The stars were cold and bright. A ghostly glow of the harvest moon. ‘Twas a night full of peril and hope. Yet I didn't take heed in the celestial warnings, that would be to my detriment. I could feel my feet fizzing with anxious excitement as they struck the pavement. Becca, my best friend, and I had been out shopping, in a moment of thundering realisation I had bought a ring. Simple, elegant, quietly understated. Everything my girlfriend wished for in the very sentimental piece of jewellery, she had confided in me one icy night seven years ago.

Now I was going to present it to her under the luminous moon, my keys jangle nervously in my hand. Pausing at our front gate, I felt a wave of icy dread worm its way through my gut. Something wasn't right, but I couldn't back out now... Could I?

Click. The latch releases the wrought iron frame. Creak. Rusty hinges complained as the barrier swung back. Crunch. My shoes crossed over the concrete path with loose stones. Jangle. Keys rise and slide into the lock. Clunk. The locking mechanism yields granting me access to my home.

It didn't feel like a home though. Heartless, isolated and simmering. Evil had begun to brew here ever since my girlfriend moved in three years ago, I had tried to leave her before it went to far. Now I'm in too deep, head barely above the water and she's dragging me down. Although we never said it to each other, I think we both knew that this relationship would go down in flames.

Everything was eerily quiet. Not even a whisper from the central heating or raucous hammering from the pipes. Quite simply the house held its breath, tense and frightened. Like it knew what was about to happen. Sliding off my shoes I placed them neatly under the coat hooks; where I hung my jacket, limp and lifeless. Padding into the darkness of the lair I didn't realise how much jeopardy I was swimming in.

Drowning slowly in the quagmire of sour intent, I reach for the light switch. Hoping to chase away the crowd of demons, so close I could feel their leathery skin and musky scent. From the kitchen came a rattling hiss, "Not yet corpses. Still, we rot."

I felt the adrenaline pouring into every single pore of my body, heart rate skipping faster daring itself to push itself to the very limit. Cranking up to the maximum level, oxygen flowed in and waste gases rushed out. Eyes blown wide stare and scan intently, drinking in and interpreting every shadow as a threat. Limbs tremble ready to run, or fight. Hands furl up like dry leaves in the autumn.

Lashing out I somehow struck lucky and the blinding warmth of the yellow bulb bursts forth, an angelic light. Then I see her, my once beautiful girlfriend who now possess a withered and cruel soul. Clenched in her hand a flash of silver. No it can't be! It has to be a trick of the light.

"You lied to me. You went out shopping with Becca and bought a ring. Cheating on me, huh? I'm no fool, you know." She took an accusing step forward, lips drawn into a thin crooked smile. A smile that caused shivers. Dead eyes blink unhurriedly, calculating and callous. Another step, pausing she stared at me for a moment, then plunged the knife into my stomach.

At first I didn't realise what had happened, it felt like she had punched me hard in the gut. Gasping I lower my gaze and see her hand poised and clenched. Mercilessly, she pulls her hand back, pain tore through every fibre of my being. A audible sickening slurping sound twisted my heart as the kitchen knife finally left my abdomen. Clenching the edges of the perfectly straight incision, I desperately tried to stem the flow of the gushing crimson river. I thought the pain before was bad but this was unbearable as I sink to my knees, a primal scream wrenched from the most archaic part of my soul. On and on it echoed, bouncing off the walls.

Toppling over I rest on my side and I can feel the small square box burrowing into my side. A taunting reminder that sometimes its the devil you know, that has ultimate control over whether you live or die. As my breath speeds up and grows shallower, I manage to look at the woman I loved. She is staring down at me, no pity or remorse in her dark eyes, smirking she raises the knife to her lips. Flicking out her tongue she licks clean the weapon, drinking in my blood. I wonder if it tastes coppery, tangy and bold like pennies.

Unable to escape the searing ache I let the soft embrace of darkness cover my mind. I imagine a small child's hand taking mine and leading me away towards an invisible door. Together we pause, turning we see the final shaky exhale of my physical body. A sigh, finally I have sweet release from the torment and suffering; peace can soothe the troubled soul.