The Mesmerized Page 10

The news kept replaying clips they’d ripped from social media: the planes going down outside of Las Vegas, people stumbling about in large crowds, car crashes, burning buildings, and the same map with an enormous red circle that showed the affected area. It swallowed most of the West Coast, portions of Mexico, and was creeping into the Midwest and Deep South.

  “They’re showing Texas,” Arthur said. “Aren’t you from Texas?”

  Studying the screen, Minji noted that the live feed was from somewhere in East Texas. According to the big red circle, Austin was already in the throes of the event. It only added to the heavy burden of her worry. Now she wasn’t just worried about the grandparents, but her brother’s family, her friends, and her many clients.

  “...volunteer is with the National Guard. They’ve secured a harness to him that is attached to some ropes. The plan is for him to walk into the affected area…”

  The reporter, a young woman with chin length blond hair, narrated in breathy, rushed words. Minji noticed the woman’s big blue eyes were rimmed with red and puffy. She’d probably been crying before going on the air.

  “He’s wearing a gas mask and the hope is that he’ll be able to save some of the victims before they reach the lake. The authorities believe that just beyond that road is where the event has come to a halt.”

  Minji snapped the lid back onto the container of apple wedges and tried to ignore the tragedy playing out on the television. After all she’d witnessed, it was easy to predict the outcome. Digging her cellphone out of the messenger bag, she checked for bars. She still didn’t have any. With a sigh, she found her gaze straying toward the television.

  The anchorman and woman at the national news desk of the network made a few comments, basically reiterating what the reporter had already said. Behind the reporter, a thick crowd of the mesmerized stumbled through an open field toward a placid blue lake in the background. With a sinking heart, Minji realized most were children.

  “…hoping if this is successful, they can send more guardsmen into the affected area and retrieve the people walking toward the lake. Residents who live along the lake outside of the perimeter have reported bodies in the water. It’s assumed those bodies are the victims of this terrifying event.”

  Behind the news correspondent the guardsman started his rescue run. Several men and women in uniform stood ready, their gloved hands gripping the thick rope. Yellow tape was strung along the edge of the road creating a barrier. The guardsman stepped over it and into the field.

  “It’s not going to work,” Simone said dismally, shaking her head.

  “But it has to,” Arthur protested. “It has to work. How else are they going to save everyone?”

  “Gas masks didn’t work earlier,” Minji said sadly, recalling the death of the doctor earlier. “They won’t work now.”

  The female reporter continued her steady stream of repeated information, then attempted to narrate the guardsman’s journey toward the mesmerized.

  Then it happened.

  The guardsman stumbled then fell into step with the rest of the mesmerized. Communication ceased between the guardsman and the makeshift staging area and panic ensued. Instantly, he was dragged out of the event radius. Jerking the volunteer about, one of the medics tugged off his gas mask. The cameraman zoomed in on the man’s face. The all-too-familiar blank-eyed stare was caught in an eerie close-up.

  “He’s doing it, too!” Arthur gasped. “Making the same faces and noise.”

  Simone glanced at Ava, then the guardsman. “Exactly the same.”

  One look confirmed that they were both right. Resting her elbows on her knees, Minji leaned forward to rest her head in her hands. What did it all mean? What was happening?

  “Oh, shit,” Arthur said. “The kids are going into the lake.”

  “Turn the channel,” Simone ordered. “Turn it!”

  Visibly shaken, the young reporter was in tears when the camera zoomed in to witness the mesmerized entering the glimmering water.

  “Turn the channel!” Minji echoed Simone.

  Bailey looked up at her mother, concern etched onto her tiny face, her toy held in mid-air.

  Arthur set aside his meal and scrambled to comply. It was a relief when the terrible image and the reporter’s cries disappeared, but it was swiftly replaced with yet another scene of despair and death on a different channel.

  “I’m done,” Simone declared. Setting her empty salad bowl aside, she stood and brushed off her pants. Slightly limping in her high heels, she walked to the far side of the room, pulling her cellphone from her jacket.

  “Turn off the TV,” Minji said.

  Arthur hesitated, then obeyed.

