Evening comes and Pa looks scared. I try to make him laugh by playing Jack-in-a-Wardrobe but he doesn't smile much. I usually help him make dinner, but tonight he pushes me away and says I'm allowed to play instead. I pull my encyclopedia out of my school box and look at the pictures. I don't know why Pa asked Them for this, because most of the things in this book aren't real. Maybe it's for me to learn the names of all the objects that we see on TV. There are so many things in this big book, that I don't know all of them. I look up at Pa to ask him if all these things exist on TV and I see him holding his bad tablet box, which is strange because he only needs it in the morning. He makes scrambled eggs, but we don't have much food so he makes cheese on toast to go with it, but just for me. Pa always gives me the most food. He's worried about me because he thinks I'm skinny, but I can see all of Pa's ribs and other bones. When I hug him I can feel them all. I wonder if I'll be that skinny when I'm older. We sit down to eat and Pa gives me the whole lot and only puts three spoonsful on his plate. He eats very slowly to make it last longer. Pa makes me do the same, or I'll get sick if I swallow too fast. He keeps looking at me like he's waiting for something, so I talk to make him feel better. I ask if we can put all the new egg shells on Eggsnake, after dinner and Pa smiles and says yes.
"Do you think he'll be as big as Room one day, Pa? Will he take up all of space?
Pa has a think. "Maybe one day, but it will take a very long time."
"That's true. Room does go on for ever and ever," I stop talking while I swallow my food because I'm not allowed to talk with my mouthful because it's rude, even though Pa does it all the time. He says he's always been rude, even before I was born, but to be a good Pa, he has to teach me manners. We both think manners are dull. I don't know why we need them. "What happens when there's no space left because of Eggsnake and we can't breathe?"
Pa laughs. "That won't happen. We don't use that many eggs."
"But we're going to live in Room forever and ever, until we're dead. That's a long time."
Pa looks shocked, then he looks sad. He says very quietly, "Yes, I suppose we will," and finishes his egg. Once we've washed up, we turn on TV and pull Eggsnake out from under Bed. My eyes start drooping, but I don't know why because it's too early. I fall sideways and Pa catches me.
"I'm sorry, Jack," he says. "I'm sorry, but it's for your own good. I wish there were another way." But I'm already fast asleep.
Sherlock carries his sleeping child over to Wardrobe and tucks him in the blankets. He closes the doors and tidies up, making sure Room is spotless, or as much as it can be. Then he sits on the edge of Bed and breathes in regularly, maintaining his calm. Tonight won't be pleasant. If he has deduced Them correctly, then he has done the right thing. He can only hope he hasn't harmed Jack by drugging him. The tablets aren't meant for children.
As he waits for their nightly visit, he mulls aver what Jack said that evening. Like him, Jack has no problem with death, but he doesn't know how small Room truly is. If he grows to be as tall as Sherlock, then they'll struggle. And Jack will only want to know more as he gets bigger. But one day They'll consider him old enough to be a threat and the rules that apply to Sherlock will apply to Jack too. How long before they're both chained up?
An image of Jack with a chain around his leg much like his own, burns itself into his mind and Sherlock can't shake it loose. He can imagine their future in Room easily: Himself and Jack, chained up and starved, beaten regularly until the weakest dies. That would be him. He would give Jack all their food and take the brunt of all the beatings if it meant protecting Jack from physical or sexual abuse. But then what? Jack would be all alone and terrified. And Sherlock would have failed everything he's worked so hard for. He would have failed Jack.
When he was growing up, he never thought of himself as capable of being a father. He had been raised in a cold and distant family. Mycroft had always said the family motto was 'Caring is a disadvantage'. Their parents had loved them in their own strange way, but Sherlock had always known that he simply wasn't equipped to settle down with a wife, child and dog. He'd been too smart, too interested in his experiments and what he'd called the Science of Deduction to care about that. But then he'd been locked in Room and Jack had been born. Sherlock can only hope that he's done right by Jack. Would his parents be proud?
But that doesn't matter. What matters is his plan. Drug Jack and continue to keep Their focus on himself. If he was wrong in his deductions, which was desirable yet inconceivable, then They won't even think of Jack this evening and life can continue as normal. But that would be too good to be true. And he couldn't risk drugging jack again. He has to get Their attention back on himself. There was no other option.
A series of beeps ring out as the six-digit code is tapped in to open the door. They talk as They come in, finishing a conversation.
"I told him to park the pick-up in the driveway, while he's clearing the garden for the next week. I kept the keys."
"Good," They turn their attention to him, "Good evening, Sherlock. A glass of water would be nice."
