The silver tips of the energy spears descended with unyielding precision through the dark opening of the pit, their brilliant white light casting a ghostly glare upon the wet earthen walls. At the bottom of the narrow trap, Zeven lay entirely pinned under the tightening weight of the metallic weave, his breathing reduced to ragged, uneven gasps. The high-voltage laboratory current continued to ripple fiercely through his flesh, each crackling blue wave systematically short-circuiting his nervous system. Pools of dark, thick black blood began to collect in the depressions of the cold mud around his broad shoulders, flowing steadily from the deep flesh wounds where the silver wires cut directly into his skin. The suffocating smell of ozone and scorched cloth hung heavily in the confined spac
