The Secret Studio

; ; ; copyright (c) 1996, 1997 Jaye Stregyr, all rights reserved worldwide.

; ; This story may be freely transmitted, stored or printed, ; electronically or as hard copy, without the author's permission under ; the following conditions only: (1) no change may be made to the text ; of the story; (2) the story must be left attached to the title, author ; line, copyright, and this paragraph. ; Author's notes:

; ; Although I didn't commit pen to paper (or, more appropriately, cursor ; to file) until 1996, I've been working on the plot & ideas in this ; story for quite some time (i.e., years). Between 1996 and now, the ; story has been re-editted extensively, proofread by friends, scanned ; for continuity and formatted in various ways: yet the story has ; changed little. As you go through the story, it will be clear to most ; readers which well-known celebrity I imagine as "playing the role" of ; the main female character (note I do not say "villain" or ; "antagonist", as I really don't see her in such a light -- there are ; no bad guys nor good guys here. The characters are simply ; themselves). It would please me to no end to see "The Secret Studio" ; adapted as a TV screenplay in half-hour format (say, like HBO's "Tales ; Of The Crypt") with the delightful Ms. Bernhard acting as the ; lead. Other than that, the resemblance of the people in the story to ; anyone living or dead is coincidental.

; ; Some may find the erotica presented in this story rather tame: it's ; not so much a "sex" story as it is a "petriphilic fetish" story ; (though I'm curious as to what Professor Paglia's opinion might ; be). On the other hand, others may be more prurient. In any event, it ; is assumed that the reader is a mature adult, as requested for entry ; by the manager of this web site.

; ; Please enjoy.

; ; -- Jaye Stregyr, 10 April 1998. ; ;

; ; "C'MON!! Don't wimp out on me, you shithead! Go fer nine! C'mon, ; asshole!..."

; ; "Hhuaaahhh!" Vinnie grunted heavily as he pumped the bar slowly upward ; from his prone body. Sweat collected along the striations of his ; mighty chest and ran into the deep cleavage between his ; pectorals. Under the effort, they twitched at high frequency as if ; stimulated by an electric charge. The veins on his arms formed a net ; of swollen ribbons engorged with blood. Two hundred pounds of iron ; clinked softly at its apex as he paused. He huffed like a locomotive, ; his brows knotted in extraordinary concentration.

; ; "O. K! Way t'go!" encouraged Mike, clapping for his buddy. "Now -- ; down one more time an' let's go fer an even ten. C'mon! You kin do it, ; Vin'!" The spotter held his giant hands gently alongside the upper ; arms of his workout partner as the bar descended. His guiding palms ; pressed lightly with his long thick muscular fingers curling partway ; around Vinnie's rockhard triceps. "Don't be a fuckin' wuss, paisan!" ; The athlete on the bench prepared for his tenth press, his cheeks ; puffing out a staccato rhythm, the iron hovering just over his stiff ; and reddened nipples. "Punch the sucker up!" shouted Mike, "Do it -- ; NOW!!"

; ; "AAAARRGH!!" roared Vinnie through quivering lips, his eyes bulging ; wide. The weights blasted up one last time in triumph, held tight in ; his rosinned grip.

; ; "... Ten! Aw'right!!" said Mike, clapping his hands in applause.

; ; "Ooof!" exhaled Vinnie in relief as he set the bar in place. He sat up ; from the bench and ran a hand over his beet-red pecs. "Who-o-o-oa, ; man, that'sa nice burn! I feel so fuckin' ripped!"

; ; "Y'know, I'm so glad you tol' me about this place, Vin," Mike ; commented, slapping his friend on his wide shoulder. "This setup's ; fuckin' fantastic!" The two bodybuilders, both in their late twenties, ; were reaching the end of a long heavy workout. "So, like, who'dya ; think set this all up?" asked Mike.

; ; "Don't know, don't care" said the smaller athlete with a grin, ; twisting to and fro at his waist to examine the image of his flexing ; form in a wall mirror. Both had disrobed to their shorts in the warm ; chamber after their jog to the place. Mike's rugged heavyweight ; physique outsized Vinnie in both height and mass. Yet after years of ; honing his body to perfection, the smaller bodybuilder was still the ; slightly more defined of the two. "All I know is few of the guys from ; Gold's came runnin' up here one day. Dennis found the cave by pure ; luck, 'way I hear."

; ; "C'mon, yer shittin' me," countered Mike, waving his arm at the ; room. "Everything here?"

; ; "I kid you not, pal," replied Vinnie. "All this great stuff was all ; inside, just like y'see it now. We couldn't believe it."

; ; Indeed, the well-equipped weight gym was in a most unlikely location, ; situated inside a cave several miles up into the southern California ; hills. The cavern walls and floor threw back the soft but ample ; lighting from dozens of light panels in the ceiling. With mirrors ; propped all around the perimeter of the chamber to reflect the light, ; the low-level illumination was increased considerably. Vinnie ; continued to use the nearest mirror to examine his well-pumped body.

; ; "Man, it's, like, paradise in here." nodded Mike. "I mean, sure, ; y'gotta run by foot t'get up here. But everythin' y'ever want's ; here. An' y'got total privacy." Other than the equipment, only a few ; low boulders were scattered around the rough 50 by 60 foot ; cave. Recessed from the outside woods by a bending corridor, the ; cavern interior was hidden from prying eyes. One other natural doorway ; existed, but it was a dark exit leading in the opposite direction, ; further into the hillside.

; ; "Yeah, the privacy's fuckin' great!" Vinnie agreed. "Most we ever get ; up here is two to four guys at a time. And we make sure only the best ; of us know about it here." With a wagging finger, he said to Mike, "So ; don't you go pissin' off y'mouth about this place to just anyone."

; ; "Hey, my lips're sealed," replied Mike, lying down for some more bench ; presses. "These guys out here in L.A. sure know how t'live. Not like ; them crowded gyms we had back East. Comin' out here, we pretty much ; got it made, paisan."

; ; A minute of silence passed as Vinnie kept examining his ; reflection. Mike finished working on his chest, then joined him at the ; mirror. Both were a little winded at the end of a most strenuous ; free-style workout. They'd cycled through every known routine, ; rotating the exercises while pushing their physiques to the limit of ; endurance. Legs, arms, abs, shoulders, back: they covered every body ; part in muscle-pumping discipline. Their torsos sweated and swelled in ; titanic exertion, each finely honed in endless repetition. The two men ; were greatly pleased with the results.

; ; The larger man tossed his tremendous arms around Vinnie's shoulders, ; giving his workout partner a firm and sweaty hug from behind. Vinnie ; looked at him in the mirror with a pleasing smile, putting a hand on ; Mike's forearm. With a bigger smile on his face, Mike's other big arm ; meandered down Vinnie's torso and rested that hand on the front of his ; partner's shorts. Vinnie smacked it away playfully. "Down, boy," he ; said quietly.

; ; "Who, me...?" asked Mike innocently. "Or that snake in yer shorts?"

; ; "Time enough for that later," Vinnie replied with amusement. My ; partner, he thought: the incredible fuck machine.

; ; They held each other for some seconds and then, with a flick of his ; hand, Mike gestured along the wall towards the entry to the inner ; passage from the gym. He asked, "So like, wha'dya think's back there?"

; ; Vinnie shrugged his massive shoulders with a sigh. "Don't really ; know. Some of the other guys said to keep outta there. Supposed to be ; dangerous or something."

; ; "Aww, what're y'afraid of? You fuckin' chicken-shit?" Mike challenged, ; tossling Vinnie's short buzz-cut hair with a big hand. "Buck buk-buk ; byock-buk!" he clucked sarcastically.

; ; "Shit, you asshole..." he replied with a grimace. "It's probably full ; of rats, pits and mazes. Y'know, a guy can get hurt or lost in a cave ; if he don't know what he's doing."

; ; "So, any of them guys ever try spalun-... spoolonk-..." Mike gave up ; on the word in frustration. "... Explorin'?"

; ; "None that I know of. But, umm... come to think of it," Vinnie said ; looking up at Mike, "no one's seen Dennis in a few days." A serious ; look crossed his face. "Maybe..."

; ; "Maybe a big boogerman got'im!" his partner laughed, his heavy ; masculine features lighting up with jest. Mike pursed his wide lips ; and he bugged his eyes out under his thick brows, going, ; "OoOoOoOoo!..."

; ; Vinnie laughed along with him. My partner, the joker, he ; thought. "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, asshole." He reached for his ; shirt, wiping the white powder off his hands and sopping up the ; glistening layer of pungent sweat coating his muscular body. Sniffing ; lightly, he asked, "Man, is it time for a shower, or what?"

; ; In response, Mike lifted his powerful arms over his shoulders, ; stretching the lats of his wide V-shaped torso, also drenched in an ; ocean of sweat. He inhaled long and deep at the space under his ; pits. "Mmmmm..." he groaned with smile. "Hey, I don' smell that bad, ; do I?" he asked playfully, grinning through his scruffy shadow of ; day-old stubble.

; ; "Are you kiddin'?" laughed Vinnie. "There ain't no bugs in this cave ; 'cause your stench gassed 'em out." But in actuality, neither longtime ; partner found the smell of other offensive. Together they felt very ; comfortable surrounded by the familiar testosterone-laden cloud of ; their joint daily exertion. Each was pleased to breathe deep the heady ; aroma of their warm masculine power.

; ; Vinnie reached for and pulled his muscle-shirt tightly over his ; bulging arms and torso, the fabric stretching taut in a most ; satisfying manner. "I gotta head back. You ready to go?"

; ; "Nah," replied Mike, flexing in the mirror, studying his form with a ; practiced eye. "I'm gonna stay'n blast my delts s'more today. They ; ain't feelin' big enuff."

; ; "Heh, you pump them shoulders up any bigger, you're gonna need a whole ; new fuckin' wardrobe... an' we're short on closet space," Vinnie joked ; as he moved to leave. "Just remember, Mikey," he added seriously, ; "take it easy while you're up here alone. Don't go wandering off an' ; gettin' yerself lost. 'Specially where it's dark, OK?"

