K is for Klutz (A-Z of Horror Book 11) Read online

  “Help you how?”

  “Kill me. Give me a big dose of morphine or whatever it is that you people do.”

  Keating unfolded her arms and placed her hands on her hips. “I can’t. I won’t.”

  “Then others will die, Doctor. Do you want to hear about the first people I killed after that monster cursed me? It was my wife and son. That’s right, I was married. I went straight to the hospital to get my ankle fixed, but my wife was so upset that I’d had an accident that she met me there. She had picked my son up from school along the way. They both gave me these great big hugs. If only I’d known they would be my last moments with them. My son accidentally swigged a bottle of bleach from a janitor’s cart, thinking it was orange pop. My wife threw herself off the roof of the hospital a few hours later. Then the doctor and nurses who helped me with my ankle all died in a lab fire. Then the taxi driver who brushed my hand when I paid him died. Then the police officer who came to see me…”

  Keating waved her hand. “Okay, okay, I get it. I still won’t kill you.”

  “Why not? After everything I’ve just told you.”

  “Because I’m not sure if I believe you.”

  David sighed and lay back down in his bed. “You’ll believe me eventually,” he said, “but by then it will be too late.”

  -5-

  Keating sat in her office for a long time. The police had come and gone, interviewing witnesses but unable to rule events as anything more than accidental. Night had fallen by the time she thought about leaving the hospital. Hours of pondering whether or not to play the part of an Angel of Mercy had led her to one conclusion: she needed proof first. Proof that could not be gained from the ramblings of a single old man. His story needed substantiating. Which was why she had decided to visit the town of Redlake.

  -6-

  Keating had set off first thing in the morning, leaving strict instructions that David not be bothered unnecessarily and under no circumstances must he be touched or even approached. Her colleagues had all given her strange looks, but trusted her enough to listen.

  The drive to Redlake had taken about ninety minutes, it being located on the southern tip of the West Midlands and her travelling from Bristol.

  The town was picturesque, full of small wooded areas and little groupings of shops that backed onto mixed residential areas. There were large houses and small houses, posh and poor, but nowhere was destitute and the whole town seemed well looked after.

  The only thing she knew about the neighbourhood she was looking for was that it existed near a rugby club and playing fields. That was her only clue.

  Thankfully, the rugby club was well-signposted within the town and Keating had found it with relative ease. It was closed that day, so she parked up in one of the empty spaces and got out to stretch her legs.

  The playing fields stretched on for several hundred metres to her left, but beyond that lay a small group of houses. There was no time to waste so Keating stepped onto the grass and headed towards the buildings. She wished she hadn’t worn heels.

  What the hell am I doing? Am I really about to knock on someone’s door and ask about a curse? I suppose I have some cause to do so; I’m trying to substantiate the facts behind an old man’s delusions.

  As she crossed the playing fields she became more and more hopeful that she had found the right houses. Each of them possessed a bright green lawn and none were ill kept. They were old buildings now, but none had been neglected.

  She left the grass and stepped onto the pavement, looking all around her for the house she wanted.

  And there it lay, at the very end of the road.

  The wrought iron gate was ten-feet high but open. The trees on either side were tall, but trimmed back. The desire for privacy was obvious, but there was no foreboding atmosphere that David had alluded to. In fact, the pathway to the front door was clear and inviting.

  Keating strode up the path and knocked the iron knocker against the thick wooden door. It was only a moment before her call was answered.

  “Hello?” said a middle-aged woman with tied-back black hair. “May I help you?”

  “I…I think I’m looking for your father.”

  The woman looked at Keating curiously, deep brown eyes boring into hers. “My father has been dead nine years, dear. You must have the wrong address.”

  “Was your father Jewish?”

  “What an odd question. Yes, he was devoted to God and a devoted Jew. Too much so, sometimes.”

  Keating couldn’t believe what came out of her mouth next. “Did your father ever curse anybody?”

  The woman’s eyes went wide for a moment, but then settled down and narrowed. “Why would you ask something like that?”

  “Please, I need an answer. Did your father ever curse anyone?”

  The woman continued examining Keating with her deep brown eyes, but eventually seemed to accept what she saw and nodded. “My father cursed a single man in his lifetime. Just one. He always regretted it.”

  Keating almost fell back at what she was hearing. Was there a chance that David wasn’t crazy? Was there a chance that he really was cursed?

  “The man your father cursed? Was he a travelling vacuum salesman named David?”

  The woman’s eyes went wide again. She swallowed. “How did you know?”

