The guard's truncheon slams into my lower back with brutal force, driving the air from my lungs in a strangled gasp. Pain lances through me, whiting out my vision for a few dizzying moments.
"You dare speak, animal?" Chavo's grating tones reach me as if from a great distance. "Your master grants you no such privileges."
I wheeze desperately, struggling to draw breath past the crippling agony. Somewhere through the haze, I'm vaguely aware of being shoved forward until my battered body slams against the unyielding metal grate. Bony hands scrabble uselessly against the rusted bars as I fight to keep from crumpling completely.
"P-Please..." The broken rasp tears itself from my swollen lips before I can strangle it back. "Have...m-mercy..."
A harsh bark of laughter explodes from Chavo at m
