Chapter 7:

The next morning at work after I had handed my article topic research to NemesisGirl, I almost spoke. I had not forgotten about her silly magical gag, but it is simply so unnatural to not speak when you have for all your life. I opened my mouth to say something about the topics that I had suggested and at the last minute looked up to see her leaning towards me smiling with an expectant look on her face. I realized what I was about to do and froze suddenly, then slowly closed my mouth. NemesisGirl's smile faded slightly for a moment, but then rekindled brightly once more.

"Take your time, pet," she said. I looked down at the floor and slowly turned back to my desk.

Later that day WorkerBee stopped by my desk.

"I'm so sorry to hear about your accident, subGrrl!" she exclaimed.

I must have had the most dumbfounded look upon my face when I turned to her.

"Oh! Don't talk, subGrrl! NemesisGirl told us all about how painful your torn vocal cords are. I hope that you heal quickly." WorkerBee bent down and gave me a quick hug, then buzzed out of the cube and down the aisle.

Once she was well gone, NemesisGirl said, "Told you that I'd take care of you."

It is somewhat embarrassing to say, but I felt kind of light and airy after that incident. I had never realized how much of a burden speaking is for me. I can speak well enough, of course, but suddenly there were no expectations for which I felt that I had to meet. There was no struggle to be witty or sound intelligent. No one expected me to make any sound at all. I felt more free than I had in years. Maybe I would try out silence for a few days...

<>--+-

At home a few evenings later, I exchanged my blindfold for the one that NemesisGirl had given me. It was a little thicker and heavier. It still wasn't perfect. I could easily shrug it off my eyes, just by rubbing my shoulder against it. One day soon, I decided that I would purchase a head harness with a tangle of straps to keep the blindfold in place. I had seen some that looked comfortable on the internet.

It was less than a week later that curiosity got the best of me and I applied NemesisGirl's belled nipple clamps. They were not too tight. They were easy to endure for an entire night. I found that I actually liked the soft tinkle they made as I slowly drifted off to sleep in the warm, safe darkness of my enclosure. They were a fine accompaniment to the soft lullabies that Lisianski sang to me.

<>--+-

I, of course, dream of Laysan almost every night. Most always she is confined to a large soft bed in a doorless room. The vulgar tether is always present descending from her sex and snaking under the bed. Usually I curl up in bed with her and stroke her hair. I try to comfort her. She is quiet as ever.

One night as I was about to insert my feeding gag, Lisianski asked, "Have you gotten a story out of Laysan yet?"

Slowly I placed the feeding gag on the bottom of the cage. "Yes," I admitted quietly.

"How long ago? Why didn't you tell me?" Lisianski sounded mad. I expected a harsh flogging would follow.

"It was three or four nights ago. I didn't want to tell you because you're going to take her away."

"Oh, subGrrl..." Lisianski actually sounded a little sad.

"I'm only telling you now, because I have a sense that she wanted me to tell you the story she wrote." I paused for a moment. "In fact, she had written it out on paper and had me read the story to her."

"She did? This is incredible. Do you remember the story?"

"I remember the story word for word." Indeed I could even visualize the punctuation that she had used. "Word for word."

"You should have told us of this earlier, subGrrl!"

"I didn't want to," I cried. "I can't imagine what sorts of horrible things you will do to her next. I mean, you're already anchoring her to places by her cunt! How obscene is that?!"

"Anchored?" There was a brief pause, then Lisianski said softly, "That's just the way it's done. She's not just a dream in your head anymore. We have to keep a link on her in this state. Otherwise she might be deconstructed, dispersed, collected, recycled, whatever... unrecoverable. Lost."

"No!" I exclaimed. "This is definitely NOT how things are done! Otherwise, everybody would live in a small cage fighting with voices in their heads!"

"How do you know that everyone isn't?" Lisianski sighed.

We were quiet for a few minutes until I finally spoke. "It's called 'Three Keys'. It's an odd tale about an extreme sort of chastity belt and a woman who makes an odd choice... I don't really understand it."