; ; Mike waved him off twiddling his big fingers. He called out in a goofy ; falsetto, "yeah, sweetie, I'll be a good little boy for mommy."

; ; The smaller bodybuilder shook his head and grinned back over his ; shoulder at his partner, playfully groaning, "ahh... you fuckin' ; shithead." With a wave, Vinnie trotted out through the front exit.

; ; No one else showed up in the next hour as Mike pumped his shoulders up ; to humongous proportions. He also added an extra routine for his upper ; arms and abs. He did a bit of flexing for the mirrors, very satisfied ; with the day's progress. Ain't no way I'm gonna lose the Olympia ; contest this year! -- he thought, contemplating his dismal finish in ; the overall competition previously even though placing in the top of ; his weight class. With the deep cuts sharply defining his great ; unsurpassed mass, there was no way the other athletes could touch him ; this time: no way. With a grunt of satisfaction, he turned to grab his ; shirt to leave. And, forgotten until now, the inner doorway called to ; him from the corner of his eye, beckoning. The mysterious hole sat ; like a dark gash splitting the far wall.

; ; He paused for a minute, rubbing a hand over his dark closely-cropped ; sweat-laden scalp as he thought about exploring. "Aw, it don't hurt ; just t'look down it, I s'pose," he muttered to himself, tossing his ; tank-top against a spot on the wall beneath the nearest mirror. He ; walked over to the opening and peered around the immediate right turn ; of the crack. The corridor was wide enough for two men, or even a ; single big bodybuilder like himself. The light faded at the far end a ; dozen yards away. There it turned again to the left to plunge further ; into the mountain.

; ; Loaded with curiosity, Mike padded quietly down to this next ; turn. "Nuttin' ventured, nuttin' gained," he said. From the very dim ; light at this turn, the next stretch of passage was in blackness. He ; edged a bit down this hall a few yards. Remembering Vinnie's warning, ; he cautiously felt along the floor slowly with his feet and the walls ; with his big hands and thick forearms, upon which his unwashed sweat ; glimmering fitfully in the fading light from behind. The floor was ; surprisingly smooth and the walls, though crudely shaped, did not feel ; rough at all. The passage bent off to the left. The athlete turned ; around to see the dim light of the main room reflected off his ; previous location.

; ; Turning forward again and edging a bit further into the dark, Mike was ; surprised to see a faint glowing patch ahead. After a few more yards, ; it appeared to be another turn, with faint light reflected from a ; source from the right, further on. The bodybuilder looked back to ; darkness behind. The corridor had turned too far for him to see the ; previous turn. But the light from ahead, plus the absence of pitfalls ; or turnoffs in this section, encouraged him to explore onward.

; ; Making the right and then another left, he entered a small chamber ; with a single light panel in the wall. There were two openings in the ; wall ahead. He tried the right one first. Several yards later, ; however, he could feel the walls closing in against his wide ; shoulders. He turned sideways to explore a bit further, but the ; passage went back straight into darkness. It narrowed into a dead ; end. "Crap," he muttered under his breath. Coming back to the little ; room, Mike went down the lefthand way. The second hallway weaved ; slightly, becoming almost totally dark in just a few yards. As both ; height and width started to narrow, Mike figured it was another dead ; end. But then, in the dim light, he encountered a wooden barrier. He ; ran his fingers over it to examine it. Like the walls, it was crudely ; fashioned but smooth in texture. It was clearly a door and, with a bit ; of probing, he found its handle and tried it. "Yesss!" he exulted ; softly: it was unlocked. The door opened onto a tall and wide ; straight-away. The cooler air on the other side caused his bare ; muscles to give a brief though not unpleasant shiver. Light again ; glimmered far ahead from its end. Advancing down the hall, he made a ; left turn, and then another to the right a few feet further. The light ; brightened.

; ; The hallway entered another small chamber, dimly lit with a single ; panel of light. However, the brightness leaking from under another ; wooden door in the far wall was considerably more intense than the ; light here. The bodybuilder tried this door -- also unlocked -- and ; stepped through, blinking momentarily in the brightness.

; ; Inside, Mike found a chamber not unlike the weight room in its ; lighting and complement of wall mirrors. The cavern was somewhat ; larger, however. At its left end, it bent to the right forming an ; L-shaped extension. From that direction came the gentle trickling ; sound of running water. There was no weight equipment here, but ; something else entirely. Near the walls in front of the mirrors were ; several low six-inch platforms of what appeared to be smooth white ; rock, perhaps marble. Several of these six-foot-square slabs were ; empty. Nearest him, the other platforms he could see held tall blocks ; of the same white stone, standing nearly seven feet high. Further in ; the center of the room were a pair of wooden workbenches with a large ; variety of implements scattered on them: hammers, chisels, files, ; sanding pads. He wasn't an artist, but Mike figured they were ; sculptor's tools. He walked over to the nearest stone block and rubbed ; it with his hand. It was definitely marble, of a very fine ; quality. But as he came further into the room, he quietly whispered ; "whoa," surprised by the astounding sight upon two of the platforms ; previously hidden by the blocks.

; ; Upon each of these platforms stood a magnificent sculpture of a male ; nude, each posed in a fine bodybuilding stance. The nearer statue was ; posed with hands against its hips and flexing its upper torso. Mike ; walked over to examine it. Every feature of its magnificent body was ; cut from marble with uncanny lifelike detail. The massive arms were ; rendered as blocky muscles of well-carved stone joined to massive ; shoulders more than a meter wide. The chest featured a broad pair of ; smooth curving shields of polished rock. The pecs were separated by a ; pronounced crevasse and interrupted by small erect nipples surrounded ; by slightly raised aureoles. Below, interrupted only by the dimple of ; a well-detailed navel, the abdominals were a washboard of diamond-hard ; marble, chiseled in stunning angular ridges. These ran down the front ; of the torso, past a thirty-inch waist, to join a pair of monstrously ; large thighs at the handsome iliac crest. The tensed quadriceps were ; locked like muscular white pistons. Mike looked upon the cannonball ; calves settled atop thick ankles and attractively veined feet. Here he ; saw that the statue kept its balance by the fusion of the soles of its ; feet to the marble pediment.

; ; At the juncture of abs and thighs, Mike found a snowy tangle of what ; appeared to be finely carved pubic hair. Rising stiffly from this nest ; stood a hefty seven-inch rod. He was fascinated by the appearance of ; this erect and literally rockhard cock on the statue. Though he knew ; he was alone in the room, Mike bit his lower lip in trepidation as he ; glanced about. Then he turned back to the inanimate sculpture with a ; look of determination on his face. Fuck, he thought, wouldn't bother ; me if it was a real guy... and this's just a statue! With a smile and ; a bit of vicarious thrill, he first traced the sculpted head and shaft ; carefully with the fingertips of his right hand. Despite its veined ; and hard-edged muscular shape, the texture of the stone phallus felt ; silken smooth. Then he wrapped his large powerful fingers around the ; underside of the thick marble cock, laying his thumb along the top of ; the cylindrical organ. The severe whiteness of the cock shone in stark ; contrast to the rich ruddy color of his tanned hand. As Mike moved his ; thumb gently back and forth along the axis of the rod, he marveled at ; how the coolness of the rocky mass in his hand began to warm slightly ; under his caressing touch. After a minute or so, he let his hand run ; absentmindedly around the waist to the back of the statue. There he ; gripped the hard glutes of a well-muscled butt with his palm. From ; there his fingers explored downward, running slowly down the length of ; the muscular legs.

; ; Then Mike looked over at the other sculpture. It stood in an abdominal ; pose with its arms crossed behind its head and shoulders. This figure ; had large, well-defined sinewy hands grasping its gigantically thick ; upper arm muscles in an embrace above and behind its pillar-like ; neck. The pectoral and serratus muscles were bulging outward under the ; arms in a dramatic display of width, narrowing to a concave alabaster ; plate of abdominal muscles, crunched into high relief with its ; alternating ridges and creases. Here, too, a large thick erection was ; sculpted to jut outward from the pelvic region of the figure. The ; legs, just as muscular and well-defined on this statue as the first, ; appeared to be anchored to its platform in the same way.

; ; Mike turned back to look at the first statue. "Oh, man, this is ; fuckin' incredible work!" he murmured. He ran his own large sinewy ; hands over the alabaster body. Some years ago, he spent a summer ; working at his uncle's quarry back in Vermont, helping manhandle uncut ; blocks of raw marble out from the ground. Then, he found great ; fascination in the firm yet silky touch of the sedimentary rock. Now ; he found himself caught up in that same fascination -- and more. His ; hands drifted about the surface of the sculpture, where nets of thick ; twisted ridges densely decorated the arms and shoulders. By chance or ; design, the rocky texture mimicked the freaky vascularity a real ; bodybuilder in the same pose would have.

; ; Then Mike looked into the statue's face, fronting a head topped with a ; lawn of closely cropped white fibers carpeting its scalp. Its features ; were sharp and angular despite the smoothness of the marble. Its lips ; were parted in a grin of determination over its clenched teeth. And ; although the brow was furrowed in concentration, the sculptor had ; captured it undergoing a subtle change, as if its steadfast intensity ; was about to give way to surprise. Overall, Mike felt a vague sense of ; familiarity. But the featureless corneas, clouded and blank, gave an ; effect of lifeless detachment to its fixed expression. He gently ; rubbed the opaque eyeballs with his fingertips. It couldn't possibly ; resemble anyone alive, Mike thought.

; ; He went over to stand beside the second sculpture. The surface of this ; sculpture was also detailed with lifelike texture, capturing the ; sinewy nuance of every flexed muscle on its massive brawny ; physique. Thick venous ridges curled extensively along the abdominals, ; winding down towards the thighs and genitals. On its very masculine ; face, its features wore a very realistic expression of intense ; concentration. Its thick lips were pursed in midbreath, its brows ; caught in a frown (yet here, too, with that vague touch of ; startlement). Again, Mike felt he knew this face. Yet again, like the ; first sculpture, the blank orbs of its eyes failed to convey any human ; feeling. Any sense of recognition danced just outside his grasp.

