The rear curtains closed once more as Paige’s body and Rachel disappeared offstage. Michael clapped his hands, calling everyone’s attention to him center stage.
“Ah,” he said as if relieved, “it’s nice to see the heads basket filling up. While it’s quite unfortunate that half our volunteers have lost their heads, the show must go on. Send in the next volunteer!”
A petite woman walked in. She had silky blonde hair, tied in a simple ponytail, and wore a gray button up shirt, slim jeans that are scrunched up at her ankles, and a pair of short heels.
“Hello, you are?” asked Michael.
“Hi, I’m Danielle,” the woman greeted. “Nice to finally be up here,” she said cheerily.
“Glad to hear it, Danielle,” Michael replied. “I’m getting a lot of positive energy from you, even though three of the four previous volunteers have all lost their heads.”
“Thanks, I get that a lot,” Danielle remarked. “I’m not really afraid of losing my head, honestly. I’m just really excited to be onstage.”
“I appreciate the energy,” Michael said. “Well, let’s not waste your time, Danielle.” He went over to the cart and grabbed the big sack. It was noticeably easier to lift now that it only had two heads left inside. He opened it for Danielle, and she chose a small sack. Michael took out the remaining small sack inside and placed it on the cart, discarding the big sack, which mysteriously vanished without a trace.
“All right, now hand me your chosen sack,” instructed Michael. Danielle quickly obliged. Placing the chosen sack upright on the cart, opposite the remaining one, he pulled the sack down around the head inside.
“Danielle, you’ve chosen Suzy!” Michael said, revealing Suzy’s head. Her medium-length pink hair was prominently featured, its tips coated in blood, and her mouth was taped shut by shiny electrical tape. Her lifeless eyes remained open, as if lost in thought. He picked up Suzy’s head and gave it to Danielle. “You know what to do, Danielle.”
Danielle, visibly beaming, eagerly took Suzy’s head. “She’s so cute as a head! I love her.” she exclaimed.
“I know, right!?” Michael exclaimed back. “She’s, like, perfect as a head.”
“Now, I’m really looking forward to winning the challenge,” she said.
It didn’t take long for Danielle to find the slip of paper in Suzy’s throat. She immediately reached in and plucked it out, getting her fingers bloody in the process. Cradling Suzy’s head in one arm, she managed to unfurl the paper open.
“It, uh, reads: ‘LIMBO’,” Danielle said.
“You got the LIMBO challenge!” Michael announced.
“Ooh, limbo’s fun!” Danielle remarked, stroking Suzy’s hair. “I don’t suppose the bar will decapitate me if I touch it, won't it?”
“No, no, of course not,” he answered. “Here’s how the challenge will work.”
Clapping his hands twice, Michael commanded the back curtains to open. When they did, it revealed a sort of rail system running along the stage from left to right. It consisted of two parallel rails, and around the middle was two vertical metal poles up to about neck height, joined together at the top by a long crossbar. Below the crossbar was a spreader bar, bolted into the floor by a small upright, and with shackles at the ends. Directly beside that was two small locks.
“All right, Danielle, I trust that you can get yourself into that spreader bar there, while I explain the challenge,” said Michael. “There are a couple of locks there, too.”
“Sure, no problem,” Danielle confirmed, “but, uh, where do I—” she said, gesturing to Suzy’s head.
“Ah, I’ll take her off you.” Michael took Suzy’s head from Danielle and placed it upright back onto the cart, on top of the sack her head came from. He then pulled it, from opposite Leia’s legs, to the side of the stage, as to not obscure the challenge that’s about to unfold.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the cheery Danielle here has selected the Limbo challenge. Right now, she’s securing herself into restraints which are bolted into the floor.” Michael points to her sitting on the floor, locking the shackles around her ankles. “This is to make sure she stays roughly in place, though I’m very much sure our volunteer isn’t one to run. Her challenge is actually quite simple. To win, Danielle must ‘limbo’ under four consecutive bars, each lower than the other, without touching it. Each bar is powered to move on this rail system we have here; in fact, the first bar is already there in front of Danielle herself.”
Facing stage right, Danielle stood up, having finished securing herself to the floor, and almost knocked her head into the crossbar. She did a couple of test kicks to see how secure the shackles were; her legs barely budged.
“To make sure that we can definitely tell if Danielle touches any of the crossbars, we’ve equipped each one with a touch sensor,” stated Michael. “If you could, Danielle, please touch the crossbar.”
“Okay!” Danielle turned around and touched the crossbar behind her with the tip of her index finger. She was met with a loud buzz produced by the theater’s speakers.
