October 17, 11 p.m. Year of the Curtain+5
Boston, Massachusetts
“You’re listening to Spookseekers, U.S.A. I’m Jim Addison.”
“And I’m Michelle Winter, and we’re going to be here for the next four hours talking about the world of the paranormal, and giving you the vital information you need to survive in a world where the Curtain has been pulled back. Jimmy, how are you tonight?”
Jim Addison shifted in his seat. That was a bit of a loaded question, of course. Michelle was his partner, and his friend, and was therefore well aware of the fact that he felt disquieted tonight… which, of course, is why she asked. “I’m a bit apprehensive tonight, Michelle. We’ve just gotten past the five year anniversary of the Curtain, and as usual, we’re seeing an uptick in activity. According to the reports we’ve received from Monster Muck and other reliable sources, a conclave of at least seven vampires was found slaughtered outside of Albuquerque four days ago.”
“Sounds like the Huntress has been doing her job again.”
“Yeah, but she can’t be everywhere. There are four teenagers outside of Baton Rouge who disappeared sometime before midnight on the 15th. These weren’t a bunch of social outcasts, these weren’t emo kids, we’re talking about a class president and two straight-A students. Good families, well respected at school, and thousands of students and adults holding a candlelight vigil at the spot where they found their car. I saw a reply on the Monster Muck forum about this, where some Neanderthal had the audacity to say – and I’m quoting here – ‘Kids disappear all the time. It sucks, but that doesn’t make it a bunch of space aliens. You Curtain freaks need to stop trying to make more out of it.’ Signed Wereperson12.”
Michelle rolled her eyes. “I’ve seen his posts before. Hey, Wereperson – I know you’re listening, guys like you always listen – explain something to me. If this was just a case of kids running away or even getting caught up in some sort of foul play, why is it that the car was found, there were several chunks of a thick brown carapace lying on the seats and on the floor? Did the kidnapper glue together a thousand cockroach wings and leave them in the car?”
“Highly unlikely,” Jim said. Deniers in general frustrated him, but when there was evidence like this… evidence being suppressed, no less. Of all the news organizations that reported on the disappearance, only Monster Muck made any mention of the carapace that was found in the car. Monster Muck also mentioned several hanks of hair found mixed in with the carapace. It was being tested, but there was no doubt in his mind that it would match one of the kids – maybe all of them. He decided to leave that tidbit out of the broadcast… at least for now.
“Here’s the big problem,” Jim said. “For five years now, every time October 15 strikes, the reports of paranormal activity across the globe spike up noticeably. But do you know what happens to that trend once November starts?”
“I don’t know, Jim,” Michelle said, doing her best Ed McMahon. “What does happen to that trend once November starts?”
“Absolutely nothing,” Jim snapped. “The trends go up on October 15. They don’t go down again. Five years ago, there were approximately 700 reported paranormal incidents around the world. A year later, that reached 800. A year after that, 1000.”
“The per-month average isn’t going down at all,” Michelle said. “In fact, throughout the year, it creeps slowly up. Then, in October, it stops creeping and it jumps. Last October, the count was at 2,100. In July of this year – the most recent month for which numbers are available – we were already at 2,600.”
“The numbers are climbing, and they’re climbing faster,” Jim shouted into his microphone. “What is it going to take for deniers like Wereperson12 to wake up and admit that there are things in this world that they don’t understand?”
“Probably when a vampire clamps his big, frothy, unhinged jaw on his throat.”
“And you don’t even want to get me started on the Dixon Moreno trial. Martin Alcide hasn’t even pretended to listen to the defense’s stand on demonic possession. Okay, I’ll grant you that it’s the sort of thing some slimeball murderer might pull to try to get off for his crimes, but in this world it’s no longer the sort of thing you can just dismiss wholesale.”
Michelle checked the blinking lights on her board – callers she’d screened before the show went on the air. This would be a good time to take a simple call, something to let Jim show off that big brain of his. Otherwise, he was liable to strangle the microphone.
“Let’s go to the phones, shall we? Our first call is from Alex in Manhattan. Alex, you’re on Spookseekers, U.S.A. What’s creeping you out?”
“Yeah, um… this is Alex.” The voice was very young, and very shaky. It was just a kid, and a nervous one at that.
“We know this is Alex,” Jim said. “Like Michelle asked, what’s creeping you out?”
“You guys know a lot about monsters, right?”
“I know everything about monsters, Alex. If that’s the only question you’re calling to ask, you’re wasting your time and mine.”
Michelle shot Jim a look, but he ignored her. She needed to steer this conversation back on track and quick. Most people would mistake Jim’s quip for sarcasm, but she knew him well enough to know that he was already frustrated and the kid was really annoying him. He’d cut the call off if Alex didn’t give him something to talk about.
“What kind of monster is bothering you, Alex?”
“I’m not sure, that’s what I’m hoping you can tell me. I saw this… thing. It was really tall, like eight feet, and it looked like it was made out of mud.”
“You were attacked by a Mudman?” Jim said, suddenly sounding interested.
“No, it didn’t attack me,” Alex said.
Damn, Michelle thought.
“It didn’t move at all. It was hard mud, like it was all dried up. It looked like somebody molded it out of clay. Its mouth was open and–”
“It’s not a monster,” Jim broke in. “You’re describing a golem.”
“A golem? Like that dude from Lord of the Rings?”
Jim hissed and Michelle broke in before he could go off. “No, Alex, G-O-L-E-M. It’s a creature from Jewish folklore.”
“Golems were creatures molded from clay and animated with the intention of serving their masters in some way. They aren’t actually alive. Tell me, was there any sort of writing on its forehead?” Michelle smiled. Jim was being the Smart Guy now, that should calm him down.
“Writing? Um… I’m kind of short, I’m not sure.”
“If you see the creature again, look at its forehead. It will probably have a series of Hebrew characters that spell met, or dead. Golums are activated by adding an aleph to spell emet, or truth.”
“Truth?”
“Yes. And they’ll obey whatever orders are inscribed on a piece of paper and placed in its open mouth.”
“I haven’t heard of any Golem attacks, though,” Michelle broke in, “not even since the Curtain was pulled back. You probably just saw a statue, Alex. I wouldn’t worry about it. We’ll be back on Spookseekers, U.S.A. after this.”
She went to commercial and glared at Jim. “Be careful with that, partner. You realize that you basically gave that kid a how-to in activating a Golem.”
“So what? Golems aren’t real.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“The creatures that have turned up since the Curtain was pulled back are almost universally malevolent. A Golem is not a monster, it’s a tool. It has no will of its own. What’s the kid going to do?”
She shook her head. “If you say so, partner. If you say so.”
I have to admit, Jim reminds me a lot of The Simpsons, Comic Book Guy. I instantly dislike him, yet know so many people like him. He also strikes me as someone who’s more likely to get eaten by a monster than survive the whole story.
Heh — in a standard horror movie, you’d probably be right. At the moment, though, Jim and Michelle are very much side characters, more likely to provide commentary and insight on the proceedings than actually take part.
For now.