"Shit." "Charlie, come on, let's go." "Hey!" "Hey-hey-hey!" "Are you trying it on with me?" " Me?" " Yeah." " Yeah." " Are you?" " Always." " Good." "Fancy a kebab?" "Maybe you should pace yourself next time." "Oh, shut up." "Oh..." "I'm pregnant." "What?" "I'm pregnant." "You serious?" "That's..." "That is..." "Brilliant." "I mean... we're gonna-- we're gonna keep it, right?" "Is it... is it us?" "Charlie, it's a little us." "All right?" "A little us." " Wait, wait." " Hm-mm." "Baby..." "Who the fuck cares?" "Come get me!" "You gonna be sick again?" "One sec." "Ohhh!" "Fuck!" "J-James!" "Not again!" "Ohhh..." "All right, listen..." "Nirvana." "It means idyllic state." "Uh-uh." "Try again." "Uh..." "Poppy!" "Determined for her to be a smack addict, James?" "Thea?" "It means goddess." "We can't actually just call her goddess, can we?" "That would make her arrogant." "Thea." "I actually quite like that." "Can I have a go?" "I called your dad." " When?" " A few days ago." " Why?" " I don't know." "I thought it might be good for him to meet Thea." "He's not coming anywhere near her, Charlie." " James!" " Charlie." "He'll try and use her in a ritual or something." "Proud father?" "Yeah." "Just starting to sink in." "Her name?" "Thea?" "Lovely." "A whole lifetime ahead of her." "And a whole afterlife after that." "Good luck." "Back in a few hours, promise." "Gonna be all right?" "Yeah." "I may want to hang out without you, anyway." "Hmm." "Maybe you two should go for a walk, eh?" "You haven't left the house in days." "See ya." "Hi, yeah, um..." "I thought you said a few hours." "Can, uh..." "Can you just call me when you get this, yeah?" "It's ok, Thea." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "All right?" "Yeah, it's just..." "For fuck's sake!" "Sorry, must have not put it down." "How was she during her immunization?" "Important to protect her against all nasty bugs out there." "Barely made a sound." "You getting enough time to eat properly?" "Enough sleep?" "How are you getting on with feeding?" "Fine, yeah, she's been great." "Yeah, and you are breast or bottle feeding?" "Uh, bottle." "Honestly, it doesn't matter what method you choose, as long as you're happy with the decision." "Bonding well with baby?" "Spending time together?" "Yeah, loads." "Are you getting much support at home?" "Your partner, parents?" "Oh, I don't know our parents." "But I can manage." " You're allowed to ask for help." " Oh, yeah, I know, I know." "But I like it, being a mum." "My boyfriend's a big kid, so it's just like having another one, isn't it?" "Are you ok?" "Oh, yeah, yeah, I just got these bruises on my back." " May I see?" " Uh, yeah." "They started after she was born." "Seem to get a new one every day." "Do you have animals at home?" "No." "Do you feel dizzy, faint?" "Uh, no, it's just, I..." "Like I'm losing my brain a bit." "Put her down and..." "Ok." "Keep an eye on things and let me know if it continues." "If you don't mind, I'd like you to have a few blood tests." "Yeah, sure." "For fuck's sake, would you shut the fuck up?" "!" "Ohh!" "Home." "Maybe they can do something." "I don't want to talk to the fucking police, James." "Baby, there was something in the flat, ok?" "And..." "It hated me." "All right, what sort of thing?" "I don't know!" "You..." "Could it be..." "Postnatal depression?" "Oh, yeah, ok, I strangled myself as a cry for help, ok, yeah." "Nice." "We'll start looking for somewhere else to live, ok?" "How long will that take?" "Don't know." "Call your dad." "He's full of shit." "Charlie" "Please." "Please, just ask him." "I don't know what to do." "Please, fucking ask him." "I don't know what to do." "Ok." "It's nice to see you." "Looking good." "He's taking good care of you?" "Get to the point, please, Charlie." "Something attacked me in our house." " Sorry to hear that." " Are you?" "You live for this stuff." "Like all that shit you used to bang on about when I was a kid, drawing weird stuff on the walls" "I'm an occultist, James, I'm not a crazy man." "Anything else?" "Well, I've got these bruises all over my back, as well." "We, as a family, have dealt with situations like this before." ""We" haven't, 'cause I've never seen anything, have I?" "Because I protected you." "The house will need depopulating." "Depopulating?" "I'll need to clean whatever it is that attacked you." "And then..." "Create a barrier to stop it happening again." "Noisy lot, are you?" "I need a bag or a box." "I miss her." "Your wife?" "Hmm." "I saw her, you know." "After she passed." " What happened?" " Don't." "Charlie, seriously." "What the fuck are you doing?" "Vessels." "Anything