Disclaimer: I don't own The People Under The Stairs.
He was born as Sean Anthony, now however, he's know as Roach. How he became Roach is a very interesting tale. For his childhood is one that most people find both horrible and interesting. He lived the life of a feral child.
He was born to Mr. and Mrs. Anthony on May 19th 1989. His parents were loving people who had attempted to have a child for three years. Mrs. Anthony had 7 previous unsuccessful pregnancies. When she was 8 months pregnant with the child who would become Roach she was sure she was going to be successful this time. However, a little more than a month before the due date she started going into labor. She was panicking, afraid that the early birth would kill the baby. After an emergency C-Section the baby was taken away. Doctors told Mr. and Mrs. Anthony that there was a breathing emergency and they rushed him to a room down the hall. Twenty minutes later the doctor returned to the stressed and panicked Anthony's and told them that their baby had died.
Out of the back of the hospital, Sean Anthony - now known as Sean Robeson - left in the arms of another couple.
This couple was nothing like the Anthony's. They weren't even a married couple. They were brother and sister! They were the deranged products of an incestuous family. Each generation got crazier and greedier. The family started off running a funeral home, but now this incestuous pair owned half of the ghetto. They're also richer than the richest billionaire. So as far as money goes, they're loaded.
As far as children go they're loaded too. However unlike the Anthony's this pair doesn't love their "children". The pair steal their children from other parents using whatever means necessary. Money, blackmail, kidnapping, hit-men, you name it. The pair would raise these children to be the perfect child. A child that obeyed their every command, never leave the house, only spoke when spoke to, never acted out, and of course, the most important, never spoke, said or heard evil. If they did, they would have either their ears, tongue, or eyes cut out. Then they would be given a flashlight and locked in the cellar until they died.
The Robeson's had a punishment for everything. Like losing silverware for example. One time when Roach was five he lost a fork. Mommy yelled at him and told him that it was a waste of silverware, and then Daddy beat him. The scar was still visible until the day he died, looking as if it was done only days before. When a child did something wrong, not only were they punished but they were threatened. Threatened to be thrown in the cellar.
Life in the cellar was the worst, and so the threat of being locked down there was a threat used to keep the children in line. If you were put in the cellar you were going to die. There was no way out. You were fed only when Mommy or Daddy had killed someone, and if you didn't eat because you couldn't stomach the thought of even eating another human being, you would starve to death. Once there were a few children in the cellar, then you also had to survive them. If they saw that you were weak, they would eat you too. Once you were down there you never saw the sun, you never left the damp, dirty, putrid basement. It was like living in a hell.
The house was like a jail cell. Bars and locks on every window, automatic locks, booby-traps and every room could be locked by a panel hidden in one of the walls. Once Sean was brought into this house, he had no chance of escape. He would live his miserable life here. And here he would also die at the hands of a deranged man.
For 7 years he lived like a prisoner. For 7 years he dreamt of escape, and for 7 years he was punished. For 7 years he acted as the perfect child, as a slave for the Robeson's. For 7 years he was afraid of being punished. Afraid of having either his eyes cut out, or his ears cut off, or his tongue cut out. For 7 years he tried not to mess up. Until one day he just couldn't take it anymore.
He was 7 years old. He may not have known what a normal life was, but he was sure that it couldn't be this. He was smart for a little kid. He knew that mothers and fathers should not treat their children this way. He knew about the children in the basement, and he knew that what had happened to them. He also knew that that is not how parents treat their children. There was something wrong here. And he had to do something about it. He had to get himself out, before what had happened to the people under the stairs happened to him.
Unfortunately he did not escape in time.
One day Mommy came into his room to give him a new pair of pants that she had been sewing for a few weeks. However when Roach put them on they did not fit right. This made Mommy really angry. She stabbed him a few times in the leg with the needle while trying to get the pants on right. When they still did not fit she began threatening to cut off his legs. When the pain became too much for him he ran. He didn't know what came over him, but he just couldn't take it anymore.