"Use the tablet," Lisianski whispered. "Write it down".

And so I did - tap by tap.

Chapter 8:

The days seemed to creep by as they extended into weeks. My life was a routine of time in my cramped cage and lashings, cuffs and leashes, NemesisGirl and Lisianski, waiting and silence, and brief dreams of Laysan and a bed and her warm body wrapped in my arms.

Finally, I finished generating Laysan’s story. It is a strange tale. Not really very erotic. I thought that this would mean that she had failed to pass Lisianski's test. Maybe that would be a good thing.

One night shortly after I had finished the story, Laysan was waiting for me when I awoke into our dream. It was the same doorless room as always. Outside the window, storm clouds were tumbling by. Silent lightning flashed though it seemed time was moving so slow that strikes would arc for minutes.

Laysan pointed at me then placed her hands together over her sex like the faceplate of a chastity belt.

"Yeah! I might as well be wearing one, right?" I said.

She shook her head no and slowly opened her hands. It was like she had a bright light source tucked up inside her somehow. Her sex was glowing. Even the links of the chain closest to her crotch were illuminated.

She placed her cupped hands over her heart and slowly opened them again. There was an even brighter light in her chest. I could see the shadow of her heart pulsing and blood flowing through her veins and arteries.

She pointed at me and when she did a beam of light shot from her chest and entered my own. I felt particularly weightless and giddy. I looked down and saw the glow within my own chest. I saw my own heart beating and blood surging through me. I looked up and saw Laysan smiling at me, but a tear was running down her face.

<>--+-

"I love you, NemesisGirl."

That is all that I had to say. If I said those words, I would be allowed to speak at work again. "I love you, NemesisGirl."

I didn't even have to mean it. I just had to say it.

I read somewhere that people on average speak about 17000 words in the course of a day. I hadn't said that many words in weeks. Some days I never uttered a single sound.

NemesisGirl had instructed me to install a chat client on my work machine. No one ever came by to talk to me, but, more and more, people began to chat with me over the computer. In particular, BossWoman chatted with me.

It was actually fun and wonderful. I realized that I have always been so struck by BossWoman's innate charisma that I have never been able to say very much in her presence. And even though I still had trouble putting words together while chatting online with her, I could edit myself relentlessly and my slowness could be excused as multitasking.

Most of our conversations were about work, but sometimes we simply chatted. She is really funny. She has a very dry sense of humor. I love it. As time wore on, I found myself becoming more and more comfortable communicating with her. Words were not as elusive.

Even NemesisGirl chatted online with me even though we sat no more than six feet apart. She's actually not all that bad either. She's a lot more friendly and caring than I had ever imagined once you get to know her. Sure, she has a particular dark streak, but then, don't we all?

Maybe I could try talking again. "I love you, NemesisGirl." Maybe as a friend?

Chapter 9:

One night when I shimmied backwards into my cage, I felt something poke into my butt cheek. I squatted a little lower and tried to look back and see what it was, but my cage is simply too tight.

Maybe it's a dildo, I thought. Maybe my enforced chastity is over.

I strapped on my feeding gag, clamped on my belled nipple clamps, positioned my blindfold so I'd be able to cover my eyes later, and locked my hands into the cuffs. I tried to suck my dinner through the tube.

"Mmm!" I grunted at Lisianski, annoyed.

"We've made an addition to your cage, subGrrl," Lisianski said. Her voice sounded somewhat sad. "In order to eat you will need to depress a newly installed... um... flange with your derriere.

"Mmm?!"

I pushed backwards trying to feel for this 'flange' - whatever, but quickly encountered the pokey thing again. Obviously, I realized that I was meant to impale myself upon this thing. I was meant to rape myself with it.

Fuck it. I should have been pissed, degraded. But, truthfully, I didn't care. It wouldn't take much stimulation to put me over the edge and into bliss. If that was the price that I had to pay to eat, well, I'm okay with that.

I arched my back attempting to slide the pokey thing into my sex. I was having trouble though. The top of the cage prevented me from raising my backside high enough.

