The Mesmerized (18 page)

Ava’s head tilted just a tad.

Convinced the entity was listening, Minji
restrained her wrath and forced her voice to be even. “I will help
you. Just let my daughter and the others go.”

“What’s going on?” Jesse bounded into the
room and started at the sight of the newcomer. “Who are you?”

“My name is Alec Markham. I just got
here.”

“Jesse, Ava was awake.”

“What?” Jesse crouched at Minji’s side.
“Seriously?”

“Yes, for just a little bit. When she saw
this man, she screamed, but then she woke up! She said something
hurt and begged me to help her. Then...” Minji’s voice cracked.

Jesse sorrowfully regarded Ava’s appearance.
“She went back into it...”

Minji nodded, swallowing sobs and fighting
tears. “Is she hurt? Is there something I’m not seeing?”

Guiding Ava to face him, Jesse tenderly
started a cursory examination. Ava kept her gaze firmly on Minji.
“No broken bones, no lacerations, I don’t see anything, but that
doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a fracture.”

“I don’t think she’s physically hurt,” Alec
spoke up. His voice reminded Minji of a cowboy’s. It carried a
slight twang, was deep, and a bit rough. “What has her trapped is
hurting her.”

Looking up, Jesse appeared to take note of
the man’s condition. “You’re pretty banged up.”

“I was in a car accident and hit my head.
That’s the reason for all the blood.” The man had a nice, but worn
face. The lines around his eyes and mouth told the story of a hard
life, though his blue eyes had a gentle quality.

“I’m sorry, Minji,” Jesse said, “but I don’t
know what to do for Ava since I can’t find anything to treat. Let
me take care of Alec.”

Resting her face in her hands, Minji
struggled to maintain her composure. Ava stayed in front of her,
unmoving. That fact made it even harder to gain control over her
emotions. She’d seen her beautiful daughter’s spirit for just a few
precious seconds and the hope that had filled her seeped away into
a terrible dread. What if it never happened again? What if Ava
never woke up? She couldn’t allow herself to entertain such dark
thoughts. Ava needed her and Minji had to find a way to rescue
her.

When she had her emotions firmly under
control, Minji lifted her head and saw Jesse helping Alec to one of
the examination rooms. The newcomer ambled with a distinct limp, so
their pace was a little slow. She waited until they turned into the
room, and then lifted Ava into her arms. Carrying her over to the
front entrance, she gazed out at the last remaining mesmerized in
the city staggering through the rubble. The orange haze in the sky
appeared to have intensified and Minji wondered if the fires were
spreading, and if so, how far.

“Do you see what you’re doing?” Minji asked
the entity within her daughter in a hushed voice. “This is what
you’re doing to us. Do you even understand it? Are you the one
asking for help? Or is my daughter somehow using you to speak to
me?”

The invisible silken threads throbbed in the
air, but Minji could hear Jesse speaking to Alec. Was this the
beginning of a new attack, or something different?

“I’ll help you. Just let everyone go. Stop
doing all of this, and I’ll help you.”

“Huuuuuuurts,” Ava answered.

But it wasn’t Ava.

It was the other.

“Tell me how to help you.” Minji forced
herself to look into the eyes of the being within her daughter.

Tongue flailing, lips twisting, Ava made
sounds that were inhumane and terrifying. Was it attempting to
speak to her? Was this its language? The way Ava’s mouth moved and
the noises issuing from her lips were reminiscent of something
Minji had witnessed before, but she had difficulty focusing her
thoughts.

“Please let Ava come back to me,” Minji
begged one last time.

The bizarre enunciation continued, but the
stir of invisible tendrils receded.

Close to tears again, Minji carried Ava on
her hip through the waiting room and into the corridor. The male
voices attracted her to the open doorway of the examination room.
Jesse stood next to Alec cleaning wounds on the other man’s scalp
hidden by his dark blond hair.

“How’s your daughter?” Alec asked, spotting
Minji.

“Mesmerized,” Minji answered, revolving so
the men could see Ava’s face.

“Mesmerized?” Alec appeared to consider the
word before giving her a brief nod. “It works.”

