2
Iturn up the volume and all six of us hold our breath, listening to what the news anchor has to say. Red and blue lights flash behind her, and my stomach clenches. I took the remainder of my vacation days for the year, and I don’t have to be back at work for another week. But if I were there today…
“I’ve seen this before,” Jac says slowly.
“You have?”
He closes his eyes, thinking. “It was a long time ago.”
“No shit,” I say, not meaning to snap. “Sorry.” I turn my attention back to the TV, heart beating faster and faster. Some sort of creature “appeared out of nowhere” and started busting up cars parked on the streets, smashing in windows of storefronts and restaurants, and throwing anything it could find. Three people were caught in the crossfire while walking down the street, right in the middle of downtown Philly. One was killed and the others were in critical condition. Witnesses reported a “monster” leaving the scene, with black eyes and powdery, pale red skin. Fuzzy cell phone footage is shown over and over, warning people to stay inside and lock their doors, and to call the police right away if they see the thing.
Jac gets up and grabs his cell phone, brows pinched together. I watch as he looks something up, nodding as he reads.
“You would call them a golem.”
“Like the guy fromLord of the Rings?” Gemma asks.
“No.” I swallow hard, having just read about them in my book. It was a more recent entry, coming from the seventeenth century. “They’re basically like a life-sized Voodoo doll, right?”
“In a sense,” Jacques says.
“How do I stop it?” I ask, standing up.
“That depends on how it was made, right?” Thomas asks.
“Yes.”
“What about smashing it?” Hasan cracks his knuckles. He’s quite good at smashing things.
“It’ll slow it down,” Jacques tells him. “But it’ll repair itself. We could try burning it. That golem looks like it’s made out of clay. You know what happens to clay when it’s put in a kiln.”
“It’ll harden,” I say.
“And then I can smash it,” Hasan says.
“In theory.” Jacques puts his phone down.
I look around. “What are we waiting for? Shouldn’t we go after it?”
“You want to fight that…that…thing?” Gemma’s eyes widen.
“Well, who else is?” I counter. Hasan is already standing up, ready for a fight. He was made for battle, and looks forward to hand-to-hand combat. “The police won’t know what to do, and I don’t mean that in a negative sense. I’m a cop, after all. And our training definitely didn’t cover golems.” I look at Gemma. “You know how people are. They’re going to look for a logical explanation, and their only defense is their guns, which are pointless against a monster made of clay.” I blink, unphased by the words leaving my lips. There was a time when I wouldn’t have believed a word I was saying.
Now this is my life.
“You should stay here,” I press. “Let us handle it.”
“Alone?”
“You’ll be safe here.”
Gemma nods, not looking convinced. “Will you let me know what’s going on?”
“Of course. I’ll call you with an update. But we really should go.”
“Dressed like that?” Gil raises his eyebrows, reminding me that I’m wearing yoga pants, a T-shirt, and no bra.
“Let me get dressed.” I hurry up the stairs, noticing for the first time in days that my room is a mess. I have dirty laundry on the floor, the bed isn’t made, and there are three empty coffee cups on my nightstand. I really let those files drive me crazy.
