The Room Upstairs: A Novel

by Wright, Iain Rob

  It’s hard for a ten-year-old to understand many things, but watching my mum throw our neighbour into a room that was actually some kind of ancient monster was more than my brain could compute. My arms hung at my sides and my mouth fell open as I stood there in a stupor. I could do nothing but watch.

  Diane twisted and tried to slip away as Mum gave her one last hard shove and sent her spiralling into the room. Her legs got tangled up and she fell to the ground. Her trouser legs rode up at the knees and I saw just how skinny Diane was. She was ill. I wondered if that was what booze had done to her.

  Dad was still rooted to the spot, as shocked as I was to see Mum do what she was doing. “Sharon, you can’t.”

  Mum looked back over his shoulder and shot him a look. “I already have. Fuck this shit. If this room wants to give us a winning scratch card in exchange for a piece of rubbish like Diane, I say it’s a pretty good deal. Just so long as my kids are safe.”

  To my surprise, Quick hadn’t moved from the top of the stairs. He was watching everything in silence. A sadness seemed to have come upon him, his leathery face drooping. I turned and waited for him to do something, but he didn’t act. Gradually, I realised it was because it was too late for him to do anything. I turned back to the room, to where Diane was now getting to her feet. Once she was upright, she stared at my mum in astonishment. The thin skin on her elbows had torn away and she was bleeding.

  Then a rat appeared at her feet. It was the last thing I had expected to see. Then several more appeared. Diane noticed them, too, and she began a sort of dance, stepping back and forth to avoid them. She took a step to exit the room but was blocked by a fat rodent the size of a small cat. It pounced on her, grabbing hold of her bleeding elbow and hanging on with its sharp incisors. It swung back and forth as Diane flailed her arms and panicked. Then a second rat pounced and latched onto her thigh, thrashing with its claws and angling its head. It came free, not because it had let go, but because the flesh had come away from Diane’s leg. She tried to walk, but the rats multiplied and weaved between her feet, tripping her up, and she fell to the ground. As soon as she was down, a skinny brown beast flew at her face. I covered my mouth in horror as its fangs clamped down on her eyeball and yanked it free. It hung from her cheek like a burst plum.

  “Enough!” Quick shouted. “You have this woman, Djall, so take her and be done with it. There is no need to toy with her.”

  As if the rats understood English, Diane’s body disappeared beneath a seething mass of brown and black fur. She didn’t so much scream as gargle, and the sound didn’t last very long. Three seconds later the door slammed shut. The sudden clonk made me scream.

  Dad grabbed me and pulled me to his chest. He stank of sweat, but I didn’t recoil. Right now, he was the only person I trusted. “Dad, why did Mum do that?”

  He didn’t answer me.

  Sarah stirred nearby, where she was lying, managing to lift her head. Her nose had stopped bleeding and the blister had gone from her face. Colour returned to her cheeks. For a moment she was confused, but then she looked at me. “Martin, is it over?”

  Quick glared at my mum and shook his head. “This will never be over for you folks now. There’s no going back to the family you once were. No way to forget what happened tonight.”

  Mum ignored the judgement and rushed over to Sarah, scooped my sister into her arms and squeezed her tightly.

  21

  When the door on our landing opened again, the room was empty, just an unlit space that shouldn’t have been there. Diane’s body was nowhere to be seen. Nor was there any blood or rats. Djall had fed and gone away.

  Mum had managed to get Sarah to her feet, keeping her trapped in a hug. Dad didn’t join them; he remained by me. Both of us shook our heads in silence.

  “Something went wrong,” said Quick, “and I think I know what it is.”

  I looked at him. “What?”

  He tossed my sister’s green glass necklace to the ground and kicked it away. “This isn’t Djall’s totem. It must be something else. Did you bring anything else into your home that day, from the car boot?”

  My mouth was moving before my brain even realised. “Yes, I found something too. It was… Just wait here.”

  I rushed into my room, which was now a strange, cold place in a house that no longer felt like home. All the same, I knew exactly where to look. I grabbed the Karazy Klown doll from beside my TV and brought it back out onto the landing.

  “What’s that you have?” Quick asked.