with features." "Eyes, teeth, a face." "They're a window into our world..." "And incredibly dangerous around children like Thea." "Like Thea?" "Yes." "This is because of her." "Her light shines beyond our world into the" " Will you stop talking bollocks?" " James!" "Can you just shut up for a second, please!" "Put simply..." "Thea is a magnet for the supernatural." "As the house is your main place of habitation, it will have to be closed off." "You need to start listening to me if you want to stop this happening again." "Redo this every week." "Fresh salt every day." "Form a barrier." "Same with the windows." "There's one more thing we need to do." "From about a foot above her, drip the candle wax in four points around her body." "As close as you can to her." "The closer the droplets..." "The stronger the bond." "You want us to drip boiling hot wax next to our baby?" "Yes." " No." " You have to." "You need to protect her." "And yourselves." "This is the only thing that will work." "Well, how do you know that?" "Because I had to do it myself." "Her..." "Ability..." "It's hereditary." "Trust me." "You need to close your eyes." "You need to close your eyes." "You need to visualize the barrier." "...Father above me I am safe." "Selah." "How often do we have to do this?" "Every day." "You have to do this to her every day." "Hands!" ""Which of the five sets of parents would you like to choose?" "Thea." "" '...you mean go and live with forever?" "' Said Larry." "'Yes!" "' Said the Head."" "'Um, when you say choose...' "" "Zaqueo before me, Zaqueo behind me," "Zaqueo to my right, Zaqueo to my left, the father above me, the mother below me." "Within me I am safe, amen, amen, Selah." ""The man begged for mercy." "He told the witch, 'my wife saw your rampion from our window and such was our hunger that she would have died without some to eat.' "" "What's rampion?" "Uh, a good question." " It's... spinach, I think." " Ecch!" "Ecch!" ""And the witch thought for a moment and told him, 'you may take as much rampion away with you as you like.' "" "She didn't like it either." "" 'On one condition..." "You must promise to me your unborn daughter.' "" "Shall we get to bed?" "Gonna have bad dreams tonight." "If you do, you can come and sleep with me and mummy." "Ok?" "Bedtime." "I'm not sleepy." "Ah, funny how you're never sleepy until the morning." "Isn't it?" "I'll tell you what." "If you promise to fall asleep as quickly as you can, then we can have a pizza night tomorrow." "Deal?" "Deal, goodnight, bedtime." "What about Crawley?" "Rent's not too bad." "James." "I need your help with this." "What do you think?" "It's double in size." "Hmm... there's no indoor pool." "No sex dungeon." "No outdoor pool." "No outdoor sex gazebo." "We can't live like that, we're not animals." "Can you get some time off work?" "Get a baby-sitter." "Yeah, but..." "I have to spend all day worrying about her when she's at school." "You want to let another stranger near her?" "How would you explain a chair flying at a baby-sitter?" "She'll be fine." "Charlie, you've gotta stop mollycoddling her." "I'm not having a go-- Charlie." "Yeah, I'm just gonna go mollycoddle our child." "Shh, shh, shh!" "Right, so what do we do if somebody tries to talk to you?" "Ignore it." "Right." "And what if somebody tries to push you?" "Pretend it didn't happen, keep smiling." "What if somebody tries to hurt somebody else?" "I ask them as quietly as I can to go away." "Yeah." "And?" "If something really bad happens," "I use the phone and say the code word." " Which is?" " Banana." "You've done your rituals?" "Good girl." "Ok." "We have..." "Books..." " What is this?" " It's just a toy, mummy?" "No, it's not just a toy." "It has a face, doesn't it, Thea?" "Look at me." "Where did you get this?" "The school." "Everyone has them." "I want it." "I know you want it, my love, but you can't have it, can you?" "No." "Come here." "You know this, don't you?" "Nothing with faces." "Yes?" "You've got to listen to me." "Do you promise?" " Mummy needs you to." " Ok." "Ok?" "Have a good day." "Zaqueo before me," "Zaqueo behind me," "Zaqueo to my right Zaqueo before me, Zaqueo behind me." "Zaqueo to my right, Zaqueo to my left Zaqueo behind me, Zaqueo to my right the father above me, the mother below me." "Within me I am safe." "Amen, amen, Selah." "Thea?" "You've got a visitor." "Pfft!" "Hello!" "I'm your new friend." "Would you like to play?" "Come on then, she's for you." "Mummy got it for you." "What do you say?" "Thank you, mummy." "So..." "I had a word with the boss today." "I did a bit of flirting." "Some kissing." "And..." "After