Psychopathia: A Horror Suspense Novel (9 page)

More screams from outside, filtering their way into his shocked brain, movement outside his window. He blinked
, scrabbled behind his back for the knob, grasped it and twisted, pulling the door open and falling through into the hallway, and slamming it shut behind him.

The sounds outside the house were frantic whisperings wrapped around the screams. Toby staggered down the hallway and through the house. He could see the others, huddled together. Someone, Matt, had a torch. He was shining it out over the water.

‘Who’s screaming?’ Toby asked, and his voice felt rusty inside his throat. He swallowed. ‘Who’s screaming?’

Tully turned to him and her eyes were impossibly wide. He looked away from them, and tracked the erratic dance of the torchlight over the waves.

‘Who’s screaming?’ he asked again.

‘There’s no one there,’ Matt said, and Toby saw him cringe as another scream tore the night apart. ‘It’s coming from over the water, but there’s no one out there.’

‘It sounds like someone being murdered,’ Lara said, and Toby saw she was holding up her camera. Filming. He wanted to put his hands over his ears, and when the screaming continued, he did just that, pressed his palms against his ears. He wanted to close his eyes as well, but if he did that, he’d see those milky pupils again, staring at him, burrowing into him with their gaze, seeking out all his most secret thoughts and tearing them to shreds.

Tully put a hand on his arm and he saw her mouth move. She was saying something but he couldn’t hear what it was. He could still hear the screaming though, it went on unceasing. She tugged one of his hands away from his ear.

‘I don’t think anyone else can hear it,’ she said, pointing at the dark house to their left.

‘You’re recording this, right?’ Matt asked, and
Lara nodded. ‘It has to be some sort of animal. We can ask around at uni, find someone who can identify it.’

Toby shivered in a stray breeze from out over the water. His pyjama pants flapped against him, wet and cold. Another scream, high-pitched, frantic and Toby shook his head. That was no animal. A woman, maybe a man in extreme terror, crying out into the night, over and over and over, but there was no one there. Toby thought about finding a boat, launching it out onto the waves – the tide was high – but it was a wasted, confused thought, because the
person screaming was under his bed. Was under there right now, waiting for him to go back in there so they could watch him, watch him with cold blue eyes that saw everything.

He blinked, and the screaming stopped. Everyone stood still, tensed
, waiting for another cry to echo over the waves, but it didn’t come. He felt Tully sigh in relief, felt the small movements of the group as they breathed easily again, shuffled their feet, felt themselves back on solid ground. Matt turned towards the house, and the others followed him. Toby turned around, but he eyed the house, saw the blank windows and looked inside, into his bedroom and under the bed. Was it still under the bed? Was it still there waiting for him? Maybe it had climbed the walls, clung now to the ceiling, looking down at him, eyes glowing, unblinking.

Tully touched him again, and he jumped.

‘Are you okay? Let’s go inside.’ She cast a nervous glance at the water behind them. ‘I don’t like it out here.’

Toby didn’t like it out there either, but
he hesitated on the threshold to the house, feeling as if he was stepping, not into the house he’d hardly thought about since they moved in, but into the giant maw of something waiting to chew him up and swallow him down.

‘Close the door, Toby. Lock it. I don’t want whatever was screaming like that, to come in after us.’

‘It was a wounded animal, had to be,’ Matt said, turning the kitchen light on. Funny how everyone always congregated in the kitchen, whether there was something to celebrate, or hide from, everyone always went to the kitchen.

Lara
was frowning down at her camera screen. ‘It didn’t sound like an animal. It sounded like a person. A woman.’

‘A really scared woman.’ That from Tully. She looked over at her brother and Toby saw her brow wrinkle. ‘Are you all right, Toby?’ she asked.

His head stuttered up and down in a nod. Licking his lips, he found a few more words. ‘Yeah, why?’

Her gaze lowered and he followed it to his crotch. His pants were wet, and now he could smell the astringent reek of urine. Swallowing, he flicked a glance at his sister, then tucked his head down and left the room.