“As demonstrated by our volunteer, we’ll hear a buzz whenever Danielle so much as grazes the bar,” clarified Michael. “Are you ready to start, Danielle?”
“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” she smiled.
“The Limbo challenge starts… now!”
Motors roared to life, mildly shocking the restrained Danielle. They quickly subsided to a soft hum as the demo crossbar behind her began to move away from her. As that crossbar disappeared offstage, another crossbar of the exact same height appeared on the other side of the stage.
“The first bar is about neck height! It should pose no problem to our volunteer,” Michael relayed.
The bar traveled across the rail system at a reasonable speed. Danielle put her arms behind her back and had no trouble bending backward under the bar, letting it pass over her unhindered. As her body straightened back, her eyes were filled with determination. She looked behind her and saw the first bar vanish offstage.
“Here comes the second bar! This one is about chest high.”
Danielle turned back around to see the second bar already approaching her. This time, she put her hands on her stomach and carefully bent backward, intensely watching the bar move over her. Her body was shaking from the strain as she bent farther back than earlier, but eventually, she cleared the bar with a hand’s span worth of leeway.
“Whew!” she said in relief, straightened up again. “That hurt a bit.”
“You don’t have much chance to breath, Danielle,” Michael chimed in. “The third bar is already here, and it’s about waist high.”
“Oh, boy,” Danielle managed to say before arching backwards once more. She was thankful for the restraints, since it served as makeshift leg supports that helped her maintain her backbend for longer. The bar came quickly; it was already above her knees by the time she realized where it was. She let her body dip just a bit more just as the bar passed over the rest of her body.
Speechless and a bit amazed, Danielle snapped back up straight, noticeably breathing heavily. “How did I do that?” she thought to herself as she glanced back at the third bar. She quickly refocused and faced forward again.
“Here comes the fourth and final bar! This one reaches about mid-thigh,” Michael said. “If you clear this bar, Danielle, you officially win the challenge.”
Danielle let out a long sigh, wondering how she’ll be able to go under such a low bar. She assumed a sort of ready position—leaning forward, pushing her hips back, and hands on her knees—which gave her an idea. With the bar about a couple meters away, she transitioned into a squat and put her hands on her stomach. She knew she can only bend backward that far back once before she touches either the floor or the bar.
As the bar finally went over her knees, Danielle closed her eyes and hastily bent backward as far as she ever had. From her knees to her head, her body was practically parallel to the ground, letting the bar pass over her thighs cleanly. In her speed, however, she thought that she had bent too far. She opened her eyes in surprise because she thought she was about to fall over, when in reality, the ankle restraints gave her just enough support. Her reflexes got the better of her, though, and she used both her hands to support herself off the floor. The moment she touched the floor, she was surprised again and tilted her head forward.
“BUZZ!” A loud buzz rang from the theater’s speakers. The bar stopped the moment Danielle hit her head on it.
“Wait, wha—no!” was all she could say. The disappointment in her voice was evident.
“I’m sorry, Danielle, but you have failed the Limbo challenge,” confirmed Michael. “That means you’ll lose your head.”
“Aw, man!” exclaimed Danielle. “I was so close, too! Ugh!” With both her arms now on the floor, she guided her body under the bar and managed to stand up.
“It’s all right, Danielle,” reassured Michael. “If it makes you feel any better, you’ve been the closest to winning so far, minus the previous challenge, of course.”
“Eh, it’s fine,” she sighed, “so how are you lopping my head off?” she asked half-dejectedly.
“Now, now, let’s not spoil a surprise,” he replied. “Plus, we need to prepare you for it first.”
“Prepare me?”
Michael snapped his fingers, and the entire theater went pitch black. A second later, the lights came back on.
“Ooh, that’s bright,” Danielle remarked, momentarily blinded by the reopening of the lights. “Hey!” she shouted as she looked down on herself.
Onstage, the rail system remained on stage, save for the bar which has completely vanished. Michael, the cart, and Leia’s lower half remained in place as well, but Danielle ankle restraints was gone. Instead, her arms were now pinned to her sides by two special arm restraints. Across her chest and her hips were two leather belts. Two pairs of leather cuffs were secured around her arms: one midway up her forearms and a second just above her elbows.
“I could’ve put these on myself, you know,” Danielle told Michael, testing the restraints.
“You could’ve, but we needed to save time,” he shot back. “Those aren’t the only restraints you’ll be wearing.”