He ran to the kitchen and Mommy chased him. She cornered him and screamed at him. Then she picked him up and locked him in his room. She then left the house to get more fabric to sew him some more pants. Now Roach was really scared. He had been bad, and he knew that Daddy was going to punish him even more when he got home. That's when Roach decided to make his final attempt to escape.
He opened the vent in his room and crawled in. He felt his way around in the dark and managed to find his way to the kitchen by looking through cracks in the walls and other vents. He crawled out of the kitchen vent and picked up the phone and began to dial 9-1-1. He never made it passed 9.
Mommy had gotten home and found him. If he thought he was in trouble before, he was mistaken. He was going to be put in the basement now. And on top of that, he had spoken evil.
That night when Daddy got home, Roach's tongue was cut out and he was locked in the cellar with nothing but a flashlight and the clothes on his back. After being in there for only a few minutes he passed out from the pain in his mouth and the loss of blood. He would have died that way, but one an older looking boy who had to be about 18 or 19 -who you could probably say was the leader of the group of people under the stairs- rolled him onto his side so that he would not drown in his own blood.
When he came to it took him a moment to remember what had happened. But seeing where he was he didn't have to think too long. The pain in his mouth was worse than it was before, but he had to ignore it. Several other boys came over to him looking starved. Scared, Roach backed into a corner. He was panicking and he didn't know what to do. Then the boy who had rolled Roach onto his back earlier came over to the other boys who had crowded around Roach. He pointed to Roach and then shook his head no. One of the other boys, who had his ears cut off asked why. The older boy just simply raised his fist and hit it into his other hand. No one questioned him.
He lived down there for 6 years. He grew paler thinner, and dirty looking. From clawing at the wooden bars holding him in and from ripping at his food his nails grew cracked and filthy. At first he almost starved to death because he didn't want to eat what was given to him, but guided by the older boy who had helped him he realized that if he didn't eat then he would be eaten.
Then when he was 13, he escaped. When Daddy went and threw them some food he managed to sneak out when one of the boys grabbed Daddy. Roach crawled into the furnace and hid. When Daddy went back upstairs Roach crawled up through the vent and with the help of his flashlight, went towards the kitchen. When he was sure the coast was clear, he took some food out of the cabinet and crawled towards his old room.
On his way there though he saw Mommy and Daddy through the vent in the living room. Daddy was sitting in front of the fire eating, and Mommy was fixing the hem on a dress that was being worn by a little girl. The little girl looked to be about 12 years old. He wondered where she had come from. Then amazement replaced wonder. How did she last this long? Then he was jealous. She got to sleep in a bed, she got food, and she got clean clothes. And what did he have? He stuck his finger into his mouth to feel the damage done to his tongue. Then he continued to crawl upstairs.
He spent two months walking around the wall cavities. He saw Mommy and Daddy through the cracks in the walls and the vents. He saw the little girl sew dolls and cry. He learned her name by listening to Mommy and Daddy's conversations. He heard everything and saw almost everything. He would watch the girl more though. Not in a creepy stalker way, but in a protective way. He was no longer jealous of her, he didn't want her to be alone and sad anymore. But there was nothing he could do. He didn't dare leave the walls for fear of being caught. Being locked in the basement wasn't his threat anymore. Now it was death.
He was 14 years old when they got the dog. It was a Doberman named Prince. Prince was trained to kill the people who broke into the house to try to steal the money that the Robesons had. No one succeeded. No one knew where it was. But Roach knew. He also knew that anyone who broke in would never find it. The money was located behind a door that was always locked and had an alarm. It was also always guarded. By the people under the stairs. The boys knew it was there because Daddy would sometimes go in there to count it all. But the boys never stole it. What would they do with it all anyway?
Besides that only a couple of people a year would break into the house. The people that the Robeson's killed were mostly salesmen, and people who worked for the gas company, electric company or whatever. The Robeson's thought their stuff went missing due to crafty burglars who broke in, took a few things, and left. However, that wasn't the case. Roach was taking those things.
