Hold Still...

"Wake up, sleepy head." Eric was dreaming. He had to be. The voice he just heard seemed so distant. Then he heard it again, this time only clear. So clear he could hear the hint of sarcasm in her tone. "Wakey-wakey." Eric slowly opened his eyes and tried to adjust them to the flood of light that bored into them. Office lights? No. More like those lights you see in a surgical ward in a hospital. Hospital? Had he been in an accident? Little bits of the day are starting to return to him now. He was driving. He was on his way to a meeting with a new client. "I must have crashed" he thought.

As his eyes adjusted to the light, he realized this was not a hospital. Not one north of the border anyway. It looked like a dungeon. The walls were unpainted cinderblock, with exposed electrical lines and plumbing in full view. The room was dark except for the horrible bright light that seemed to be about three inches from his eyes. Eric swore he could feel the heat from it. Eric was also very quick to notice that he was handcuffed to the chair he was seated in. His legs were out-stretched onto a footstool and had bungee cords wrapped around them. Eric couldn't move.

Panic. That's what creeps into your mind when your world is breaking loose. Panic takes over when you have no control over a situation. It was panic that was eating Eric alive as he sat in that chair, handcuffed and strapped down. Sweat instantly started beading up on his forehead. His pulse quickened to a pace that would make any doctor take notice. All at once, he started to let go with a mighty scream, which was muffled before it even got started by a gag being shoved into his mouth. The gag was dry and scratchy, and it felt like it was being pushed clear down to his stomach. It also seemd to instantly dry out his mouth, which only added to the anxiety that already claimed him.

It was in this moment that Eric realized that he had no idea who was holding him captive. He had not seen anyone in the room, and with the exception of the voice he heard while he was waking up, the only evidence of anyone being there was the hand that had shoved the gag into his mouth. He twisted his head around to see. He could only make out a faint shadow of a person. That damn light was causing everything in the room to be darkened except for him. However, he could tell that the shadow was in a woman. There was the unmistakable image of two very large breasts. Shadow breasts at best, but it was definately a female.

"Who are you?" "What the fuck do you want?" he wanted to scream, but the gag only resulted in meaningless babble. His response to his babble was the sound of his own breathing. The figure was motionless, as if she was either enjoying this or trying to decide what to do next. Eric turned his head back around and looked at his bound body. He tried to stay calm. He was fairly sure that he couldn't get his hands free. The handcuffs were police issue and were secured to the heavy oak chair he was seated in. That led him to the next problem. His leg restraints didn't seem to be too tight, but that was useless information to him. He would have to have his hands free to do anything with the leg restraints. He was not going anywhere.

Eric heard the figure step torwards him. She pressed her breasts right up to the back his neck. The same way a barber would when cutting your hair. Eric's mind raced, and he felt a new wave of panic take him over. "What the Hell do you want?!" he demanded. This statement came out sounding more like "Mphf mmaph um phump!" due to the gag in his mouth. He recieved no response except for the feeling of a hand touching his ear. He could feel she was wearing rubber gloves. They felt sterile and medicinal against his skin. Her fingers lightly rubbed up and down the outer edge of his ear. If this had been a scene from one his many sexual adventures, he would have been pretty aroused. This, however, was not. Eric felt helpless. The fingers slide farther onto his ear and slowly formed a tight grip on the upper part of his ear. Eric felt her other hand press down on his opposite shoulder. All at once she pulled on the ear in a downward motion. Eric felt a sudden rush of the most horrible pain he had ever experienced. He could hear cartilidge tearing and blood vessels snapping. There was a loud "pop" and then dead silence. Eric passed out.

Eight pounds. That's how much pressure it takes to rip off a person's ear. Eight pounds of pressure. The average six-year old can produce that force. The woman holding Eric's bloody ear in her hand had used considerably more force than eight pounds. The ear was still dripping blood, and was clutched in her right hand as she stood in front of Eric, waiting for him to wake up. He had passed out from the pain it seems. She hadn't even thought of this possibility, but now that it had happened, she chuckled to herself. "That figures" she thought to herself. "Pussy." It really did amaze her that his ear came off so easily. She had doubted the notion ever since her friend Scotty had told her about it, but ever since she hatched this plan, she had known she would have to try it. I mean, how often does anyone get a free chance to rip off another human's ear? Some chances you just can't pass up. Her daydreaming was cut short by the faint sound of moaning. Eric was waking up. "You've came this far, Miles. Time to finish it" she told herself. She steadied herself in front of Eric and glared at him. She wanted him to see her in this pose when he opened his eyes. It had to be perfect. She waited.