“There’s more?” she said, half-shocked half-sarcastically. On cue, a thick length of rope fell from the ceiling and onto the stage. The rope was pulled up until the end dangled freely off the stage by about an inch.
“Yes, there’s more, but first, I think we need to bring Suzy back.”
Running over to the cart, Michael picked up Suzy’s head and placed it back into its sack. Moving back over to the rope, using the sack’s drawstrings, he tied the sack to the rope and tugged twice on the rope. It was slowly pulled up and away, taking the sack with it, until it vanished from view.
For a moment, nothing happened. All of a sudden, from above, the rope came back into view, along with a shoe… then a foot. Eventually, the rope was lowered to reveal a whole person hanging on to the rope.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back, Suzy!”
The crowd applauded as the rope was lowered until Suzy touched the floor. She was wearing a short jacket, a tucked in white top, a pair of high-waist leather shorts, and her signature ankle boots. She outstretched her hand to Michael, who took it and twirled her gracefully into both of them taking a bow. Her dainty smile complemented the fact that all trace of her being decapitated was gone.
“Since you’re back, Suzy, would you like to help decapitate Danielle over here?” Michael asked her. Suzy nodded, and they both got to work.
Suzy went back to the rope and gave it a big pull. The rope became longer, a considerable amount of it dropping onto the stage. Grabbing its end, she approached the standing Danielle and pushed her feet together. With rope in hand, she began to tie her ankles together, making sure to loop the rope around her heels as well. Meanwhile, after getting her approval, Michael proceeded to unbutton the two uppermost buttons on Danielle’s shirt. He opened her collar and furled her shirt down to her arms, revealing her neck and shoulders.
After a few minutes of “preparing” Danielle, Michael and Suzy stood back, so they and the audience could admire their work. Danielle’s ankles were now tied together, her heels included, her arms were now pinned to her sides by two belts, and her neck has been exposed for decapitation. Danielle herself managed a smile, but it was clear that she was starting to struggle in her restraints.
Michael went up to her and checked on her, while Suzy went offstage. “How are you feeling, Danielle?” he queried.
“Could be better, but otherwise, fine.” she replied. Danielle kept still but wiggled her arms and hands. Her hands had a freer range of motion, while her arms barely got any movement.
“We’re about to begin the actual decapitation process,” Michael told her. “Are you ready to lose your head?”
“I don’t have much choice in the matter, do I?” Danielle retorted.
“Well, you technically agreed to this, so yes, you don’t. Any last words before we hoist you up?”
“Nah, I’m good. Wait, hoi—”
Danielle’s thought was interrupted when Michael abruptly stuffed a large white handkerchief that he produced from thin air into her mouth. Understanding what he was trying to do, Danielle opened her mouth more to let him fully stuff her mouth with the cloth, while she glared at him pretending to be annoyed. He pushed it all the way in, until she could close her mouth again. Suzy came back onstage with a roll of gray duct tape. She removed a sizable strip and taped Danielle’s mouth shut. She gave the roll of tape to Michael.
“Mm-hnngh!” Danielle’s eyes widened a bit as the gravity of the situation dawned on her.
“All right, boys,” Michael yelled to the people offstage, “lift her up!”
Danielle was eased into a seated position on the floor as the rope began to be pulled up. Michael lifted her feet up, and Suzy put her hand on her upper back and motioned for her to lie down. When the rope became taut, her legs started to pull away. Michael assisted Suzy in guiding her upper body up so that she didn’t bump her head on the floor. Eventually, Danielle was now hanging upside down by her ankles, her head dangling a few inches off the stage and the tip of her ponytail touching the floor. With Michael and Suzy stabilizing her, she was moved back to her earlier position in the Limbo Challenge, in the center of the rail system, facing stage right.
Moving themselves downstage right, Michael and Suzy retreated to a safe distance. Danielle looked at them with a genuinely worried expression.
“Ladies and gentlemen, for losing the Limbo Challenge, our volunteer Danielle here will now lose her head,” Michael announced.
“Mmmm!” Danielle whimpered upon hearing this. She tried to stretch her limbs out continually, since they were beginning to cramp, but this made her swing a bit back and forth instead.
“On the count of three, a specialized bar will come onto the rails and part Danielle’s head from her body,” continued Michael.
Danielle visibly gulped and clenched her fists.
“One...” On cue, a bar emerged onto the rail system from stage left and stopped. It wasn’t as much a bar as it was a thin high-energy laser mounted on two uprights. The laser was in line with Danielle’s neck. She heard it move along the rails and realized it will decapitate her from behind.
