The Temp

Based loosely on the winner of the fave poll, “Staying Sawn #1.”

Carlie sighed as she walked to the door.  Sure, she’d done it all in her work as a temp, from secretarial work to janitorial.  But she’d never done this.

As she went in, she looked around, asking for Mark.  That’s when a young man, a few years older than herself, appeared. “You must be Carlie.”

She shrugged. “Yes, sir.”

She extended a hand, which he took and shook.  Firm grip. “Well, let me tell you what you’re here to do.  One of my regular assistants came down with the 9 month flu.”

That had her raise an eyebrow.  She had never heard of that before. “9 month flu?”

Seeing her confusion, he explained. “She’s pregnant, and that’s not good for what she needed to do.”

He explained he was basically a showman, a magician in fact.  All Carlie would need to do was to follow his instructions and the instructions of the other assistant during the show, and she’d be fine.  He sized her up and held out the costume she should wear that night.

He hadn’t instructed her on how to perform any of the illusions, so she figured he’d just need her to bring stuff onstage and take it back off.

That night, as she changed into the rather tight and revealing costume, one that fit perfectly, the other assistant, Jess, commented on how she’d be okay as they went out.  Carlie did the best she could, trying to show both flirtatiousness and drama, mostly following Jess’ lead.

As expected, most of what she did was take stuff offstage.  Jess was the more experienced assistant, and Carlie watched.  As she did, she could not figure out how any of this was done.  She actually saw Mike, wielding a very realistic-looking sword she’d brought out, drive it straight through Jess.  But that was impossible.  She felt the weight, felt that it was actually a real sword.

But Jess was fine, with no holes.  She didn’t see any sort of switch out.

But then the finale came.  The girls wheeled out a strange prop  — a frame on a table, with two frames around it and what looked like shackles.  Carlie wondered what was in store for Jess. “And now for our newcomer.  Everyone, give it up for Carlie.”

That surprised her as Jess simply applauded.  She reached down, opening the top of the framework.  Carlie looked at her and at Mike, hoping they were only kidding, but Mike invited her to lie down, head at one end.

As Carlie did so, Jess started fastening the shackles.  Carlie felt them go around her ankles, then around her wrists and neck.  What was going to happen?

Jess moved off to the side as Mike spoke to the audience. “You’ve all seen the exposes on how to saw a woman in half.  They always use some kind of cover, some kind of covert way to get her out of the way of the saw.  There’s often a box in play too.  Well, for this version, there’s none of that.”

Mike raised a hand, trembling a little, towards Carlie strapped there.  She felt something as she felt herself lifting.  Holy cow, she was flying.

Carlie looked around as best she could.  Yes, she was floating.  Magic?  Real magic?

But she hadn’t forgotten what Mike said, tensing up unconsciously as Jess brought out a sword.  She couldn’t do anything as Mike slid the sword into a slot in the frame right above her waist.

She was in the air, fully exposed.  There was no way she could avoid the saw, no way to move out of the way.

She tried to calm herself.  If she were floating, maybe, just maybe, it’d really work.

But what if it went wrong?

She closed her eyes as the blade touched her exposed skin.  She felt the sharpness as the pressure increased.

Carlie gasped and opened her eyes when she felt it sliding into her.  No pain came, but she felt a pleasing sensation flow through her body as it was being divided.  She couldn’t help but smile as the blade passed through her spine, then went the rest of the way out the other side.

She could feel it.  Her body was in two parts.  Yet she could still move her feet and feel her legs.

Mike waved his hands apart, and Carlie stopped herself from squealing as joy flooded through her.  Her halves separated cleanly.

Mike continued to wave his hands, rotating the framework to show that, yes, indeed, she was in two.  She smiled as she saw the top of the other cabinet and the expanse of skin covering her hips and legs where she’d been cut.

He set her top half down on the table, showing again that she was indeed in halves.  Carlie couldn’t help but smile and wave as best she could at the audience as they applauded.  Mike raised his hands, calming them. “I say we leave it up to you.  If you’d like to see Carlie restored back in one piece, applaud now.”

There was some applause.  Frankly, she didn’t want to, not yet.  Mike then asked the second question. “If you want to leave her like this, in two, let me know.”

The crowd roared their approval.  At that, Jess came out, grasping the frame with her bottom half in it and taking it offstage before returning to wheel her top half off.

Backstage, Jess quickly undid Carlie’s bindings. “This is incredible.  I thought it was all just tricks.  It’s real.”

Jess smiled as Carlie came free. “Yes.  And it feels so good.”

Carlie looked up at her, wondering. “How long can I stay like this?”

Jess put a hand on her shoulder. “As long as you want.  It gets a little tricky after the shows, but with a little practice, you can make it so you can stay in halves.”

At that, Carlie had to know more and had to see if she could be a permanent part of the show.

And she had to stay like this, at least for now.