The Room Upstairs: A Novel

by Wright, Iain Rob

  “He was a monster,” I said, wondering how someone could do such a thing, but Quick frowned at me as if he didn’t agree,

  “Possibly. Possibly not. You see, once Djall has a hold over a person, it will feed one way or another. If you refuse to feed it, it will feed on you. You’ll start getting ill. Nosebleeds and tummy aches at first, just minor things, but if you continue to refuse Djall, he will strike you with festering boils and poisoning of the blood, feeding on you until there’s barely anything left. Then you’ll die. That’s what happened to the person who possessed Djall before you. For whatever reason, a young man took possession of it six months ago and refused to feed it. The coroner said he died of a rapid cancer, but the truth is that he was such a withered mess that no one could really tell. We were unable to identify Djall from the young man’s belongings, but we believe it was taken by a relative. Then it ended up in your hands.”

  “We got it at a car boot,” I said, shaking my head and laughing at the absurdity of it all.

  Mum alerted us with a sudden sob. Tears had come to her eyes. “My baby. My poor baby.”

  Dad sighed. “It’s okay, Sharon, we’ll get through this.” He turned to Quick and spoke quietly. “Martin and Sarah have been getting ill. Nosebleeds, stomach aches, just like you said.”

  Quick looked my dad in the eyes. “To be expected. While Djall can only feed beneath the cover of the moon, its sickening influence is ever-present.”

  “The room has only appeared at night,” I said. “That’s why it’s been coming and going?”

  Quick nodded. “Evil does not like the light.”

  “My baby,” Mum said again. She was shaking her head and weeping. “My baby.”

  I reached out a hand to her. “Mum, it’s okay.”

  She looked at me with agony written across her face. “No, it’s not. I made a wish and it came true. It came true.”

  My throat itched. I had to cough, but I suppressed it. “What did you wish for Mum?”

  “I wished for it to be gone. We couldn’t afford it and I wasn’t even sure I wanted it. I wasn’t sure until after it was gone.”

  Dad left his armchair and perched beside Mum on the sofa. “Sweetheart, what are you saying?”

  She turned her head quickly to look at him. “I was pregnant, Charlie. I was eight weeks pregnant.”

  Dad opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

  Mum saw that he needed more, so she continued. “We’ve been struggling so much with money, and you work so much as it is… I wanted to tell you but I felt ashamed, like a goddamn teenager who forgot to take her pill.”

  Charlie moved away, and I thought he was angry, but then he readjusted his arm and gave Mum an even tighter hug. “You silly woman. I would’ve been over the moon. I love Martin and Sarah – you know that – but there’s always room for more. Money isn’t everything.”

  Mum wiped tears and snot from her face and grunted. “Well, it doesn’t matter now, because on the night this all started, I went round Diane’s to have a drink. I told her everything…” She started crying again. “I said I wished I wasn’t pregnant. And now I’m not.”

  Dad shook his head. “Sharon, how do you know for sure? Have you seen a doctor?”

  “I know because I don’t feel it any more. My morning sickness, the tummy flutters. It’s all gone. I’ve even lost three pounds.”

  “We haven’t been eating.”

  “Charlie, I lost our baby. I’m telling you, I wished it away.”

  Quick let out a breath that captured everyone’s attention. “I’m afraid that if you made the wish after bringing Djall into your lives, then what you say is most likely true. I’m sorry.”

  I didn’t know how to feel. Mum had been pregnant and none of us knew it. Should that hurt? Because it did. I could have had a little brother or, God forbid, a little sister, but she had wished it away.

  But I had made careless wishes too.

  “You could never have known, Mum,” I said. “It’s not your fault.”

  She looked at me through tears. “I should never have wished such a thing.”

  “Wishes aren’t supposed to come true,” said Quick. “They’re not meant to have power. That is the evil of Djall. I don’t know what you’re feeling, ma’am, but I am here to make sure that no more evil befalls this family.”

  Dad scowled at Quick, looking him up and down. “What are you? Some kind of soldier? It looks like you’ve been in a dozen wars.”