  “It’s the thing I brought home with me that day. We paid a pound, which was a steal. Maybe the owner wanted rid of it. Could it be Djall’s totem?”

  The door at the end of the landing slammed and made us flinch. Quick shrugged. “I’ve known Djall to take the form of dolls before. Not one quite so bizarre-looking, but that’s the whole point. Djall takes whatever form it needs for you to covet it.”

  “If that means I wanted it really bad, then that sounds about right.”

  Quick snapped his fingers. “Okay, give it to me.”

  I was about to hand it over when there was a knock at the door. A knock at our front door.

  Quick turned away from me. “Damn it. We can’t afford any more distractions. Who is it?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “I’ll make them go away,” said Dad, and he hurried downstairs.

  The shouting began only a few seconds after I heard the front door open.

  Quick looked at me, as uncertain as I had yet seen him. “This keeps getting worse. Give me that doll and I’ll get started.”

  More shouting downstairs. A fight breaking out.

  “My dad needs help. We need to go see what’s happening down there.”

  I didn’t say so, but I thought I recognised the voice of whoever was arguing with my dad. It filled me with dread.

  Quick grabbed me. “Just give me the doll, boy.”

  I pulled free and started for the stairs, the Karazy Klown still in my arms. “No, we need to go downstairs and help my dad.”

  For the first time, Quick seemed angry. I feared him, and thought about how dangerous he could be, but his scowl was only fleeting. He released a pissed-off hiss. “Fine, we’ll deal with our unwelcome visitor first, but then you’ll do exactly as I say.”

  I nodded.

  The shouting was still going on downstairs, and I now heard something break. Things were getting physical. I ran downstairs, gladdened when I heard Quick thudding down behind me. When I arrived in the hallway, Dad threw up an arm and waved me away. “Stay back, Martin.”

  “Dad!”

  He was fighting with my father – my biological father, Keith – and it looked like he’d been hit. His left eyebrow was fat and puffy. In front of him, Keith shoved and shouldered to try and get to the stairs, but when he saw me he smiled and backed off. “Kiddo! I popped by to see you and Sarah.”

  There was something wrong with Keith. His face was sweaty and his eyes seemed too big. I didn’t want him anywhere near me. “It’s late. You shouldn’t be here.”

  “I wanted to see my boy. Hey, where’s Sarah? I want to see her too. I bet she’s a grown woman now.”

  Dad placed a hand against Keith’s chest and eased him back towards the front door. “It’s time to leave.”

  Keith batted my dad’s hand away. “Don’t you touch me, you fucking—”

  “Fucking what, Keith? Why don’t you just say it?”

  Keith glared at my dad, his hands bunched into fists by his sides. It looked like he might hit him, but instead he stared over at me again. “Martin, please, I just want to speak with you. I was pushed out by this bastard. You’ve had your head filled with lies. You and Sarah both.”

  Dad was breathing heavily, and his own hands were now bunched into fists. He barely moved, and yet I had never seen him so angry. “Keith, you need to get out of my house, right now.”

  Keith sneered. “Your house? Thief, that’s what you are. You made your bed in
my home, you animal.”

  “There’s only one animal here, Keith, and it’s not me. You’ve been drinking, and we both know what that leads to.”

  “Yeah, me kicking the shit out of you.”

  Quick moved me aside and stepped up, standing shoulder to shoulder with my dad and facing down Keith. “I think it’s time for you to vacate the premises. You’re not welcome and it’s a bad time.”

  “Who the hell are you?”

  “Thomas Quick… a pleasure. Now leave before I facilitate you doing so.”

  “I beg you to try it.” Keith threw out both hands to shove Quick, but Quick moved like lightning. He stepped aside, creating less of a target, and grabbed his attacker by the wrist. Then, like one of the colourful Spanish matadors I’d seen on TV, he sent my biological father careening past and tumbling under his own weight.

  Keith crashed, shoulder-first, into our radiator, then bounced off it and landed amongst our collection of animal statues. One of our giraffes got its neck broken, and the stone elephant tipped onto its side. I gasped, still apparently able to be shocked by violence.

  “Don’t make me ask again,” said Quick.

