trapeze tragedy

[Guest]

ok, let me first say that i am by no means a writer or aspire to be...it's just fun writing and reading stories...

second, i know this may be a little dark and off topic...i apologize in advance if this story is off topic...pls be gentle, this is my 1st attempt

what that being said, here goes...

Tina slowly climbed up the ladder. Her palms were dripping with sweat even though she had doused them in rosin seconds earlier. Her mind raced as she approached the top of the scaffold. She couldn’t shake the image of Melina's broken body lying at the bottom of the dusty circus tent…Flashback three years ago…Melina was Tina’s mentor in the Flying Ronaldos trapeze act. Melina had been “flying” for 11 years, and at 23 was and “old” veteran of the act. Melina had taught Tina everything she knew about flying…almost everything. Melina was secretly practicing the lethal quadruple somersault, a feat accomplished by only three other people, as men. History has it that many a flyer were either severely paralyzed or killed trying to perform this stunt. Melina was determined to be the first woman to complete the challenge. She practiced 12 hours a day with Josiah, the long-term catcher for the Ronaldos. Despite constant warnings from Jose, the leader of the Ronaldos, Melina was going to attempt the routine. She worked on it to the point were she was ready to try the move in an actual show. Jose, begrudgingly allowed Melina to do the act provided she used a net, to which Meleena agreed. Melina stood 5’5” and roughly 125 pounds with long flowing shoulder length black hair. Years of training made her body a peak flying machine. Her arms were well defined, yet feminine. Despite her height, her legs were long and powerful for someone her size. Her calves were toned and full. Her overall form could be described as thick and powerful, yet graceful and feminine.
The Ronaldos were a prideful group, rich in colors and history. Their signature costume color was hot pink, though sometimes they wore ice blue. On the night of the performance, they chose ice blue. There were to be two shows that night one at 7 and the last one at 10. Word had gotten out that Melina was to do the “quad” during the last show. Melina and the others arrived at the circus around 5pm and went over there routine on a white chalkboard. They were all dressed in street clothes. Around 6:30, they left to change into their costumes. Melina stood in her dressing room eyeing her costume on the hangar, which consisted of an ice blue sleeveless spandex leotard with an elaborate sequined pattern on the chest and a pair of flesh-toned high-gloss, super-shiny footed tights (the same type that Vegas Showgirls wear—heavy, opaque and very glossy). For such a dangerous way of life, the average flyer barely wore a costume let alone protective padding. In fact, Melina’s costume was so tight and revealing that she never wore a sports bra underneath her leotard, just a g-string. There were many times during a performance that her costume would display a little something extra under chilly conditions. She felt this added to her sexual appeal on the trapeze. The very thought of risking life and limb wearing just tights and a leotard turned Melina on; it was the ultimate in high-stakes extreme sports.
She slowly got undressed out of her street clothes leaving only her g-string on and then held the costume in front of her tight body while admiring her physique in the mirror. She put on a terry cloth bathrobe and sat staring at the mirror and began to apply her make-up. She carefully applied her mascara around the rims her eyes and placed her hair up into a stylish bun. She completed the look by applying a light dusting of glitter to her painted face and hair. Her dark brown eyes continued to peer into the mirror as she psyched herself up for her big moment. Melina sat on the stool and grabbed her tights and slowly stretched out her leg and dipped her right foot into the tight leg, carefully stretching the shiny fabric up her defined calf up to her knee. Next, she delicately placed her left foot into the remaining tight leg and shimmied the glossy material up her powerful thighs and over her supple and curvaceous hips. She looked in the mirror and extended each tight covered leg smoothing out any wrinkles. She absolutely loved the way her legs glistened in the glossy Lycra fabric. She then stepped into her bodysuit and pulled it up her well- developed chest. She completed the costume by fastening a long flowing white cape covered with sequins around her neck. Then she slid her tights covered feet into the white clogs. Finally, Melina stood in front of the mirror full dressed in her costume, almost looking like a superheroine.
The first show went without a hitch. All the flyers completed their stunts without hitting the net once. The first show was not as packed as everyone wanted to see Melina’s grand finale in the second show. After the first show, all the Ronaldos gathered in Jose's dressing room discussing the previous show. Melina sat in a folding chair in the corner of the room, away from everyone else with her arms folded and legs crossed. She had removed her clogs and was nervously tapping her right foot. Jose approached Melina sensing her anxiety as the others left to get ready for the next show. At 6’2” he towered over Melina’s petite yet solid frame. She looked even shorter standing in just her stockinged feet. He told her that he was proud of her and that she will forever be the shining star of the family. Melina began to well up with tears upon hearing Jose’s words of encouragement. She knew she was going to be remembered for years to come and legends would unfold after tonight’s events.