; ; Mike probed the rockhard craggy face of the statue with his warm ; caressing hand. He framed its frozen stony smile with his thick strong ; fingers, typical of a freaky muscle-pumping gym-dude such as ; himself. He brought his face close to the whitened jaw held in his big ; palm. With one bold motion, the bodybuilder closed his eyes and sealed ; his warm wet mouth awkwardly against the thick hard lips of the stone ; figure. His tongue flickered for a moment into the cold glazed cavity ; of solid marble. Mike pulled away from the statue, opening his eyes ; slowly, a thin tendril of saliva briefly connecting their mouths. He ; was fascinated by the strange exotic mineral taste of the kiss.

; ; For a moment, the sound of water running in the back of the cavern ; intruded upon Mike's thoughts. The athlete now listened carefully to ; the flow. It wasn't running regularly! He realized from the sound, in ; fact, that someone was back there washing something in and out of the ; stream. "Hello?" he called out cautiously.

; ; "Hey!" came a low resonant female voice, "Hello yourself! I didn't ; know I had a visitor." The voice beckoned, "whyn't you come on back ; here. I'm cleaning up." Mike rounded the corner of the L-shaped ; room. He saw additional workbenches and a near wall taken up by a ; cascading stream that ended in a natural waist-high sink. The far wall ; held a couple of exits to back rooms. But what caught Mike's attention ; was the woman standing at the basin. She looked up at him and gave a ; loud unabashed wolf-whistle. "Well, well, hel-LO handsome!" she said ; with authentic enthusiasm.

; ; Mike took in the sight of her very quickly. The tall thirty-something ; woman wore a toga-like artist's smock of indeterminate age beneath ; various mismatched articles of kitsch-y clothing, along with an ample ; ensemble of bangles, beads and junk jewelry. Yet for what it lacked in ; contemporary fashion, the attractiveness of her arty outfit was made ; up for in its colorful and bold patchwork nature. Underneath he could ; tell she had quite a nice figure -- nothing to get too horny about, ; though. She put down the handful of files and chisels she had been ; scrubbing in the water. Putting her wet hands on her hips, she ; reciprocated Mike's evaluation of her. "Gosh, durn'it!" she exclaimed ; in an exaggerated tone, "any MORE of you at home?" Her deep expressive ; voice vamped with sultry desire.

; ; Mike shifted his weight from foot to foot and clenched his fingers ; nervously at her forwardness. He blushed deeply: though he liked women ; sometimes, he didn't know how to deal with them too well.

; ; Maybe she wasn't particularly pretty, but her looks were very ; striking... and strangely familiar. She displayed very large pouty ; lips made up with thick red lipstick framing a wide mouth. Her heavily ; mascaraed eyes complemented her very prominent cheeks and strong yet ; not overbearing nose. And then there was that outrageously thick but ; wacky-wild hair. Suddenly he remembered where he'd seen her. Pointing ; a thick finger at her, he said, "hey, ain't you that babe on cable TV ; who does..."

; ; "... stand-up comedy?" she finished with an impatient sigh. Mike ; nodded. She explained, "Yes, yes, that's what everyone says first time ; they meet me. You've obviously got me confused with my twin sister, ; Sandra. I," she said, narrowing her eyes and spreading her hands ; against her breasts, "am Euryale." Then she added with her most ; alluring voice, "By the way, I'm the nice one, all sweetness and ; light." With a more nasty tone, she added, "my sister's the bitch."

; ; "Wow," said Mike, "th'resemblance's really amazin'!" The woman before ; him even spoke like the forceful nightclub comedienne. "You two ; sure're dead-ringers fer each other. But, like, her hair's usually ; dark red. Why's yer hair all... green?"

; ; "Oh, this?" she huffed, running a wet hand through her verdant locks, ; unkempt but not unlike her sister's trademark messy coiffures. "Silly ; boy. Who said twins have to look the same? One of us DYES it, of ; course," she said playfully.

; ; Mike nodded. Then, with some thought, he asked playfully, "So, umm, ; which one o'you dyes?"

; ; Euryale gave an earthy laugh and returned a cryptic smile. "Now, THAT ; would be telling! But for your... informazione..." she added, ; pronouncing the last word with an outrageous Italian accent and a flip ; of her hair, "my slutty sister even changed her name when she went ; 'Hollywood' on me. Thought her own name was too strong, too... ethnic ; for television. So you tell me: who's the faker?" Then she nodded her ; head at him, her lips stretching into a sexy appreciative smile. "And ; speaking of names, what do I call you, handsome?"

; ; "Well, ma'am, my name's Mike, but all the guys, they just call me ; Mikey."

; ; "Michael. Oooo," she exclaimed, her eyes briefly flashing with allure, ; "such a nice strong masculine name."

; ; "Well, sometimes I'm Big Mikey if there's annudder Mike around."

; ; Her eyes scrutinized him with obvious appreciation. As they meandered ; down to the base of his torso, her tongue flicked out to wet her wide ; ruby lips. "Hmm... BIG Mikey... I'm sure that distinction is ; quite... appropriate."

; ; Mike looked down himself and blushed again. Changing the subject, he ; gestured at the room around them. "S-so, umm, what're y'doin' down ; here all by yer lonesome, Miz Euryale?"

; ; "Please. Just 'Euryale', Michael. No need to be so formal," she told ; him pleasantly, and then continued. "To answer your question, big boy, ; I'm an artist!" She pronounced it ar-teest, her hand flourishing up ; into the air. "I'm a very famous sculptor. Or sculptress if we're ; going to be politically correct about it. Lemme show you my workshop," ; she said as she strode on past the bodybuilder towards the front of ; the room. But she stopped short suddenly, still within arm's reach of ; Mike. Reaching back with an agile hand, she squeezed his big right pec ; in her palm without looking back at him. "Grrrr," she growled with ; tigerish desire in her voice. Looking over her shoulder, she asked, ; "please tell me, Michael, just how big is that magnificent chest of ; yours?"

; ; "Hmm... I dunno f'sure... mebbe 55 or 60 inches?"

; ; She turned to face him, narrowing her eyes and with a smile on her ; lips. "Mmmm... it's a very, very nice chest," she purred as she ; released her hand, tracing a long and painted nail lightly around his ; nipple. Mike blushed yet again. She held a finger to the nervous ; bodybuilder and waggled it. "Listen, my dear Michael. Let us stop this ; 'acting embarrassed' when you're around me. While you're down here, I ; want you to think of me as a good friend." She put a hand on the hard ; warm mass of his shoulder. "A good and very, very close friend," she ; added in a soft breathy voice as she shook his deltoid with ; reassurance, drawing him a bit closer. "Do we understand each other?"

; ; "Y-yeah, sure!" Man, was this babe forward! But that's OK, thought ; Mike, I can handle it.

; ; She walked into the workshop and he followed. "In a way, we're both ; artists. You work your art in flesh; I work my art in ; stone. Uninhibited artists should not be embarrassed or restricted ; when expressing their compositions in the medium of their chosen ; milieu. Such masterful visionaries are made of sterner stuff than the ; rabble and hoi polloi of bourgeois culture... are you following my ; drift?"

; ; "P-perfe'kly," said Mike, though he failed to wrestle even half the ; meaning out of the context of her fancy words. "Hey, by the way, these ; statues y'got here? I guess y'made 'em, right?"

; ; She paused in silence and then responded to this overly obvious ; factoid with a sarcastic nod and a baleful stare. The unspoken Duh! ; hung on her open lips. "Well, uh, I... I mean," he stammered, to ; recover his gaff, "they're like... like totally awesome! I ain't ever ; seen statues wit' so much detail on 'em before."

; ; "Oooo, Michael..."

; ; "What?"

; ; "I really love the way you say that word ... stah-choos."

; ; Was she making fun of his diction? "Hey," he added with a slight ; pout. Hulking his pecs out with pride, knitting his heavy brows and ; exaggerating his accent, he exclaimed in his thickest Brooklyn-ese, ; "so, like I don' tawk too gud. I'm A'talyan! Iz'zat gonna be a problem ; wit'choo?"

; ; "Why no, not at all," she cooed as she batted her eyes ; kittenishly. "In fact, I think the way you talk is very, very ; charming."

; ; Appeased, Mike beamed a wide grin and squared his broad ; shoulders. "Hey, yer a pretty cool chick yerself."

; ; "Well," she added with a smile, "despite the last name my sister ; chooses to use, we're both actually Greek. So I guess we Mediterranean ; types have to stick together, right? Anyway, Michael," she said, ; turning back to the sculptures, "an artist like myself needs subjects ; for her art. So what better way to do that than provide potential male ; models with an offer they just can't possibly refuse. Like a private ; gym."

; ; Mike stared and gaped in surprise, swinging an arm towards the outer ; passage behind him. "You mean... all that neat terrific ; equipment?!?..."

; ; "Yes. After many years, I am a woman of quite substantial means. I ; bought and installed it, all of it for you big wonderful hunky guys. I ; knew that you and your handsome pals came running up here on ; occasion. It was just a matter of time before one of you discovered it ; and, now, many of you are making use of it, just as I had planned."

; ; "Well, then... that's pretty dam'nice of you, I haf'ta say."

; ; "Why, you're quite welcome, Michael." Gesturing at the platforms and ; blocks, she continued, "In any event, I set up my workshop here in ; anticipation of your -- hopefully frequent -- visits. And indeed, I've ; had two of you come by already." She now pointed to the two ; sculptures.

; ; "Which guys came by, Euryale?"

; ; "Well, let me see..." she said thoughtfully, pointing to the statue ; posed in the abdominal crunch, "first I had a visit by... Craig." ; Waving at the first statue Mike had examined, she said, "oh yes! And ; then later Dennis came by."

