The Mesmerized (24 page)

“Mooooooooooommmmmmmmyyyyyyyy!” the three
mesmerized cried out.

“Did they just say—?” Alec exclaimed.

“Yes! And now it knows where we are and what
we were doing!” Minji shouted into the wind.

“Shit!”

“We need to get back right away!”

Minji gunned the bike into a higher gear and
tore down the boulevard toward the medical center. The creature
within Ava now knew what she was doing and Minji was terrified
about what it might do to her children and the others.

There were several piles of crashed
vehicles, rubble, and bodies that slowed the journey back to the
medical center, but Minji expertly swerved around the obstacles.
Fear, thick and choking, filled her to the point of panic. What if
the entity perceived their plan? What would it do? Of course, maybe
it wouldn’t understand why they’d returned to The Venetian. Maybe
it wouldn’t connect the black vans to the scientists at the first
facility that had inadvertently trapped it. However, she couldn’t
ignore the dread consuming her.

“The shuttle is right over there!” Alec
shouted.

Minji glanced at the area he indicated. Sure
enough, there was an abandoned shuttle bus near a parking
garage.

“We should get it now,” Alec continued.

Tempted to ignore him, Minji almost didn’t
slow the motorcycle until she realized how close they were to the
medical center. Reluctantly, she dropped the bike’s speed.

The smoke parted to reveal a small figure
marching down the boulevard, and for just an instant, a patch of
sunlight illuminated red curls. Jerking the bike to one side, Minji
fought to control the sliding vehicle. The thick ash coating the
street made it difficult for the wheels to grip the asphalt and for
a paralyzing second Minji was convinced they were going to spin
out. Fortunately, the bike found traction and she managed to get it
back under her control before narrowly missing a jumble of taxis.
Braking hard, she flipped the kickstand down and slid off the
motorcycle. The thick air made her lungs ache as her feet pounded
against the pavement. The ash collected on her eyelashes and coated
her clothing. Following the rut the bike had left through the ash,
she sprinted toward the spot on the boulevard where she’d seen Ava.
The wall around her emotions had deep cracks in it now and she
struggled to contain the overwhelming fear and despair threatening
to burst through and drown her.

Ava stepped out from behind a metro bus,
Bailey in her arms. Both girls were gray from the soot and the baby
was wailing. Stuttering to a halt, Minji instantly fell to one knee
so she could meet the eyes of her child and the entity within her.
Unable to gather her thoughts into any sort of coherency, the young
mother watched in fearful anticipation while the creature within
her daughter regarded her.

“I was coming back,” Minji said, more to the
entity than Ava.

“Baaabbbyyy.” Ava’s doll-like eyes rolled in
their sockets to regard Bailey.

“Yes. Bailey is a baby,” Minji replied,
uncertainty gripping her. What should she say?

“Baaabbbyyy.” The creature within Ava
returned its gaze to Minji. “Mooommmyyy.”

“Yes, I’m a mommy. I’m Bailey’s mommy.
I’m...Ava’s mommy.”

“Baabbbyyy, mooommmyy.”

Staring into the seemingly blank eyes, Minji
struggled to understand what the creature wanted from her. “Mommies
take care of babies.”

Blubbering, Bailey held out a hand to Minji,
clearly wanting to go to her mother. Minji gradually raised her
hands, but didn’t lunge to grab Bailey, which was incredibly
difficult to do.

“Baaby,” Ava said in a much clearer voice,
though her mouth still moved in an exaggerated motion.

“Yes. Bailey is a baby. I’m a mommy. Babies
should be with their mommy.” Minji pointed to Bailey then herself,
then held her arms open.

Taking a short step toward Minji, the other
within Ava tilted the little girl’s head. Ava’s curls bounced
against a cheek smeared with gray smut. With surprising care, Ava
handed Bailey to Minji.

“Baaby. Moommy.”

Minji rapidly dragged her mask off her face
and slid it over Bailey’s. Instantly, her mouth and throat were
coated by the gray air. Bailey tried to tug off the mask, but Minji
wouldn’t let her.

“Here,” Alec said, startling her.
Apparently, he had been lingering nearby watching. Taking off his
mask, he handed it to Minji. “For Ava.”

Cradling Bailey against her side with one
arm, Minji dragged the mask over Ava’s head and carefully adjusted
it over her mouth. The creature’s eyes flicked toward Alec, then
returned to Minji’s face.

“Baaby,” the thing in Ava said again.

Holding out her hand, Minji nervously waited
for the creature to respond.

Ava’s tiny fingers awkwardly clung to
Minji’s thumb. “Baaby.”

“Mommy,” Minji corrected.

“Get them into the shuttle bus,” Alec
urged.

Nervously, Minji led the possessed little
girl to the vehicle abandoned in the entrance of the parking lot,
and to her relief, the creature inside Ava did not resist. Alec
followed, the click of his cane against the asphalt a reassuring
sound.

“What do you think she did to Simone and the
others?” Minji asked in an amazingly even tone despite her
terror.

“I’m not sure. I don’t think she can kill
them,” Alec answered in an even voice. “She came looking for you.
I’m hoping that’s a good sign.”

