" Amos called to the audience.

"We dare you!!!" they changed.

Amos asked if each of the six agreed to the stunt. All six did although it was clear that Tod and one of the other men weren’t all that excited about it..

Each couple was assigned a mat and the mats were separated by screens so that the couples could not see what each other was doing. Next the women were given bags with rope and duct tape. With the audience, who could see all three couples either directly or on overhead monitors, cheering, Amos gave the signal, and the three women went to work. Each started tying the hands of her husband behind his back. Louise, who had been tied up now and then by her older brothers as a kid, took care to see that the knots were out of Tod’s reach. She bound his upper arms to his body. Then she had him lay on the mat and she tied his legs. 

Carefully she pulled his legs back toward his arms so that he was hog-tied. Next Louise took the tape and wrapped it around Tod’s hands and fingers and over the rope binding his wrists. She also wrapped the rope on his ankles. Finally Louise wrapped tape around Todd’s mouth, although he protested at being gagged. She ignored his complaints and went around three times sealing up his lower face.

"Time’s up!" shouted Amos. The crew removed the screens, and Louise could see that she had done a good job compared to the others. When Amos told the men to start working to free themselves, the man closest to Tod and Louise had released himself in a matter of seconds. The other man struggled for about twenty minutes and finally managed to reach and loosen the knots that bound him, and he too was free. Neither of the other two had been gagged.

Tod struggled, squirmed, and thrashed about on his mat, but got nowhere. It was obvious to everyone that Louise knew what she was doing, and that Tod was not going to get anywhere no matter how long he had. While the other two couples each won five hundred dollars, Louise acquired only two hundred, but there was that chance to win more. She and Tod waited to see what would come next.

The show’s crew released Tod and he and Louise stood together while Amos explained. He asked Tod and Louise if they were interested in going for a stunt that could earn them one thousand dollars or perhaps even more. They sure were. Because they agreed, Amos had the stage crew take Tod away and "prepare" him. When he was gone, Amos explained to Louise that the crew was going to bind and gag Tod in a comfortable way. Then he and Louise would be taken to their home in a van provided by the program. If Louise kept Tod tied up and gagged for the next twenty-four hours, she would win one thousand dollars. 

"Should she do it?" Amos cried toward the audience.

"We dare you!" came the answer.

Amos asked Louise, "What do you think of that?"

"I don’t think it will be any problem at all," she smiled. "When do we start?"

After a few minutes, the stage crew brought out a wheel chair. In it sat Tod, cinched tightly in a black rubber-like straitjacket, gagged with a black leather gag that covered almost all of his lower face. His legs were secured with leather binders. And he had on a blindfold. Louise smiled, and wondered what Tod was thinking.

Amos showed Louise and the audience that the straitjacket and gag were both secured with locks, and he handed Louise the keys. Each lock, Amos explained, had a seal over the keyhole so that if Louise opened the lock, the seal would be broken. Only if Tod returned with the seals in tact would Louise win the thousand dollars. Amos also pointed out a plugged hole in Tod’s gag. If Louise removed the plug, she could insert a straw and Tod could drink water or a nourishing drink the program provided. Also Amos showed Louise a pouch in the front of Tod’s rubber trunks that she could remove when he needed the bathroom. She could do this without tampering with either the straitjacket or gag. Then the crew started moving Tod toward the exit. Amos asked the audience to give Tod and Louise a big hand, and that they would be back in twenty-four hours to see if Louise had won her thousand dollars. As the crowd went wild, Louise followed the attendant who wheeled Tod off the set.

After Tod and Louise were out of the studio, Amos explained to the studio audience that while back stage getting into the straitjacket and gag, the crew had told Tod that if he can somehow convince Louise to release him, then the couple would win five thousand dollars! Amos said that Tod felt certain that he could cajole Louise into setting him free as she usually did whatever he asked - especially if it was something important. The audience laughed.