; ; "Oh, man! That's them all right!" Upon re-examination of these ; statues, Mike now had no trouble at all identifying the two ; figures. Only the strangeness about their eyes had messed up his ; recognition of those two familiar faces. Sure enough, the statue of ; Craig was a perfect facsimile of the blonde surfer-dude ; bodybuilder. The sculptress had captured the sternness of his square ; jaw and angular cheekbones with an uncanny precision. Even the massive ; bulk of the thighs and chest were totally reminiscent of the man's ; actual physique. The statue of Dennis was slightly more difficult to ; fix visually. There wasn't much variation between Craig's blonde hair ; and the alabaster white on the head of his stone image to confuse ; recognition. In contrast, Dennis's dark brown scalp in life looked ; totally unfamiliar when represented in pale stone. Nevertheless, Mike ; could now make out the handsome trademark grin and powerful jaw, even ; the faint vein along the forehead that made any image of ; Dennis-while-flexing instantly recognizable.

; ; Mike turned to Euryale and said, "This's some awesome work! So, like, ; how many sessions did they have t'pose for you t'get their likeness ; down right? I mean, not only did'ya get their faces perfect, but all'a ; th'muscles, too." He turned back to the statue of Dennis and ran his ; fingers along the carefully sculpted veins of the forearm. "It must'a ; taken awhile to get it just right, right?"

; ; "Oh, not really," she said lazily. "In fact, I don't have to take any ; pictures at all. I do it all in a single visit. You might say I ; have... photographic memory. Or perhaps photographic ; sight. Mmm... whatever. And I work fast... very, very fast. However ; you'd describe it, all it took was just one sitting with the boys to ; find and strike their best poses. Then... I took it from there."

; ; Mike considered the artista's setup and (as he understood it) her ; approach to sculpting. The bodybuilder poses for her... she gets the ; total picture fixed in her head, from facial expression to full ; physique... then she must take hammer and chisel to one of these big ; blocks of marble... and in the end, she's brought into existence a ; perfect reproduction of a male body, scrutinized carefully under her ; talented and faithful eye from just a single session.

; ; "So, Euryale," asked Mike politely, rubbing his square jaw. "I wuz ; wonderin'... Could you... like, could'ya make a statue outta me? I ; mean, d'y'think I'd make a good subjec'? With all'a my muscles, like, ; they wuz carved outta marble?"

; ; She put a hand on his very massive and venous upper arm. Her fingers ; quivered with excitement. "Michael, my love," she asked, taken aback, ; "do you really think you NEED to ask me such a thing?" She caressed ; her hands over his midsection. Still heavily pumped less than an hour ; after his workout, his torso musculature was impressively textured ; even while at rest. Throwing her arms around him in a hug, she looked ; at him and said through quivering lips, "why, I'd be honored to... no, ; I'd just love to capture every inch of your hard powerful studly body ; in stone... forever."

; ; Mike was terribly pleased at the prospect of having and seeing his ; likeness captured in marble. Cracking a grin, he asked, "So, like, ; wha'do I gotta do for ya?"

; ; She turned away to head back to the recesses of her workshop, calling ; out, "well, first let me get ready. Meanwhile, you take off your ; footwear and shorts, and...," pirouetting to point at him even before ; he could blush, she added, "and don't even THINK about being ; embarrassed, my dear. I want you to take it ALL off. Just remember," ; she added in the superior tone of the artist, "you are doing this for ; the sake of ART!"

; ; He leaned against a tall block of marble to disrobe while Euryale went ; around the corner. After he pulled off his spandex shorts, Mike calmed ; himself down by walking to and fro. His cock was stirring a bit both ; from the excitement of posing as a model and the presence of the two ; perfect marble sculptures. He passed by the statue of Dennis, running ; his moist hand over the smooth pectoral muscle, broken only by its ; ribboned pattern of veins and sinew. It felt good under his touch: the ; sculpture's powerfully tensed chest muscles represented so faithfully ; in cold marble. Mike ran his big fingers across each of the hard ; pebble-like nipples, caressing them gently. He touched his own chest ; in turn, feeling the contrast in its firm yet warm yielding ; texture. Looking down past his hand to glance at the base of the ; statue's torso, Mike failed to suppress a mirthy grin. I guess that's ; a realistic representation of Dennis -- he thought -- but is that ; little pud really all he's got? He looked at its not-inconsiderable ; seven-inch erection with humorous disdain. Mike proudly regarded how ; his own Roman rod, when fully engorged, surpassed the length of the ; dinky marble dick by at least a good two inches.

; ; His reverie was broken as he heard her opening and closing drawers on ; her workbench with a bang, rattling about to collect the tools of her ; trade. He finished stripping down fully and called out, "Now what?"

; ; "Go stand on one of those empty platforms and practice your posing in ; a mirror," she called to him from around the corner. "I'll be back in ; a moment and then we'll pick out the pose that's the best for you."

; ; Mike walked over to an empty platform that lay between an uncut block ; of marble and the statue of Dennis. He stood on its smooth surface and ; began to strike a series of poses. Compared to other men, Mike ; possessed the rare mass and muscularity of a true ; super-heavyweight. Yet he moved his six-foot-six frame with the same ; enormous grace and flexibility of all professional bodybuilders. He ; held each stance for a few seconds before advancing on to the next in ; a smooth fluid transition. After a few of these, he began to pose ; faster, with great panache. His brutally handsome smile flashed with ; great confidence. The cave was warm and sweat cascaded from his ; exertion, increasing the glow of his still-glistening 260-pound ; physique. However, he enjoyed the heat flowing through his hard flexed ; thews in the course of his continuous posing. A dreamy expression ; filled his face. The throbbing pulse of blood coursing through the ; veins of his well-pumped muscles had a deep soothing effect.

; ; Meanwhile, a thought had occurred to Mike. "Say, Euryale?" he called ; out.

; ; "Yes, Michael?" she queried back.

; ; "By the way, I fergot to ask," he said as he kept posing. "Have y'seen ; Dennis since y'did the statue of him? Some of th'guys said he ain't ; been 'round fer workouts lately. So mebbe y'seen him more recently?"

; ; Euryale came back into the room with a hammer and chisel in a leather ; belt slung round her waist. Like old TV star Jack Benny, she held an ; elbow in one hand and two fingers of the other pressed against her ; cheek. Mike glanced at her face, a whimsical mixture of indifference ; and innocence. She began sweetly as she tapped her cheek, "why... I ; don't believe so, Michael. In fact... I can honestly say that I ; haven't seen Dennis since... well, since I made a statue of him."

; ; "Aww, that's OK." said Mike through clenched teeth as he turned back ; to the mirror and went back to his posing. "He don' need a keeper, ; anyhow."

; ; Euryale looked with swooning excitement upon Mike's sweaty body. She ; muttered, fluttering her eyes and fanning her cleavage, "Oh my! You ; ARE the handsome devil, aren't you? Do... do you mind if I touch your ; body while you pose?" Mike curtly nodded his affirmation with a heavy ; grunt. At each held pose, she ran her fingers over his tightly flexed ; physique. The sculptress explored his every vein and striation in a ; gentle, thorough caress. She circled the bodybuilder, oo-ing and ; ahh-ing while running her hands up across his expanded chest for one ; pose, down against the hard pillars of his legs for the next. Then she ; stood behind him and massaged his broad muscular back and shoulders ; for yet another.

; ; As Mike continued in his posing, Euryale allowed her touching to ; become more intense and more sensual. Her hands now moved continuously ; over the body of her model, with her caresses attempting greater and ; greater arousal. A knuckle ran through the deep clefts of his abs and ; circled his navel. A nipple was lightly rubbed and tweaked between ; thumb and forefinger. Her hand squeezed a tightly flexed limb with ; gentle firmness. The bodybuilder's respiration rose to match the ; growing stimulation of her touch along his sweaty skin. And all the ; while, Mike's long rod began to awaken from its semi-quiescence.

; ; "Gosh, Michael," she marveled with genuine excitement, "Why, you have ; a body resembling one of those heros or gods of ancient Greece..."

; ; "Gee, thanks!" grunted Mike at the complement. "Y'really think so?"

; ; "Of course, of course!" she agreed, adding in cryptic undertone, "I ; should know." But she swiftly added, "you know, the bodies of these ; mythical figures come down to us from ancient times in the form of ; sculpture, their marbled physiques so perfect and godlike, so hard and ; mighty in statuesque poses..."

; ; "'At's cool," he muttered, seeming to grow even bigger with ; pride. "I'm always tryin' t'create th'perfec' bod fer myself." And ; with that, he increased the intensity and pace of his posing. Mike ; wiggled and waggled his frame to hit a few more highly ripped ; free-style positions. He displayed his massive torso and limbs with ; even greater textured detail than before. His skin grew darker, taking ; on a ruddy complexion from the heavy flow of blood throughout every ; inch of his body. The vasculature overlaying his physique stood out in ; sharp relief. The ridges zigzagged along the tight, striated sinew ; beneath. The sculptress continued to massage his bulging muscles. She ; traced her fingertips along the slick warm flesh with its hot pulsing ; veins. It was like caressing a living anatomy chart.

; ; Despite his concentration and furrowed brows, Mike still grinned ; fiercely while he posed, his eyes dark but smoldering. He was getting ; aroused a great deal as the woman ran her hands over his gigantic and ; stunningly beautiful physique. His cock began to stand erect, but he ; paid it no mind. If it didn't freak her, then that was fine by him. It ; was part of the art of posing and all professional bodybuilders and ; models ignored it as a matter-of-fact. Mike crouched slightly over in ; this way and that, concentrating as he jiggled around to hit a variety ; of muscular poses in succession. He inhaled through a wide smile as he ; slowly raised his elbows on high, clasping his wrists behind his neck ; with his large hands. Placing one leg before the other, he tensed his ; thigh and flared his lats. As he exhaled, he crunched the plated ; muscles of his stomach, bringing fine definition and vascularity to ; the abs. "How's about an ab pose?" he asked.

