MONOLITH

by Shaun Hutson

  Forty-one floors now.

  Hadley was still slightly ahead of her, his own feet dragging now, his own arms tense and taut as he hauled himself up by gripping the balustrade, looking as if he was afraid to let go of it in case he fell.

  Forty-two floors.

  From below them that ever present sound of heavy feet against stone. The inexorable approach of the thing that would kill them if it caught them. The sound filled the stairwell and Jess’s ears and throbbed inside her head like a migraine.

  The sign that proclaimed they had reached the forty-third floor seemed, in Jess’s tortured vision, to glow like a beacon. There was another smaller and narrower flight of stone steps that led up from this highest point of the Crystal Tower and it was towards these that Hadley now moved, dragging himself up them and urging Jess to follow him.

  He drove his foot against the door that was blocking their way and it slammed back on its hinges.

  Cold night air swept through the open doorway and Jess stumbled through the narrow space to find that they had finally reached the roof.

  She dropped to her knees but Hadley hauled her upright and stumbled towards the parapet of the building. There was a fence around the very extremities of the roof and it was towards this that Hadley moved, finally leaning against it and glancing over the edge.

  The precipitous view made Jess’s head swim. It seemed as if they were high in the clouds looking down upon the rest of the world as if they were the only people alive. Forty-three floors below on the streets of the capital, only the barely glimpsed lights of cars showed that there was even anything down there. People were invisible at such a height and in the gloom. They might as well have been standing on a platform made of shadows.

  And then Jess heard the sound.

  For one ridiculous second she thought that it was applause. Someone slowly clapping their hands together but she dismissed that fanciful thought, explaining it away because she couldn’t breathe properly or think straight. But, as the sound continued she realised that her initial assumption was correct.

  The sound she heard was indeed clapping.

  And it was coming from the other side of the open roof, from the man who was advancing towards them flanked on each side by others clad in dark suits.

  ‘You made it,’ Andrei Voronov said, flatly. ‘My compliments. A climb of that magnitude could not have been easy.’

  Jess looked at him, his words blown and tossed on the breeze that was whipping across the open roof. She swayed uncertainly for a moment, fearing that the wind would grow so strong it would blow them both over the edge of the towering monolith but she shot out a hand and gripped the guard rail, her gaze now fixed on the dimly lit outline of Voronov who stood twenty feet or so from them.

  ‘I should applaud your persistence,’ he intoned. ‘Not just tonight but since you began this crusade against me.’

  ‘You won’t get away with this,’ Jess panted. ‘Too many people know we’re here. The police know.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter who knows you’re here,’ Voronov said. ‘This ends now. Here. Tonight. All you ever had was wild ideas. That is why no one would believe you. And very shortly it will all be over.’

  He glanced to one side, a loud crash ringing through the night.

  The Golem had reached the roof.

  NINETY-FOUR

  The Golem stood motionless for a moment then it strode towards Jess and Hadley.

  Jess looked at him for a moment.

  ‘I can stop it,’ he said, his gaze fixed on the advancing creature.

  Jess shook her head, looking at him again but then at the Golem and also at Voronov who was watching impassively as the creature closed the distance on its intended victims.

  Voronov was watching intently, apparently amused by the tableau before him. He could see that the Golem was very close now.

  When it had come within five feet Hadley shoved Jess away from him, almost knocking her over. He himself made no attempt to move.

  ‘Run,’ he roared, his eyes still fixed on the Golem.

  Jess backed away.

  The Golem reached Hadley and lifted him as easily as a child would lift a rag doll, raising him into the air before it, its arms tightening around him as it did. He felt as if a huge vice had been fastened around his torso and one arm, the strength in those clay limbs was incredible and they closed effortlessly. He tried to shout but could not draw the breath to do so as his lungs were constricted.

  Like a rabbit in the grip of a constricting snake he could do nothing other than wait for the end.

  Ribs shattered under the crushing pressure, his lungs began to rupture. Blood filled his mouth but he didn’t struggle, instead he looked straight at the Golem and, with is free hand, he reached towards the open maw that was its mouth. Inside that black space he could see what he sought. The scroll that had been placed there so carefully by its creator was clearly visible now and with one shaking hand, Hadley reached for it.

  The Golem tightened its grip and Hadley grunted as his upper body seemed to collapse in upon itself but he clung to consciousness long enough to grab the scroll, feeling the parchment between his fingers.

  Voronov saw what he was doing and he took a step forward but it was too late.

  Hadley pulled the scroll from the creatures mouth, holding it between his shaking fingers.

  The Golem shuddered briefly then was still.

  Jess sprang towards Hadley, taking the scroll from him, seeing the blood pouring over his lips. Lips that bore the semblance of what seemed to be a smile.

  She held the tiny piece of parchment in her hand and stood defiantly before Voronov who had frozen as surely as the clay monster before him.

  ‘You don’t know what you’re doing,’ he hissed.

  ‘I know exactly what I’m doing,’ Jess said. ‘Whoever holds this scroll has control over the Golem. Whoever puts this scroll into its mouth is the one who commands it.’