His bedroom door was closed, and he hesitated, leaning his head against it, pressing his ear to it in case he could hear it in there. But he wouldn’t be able to hear them. It would be standing motionless on the other side of the door, its own ear pressed to the wood, breathing in time with him, undetectable.

But that was ridiculous. What he’d seen under the bed didn’t breathe. Hadn’t had to breathe for a long time, if he had to guess. He shoved the door open and snapped the light on,
his own breathing rapid, pulse jumping around his temples.

The room flooded with yellow light, but not before he thought he caught a glimpse of it. Not on the other side of the door like he’d thought, but up there on the ceiling, suckered to the corner of the room, upside down, peering down at him, disjointed,
misjointed, staring at him.

But there was nothing there. Of course. He was imagining things.
Maybe. Eyes hot and gritty under his lids, he inched his gaze around at the room, not liking the darkness clustered in the corners, under the bed. He reached forward, snatched some clothes out of the washing basket on the floor – clean washing, fortunately – and backed out of the room, snicking the door closed without turning off the light. He stepped back and looked down at the yellow strip of light under the door and nodded. It was good like that.

He went into the bathroom to wash the piss from his legs and change his pants.

‘Damn.’ Tully reached for the dish cloth and wiped up the spilled coffee. She’d been jittery all week. Since the séance. Or whatever you called what had happened with the homemade Ouija board.

Above her, the light hummed and fizzed. Two of the lights in the house kept blowing. They’d replaced the bulbs twice, and yesterday, determined to credit it to natural sources, Tully had rung the landlord and convinced him to send an electrician around. The guy was due at any moment, which was a bugger, because they were all leaving for work. She checked her watch. In about ten minutes.

‘Toby? You ready?’ She walked into the little living room and Toby raised his head. ‘What are you doing?’ she asked.

‘I’m ready,’ he replied.

‘You don’t look good.’

Lara came into the room. ‘You look like shit, she means. Has anyone seen my earrings? The silver hoops?’ She made to stick her hand down behind one of the couch cushions, looking for them, but Toby pushed her away.

‘They won’t be there,’ he said.

Lara threw her hands up in the air. ‘No, you’re right. Because no one ever gets to sit there anymore, because you’re always asleep on it.’

Tully chewed on her lip.
Lara was right. Ever since the night they’d heard the screaming, Toby had slept on the couch. He’d seen something that night, she was sure of it – something in his room, most likely, because he hardly went in there anymore. She’d tried to talk to him about it, to ask him what it had been, but he’d just stared at her and refused to say anything. But he’d seen something all right, and it had been horrible. Bad enough to make him wet himself. She didn’t know if the others had seen that, but she had.

‘Have you checked the bathroom?’ she asked
Lara. ‘That’s where most of the stuff turns up.’

‘Of course I have. It was my first bloody stop.’

‘No luck?’

‘
Dur – obviously.’ Lara planted her hands on her hips. ‘I’m sick of things disappearing all the time.’ She narrowed her eyes at Tully. ‘And have you noticed how it’s always my stuff? Why is that do you think?’

A dim flare of tired anger. They’d had this argument before. A couple times in the last week, in fact. This one and others. At least
Lara wasn’t carrying the bloody camera around with her all the time anymore. She’d grown bored of that game without anyone having to say anything. Or maybe just too afraid.

‘I don’t know why,
Lara,’ Tully said. ‘Maybe because you have twice as much stuff as everyone else?’

Lara
rolled her eyes. Leaned over and poked Toby. ‘Move your arse. We’re meeting Matt before work, remember.’

Toby held a hand up. ‘I said I’m ready. Ready when you are.’

A knocking noise – sharp, ratatatat – made Tully jump. She hated it when the noises started. Swallowing, she looked around for her own purse. ‘Let’s get out of here.’

‘Yes, please,’
Lara said, and flounced out of the room. ‘I’ll check the bathroom – again – and then we can blow this Popsicle stand.’