Roach would walk around the house when the Robeson's left. He would sometimes bathe, although this was something that could only be done once a month at the most, and he would cut his own hair, and steal food. Roach was careful to stay away from the girl named Alice though. He didn't want to scare her. And if the Robeson's found out about him being out of the cellar, he would be killed, and she would probably have her eyes cut out for seeing evil.
By now he knew the entire layout of the house. He knew what lead to where, and how to get from the basement to the attic. He knew where the dead ends were, and he learned alternative routes to everywhere. This proved to be really helpful when the dog learned how to get into the walls. Roach was able to avoid the dog by hiding on other floors, and by eventually building traps. He stole hammers, nails and a saw from the basement, and when Mommy and Daddy left he would get to work on building traps such as drop out floors, and knives that sprung out of the wall. He also stole Christmas lights from the basement in order to give some light to his new "room".
At first Mommy and Daddy just thought that there were rats in the walls, but one day Roach didn't move fast enough and Prince bit him. The intensity of the bite was too much and Roach screamed out in pain. Now Mommy and Daddy knew he was in the walls.
Most of the time they didn't know where he was. He was always quite and as long as he remained so they had no idea where in the house he was. But sometimes, he got bored. When he was bored he would make noise that would let Daddy know where he was. Daddy would grab his gun and go hunting for him. Roach would laugh and run around the walls. Daddy would shoot, miss, and then Roach would be quite. When he was somewhere else in the walls he would start laughing again and Daddy would try to shoot him again.
It was like one big game to Roach. He loved to get Daddy mad. It was a sort of revenge. Daddy would get mad and there was nothing he could do to hurt Roach because he didn't know where he was. Daddy always yelled at Roach when he was angry that he couldn't find him. He would call him names like 'bastard', 'animal shit' and 'Roach." The last name Roach liked. In a way that's exactly what he was. Plus it was a bonus that he could say it since he didn't need his tongue to say the word. That's why he made it his new name.
It wasn't always fun and games though. Roach was very lonely. Very bored, and a lot of the times in pain. Since he made his way into the walls he had broken ankles, wrists, and all of his fingers, some more than once. He did his best to make splints to help them heal, but when you have to run from a giant killer Doberman, there is no chance to take it easy. So, his broken bones healed in whatever position they pleased, which cased Roach to look more deformed. This angered Roach a little, but there was nothing he could do.
Roach was happy again for once in his life when he finally ran into Alice.
He was 15. She was 14. He would have continued to stay away from her, but this time he had no choice. Prince was chasing him and the only room to run into the get away from him was the girls. He crawled out of the vent and into her room as fast as he could and then moved her nightstand in front of the vent. He turned around and noticed her staring at him. They were both afraid. She was afraid of Prince getting in, and of Roach since she had never seen him before. And he was afraid that he just cost her her life. But even though they were both afraid, neither ran. After a moment the girl said something.
"Are you what Daddy always shoots at?" she asked.
Roach smiled and nodded.
"You're the boy that got out of the basement then?" she asked again.
Roach nodded again.
She was quite for another minute as she thought. Then she said "I'm Alice."
Roach smiled and said "I'm Roach."
As of that day Roach no longer had to hide from the girl; he was her friend. When she was upset he would do his best to make her happy again. In return, when he was hungry she would feed him. Alice also helped Roach get things like extra blankets for the winter, and any tools he needed since he stays in the walls now that Prince is there.
He was 16 now although he looks younger. Malnutrition, abuse, lack of clean air, and lack of sunlight will do that to you. And yet at 16 he has still not escaped. He could if he wanted to. He knew how. But he wouldn't leave Alice alone. If he left her now then what would she have to live for? Besides, the thought of going outside scared him even though he longed to leave. It scared Alice too. Neither of them knew what was out there.
One day there was another break in. They'd been happening more and more in the last year. The Robesons had taken a lot of homes, and several people wanted revenge. When people would break in Roach would be quite and follow them, watching their every move from between the cracks in the walls. Alice would hide around corners and watch too so that she could see what they looked like. Then when they were killed she could make a doll that looked like them to hold their souls. Roach however watched for three reasons. One: He was bored. Two: He wanted to keep them away from Alice incase they had any intentions of hurting her. Three: He would attempt to scare them out of the house so they wouldn't be killed. But he always failed in scaring them away. Once you were in, you never got out.