I suddenly froze as realization trickled through me. This dildo was not meant for my sex.

"MMM!" I yelled at Lisianski.

"Easy!" Lisianski whispered. "It's not that bad..."

"MMM!" I yelled again and sank to the floor of the cage with my eyes closed. I hate you Lisianski!

After about five minutes, resigned, I pushed myself back up onto my knees. The pokey thing settled between my cheeks. I slowly adjusted myself until it was nestled just right - pressing so sensitively, then slowly pushed back against it.

It was cool and slick. Not really fat at all or textured in any way. Still, it was solid and I could feel it slip into me and push against my insides as I leaned further back. Finally, I encountered a wider section that seemed to narrow a bit as I pressed into it. When I did I felt a brief spray of liquid at the back of my throat. I tasted chocolate and swallowed it.

I leaned forward a bit and then pushed backwards again with a slight grunt. I was rewarded again with a small gulp of nourishment.

Sure. It was the most humiliating thing that I had ever done to myself. But, I had to in order to eat, right? It was kind of mildly stimulating actually. The little finger seemed to push me in a way that sort of worked for me - tickling my fancy in a new and backwards sort of way. I began to push again and developed a little rhythm, grunting and swallowing.

Maybe if I tried a little harder.

Soon, the food was gone, but I kept pushing back harder and harder. Maybe just a little more stimulation would provide a sense of sexual relief that I needed so badly. I heard the table creaking below me, harmonizing with my own feral noises. Fuck you, Lisianski! I pushed back harder. I felt a peal of fire light across my cheeks, but still I didn't stop. My nightly lashing had begun. Fuck you, Lisianski! Fuck you!

Pain and pleasure swarmed through me. I felt I would explode. If only I could... I was a bomb. The lash was the fuse. Catch! Damn you, fuse! Catch! I was going to explode! Just a little more...

I collapsed onto the floor of my cage sweating and wheezing through my nose. The table slowly stopped shaking and tears of frustration formed in my eyes. Frustration... Frustration... Fuck you, Lisianski...

<>--+-

I awoke in the middle of the night later that week and overheard Lisianski talking to another voice.

"Are we ready to sever Laysan yet?"

"No," Lisianski whispered.

"How much longer? Is the probe working?"

"Soon." Lisianski sounded tired.

I knew that the end was near.

Chapter 10:

A female Michigan state representative was banned indefinitely from speaking on the floor of the Michigan House of Representatives for saying the word "vagina" in a speech against a radical bill restricting abortions. I researched the event in particular detail and presented all known information to NemesisGirl as I arrived to work. After NemesisGirl read through my summary, I gave her another print out with a paragraph that I suggested that she add to her article.

It said:

"Vagina vagina Vagina vagina vagina Vagina Vagina, vagina Vagina vagina vagina vagina vagina vagina Vagina, vagina Vagina, vagina vagina Vagina, vagina vagina vagina vagina vagina, vagina vagina vagina Vagina, vagina vagina vagina Vagina vagina Vagina vagina vagina vagina vagina Vagina, vagina vagina vagina vagina vagina Vagina vagina vagina Vagina Vagina vagina Vagina."

NemesisGirl smiled as she read it. When she was finished, I handed her a third piece of paper.

It said:

"Be careful if you use this. I plagiarized all the capitalization and punctuation directly from the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States of America."

"Oh! That's easy to fix," NemesisGirl exclaimed as she pulled out a pen. "Here. Watch and learn!" She scratched out one of the "vagina's" and a comma and then wrote over it, "cunt".

"There! Now it's an original piece!"

We both started laughing. I had to put my hand over my mouth in order to keep as quiet as possible. The sparkle of NemesisGirl's eyes drew me in. The colors of her pupils were so vibrant as she laughed. She has very pretty eyes. I had never really noticed before. She had quit laughing and was simply smiling when I realized that I was staring at her. I looked down.

Four words. That's all that I had to say. I didn't even have to mean them. I decided that I was going to say them now.

I opened my mouth, "I..."