Lara
swung her gaze around to take in her brother again. ‘Are you all right, Toby?’ she asked, for the millionth time. He’d lost weight, and even though she knew he’d had a shower this morning, he looked grimy. As though he’d just stood under the stream of water, letting it wash over him without benefit of soap or shampoo. Their boss had already cornered her, asked her what was wrong with her brother – told her to make sure he started having showers again. She hadn’t known what to say.

‘Toby?’

‘I’m fine.’

A squeal from the bathroom, followed by some colourful curse words.
Lara was getting pretty inventive with her language. But then, they’d never had so much to swear about until now. Tully turned and ran from the room.

‘What is it?’ she asked, breathless at the bathroom door, her heart already thumping in anticipation.

‘Yeah, you mean what is it this time.’ Lara pointed at the bath tub. ‘Tell me what the hell that means?’

Tully didn’t have the slightest idea. ‘What is doing this?’ she asked, voice barely more than a whisper.

Lara shook her head. ‘I don’t know, but I’m sick of it.’ She turned abruptly, and looked straight at Tully. ‘I gotta tell you. Matt and I are thinking of leaving.’

‘What do you mean? Leaving what?’

Scrunching up her nose, Lara pushed past and out of the bathroom. ‘That stinks. We can talk in the car. We’re running late as it is.’

Tully reached out and snagged
Lara by the shirt. ‘What do you mean, leaving?’ she asked.

Lara
stopped, and turned to face Tully. She cupped her elbows in her hands. ‘Leaving this house,’ she said. ‘Tully, there is every sheet in the house twisted up in the bath tub, and if I’m not mistaken it’s not just water in with them. It’s piss in there. Pee. Urine, whatever. I can’t take it much more. Every day I wake up wondering what it’s going to be today, and every night I have to hide under the sheets just to feel safe.’ She sniffed. ‘I can’t do it anymore – I don’t want to.’

‘And Matt feels the same?’

‘Yeah. He does.’

Tully walked on wooden legs away from the bathroom and towards the front door.
‘I don’t want to talk about this,’ she said.

She felt rather than saw
Lara’s impatient gesture. ‘Look, it was exciting at first, right? Until it wasn’t. Now it’s just scary. I want out. I can’t stay here any longer. Matt and I are going back home after work tonight.’

Rounding on her, Tully felt her mouth work before any words came out. ‘I thought you said you were just thinking about it! Didn’t you just say you were thinking about it?’ She
knew her voice was raised, knew she was yelling, but she didn’t care. ‘Now you’re telling me you’re leaving tonight?’

Lara
tried to grab her hand. ‘Tully please try to understand. I’m scared here. I’m scared to stay here. Aren’t you?’ She squeezed Tully’s fingers. ‘I’m worried about you staying here too. And Toby – something’s gone wrong with Toby, can’t you feel it? You guys need to get out of here too.’

Something gurgled behind them, guttural, and both women jumped, flattened themselves against the wall.

‘Shit,’ Lara said, pressing a hand to her chest. ‘That was the fucking plug being pulled in the bath.’ She turned wide eyes to Tully. ‘We gotta all get out of here. Tell me you’ll leave too?’

It was easy to be angry when you were afraid, but Tully’s fury at her friend evaporated. Now she was just worried and scared. ‘We’ve got nowhere to go,’ she said. ‘You know that.’

‘You’ll have to go home, Tully. It’s got to be better than this.’

Tully shook her head. ‘You know we can’t do that.’

‘Yeah you can, and I reckon you should.’ She straightened and Tully saw her throat working in the dim light. ‘We gotta get to work,’ she said. ‘We’re going to be late.’

Nodding, Tully tried not to flinch at the sudden sound of water splashing into the bath.

Toby didn’t mind that he had to sleep in the room over the garage. It was
private and quiet. The new baby cried a lot. His stepmother said it was something called colic, and would go away in days or weeks or months. She’d looked exhausted even as she’d tried to make a joke of it. Toby hoped it would be only days, but he didn’t really care. The baby looked like a raisin to him, wrapped up in a blanket. He expected one day he might be interested in his half-sister, but she’d have to turn into a person first.