But of course, everything has to change sometime doesn't it?
One day a small boy around Alice's age broke in. He was accompanied by a large man. They had broken in only minutes after Mommy had left after killing a man who said he was from the gas company. Roach knew that he wasn't. So did Mommy. The gas man had come the day before. They wouldn't come two days in a row.
Anyway, Roach figured that the older man was maybe the boys father. He looked to be about the age a father would be. So Roach watched them through the walls. When Prince attacked the man he thought that they were done for. But they weren't. They were smart and locked Prince in a room. Since the boy posed no threat to hurt him or Alice he decided to help him escape. When the boy went into the basement Roach scared him out. As long as he wasn't in the basement he had a good chance of hiding if Mommy or Daddy came home soon. He was small enough to fit into the walls where as the man was not. If the man didn't get out Roach couldn't help him.
Roach helped the boy out of close calls when Daddy got home by making noise and keeping Daddy's attention on him and not the boy. When Daddy got close to finding the man Roach tried to save him by pulling him into the wall. The man freaked out though and jumped out of his hiding spot. Daddy shot him. Roach felt a little bad for the man, but he didn't stop to dwell on it. He'd seen plenty of people die anyway. Besides he doesn't really trust adults anyway. They lie, and hurt people.
When Daddy had the boy cornered in the bathroom Roach pulled the boy into the wall before Daddy could shoot either of them. He took the boy to the room he had made himself. It was just a wider section of the wall under the stairs that lead into the attic. He made a bed out of old blankets, sheets and cushions. He used various strings of lights to make the "room" and the walls leading to it brighter. The old Christmas lights were his favorite because they were bright and colorful. And Mommy and Daddy never noticed they were missing. They didn't decorate for Christmas anyway.
Roach stood listening with the boy looking around curiously. The he heard it; Prince. He knew they had to move fast now. If they didn't it would be the end of them. Roach pushed the boy through the walls to a place where Roach had built a trap. He got Prince to stop on a section of the floor that dropped out and Prince fell into the kitchen. Laughing, Roach led the boy into Alice's room.
While with Alice, Roach learned the boys name; Poindexter. Also called Fool. Roach realized that he could trust Fool and that Alice would be able to trust him too once she calmed down and wasn't so afraid. However, no one had a chance to calm down. Not even five minutes after Roach and Fool got into Alice's room did Mommy and Daddy burst into the room. Roach ran as fast as he could to get back into the wall, but Daddy shot him; Twice. At first there was a blinding pain in his stomach as the bullets tore through his body, but then there was nothing. The numbness had taken over. He knew it wouldn't last long though.
Roach did everything he could to stop the bleeding but he knew it wouldn't stop until his veins ran dry. He knew that all of his attempts were not going to work. He was stalling the inevitable. He knew he was dying.
At first he panicked and cried for a while, but then he realized that this was an escape. He was, in a way, finally getting out of the house. That's when he knew what he had to do with the short amount of time that he had left. He got up and went to find Fool. The pain had come back but he dealt with it. He had to. Besides, he was used to pain.
When he found Fool, Daddy had just put him in the basement with the other boys. Roach got him out and led him into the furnace. Roach gave fool some of the gold coins from the room where Daddy hid them so that Fool would not have to leave without a token of thanks from him. Roach then asked one favor.
He knew he was dying, and that he only had minutes left. Crawling through the walls to find Fool had taken a lot out of him. He had already lost so much blood. Roach had one dying wish and it was important that Fool understood. He asked Fool to save Alice. He pointed upwards to show him how to get out of the basement and wrote 'Alice' on the wall with the blood and ash on his fingers. For a second he was afraid that Fool didn't understand, but when Fool did relief spread through his body and he smiled. He then embraced his death. His escape.