  Minji didn’t want to say what was on her mind. The knowledge that the young, emotional reporter would enter the lake and drown with the children if another attack happened weighed on her shoulders.

  “They did start telling people to stay inside their houses and not get in cars,” Arthur remarked.

  “But people weren’t listening. You saw the footage of the traffic jams. People attempting to outrace what they can't escape.” With a frustrated sound, Simone shoved her phone back into her jacket pocket.

  “Maybe it’s over.” Arthur paced before the big black screen. “Maybe the last attack was it. There haven’t been anymore.”

  “It’s not over, Arthur!” Simone slammed her hand against the glass window. “Look outside! They’re still walking! They’re still under the control of whatever this is!”

  “What is it?” Arthur shouted back. “What is it? What’s doing this to us?”

  “Well, it’s not biological,” Jesse said.

  Like before, he’d entered without notice.

  “How’s my husband?” Minji asked immediately, her heart speeding up.

  Jesse cast a reassuring smile her way. “He’s resting. I have him sedated along with all the rest of the patients that didn’t make it out of the building. Ten in total.”

  “But he’s going to be okay, right?”

  Jesse nodded. “In time, yes.”

  Relief flooded through her, wiping away a good chunk of her fears. Yes, she still had to deal with the fact that Jake and Ava were mesmerized, but her husband wasn’t going to die.

  “You said it’s not biological,” Simone said, her dark eyes watching the silent, gruesome parade outside. “Why?”

  “Because if that news report is correct, there is a distinct boundary after each new attack.” Jesse leaned back against the receptionist counter, resting his elbows on it. “Germs, viruses, anything organic, aren’t going to just stop spreading,” he snapped his fingers, “just like that.”

  “Maybe it’s sound waves. Maybe the terrorists just can’t transmit that far in one burst. They have to let the machine recharge or something.” Arthur looked slightly pleased with himself for forming that hypothesis.

  “Why don’t you just suggest aliens at this point?” Simone said, her tone caught between serious and mocking.

  With a shrug, Jesse pushed off from the counter. “Whatever is behind all of this isn’t important in the here and now. Speculation isn’t going to help us. We have to deal with our present circumstances.”

  “Which aren’t good.” Simone shifted on her feet and blinked tears from her eyes. “There’s a good chance that everyone we love is caught in the event and that they will die.”

  “Don’t say that!” Arthur stomped toward Simone. “Don’t you dare say that!”

  “It’s the truth,” Minji said sadly.

  “My friends in Las Vegas, my family in Arizona, my girlfriend on vacation in Mexico...all of them may be walking to their deaths.” Jesse swallowed hard, his jaw flexing as he struggled to contain his composure. “Those people out on the boulevard are walking into the desert. They will die. Everyone that’s...” Jesse searched for a word.

  “Mesmerized,” Minji offered.

  “Yes, mesmerized...all of them will die without water within three days if they don’t die from the elemen
ts, wounds, and the wreckage.” Jesse motioned toward the dire panorama outside the building’s glass windows.

  The black smoke was thicker now and the mesmerized shuffling through it were in dire need of medical attention. Minji observed how Jesse clenched his hands at his sides. She wondered if he felt even more helpless because he was in the medical profession. Simone was right. They couldn’t help everyone. It was a terrible reality.

  “But we’re safe here until someone comes to get us!”

  Arthur’s argumentative tone was really beginning to wear on Minji.

  “Who’s going to come?” Simone asked Arthur. “Out of all the people living and visiting Las Vegas, how many are immune? Right now I see only us.”

  Minji almost protested by pointing out that Arthur and Simone had been affected earlier, but then reconsidered. Emotions were already heightened.

  The floor beneath her feet began to tremble and the furniture started to vibrate. Minji immediately lifted Bailey onto her hip and grabbed Ava’s hand. There was a mad scramble across the lobby to the double doors leading deeper into the building. Simone picked up Ava and scurried ahead of Minji into the hallway just as the rumble grew to a gut-wrenching roar and the floor lurched. The lights sputtered and the world outside turned ominous. The sunlight vanished into the churning smoke and debris. Car alarms in the parking garage and along the boulevard blasted. The building was pelted with rubble and the windows let out a dreadful screech as they splintered, but held.