mounting him for the requisite amount of time..." "He agreed to give me a few days off." "He said he might give me a week, if I slip him a digit next time." " Thank you." " You're welcome." "I'll go." "No, it's another nightmare." "Aaaah!" "What is it?" "It's about to touch you." "Aaaah!" "Aaaah!" "Come out now!" " James!" " Charlie!" "James!" "Open the door!" "Let him go!" "Let my daddy go!" "Dad, it's me, uh..." "Can you come over, please?" "No, we're fine." "It's just, um..." "Just come over, will ya?" "It's because of me they break things." "I gave her a face." "We can't control her." "What if we get her medication like..." "A sedative or..." "You want to drug our child?" "She is acting up." "She is not listening to us." "She's six years old." "Yeah, well, it's getting worse." "I..." "I just want her to be normal." "She'll never be normal." "She'll always be different." "Elizabeth." "I need to send her to Elizabeth." "She'll know what to do." "She always knows." "Sit." "This is Thea" "Shh!" "Drink." "Now that the formalities are out of the way..." "Would you like to go and play outside?" "Little girls shouldn't be stuck indoors." "No, um..." "I'd rather she stayed with us." "Nonsense, it's perfectly safe here." "Go!" "Thea!" "Thea." "Stay where we can see you, please?" "Now..." "Where were we?" "I don't know what my dad's told you about us and Thea." "He told me very little." "He's still somewhat shy when he speaks to me." "I thought you were friends, though." "He was a student of mine." " Right, ok, look, listen" " Um..." "Can we start at the beginning?" "My dear girl, I was there at the beginning." "That's where Thea and I first met." "Isn't that right?" "How do we stop it?" "Stop it?" "It... is her." "So you're saying that we have to live with this." "Yes." "She is your daughter." "She'll get hurt!" "That's the price that is paid for her gift." "Gift?" "You can't stop it." "But you can help her to manage." "Like I've had to." "I've spent almost all my life learning how to protect myself." "And how did you do it?" "Like so many..." "I had to turn to the occult." "I can give you books, reading material in terms of visualization." "Can you teach her?" " It's not a good idea." " What?" "Why is it not a good idea?" "Why?" "Please..." "I don't know what else to do." "If I do, I can't have my methods questioned." "She ok?" "Tired." "Tell me about it." "I've been thinking..." "Maybe we should invite my dad over for dinner." "I thought I'd make a bit more of an effort." "Sure." "Maybe he could baby-sit, give us a night off." "Booze, bars, girls." "Ready?" "All right, come on." "Don't you look lovely?" "School uniform." "She normally likes to be covered in mud." "Go on, come on." "You know she's gonna help you." "Do you need my help?" "Yes." "Why?" "Because I don't want mummy and daddy to be scared anymore." "Go on, then." "Go on." "You'll be fine." "And I'm gonna come pick you up in no time, aren't I?" "Because I promised, didn't I?" "Yeah?" "Then you're happy, you're fine?" "Smile." "Thea." "Go on." "Go on, go on." "Your mother's very excited that we're spending time together." "My mummy wasn't very nice to me." "Why not?" "She was scared of me." "Come and sit down, Thea." "Come on." "Why are you helping me?" "If I was sick, would you look after me?" "Yes." "Why?" "It's nice to help people." "Drink it." "It's not hot." "Finish it." "It's a very special tea." "I drink it to help me see..." "The world for what it really is." "People like you and I..." "We can see things no one else can see." "Don't fight it!" "Don't fight it!" "Thea?" "Come along, Thea." "This is a Hazel tree." "Go and break me off a branch." "Nice and deep into the mud..." "Draw a large circle round us." "What is it?" "Protection." "Don't ever leave the circle until it's safe." "I know what attacked you in your home." "Your daughter is being hunted by a parasite." "It wants to feed off her." "I can protect her." "But I will need to see her every day." "What's so funny?" "It's a secret, mummy." "So many people can't accept the vastness of the world around them." "Desperate for their own dull reality." "So they hide away from it, usually having to take their own lives." "Do you know what suicide is?" "No." "Good." "It's not an option for us." "People usually just end up somewhere far worse." "People like you and I, Thea, must confront our realities." "Your parents will try to pretend they understand, but they never will." "The more you tell them about what you see, the more inclined they'll be to... throw you away." "Took me a long time to learn all this." "I had no one to teach me." "Can you see the