Pain. That was the first thing that hit Eric. Stomach twisting, white-hot pain. The right side of his head felt like it had been burned with a blow-torch. It didn't occur to him that his ear had been torn off. Who thinks of that? All Eric knew was that he was in intense pain. That same pain had caused him to have a grimace plastered on his face since he had woke up. He slowly forced his eyes open, while the pain twisted through his head. What he saw before him made him forget about the pain. There, in front of him, stood his ex-wife, Miles. Her and Eric had been divorced almost ten years ago. They had maintained a really good relationship over the years, and they actually had become good friends. Well, at least that is what Eric had thought. She stood in front of him with a slight smirk on her face and his freshly severed ear in her hand. The sight of his ear and the realization of what she had done hit him like a hammer. He tried to scream through the gag, which only made it slip farther into his throat. He began thrashing in his chair and making muffled sounds while tears welled up in his eyes from the wretched pain. He could see her watching this. He all but stopped his movements and noises in their tracks when she stepped torwards him. She leaned forward and placed her extended index finger on his mouth, as if to tell him to be quiet. She stood back up, still holding the same smirk on her face. She began to speak...

"Hi sweetie!" she said cheerfully. The casualness of her tone took Eric by surprise. They might as well have been meeting for lunch. She sounded joyful and calm. Her cheeful voice rang out again "Eric, I think I should start by telling you the kids are OK. I sent them to grandma's. We've got a few things to discuss, and it would be a pretty one-sided conversation if I did all the talking. I'm willing to take that gag out if you promise to be a good boy." Eric didn't even have to think about it. He quickly nodded in approval. Miles stepped forward, and very gently pulled the gag from his mouth. So gently, in fact, that it freaked Eric out that this was the same woman who had kidnapped, bound, and ripped the ear off a man all in one day. As the gag came out, Eric began coughing loudly, while taking in great gulps of air. As soon as he had his breath, he moaned "Miles...my ear." She smiled again. "Oh Eric, always worried about the little things." She held his ear up and examined it. She had to do it. It was too much to resist. She held the ear to her mouth and said "Can you hear me now?" She then broke out into laughter, to the point she was snorting. She brought her laughter to a giggle and looked at Eric and the horrible expression on his face. "Come one sweetie! That's funny!" She was still giggling while saying this. "What the fuck have you done, you stupid bitch?" Eric snapped. His voice caught her by surprise, and the smile dropped from her face. Eric quickly reminded himself that he was in a bad situation, and acting like a fool could only make things worse. He changed his tone. "Miles, listen. You're really freaking me out here. What's wrong with you? Did I do something? We can talk about this." It seemed she had already prepared for this type of reaction, as she responded in a way that seemd she had been rehearsing it in a mirror. "Eric, we've had a great time over the last few years. We've had our arguements, but we've always worked things out. I love you, and I love the life we have built as friends." Eric could feel the "but" coming. "But" she said, "I have come to place in my life where you are no longer needed." Eric was astounded. Still trying to remain calm, he asked "who the Hell gives you the right to decide if I'm needed? If you don't want me around, tell me, I'll leave. These extremes are just going to get you thrown in jail. How will you explain to your kids what you've done?" Eric wasn't sure if she'd really kill him or not, but at the same time, he really didn't think she would tear his ear off either. He knew mentioning the kids could go either way for him, and he studied her face to see if he phased her or not. Her responses left him breathless. "Kathleen has already worked it out so that nobody, especially the kids, will ever find out." Eric didn't have any words. Eric's second ex-wife, Kathleen. Her and Miles had never gotten along. How the Hell was she involved with this? He tried to word it right, as he felt his world slipping further away from him. Not to mention he was feeling rather light-headed from the blood lose from his ear. "Miles. What does Kathleen have to do with this? Did you drag her into it? Are you just pretending she's in on it to scare me? Miles smiled, as though she had been waiting to say these words the whole time. "Eric, you silly goose, Kathleen is my lover." Eric fainted again.

