Mercy

-Karen-

The first blow came swiftly, followed by about thirty more that I could count. I stopped counting after that. I felt the sole of his boot dig into my back as I heard the sharp crack of the whip he always carried with him. The whip! A horrible, searing pain ran through my right shoulder. Block the pain! Block it all out! Numb yourself so it hurts less… Blow after blow, I did my best to block the pain out as he continued his brutal assault. He was venting incessantly about how I was nothing more than a dirty whore and that no one could ever love someone like me, and how I was so worthless it was hard to come up with reasons to keep me as part of the staff, among his many other pointless complaints.

I felt my bones start to crack under the constant barrage of blows until I felt a rib on the right side pop. Instantly, I let out a yelp and began to struggle with my breathing. It was hard to see anything through the bloody mat of hair that was covering my forehead. While he took a s