  Quick huffed and stared down at his scarred hands. “I wish the number were so low. I am a soldier, as you say, yes. I’ve spent my entire life waging war on the things that cause misery and pain without remorse. I pray I can help you folks find your way back into the light.”

  I saw my sister flinch, and when I stared at her, her nose was bleeding. She did nothing to stop it and allowed the blood to drip-drip-drip onto the carpet.

  My stomach sickened, suddenly awash with burning liquids. “I feel ill,” I said, but I didn’t panic. “It’s Djall, isn’t it?”

  Quick glared at the necklace in the middle of the room. “We should get started. Are you all ready?”

  None of us were. But none of us had any choice.

  20

  Sarah’s nose was bleeding worse than ever. Blood leaked from her face like she was melting, and she had to gasp like a goldfish to breathe. Mum rubbed her back while Dad tried to stem the blood with towels, but it only seemed to increase. I had thrown up twice in the last ten minutes, but I was too used to it now to let it keep me down. All I felt now was anger. I wanted to destroy the evil thing that was tormenting my family and had killed my friend. The thing that had taken away my baby brother or sister. The thing that had taken Courtney and Mike. I wanted to face it down and tear out its eyes or whatever it had for a face. I was ready to kill.

  Quick stood in the corner of our living room, arms folded. He wasn’t impatient, just still. It was like he had shut down, waiting until we were ready. I didn’t even know if he would respond when I spoke to him, but he did. “Do you think Djall is scared that you’re here?”

  “A thing like Djall does not feel fear, boy, but like anything alive, it has a sense of self-preservation. It knows me well and, while it might not fear me, it knows why I’m here.”

  I looked up at this towering warrior and struggled to see the world in a new way. “Is there really a whole secret group of people like you, fighting monsters?”

  “The world is full of monsters, from corrupt politicians to vampires. Many groups exist to tackle them, but the problem is that the monsters outnumber us by an insurmountable number. It’s a war we can never win. We can only hold the line.”

  I didn’t truly understand, but it sounded like the world was a worse place than I could ever have imagined. Would it one day end? Overrun by monsters? Devoured by demons? No, not if there were men like Quick in the world. He wasn’t afraid. In fact, I couldn’t picture him being afraid of anything. “How do we help my sister? There’s so much blood. I’m worried.”

  “We help her by dealing with Djall. It can afford to take one of you as a warning, and I fear Sarah’s suffering might be that warning. Djall is going to kill her if we don’t act fast.”

  My stomach tried to purge itself again, but I fought it. I fought it and looked at my sister, stooped on the floor with blood gushing from her face. There was also a sore-looking blister spreading on her chin. Was she truly dying in front of me? “Sarah, I love you.”

  She looked up at me, shuffled across the carpet, then threw her arms around my waist. I lowered myself and the two of us embraced. This was a nightmare, and we were in it together.

  Brother and sister.

  “We need to move,” said Quick. “Boy, hand me the necklace.”

  No one had disturbed the green gemstone in the centre of the room, and I looked at it now with disgust. As much as I hated Djall, I feared touching it.

  Quick seemed to detect my displeasure. He waved a hand. “The necklace isn’t actu
ally Djall itself. It’s just a totem, an object of power to which it is tethered. Pick it up now and give it to me.”

  Sarah let go of me, leaving me free to move. I reached down, my fingers hovering for a moment before finally picking up the piece of jewellery that had caught my sister’s eye in what seemed like a lifetime ago. It seemed to vibrate in my palm, and I quickly thrust it into Quick’s waiting hands. The tall man glared at it, his eyes narrowing to a point where they were almost closed.

  Dad resumed trying to stem Sarah’s bleeding nose with towels, but he looked at Quick as he did so. “What do we need to do?”

  “We need to face Djall directly,” said Quick. “You said it’s been appearing as a room upstairs? Take me there.”

  We all shared a look. Being downstairs in the lounge had given us the illusion of safety. Going upstairs onto the landing felt like stepping into a lion’s den. But running away was no option.

