The Mesmerized (22 page)

“When was this?”

“Yesterday, in the early morning.”

“Shit.” Minji’s mind reeled. The end of the
world had started while she had been at breakfast with her
family.

“Then the event expanded and encapsulated a
good portion of Las Vegas. The second team was nearby, so they were
sent to the area. According to what I was told, the head scientist
did discover two people who were immune to the effects of the
event. A man and a woman. Arthur Freestone and Minji Nordim. She
also reported that she’d secured one of the affected. They were
supposed to be transported out of Las Vegas, but then all
communication with her was lost when the event expanded again.”

“And here I am,” Minji said, rubbing a knot
forming at the back of her neck.

“Yes, here you are.”

The face of the female scientist behind the
glossy facemask of the hazmat suit came vividly to Minji’s mind.
“Her name was Dr. Tina McCoy,” Minji said with a sigh. “I saw her
die when the event expanded.”

“So she’s not one of the mesmerized?” Alec
raised one eyebrow.

“No. She died in front of us.”

“Well, that’s a bit of good news.”

“Excuse me?” Minji gave him an incredulous
look.

“I was sent to locate her, and frankly, I
was terrified it was a lost cause. But if you know where her body
is, that will save me a world of grief.”

“But she’s dead. How can she help you?”

“She’s our way into the facility where the
creature is. You and I are going to stop this, Minji. We’re going
to do what no one else could do. We’re going to kill the creature
causing this and save the world.”

The wind whistling through the broken
windows was the only sound in the store. The temptation to return
to the medical center and forget everything Alec had divulged so
far was nearly overpowering. For an instant Minji imagined whisking
her family away and taking care of Jake and Ava while raising
Bailey in some remote area where she could fend for them. It was
vivid, alluring, and a distinct possibility, but the image promptly
diminished in the face of reality.

“I’m sorry to put this on you,” Alec said in
a soothing voice. “I really am, but your immunity means that if the
creature stops me, you can continue on.”

“I get it,” Minji said, raising her chin.
“Let’s do this.”

Alec scrutinized her face and posture.
“You’re tough, you know.”

“Life has a way of toughening you up,” Minji
replied.

Alec chuckled lightly while gesturing to her
tattoos and dreads. “A bit on the edge, huh?”

“Sure,” she answered, shrugging.

There was no point in explaining her inner
steel had nothing to do with her tattoos, piercings, dreads, or
counterculture existence. Alec didn’t need to know she’d been the
oldest child and comforted her younger brother while her parents
fought endlessly. Or how she’d been forced to become a co-parent
alongside her mother after her father had left the family to “find
himself.” Or how she’d learned to support herself and contribute to
the care of her brother and mother at a relatively young age in the
aftermath of her parents’ divorce. Or how she’d endured several
toxic relationships with bad boys. Minji’s entire life had been one
big lesson on how to overcome obstacles which in the end left her
with a much tougher skin and a keen eye for bullshit.

For a long time, she’d only trusted in
herself, and then Jake had entered her life. One of the wonderful
things about life with Jake was that she was finally revered and
acknowledged for not only her strengths, but everything about her.
It had taken time for him to prove that he wasn’t like the other
jerks she had dated and was worthy of her love and commitment. With
Jake she’d learned that being in a partnership was not always
50/50. Sometimes one partner carried the other when times were
tough. Jake had done his fair share of being there for her and the
girls and now it was time for her to be the strong one. Alec didn’t
need to know all of this though. He saw her strength, intelligence,
and competence, and that was enough.

“We should get going,” Alec said, gesturing
to the front of the store and the motorcycle at the threshold.

With a nod, Minji started toward the front
of the store, weaving through the aisles. She took a different path
than the one she’d taken to grab the new gear. It was a more direct
route to the front doors. The need to move forward and get things
done had her firmly in its grip.

Glancing to one side, she froze in
mid-step.

A little girl dressed in a white dress
covered in tiny yellow flowers lay face down on the floor
surrounded by a dark puddle of dried blood. Like tumblers clicking
into place, Minji’s mind came to a dire conclusion.

