Melissa's knees are in pain, perhaps as much as her back, but she cannot concentrate on her suffering because of her anticipation of what is to come. She can only imagine it as she feels the pull on her chains. She must be guilty of some grave sin, God would not allow such suffering without reason.

As her hands are released and her body slumps down she has the urgent need to plead with her torturer. The roughness of his hands as he grabs her wrists and lifts her onto her feet does not surprise her. She expects no less.

The man seems to be playing with Melissa, turning her around to face him. She does not move on her own, yet she feels her body making a gesture of resistance. She is surprised by her movement and even fearful.

He grabs her body and forcefully turns her around to face him.

She feels his breath on her face, she can see his dark eyes in a flash that echoes in her mind. She tries to turn her head, to avoid looking at him. He has a sharp scent, acrid, sweaty, so unlike the smells of her female companions.

The torturer drags her to the post and Melissa thinks she knows at that moment what her fate will be. She has mixed feelings. She guesses that it is the end, that she will be put to death. She only hopes it will be fast, she has seen it and knows it can be long and horrific, painful. She imagines her mouth gasping for air, her eyes popping out. She is glad it won't be a public execution and that she is not naked. She wonders why they are sparing her the humiliation.

When she was taken captive, she feared that she would be stripped naked and tortured in front of the entire town.

The torturer places her soft neck on the back of the tourniquet, pressing her against it. She feels his hands almost strangling her. She is afraid of moving.

The metal piece is pushed against her skin and a long bolt is fit into the holes and fixed in place. As the bolt goes in and is tightened, she feels the sharp metal edges rubbing her neck. The metal is rarely cleaned, she can feel the grease and grime of others that came before her.

Silently she begins to pray for her soul, since her end is approaching.

The torturer feels a twinge of pity when he sees her eyes closed, her mouth mumbling a silent prayer.

He knows she thinks she will be executed. He feels sorry for her.

He is placing her in the execution instrument as a way to persuade her further. As an offering to end her ordeals quickly, right then and there...or to suffer further questioning and torture.

All she has to do is accept her crime.