"She dares call the young master by his first name? I'll smash her mouth in!"
"This one's crafty. She just wants to get her hands on a phone so she can call the cops."
Slap. Slap. Slap.
Three open-handed blows, one after another, right across my face.
I felt my teeth loosen in their sockets. Blood pooled against my gums, metallic and warm, and my skull rang so loud my vision blurred.
Pain radiated from everywhere at once. It felt like my organs had shattered inside me.
No matter how much injustice burned in my throat, I didn't dare say another word.
These men held nothing back.
"Throw her in the pigsty. She'll behave by morning." The man in charge gave the order, and two others grabbed me by the arms and dragged me toward the pen.
The pigsty was open to the wind on all sides, the ground slick with filth and urine. I collapsed into a corner, hugging my knees, shaking so hard my teeth chattered.
I held on until well past midnight, when every light in the valley finally went dark.
I crawled out of the pen. Only one thought existed in my mind: run.
I made it a few yards before a spotlight locked onto me.
A horn blast split the silence, echoing across the entire settlement.