  I moved to the door. “Come on. Let’s get it over with.”

  Quick nodded at me and made me feel like an adult. “Charlie, gather your family and join us.”

  Dad didn’t seem so sure any more, but he nodded silently and reached down to help Sarah up off the ground.

  I found myself leading Quick upstairs by myself, a child leading a warrior. I took each step slowly, the creaking of the boards like ominous warnings. I reached the landing, hoping that the room would not be there, but I was given no comfort. The door at the end of the landing was closed, but it creaked as it slowly it fell open.

  Nothing but darkness lay inside.

  “Huh, I’ve never known Djall to take the form of a room,” said Quick. “Once it appeared as a tailor’s dummy, whispering wicked temptations to its owner, and another time it appeared as a painting, its depiction of an empty field changing constantly to show vile depictions of people being sacrificed upon alters. Never a room though.”

  I swallowed. “It tempted my friend to go inside by showing him arcade games and a pool table.”

  Quick put a large hand on my back, and its coldness made me shiver. “You’re a strong boy, Martin. This is grown-up’s work, but you’re holding it together better than most men would. People usually look away from the universe’s underbelly, but you face it with fascination and determination. The world could use more like you.”

  I felt my cheeks grow hot. “Thank you.”

  “No need to thank me for an observation.”

  My family came up the stairs behind us and we all gathered on the landing. Sarah’s nose was still bleeding, her forehead glistening with sweat. The blister on her chin had now spread to the middle of her cheek. She slumped against the wall, barely conscious. Mum wasn’t much better, but her weakness appeared more mental than physical. Her expression was… vacant.

  Dad stepped up beside Quick and me. “It’s still here.”

  Quick nodded, eyes fixed on the darkness of the room at the end of the landing. “Did you expect it not to be?”

  “No. I just hoped for it.”

  “That’s good. Hope isn’t a useless thing, Charlie. Right now, it’s the strongest weapon we have.”

  I looked up at Quick. “What happens now?”

  He held up the necklace in his fist, its steel chain wrapped between his fingers. “Now we perform an eviction.”

  “Don’t you mean an exorcism?” said Dad.

  “I’m no priest. You have an unwanted guest and I intend to help you evict it.”

  It was clear that Quick was ready to take the lead, so we remained where we were on the landing while he approached the open doorway that shouldn’t have been there. He thrust out the necklace and roared. “Djall, you have been found out. Your tricks and deceptions are to end. I possess your totem and command you to obey.”

  I shared a look with my dad, and I wondered if he was thinking what I was thinking – that more than simple words would be required to end this nightmare. Yet, words were all that Quick offered. He shouted and threatened, and commanded the demon to obey. Nothing seemed to happen though.

  Then everything happened at once.

  The door at the end of the landing slammed shut, then opened again, then slammed shut. It created an awful banging sound that made me cover my ears. Then the banging suddenly ceased and the door remained open. The darkness inside the room came alive, creating shadows that were like rolling black oil. Each wave of darkness released a chorus of screams, increasing in volume until it was impossible to even think. A howling wind of agony.

  “It’s terrible,” I said, clutching at my ears. “What’s happening?”

  Quick kept looking ahead but put out a hand and probed the air until he caught my shoulder. “This is for my benefit, boy. Djall and I go back a ways. He knows things about me I would sooner forget.”

  I stared at the swirling black depths of the doorway and saw faces – pained faces crying out in agony. If this was for Quick’s benefit, I had no understanding of what it meant.

  “Your parlour tricks have no effect on me, Djall. You may know me, but I also know you. I know your power is built on quicksand. Harm this family if you will, but you will not find another after. You are going back into the vaults, and this time you shall stay there forever.”

  A blast of heat shot out of the room and forced us all to turn away. Sarah slid down the wall and collapsed onto the carpet. She was now soaked in her own blood and covered in blisters. A gurgling moan escaped her lips, and her eyes rolled back in her head. It forced Mum to snap out of her daze. She dropped to her knees and screamed, “Sarah! Sarah, wake up!”