  “Because he’s in a bed at my hospital. Since we admitted him two of my colleagues have died.”

  The woman stood aside and pushed the door wide. “You’d better come in.”

  -7-

  The house’s interior was homely, decorated with family photos, paintings, and old wooden furniture. It wasn’t from money that the house was pleasant, but from the care and attention taken over it. There was not a thing out of place: no unwashed coffee cups or ashtrays, nor a single out of position cushion. Yet, there was something lonely about the place. The duty and care was too much, spoke of little else except its upkeep.

  The lady of the house returned with two glasses of lemonade and handed one over to Keating. “My name is Lilith,” she said. “Are you a doctor?”

  Keating sipped the lemonade and was delighted by its crisp, refreshing taste. “I am, yes. As I explained, David – the salesman you met many years ago – is in my hospital.”

  “Then you should get rid of him as quickly as you can.”

  “So you’re saying the curse is real?”

  “It’s real, alright. When my daddy walked in on the man taking my virginity he saw red. He did the worst thing he could think of. He used the knowledge of his ancestors, of the eldest and most revered of our people. He uttered a curse upon poor David’s head. The curse of the Klutz. Afterwards, after my father had calmed down, he couldn’t believe what he had done. He tried to find David and release him from his odium, but he had quit his job and disappeared.”

  “Probably because his wife and son died at the hands of this curse.”

  Keating couldn’t believe what she was saying.

  Lilith lowered her head and looked at the floor. “It’s my fault. I knew what I was doing when I seduced David. My father was so protective. I wanted to defy him in the worst way I could. I let a man have me. David had no chance. Ha, I was rather beautiful in my day.”

  “How come you never left this place?” Keating asked, looking around some more and realising how old everything was.

  Lilith shrugged. “This place is my home. I suppose it is also my penance. My father’s love for me evaporated after what I forced him to do. I kept this place spotless to earn back his love, but it never worked. When he passed away, I knew nothing else but looking after this place. I will clean it until the day I follow my father to the realm of the Lord and hopefully gain his forgiveness.”

  “What about David?” Keating asked. “What about his forgiveness?”

  “Something far out of reach, I would imagine.”

  “How do we break the curse, Lilith? You said your father wanted to find David and help him. Well, I have him.”

  Li
lith placed her lemonade down on the table and sighed. “It’s too late. My father used his blood to bind the curse. Blinded by the blood of the afflicted. My father is dead and so is any chance to break the curse.”

  “We can use your blood.”

  Lilith recoiled, apparently in shock, but then she seemed to think about it. “I…don’t think it works like that.”

  “Do you know for sure that it wouldn’t work?”

  “No, I do not.”

  Keating put down her lemonade and stood up. “Then let’s go. We can end this right now.”

  Lilith leapt up and stood skittishly. “No, I can’t. I can’t face him.”

  “You mean the man whose life you ruined?”

  “Yes.”

  “Face him now in this life or you’ll face his demon in the next.”

  Lilith tilted her head. “Are you one of the faithful?”

  “No, I’m a doctor. Now come on.”

  -8-

  Lilith had been irritatingly sullen on the journey back to Bristol. It was clear that she did not want to go with Keating, but was also seemingly unable to resist authority. After years of living beneath the rule of her father, she seemed to desire taking orders, whether she liked what they meant or not. The fact that she was so reluctant to make amends was what made Keating so angry. If all the talk of curses and magic was real, then her actions had directly led to many deaths and boundless suffering. While it may have been her father who was ultimately to blame, it was as a consequence of her teenage defiance. She should want to make things right again.

  When they pulled up in the hospital car park, Lilith looked at Keating and said, “I’m scared.”

  Keating turned off the engine and looked back at the woman. “Why?”

  “Why? Because you’re asking me to face a man whose life I destroyed.”

  “Atoning isn’t easy. If it was then it wouldn’t be worth anything.”

  Lilith nodded. “Okay, I’m ready.”

  They headed into the hospital and Keating led the way to the ward where David was staying. Outside of the old man’s room they paused.

  “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Keating said. “I’m a doctor and I’m trying to break a curse.”

  Lilith nodded as if she understood. “Science has taken the place of magic. As one grows the other shrinks. One day there’ll be no magic left. Only science.”

  “That’s the world I want to live in.”

  “It may not be.”

  Keating shrugged and opened the door, then stood back to let the two lovers reunite. Lilith went in with a sad expression on her face, but David’s reaction was completely different. He recognised her immediately.

  “Lilith,” he said confidently. “You’re as beautiful as the day I first met you. That golden hair.”