"I have some exciting news," NemesisGirl said. She did not even hear my whispered attempt to speak. "Well... good and bad news maybe... but... well... I've been promoted to a new position up on the eighth floor. I'll have an office of my own."

I looked up at her, shocked.

"The bad part is that I will be moving out of our cube. I wanted to bring you with me, but..."

I wrinkled my forehead and began to frown.

"I guess that we will have to suspend our games for a little while at least..." she continued.

"What?!" I almost screamed. "You got a promotion!? Why?"

"Well..." NemesisGirl started to fidget a little. "They have really liked all the articles that we have put together these past few months. And... well... I got promoted."

"Fuck you!" I was livid.

"Come on, subGrrl. I may be able to hire you over in a couple of months when I can. I want to." I was blind to her looks of concern. The fucking bitch used me, fucked with me, made me believe things, and now she was ditching me like an old used toy. I was the reason that she was able to write all those articles. I was the reason she was getting accolades and promotions.

"You...!" I was so livid I couldn't talk. "Fuck you!"

I turned to my desk and stared at my computer monitor.

<>--+-

That morning NemesisGirl quietly packed her stuff into boxes and rolled everything away on a cart. I barely moved - unable to work, yet unable to look in any other direction. My bare toes were curled around the castors of my chair - clench in anger. When I breathed I could feel the fucking chain rub against my abdomen as it trailed down to its anchorage beneath the seat.

NemesisGirl had treated me like something less than human. She had used me. Now she was benefiting from all my help and leaving me in my spiritual poverty.

A box appeared beside me. I saw several keys sitting on top of it when I glanced at it.

"Here's some of your clothes I collected over the past months and the keys to your..." NemesisGirl put her hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged it off without even turning to face her.

"I thought we were having fun, subGrrl..."

I spun around violently in my chair. "Fun!? Fun!?" I then spun back around in a huff.

"Come visit me some time. I... subGrrl? I..." After a moment she walked away. As I heard her footsteps fade down the aisle, I slowly lowered my head to the table and began to cry.

<>--+-

About a half hour later, I felt a hand on my shoulder again and I sat up ready to bite the head of its owner off. "What?!"

"Are you okay?" It was BossWoman.

I opened my mouth to respond, but I was so shocked, myself, at how angrily I had jumped that I couldn't form the words.

"I'm sad that she has gone, too," BossWoman moaned. "NemesisGirl told me that your voice has returned, but, why don't you take the rest of the day off? Go and treat yourself somehow. Don't strain your voice too soon."

I nodded my head. BossWoman knelt a little and pulled me in a half hug as I sat in my chair. Her chest pressed against my shoulder. I could smell her, fresher than Spring. I had hoped that I would be able to talk to her after our online chatting, but NemesisGirl had ruined that too. I was ashamed of how I felt. I couldn't form any words. I was afraid that I was going to cry again.

BossWoman stood and walked away, leaving me alone in my quiet cube.

Chapter 11:

It was only lunch time when I got home from work. There was no fucking way was I going to get in the cage. After all, the skies were a deep blue. There was no way that Lisianski could conjure up a storm on a day like today. And if she added to my nightly lashings... well, I just didn't care at this point...

I had received a package in the mail. A new locking head harness with a built in heavy duty blindfold. I pulled it from the packaging and laid it on the table next to my cage. It looked really nice, but - I just wasn't in the mood.

I collapsed on my sofa and after staring at the walls for about ten minutes, my hand moved beneath the waistband of my skirt and down between my legs.

"What are you doing, subGrrl?"

"Aw, fuck! Lisianski! Don't you have anything better to do? I'm going to masturbate my blues away. What the fuck does it look like?" Despite my bravado, I must admit that I was suddenly nervous. Was I in for another barrage of needles to the crotch?

"Just don't do it," Lisianski said.

"Why not?" I asked. I was not in the mood for any strange games with the voice in my head. I was tired of Lisianski. I wanted to know what was behind her. What neurosis of mine created her?

"Because it interferes with my work," Lisianski said. "It will postpone results that I've been working on for weeks."

