On the Beach

Loosely based on “Better Watch Out for the Saw” in the Faves folder.

 Carlie stretched out on the beach blanket, smiling as she soaked in the sun.  True, it was another party her friend Jess dragged her to, but, at least, she could be left alone to feel the warmth, at least for a bit.

 As more people showed up over the next half hour, annoying her a little, Carlie finally got up to see what was going on.  Someone brought a truckload of wood, someone she hadn’t met.  Probably for a bonfire thought Carlie, but then the other item was revealed.

 The table was about 10 feet long, with guide rails and everything, but, in the center, sticking up by about half a foot, were the teeth of a buzzsaw.

 The guys that brought it set things up and started working on the piles of wood, confirming Carlie’s thoughts about a fire later on, and everyone drifted off to their own things.

 About an hour later, a group of people started to beg Carlie to join them in a game of Frisbee.  Carlie shrugged, not really wanting to participate, but did so anyway, hearing the saw going.

 Everyone else took up positions, and Carlie ended up with her back to the woodworking station, some of the guys still working at it.  The Frisbee game went off without any major problems, Carlie doing her best to keep up, until someone overestimated how far they needed to throw.

 Carlie chased the disk, not really paying attention to anything else, until she heard someone shouting. “LOOK OUT!!”

 She felt herself trip, felt herself going down, before she realized what she’d run into.

 Carlie screamed as she dropped, face first, over the sawing table.  A moment after she did, she felt something sharp pierce her middle.

 It only took her another moment to realize she must’ve fallen on the spinning blade.  She screamed again, not sure what damage had been done.  With her heart pounding in her chest, she calmed enough to take stock of what actually happened to her.

 She could still feel her legs.  She could even kick her feet.  Strangely, she realized she didn’t feel any pain.  As she brushed down her bared middle, she gasped.

 Clearly, without any warning, her body just ended around her waist.  Her breathing picked up again as someone swore. “Are you okay?  What happened?  Do we need to….?”

 They stopped when the saw her current predicament.  Jess ran up. “Carlie?  What’s going on?”

 Carlie turned to her. “Do you see any blood?”

 Jess looked all over. “No.  No blood.  How can that be?”

 Carlie swallowed.  At least there’s that. “Don’t know.  Maybe call someone?”

 About ten minutes later, the ambulance showed up.  Those poor EMTs weren’t sure what to do, coming to try and help with a sawing accident.  Neither of them had ever seen a woman actually sawn in half, but there she was, alive but in two pieces.

 As they tried to make Carlie comfortable, one of them suggested pressing her two halves together.  Carlie shook her head at that. “Sorry.  I don’t think it worked.”

 Aside from being scared, as far as they could see, and aside from being in two pieces, her vitals appeared good.  They had no idea how she could complain about having her foot itch if there was no connection to her upper body, but they did the best they could.

 They were even surprised when Carlie started to giggle when one of them accidentally ticked her foot.

 As they got to the hospital, one of the EMTs took her in, trying to explain the situation to the on-call nurse.  With no panic at all, the nurse looked over Carlie, asking her name.  With that, the nurse looked it up, then called in a specialist.

 Dr. Eagle looked Carlie over when he got in, just cursory. “You tried pressing your halves together?”

 Carlie nodded. “Yes.  It didn’t work.”

 Dr. Eagle paused for a moment. “Not the right kind.  You weren’t prepared, so we need to do this old school.”

 He produced two flat, metallic sheets, and, with the nurse’s help, placed each sheet against a half.  It felt good, felt right.  As they maneuvered her halves to place the sheets together, Carlie couldn’t help but smile.

 As they pulled the metal away, Carlie could feel her halves rejoining with such a wonderful sensation that she moaned with it.

 But she had to wonder.  Yes, it was an accident, but what would happen if her neck fell on the saw?  What about her ankles?

 She had to be careful, but Carlie was itching to find out.