  One of the security men pulled the automatic pistol from inside his jacket and swung it up, the barrel aimed at Jess.

  ‘No,’ Voronov snapped, noticing that Jess was now holding the parchment at arm’s length. It waved in the strong breeze, threatening to slip from her fingers. If she loosed her grip even slightly it would be lost forever.

  ‘Tell him to put it down,’ Jess called.

  Voronov and his men stood motionless and Jess thought that she saw something like fear flicker across the billionaire’s face. Then, very slowly, she pushed the scroll into the Golem’s mouth.

  ‘Live,’ she whispered.

  The Golem turned its head towards her and Jess felt her entire body shaking. It opened its arms, Hadley’s body falling to the ground at its feet. She looked down at him and saw that he wasn’t moving. Blood covered his chin and cheeks and more of it had spilled down onto his chest. If he was breathing then she certainly couldn’t see it. Instead she turned her attention back to the Golem, watching as it turned to face her.

  Voronov backed away slowly, his eyes also fixed on the clay monolith.

  One of the security men opened fire, squeezing off two shots in the direction of the Golem.

  The first hit it just below the left shoulder, drilling into the clay. The second clipped its head, blasting a piece of the dark material away but the creature didn’t move. It remained before Jess, its face blank and expressionless.

  ‘Obey me,’ she said.

  The Golem moved towards her, one small step then it turned to face Voronov and his men.

  ‘Kill them,’ Jess said, softly.

  NINETY-FIVE

  The creature set off with surprising speed, moving towards Voronov who backed off as one of his men stepped in front of him to block the passage of the Golem. The clay creature struck out with one powerful hand, catching the man in the face with a blow so powerful it obliterated most of his lower jaw. Blood and teeth spilled onto the ground as the man tumbled backwards, lying helpless before the Golem. It stepped on his head the way a man woul
d step on an ant. The huge weight of the creature collapsed the skull, the entire cranium bursting like an overripe melon. Fragments of bone, hair and brain sprayed in all directions as the Golem walked on, lunging towards the second security guard who raised his gun again and fired two more shots at it.

  They were as ineffective as the first two had been and the Golem grabbed his arm and dragged him towards it, swinging him up into the air above its head with frightening ease. It held him there for a second then slammed his body down with incredible force, the splintering of bone quite clearly audible in the stillness of the night.

  Then it moved on Voronov who had turned and was hurrying towards the door that led away from the roof, desperate to escape but knowing that was impossible.

  Jess moved forward, careful to avoid the pulverised bodies of the security men. She bent and snatched up the weapon that the first of them had dropped, aiming it at Voronov.

  ‘Stay there,’ she shouted, firing off a warning shot that sped past him and screamed off the ground close to his feet.

  The billionaire froze and turned to face her and the Golem which had also stopped and was standing motionless a few feet from him.

  ‘You haven’t got the nerve to kill me,’ he said, defiantly. ‘It takes more strength than you know to take a life.’

  Jess stood motionless, the gun held in her grip, the barrel trained on Voronov.

  ‘Is that why you used this thing?’ Jess said. ‘Because you hadn’t got the nerve to kill men yourself?’

  Voronov didn’t speak.

  ‘You’re a coward,’ she said, quietly. ‘And you deserve to die.’ She moved closer to the Golem. ‘Kill him,’ she whispered.

  A look of shock crossed Voronov’s face. It vanished a second later as the Golem struck him with a blow that almost tore his head from his shoulders. Jess felt warm blood spatter her as he collapsed, most of the left side of his skull caved in. He dropped to his knees then pitched forward, the remains of his head in the centre of a spreading pool of blood.

  Jess looked at the Golem then glanced back at Hadley before scrambling across to him. She knelt beside him, looking into his face, touching his bloodied cheek with one hand.

  ‘Alex,’ she said, softly.

  Hadley opened his eyes slightly but he couldn’t seem to focus on her.

  ‘Voronov’s dead,’ she told him.

  Hadley tried to speak, his mouth filling with blood.

  Jess cradled him in her arms, holding him close to her and feeling his body trembling slightly.

  ‘The Golem …’ he gasped.

  ‘I know what to do,’ Jess murmured, tears now trickling down her cheeks.

  Hadley looked at her and in that fleeting moment there seemed to be something like recognition in his eyes. Then there was nothing at all.

  ‘Alex,’ she said, more tears flowing now. ‘Alex.’

  He made no sound.

  Jess laid his body gently on the ground, straightening up wearily. Already, from far below she could hear the sound of emergency sirens. Police, ambulances or fire engines? She didn’t know and she didn’t care any more. She moved towards the Golem and looked at it, running her gaze up and down the creature then slowly she reached for the scroll inside its mouth. She withdrew it and slipped it carefully into her pocket.

  There was a strong wind blowing across the roof now and it brought the sound of sirens more loudly with it. Jess walked to the edge of the parapet and glanced down into the streets far below, watching for the flashing blue lights she knew would be arriving soon.

  All she could do now was wait.

  Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man.

  Nietzsche.

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