"This is just fucking ridiculous. You are just a voice in my head!" I screamed.

"Well," Lisianski responded. "If you want to get rid of me, then you should follow my instructions."

"What exactly is this grand project that you are working on now?" I asked.

There was a pause. Certainly Lisianski was making up some bullshit about saving the world.

"I am trying to sever Laysan from you."

Her response sent cold shivers through me.

"What?" I whispered. My breath had gone out of me. Tears were forming in my eyes. "What does that mean?"

"What it means is..." Lisianski sighed and her voice softened a little. "How should I explain this? We need to disentangle her from your brain."

"And will I..." an uncontrollable sob escaped my mouth. "Will I survive this... this thing?"

"Of course you will, subGrrl. It's my job to take care of you - to do what is best for you."

"But what does it mean? To sever... To disentangle..." I asked.

"My colleagues and I need a soul like Laysan's. One that is so pure, so full of love, so full of empathy. We need her, desperately. We need to give her the ability to live fully disembodied from her source... um..." Lisianski paused, obviously searching for words. Finally she mumbled, "which means we need to cut her connections to you."

"That doesn't sound too good," I wailed.

"Laysan understands what we are doing. She gave you the story. She wants to help us," Lisianski explained.

"Well, what happens to me? Will I ever see her again?"

"I would never say never," Lisianski sighed. "Look. I know that you love her so much. Who couldn't? Those memories of love are stored deep within you. Every time you think of one of those events, you call the memory from its storage, savor it, and then refile it back to storage. I cannot manipulate the ways that your memories are stored. They are yours forever. So, in a sense Laysan will be with you forever and ever. We have to adjust how she shows up for you a little. You know... Re-attribute her characteristics to something else... here and there..."

I had no idea what the hell Lisianski was talking about, but it did not sound too good.

"Go look in your bedroom," Lisianski whispered.

I heard a tinkling sound of steel. I jumped up and ran into my bedroom. Laysan was sitting on my bed. She looked as she always did - naked, her collar, her chains and cuffs. The anchor chain lodged up in her sex which disappeared under the bed.

"Laysan!" I ran and folded myself into her arms. I breathed in her scent and languished in the heat of her skin. I felt the tickle of her hair against my face. She was alive! She was real! This couldn't be a dream, could it?

"I'll never let you go!" I cried.

She placed my hand on her breast, over her heart. I could feel it pulse. I could imagine her blood pumping through her. She was alive.

After a minute she held me away from her and then began communicating with me using gestures and pointing. I knew what she was saying. She pointed at me and at her beating heart. She pulled open the blinds on the window so that the sun shone in and she stood in its warm glow for a minute. She opened my closet and pulled out a silk chemise which she slid across her skin and then mine. She picked up a candle and held it to her nose, breathing in the sweet scent. She gently pushed my hair out of my face and kissed my cheek.

After each display she would point at me and her beating heart. I understood what she was doing. She was thanking me for giving her life.

She stopped flitting and clinking about the room and she stood looking at me. She pointed at the sun-drenched window, the silk chemise, the candle. Then she cupped her hand at her heart for a moment. She balled her hand into a fist as though she were holding a delicate firefly and slowly held it out to me.

"And now you want to give life back to me?" I asked.

Laysan nodded her head enthusiastically, smiling broadly.

"How?"

She moved her balled hand to the side of her head and poked her thumb and pinky out.

"You're going to call me?" I asked.

Suddenly, I realized that the phone was ringing. I turned to go pick up the receiver, but quickly glanced back at her. She motioned for me to go on.

I walked out into the living room and picked up the phone. Was I about to talk to Laysan?

"Hello?" I said quietly.

"subGrrl! It's me, BossWoman. I hope that you are doing okay."

"I'm okay," I said as a smile began to stretch uncontrollably across my face.

"I was wondering if you could meet me at the Railyard Pub this evening for drinks... I'd like to talk with you."

"With me?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah, this IS subGrrl, isn't it?" she replied.

"Yes!! It is! I mean, I am! I am subGrrl. I'd love to! What time?"