Page 36 of The Shade of Things
Its chuga sound made my teeth rattle.
I braced myself—
All sound cut out, the air cleared, and the pod hovered in front of us. A door opened upward.
The good news? The small transport was empty and well-lit.
The bad news? We had to step over the hands to board.
“All right, kids. I got this.” Emmett reached into his bag and dropped his voice to a whisper. “It wants a body part to grab, so we’ll give it one. When I say go, haul ass.”
Emmett pulled out a clay leg and slammed it down between the hands. They seized it with grabby fingers whereupon the golem flung the leg sideways. “Go!”
I never jumped so far or so high in my life. I stuck the landing and scrambled to the side so Eli wouldn’t get hurt by my scythe.
The platform shook causing Emmett to stumble to his knees, and an eerie moan pierced me from head to toe. The extra clay leg turned to mist, which hung in the air for a second before being sucked down through the gap.
“Hurry!” I reached out for the golem but snatched my arm inside the pod as the hands whipped back toward us and grabbed Emmett’s ankles.
The golem jabbed at the Morph’s hands with his cane, successfully dislodging the left one, which disappeared. “Help!” He beat at the monster’s right hand.
Eli lowered his gun, shaking his head. “I’ll hit Emmett.”
“Incoming!” I jammed the point of the scythe into the meaty part of the hand like I was shish-kebabbing it.
The Morph let out a piercing howl and rocked the pod almost onto its side, while the hand flew into the air, along with my scythe. I made the weapon vanish, and the hand splatted to the platform.
Emmett leapt into the pod, landing on Eli, who grunted. Luckily, he’d holstered his gun so no one was injured.
The pod righted itself and the door disappeared, the three of us slumping on the floor in a heap.
“Destination.” A voice growled over the furious pounding from outside where the Morph’s fists were denting the exterior.
I shrieked, ducking away from a battery of punches that crumpled part of the wall where I’d been sitting.
“The Human Race!” Emmett yelled.
The Morph struck the pod again and a seam splintered.
One bony finger wormed its way inside.
Eli slammed the barrel of his gun against it, while I screamed for the pod to move, and Emmett banged his cane against the walls.
A second finger curled inside the tear.
Time hung suspended for a moment, and then the hand blew off the pod.
Eli crouched underneath the hole, his gun aimed at it. “We’re moving,” he said.
I didn’t feel any motion but took his word for it and, spent, claimed one of the benches. “Where did the leg come from and why did you think to bring it?” I curled my knees into my chest.
“It was Tatiana’s idea.” Emmett sank heavily onto the bench across from me.
“What?” I exchanged a confused look with Eli. “The whole reason she sent you was because your lack of a heartbeat was supposed to get us on safely. If she didn’t think that would happen, why not give us the leg and spare you the journey?”
The golem tossed the wrinkled and torn garbage bag on the floor. “You’re forgetting Tatiana’s motto, toots. Expect the worst, plan for the worst. I was the solution only if the Morph didn’t detect you under the cloaking. If it did, then we needed a body part that wasn’t ours to distract it. And even if all went to plan, I had to be visible while you stayed hidden so the pod would stop, which meant I had to come. Lucky me,” he groused.
Eli rubbed his temples.