Twenty-four hours later, Amos explained to the new audience what had happened the day before. He told them that Louise would win a thousand dollars if she had kept Tod bound and gagged for twenty-four hours. Tod would win five thousand dollars if he had convinced Louise to free him. As the crew pulled back the curtains, the audience saw the still trussed-up Tod sitting in the wheel chair, still gagged and still in the straitjacket. A triumphant Louise was next to him smiling, grinning from ear to ear.

"How did it go?" Amos asked.

"No problem," said Louise. "He made lots of noise, and squirmed a lot and tried to say things but I just ignored him."

"Do you know what he was trying to say?"

"No – that’s a really good gag. I just knew that he wanted me to release him, but I wasn’t about to do anything of the sort. I was determined to win that thousand dollars."

"Was he a problem during the night?"

"Not at all," smiled Louise. "I just put him in the closet and closed the door. He thumped around and made sounds, but I slept soundly thinking about the things we will do with the thousand dollars."

"Well," said Amos. "We’ve checked all the locks, and the seals are in place, so we know that Tod’s been bound and gagged this way for the last twenty-four hours. So let’s take the gag off of Tod and see what he has to say."

Amos unbuckled the straps holding on the gag and pulled the large plug out of Tod’s mouth. The young man looked up at his wife sputtering, and shouted, "You fool. If you had freed me we would have won five thousand dollars. I tried to tell you over and over. I can’t believe you’re so stupid!"

The audience howled with laughter.

"Is that true," a now shaken Louise asked looking at Amos.

"It sure is," smiled Amos. "If you had freed him, you would now be holding five thousand dollars. But you did win one thousand dollars."

"Dumb, dumb, dumb!!" muttered Tod. "I can’t believe she wouldn’t do what I wanted. We’re going to have a talk about this when we get home."

"Now, Louise," Amos continued. "Would you like to try again for the five thousand dollars?"

"Well, what do I have to do?" she asked.

"Let me tie her up," shouted Tod. "I’ll keep her for twenty four hours and a lot more!"

"Louise," said Amos. "All you have to do is keep Tod bound and gagged for another twenty-four hours. Are you interested?"

"No way," shouted Tod. "I’ve been trussed up in this thing for a day, and I want out." Tod struggled against the straitjacket squirming in the wheel chair. "This game is over. Let me out of this thing! Right now!"

"Sure," said Louise. "Let’s do it."

"Are you sure?" asked Amos.

"God damn you Louise, get me out of this thing. I’m finished with this f…..n program right now."

"Amos, I think we should do it. Another twenty-four hours will be no problem at all."

As the audience roared its agreement Tod resumed shouting, "No way, I won’t stand for it. This is kidnapping. Release me now or I’ll mmmmmpffffffff."

Nobody would ever know what Tod might have said next because one of the program attendants moved in from behind and grabbed his nose and his head and when Tod cried out in pain and opened his mouth, the other attendant stuff the gag back in and tightly strapped it in place. In addition, over the gag, they brought out and added a padded rubber muzzle with straps under Tod’s jaw and over his head, around his face. His lower face was sealed. Tod twisted and turned and made noise, but the gag together with the muzzle kept him reasonably quiet.

"Twenty-four more hours," said Amos. "We’ll see you tomorrow."

"I’ll keep him longer if you want," said Louise. 

At that, Tod was as animated as the restraints would allow. He bucked and twisted and glared at his wife, but he was so completely trussed up that it did no good at all.

"Well," smiled Amos, "That’s up to you. At the end of twenty-four hours you need to decide whether to free him, or take him home that way. If you take him home then whatever you decide is up to you. We’ll see you back here tomorrow to find out if you win the five thousand dollars and I guess we’ll learn then whether you take Tod back home a free man or still bound and gagged."

"No problem," said Louise. "The money is as good as mine. And there’s one thing about it. I know Tod won’t complain, will you honey?"
 

05.08.02