  Dad grabbed Quick. “What’s happening to her?”

  I looked at my sister and was in no doubt about the answer. “She’s dying. Djall is killing her.”

  “Stay strong,” Quick bellowed. “It’s threatening us because it knows I’m here to end its games.”

  Dad looked at the man like he was an idiot, like he had lost faith in Quick as rapidly as he had found it. “You’re doing nothing! You’re telling this thing off like it’s a naughty child.”

  “It’s the only language Djall understands.”

  “Then why isn’t it working?”

  I saw a lump in Quick’s throat as he swallowed, and the man seemed to deflate. “I don’t know. Possessing the totem and demanding Djall to obey should be enough.”

  Dad snarled. “Are you fucking joking me? You think it’s going to behave just because you tell it to?”

  Quick turned on my dad with the speed of a hawk snatching a mouse, and before anyone could react, he had him up against the wall. “If you know a demon’s true name and possess the totem that tethers it to this world, it must do your bidding. So it has been since the moment mankind oozed into existence. Something is wrong. We need to refocus and replan.”

  Sarah moaned from the floor. “D-Dad.”

  Dad pushed back against Quick, showing a violent streak I’d never seen before. “She doesn’t have that long. I never should have invited you in.”

  I objected. “Sarah would be in trouble even if you hadn’t. Dad, we were in trouble the moment she spotted the necklace at the car boot.”

  Dad released Quick, although it seemed like the tall man could have broken free at any point, and looked down at Sarah. “How do we stop it? How do we help her?”

  “You cannot help her. Unless you’re willing to surrender yourselves to Djall’s bidding and do great evil, the only way to save Sarah is to command Djall to stop. But that isn’t working.”

  Mum was shaking my sister on the ground, trying desperately to keep her from passing out. “Please, don’t go. I can’t lose you too.”

  “Hello? Hello, Sharon, are you home?”

  Quick moved like a bird again, swooping to the top of the stairs. He looked at me and hissed. “Who is that?”

  “I-It sounds like Diane, our neighbour,” I said, and sure enough that was exactly who appeared halfway up our stairs. She looked surprised to see us all gathered there, but we were the more surprised, which was why nobody s
aid anything to stop her joining. Before we knew it, she was standing on the landing.

  “Oh, Sharon, whatever is the matter? Is… Is Sarah okay?”

  For a moment, Mum didn’t seem to recognise her best friend, but then she turned, as confused as the rest of us. “Diane? What are you doing here?”

  “I just wanted to borrow some money so I can go get a bottle of sherry. Did you fancy popping round for an hour? I wanted to talk to you about something.”

  Mum blinked slowly. “W-What time is it?”

  “Half past nine. The shop closes in half an hour so I need to go now. Can you lend me a few quid?”

  Mum stood up and brushed herself off after lowering Sarah slowly to the carpet. She stood in front of Diane and frowned. “Sarah’s sick? Do you not see that? Can you not keep yourself from scrounging for one minute and think about somebody else?”

  Diane flinched, and I honestly didn’t know how the words surprised her. In fact, I didn’t know why Mum hadn’t spoken them sooner. “Sharon, what has got into you? I really think you should come next door and we can have a proper talk. If we both leave now, we can catch the shop before it closes.”

  Sarah moaned. “M-Mum? What’s happening?”

  “Nothing sweetie. You’re going to be just fine.” Mum moved in front of Diane. “You selfish, drunken bitch.” She grabbed Diane by her frizzy brown hair and yanked her forward, almost tossing her to the ground. She then proceeded to drag Diane across the landing.

  Right towards the room.

  “Mum, what are you doing?”

  Dad reached out a hand but seemed rooted to the spot. He was unable to grab her. “Sharon, what are you doing?”

  Diane screeched like a caught cat, and I couldn’t believe the way my mum was manhandling her. She was more like a demon than Djall, a scowling monster. “Here, you’re hungry? Take this bitch. Take her and leave my daughter alone. I’ll feed you as much as you want. Just leave my family alone.”