“It killed everyone in white because of the
scientists. They were wearing lab coats, right?”

“I haven’t seen the footage, but I suppose
so.”

“Or maybe white hazmat suits?”

“Possibly.” Alec took hold of her shoulders
and turned her to face away from the child. “Let’s go, Minji.”

“It’s afraid of anyone in white. That’s why
it killed them.” Minji walked on, but she kept speaking in a rush.
“It killed everyone in the facility wearing white and when the
event expanded, it killed people wearing the same color as the
scientists.”

“Maybe.”

“Then it killed the security guard because
he was hurting Ava. It’s watching through her eyes. It sees what
she sees. It chose to kill the guard to protect Ava, or maybe just
itself.”

“Possibly.”

“It sees through the eyes of the mesmerized,
doesn’t it?” Minji persisted, stopping to face Alec.

“Yes,” he said, his blue eyes meeting her
gaze directly.

“It knew you. When you walked into the
hospital, it was so afraid it recoiled and let my daughter speak
for just a moment. So, which facility were you at? The first or the
second?”

Alec exhaled slowly, staring past her, one
hand on his hip and leaning on his cane.

“Alec, it knows you. Why does it know
you?”

“I don’t know,” he answered.

“So you weren’t at the second facility?”

“No, I was at work at a hospital when the
event hit. I saw a lot of people die and there was nothing I could
do. If it can see us through the eyes of the mesmerized, then it
did see me. Just like it sees you, Simone, Arthur, and Jesse.”

Alec was lying and Minji knew it. Though he
looked at her directly in the eye and did not waver in his
response, she could feel the lie beneath his story.

“Bullshit,” Minji declared. “Bullshit!”

“Minji, I need you to just do what—”

“No! I won’t. Not until you tell me why it
knows you!”

“It’s not important!”

“Yes, it is! Because it’s afraid of you, but
it hasn’t killed you. I want to know why. I want to know right
now!”

“It
has
tried to kill me!” Alec
blurted. “It tried, but I have a limited immunity and it couldn’t
do it.”

“First or second facility, Alec?”

Raising his eyes, Alec fought for control of
the emotions that raced across his face, transforming it into a
much older version. “The first...”

“Fuck!”

“It killed everyone but me. I was security
there, stationed in the monitoring room. A friend of mine pulled a
few strings to get me a job after I retired. I wasn’t cleared to
enter the main building. Security worked out of another building
monitoring the fences and the entrance. I didn’t see the creature
or the attack. I just saw everyone around me die. I was terrified.
I went blind and I could feel it battering on my skull, trying to
kill me, too. I must have gone under the influence of the attack,
fallen, and hit my head, because I came to hours later. I couldn’t
get into the facility because everyone who had security clearance
into the building was already inside and dead. I immediately called
the Army. My story remains the same after that point. I was told to
locate the scientists from the second facility that had been sent
to Las Vegas. Even if they’re dead, we can use them to get into the
first facility.”

“So it does know you.”

Alec rubbed his face with both hands. “Yes,
it knows me. It probably saw me through the eyes of the other
people in the security room with me.”

“And it doesn’t trust you.”

“Probably not.”

“Dammit, Alec, it does trust
me
.”

“I know it does. I’ve seen how it watches
you. That’s why I need your help. It doesn’t see you as a threat.
I’m not sure why, but that’s a good thing.”

“But I came here with you!” Minji wanted to
shake the man. “It could doubt me now.”

“True, but it’s a risk we have to take,
right? To save your family and the entire world?”

Without answering, Minji exited the store
and approached the bike. The air was so thick, it was difficult to
see. It was probably foolish for her to feel betrayed when Alec was
right. They had to take risks to save the world, but she didn’t
know if she could risk her own daughter. The creature the
experiment had brought into the world was inside Ava. It could hurt
her, kill her. Minji wasn’t certain she could sacrifice her own
daughter to save the world.

Settling onto the bike, she waited for Alec.
It took a little longer for him to exit the store.