; ; Euryale reached up, grasping the line of Mike's jaw gently in one hand ; and ran the open palm and fingers of the other along the front of the ; man's magnificent torso. "It's a terribly nice pose," she said to her ; subject as she petted his chest and stomach. "But I've already got one ; of those," she added, gesturing towards the statue of Craig. "Plus, it ; doesn't show off those really humongous arms and shoulders of yours as ; well as they should." Batting her eyes, she said, "Mmmm... try ; something else for me."

; ; Mike nodded. Arms, huh? Then he had just the thing. In one fluid ; motion, the handsome bodybuilder swung both his massive well-pumped ; arms out to one side, twisted his chiseled torso at the waist, and ; struck a mighty double biceps side pose. Freaky vascularity popped out ; along the entire length of his arms in thick branching ribbons, from ; his powerfully built shoulders to his massive fists with their large ; tightly-clenched fingers. His chest and shoulders, ruddy and slick ; with sweat from his posing, crinkled with rich striation. He ; positioned his legs in a well-balanced stance, his thick ; diamond-shaped quads and rock-hard calves holding his ; super-heavyweight bulk steady. His cock stood at attention, its nine ; thick inches stiffened to full erection.

; ; He held this pose with great concentration and murmured to Euryale, in ; a low pitched but excited voice, "Howz'bout this si'double biceps? ; Like it?"

; ; Euryale placed a hand upon the heavy trapezius muscle between Mike's ; shoulder and neck. She gave the firm muscle a gentle appreciative ; squeeze. With a big smile full of desire, she told him, "Oh, THIS is ; quite fine, my pet! Quel magnifique!" And even as she caressed his ; torso, Mike slowly exhaled with a grunt, to bring harder definition to ; the abdominals and obliques. Veins curled in thick prominent ridges ; across his arms and chest. The sculptress gasped in pleasure and ran ; her hands up along either side of the bodybuilder's thick corded ; neck. There, she felt his pulse banging heavily within his ; arteries. Her palms moved to and fro along the hard masculine line of ; Mike's jaw and neck. She felt the athlete's scratchy beard of day-old ; stubble, while he held every muscle of his body in the perfectly ; intense flex. "Oh, your muscles are so large and wonderfully ; defined. Even before I start, they look and feel so perfectly dense ; and heavy, just as if they were already cast in stone." Looking him in ; the eye, she asked, "But are you sure you can hold this position ; steady while I -- well, I don't know how to describe it, but let's ; just say -- take all of it in? I don't want you varying from your pose ; one iota while I... commit it to stone."

; ; Mike swallowed hard and blinked back some sweat, his gaze still locked ; with hers. But atop the thick pillar of his neck, he gave his handsome ; head a tiny nod. "Uh-huh... yeah, m'sure I kin hol' this pose," he ; said haltingly, minimizing all movement. "I kin stay c'mpletely firm ; fer ya." With great desire in his voice, Mike managed to re-flex the ; mass of his arms, shoulders and torso into even tighter knots of ; muscle. The veined tops of his huge biceps peaked out of their ; roundness, forming sharp angular crowns. He kept his left hand fisted ; while he opened his right hand, clawing outward aggressively with its ; thick fingers in an expressive grasp. "Kin y'get it all now? I'm ; holdin' it... rock solid," he gritted through his teeth without moving ; his thick grinning lips. He stared intently at the sculptress, her ; hands still resting upon his awesome physique.

; ; "Oh YES," she said, her big baleful eyes still tightly locked with ; Mike's, "Yes, indeed!" Without further ado, her hands migrated in slow ; caresses upon his pecs and delts as she chanted a handful of ; incoherent syllables. He hadn't a clue as to what she was muttering: ; it was all Greek to Mike. The bodybuilder gave out a deep rapturous ; sigh, trailing off in a raspy moan. This further exhalation increased ; the hard crunchy texture of his torso. He thought: man, I must look ; damn good! He thought this even as a weird sensation flowed throughout ; his body. But, being a professional bodybuilder, he didn't let it ; rattle him one bit. He stuck to the business of his side double biceps ; pose. It was all for art. And for this nice chick, he thought, with ; them weirdly intense eyes.

; ; Even though the cave was warm, Mike couldn't shake off the sudden ; flush of a numbing coldness. For a few moments, he figured it was just ; the thick layer of sweat drying out on his limbs and torso: he even ; felt a vague crustiness on his skin as if salt crystals might be ; forming. But the feeling became more persistent, spreading to every ; inch of his body surface. It certainly don't hurt any, he thought. In ; fact... the sensation was a magnificent turn-on! His cock certainly ; agreed as he popped a boner so large he felt it would fly off. At ; first, the strange sensation pervaded only his skin. Then, every part ; of his body became so incredibly heavy and leaden, and yet dense with ; power, imbued with the potential of a dozen -- no, a hundred! -- ; bodybuilders. Why, if he didn't know any better, it felt almost... as ; if HE himself were a statue! But that was silly -- he was just a model ; for the sculptress.

; ; The strange effect burned with a cold erotic fire, the sensation ; deeply numbing and terribly stimulating, both at the same time. Like ; an incoming tide pounding the shore, his mind reeled under both the ; indirect but powerfully sex-laden feeling that both gripped his ; massive body everywhere and throbbed under the direct passage of her ; hands over his hard muscled surface. Ohhh... WOW! -- he thought, ; grinning in great pleasure -- I wanna stay like this forever! He ; didn't want the beautiful rapture to ever end, so he tensed his pose ; even further, trying to keep his handsome body as perfectly still as ; possible.

; ; And he was rewarded: his every rockhard muscle cooperated in the ; fullest, locked in place, happily frozen in the single pose. The ; bodybuilder was amazed how he required no effort at all to maintain ; his immensely solid and freakishly massive body in this one tightly ; flexed position, without the slightest shaking or quivering. Over the ; faint ringing in his ears, he could hear -- no... more like... feel -- ; a strange soft crackling sound. It was as if he were listening very ; closely to some kind of stone caught under high torsional stress; or ; like wet cement undergoing a rapid drying... and setting.

; ; The erotic all-encompassing sensation rose exponentially to a rousing ; climax... and stayed there! The model hardly cared about the cold wave ; of numbness creeping up from his stiffly-held hands and feet into the ; heavy engorged muscles of his unmoving arms and legs. He found he had ; no desire at all to move from his fixed position. Movement had become ; irrelevant; sensation and touch was everything! And all this while, as ; she continued her chanting and caressing, his eyes remained ; unblinking, wide-open and locked to Euryale's enchanting gaze. He ; stared at her for what seemed like an eternity. A smile remained ; caught on his full yet parted lips, his huge grin tinged with surprise ; at the overwhelming intensity of the erotic ecstasy enfolding the ; monolith of his body. And, even as his sight grew dim, the only ; thoughts remaining to him dwelled on how wonderfully joyful and how ; remarkably easy -- how terribly easy -- it was to maintain that eye ; contact with her... ; ;

; One week later...

; ; Alone, Vinnie sat on the bench after the last of the day's ; weight-lifting routine, stripped to his shorts in the warm cavern ; air. Though he had finished fifteen minutes ago, he remained deep in ; thought, staring at the dark inner opening.

; ; He was pretty pissed off, and a bit worried. No, more than just a ; little bit worried. He was downright miserable with worry. Though they ; lived separately, the two bodybuilding partners remained tightly bound ; to their daily gym routine. Mike had not been at their last four ; workouts. And, despite Mike's happy-go-lucky attitude, he never, EVER ; missed workouts with Vinnie in all the years they'd been partners. In ; fact, Mike hadn't been seen working out at all since their last ; session. Nor at work, or at his apartment. Vinnie had gone around ; asking other bodybuilders he knew, but no one had seen Mike at all for ; several days, either at the cave or at Gold's. Or anywhere.

; ; Vinnie had a pretty good idea that his pal had gone off exploring in ; the caverns. I told the fucker not to do it, thought the athlete to ; himself. But he realized all too well that Mike was simply that kind ; of guy who boldly went off to do stupid things without working out all ; the consequences first. Vinnie was a lot more circumspect and ; careful. Even now, he debated and questioned the wisdom of following ; Mike to whatever fate might have claimed him in the nether ; passage. And claimed the others: besides Mike, two of the native ; Californian bodybuilders were missing as well for two weeks.

; ; Crap, thought Vinnie. Shit on a stick. But even though he was alone ; now, and despite the ominous dangers, he had to find out what happened ; to Mike. They'd been with each other for years, working out in gyms ; together on their way up, making the circuit of bodybuilding contests ; together. And more. Mike was more than just a partner at the gym. Mike ; was his really good fuck-buddy.

; ; And buddies looked out for each other.

; ; With a sigh, the shirtless athlete got up and slowly walked over to ; the crack-like doorway. After a pause, he plunged in. First a right, ; then a left, the dark twisting passage made two more turns to a small ; lit chamber. He eventually found the narrow passage on the left ; leading to the first wooden barrier, and then the long cool hallway ; leading to the final turns and the second door. Just like Mike a week ; before him, Vinnie tried the unlocked door. Suspicious of the unknown, ; he decided to go in silently. Kicking off his footwear to one side of ; the door, he cautiously entered the brightly lit workshop barefoot.

; ; After first taking in the blocks of stone and mirrors, the bodybuilder ; then saw the woman standing in the large room-like cavern with her ; back towards him. She seemed to be using a soft 'shammy' cloth to ; polish a large white object on a pedestal before her. Vinnie suddenly ; realized that it was a statue of an incredibly large man. In fact, two ; other large statues also stood in the room, posed upon low marble ; slabs. The door made a slight creak as it swung. Without turning ; around, the woman knew she had company. She said, "Hello. Come right ; in and make yourself at home."

; ; The statues momentarily forgotten, Vinnie shut the door behind him and ; responded to her in an unsure voice. "Hi there. Umm, I'm Vinnie, from ; the weight room out front? Who're you and what're you doing down ; here?"

