Page 8 of Beneath Her Skin

Piggy’s eyes roll back into unconsciousness after I deliver one more swift kick to his head. I compress the levers on both sides of the trap to release his ankle then reset the trap a few feet away. Cat stares at his body for a moment, working a problem out in her head. When she’s satisfied with the answer, she raises piggy’s arms up and starts to drag him. I join her, taking one arm, and we back ourselves down the path out of the woods.

Once we’re through the tree line, Cat’s hand reaches out for mine, gripping it like she’ll never let go. I tightly squeeze my fingers around hers in return. The moon breaks free from the clouds, casting a light on Cat, making her look equally sinister and divine. We throw the limp piggy over Jameson’s ass. As I go to jump onto my horse, Cat steps behind me, grabbing my waist and helping me into the saddle. After she readies herself, we ride back to the barn in silence.

9

The metal chair screeches across the concrete floor as I drag it from the workbench to the center of the barn. Cat flings our piggy onto it, and I tie him down, forcing him to sit straight. I double check the tightness of each rope while Cat fills a plastic feed bucket with water. It sloshes over the brim, splattering to the ground with each step she takes bringing it back. I help her lift it over his head, tipping it until water crashes over him. Murky liquid collects into a red tinted puddle at his feet.

Piggy’s eyes open, but his face is so swollen, I doubt he can see. He gasps for air with shaky breaths, each inhale rattling in his lungs. He wrestles against the restraints and flails his head, thick cords bulging in his neck. Cat thrusts the cattle prod into his stomach before his thrashing knocks the chair over. His body revolts against the electric current, but she doesn’t pull back until the smell of seared flesh perfumes the air. His chin falls to his chest, tongue spilling from his slack jaw. White foam leaks out at the corners of his mouth.

Cat rolls her eyes and breaks a smelling salt under his nose. His nostrils twitch at the chemical sting of ammonia floodingthem, and his eyelids flutter. The piggy groans, attempting but failing to move his limbs. His groans turn to high pitched whines, and Cat and I laugh in a maniacal duet. The light in her eyes reminds me of how this piece of shit tried to dim it earlier tonight.

The crowd from the arena filters into the barn. The announcer’s voice booms again through invisible speakers. “We’re back, folks, after a quick change of location!”

I grab the hoof trimmers from the workbench and crouch in front of him. I tickle the top of one foot with the blade tips. His foot flexes, straining to move in any direction, and I cackle at his effort to pull away from my touch. “Oh, but ya must want it, baby,” I purr, cocking my head to the side and puffing out my lips. “Otherwise, ya woulda put shoes on, right?”

“Sadie Rae, make him pay!”

“No,” he croaks. His head whips back and forth, a choking noise gurgling in his throat. “No.Please.”

“Your words say no, but your body says yes,” I mock, quickly opening and closing the trimmers. The snip-snip noise causes the piggy’s eyes to bulge in their swollen sockets, the white almost entirely taken over by blooms of red.

Cat steps behind the chair and shoves a strip of white fabric through his mouth, securing it behind his head. “You might wanna bite down for this next part.” She pauses, hand under her chin, pretending to be lost in thought. “Or don’t. Sadie gets off on those pathetic little squeals of yours. I bet she’s already soaking her shorts again.”

Tears stream down his face and onto his chest. I hope every drop of salt water that falls from his eyes burns his open wounds. I lean back and rub the trimmers over the thin fabric of my shorts, focusing on my swollen clit. Cat holds the piggy’s head still, forcing him to watch the show. “Be a good girl and show this little piggy how right I am, Sadie.”

“Sadie Rae, make our day!”

My wrist moves faster, using the clippers to wind myself tighter until I’m panting. I close my eyes, tracing my lips with my tongue, imagining Catalina devouring me like I’m her last meal. A moan builds in my throat from a low murmur to a roar, and I don’t stop until I tumble over the edge into swelling release. I wait for the aftershocks of my climax to subside before turning my attention to him again. “Where were we?” I grin. “Oh yes!”

I grab his foot, lifting until the tie around his ankle forces me to stop. Placing it on my shin to hold it in place, I pluck at his pinky toe with my fingers. “This little piggy went to market…” I sing, wrapping the trimmer blades on either side of his toe. My forearms flex as both hands compress the handles until they meet with a delightful crunch.

“Blood! Blood! Blood!”

The piggy squeals, thrashing against the chair, but Catalina forces him back into place. Her delirious laughter rises over his gagged screams as I move to the next toe.

“This little piggy stayed home…”Snip. Crunch. Squeal.

“This little piggy had roast beef…”Snip. Crunch. Silence.He passes out again, and Cat snaps another salt under his nose. He rouses, groggy but coherent enough to know what’s coming as his teeth grind against the thin piece of fabric between them.

“This little piggy had none…”Snip. Crunch.He retches, vomiting against the gag. Yellow liquid spurts out around it, like water breaking past a dam, and dribbles down his chin.

“And this little piggy, yes, this little piggy…” I sing louder, making his big toe do a little dance. “Cried…”Snip. Snip. One more. Snip. Crunch.

“Wee, wee, wee, wee, wee,” Catalina and I bothbelt out. “All the way home!”

“Blood! Blood! Blood!”

Blood spurts from the five different holes of what’s left of his foot, and I let it fall to the floor. Cat releases his shoulders, and his torso sags against the ropes. She presses a button on the wall, and there’s a mechanical whir as a chain hoist descends from the ceiling. Once the hook is low enough, I slide it under the rope around his ankles. Cat presses another button, and the chain raises until the hook pulls the rope taut. She waits for me to undo the other restraints before raising him until his head is just above mine.

Cat saunters over, pulling my back to her chest. She raises her knife to the piggy’s throat and makes a clean, swift cut across it. Warm liquid cascades over us, and I glide my hands up over my face and then down my hair. Gripping the ends of my pigtails, I twirl until I’m dizzy and collide back into Catalina. She licks the blood from the shell of one ear then moves on to the nape of neck. “Close your eyes, Sadie,” she whispers between kisses. “One day, it’ll be your Cowboy Hat Man.”

The crowd goes wild.

10

Ihold my ice cream to my tongue, spinning the cone in my hand until I’ve licked every melting drop. I repeat the process each time the drips start to reach my fingers. Catalina stares at me, elbows on the small table, her head cupped in her hands. “Like what ya see?” I laugh. A smirk tugs at the corner of her mouth, and she shakes the wobbly table between us. I flail, trying to keep hold of my ice cream, and she roars with laughter. My eyes narrow, and I hold the cone close to my chest. “Real funny, Cat.”

Both our heads turn as a beat up Ford Pinto rolls into Lucille’s parking lot. A man wearing an open button-up shirt, his tan chest exposed, steps from the car. “Ladies,” he greets us, showing us a mouthful of sparkling white teeth. He reaches back into the car and pulls a black cowboy hat with a wide brim and flat crown to his head. Realizing he still has our attention, he tips it slightly and smiles again.

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