  Lilith smiled, tears already in her eyes. “Thank you, but you should hate me, not compliment me.”

  “I’m an old man. I left hate behind me a long time ago. You are not to blame for what has happened to me.”

  Lilith approached the bed, shaking her head adamantly. “If I hadn’t seduced you…”

  David waved a hand. “I was a married man. You didn’t force me. I made a choice – a bad one – and my family suffered as a consequence. The only person I blame is myself.”

  “Lots of men cheat, David. Your punishment far outweighs your crime.”

  David nodded, looked thoughtful. “Perhaps, but there is no changing it. I just want it to be over. I want to die, but it won’t let me. I’m tired of it all.”

  “That’s why Lilith is here,” Keating butted in. “She thinks she may be able to break the curse.”

  Lilith smiled. “I’m here to help you, David. I’m so sorry I caused all this.”

  David nodded, looked a little angry for a split-second. “I forgive you.”

  “I’ll be back in a moment,” Keating said and went back out into the ward to retrieve a scalpel from the supply cupboard. When she returned, Lilith had sat herself down on David’s bed and the two of them were chatting away like old friends. The spark was still there between them, even after all this time.

  “I have what you need,” Keating said, holding out the scalpel.

  Lilith stood up and took the sharp instrument in her hand. “Thank you.”

  “What are you going to do?” David asked.

  Lilith went and sat back down on his bed. “My father’s blood is running through my veins. It was his blood that bound you and only his blood that can release you.” She held her hand over his face and poised the tip of the scalpel in front of it. “By the power of my people, the old and the new, by the memories of what is ancient yet forever, I release you from your suffering. Receive my blood as contract.”

  Lilith moved the scalpel against her palm and took a deep breath. Her hands both trembled and she did not blink. After several moments, she moved the blade away from her skin.

  “I can’t do it,” she said. “I can’t cut myself. I want to but I just… It’s hard.”

  “Let me do it,” David said softly.

  Lilith looked at him and nodded. “Yes, you should be the one. Just cut my palm and let my blood fall into your eyes. If it works then you will finally be free of the curse my father put on you. I’m sorry.”

  “So you fucking should be.”

  David swept the scalpel through the air.

  For a moment there was only shocked silence, as Lilith and Keating both stared at David with eyes wide open.

  Then a thin line of red appeared across Lilith’s throat. It widened slowly…

  Blood spurted everywhere, all over David’s face, bed and pillows. Keating ran forward, pulled the woman from the bed and held her on the floor, trying to close the wound. With one arm she reached out and punched the emergency button to call for help.

  Lilith was chocking on her own blood, clawing at the air and staring desperately into Keating’s eyes. Help me, her pleading gaze was saying. Please help me.

  Keating glared at David who was sat up in bed and covered in blood. “Why?” she demanded. “Why did you do that?”

  “My wife, my son. Both dead because of that whore. I’ve spent more than three decades alone with only memories of everything I lost. She was my true curse, and I thank you for releasing me from her. Now I can finally die, and with a peace I thought I would never have.”

  David pulled the scalpel across his own throat and flopped back in his bed as his blood arced into the air and joined the puddles already formed by Lilith’s.

  By the time help came, Lilith and David were both dead and Keating lay on the bloody floor, weeping.

  “What happened?” Dr Hart asked, before becoming completely slack-jawed.

  “I made a mistake,” Keating whispered, wrapping her arms around her knees before beginning to wail in misery. “I got it totally wrong.”

  END.

  About The Author

  Iain Rob Wright is one of the UK's most successful horror and suspense writers, with novels including the critically acclaimed, THE FINAL WINTER; the disturbing bestseller, ASBO; and the wicked screamfest, THE HOUSEMATES.

  His work is currently being adapted for graphic novels, audio books, and foreign audiences. He is an active member of the Horror Writers Association and a massive animal lover.

  Check out Iain's official website or add him on Facebook where he would love to meet you.

  www.iainrobwright.com

  FEAR ON EVERY PAGE

  More Books by Iain Rob Wright

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boy seems to be possessed. But is he?

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  SAVAGE: UK US

  Apocalyptic sequel to Ravage where the stakes are even higher at an abandoned pier. Sometimes being alone is better.

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  Reality TV turns deadly. 12 competitors but only 1 winner.

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  Copyright

  * * *AN SG HORROR RELEASE* * *

  Part of the SALGAD PUBLISHING GROUP

  Redditch

  UK, Worcestershire

  www.SALGADPUBLISHING.com

  K is for Klutz copyright 2015 by Iain Rob Wright