; ; The tall woman hung the cloth from her toolbelt and turned around to ; face Vinnie. She wasn't a classic beauty, but her wide expressive ; mouth and striking looks were very intriguing, not to mention her ; bizzaro green hairdo. A kinky L.A. babe, he thought. "Well, Vincent," ; she began, "I am Euryale, and..." She stopped talking. Fully taking in ; the sight of Vinnie, she added with great enthusiasm, "... and -- my, ; oh, MY! -- I just happen to be looking at the most gorgeously built ; guy I have ever seen!" Vinnie blushed deeply even though he was ; already red and flush from his intensive workout. She walked over and ; stroked a hand with long fingernails over a broad and massive pec, ; still slick with sweat. "My, my, you look so hot and bothered, love," ; she said in throaty passion as she guided him into the center of the ; room. "Come in, relax, and welcome to my studio."

; ; To Vinnie, this last word carried with it all the emphasis of 'lair'.

; ; Vinnie took in the room and its objects. He stared in wide-eyed ; fascination at the large sculptures standing on their pedestals -- ; three male nudes carved from white marble. The bulk of their massive ; Rodinesque forms stood in contrast to the expression of meticulous ; lifelike detail upon their physiques. He ran a hand over their cold ; surfaces, feeling the hard and sinewy texture representing taut and ; tightly flexed muscle. After a minute or so, he turned back to the ; woman. Squinting at her with unsure recognition, he asked, "Wait ; a'minnit... Aren't you that funny comic from cable TV?..."

; ; She sighed heavily with exasperation, eyes rolling up. She complained, ; addressing the ceiling with a frustrated shout, "my dear sister, the ; bitch goddess of humor... she gets ALL the acclaim while I, the ; serious, dedicated and accomplished artist, am doomed to total ; obscurity!" But her attitude took a one-eighty turn as she glanced ; back to him, tossing off an indifferent expression of 'never-mind' ; with a half-shrug. "No, Vincent, it's not your fault. Everybody ; confuses me with 'dearest' Sandra." In a bored voice, looking aside, ; she added, "I'm always told the resemblance is amazing. Always."

; ; "Sure is," said Vinnie. Sensing her dislike of her sister, though, he ; quickly changed the subject, remarking, "But these statues of ; yours... they're really very good representations of the male ; body. Totally excellent work." The semi-erotic nature of the marble ; sculpture did not escape him. Vinnie had never seen full erections on ; statuary before, carved in such a large and lifelike manner: genitals ; were almost an afterthought on most classical and Renaissance ; pieces. But this anomaly wasn't displeasing. Not one bit, he thought ; with amusement.

; ; "Why thank you, Vincent," she purred. Turning back to the stone ; figures, she touched them gently and continued, "I express my inner ; vision and desires through sculpture. The male body is such a marvel ; of shape and form. The culture of the Aegean discovered this centuries ; ago." She added in a low inaudible voice as an afterthought, "... as I ; know so well."

; ; "So you're Greek?" Vinnie asked. Greek chicks were supposed to be ; pretty hot, he mused. He was not totally indifferent to the charms of ; the other sex. Well, if you were fairly generous in defining ; 'totally'.

; ; "Yes," she responded warmly to him, as if confirming his unspoken ; musings on her hot passion rather than her ancestry. Hugging herself, ; she added, "the blood of sculptors from antiquity runs pure in my ; veins." Caressing the crunched abdominals on one of the statues, ; Euryale said, "See how the rough angular surface divides the sensual ; mass and power of the male object from the feminine space surrounding ; it... defining it... trapping it." Circling the figure, she faced ; Vinnie again from the shadow of its massive back. "By the way, YOU ; haven't done too bad for yourself. Just how wide are those shoulders ; of yours?"

; ; "Oh, about 36, 37 inches," he said, glancing to either side as he ; tensed them playfully and smiled for her. The impressive width of his ; massive bulked-up deltoids were at least half his total height.

; ; "Well, you're quite the studly bodybuilder," she said, walking over to ; him. "You're a perfect study in sinew and muscle." Euryale went on to ; explain how the weight equipment was her gift in order to recruit ; strong and handsome men to be subjects for her sculpting. She ; described how she would then prepare the figures from marble after ; just a single session. Pointing to two of the three well-carved ; figures, she said, "so far, Craig and Dennis have stopped by to model ; for me." Siding up to the largest of the statues, she added, "And just ; last week, Michael stopped by to let me capture his likeness."

; ; "Mikey was here?" asked the bodybuilder suspiciously. He now examined ; the third sculpture, standing in a classic side double biceps ; pose. Vinnie ran his hand appreciatively along the thick heavily ; textured arms of the statue. His powerful fingers examined the hard ; tense sinew carved upon its massive stone forearms, as well as the ; unreal 29-inch circumference of its glistening white biceps, tightly ; knotted at their peaks. The fat branching vasculature was so abundant ; that the muscle surface seemed crystalline and facetted, caught ; between its multitude of veins and tendons. His hands next explored ; the hard corrugated front of the abdominal muscles: thick marble cubes ; carefully stacked, mortared together as if to form a solid brick ; wall. Below, the massive thighs, calves and feet all showed the same ; attention to texture in their freaky vascularity and muscular detail.

; ; Upon examining the hands of the statue, Vinnie found even its thick ; powerful fingers -- one motionless in a clenched angular grasp, the ; other fisted tight -- were perfect in every respect. Here he noticed ; the extraordinary detail on this sinewy right hand carved from marble: ; the lifelike texture of its epidermis amid the venous ridges on the ; back of the big hand with its powerful knuckles; the faint but ; unmistakable pattern of both palm and fingerprints along the front; ; the smooth matte surface of its broad nails, square and closely ; manicured at the tips of its wide athletic fingers. The hands looked ; so alive, as if they might twitch at any given moment. But Vinnie ; touched the thick rigid digits and felt the cool silky smoothness of ; solid marble overlain by the textured edges of the stone sinew, tendon ; and muscle.

; ; The head didn't so much sit atop the thick muscled neck -- a column ; surmounted by the armored collar formed by the trapezius on that ; hulking alabaster figure of marble. Rather, the face seemed to be ; carved like a relief sculpture upon the side of the broad pillar, its ; powerful jawline jutting outward like an overhanging crag. The ; expression on the mask-like face of the statue appeared both grim and ; dreamy. Though its strong features were creased with heavy ; concentration, a sensual joyous grin was captured on its thick ; rockhard lips. Joy... but something else, too. Perhaps... surprise? He ; examined its eyes for a further clue, but they were fixed wide open, ; opaque and sightless, gazing blankly at Vinnie. He rubbed a thumb ; along the underside of the statue's stiff smile, feeling the strong ; masculine shape of its perfectly detailed lower lip. His fingers moved ; gently along the hard angular edge of the well-formed manly jaw. There ; Vinnie felt the faint sandpapery scrape of unshaven stubble coating ; the chin and thick corded throat, rendered as a finely-crafted texture ; in the stone.

; ; Vinnie wasn't fooled -- not even for a second.

; ; After years of shared workouts, both in the gym and elsewhere, he was ; extremely familiar with the muscular and sinewy details of the body of ; his daily partner. Despite its pale white complexion and colorless ; hair, he recognized that handsome sculpted face without ; hesitation. And besides all the visual clues, there was the one detail ; that a sculpture couldn't possibly simulate. As Vinnie held his face ; close to the carved marble surface of the statue, his nose caught -- ; so faint and almost undetectable under the raw smell of carved rock -- ; an unmistakable masculine scent that had but one source, even though ; dried for days: the pungent odor of his workout buddy's sweat.

; ; "Mikey?..." he whispered to its silent marbled face in desperate ; confusion. This object wasn't just a stone statue of Mikey, he ; realized: it really was Mike! He turned to glance at the other two ; figures. Yes, he thought: that one was Dennis, and this other one just ; had to be Craig. All three of them were chiseled from solid marble in ; perfect detail. And all of them were missing for many days. Unlike his ; partner, Vinnie wasn't an idiot. He easily put two and two together.

; ; He whirled on the marble platform to face the sculptress. He clenched ; his big fists into hard massive knots and contorted his face in ; anger. He flung an arm out, pointing his forefinger at the woman, and ; declared, "YOU did this to Mikey! And Dennis and Craig as well!" He ; hopped over to the Craig-like statue, running his hands along its ; exposed and highly muscled torso. Looking upon the stony surface, he ; surmised, "you've trapped them... inside marble sculptures of ; themselves. And they can't get out!" Hugging the white figure firmly ; in his arms, his fingers sought a firm and sturdy grasp on the smooth ; hard surface textured so much like muscle. He looked over his shoulder ; to face Euryale with determination. "But I'm going to free them." ; Without further ado, he flexed his muscles and gave a Herculean shove ; to the statue of Craig. Vinnie intended the release his fellow ; bodybuilder from the rocky prison encasing him as it toppled to the ; floor.

; ; Topple it did, but not with the results that he expected. With its ; feet fused to the pedestal, the marble figure cracked off right at the ; ankles with a loud snap. The massive weight of the stone body pivoted ; back onto the edge of the pedestal, its upper body falling to strike ; the granite floor of the cavern. With a tremendous crash, the statue ; broke in two at the narrow waist while several substantial chunks of ; the figure shattered off from its limbs: a hand flew over here; a knee ; over there. With a shudder, Vinnie looked in horror upon the ; cross-sectional break of the torso. The interior of the sculpted ; physique was completely white marble, solid throughout! This was no ; man encased in a layer of rock, he now realized. Instead, Craig's firm ; muscular flesh had been petrified into cold inanimate stone, even as ; he had posed upon the pedestal, becoming one with the marble. And if ; the bodybuilder hadn't been killed outright by the transformation, ; then Vinnie's rash impulse had probably put Craig beyond any hope of ; restoration. In confusion, Vinnie turned slowly towards the woman ; while glancing back forlornly at the broken statue, its placid face ; unchanged despite its dreadful ordeal. He mumbled dazedly "it... it's ; not my fault! I didn't know..." with great remorse.

