[Avira]
The whip landed heavily on my back, the sharp crack echoing through the narrow stretch of the vast empty land. Pain exploded across my skin, hot and blinding, racing through every nerve in my body. My breath hitched, my hands clawing into the dirt beneath me. But the pain was not what terrified me most.
We were out of the cave now, and dawn was fast approaching with the air chilly.. But neither of my mates were here yet. I was slowly losing my grip on hope.
"You will get more whips if you continue to stall," the man said with a laugh. He was enjoying this. I could hear it in the way he dragged his words, and then lifted up the whip, ready to strike me again.
I said nothing. Instead, I clenched my muscles, and focused on my breathing, slow and deliberate, forcing myself not to scream. Screaming was what he wanted from me, screaming would only please him, and I would happily be damned to hell than allow him to have it.