  But Keith didn’t look like he was done. He clambered off the floor, growling, and set his sights on Quick. Quick didn’t change his posture or even seem concerned in any way. He just stood there, waiting.

  “Who the hell are you? You Sharon’s new man? Is old Charlie here getting the elbow like I did?”

  “I could not be less interested in your story,” said Quick, “but unless you leave now, it may end abruptly.”

  “Yeah, let’s see about that.”

  Keith moved towards Quick, but Mum and Sarah appeared halfway down the stairs and interrupted the scene. Mum no longer seemed dazed; she seemed crazy. Her eyes were fixed wide and she was barely blinking, but when she saw Keith, she bared her teeth. “Get the hell out of here,” she spat. “We never want to see you again.”

  Keith didn’t seem to hear her. His eyes were fixed on my sister. “Sarah,” he said. “Look at you! You’re a picture of your grandmother. It’s been too long.”

  Sarah was stronger than she had been, but she still had to grip the bannister as she came down the stairs. “Dad?”

  “Yes, darling, it’s me. I’m so sorry that I’ve been away.”

  I expected Sarah to be even more confused than I had been when Keith suddenly turned up. I even expected her to be angry. Instead, she leapt off the bottom step and rushed into his outstretched arms. “I missed you,” she said, and it hurt me to hear that. It felt like a betrayal.

  Keith hugged her tightly, a satisfied grin on his face. Then he moved her back so he could look at her. “Sarah, you’re covered in blood. What on earth is going on?”

  Sarah broke down in tears. “Dad, it’s been so horrible… everything that’s happened.”

  Keith glared at Mum. “Sharon, what have you done to my daughter?”

  “Get the fuck out of here, Keith. This doesn’t concern you.”

  “Like hell it doesn’t. To think I’ve been waiting next door, hoping you would come round and we could actually talk. It’s clear that I need to get my kids out of this house right now. I should’ve known you and this pig wouldn’t be able to raise them right.”

  Mum lunged at Keith with her claws outstretched like a cat. Dad had to grab her and hold her, even as she spat and swung her fists.

  “We don’t have time for this,” said Quick. “This is not useful.”

  Keith focused on Sarah, holding her by the arms and looking into her eyes. “Tell me what happened to you, my love. Where’s Diane? She came round to get your mum for me.”

  Sarah’s bottom lip quivered. I prayed she wouldn’t speak, but my prayers went unanswered. “I was sick,” she said. “Really sick. I think I saw Diane upstairs, but I might have imagined it. Dad, if she went up there then she’s dead. They’re all dead. It’s the room upstairs.”

  Keith’s face fell and the colour drained from his cheeks. Without a word, he moved my sister out of his way and stepped towards the stairs. Quick blocked him immediately but was surprised when my mum threw herself into him. “No,” she yelled. “Let the bastard go. Let him see what happened to Diane.”

  “Sharon, no! Not again.” Dad reached out to stop Keith, but Keith struck him with a vicious headbutt that made him cry out and tumble to the floor.

  Quick struggled to throw off my mum, but he clearly didn’t want to hurt her. She clung on for dear life, keeping him from intervening. All he could do was call out to Keith. “Do not go up there. I’m warning you.”

  “Fuck you.” Keith started up the stairs. “Diane, are you up there? Diane?”

  Sarah seemed to realise what was happening. She took a step backwards towards the front door. “Dad, I want to leave. Can we please just leave?”

  “Just wait there, my love. I’ll take care of this.”

  I realised I was the only one in any position to do anything, so I raced up the stairs behind Keith, begging him to come back down. He ignored me.

  We reached the landing.

  The door at the end of the landing was closed. Despite not having set foot in our house for years, Keith noticed it immediately. “There was never a room there before. What is this? How did it get here?”

  “Don’t open that door, Keith.”

  He whirled on me, anger in his eyes. “I’m your goddamn father. You don’t call me by my name.”

  “Just… please, don’t open that door. Don’t even go near it.”

  “What have they got you involved in, Martin?” He strode towards the door, and I knew he wasn’t going to listen to me, so I did the only thing I could – I tackled him. He was twice my size, but I surprised him enough to knock him down to one knee. I threw my weight on top of him and tried to get him down lower, but something struck my face and turned my vision sideways. I fell through a short black tunnel and found myself staring up at the ceiling. Keith had struck me with the back of his hand. Blood filled my mouth.