“Alec was just telling me about his
accident, and how lucky he was that it happened close to here.”
Jesse’s gloved hands were gentle as he plucked glass from the other
man’s hair and flesh.

“How did you know we were here?”

“Arthur Freestone’s call was all over the
networks,” Alec replied, barely wincing at Jesse’s ministrations.
“He said exactly where you were. I was in Phoenix, so I drove here
to find you.”

“Did you see anyone else along the way? Like
us?” Minji slipped into the room and sat on a chair.

Alec shook his head. “No. They were all
like,” he glanced at Ava, “...her. When the event hit Phoenix, I
tried to find others, but I never saw anyone else like me. I’d
given up and gone home when I saw Arthur’s interview on the news. I
got in my truck and drove here.”

The story sounded plausible, but Minji felt
a twinge of uneasiness in her gut. “All those people on the
roads...how did you avoid them?”

“They’re not always on the road unless it’s
in their path. The ones in this area are being funneled through the
boulevard, but elsewhere there are a lot of empty roads. Well,
except for the car accidents. I have a 4x4, so I went off-road when
I had to.” Alec didn’t even cringe when Jesse started to stitch him
up.

“And when you reached Vegas?”

If Alec was bothered by her questions, he
didn’t show it. “The south side is relatively empty. They’re all
heading northward. I was nearby when...I don’t know what happened
actually. One second I was driving, the next I woke up with my
truck wrapped around a pole. I think my head took the brunt of it,
but luckily, I’m hard-headed.”

The smile that spread on his lips provoked
one out of Minji before she realized it. He was charming in his
craggy, cowboy way.

“You were probably mesmerized,” Jesse said,
sewing little stitches into Alec’s scalp with skillful motions.

“I’m not affected,” Alec replied.

“Well, sorry to break this to you, but no
one appears to be truly immune but Minji. We didn’t even realize we
were going under at first. It wasn’t until Minji appeared to vanish
in front of our eyes that we realized we really were being affected
during the attacks,” Jesse explained. “Well, everyone appeared to
disappear in my eyes. It took me longer to wake up.”

“You probably didn’t even realize you were
mesmerized during the attacks. That’s why you hit the pole,” Minji
suggested.

A stoic expression settled over Alec’s
features at Minji’s comment. Shifting slightly was the only sign of
his discomfort at either her words, or the needle. “I see.” After a
long pause, he asked, “So how do you know you’re immune?”

“I’m pretty sure I am since I witnessed
everyone else being affected,” Minji answered. “In the first
attacks I was able to shake it off, though it did blind me a few
times.”

“Same here,” Alec said with a nod.

“But then in the most recent attacks, I
didn’t feel the effects other than the cold and that strange
sensation like silk thread brushing over me.”

“Like a spider web.” Alec slightly
shivered.

“Exactly.”

Jesse finished with Alec’s head injuries,
then focused on some small gashes on his shoulder. Minji observed
what appeared to be a military tattoo on Alec’s upper arm.

“So, if you’re truly immune, I wonder what
that means?” Alec mused.

“It means we are lucky she’s around to make
sure we don’t crash cars into poles,” Jesse answered. “We’re hoping
to leave in the morning and it’s looking like she’s our
driver.”

“Where are you going to go?” Alec slightly
winced as Jesse started stitching him up again.

“East Texas,” Minji answered. “Near the
lakes.”

“That’s a long drive,” Alec said. He wasn’t
looking directly at Minji, but she had the impression he was
watching her.

“I can handle it.”

“Though I might ask for a detour to check on
my folks,” Jesse said somberly.

“Simone and Arthur will probably want the
same.” Minji sighed, feeling beleaguered all at once. It was
intimidating how so much responsibility was shifting onto her
because of her immunity. How could she take care of everyone?

“Don’t think about it right now,” Alec
suggested, clearly reading her expression. It was a little
unnerving. Usually only Jake could read her that well. “It’s the
middle of the night. Everyone should get rested before major
decisions are made.”

Jesse made brief eye contact with Minji
indicating he had also heard the authoritative tone lacing the
comment.

“Why’d you come here?” Minji demanded.

“To not be alone,” Alec replied simply while
watching Jesse tend to the ragged tear on his shoulder. “And for
medical assistance.”

