Roni leaned against the open barn doors and watched the rain soaking the ground. Behind her, Sully had dismantled his stone golem. With Elliot’s help, the two men made preparations for Sully’s plan.
“It’s going to be okay,” Gram said as she sidled up.
“Sure.” Roni kept her eyes on puddles forming on the ground. “You almost sound convincing.”
Gram stayed silent for a moment. When she leaned against the other side of the barn door, she said, “There’s always danger when you come out into the field. Always risks.”
“Not so much in the library, huh?”
“There’s eyestrain.”
Roni laughed. “I’ll be okay. I mean I’m scared shitless, but —”
“Watch the language.”
“But I’ll do the job.”
Gram pressed the tips of her fingers together. “If there were another way.”
“I know. I agree. We don’t have time to hit the books.”
“Be sure. You’ve seen me all over the map with this. It’s hard to know what’s right. This isn’t even my first time in a terrible situation and it’s still hard. It’s okay if you’ve changed your mind.”
Roni breathed in the fresh, wet air. “I appreciate that, but it’s not necessary. An hour ago, I would’ve thought different. But I had a conversation — of sorts — with Maria.” She frowned as the words to articulate her thoughts evaded her. At length, she said, “It’s time I move forward. The past won’t go anywhere. I’ll figure it out when I need to. But the world needs the Parallel Society now. Right?”
Gram gazed down at her hands. “Very brave.” She pulled out her rosary and wrapped it around her hand. “I wonder if you might do me a favor before you go over to the boys.”
“Of course.”
“Maybe I could talk with Maria?”
Roni choked back the crack in her voice. “She doesn’t really talk.”
“She did before. She used your voice.”
“And that hurt like … heck. I’m not sure she could do that again, anyway. I got the sense that it took a lot of effort. But she can hear you. Say what you want to say. I’ll let you know how she responds.”
Holding her rosary so tight that her fingers turned white, Gram stepped over towards Roni. She inclined her head close enough that she would not have to raise her voice to be heard. “I don’t know what you are. My daughter? Part of her? Maybe just an echo of her being used by some creature in another universe. So many nights I prayed for the Lord to give me the means with which to help you. I always thought that meant bringing you home, making you whole.
“Earlier, I was in the church praying, and I saw how hard I had been on you. Not this side of you, but the other you — the one I raised into a young woman. So much of her rebellion came because of how hard I was. I think now I blamed her partially for surviving. I think I also blamed myself for taking you here to begin with, taking you to die.
“And now, I’m sending you to die again.
“I don’t know if this matters to you, but I want you to know that I’ve done all I could for Roni. I’ve tried to make up for my failings. I’ve tried to make her into a woman that you could be proud of. I’ve tried…”
Gram lifted her head, and her glistening eyes held with Roni’s. A soft utterance escaped her throat before she hurried off to one of the horse stalls. She crouched down, and though Roni tried to give the woman her privacy, there was no mistaking the sound of weeping.
Elliot walked up and put his arm on Roni’s shoulder. “Come on. We are ready. Let your grandmother have a moment alone.”
He escorted Roni back into the center of the barn. There she saw the rocks had been laid out according to size. Several small rocks had been placed shoulder-width apart on the ground, roughly in the shape of footprints.
Sully gestured to these footprint rocks. “Stand on them, and we can get started.”
With all her concentration devoted to keep from shaking, Roni placed one foot on each of the stone forms. Sully and Elliot immediately got to work. With expert care, Sully chose specific rocks and placed them around Roni’s feet. Elliot did the same, following Sully’s instructions, while periodically giving Roni a reassuring nod.
As the rocks piled higher up the legs, Sully said to Elliot, “Don’t worry about the exact shape. When we’re ready, it’ll work.”
Roni did not share his confidence but kept silent. Every rock further up her body brought with it the weight of what they planned to do. Every extra pound pressing against her skin added to her fear.
When they reached her waist and prepared to lock down her arms, Gram rushed forward. “Hold on.”
“We’ve already talked about this,” Sully said, putting out his hands like a crossing guard. “We don’t have another choice. There just isn’t the time.”
Pushing him aside, Gram stepped up towards Roni. She grabbed Roni’s right hand and wrapped her rosary around the wrist. “I don’t care that you are a non-believer. I have faith enough for the both of us. And if that thing in you is really Maria, then she has faith, too.”
Roni clenched the rosary beads. Before she could respond, before she could even say a simple I love you, Gram turned away. Sully returned with a piece of paper. He placed the paper in her left hand.
“As long as that paper stays together, the golem will stay together. Strong. You can trust me.”
As Sully returned to stacking rocks, Elliot paused. He stepped before Roni. “If you wish, I can create a little something that might ease you.”
She shook her head. She needed to stay clear and focused. But she could not say those words — she did not trust her voice to hold steady. Elliot kissed her cheek before returning to help Sully.
By the time they reached her neck, she could no longer hold back the tears. Her body wanted to shake, but the tightly packed stones prevented it. She gazed upward, hoping to dry out her eyes — she didn’t even have the movement to reach up and rub them. Lightning flashed and thunder crackled above them, and Roni pictured herself as Frankenstein’s monster. The tears flowed faster.
“What is this?” A voice scraped as a nun lurched into the barn, her lame foot dragging behind. “Another abomination?” Stepping out of the rain, Sister Rachel wiped her bleeding mouth with the dark sleeve of her torn habit. “The Angels keep coming. You can’t stop them. Soon, the world will become a vessel for them all. And I will gladly be the first to cast you demons back to Hell.”
From the side, out of the shadows, Gram stepped forth wielding a shovel. She swung hard and slapped the nun in the back of the head. The young woman folded to the floor.
“Poser,” Gram said and spit on the ground.
Standing with rocks in his hands, Sully said, “You’re a Catholic. You can’t go around striking nuns. We could’ve done that for you.”
“You said she was tied up below the library. Does this look tied up to you?”
“I did my best. I didn’t have a lot of good rope. I was using rags from over a hundred years ago.” Sully slammed two rocks onto Roni’s shoulders. “You think it’s so easy? Next time, you find a way out of the crypt filled with bones and rats.”
“Next time it might be a Rabbi instead of a nun. You saying you’ll fight a rabbi?”
“It depends. Is he Orthodox or Reform?”
Roni laughed — a hardy, full-throated laugh. Tears streamed down, her face reddened, and she laughed more. Though Gram and Sully failed to find the humor, Elliot leaned back his head and roared alongside Roni.
At length, Gram said, “Fine, fine. I will tie up this excuse for a nun properly. You boys finish with the rocks. If that’s okay, my leader?”
Waving his hand as he returned to work, Sully said, “Tie her up, don’t tie her up, do what you think is right. We’ve got serious work to do.”
He stepped back and passed an appraising eye up and down the thick pile of stones that encased Roni. “You ready?”
Roni nodded.
“Elliot and I are going to cover your head now. It might feel tight in there for a while. But once I whisper my commands, you’ll be able to breathe fine. Okay?”
With a strong, steady voice, Roni said, “Let’s go save the universe.”