"What the fuck is that noise?" Eric thought to himself. It was a noise like he had never heard. It wasn't loud, in fact, it was almost inaudible. A faint, sickly, lapping noise. Eric opened his eyes. The pain from his severed ear still burned violently. He didn't see Miles. As he scanned the room, his eyes darted to a furry object to his left. He immediatly recognized her. It was Moo-Moo. Moo-Moo was a cat that was older than dirt, and had been a family pet to Eric and Miles while they were married. Eric had kept her after the divorce, and was suprised daily that the cat was still alive. All at once, Eric had a terrible thought. Had Miles killed Moo-Moo and displayed her here to torture him? No. Wait. Moo-Moo was moving. She was staying in one spot, but was involved with something. He looked closer while his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the corner she was in. Moo-Moo was eating something. "Holy shit! She's eating my ear!" Eric screamed and began thrashing around in his chair. The restraints held tight and he accomplished nothing. He started screaming at her. "Moo-Moo! Get the fuck away!" The cat pretty much paid no attention. Oddly, Eric suddenly found himself thinking about a joke his friend Scott had told him years ago, about how he was convinced that if you ever cut off your toe, your cat would steal it and eat. Cat's are not loyal, and will in fact eat you if they are given the opportunity. Eric found himself almost sobbing for the next ten minutes while he watched his own cat slowly eat his ear. He then had to endure ten more minutes of Moo-Moo cleaning herself after her meal, and then quietly walk away. Moo-Moo walked past him without so much as a glance to say "thank you for all the Tender-Vittles, and the litter box changings, or even for your fucking ear!" Moo-Moo walked past him to the back of the room, where Eric couldn't see due to his restraints. From behind him where the cat had just went, he heard that familiar giggle again. Miles had been behind him, watching the whole time.

If any of you are wondering what it takes to make you momentarily forget that you have been bound, gagged, mutilated, and had to watch your cat eat your own ear, just ask Eric. All at once, he forgot the pain. He forgot the humiliation. His thoughts narrowed down to two little words. "We're lovers." The sudden realization of what he had been told right before he passed out for the second time hit him like a hammer. It couldn't be. The very idea that both of his ex wives were sleeping together was impossible. They hated each other. The only time that one spoke of the other was to put them down. This was bullshit. She had made it up to fuck with Eric. Then a voice from behind him brought him back to his dismal reality. "Honey? Are you thinking about your ear or about me going down on Kathleen?" Dammit. Miles knew him too well. His continued silence told her the answer. She walked around and looked at him. She looked almost sympathetic, but Eric could still see that small, devilish smirk on her face. Miles straddled his bound legs and sat on them. She quietly said "let me tell you a story." Eric glared at her, unable to speak due to the rush of thoughts that were currently pounding his brain. "Eric" Miles purred, "I love you. I really do. Kathleen loves you too. It's true, we have all had our differences. About a year ago, Kathleen and I got together to talk. We wanted to bury some hatchets for the sake of the kids. We went to dinner, talked about everything, had a few drinks, and talked until they closed the bar. We found out during the course of our talk that we have tons in common. We literally became best friends that night! We did agree mostly on one thing. That YOU were the reason we never got along with each other. We found ourselves telling the same stories about you and having the same complaints. To be honest, I think we both knew before that night was over that we were going to end up in bed together." Eric felt his stomach drop and at that point decided he didn't want to hear anymore. His wish would not be granted.

"I'm going to do you a big favor." Miles said, "I'm going to spare you the gory details about the relationship that Kathleen and I have been having." For the first time in the unGodly experience, Eric felt relief...he didn't want to know. He REALLY should have known better. "And by sparing you" Miles said, with the smile returning to her face, "I'm not going to tell you about all the kissing, and fucking, and strap-ons, and pillow talk, and sex toys, and me doing things to her I wouldn't do to a farm animal!" Eric felt it...he felt his heart sink, his muscles tense, and his blood begin to boil. After everything she had done to him over the last few hours, this little bit of humiliation was the worst. All at once, he didn't care about his life, his ear, his kids, or anything else. He didn't even have to think about what to say, the words came easy. "Listen you CUNT" he barked, and he began into a rant about what he was going to do to her when he got out of this. This outburst was cut short by Miles, who quickly leaned forward and shoved the gag back into his mouth. Once again, his words were reduced to muffled screams as the gag sucked the moisture from his mouth. Miles sat back up, still straddling Eric, and she looked down. "Damn Eric" she sighed "this is the first time in a long time I've sat on your lap and Lil' E didn't pop up to say hello." Again, the humiliation hit him like a bat. He had always prided himself on being a very sexual person, and ANY attack on his sexuality meant war, even when he was bound, gagged, and had recently lost his ear. Sadly, all he could do was glare at her in anger. Miles stood up and backed away from him. She looked over her shoulder and said quietly "that's it, I said what I had to say. It's time." "It's time? What the fuck does that mean" Eric wondered, but that wonder was flushed from his mind when he heard a very familiar voice from behind him reply "you know what Eric?" Oh shit. It was Kathleen. She had been there, the entire time, behind him where he couldn't see, watching this horror unwind. Any doubts he had about Miles' claims shot out the window. She was there, and something was about to happen to him...again.