Something about his manner made Minji wonder
if his answer was the full truth. Then something occurred to her.
“You haven’t asked about Arthur.”

Alec directed his keen blue eyes at her
briefly before resuming his observation of Jesse’s handiwork. “What
about him?”

“You came here because of his phone call,
but you haven’t asked about him.”

Alec bestowed her with a crooked smile. “No,
I didn’t. I figured he was asleep along with the other woman you
mentioned. Simone? Besides, I needed some serious stitching up, so
I’m a little distracted.”

“He did take a hard blow to the head,” Jesse
commented.

“What branch of the service were you in?”
Minji pointed to his arm.

“Army.” Alec turned his full attention on
her. “Retired.”

“And you didn’t talk to anyone in the Army
about what’s happening?”

“They’re all mesmerized now.”

“But before they were mesmerized?”

Alec’s face became expressionless.

Jesse gave Minji a quizzical look. “He said
retired.”

“I was just wondering if he knew something.
That’s all.” Minji shrugged, but she noted Alec had avoided
answering her question.

“Don’t go getting all paranoid like Arthur,”
Jesse said with a frown.

“She’s asking pertinent questions. I’m not
offended.”

Minji met Alec’s stare and something silent
passed between them. It was an understanding that there was more to
say, but not at the moment. A corner of Alec’s mouth twitched and
she had the distinct impression he was pleased.

Nuzzling Ava’s cheek, Minji listened to the
odd noises emerging from her lips. Exhaustion pulled at her
eyelids. It was time to sleep. There would be time for questions in
the morning. Minji slid off the chair and carried Ava to the
door.

“I better get some rest if we really do plan
to leave tomorrow,” she said more to Jesse than the newcomer.

“I’ll finish up with Alec, get him a bed,
then check one last time on everyone before I lay down for a few
hours.”

“Not worried about the fires?” Alec tilted
his head to gaze to Minji.

“The construction site is a natural
firebreak. We’re okay for now,” Minji answered.

With a nod, Alec agreed with her assessment.
“I’ll alternate sleeping stints with Jesse to keep an eye out. He
looks like he could use some rest.”

“I really could. Sounds like a plan.” Jesse
looked relieved at the idea of a split shift.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” Minji said
before slipping out of the room.

She could feel Alec’s eyes on her as she
departed.

Minji mulled over everything that had
happened since she’d awakened and didn’t like where her conclusions
were taking her. Whatever was controlling Ava and the mesmerized
had let go of her daughter when it had seen Alec. Maybe it was a
coincidence, but she had to consider that it wasn’t. Alec had
avoided answering her directly when she’d asked him about being in
contact with the military concerning the event. Was it all
connected, and if so, what did it mean? Maybe she
was
getting just as paranoid as Arthur.

Once inside the room she was sharing with
her family, she secured Ava with the child leash, checked on Bailey
and Jake, closed the door, and shoved a chair against it. The piece
of furniture wouldn’t keep anyone out, but it would make noise if
someone tried to come in.

Yes, she was definitely becoming paranoid,
but she supposed it was natural when all the events of the
preceding day were taken into account. The world was coming to an
end after all. However, she wasn’t willing to give into despair
just yet. Ava had woken for a short period of time and she had to
cling to the hope that was born in those few wonderful moments.

She stretched out next to her unconscious
husband, mulling over Ava’s words. Was Ava in pain? Or was the
other suffering? Which one was actually calling for help? And why
did the other seem particularly aware of Minji? Was it her
immunity? Or because she was Ava’s mother?

Sleep eventually stole her away, but her
dreams were haunted by Ava’s cries for help.

The air outside the window was a
yellowish-gray. What little early morning sunlight managed to break
through the thick gray haze illuminated the soot covered wreckage
in the boulevard below. Cars, bikes, bodies, and rubble dotted the
Las Vegas Strip.

Minji wondered why Jesse had selected rooms
facing the boulevard. The gruesome scene outside was unsettling and
only reinforced the notion that this was the end of the world. Of
course, if the winds changed directions and the fires started to
spread in the direction of the medical center, they’d have ample
warning. Nevertheless, it was disconcerting to see the beauty of
the strip demolished beneath a sickly colored sky.