“Did you really hurt your leg in the war,
Alec?”

“No, I didn’t hurt it. Someone else hurt my
leg by riddling it with bullets. Doctors saved the limb, but it’s
not easy to get around sometimes.” The clipped words and weary look
said it all. He was upset with her, too.

“You need to tell me the whole truth, Alec.
This isn’t just about you fulfilling your duty. This is about my
children, my husband, and the entire world. You need me to finish
this and I need you to tell me the truth. As you have pointed out,
I’m not stupid.”

“You don’t have the clearance to know it
all,” Alec answered, but his argument held no real weight.

“My immunity says I have clearance.”

Drawing a deep breath through his nose, Alec
squared his shoulders. The seconds ticked away as he exhaled,
lifted his eyes toward the horizon, and obviously considered what
he should or shouldn’t say. “Okay. Fine. You have a point. Hell,
this may all be a moot point if we don’t find the second team. The
truth is, the doorway they opened didn’t close all the way when the
entity came through. That was the other big problem. It’s partially
open. Just a sliver.”

Minji stared at Alec incredulously. “So that
explains why it’s so cold.”

“Maybe.”

“No, I’m certain that’s why. That other
world is leaking into ours through this sliver of an open door.”
Pressing fingertips reddened by the icy air against her temples,
Minji forced herself to focus. “So we have to close the door,
too.”

“Yes, I was told to close the door and
detonate an explosive beneath the facility to kill the entity.”

“An explosive?” Abruptly lightheaded, Minji
closed her eyes in an attempt to steady the wobbling world around
her.

“It’s a contingency that’s probably been in
place for years since the area was used for other types of top
secret experiments.”

“We’re talking nuclear bomb, aren’t we?”
Minji’s insides were melting into mush.

Alec gave her a brisk nod. “We close the
door, set the timer, and leave. We’ll have time to clear the
area.”

“But all the people heading toward the
epicenter...”

“How many people have already died, Minji?
Right now there are people all over the world walking to their
deaths across deserts, into bodies of water, off mountains. All
over the world people are on the verge of dying from dehydration,
the elements, even predators. The clock is ticking.”

“Then get on the damn motorcycle already,”
Minji ordered. “The wind is changing direction, which means we
probably don’t have much time. Treasure Island was burning
yesterday. That might be bad news for The Venetian.”

“Then I hope our luck holds out.” Alec
carefully maneuvered onto the back of the bike.

Minji restarted the motorcycle and turned it
around. This time, she drove a little faster through the obstacle
course of demolished vehicles, bodies, and debris. Up the
boulevard, flames licked at the sides of buildings and consumed
decorative foliage.

Las Vegas was burning.

Treasure Island was a smoldering ruin. One
side had collapsed, giving it an apocalyptic dollhouse effect. In
the fake harbor the land-bound pirate ship was a burning wreckage
and the palm trees were lit up like torches along the boulevard.
Further down the strip, many of the resorts were in various stages
of disintegration. Flames lashed along the edges of broken windows
as black smoke spewed into the already congested winds. Decorative
foliage along the edges of the boulevard were bonfires spewing ash
and cinders into the air. Much to Minji’s relief, The Venetian
appeared unscathed, although it appeared that parts of The Palazzo
were burning. The wind had shifted to the northeast in the early
morning, but the air was an acrid soup.

“We need to make this fast,” she said to
Alec as the motorcycle rumbled along the drive to the rescue
station erected outside The Venetian entrance. “The Palazzo is on
fire.”

“I agree.”

The unmarked black vehicles appeared ominous
against the backdrop of the partially erected tents and the luxury
resort. Now that Minji wasn’t in the first stages of shock and
trapped in the throes of the event, she promptly perceived that all
the dead scattered along the drive were wearing white. It amazed
her that she’d missed the connection the day before. She’d been so
desperate to save her family that simple detail hadn’t
registered.

Parking the bike so it faced the boulevard,
she flexed her nearly frozen fingers and wished she’d grabbed some
gloves from the store.