The second show was filled to capacity as everyone anticipated the big history-making event. To Melina, everything appeared to be a blur. The entire 2-hour show seemed to drag on forever as Melina sat focused in her dressing room, dressed in her tights and bodysuit. She knew she was about to meet her destiny. She stood up and took once last moment to concentrate on her tight form in the mirror. She was so deep in thought that she hadn’t notice the ringmaster giving his cue for the Ronaldos to appear. Jose entered the dressing room and calmly told Melina to get ready. The three young members of the troupe slowly walked out to the center ring as the ringmaster read a list of impressive accomplishment from Ronaldo members past and present. Each flyer slowly made their way up the ladder to the top of the trapeze. Melina was the last flyer to make her way up the ladder. She kicked off her clogs and scaled the rigging. Her palms were sweaty in spite of the powder she had put on moments earlier. The soles of her tights-covered feet were somewhat damp as well. She hadn’t felt like this since she started flying 12 years earlier. Slowly, each member of the troupe began to perform his or her stunts, each one increasing in difficulty. Finally, the climax of the routine approached. The ringmaster made a jester to the bandleader, at which point everything in the tent became silent. He announced that everyone in attendance would be a witness to history in the making, as Melina would be attempted the perilous “quad”. He asked for complete silence and no flash photography as it might distract Melina. The audience was riveted to their seats; many had camcorders to capture the event for posterity. The ringmaster signaled again to the bandleader, a low, rumbling drum roll began in the distance. Melina slowly and deliberately grabbed the bar with her left hand. A puff of white smoke floated from the bar resulting from the powder on Melina’s hand. She stood there in her diminutive frame eyeing Josiah, who was perched upside down like a bat, some 30 feet away. Beads of sweat began to form across her forehead and her mascara was somewhat smudged from the sweat as well. She gripped the bar with a quiet confidence and yelled out “LISTO” signaling the flight to begin. Her stockinged feet leaped off the platform like a cheetah taking of after its prey.
As she clutched the bar, she began to pick up momentum. Her lithe body swayed back and forth several times, each pass getting faster and faster. At this point she was probably moving about 30 mph. On the last pass, she approached Josiah with a blinding speed and with her body completely parallel to the floor below her when she released the bar and with that all time seemed to stop. Melina slowly and calmly began to count off each revolution 1-2-3. To her, it seemed to last a lifetime tumbling in the air, each rotation increasing the g-forces upon her frame. To the audience, she appeared only as a blur, spinning through the air at a frightening velocity. As Melina finally reached lasted revolution, she stretched her body out and blindly reached out her arms awaiting Josiah to grab them and send her into history. She knew that while travelling at that speed and completing so many revolutions it would be impossible to actually see Josiah’s hands; it was all based on timing. She closed her eyes and sent out one final prayer.
Upon straightening out her form, she threw out her arms but was unable to feel Josiah’s powerful grip. The two flyers failed to connect; not even so much as a passing glance. Their timing was off by a split second. At this point, Melina knew she was in big trouble. She quietly whispered a brief prayer in Spanish, as she knew her fate was sealed. Her heart began to pound a mile a minute. She was hurtling out of control towards the net at a frightening speed. She knew that the net would offer little to no support in her uncontrolled dissent. She closed her eyes tight as approached the net. Her mind went into overdrive, as she was a flood of emotions. She was falling so fast that she did not have time to rotate her body. By instinct, her body went limp in order to lessen the inevitable blow. Instantly upon hitting the net, she broke her nose and collarbone. Her body continued falling deep into the netting, almost touching the bottom of the dusty circus floor. Upon impact, Melina began to see stars and felt a sickening wave wash over her as knew this was only the beginning of her hell. Physics took over as her body was jettisoned back up into the air with equal velocity. On the way back up her body began flail about, unable to control her movement. She fought hard to maintain consciousness as she began her downward dive. This time, her dissent was off center and she ended up hitting the edge of the netting. This part of the net offered no supports whatsoever, and in fact was tight like a steel cable. The right side of Melina’s body struck the edge with such a force that she fractured several ribs and her sternum. The audience let out a collective sigh of despair as they witnessed Melina’s body hurtling sideways, at a 45-degree angle toward the hard dusty surface below. Jose and the other flyers were already on their way down as they helplessly watched Melina fall toward the hard, dusty surface. Melina’s arms and legs were flailing about as she fell uncontrollably towards the ground. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity Melina hit the ground with such a force that the audience in the first two rows (some 20 feet away) could hear a simultaneous thud and crunch. Melina was driven, back first, into the hard solid dirt and her body recklessly tumbled several times, then slid across the dirt in such a violent manner, that she looked like a rag doll being flung across a child’s room. Her knees and elbows pounded angrily into the solid dirt floor. Her collision with the ground was so violent, that it took several seconds for the dust to settle around her form. Melina’s body slid to merciful stop a good 15 feet away from the protective netting; her body laying there in an unnatural heap on her side. The ringmaster called for the ambulance and then began to turn colors as he gazed upon Melina’s mangled body. The other members of the flying troupe rushed to her side and surrounded Melina as if to shield her form from the audience. They could not believe what they were witnessing. When the paramedics arrived, they slowly turned Melina onto her back, and she let out a sickening moan and was coughing up blood. She was barely conscious and shock was beginning to set in.
