When the executioner finished driving the last nail through Sabina's left foot, her body sagged down until she was hanging by her wrists.
I tried to ease myself downward, but my thigh muscles were like lead, as if the legs that held me up belonged to someone else. But they were my legs, and so was the agony, the exhaustion, all mine to suffer. I let myself sag lower, groaning at the pain of unforgiving iron pulling at the wounds in my wrists, my arms, shoulders, chest being stretched out as if on the rack.
I settled lower and tried to rest the quivering, straining muscles in my legs. I tried to let my body sag down gently, tried to ease down onto the nails that pierced my wrists, but it was so hard, and my legs were shaking, almost exhausted. The agony in my wrists would all at once get so much worse that I would have to tense my legs and take the pressure in my nailed feet. The pain in my wrists was more than I could bear, but my legs were so weak that I was already almost helpless. I gritted my teeth and forced my legs to relax, groaning as all of my weight pulled my wrists down hard against the nails.
Her exhausted legs were seized by cramps that she was powerless to do anything about other than scream.
The full weight of my body stretched my arms taut against the nails. My shoulders felt as if they were being torn out of their sockets. My breath came in shuddering gasps as I fought against the pain, my whole body trembling. I thought it couldn’t get any worse than this.
Then I screamed and twisted as spasms suddenly seized my thigh muscles and sent knives of pain driving mercilessly into them. My agony went from unbearable to unimaginable. Oh gods it hurts it hurts please stop stop stop I babbled, as if anyone cared. I screamed mindlessly again, spread my legs as wide as I could...