; ; Euryale stared without emotion at the damaged statue lying beyond ; Vinnie. In fact, her disinterest was downright eerie. With her hands ; clasped beneath her chin and elbows akimbo, the sculptress huffed an ; exaggerated sigh. She said philosophically to no one in particular, ; "Oh well. Here I create a brilliant masterpiece, a sculpture so fine ; and handsome... and some bonehead barbarian comes along to ruin ; it. It's the story of my long, long life." She glanced up at the ; bodybuilder, still without any anger. "You know, my dear Vincent, I've ; wandered all the wide world for so many years and yet I never tire of ; capturing new forms, creating new masterworks. Something like this ; might even upset me, if my talent didn't come so easy to me." She took ; a step towards Vinnie. "But fate always provides me with fresh ; inspiration. So I never become too attached to any one piece." And ; another step, with a shrug and a shake of her head. "Before long, ; there's always a new subject available to prepare for my latest work." ; All the while, her eyes expertly regarded his strong and perfectly ; proportioned body.

; ; Vinnie tensed his muscles, coiling with both horror and rage at her ; indifferent and cavalier attitude. "YOU! You're... you're evil!" he ; shouted with disgust from where he stood, stabbing a finger again in ; her direction. This time it wasn't a forefinger.

; ; "Evil?!?" the sculptress echoed, raising an eyebrow. "Vincent, my pet, ; don't be so ridiculous," she continued with slight indignation in her ; voice. "Or insulting for that matter, you arrogant little prick, ; you. I am an Artist," she asserted, the 'A' clearly capitalized in her ; speech, "and my Art is free of your or anyone's standard of ; morality. Art is to challenge the senses and to create new ; experience. Anything less than that is not Art. Besides," she added ; sternly yet with a sly grin, "I gave each of these men precisely and ; exactly what he wanted. How can my fulfillment of their strongest ; desires be wrong?"

; ; "How? How could you take advantage these fine guys? Don't you care ; about what you've done to them? They must've trusted you, you ; cold-hearted bitch, and you... you tricked them! You fucked them ; over!" He sputtered with intense anger. "You an' your fuckin' art ; studio and... an' your fuckin' sister in Hollywood. You can both go to ; ..."

; ; At that moment, Vinnie suddenly remembered something. Two sisters? Of ; Greek descent? Too late, Vinnie recalled a story, a heroic myth he'd ; read for years ago in a college classics course. Of a daring hero ; against two immortal sisters... Euryale and Sandra? No, not ; Sandra. Something with an 'S', yes, but more stronger sounding, more ; ethnic than that... Stheno, that was it! Euryale, Stheno... and their ; third and mortal sister.

; ; Uh-oh, he thought. Serious mother-fuckin' uh-oh!

; ; With growing shock, Vinnie fully comprehended the nature of the deadly ; danger standing right before him. He was in deep shit, no doubt about ; it. He was now sure of Euryale's identity, even though this striking ; -- even handsome -- woman was not the fearsome and ugly creature oft ; recalled out of myth and legend. Calmly, Vinnie slowly raised his arms ; towards her. "Uh, n-n-now l-let's not get... too excited here," he ; began nervously, gesturing diplomatically with his big hands. "Maybe I ; was kinda hasty mouthin' off just now, O. K.?" So far, so ; good. Perhaps he could talk his way out of this, he hoped. Despite how ; he might feel about them, the babes always had a warm spot for his ; masculine good looks.

; ; But a small fearful voice rose unbidden in his mind. Babe? it ; whispered urgently. She may not look a day over forty, but she ain't ; no 'babe'! He pushed away the sudden terrifying thought of what this ; millenia-old legend might do... could do to him on a slight whim. The ; bodybuilder tried not to think about suffering the fate of men long ; before him: the frightful stiffness and rigidity invading his limbs, ; locking his muscles in fixed positions, transforming his firm flesh to ; cold inanimate stone. Smiling, he added tentatively, "m-maybe we can ; make some sort'a deal... like, I could do somethin' for you? Anything ; y'want..." He raised his eyebrows in the frail expectation of a ; positive response, his voice trailing off ; meekly. "Anything... anything at all?"

; ; She raised a single eyebrow in return. "Of course there is, my big, ; strong and handsome Vincent," she said with a faint smile playing ; across her lips. Red luscious lips in such contrast to her verdant ; hair. Such green serpentine hair. As she raised a hand to play with ; her medusan coils, her eyes appraised his body warmly and they flashed ; dangerously with an inner light. He smiled back wanly, the glimmer of ; hope fading on his lips. "But," she continued, "there's only one thing ; you can provide that I really want. So... I think I'll take it!" With ; that said, she waved her arms and chanted a handful of words in Greek.

; ; Vinnie flinched his eyes away, twisting and flexing his muscular body ; away from her gaze. But it was in vain: her magick had caught him ; fast. With a bellow of alarm, the frightened athlete fought against ; the unnatural cold stiffness inundating his limbs and gluing his feet ; to the marble pedestal. His deep tan faded away and his body took on a ; grayish white hue, just like the statue of Craig on the floor beyond ; him. His large well-pumped muscles grew dense and immensely powerful, ; but not powerful enough to offset the growing rigidity restricting his ; movement. Despite all his understanding, he still couldn't accept the ; transformation actually occurring. "What's happenin'... to my fuckin' ; body?" Vinnie gasped out in disbelief between ; breaths. "I'm... changing!" But the man knew precisely what was ; happening: his living flesh was crystallizing into cold inanimate ; stone.

; ; In a futile effort to lift his anchored feet, the bodybuilder ; struggled, his legs pistoning in slow-motion. "I'm... I'm stiffenin' ; up!..." he cried in terror, the register of his voice dropping. With ; each exertion, every one of his gray-white muscles became ; preternaturally hard. They remained fully engorged from his frantic ; effort to escape, becoming coated with thick nets of ropey ; vascularity. Now with anger, he grunted, "N-N-NO!" His bass voice ; deepened further as it welled up from the tightening cords of his ; thick neck. Already he could taste a tangy mineral flavor filling his ; mouth. "Muscles... like rock!.." he croaked hoarsely, staring back at ; her in disbelief. "Y-you... c-can't... DO... this-s-s!..."

; ; "Oh, b-but I c-c-can," Euryale responded, mocking his stammer. "And I ; AM, my dear Vincent!... my dear, dear finely sculpted Vincent..." A ; fierce smile crept into her expression and she chuckled ; throatily. Meanwhile, Vinnie's rapidly stiffening physique took on a ; rock-like state, pumped up with unreal muscularity like some ; comic-book hero. His rocky thews snapped and popped audibly with ; stress as he exerted his leaden limbs in opposition to their growing ; immobility. He stared at his muscles in helpless shock as they swelled ; up and then hardened in fixed positions, flexed beyond their maximal ; size. His biceps vitrified into pale globes of marble 26 inches ; around. His powerful but well-manicured fingers tore at the air in ; futility as his clenched digits stiffened into stony unmoving rods, ; crackling as their joints flexed in vain. The surfaces of his ; forearms, torso and thighs roughened and whitened, all permanently ; striated with rich sinewy texture.

; ; The petrifaction over-stimulated his sense of touch. The bodybuilder ; felt every possible erotic sensation pervade his freezing musculature ; and erogenous zones. His lips and tongue began to tingle, as did the ; tips of his fingers. His sensitized nipples stood hard and erect upon ; the curved white expanse of his freakishly expanded pectorals. The ; hair at his crotch began to stand on end as it whitened and ; stiffened. The muscles ringing his anus pulled in hard and tight. And, ; despite his anger and horror, the stimulating transformation affected ; his venous cock with a vengeance. Its eight thick inches quickened ; into an erection, yanked to full attention beneath his flimsy spandex ; briefs.

; ; Now through teeth clenched tightly in a grimace, Vinnie exhaled with a ; hiss and the hard alabaster blocks of his abdominal muscles contracted ; inward. The concave hollow of his abs, alternating ribbed plates and ; sharp crevasses, froze solid into a sharply textured washboard of ; stone. He looked back directly at the woman. A final grunt of ; "... c'n-n-n't ... m-m-m'v-v-v..." stuttered through the sealed ; barrier of his teeth. His voice trailed off into an incoherent growl, ; then a faint crackling rattle, then silence. A thick angry vein was ; captured across his forehead. His handsome but agitated features froze ; into a chiseled mask of fixed angles and hard planes atop the sinewy ; pillar of his tightly corded neck. At first, his thick masculine lips ; were drawn back in horror and fury, framed by the square block of his ; smooth but hard-edged jaw.

; ; Yet, at the very last, the petrifaction had deeply pleasured his ; muscled body, now stiff and totally inert. A certain involuntary ; rapture tinged his facial features, as if some bright calming ; knowledge unknotted his troubled brow. This strange look of desire ; pervaded his haunted pleading gaze as his face locked upon ; Euryale. But then the irises and pupils faded out of his eyes. The ; blank corneas glazed over in a hard lifeless stare lacking all human ; expression.

; ; In a moment it was all over. The new figure on the pedestal was no ; longer the buff and studly Vinnie, bodybuilder and living man. In his ; place stood a magnificently lifelike but inanimate white marble statue ; of a powerfully-built hunk, carved in a heroic pose like some Greek ; god. Its gigantically enlarged but frozen muscles struggled in vain ; against its own immobility. Large and elegantly articulated hands of ; marble. Thick wrists and chiseled arms of marble. Pillar-like thighs ; of marble. Broad and deep chest of marble. Massive shoulders and neck ; of marble. All drained of their rebellious motion; captured in an ; impotent frenzy. All this was centered on a torso so angular with ; muscular definition that the smooth marble surface almost appeared ; jagged, fractured. The soles of the statue's feet were fused to the ; pedestal, supporting the free-standing sculpture in a sturdy upright ; stance.

