The Birth of Evil

*You see, no one believes in the Unimaginable until it happens to them.*

***The Birth of Evil*** is a prologue to the *Firestarter* series by Jamie MacGregor. The book focuses on the first six years of the protagonist (or, arguably, antagonist) William Pierre Malakoff's life, and takes place in London, 2001 - 2002.

While short and sweet, Will's story continues in the main series, which currently features one novel.

## Main Characters

### William Pierre Malakoff

#### (aka William Henry Claridge)

Will is the series' anti-hero lead, and the protagonist of the *Birth of Evil* novella. He is a six-year-old boy who survives unimaginable trauma at the hands of his abusive father and neglectful mother, and comes out the other side broken, but alive.

### Henry Claridge

The main antagonist of *The Birth of Evil,* Henry is the physically, verbally, and emotionally abusive father of Will and his two siblings, James and Juliet. He is a violent psychopath, and a narcissist who manipulates the world and everyone in it to suit his needs.

### Annalise Claridge (née Albrecht)

Annalise is a foil to Henry's character, providing Will the saviour he desperately needs—at least, until his cruelty encroaches on her own life. She is the neglectful and emotionally-unavailable mother to Will and his siblings, as well as a solicitor defending the women and children of Westminster, London. She is diagnosed and medicated for severe obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

## Plot

***The Birth of Evil*** opens with a short letter from a mysterious writer who claims that he couldn’t save the life of an unnamed person, or undo the Unimaginable. He wishes he could tell us that this story has a happy ending, but that things don’t always work out in the end—at least, not in the way we want them to. But, despite the sombre beginning of his message, he gives us hope by saying that we wish for things to get better, and they will. We wish on every dandelion, every sunny day, every drop of rain, until we get the happy ending we deserve.

But, the truth is, not everybody gets one.

### Chapter 1 - Shiver

The date is 23 December 2002, and the Claridges have come to Zürich, to spend the holidays with their extended family. It is Will’s first Christmas in Switzerland. As he takes his morning bath, we are let in on our first glimpse of the auditory, sensory, and visual hallucinations that will continue to plague him for the rest of his life. The reader is as shocked as Will when he is slapped across the face for standing, rather than sitting in the scalding water. Another blow bashes his head off the countertop, breaking the skin and releasing a stream of blood, which Will licks off his lips.

After his father leaves, Will peels himself up off the floor, seemingly impervious to the pain, and finishes his bath. For his obedience, he is allowed to eat breakfast, which he chokes down without tasting, for fear it will be taken away.

Five minutes later, Will and his siblings are in the car, behind driven to their uncle’s house. Typically, he is forced to walk, but there was no time, meaning he will also be too late to steal or beg for food once they arrive. Before the car comes to a complete stop, they have opened the doors and run into the house on Rämistrasse, above which three flags are displayed. This minor detail is important because it symbolises Will’s ancestry—he is equal parts Swiss, French, and British.

### Trivia

* *The Birth of Evil* was first published online in 2022, on Archive of Our Own, Wattpad, Inkitt, and Royal Road. Now, only the unpublished drafts are available on these sites.
* Jamie MacGregor began writing the story that would become *The Birth of Evil* when he was fourteen, basing it somewhat off his own experience with abusive parents.