(??? POV)

"Shut your mouth, bitch!"

That's it. That's the last time I'm going to open my mouth. I didn't pick myself off of the ground, not this time. I just curled up into a ball and cried. I'd been holding it in so long, trying to be tough, it almost felt ...good. The slaver grinned in satisfaction and turned around to continue his business.

We'd been walking for days, out in this... this horrible, nightmarish place. Dad would have called it a desert. At the moment we were resting, if you could call it that. You only got water when you collapsed... and you only collapsed when you were okay with being beaten until they were sure you weren't faking. And they struck me whenever I tried to speak. I was already covered in bruises and cuts that stung with infection. I tried to be tough, but I wasn't... not like her. I wasn't built for this.

I'm so scared... I've never been so terrified in my life... please, someone, anyone, save me...

I shivered and choked on a sob. A slaver girl gave me a rough kick in the shin as a warning. I yelped and forced myself to be quiet.

My fate was sealed. No one was going to save me. No one could save me. The only one who could even come close to that was ...Lindsay. My best friend, and the same girl who killed my father out of rage. I hadn't forgiven her, and I probably never would. Her only reason for murdering him was her own vengance, but at the same time I couldn't blame her entirely. My dad, as much as I loved him... was not a very good person.

...Dad... I bit down on my finger to keep from sobbing again. Maybe I should just find a way to kill myself. To put an end to this misery. No more sadness, no more loneliness, and I wouldn't have to become a slave. I'm not going to be rescued. This is it. It's all over. Maybe I can make it go quickly. These thoughts calmed me, until-

"Hey, spread your legs, whore."

I gasped sharply and stared, frozen in horror at the towering man leering down at me. He had long, knotted red hair and scars all over his blotchy flesh. My lip trembled and I think I started whimpering.

"Go get 'er, Charles," snickered one of the others.

"It's my turn, after you," said another.

Charles ignored all of them and ripped out my hair tie, sending my dark hair loose. He grabbed it and shoved my face into the dirt.

Please, just let me die...

I can't really remember what happened after that.