At long last, after a lot of efforts and pain, the left clamp snapped off Felina's nipple. As blood rushed back in the densely in-nerved bead of feminine flesh, she screamed in utter agony. After some recovering time, she yanked to the left and released the right-hand clamp, causing another bout of inhuman agony. Her breasts reassumed a more natural position, hanging under her arched torso, their areolae marked with the deep ridges left by the powerful clamps.

Without the intervention of the second man, she would now be free but now, the key-ring was keeping the chain hooked to the spreader bar. Felina remained as arched as ever, although she was now held there only by her contorted and chained arms. She turned her head and peered over her nearly-dislocated shoulder. The key-ring was still holding but it had been severely deformed by her previous effort. It had not be designed to support so much pressure. Soon it would rip apart. However, it seemed to Felina that it was not going to break apart but rather to unfold and lengthen until it allowed the chain links it was attached to could set apart. There was then a chance that it would not spill its keys all around but remain hooked to the chain with at least some of them.

This was a risky bet though. Something to try as a last chance when all other options had failed. And there was yet another solution. One which would call for an incredible amount of strength. An amount she would have been able to provide a few hours earlier but which she might lack at this point of her ordeal. Nevertheless, it was worth trying...

Felina took a couple of as deep breaths as her contorted position allowed and then set to work. She pulled on her bent legs and on her back muscles, fighting gravity to get her shoulders closer to her feet. Her flexibility usually allowed her to bring her feet in front of her face and to touch her shoulder blades with her toes, but she was usually doing this while laying on the floor, not hanging from her ankles... To help a little, she contorted her hands and tried to hook her long and strong fingers into the link of the taut chain, helping herself upwards with every bit of strength she still had. To the amazement of the audience, her curled body began to heave upwards, millimetre by millimetre, oozing torrents of sweat in the process. Bit by bit, her fingers were getting closer from the spreader bar, and from the precious key-ring.

Felina began to tremble, more and more. Her progression became slower. Her face was distorted. Sweat was burning her eyes and dripping from her nipples. A couple of centimetres only were separating her fingers from the ring. But she could not move any higher. She was too exhausted, her muscles were too filled with cramps. And just as she was bout to grab the ring, her muscles refused all service. Her body relaxed and fell, yanking on the chain. The tug was enough to pull the key-ring apart and let go off the chain, which rattled noisily as Felina's body uncurled itself and swung back and forth under the spreader bar.

Felina's shamefully gagged mouth let out a long scream of deep frustration as she rocked back and forth, hanging from her ankles, her arms secured in the middle of her back with the double chain dangling from her wrists and snaking on the floor. Felina felt despair invade her pain-bogged mind. In the middle of her throes, through the burning sweat that was filling her eyes, she noticed something. There, on the floor, half a metre under her head, the five keys were spread in the middle of the chain coils. Desperately out of her reach...