Desolation Row

Gerard quickly crawled up the stairs, a sharp pain pulsating through his leg as he desperately dragged it along the dirt stained carpet. He bit his lip, letting out muffled whimpers while desperately trying to escape the monster that lurked downstairs. A loud bang thundered against the wall, shaking the house. “COME HERE AND TAKE YOUR MEDICINE! YOU LITTLE SHIT!” a drunken voiced screamed. His eyes grew wide with terror, forcing himself to go faster as he heard the footsteps downstairs become louder; He was getting closer. He reached his hand up for the top step, trying to pull himself up, when suddenly a hand snatched him by the back of his shirt; pulling him into the large arms of the monster.

It stared down into his eyes, the smell of stale booze and damp rose from its crumpled funeral suit. It dragged him back down, Gerard screaming out in agony as his leg thudded down the stairs and onto the wooden floor where it had thrown him. “You snivelling little queer” it sneered, kicking him in the chest. Gerard clutched his chest, struggling to breathe. The world started spinning. Tears of agony ran down his cheeks as he tried to drag his pale, useless body to the front door; struggling to keep his eyes open. Gerard rolled over, his frightened brown eyes rolling in his head. “I’m sorry” He wheezed. He was giving up. Without Mikey, what was there to live for anymore? “You’re sorry?” the monster laughed. “You killed your brother! You were too busy fucking your fairy boyfriend that you didn’t protect him! You could of saved him you pathetic little shit!” He shouted, stamping on his chest. Gerard began to cry harder, not because of the unbearable pain; he no longer cared for that anymore. He was right. He could of saved him. He could of stopped this. But he was too drunk and concerned for himself to give Mikey a second look.

For a moment, maybe just a second, it almost felt sorry for him. This was his son after all. He retreated slightly, watching as his son lying on the floor, blood drooling from his mouth. “Pathetic” he thought to himself. “Crawling back to your boyfriend are we” it spat, stamping on his leg; a blood curdling scream erupted from Gerard’s lungs.

He watched as Gerard muttered something under his breath; rage clouding his vision like a red mist. He seized Gerard by the collar of his shirt and shoved him against the yellowing wall of the living room. Gerard gasped as he felt his head smack against the plaster; a sharp pain shot through his head as a dust cloud formed around them. He held him against the wall, his feet struggling to touch the ground, his father’s arm pressed hard against his chest and throat; choking him. His father’s sunken, yellowed eyes locked with his, a twisted smile forming on his face. “Was there something you wanted to say?” He asked, breathing heavily.
Something in his voice was different; as though it was the voice of a maniac. Perhaps his father’s sanity had finally snapped. It wasn’t a surprise; the signs had been there for years. The night he shaved off his hair, the cuts on his arm... the abuse he gave on his children.

Perhaps this was how it ended. Perhaps this was finally the ending of Arthur Way. Had he not have had most of the air squeezed from his lungs, maybe Gerard would have sighed with relief. Maybe celebrate, in this hole that was his home, the ending of this sadistic abuser he called “Daddy”. Instead, Gerard found himself unable to breathe and a brother he could no longer call for help.

“I told you.... he wasn’t... my...boyfriend!” Gerard choked, tears streaming from his bloodshot eyes as he struggled in his father’s grip. Arthur pressed harder into his neck, Gerard coughing loudly as he clawed and punched at his father’s arm, desperate to get away. He watch as terror filled his son’s eyes as he choked him to death. “You lying dirty little faggot” he said calmly, stroking Gerard’s face with his fingers. “Please daddy please” Gerard begged, his voice growing faint. Suddenly everything felt strange, as though he was flying; flying high above his father and their house. His eyes narrowed, the room suddenly seemed too bright and everything was spinning. His father’s face suddenly changed, that twisted, murderous smile was gone and suddenly, for a brief second, he almost looked concerned. Arthur stepped back, saying something that Gerard couldn’t quite hear. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think. He tried to speak but the air felt too heavy, as though an enormous weight rested on his face and chest, pushing him down; crushing him. He fell to the floor, knocking his head on the glass coffee table. He lied on the green carpet, blood pouring from a large gash in head as he fell unconscious.

Arthur grabbed his son’s arms, shaking him; desperately trying to wake him up. He ran to the phone, panic rising in his chest as he dialled 999. He looked down at his hands, his son’s blood staining his skin, making him feel sick and ashamed of himself. “What have I done?” he cried. He held the cold, plastic receiver to his ear as the dial tone rang out, his mind rushing from one thought to the next in a raging panic, trying to force himself to forget about what happened and just make the call. He turned around, watching as the front door handle turned and creaked open. A black figure stood in the doorway. “Hello operator speaking, which service do you require?” A friendly woman spoke into Arthur’s ear. He remained silent, his eyes focusing on the figure in the doorway, unable to see who or what it was. “Get out of my house now” He said, sensing the fear in his voice. “Hello sir, is everything ok?” The woman spoke in his ear. The figure ran at him, producing a knife from its pocket. Arthur dropped the phone, staggering backwards from the figure.He ran into the kitchen, frantically looking for a weapon to defend himself, grabbing the closest knife he could fine. He turned to face the figure in black, his hand tightly clutching the knife as he came face to face with it.

Suddenly he felt himself choke, a sharp pain slashed across his throat. He fell to his knees, dropping the knife and clasping his hands around his throat. The world grew dark; his head hit the kitchen tiles as he bled out onto the kitchen floor. It bent over him, watching him squeal like a child and try to claw away from him; blood spilling onto the kitchen floor. It knelt beside him, sighing calmly to itself. “There’s no place in hell for people like you” It said coldly, taking its knife and driving it straight into Arthur’s heart; killing him instantly.

It stood up, wiping the bloodied knife onto the black material of its hoodie as it made its way towards Gerard; giggling to itself. It watched as Gerard lay sprawled out on the floor unconscious. It smiled, giving off a stifled giggle as it approached him; watching his chest slowly rise and fall. “Pity” It thought to itself as it stood over him. It reached down, stroking his poison hair. It quickly pulled its hand away as it saw blood trickle down his hair; almost baffled at how similar the colour of it was to his own hair. It shook its head, “I’m sorry Gerard, but you must understand that I have no choice” It said, its voice grew dark as it raised the knife above its head, aiming for Gerard’s heart.

The front door suddenly kicked open. It stood there for moment, watching as Frank, Pete and Patrick run into the house, frantically calling out their friend’s name. It smiled, listening to them run closer to the living room before running out of the back door. It hopped over the fence and ran into the night, listening as the screams echoed from the house.

Notes

Will Gerard survive the attack from his father? Who is the killer and why are they attacking them? Find out next week!