Miles stepped further away from Eric and walked behind him. He strained to turn his head, but it was no use to see that far, not to mention the searing pain from the bloody stump of where his ear used to be when he tried to move. He heard Miles whispering something, then the sound. It was a familiar sound, but who the Hell is playing "name that sound" in this type of situation? Miles returned to his line of sight and stepped into the light. In her right hand, she held an object. Eric strained to make it out. Something metallic, but not something he immediatly recognized. Then it hit him, and Holy shit, how it hit him. He knew EXACTLY what she was holding. All the memories came back to him. Nights of hanging out with Miles, Becca, and Scotty. Nights of drinking Jager, smoking weed, and barking at the moon. Nights of Scotty telling him what he would like to do to someone if he ever had them tied down. This sick little fantasy he had involving a restrained person, a shin bone...and a cheese wire. Eric fought back the urge to vomit into his gag. "She can't do this" he thought to himself, "she can't do this" he silently prayed. Apparently, God was had more important matters to attend to, and was not to be bothered. He watched Miles slowly kneel down beside his restrained legs. She gently stroked his exposed calf, starting at his ankle and sliding her finger up to his knee. She seemed almost mesmerized by what she was doing. Then, slowly, she turned her head to him and said "Baby, this is going to hurt."

For anyone not familiar with a cheese wire, it's a simple instrument that consists of a stainless steel handle that branches out into a "Y" shape. From one side of the "Y" to the other, is a thin metal wire, like a piano string. This object is simple in design and use, simply slide the wire through the cheese. It's not usually used as an implement of Hell. None of this mattered to Eric. He knew what it was, and what Miles planned to do with it. he had heard the idea many times, from Scottys' drunken lips. He had laid it out in such elaborate detail, over and over again. Now he was about to live it...if he lived through it. Miles slid her finger to the bottom of his knee, and stopped. She held her finger there, as if silently saying "I'll start here." She took the cheese wire and placed it right below her finger. She pressed down, and slowly started to slide it back and forth, as if she was playing a violin. She apparently hadn't figured on how dull the wire actually is, and she would have to WORK it down to the bone. Eric felt the first pain sensations when she started the back and forth motion. Not mind-numbing pain, but it hurt. Finally, and all at once, the skin gave way to the pressure and the wire split into his flesh. A small trickle of blood appeared around the would and she sawed it to and fro, but she wasn't done, she hadn't actually hit her starting point yet. Then she felt it, and so did Eric. His shin bone. She felt the solid bone slide against the wire. Eric felt it through his whole body. It still wasn't an unbearable pain, but one of those pains that you KNOW is about to hurt, like when you rip off a toe-nail and wait for the pain to come after the initial shock subsides. Eric closed his eyes and prayed again that she wouldn't go through with it. Once more, God put him on hold.

Miles made sure she did it slow. She wanted to savor this, and she wanted to make sure Eric remembered it. Once she felt the bone, she pressed a little harder to make sure the wire remained against the bone, and then she slowly started to pull downward, along the length of his shin. The thin tissue and skin gave way easily as she made her Hellish path torwards his ankle. The flap of shin that was being filleted away from his shin instantly turned a sickly purple color from the blood still trapped in it. That flap slowly seperated from his shin and started to lay back away from the bone. I would like to tell you what Eric was going through, but there are no words at this point that describe it. He silently screamed, he prayed for death, or even to pass out, yet he remained VERY much awake throughout his torture. To make it worse, he found himself fixated on the event, unable to turn his eyes away. He watched in horror as his ex-wife, the woman he once pledged eternity to, stripped away the entire chunk of thin flesh from his shin bone. He felt EVERYTHING. The tissue ripping, the skin giving way, and the blood that now flowed freely down his calf and onto the floor. When Miles reached his ankle, and the seven inch long flap of skin and tissue had flopped over and was hanging obscenley away from his shin and towards the floor, she stopped. She hadn't thought this part through. This was not a knife. She couldn't simply pull it away to seperate the remainder of the flesh. She thought for a moment, the again looked at Eric, right in his eys, and grabbed the strip of meat. The suddenly gave a strong jerk, which instantly tore the strip from his leg. Eric let loose with a muffled, unGodly scream, that resembled a VERY injured animal. Her eyes never left his during this moment, she wanted to SEE what he was feeling. Eric was in so much pain at that point, he barely noticed she casually took the severed strip of flesh and tossed it behind her, probably as a midnight snack for Moo-Moo. Eric could barely comprehend what was happning to him. He could see the horrible exposed shin bone, and the blood spilling onto the floor, and the-once love of his life staring at all this, again mesmerized by what she was witnessing. He was so taken back and in left field at this point, he never even saw Miles reach down and pick up a small hammer. He never noticed her raising the hammer up. However, he did come back to reality when the hammer came crashing down onto his exposed shin bone. At this point, his world had officially broken loose...and she wasn't done.

