Amir creaked his rusty eyelids open as sleep slowly rolled off him and wandered away. A dim light slipped into the room dragging him slowly to his feet. The advertised quaint cosy inn had turned out to be a bleak run down shack opposite an equally derelict farm house. But at least it had been remote. He smiled to himself, after all he had lied about his details so why shouldn’t they. He heard something cry out in the distance and peered through the window. All seemed quiet. It was probably nothing. He was safe here.

The early morning mist creeped around the windows, brushing against the blackened cracked glass, a shifting wave of dimness distorting shapes and sounds. Somewhere a light was flickering strangely. Cautiously he headed out. He turned past the crumbling stone of the back wall and instantly saw the fire. One of the barns was burning. He started to run towards it. Where was the farmer he thought. Surely he would have seen this by now, where was his wife? But there was no one in sight. Up close the heat was overwhelming. No sounds but the crackle and crash of the collapsing barn. Helpless he headed back to the house. Fear rolled over him like thick tar on a new road. He told himself he was being stupid. No one here knew what he’d done or even his real name. But the farm door loomed ahead. Dirty, dusty, open.

He pushed the door and there the farmer sat, at the table. A half smile across his face, blank staring eyes, a second smile across his throat wide open and dripping. Amir span round and ran out. He felt something swing into his head and then blackness.

When he opened his eyes the world was a blur. He was on his knees with his wrists and legs tied behind him and he knew he was going to die.

She stepped softly into view. “I’m sorry about the farmer, and the woman in the barn,” she said, calm and sincere. He couldn’t look at her face. He didn’t need to, he had spent months trying to forget it. So young and pretty, once. Dark brown skin, smooth and flawless. Kind eyes that you could almost disappear in. Almost make you forget what you were doing.

“You shouldn’t have come here. If you hadn’t of run they wouldn’t have had to die.” She stated and took a step closer.

“I’m sorry”, Amir stuttered. “It went too far. I didn’t know what they wanted,” he lied. An image flashed in front of him; her knelt on the floor turning her head to look at him, confused, scared, kind eyes begging him not to leave.

She stepped closer and he saw the knife in her hand.

She pushed his head back against wall and he watched him self walk out of the room and close the door.

She knelt in front of him; once kind eyes, now two locked furnace doors and he began to weep softly.

She pushed slowly and he saw the furnace doors open, gazed at her raw burning hate; a gateway to hell that he fell tumbling into.