Well Thumbed

Remember that dodgy area I keep having to walk through? Well, this evening I decided to walk home and went even further into scary poop-people-land and I walked around a corner to find a gang of about about 6 12 - 14 year old boys. They had one boy on the ground with his arms and legs at his sides and his entire body bound in duct tape. Another boy was holding a mobile phone over the boy, presumably taking a video, with the other kids kicked at him and generally pushed him around. The kid on the ground didn’t look too distressed about the situation at all.

As the group noticed me, they all scattered, leaving the duct-tape bound one lying directly across the cycle path. A cyclist came along and he made a half-hearted attempt to move out the way, but the cyclist had to swerve to avoid him. At this point, the kids were nowhere to be seen, except for one who was hiding behind a bush with a camera.

I looked straight ahead and picked up the pace, pretending that there wasn’t a kid covered in duct tape and lying across a cycle path. I don’t know if they were playing a very dangerous game or if the kid on the ground was really in trouble but I called the police anyway. I figure I either saved one of the kids or got the whole lot into big trouble.

I hope they’re all grounded.