Hey guys. Sorry this has taken me so long, but uni has been nuts. Thankfully, only one more exam and I'm done for good YAY! Also, Bette was being such a pain I fired her and got myself a new muse, KC. Quick word of warning, if you're eating, or are squeamish, you might want to bypass this chapter...
A while later, Catherine closed her eyes and swallowed; her throat was sore from screaming but in her mind she needed to maintain her ability to cry out for help; it was the only weapon she still possessed, the one thing he hadn't robbed her of.
"You know, I think I like you better when you're quiet."
She gasped and turned her head to the side, coming face to face with Dr Jekyll once more. His eyes crinkled; he was obviously smiling beneath the stark white surgical mask, and the mere mental image of that smile chilled Catherine to the bone.
He moved to stand next to the table upon which she was bound, one hand caressing her long strawberry blonde hair, the other gripping tightly to a scalpel and a section of plastic tubing. She shifted her head, attempting to escape from his fingers but they wound tightly round the silky strands, yanking her back towards him and causing her to cry out in pain.
"There's no use trying to escape me Catherine. You're mine now, and I will do with you whatever I see fit." Using his free hand, he drew the blunt edge of the scalpel down her body, from her throat to her pelvis then back up, eliciting a shudder from the woman under his control.
"Please…" she choked out, inwardly cursing the weak edge that permeated her voice. "You don't have to do this."
He barked out a laugh, the sound echoing tinnily around the room.
"You're right, I don't have to do this," he replied, reaching above her head to retrieve three leather straps. "Unfortunately for you, I enjoy my work."
Her eyes widened as he placed one of the straps across her forehead, securing each of the ends to the edges of the table. Catherine moved her head around, trying to slip free but the strap held firm. Wordlessly he fastened the second strap over her chin, rendering her head completely immobile.
"What are you doing?" she asked as he snapped the final strap into place, pinning her shoulders down.
"I told you, I prefer it when you're quiet. Besides, this will go a lot more smoothly if you can't move."
Reaching down he grasped the skin of her throat with one hand, pulling it taught as the blade of the scalpel sliced through, leaving a thin ribbon of bright red blood in its wake. Catherine's mouth fell open, a near hysterical scream filling the air; her entire neck felt as though it were on fire, the pain was unbearable. A small hiss of air and the abrupt halt of his victim's cries signalled to Dr Jekyll that he had cut deep enough to penetrate the trachea. Using one finger to keep the incision open, he grasped the plastic tube in his other hand. Lining it up carefully, he pushed it between the flaps of skin until the plastic ridge lay flat against the hollow of her throat, before inflating the balloon cuff to ensure it wouldn't move around inside her trachea and finally taping it securely into place.
"There." He took a step back, eyes trailing over her bloody neck and admiring his handiwork. "Now you can't scream anymore." Catherine opened her mouth, desperate to prove him wrong, but nothing happened; the tube providing air to her lungs completely bypassed her vocal cords, allowing no sound to be created.
Dr Jekyll laughed evilly as a single tear slipped from her eye. He'd robbed her of her last defence; she had nothing left.
His laughter subsided suddenly and he grasped the bloody scalpel tighter, moving to stand beside her hip. Grabbing two more leather straps he secured them tightly over the middle of her stomach and her thighs.
He turned his head slightly, meeting her terrified blue eyes with his own.
"If you thought that hurt Catherine, it was nothing compared to the pain you're about to feel."
Those were the last words he spoke before she felt the sharp sting of his blade carving through the skin, tissue and muscle of her lower abdomen. Catherine closed her eyes and bit down hard on her lip, tears streaming down her face as he opened her up. The sensation of his hands moving inside her body sent fresh waves of pain and nausea rushing over her as she struggled to stay conscious.
Minutes dragged by like days as he worked. Every time Catherine slipped into unconsciousness he would revive her.
"I want you awake for all of this Catherine," he would tell her, before resuming his task. A few more motions of his scalpel later and he removed his hands, placing a pile of flesh into a bucket next to his feet.
"There, we're almost done now." He retrieved a suture kit from a shelf and returned to Catherine's prone body. "All I need to do is close you back up."
Once the final suture was in place, Dr Jekyll moved himself back up til he was level with Catherine's head. The agony of the procedure had left her brain dull and swimming, making it difficult for her to focus on his tersely whispered words.
"Tell me Catherine. Do you think Tony will still love you, still want you, once I've taken everything that makes you a woman?" His scalpel hand sliced through the air, bringing the tip of the blade down to rest upon the swell of her left breast. She closed her eyes, another wave of pain and nausea washing over her, forcing her to yield to the approaching darkness, and slip into the blissful release of unconsciousness.
*recorded message* Lily is in hiding, but feel free to leave a review for her to read once she thinks it's safe to return.
xxx