  Clustered in the hallway, the people listened to the destruction of yet another part of Las Vegas and watched the ghastly gray cloud engulf the boulevard.

  “It’s all coming down,” Arthur wailed.

  Minji again fought a valiant battle against despair and hopelessness. She refused to surrender to it. She would save her family somehow.

  Then, even as the world seemed ever bleaker, a cellphone chimed.

  Chapter 17

  Despite the tumult in the outside world, the four adults straightaway fumbled for their phones. Minji’s thoughts instantly centered on her parents somewhere on the road to Austin, Texas. Her heart sank when she realized the opening notes from Chopin were not coming from her phone. Looking up, she saw her expression mirrored in the faces of Jesse and Simone.

  Arthur victoriously raised his phone to his ear. “I’m here, I’m here!”

  A woman’s voice was barely discernible through the noise from outside and Arthur’s heavy, anxious breathing. Disappointed, Minji leaned against the wall and pushed her smartphone back into the pocket of her shorts.

  Bailey sniffled. Maybe the baby was too tired to wail anymore. The building continued to quiver, but as the din of the debris cloud faded it gradually stilled.

  “What do you mean you’re driving to your mother’s? You can’t do that! Don’t you realize what’s happening?” Arthur erupted, fury painting his face an ugly red. “You have the kids with you, June! You’re going to get them killed! No! I can’t believe you were stupid enough to get on the highway! Of course there’s a traffic jam! A bunch of other idiots are trying to do the same thing you’re doing! Aren’t you listening to the news! They’re saying to stay in the house and blockade your doors and windows!”

  Simone lifted an eyebrow, her dark eyes sliding toward the angrily pacing man. Arthur’s rage flowed out of him in tangible waves. Minji literally felt the heat of his fury lashing out into the air. Bailey let out a whimper before launching into a full fit. Jesse lightly tapped Arthur’s shoulder, then when he had the irate man’s attention, motioned to the baby and made a shushing motion.

  “Fuck the baby! My kids are in a car stuck in fuckin’ Atlanta traffic because my stupid ex-wife is a moron!”

  The woman’s voice on the other end of the phone continued to speak, though her words were indecipherable.

  “Yes, June, I’m immune, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be. Or the kids! Out of all the people in Vegas, so far only four are still in control of our minds. Which means if this thing hits Atlanta, you’re going to end up under its control and you’re probably going to wreck the car and kill yourself and the kids.” Pacing, Arthur was beside himself with anger and frustration. “Stop crying! I’m not the bad guy here! You’re the one being stupid!”

  The lights wavered overhead and the low rumble of the collapse continued. Minji comforted Bailey while warily watching both Arthur and the fissured windows in the waiting room. Though Arthur’s face was shadowed by the hand he had pressed to his brow, she caught a glimpse of tears on his face. Turning toward the wall, Arthur rested his forehead against it.

  “You don’t understand, June. I don’t want to lose my kids. I don’t want them to die. They’re all I have left,” he said in a much quieter tone. There was a long silence in the hallway as Arthur listened to his ex-wife speak. At last he said, “Then get off the highway and park somewhere safe. Where other vehicles can’t hit you. Make sure the doors are locked and crack the windows open enough to let air in, but don’t leave enough space that the kids can wiggle out. Make sure they have their seatbelts on. Yes, yes...I’ll speak to the kids.”

  The tone of Arthur’s voice completely changed when he spoke to his children. Minji noted how much more loving and kind it sounded. His sorrow hunched his shoulders and made him seem smaller, more vulnerable.

  “Yeah, Bobby, the job is good. I like it. I...yeah, I’ll get a new place so you can come visit me. I won’t be living at Uncle Ryan’s anymore. No, son, I can’t go buy the old house. The bank took it and sold it to someone else. When I get a raise, I’ll get a new house. Yeah, there’s some bad stuff going on, but you’re going to be all right. Your mom is going to take care of you. I wish I were there, too.”

  Jesse stepped closer to Arthur and laid a comforting hand on his arm. Though Minji expected Arthur to shrug it off, surprisingly, he didn’t. In fact, the look he cast in Jesse’s direction was grateful.

