Elliot patted Roni’s arm. “I shall take care of this,” he said. “You go help Sully.”
“But —”
“Go.” His voice suddenly firm and dangerous. He stepped closer to the porch, letting the wolves flank him. Pointing at Darin with his cane like Babe Ruth showing where he would hit the next homerun, Elliot said, “I do not wish to harm you. Heel your wolves now. There will be no more chances after this.”
Darin paused, and Roni had the time to think that maybe he had changed his mind. But a swipe of his claw through the air sent the wolves into a frenzied attack. Roni backed away, her eyes stuck wide open, as she witnessed Elliot’s incredible reaction.
The first wolf thrust into the air, and Elliot ducked, jabbing his cane upward to catch the wolf’s gut as it passed overhead. Two more came in from the sides. A sweeping motion of the cane halted their approach. The fourth barreled in full-speed with its teeth bared. As Elliot finished his sweep, he let his momentum carry him to the ground. He rolled backwards and onto his feet. This gave him plenty of distance to swing his cane hard enough to crack the attacking wolf’s skull.
“Roni!” a voice called from behind. She spun around to find Sully with another armful of sticks. “Yes, yes, he’s amazing. But at his age, he won’t keep that up for long. He’s counting on us to finish this. Come. Help.”
Behind her, she heard the grunts and smacks and growls turn to bites, but she pushed it from her mind. She had to help Sully.
“What do we do?” she asked looking at the pile of sticks.
“Find the big ones.” He grabbed a thick branch and drew lines in the dirt. “Two legs here. Arms here. Body and head. Put the biggest branches first, then put on all the sticks. Then tie them together.”
“Right. Big sticks, little sticks, tie it all together. Wait — tie them with what?”
Sully reached into his coat pocket and tossed out a handful of zip-ties. “Hurry.”
As she picked up the ties, she snatched a glimpse of Elliot. With one wolf dead on the ground, the other three increased the pressure. One after the other, sometimes two together, even all three. Attack after attack. And Elliot fended them off with a swirling cane and a well-trained fist.
Roni grabbed the biggest branches she saw and placed them on the ground. Frantically, she spread the smaller sticks all over the skeletal form.
“No, no,” Sully said. “That’s a mess. That won’t do. Do it right or we’ll lose whatever time Elliot buys us.”
Moving fast, Roni picked up the sticks and laid them into the proper positions. Blood dribbled on her hand from the numerous cuts she received but she kept going. Elliot cried out and she saw him deflect one wolf with his cane while clutching another by the neck. The third, however, bit into Elliot’s calf.
Roni doubled her efforts. As she worked, Sully sat on the ground with a pad and pen. She knew he would be writing in Hebrew, that she wouldn’t be able to read it, but she wanted to watch him. No — she had to finish the stick-Golem.
With the zip-ties, she gathered up each limb and tied them into bundles. When she finished, sweat and blood mixed in her palms. “Is this good?”
Sully scowled. “No.”
“What’s wrong? The legs and arms and body are all tied up.”
“But not together. The legs aren’t attached.”
“I didn’t know.”
“What are you thinking? How’s it going to walk without attached legs?”
“I’ll fix it.”
Sully peeked up at Elliot and shook his head. “Not enough time.”
Elliot had maimed a second wolf, but the two remaining sensed his flagging energy. They stalked closer, and though he swiped with his cane, they barely flinched. Sweat dampened his head. His footprints left behind splotches of blood.
Darin laughed — a full-throated barking laugh. “You’re pathetic. Far past your prime. If you’re what I have to worry about, then once I fix the merging process, this world will crumble.”
Two metal chains with spiked ends whipped around the corner of the building and lodged into Darin’s back. Gram leaned away from the porch, putting all her weight into holding Darin still. He bellowed and the two wolves on Elliot pivoted away. But Elliot lunged forward, tackling both — one with his body, the other with his cane.
“Roni!” Gram’s voice strained to be heard over Darin’s howling cries. “Roni, help us!”
Having no idea how to help, Roni rushed forward anyway. She kept a wide berth around the wolves. Elliot used his weight and the last of the strength to keep the animals locked to the ground.
Darin swiped a claw in Roni’s direction, but another chain shot out and wrapped around his wrist. Gram yanked that wrist back.
And Roni saw it — Darin’s stomach. A flicker of amber light.
That had to be it. She knew it like an instinct. But no, if the answer were that simple, surely Gram would have said something, would have known. She shoved the idea away.
But it refused to leave. And in that second, the idea took her by the chest and shook her inside. It yelled at her that she had ignored her instincts too often and where did that ever get her? If she had listened in the beginning, she would have gotten rid of Darin from the start.
Well, nothing else is working, she thought.
Storming up the steps of the porch, she made a fist and punched. She yelled, her face inches away from Darin’s snout, her eyes manic and wide. Her fist hit him in the gut, and as she had guessed, it kept going — straight through and into his abdomen.
Darin roared. He tried to grab her or push her, but Gram kept him restrained. Roni plunged her hand further in, holding back the urge to vomit, until she hit something pulsing hot. At first, she thought it might be his heart — maybe his innards had reshaped along with his outward appearance. But no, she knew what she grasped onto. It could only be one thing.
She yanked her arm free, causing another howling shriek, and staggered off the porch. Blood and bile dripped from her forearm, the smell ripe and vulgar. In her palm, she held the glowing ball.
All eyes lifted to her. The wolves ceased their struggle and watched her every move. Elliot stared in shock. Even as Gram held Darin back, her attention fell on Roni.
But Roni turned her focus on the glob in her hand. Something rested inside it. A small, rectangular object. Roni’s face dropped open. “Oh, man.”
She threw the glowing energy onto the ground. It splattered like a ball of paint. Darin screamed and tried to intervene, but moving forward meant tearing his back to pieces.
Roni crouched down. On the ground, she saw the ticket stub — Darin’s ticket stub.
“No!” Darin lunged forward.
His skin tore and blood shot out his back as he freed himself. Gram fell over, her chains dropping to the ground. The wolves jumped hard, taking Elliot by surprise. He couldn’t hold them back as they raced to join Darin.
Roni bent down and snatched the ticket stub before bolting off around the house. She wouldn’t get far. She knew it. But she had to try. If she survived this, that would have to become her mantra — try, try, try.
Cutting around the corner of the house, she didn’t dare look back. She could hear how close they were. If she darted into the woods, Darin and the wolves would get her easily. Another corner and she came up the side of the house. Whatever backup plans Gram and the others had waiting, Roni hoped they were ready.
She turned the last corner and saw Gram standing near the porch stairs. In front of her like a shield, she held a book. No, Roni realized — the book. The book that Darin had fallen into originally.
“Throw it!” Gram said.
Roni tossed the ticket stub into the air and kept running. As she zipped by Gram, she saw the book being opened. She dove to the ground, scrambling for the nearest tree, and wrapped her arms around its trunk.
When she looked back, she saw the two wolves spinning in the air as the book vacuumed them in. The ticket stub had already fallen into the book as did numerous leaves and rocks. Though Roni felt the strong winds, she did not have to fight to keep her position. They were in a large, open forest and Gram had pointed the book away from them. Roni was safe behind the book.
Darin, however, had to fight to stay in this universe. He dug his claws into the ground and moaned as he climbed his way back towards the house. Once close enough, he bit down on the porch railing.
After a few moments, Roni could see that Darin had secured himself well. The book would not be taking him back. Gram must have come to the same conclusion. She closed the book.
All went quiet.