The ordeal was clearly evident on Melina’s mangled form. Her raven black hair, which was once in a neat bun and sprinkled with glitter now hung carelessly about her face covered with dirt. Her carefully applied makeup was now replaced with bruises, scratches and swelling. She had several scratches on her right cheek and her lower lip was swollen as if a bee had stung her. The area around her left eye was already beginning to turn purple and swell shut. Blood was flowing uncontrollably from her shattered nose and left blood splatter on her once shiny, sequined bodysuit, which was now torn to shreds. She was also coughing up blood. The right shoulder strap of Melina’s bodysuit had been torn and hung around her chest, though not exposing it. Melina’s once glossy tights were completely shredded and ruined. They were covered in dirt and runs of varying sizes including one gigantic hole in her right knee where her body hit the edge of the netting. The toe and heel from Melina’s left tight leg had been ripped away, presumably from when she hit the ground, leaving her left foot completely exposed revealing a French tip pedicure. There was a long and wide ladder running from the top of Melina’s right thigh all the way down to her ankle. Melina’s right knee and ankle were already swelling beneath her tattered tight leg. Her costume, for all intentional purposes was ripped from her body upon impact with the cold hard dusty surface. The once shining star of the Flying Ronaldos lay in a disheartening crumpled ruin on the dusty circus floor. Tina began to sob uncontrollably as the paramedics fastened a brace around Melina’s neck. Tears were streaming down Melina’s bruised and swollen cheek causing her mascara to run. Just before she blacked out, she muttered that she couldn’t move her legs. The EMTs were able to find a faint pulse and carefully lifted the gurney containing Melina’s body into the ambulance.
As the ambulance sped towards the hospital, one paramedic inserted an IV needle into Melina’s right arm and a blood pressure cup slightly above the IV drip, while the other paramedic radioed to the surgeons ahead. Melina barely clung to life. The van pulled into the ER parking area and a team of surgeons rushed the fallen flyer to the ER. Once in the operating area, the paramedics quickly yet carefully lifted Melina onto the table. Shreds of her costume were carelessly hanging off of her. The head nurse grabbed the cutting shears and quickly cut down the center of what was once a beautifully sequined bodysuit, now torn and covered with Melina’s blood and then removed the tattered and bloodied bodysuit away from her battered form. The nurse then took the shears and started at the waistband of Melina’s tights and ran the scissors down Melina’s right leg stopping at her now swollen ankle. The nurse then repeated the process for the left leg and then carefully peeled what was left of the dirt and blood covered satin tights from Melina’s swollen, mangled legs. Melina lay on the operating completely naked for a brief moment as the nurse prepared the operating tent. The lead surgeon began to quickly bark out various orders and the team responded in fashion. Melina was hemorrhaging and beginning to lose blood quickly. The surgeons proceeded to stop the bleeding and stabilize her condition. It seemed like an eternity before Melina’s condition was stabilized. It was touch and go throughout.
The specialists began survey the trauma and damage to Melina’s body. The list was long and gruesome. It was determined that Melina had fractured her collarbone, and dislocated both shoulders. Her sternum was crushed; she fractured four ribs, and shattered her hip in two places. She had severely torn her right ACL and shattered her right and left tibia in three different places. Her right kneecap was shattered and she ruptured her left Achilles tendon. She had also fractured her vertebrae in two areas of her lower back. Basically, Melina’s right side of her body was completely shattered. Surprisingly, there were no compound fractures.
All in all, Melina was luck to be alive. Her rehab would last 3 ½ years. During which time she would be in and out of surgery to repair her back. She also had total hip replacement. She would have permanent pins and rods inserted in her right leg. She was in a wheelchair for nineteen months and it took another 9 months to learn to walk again. She would be able to walk but with a permanent severe limp and required a cane to stabilize her right side. Months without movement had caused her to gain weight and had swelled to 180 lbs. Her doctors got her to lose the weight thus taking pressure of off her diminished frame and was now somewhere around 150 lbs. Melina had to accept that she was no longer a toned and graceful flyer. She had limited mobility and grimaced in pain with every step. At 27, she was now a shell of her former self. She was constantly racked with pain, but somehow managed to push on. Melina’s days as a circus flyer were over.

