Monster - A. Lee Martinez [16]
“Crap.” Monster thought of the demerits he’d get for that. The trolls were too distracted by their meal to notice that the seal had faded. Monster retreated to his van. Judy and Chester followed.
“Oh my God,” said Judy. “They’re going to eat everybody.”
“It’s not as bad as all that, miss,” said Chester. “Even trolls don’t enjoy the company of other trolls. They’ll disperse instinctively and go into hiding from the daylight.”
While Monster radioed in a report to Dispatch, trolls filtered from Judy’s apartment into the parking lot. They were a rainbow of colors, and all different shapes. The stench was overwhelming. Judy pinched her nose. It didn’t help. The odor burned her eyes, and she could taste it.
Out in the open, the creatures became less aggressive. They scampered in all directions, confused and blinded by daylight. They seemed lost now. Hideous as they were, Judy felt sorry for them as they ran about erratically. They darted into the streets, hid in darkened corners, or sought shelter under parked cars.
“Poor things,” she said. “They must be terrified.”
Her apartment burst open as the kojin managed to break free. There didn’t seem enough room on its shoulders for its multitude of arms. The kojin had a tremendous belly and pendulous breasts. It looked as if the beast, with its staggering weight, had to struggle not to fall flat on its face with each step.
It paused to rub its eyes, but the sunlight didn’t bother it like it did the trolls. It scanned the parking lot with a horrible, hungry sneer. Then its gaze fell on Judy and Monster. It wiped the drool from its lips with the back of one giant hand and lurched toward them.
“Oh, crap,” said Monster.
Monster, Chester, and Judy jumped into the van. “If you sit in the back, Miss Hines, you should be safe while we deal with this. No need to worry. We are professionals.” Chester retrieved the thick crypto reference guide from below the passenger seat and started flipping through it. “Kobold, koerakoonlased, koguhpuk… kojin—here it is.”
The creature was beside the vehicle. It clutched the van in its many arms. The squeak of a hundred powerful fingertips crushing the chassis followed.
Monster started the van and pushed the accelerator, but the vehicle didn’t move. Its tires spun against the pavement. Thick clouds of smoke filled the air. The kojin sneezed, and the tremors of its great belly rocked the van to one side. It hung there, balanced on its two passenger-side wheels, for a moment before tipping over. The windshield shattered. Judy bounced around in the back. She was buried under a few pounds of paperwork. Plastic elixir bottles buffeted her, and a metal case smacked her just above the eye.
The hacking kojin fanned the air with its many arms. “Chester, where the hell are you?” asked Monster.
The flattened paper gnome’s voice came out in a muffle from beneath Monster.
The giant sniffed around the edges of the van. It bit into a tire and the rubber blew up in its face. In retribution, it tore off the rear bumper, then flipped the van again, this time putting it on its roof. The same metal case struck Judy in the hip.
Monster, having fallen on his head, struggled to right himself. “Chester, I could use a little help here.”
Chester managed to squirm out from underneath Monster. “We need the baby.”
Monster crawled into the back, but the van’s inventory was in disarray. Judy struggled to work free of the chaotic jumble. A small gash on her forehead was oozing blood into her eyes.
Monster dug through the clutter. He found the doll just as the kojin reached through the shattered windshield and seized him by the leg. He didn’t even have time to yelp before being dragged from the van. The kojin held him aloft. Rivers of drool dripped from its wide jaws as it prepared to bite off Monster’s face.
Monster held up the doll.
The kojin stopped. Its small black eyes narrowed as it grunted curiously.
Monster pulled the ring on the back, and the doll squeaked. “Ma-Ma.”
The creature’s eyes went wide with