  Keith appeared shocked by his own actions. His eyes opened wide and he shook his head. “I… I’m sorry, but you shouldn’t have come at me like that. I’m your father.”

  I wiped the blood from my mouth, and my head filled with images of my mum doing the same. Keith was a violent drunk – had always been one.

  There was noise from the stairs, and I turned to see my dad climbing onto the landing. He looked at me, likely saw the blood, and his face contorted in horror. The words that came out of his mouth as he glared at Keith were like furious wasps. “I’ll kill you, you son of a bitch.”

  I’d never seen my dad hit anyone before, but he didn’t hesitate. He threw a punch with everything he had, and if he’d struck the wall I think the house would have fallen down. Keith ducked the massive haymaker and threw himself forward and lifted my dad up, slamming him against the opposite wall, and part of my dad left a dent in the plasterboard.

  Keith followed up his tackle with a punch that hit my dad in the ribs. The sound it made was sickening. I tried to get up and help, but my vision blurred and I tumbled back down. Forced to lie on the ground, I watched while Keith threw another punch and knocked my dad down onto his back.

  “You fucking want some, do ya, you black bastard? Take my wife. Take my house. Think you can raise my fucking children?” He went to punch my dad again but doubled over when my dad managed to throw a punch back and hit him in the guts.

  “You’re the one who left,” Dad shouted. “I never tried to replace you. You could have stuck around and been a father, even if you were a shitty husband.”

  Keith shook off the blow and kneed my dad right in the side of the head as he tried to get up. I saw his eyes glaze over like the wrestlers on TV and I knew the fight had left him. He toppled onto his side and Keith glared down at him. “You took my goddamn wife.”

  “I couldn’t wait to get away,” said Mum as she appeared on the landing. Sarah and Quick were right beside her. I don’t know if any of the
m had noticed, but the door at the end of the hallway was slowly opening.

  Mercifully, Keith left my dad moaning on the floor and went over to Mum. “You and I were never supposed to end up this way, Sharon. We were good, weren’t we? I didn’t just come back for the kids, you know? We could be a family again.” He looked down at my dad and sneered. “A proper family.”

  “Just go,” said Sarah pleadingly. “Dad, I don’t want this. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt. I’m sorry for worrying you, but everything is fine.”

  Keith reached out to hold her, but she flinched. He pulled his hand back slowly and sighed. “Okay, I’ll go. Just as soon as I know what happened to Diane. She was trying to help, Sharon. We could have spoken next door like adults.”

  “I want nothing to do with you. You can die in a ditch for all I care.” She moved from between Quick and Sarah and pointed right in his face. “You think I’ll ever go back to the beatings and the abuse? You must be insane. I hoped to never see you again. What rock did you climb back from under all of a sudden, anyway?”

  “I wished for him to come,” I said, realising at once that it was the reason he was here. “I wished for Keith to be here. I’m sorry.”

  Mum seemed to find it funny, and she shook her head at Keith like he amused her somehow. “I bet you hadn’t even given us a second thought until recently, huh? The only reason you’re here is because my son made a wish, not because you suddenly realised your responsibilities. You’re the same horrible little bully you’ve always been.”

  Keith lashed out, grabbing my mother by the hair in the same way she had grabbed Diane less than an hour ago. “You worthless bitch. I should beat that mouth of yours shut.”

  Quick snatched Keith’s hand and glared. “Not a good idea.”

  Despite the warning, Keith didn’t let go of my mum. In fact, he yanked her hair harder and made her cry out. I couldn’t bear to watch any longer. I leapt off the ground and tackled him again, just like before. This time, however, I was able to throw him against the wall and pummel him with my fists. He was still too strong for me, though, and it didn’t take much for him to toss me back to the ground. I was sure he was going to hit me, but Dad got back on his feet and grabbed Keith before he had the chance. By this time, Keith was a snorting bull, and he struck out with another headbutt, following it up by kicking Dad in the knee. Dad screeched and buckled, grabbing at the wall to keep from falling, but then Keith shoved him so hard that he almost did a cartwheel.