  Simone rested one shoulder against the wall and slanted her head toward Minji. In hushed tones, she said, “That explains his bluster, huh? Must have lost it all in the recession.”

  Minji nodded briefly. Austin hadn’t been hit hard by the economic downturn, but she’d heard the horror stories on the news. Arthur’s voice again changed as he obviously was speaking to a toddler. She exhaled slowly and made a mental note to be more forgiving of Arthur’s attitude.

  Arthur abruptly lowered the phone, his eyes widening. “It’s not happening again, is it? The call got cut off.”

  Minji wagged her head in the negative. “No, I’m sure it’s not.”

  A second later the phone rang again. “Hello? June? What happened? Oh, okay...I just...okay. I didn’t realize she’d hung up. I panicked.” Resuming his brisk pacing, Arthur’s color once more flared crimson. “I don’t care if you’re only a few miles from your folks! Get off the highway! You don’t know when it will hit again, June! This thing is...don’t hang up!” With a furious grunt, Arthur banged the side of his hand against the wall, but kept a firm hold on the phone. “She hung up. It’s what she does. Whenever she goes against my wishes, she hangs up and won’t pick up.”

  “You don’t think she’ll pull over?” Jesse asked.

  “I don’t know...” Arthur stared at the phone as he redialed. The small voice that emanated from it indicated the call had been diverted to voicemail. “I hope so.” Closing his eyes, Arthur dragged air into his lungs, obviously trying to calm his temper. “If she doesn’t pull over, I just...I don’t know.”

  The quiet that descended on the hallway that reeked of the blood smeared on its floors and wall was strained and uneasy. Jesse remained close to Arthur, but didn’t attempt to comfort the man further. Simone stared with longing at the cellphone in Arthur’s hand. Meanwhile, Minji directed her attention to the world beyond the splintered glass. She could still see shapes wading through the thick haze.

  The lights flicked on and off, then went dark. A deep gloom instantly consumed the hallway and waiting room.

  “Gi
ve it a sec,” Jesse said out of the darkness. “The emergency generator will kick on in a second or two.”

  On cue, the lights flashed on and illuminated their frightened faces.

  “Arthur...” Simone said into the silence.

  He glanced at her.

  “Can I use your phone to call my family?”

  Thrusting out his hand, Arthur nodded. “Sure.”

  Simone took it in her slim fingers and quickly dialed.

  Minji didn’t want to hear another personal conversation, but didn’t dare move out into the waiting room. The cloud of debris ebbed and swirled outside while an unnerving groan filled the air. Perhaps another building was on the verge of collapse. Minji hoped it was far away.

  “Hey, babe. It’s me! Yes, I’m okay. I’m not affected. I wasn’t on any of the planes that went down.” Simone’s smile was rapturous with relief. “I’m in a medical center right now. I’m safe.” The remainder of Simone’s conversation was much calmer and more loving than Arthur’s. After reassuring her husband, she spoke to several other people that Minji assumed were older children. When she ended the call, Simone offered the phone to Arthur.

  “Let them call,” Arthur said, flicking his fingers toward Jesse and Minji. “Who knows how long it’ll have bars.”

  Sadly, Jesse’s calls went unanswered and he paled beneath his dark tan. When he passed over the phone to Minji, she noticed that his hand was unsteady. She gave it a gentle squeeze before taking the phone and attempting to reach her parents, in-laws, and brother. No one answered. Somehow, that was the outcome she’d expected. She was already blessed to have her immediate family safely with her, so it seemed natural that the fates would keep the status of her extended family swathed in mystery. Life had a way of balancing the scales.

  “Thank you, Arthur,” she said, returning the phone. “Maybe you should call your ex again?”

  “She never listens to me. She never believes what I say.” Arthur stared at the phone. “I...I...I’m not an idiot, but she just ignores what I say.” When he raised his eyes, the frustration in them gave way to anger. “Just because I lost my job doesn’t mean I’m an idiot, you know?” A second later, the anger was replaced by the spark of revelation. “But, I know who will listen to me! I will save my kids!” Storming out of the hallway, Arthur nearly slipped on the bloody floor.