“Two…” The laser started to inch forward behind Danielle. She began to hear a faint humming sound coming from behind her, and it was getting louder.
“Three!” Danielle closed her eyes as the humming grew to its loudest.
For several seconds, there was silence. The humming continued, but nothing happened. In the moment Danielle opened her eyes again to check if something happened, her body was in a backward swing.
“MMMMMMM—”
The laser slowed down too early in anticipation of cutting through Danielle’s neck, but contact was made at the lowest point of that downward swing. The entire decapitation took only a second, the laser speeding up again when Danielle touched it. Intense thermal energy melted through her neck like a hot knife through butter, interrupting her agonizing shriek just before it cut all the way through. After detecting the loss of contact, the laser accelerated down the rails offstage.
Danielle’s head was flung slightly backwards and slightly toward the audience, the top of her head taking the brunt of the impact. Her head began to roll and immediately stopped rolling as her neck stump hit the floor, blood being ejected from her nose and from the stump as a result. Her head stopped, facing the audience and eyes open in shock.
Danielle’s body returned to slowly swinging in suspension. Her hands had become unclenched, now limp like the rest of her. No blood dripped from her body’s neck wound.
After the laser disappeared offstage, Suzy went over to Danielle’s head and scooped it up. She cradled the head in her hands, wiping off the blood from Danielle’s nose, and presented it to the audience slightly turned to her right. Michael, on the other hand, went over to Danielle’s body and spun it around, making apparent its current lifelessness.
“That went well,” Michael said, breaking the silence and inspecting the headless hanging upside down body. “We might have to tweak the timings next time.” He then looked over to Danielle’s face, being careful not to obscure the audience’s view of her body, and clapped his hands.
With a blink of both eyes, Danielle’s head regained consciousness.
“How do you feel, Danielle?” Michael questioned.
Danielle’s eyes darted around, surveying the situation. It took her a moment to realize she had been decapitated and her head was being held by Suzy in front of the audience, Michael, and her headless body.
“Mmm—nggh…” Danielle whimpered. She was surprised she could still speak, but it was masked by a sudden sharp pain which made her wince. The wince stirred her body awake. Suzy noticed this and shifted her hold of her head, now cradling her in one arm. She began stroking Danielle’s hair with her other hand.
“As you can see, Danielle is still alive,” declared Michael. “The laser has cut through her neck such that most of it remained with her head and barely leaving a stump for her body, sparing her vocal cords and letting her speak,” he explained. “The laser has also cauterized her neck wounds, preventing any bleeding.” Suzy adjusted her hold of Danielle’s head, placing her hands on the side of her head and tilted it back, showing off the cauterized wound to the audience. She quickly returned to cradling her head and continued stroking Danielle’s hair. “However, we can take it to another level. Danielle, if you don’t mind, could you wave your hands for us?”
Without missing a beat, Suzy turned her body towards Danielle’s body, so she could get a good view of herself. While within the warm feeling of having her hair being stroked, she waved her hands as instructed, checking out her upside-down body with wonder in her eyes. She wiggled her fingers, too, and gave an okay sign with her right hand. The audience clapped.
“All right, since we’ve proven that Danielle is all fine and dandy, well for the most part,” Michael jeered, “I think it’s time to put Danielle away.”
“Mmm? Nggh…” Danielle involuntarily spoke and was immediately met with pain once more. This time, her body winced along with her head. Michael took this opportunity to grab his roll of tape, remove a strip, and quickly go over to Suzy and tape Danielle’s eyes shut.
“Mmmm…” Danielle learned her lesson, purring carefully as she got accustomed to her lack of vision. Michael took her head from Suzy and walked back to his side of the stage. Suzy proceeded towards Danielle’s body, put a hand on her thigh, and stroked it softly. It elicited another purr from Danielle, and a momentary bend of her knee.
“Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Danielle and Suzy!” Michael exclaimed.
The audience erupted in applause. Suzy reached up and hooked her hand around one of Danielle’s legs and began escorting her body offstage. Realizing what was happening, Danielle’s body began to writhe, half-heartedly trying to fight off Suzy’s grip, while her head began uttering soft, successive cries in protest. Suzy had to hold her body by her arms to keep it from swinging too much.
“Shh shh-shh…” Michael brought Danielle’s head up to his face, and started to put her to sleep. She eventually succumbed to it, her cries growing softer and softer until it faded into silence. After making sure her head was unresponsive, he held her by her ponytail and gently lowered her into the basket of unmoving heads, letting her down on her cheek.