door, Thea?" "What's behind it?" "It's dark." "The entity from the woods yesterday." "Can you find it?" "Can you feel it?" "No." "When you're given a toy, it becomes your responsibility." "If the toy breaks, it's your fault." "So, if you accidentally let something through the door, and mummy and daddy get hurt..." "Whose fault is it?" "Mine." "Yes." "So, if something comes through..." "You have to deal with it." "Never call mummy and daddy for help or they may get hurt." "Understand?" "So, where's the new site?" "The arse end of south London, but it's an... "Up-and-coming" area, apparently." "Which means all the smackheads have been replaced by artisan bakers." "Mm-hmm." "Can I have some?" "Yes, in about 15 years." "What's wrong with you?" "Zaqueo before me..." "Thea." "Move away from it." "Zaqueo before me, Zaqueo behind me..." "Zaqueo to my right." "I am safe." "Mummy, look what I did." "All right." "Hang on." "Ohh!" "What did you draw?" "I saw it right behind her." "What is it?" "I don't know." "You don't know?" "And you've got her trying to fight it?" "What would you rather I did?" "It's what her parents wanted." "Her to be in control." "She can't handle something like that." "I couldn't even begin to tell them what to do." "Which is why they came to me." "I'm no expert." "But I did what I had to do." "To protect my family." "I'm fixing your errors." "You told me that your son was going to have a child and that, like you, it might be a beacon." "I went..." "I saw..." "And I told you I needed to help those people as soon as possible, and what did you say?" "That's not what I meant!" "What did you say, Alistair?" "You told me your son needed to see it all for himself." "And in those six years, when I might have helped," "she let through something so demonic that even I don't think I can save her." "Make amends." "Dad?" "Every mark on my body was done to save you." "I was protecting you." "I've always been trying to protect you." "Are you drunk?" "I just wanted to be part of your life again." "Sacrifice, that's what being a parent is all about." "It needs a host." "Maybe it will have me." "Listen, what's going on?" "What happened?" "Uh..." "I can make it go away." "I can make it go away." "I can make it go away..." "I can make it go away." "I can make it go away." "I can make it go away." "It's my responsibility." "Thea!" "James!" "James!" "James!" "Uggh!" "Aaaah!" "James!" "James!" "Uh..." "I can't do this anymore." "Thea." "Go upstairs and explore." "What's going on?" "I want my life back!" "Just take her away." "You have no idea what her life is like." "No idea what she sees." "Well, then show me." "Show me what she sees." "Show me all of the invisible shit that has taken away six years of my life!" "What do I do?" "You drink it." "Are you sure you want to do this?" "It wasn't created for flavor, I'm afraid." "Daddy?" "Thea." "Now, this will be hard." "But no matter what you see, don't show fear or anger." "No strong emotions." "Otherwise, the entities that you want to remain hidden from will see you, too." "Granddad." "Banana!" "Banana, mummy." "Oh." "Toilet guide." "Someone's had an accident." "Mummy!" "Ugh!" "She doesn't want to be your mummy anymore, Thea." "She never cared about you." "Only herself." "In all these years..." "Has anything ever actually harmed her?" "No!" "To be the mother of such a beautiful child, you have to accept her." "And the bruises that come with her!" "Come here, come on." "Come with me." "Make the circle, Thea." "It's been feeding off me for so long..." "Just want to be free from it." "I need you to take it from me." "You told me, if I was sick you'd help me." "I'm sick now, Thea." "It's your responsibility now." "I promised you to it." "Step out of the circle." " No!" " It won't hurt you." "It's like your mummy, it can look after you." " No!" " Step out of the circle!" " It will hurt me." " Thea, you have to trust me!" "No, you're a liar!" "Thea!" "Help me, Thea." "Run, mummy!" "Into the circle, run!" "Are you ok?" "Are you ok?" "I didn't mean to." "It was an accident." "Mummy, it's still out there." "Ok, ok." "Can you get rid of it?" "I need to push it back but I'm not good at that." "Yes, you are, you are." "I know you are." " What do you have to do?" " I have to imagine it." "Ok, describe it to me." " Cold..." " Is it wet or dry?" "It's wet, like granddad's blood." "Ok." "Hey, you need to push it away." "I want you to push it away so it can't hurt you." "Yeah?" "Zaqueo before me, Zaqueo behind me," "Zaqueo to my right, Zaqueo to my left within me, I am safe, within me I am safe, within me I am safe..." "It's ok, mummy." "It doesn't hurt."