Leah cries out again, her voice loud and full of confused desperation as she continues to struggle uselessly against the bonds. 'Tyler, please! Don't do this! Please!' This last word seems to stretch out for seconds, ending in a terrified, unintelligible sob. It is the sound of someone whose world has suddenly and inexplicably fallen apart, who cannot come to terms with the simple, cold fact that she is about to die.

He stops by the bed, raising the knife high.

And that's it. I can't watch any more. Not another second. I scramble to my feet, grab the TV in both hands and tear it from its wiring, hurling it against the wall. It lands heavily on the floor and something inside shatters.

The room descends into a heavy, tomb-like silence. The smell of death is so thick it feels like I could almost reach out and touch it. I stand naked and alone, staring at the wall, trying to control the nausea that's rising up in me.

Slowly, very slowly, I turn round and face the bed where Leah's body lies. The sheets are bloodstained almost black. The absolute stillness is virtually impossible to bear.

'Oh God, Leah,' I whisper. 'I'm so sorry I wasn't here for you.'

As I speak, I sink to my knees, my eyes squeezed shut against the tears that are forming. My head aches ferociously and my mouth is bone dry. In those few moments, I honestly feel like I want to die, and the question that keeps running through my mind is 'Why?' Why has someone inflicted this savagery on an innocent young woman like Leah, and left me alive in here with her?

I have to get out of here. The cloying atmosphere is beginning to envelop me, but I can't leave her behind. Not alone, in this place. It would be an act of cowardice, something I could never forgive myself for, because God knows what will be done with her after I'm gone. The least she deserves is a proper resting place.