Sherlock nods and fills up two plastic cups at the sink. The silence behind him indicates he's being watched. He takes a breath and turns around to face Them and hands Them their cups. They've sat down on the only two chairs, so Sherlock sits down on the edge of Bed. They eye him up and down and Sherlock returns their gaze. The Witch tuts.
"You haven't been eating very well, Sherlock. That T-shirt was big, but not that big on you."
He has to keep the conversation away from Jack. "I'm not very hungry," he mentally slaps himself. Is that the best he can come up with?
"You're sure it's not a certain boy eating all the food?"
Sherlock swallows and doesn't answer.
"Where is he anyway?" asks Old Magnussen, glancing around with an air of nonchalance. "I expected him to be here to thank us for his present."
Sherlock cocks his head. "The thought of the boy usually aggravates you. We don't want to involve him in our… business." He's ignored.
"Why don't you get him out? I'm sure he'd like to meet us. I'm eager to see how he's grown. And I do believe it's time for him to… earn his keep." His smile is sickening.
Sherlock's blood runs cold. So he did deduce Them correctly. His asking for a present for Jack reignited an interest in Them. He feels sick. This is all his fault. All he can do is divert Their attention. He's not a religious man, but he's close to praying at this point.
"I'm afraid Jack isn't available this evening. Or any other evening for that matter." His heart pounds in his chest.
A look of surprise crosses Old Magnussen's face, "You've drugged him."
"You can't have him. I won't let you touch him."
They stare at him. The Witch is shaking with uncontrolled rage, the only thing stopping her is the raised hand of her partner. Then she turns and storms over to Wardrobe. Sherlock is on his feet without making the conscious decision to do so.
"Don't you fucking dare," he snarls, "I told you the other night: You have me. You have all of me. Hell, you practically own me. A terrified, crying child won't interest you. A man you hand-selected and snatched off the street will. Do what you want with me. Do what you've always done with me. I'll be far more entertaining."
She charges at him before he's had the chance to realise she's moved. Her comrade isn't far behind her and They wrestle him onto his stomach. He fights back just enough to hold their attention, yet not enough for Them to threaten Jack. He has to get the balance right. He has to keep Them occupied.
A hand grabs a fistful of his hair and pulls his head back. She spits in his ear. "By the time I'm done with you, you'll-"
"Pa?"
Three heads whip around to face the source of this question. Wardrobe's door is open and Jack is standing outside, facing the three of them. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes and stares at the three adults curiously, uncomprehendingly. "Pa?"
The Witch sits up slowly, her eyes never leaving Jack's face. Their brown eyes lock. She grins, "Hello, son."
Sherlock shakes his right arm loose and succeeds in elbowing her in the stomach. "Jack!" he screams, "Monsters! MONSTERS!"
I'm really scared. I don't understand what's going on. I fell asleep too early so I came back out of Wardrobe. I didn't realise They were there. I'm not supposed to come out of Wardrobe when They're in Room. It looks like They're hurting Pa. He starts to yell The Word, so I run back to Wardrobe and block the doors, just in time as someone else starts banging on them. I cry because I'm scared and there's lots of shouting. The door rattles as someone tries to pull it open. Pa is shouting at Them loudly and I hear lots of bad words. There's a loud THUMP! And another THUMP! And Pa goes very quiet. I hear Them talking, arguing and They leave. I'm too scared to leave Wardrobe again, so I wait for Pa to say "Safe!" but I hear nothing. I think Pa is cross with me, so I run out of Wardrobe and say "I'm sorry! I'm sorry I came out of Wardrobe!"
Pa is lying on Bed, his arm dangling onto the floor and he doesn't move when I call him. I shake him but he doesn't wake up. I start to panic but I remember what he taught me and I check his pulse at his wrist and neck. I thing They bashed his head. I pull Blanket over him and crawl under it next to him. I stare at Pa's watch. After three minutes, he groans and starts to move. He calls my name and I cry and tell him I'm sorry. We hug tightly and Pa is shaking. I start to feel sleepy again, but suddenly Strip Light makes a PING! Noise. We look at it until suddenly Fridge stops humming and Strip Light dies and Room goes black. I've never seen so much black before. Pa rocks me and tells me not to panic. He says They've turned off the power to Room as punishment. I don't know what that means, but I can't see anything. Pa says we'll have to stay still until power comes back on. I'm very tired, so I sleep.
When I wake, Strip Light is alive again, but Pa says we have no other power or water. Room is very cold and I shiver. I can see my breath when I breathe. I wrap myself in blankets. Pa is sat on the floor and he is pulling hard on Chain, trying to rip it out of wall. He is very desperate. Then he looks at me. He stands up. He says he's going to tell me the story of Pa and the truth about Room.