Miles had been planning this for a long time, and up until now, it had went perfect. It was almost as satisfying as the way it played out in her fantasies. However, she had hit a small problem. She felt like she was about to vomit. She had been having so much fun. The back and forth with Eric, the taunts, the expressions on his tortured face, not only when she relieved him of his ear and shin-meat, but the ones he got when she dropped her little secrets on him. She was literally wet with excitement. Until now. It all hit her at the exact moment that hammer hit his exposed shin bone. The sharp crack of the bone, the way it splintered into a "V" shape on impact, and above all, the horrible, tormented, and still-muffled screams that came flooding out of Eric. Miles had never heard anything like it. All this came rushing to her at once, along with the knowledge that she planned and caused this. She felt sick, and disgusted, and actually sorry for what she had done. The idea of stopping her plan actually flashed into her mind, but she dismissed it just as quickly. She had went too far to stop. There wasn't a Plan B, and short of just leaving him here to die of starvation, she had no options. She had to keep going. She closed her eyes and tried to remember why she had came up with this plan to begin with. That day. The look on his face. WHAT HE HAD SAID. That was all it took, she was back in the game again. She opened her eyes, smiled slightly, and slowly reached out for Erics shaking, mangled leg. She touched her fingers lightly on his knee. This made Erics eyes open wide and his body jerk with fear. Miles didn't say anything. She was still thinking about his words. Words that caused her all that pain. Those words were in her head as she slid her fingers gently down the length of his shattered shin. Those words were now ringing in her ears as she took hold of the large, splintered shard of bone that protruded from Erics leg. It was those words that screamed in her head so loudly that she could not hear the unGodly, animalistic screams of pain coming from Eric as she had suddenly started shaking, twisting, and thrashing that bone in all directions. She pulled and twisted with such hatred and rage that the three-inch section of shin bone she was holding tore away from Erics flesh. Blood splattered and poured from the gaping hole where his shattered shin had been just seconds before. Eric had screamed through the gag until he had no voice, which only left his now-muted body to flail and convulse in pain against his restraints. Again, there are no words to be offered to try to explain what he experienced. Although Erics pain was of no concern to Miles. Only his words, and those words now sounded like a jet engine in Miles' head. They repeated themselves over and over, throwing her vengful rage into overdrive. All at once, without thought, remorse, or hesitation, she shot upward and plunged the shard of bone deep into Erics neck. Then Miles froze, along with Eric, and everything else on the planet. It all just stopped. They both knew what she had just done. Her hand was still holding the bone buried in his neck. Her eyes were fixed on his. She gazed at them, wondering if he even remembered those words, or the day he said them. That day was ending now for Miles, and Eric. A day that started all those years ago, with those words. Eric was still trying to make sounds, but between the gag, his voice being screamed out, and now his own shin bone being stabbed into his throat, all that came out was a horrible gurgling sound. Even that noise sounded like it was in pain. Miles noticed the sounds, which brought her back to reality. It was quiet in Miles' head now. Those words were gone. All that was left now was her retort. She still looked into Erics eyes. She leaned forward and gently kissed his sweaty, blood-splattered cheek. She pulled back enough to look him in the eyes again, then quietly said "I love you baby, and I always will." She then pulled the shard of bone from Erics neck, which was quickly followed by a river of blood, that squirted and poured out with every beat of Erics heart. Her eyes never left his while she did this, but the moment she pulled the bone from his throat, her expression changed to one of hatred. Her lips trembled with anger, her eyes now pierced into his. She gazed at him for a moment. She knew he was almost gone, she could see the light in his eyes dimming. Miles cleared her throat, held onto her piercing gaze and said sharply and loudly "I DO NOT LOOK OR ACT LIKE MY MOTHER!" Then, all expression left her face. She slid off Eric, who was in the last moments of bleeding out, and she walked to the the door. She paused before turning the knob, and without looking back, she said "and I don't ALWAYS have to get the last word, either."