; ; Euryale had watched the process with unblinking intensity. Just like ; the three men before him, the bodybuilder's firm flesh transformed ; quickly, crackling with the ancient magick. The blossoming effect of ; the petrifaction conquered his extremely taut and flexed ; musculature. In just seconds, with his body utterly immobilized, ; Vinnie was no more. Now, in his place, stood a fourth marble ; sculpture, silent and frozen in mid-pose, transfixed upon the stone ; pediment. The man's figure might have been a tad shorter than the ; others, she thought, but -- my, oh, my -- hadn't it petrified into ; such a well-ripped, very muscularly-defined statue? Every proud, ; straining detail of his six-foot bodybuilding physique with its ; hulking limbs and broad shoulders was captured perfectly in the cold ; white marble. The athlete had kept himself free of body hair by the ; frequent shaving of his torso and limbs. Now transformed into stone, ; the surface was as silky to her touch as the finest classical ; sculpture.

; ; "Well, big boy," the sculptress said to herself, matter-of-factly, ; "looks like we had to make a statue of you in a bit of a hurry, didn't ; we?" Tracing a finger along the ridge of a thick twisting vein, ; chiseled in prominent detail across the bulging front of the marble ; biceps, Euryale added with glee, "But I guess now we both have all the ; time in the world to enjoy your strong new body -- right, my pet?" She ; playfully ran a hand across the stony pectorals of the sculpture that ; had been a man less than a minute ago, rubbing her fingertips against ; its prominent rockhard nipples, still covered with a thin layer of ; manly sweat. Her hand drifted down to the restricting spandex of his ; workout briefs. With one deft motion, her formidable fingernails ; punctured the thin material and tore it away from his body. His thick ; veined rod stood proud and erect, the fuzzy balls resting in a nest of ; snowy lifelike fibers. "Oooo! How very nice!," she exclaimed, "is that ; a Doric column, or are you just happy to see me?" She moved a palm up ; along the neck of the statue, feeling along the hard silent ridge of ; each carotid artery and caressing its clenched adamant jaw. Its tongue ; remained silent within, its white lips stiff and wide, parted ; helplessly across the clenched teeth. The sculptress gave a mock ; harumph. "Don't seem have much to say about it, do you?" The statue ; remained perfectly unresponsive.

; ; Yet, despite his frozen aspect, Vinnie's mind briefly whirled in a ; confusion of panic and pleasure. His fear co-manifested with a cold ; numbness suffusing his marbled limbs and torso, along with an ; ever-present euphoria. The sensation of power zinged through his ; super-dense musculature. In both terror and frustration, Vinnie ; summoned every ounce of will to break out of his pose and escape. He ; thought in desperation: got to... move my muscles... must... break ; this spell... and get the hell out of here! But even his thoughts were ; cast in disarray. Under her warm touch along his cold shoulders and ; neck, he was distracted by how heavy his tightly flexed and massive ; delts felt, solidly locked in place. Her fingers burned with erotic ; pleasure across the curve of his carved pectorals and down the front ; of his well-pumped torso. She twanged his stony nipples and tickled ; his navel, the warmth and moisture of her hand delighting his cool ; surface. He could feel every last terrible sensation -- sensation that ; was now the totality of his universe!

; ; Vinnie found it impossible to vent his reaction to her erotic ; foreplay. All his muscles, with their hulking power and mass, sought ; to quiver in response, but they could not budge at all. Waves of ; pleasure washed over him as the expert hands of the sculptress passed ; along his chiseled physique. And though it stood powerfully erect, his ; petrified tool could provide no relief from this tension. His ; marble-hard body rebelled against his will, completely frozen in its ; struggling pose. The feeling of cold numbing density had spread to ; every point of his stiffened crystalline physique. In trying to flex ; his muscles, only he could hear the faint crackling stress as his ; potent sinews of stone fought valiantly against their own overwhelming ; rigidity -- and lost. Soon, even the sound of this struggle ; faded. Despite the mighty strength pent-up in his large and capable ; hands, his powerful fingers remained rigid and rod-like, clawing ; vainly in the air. He was trapped in stone... no, correction: AS ; stone!... captured by the ancient and potent magick of the gorgon's ; imprisoning gaze!

; ; "Yes, Vincent," she explained to the helpless motionless figure, "I ; sculpt the male form. Only my statues aren't just the image of my ; subjects. My living sculptures ARE the actual bodies of the men ; themselves, turned into marble! You've dedicated so much of your time ; sculpting that gorgeous male body in rockhard muscle." Intermittently, ; the immortal Euryale continued to kiss the cold lips and nuzzle the ; hard jaw of the statue as she waxed on poetically. "My magick only ; serves to improve on your sculpting. Your shape will be preserved as ; rock forever, your mighty and incomparable muscles petrified into ; stone. Poised within the inanimate confines of your own body, you ; shall never age, never grow ugly, never grow weak, never die. Evil? ; Hah!" she laughed. "Think of it as the greatest of blessings, bestowed ; upon only the most heroic-looking of men."

; ; Interrupting her kisses, she angrily slapped the marble pectoral of ; his massive chest, looking aside and adding in a petulant tone, "and ; considering what that bastard did to my other sister long ago, my poor ; dearest Medusa, you men should be so very grateful that I even grant ; you such a wonderful and eternal gift." She then resumed her kisses ; while running a palm slowly up and down the hard white torso of her ; new statue. Though transformed from flesh to stone, she knew that for ; quite a long time Vinnie would still feel every gentle caress of her ; questing hand. The subject's sense of touch, powerfully magnified to ; register even the slightest pass anywhere upon the hard sculpted ; surface, would remain alive to tantalize his dazed soul trapped ; within.

; ; As she probed Vinnie's rockhard craggy face and textured throat with ; her warm mouth, Vinnie was utterly helpless to reject her statements ; -- statements his mind now accepted as all too true. Now he was beyond ; fear. He thought silently with a passing flash of sarcasm: yeah, this ; sure is some gift. But was it really all that bad? For his body truly ; WAS carved out of inanimate marble! Though immobile, his every vein, ; sinew and muscular detail was captured in stony perfection. I'm no ; longer a living man... ain't alive anymore, reflected the petrified ; figure as it came to grips with its inner turmoil. I've... I've ; become... I AM... a statue! Just like... them other three ; figures... chiseled outta cold hard marble! A statue that won't ever ; move! A well-built hunk carved from solid rock! ; An... inanimate... figure ; of... stone... which... can't... even... think..... And yet, even as ; all coherent thought faded away and its mind became as numbed as the ; rigor gripping its marble physique, the sculpture remained wide awake ; in its own oblivious fashion. It continued to register, albeit ; mindlessly, every tactile sensation and erotic pleasure her hands and ; lips showered on the smooth mineral surface of its cold glazed ; body. And the statue finally knew nothing but total satisfaction.

; ; Looking at the shattered figure on the floor, she tsk'ed and added ; sadly, "Pity about poor Craig, though. He certainly didn't last very ; long, did he?" She turned back to the statue of Vinnie, adding, "but ; who's fault is that, huh? Anyway, not to worry. I can probably piece ; him back together. And besides, if not, there's plenty more of you big ; fine muscle-men to work with. I'm sure your bodybuilder pals will ; wander on down here, one by one, where their huge bodies of immense ; tightly-flexed muscle will be petrified into perfect figures of lovely ; eternal marble... Oooo," she said with exaggeration, looking aside and ; fanning her breasts conspicuously with one hand, "I'm getting hot ; flashes just thinking about it!"

; ; She then took off her work belt and began to fiddle and faddle with ; her hair. Euryale added, "don't you worry about any lost opportunity ; of not being seen. You'll get plenty of public exposure. As soon as I ; collect a few more of your friends, I'll have a gallery show in West ; Hollywood. There, you and Michael and my other pieces will be proudly ; displayed and your perfected heroic physiques can be appreciated by a ; discerning public. An adoring public." She narrowed her eyes and ; twisted a long green lock with her fingers. She added with hot anger, ; "and then we'll see who is the more talented sister... Oh, yes, we ; shall, my dear Vincent."

; ; It didn't matter much whether or not he understood this -- her ; continued rant of sibling rivalry. For he was far beyond understanding ; or responding. There was only touch, only sensation, in his ; universe. Like an immured fly, not just coated but permeated with ; amber, the bodybuilder's mind and body were locked in a fortress of ; powerfully hard and unyielding stone, from the core of its deepest ; interior to its highly textured surface. It was a prison with no hope ; of escape. The insidious magical entrapment was total and ; irreversible. The eyes were expressionless in contrast to the fierce ; grimace, a grimace belying the now-greater portion of pleasure ; overwhelming any remaining anguish. Helplessly fixed to stare straight ; ahead, the sightless and opaque corneas were a pair of smooth blank ; orbs. Fine white lashes like jagged fibers lined the eyes, adding to ; the beauty of its brutally handsome but completely inanimate ; face. Only its tooth-filled mouth, expressing eerie rapture tinging ; the helpless anger at the last, provided any emotion upon the visage ; of this exceedingly well-defined six-foot-tall figure of stone.

; ; This mountain of living muscle was petrified fully into an effigy of ; solid marble by the wild magick, in perfect muscular likeness of the ; living man it had been. And, given the sufficient passage of time, the ; soul trapped in the mass of this new and stiffly-posed sculpture would ; happily forget it had been ever alive in the first place. At that ; point, even if the magick existed to restore him, it would not suffice ; to reverse the change wrought by the monstrous woman. For the ; sculptures of Craig, Dennis and Mike, it was far too late. Like ; thousands of handsome yet hapless men down the centuries ; before... their minds, spirits, ka -- whatever the things that made ; them more than massive lumps of physical form -- were faded, gone, ; lost inside their own private stony oblivions. Now their alabaster ; bodies were merely soulless receptacles of pleasure and ; sensation. Soon the three would be joined by a fourth in the same ; limbo of mindless petrifaction. And this, the last and most recent ; realistic carving of thick lifeless stone, would never transform back ; into the proud hunky bodybuilder named Vincent. For he -- nay: it -- ; was captured in marble perfection... forever! ; ;