Epilogue.

Tina now stood atop the trapeze decked out in a brilliant sky blue leotard with a dazzling sequined pattern on her chest and high-gloss tights covered her muscular yet feminine legs. Tina was taller than Melina, at 5’6” and weighted 135 pounds. Her dark hair had blond streaks with flecks of glitter. Her tanned Hispanic face was lightly dusted with the same glitter from her hair and her eyes were rimmed in an elaborate Egyptian-like style with mascara. She grabbed the bar and peered into Josiah’s eyes and elevated from the platform and began to pump back and forth across the night air. On the third pass she released the bar and began to count…1-2-3 on the fourth revolution, Tina stuck out her arms. This time they managed to find their way into Josiah’s steel grip. Tina opened her eyes and breathed out a tremendous sigh of relief. She had done it; she completed the elusive “quad”. Once on the ground, Tina hugged Melina. The two flyers, past and present, embraced and cried in each other’s arms. Melina had finally realized her dream of the “quad”.

[phoxy_brown]

after all that, i forgot to log in...

[cthulhu1]

...

[phoxy_brown]

wow, thanks for the feedback...i'm HUGE fan of your work...i've always been fascinated with the trapeze and the fact that outrageously hot women put their lives on the line clad in only tights and a leotard. for the first time there is a forum that deals almost exclusively with hot women in tights and leotards.

and yes to the second question. i'm currently working on a superheroine piece as we speak...it will be pretty racy like this one...i tend to write in a descrptive and graphic style

i saw your post for the wrath of ivy and i would love to do something around zatanna...she was always one of my favorite heroines...she had the most ridiculous and implausible costume in dc universe (fighting crime in fishnets and stilettos, indeed!!!)