Running through the pitch black forest with a river of tears flowing from her eyes, Aoife’s legs were on fire from the constant movement. Had it been minutes or hours? She wanted- no, she needed, to stop. Her lungs were already filling with a thick gelatinous goo, much longer without medical care would kill her; sprinting through the inky darkness would only hasten the seemingly inevitable end.

Choking on phlegm, Aoife fell to her knees. Struggling to regain her feet, she stood too quickly. Falling backwards, she sprawled against the carpet of pine needles that piled atop the moist ground. She twitched uncontrollably as regurgitated material trailed down from the corners of her mouth.

“I should never have trusted that bastard, no matter how sweet or cute. I should never have fallen in love. I should never have drunk that soda after I watched the drugs poured in by a hand I was enamores with. I should’ve been smarter,” Aoife’s muffled whisper went out across the dark.

She lay on death’s doorstep, convulsing as she waited to be claimed by whatever god came first, whether it be Allah or God or Indra or Hades or any other deity. It didn’t matter to her, as long as she didn’t have to roam this earth for all of eternity.

“Shoulda, coulda, woulda,” a cruel voice whispered through the night. A flashlight blinded Aoife, the instant her she could see again she saw a figure above her. A figure holding a gun. A small pistol that was pointed directly at her forehead.

“Please, please don’t,” Aoife gasped, trying to make each breath last. Blackness grasped at her vision, as she heard the click of the safety unlatched.

“Oh sweet, naive Aoife. You should know by now that monsters take joy from your pain. I’ll make your death quick, nearly painless.”

“I’m begging you,” she screamed. “Please, don’t do this. You love me!!! Didn’t you love me?”

“I’ve only ever loved one person. And that person is dead thank to you. So to answer your question: no, Aoife, I never loved you,” you laughed coldly before pulling the trigger. It wasn’t your first kill, but none had felt so good.