“It’s not Ava.” The words hurt to say and
tears washed away the ash from her lashes.

“No, but what’s inside her is attached to
you. Maybe because it’s in Ava.”

Taking the few steps into the shuttle bus,
Minji gently tugged Ava after her. The little girl followed without
protest. When Minji guided her to sit down, Ava complied. Minji was
surprised when Ava tugged on her hand, pulling her down into the
seat next to her.

“Moommy,” Ava said.

“Yes, I’m a mommy,” Minji answered
cautiously, snuggling Bailey tenderly in her arms.

Ava glanced at the baby, then turned her
attention forward.

Alec shut the doors and focused on starting
the vehicle. The engine sparked to life and the whisper of the air
conditioner was a welcome sound. Hopefully it could filter the air.
Alec left the garage and followed nearly the exact same path they’d
taken from The Venetian, but had to detour a few times when he
couldn’t squeeze through an area.

Stomach in knots, Minji struggled against
the rising tide of despair. To reach the first facility, she’d have
to travel a route heavily populated with the mesmerized. The entity
would be aware of her progress, but would it comprehend the purpose
of their journey? How much could it even understand?

A quick look at Ava revealed that the
other
was once again regarding Minji. The knife of paranoia
was already slicing her to bits, but Minji was fairly certain she
wasn’t wrong in her assessment that the entity was somehow attached
to her.

“We’re here. I should go in first,” Alec
called out as the shuttle came to a stop. “Just in case...”

“There’s no point. Bailey was there when
everything went down and I’ve seen so much already,” Minji
answered.

The lines in Alec’s face were even deeper
than before. It was as if he was aging before her eyes. Scrubbing
his hands over his grungy hair, he exhaled with frustration. “My
natural inclination is to spare you as much of this as
possible.”

“I’m in it, Alec. Ground zero of the
apocalypse. And I seem to have a role to play in it, right?”

With a weary sigh, Alec acknowledged this
truth with a simple nod. “Let’s go.”

The lights within the medical center were
dim when they entered. Jesse had warned that the emergency
generator may not last for more than a day. The facility was fairly
new and he hadn’t been sure how long the generator would chug
along. He wasn’t even sure where it was located.

The lobby was eerily quiet, but Minji heard
voices emanating from deeper within the building.

“We’re back!” Alec called out, stifling a
cough.

There were footsteps then Simone appeared,
flushed and clearly upset. “I’m so sorry, Minji, the girls—”
Catching sight of the two little ones with Minji, Simone gasped.
“Oh, thank God! They’re with you!”

“What happened?” Alec asked.

“Another one of those attacks,” Simone
answered, then was rudely shoved out of the way by Arthur.

“It was her!” Arthur pointed at Ava while
cowering behind Simone. “
She
did it!”

“What do you mean?” Alec asked.

“Arthur,” Simone said, shooting an angry
look at him, “attempted to sedate Ava.”

“Something is wrong with her. She doesn’t
act like the others,” Arthur said warily. “Something is in her
eyes, watching us. Can’t you see it?”

“Yes,” Simone said cautiously, “but the rest
of us tread with much more care.”

“So you attempted to sedate her? Jesse
helped you?” Alec seemed incredulous.

“No, he took the syringe Jesse had in his
pocket and lunged at Ava.” Simone sounded weary, but also angry.
“Jesse tried to stop him and then...well, we woke up just a few
minutes ago and the girls were gone.”

“She did it! The attacks are coming from
her. That’s why you’re immune. Your child is a demon!” Arthur’s
face turned fiery red as he hurtled the words at Minji. “She’s a
devil!”

“Arthur, if you have a lick of sense in your
muddled brain, you’ll shut the hell up,” Alec said in a very tight,
though even-tempered voice.

“We have to deal with her,” Arthur
insisted.

“Arthur, shut up,” Minji ordered, brushing
past him.

Ava completely ignored him, following
Minji.

“Minji, I’m so sorry about the girls,”
Simone said falling into step beside her. “I was going to go look
for them as soon as I roused Jesse, but he’s still under.”

“He’s not awake yet?” The sick dread growing
in Minji’s gut was now boiling.

Simone shook her head. “No, he’s not. Minji,
I don’t think he’s going to wake up this time.”

From within the break room came a steady
thumping noise. Crossing the threshold, Minji inhaled sharply. The
room was in shambles. The table was shoved to one side and most of
the chairs were toppled. The chaos had probably happened when
Arthur had lunged for Ava. Jesse was on the far side of the room
bouncing off the wall over and over again. From one wrist dangled
Ava’s leash.

“I was trying to secure him when you came
back,” Simone explained.

Heart sinking, Minji tried not to be selfish
and think only of Jake. Without Jesse, she didn’t know how to care
for her husband.

“I better stop him,” Simone said before
hurrying to Jesse’s side.

The other woman dragged the nurse
practitioner away from the wall. His mouth was bruised, but he
hadn’t busted his nose though it was swollen and red. Alec skirted
around Minji and helped Simone secure Jesse to one of the hooks
used by the employees for their coats, purses and umbrellas. Jesse
strained at the end of the leash, but it held.

Sinking into a chair, Minji set Bailey on
her lap. Movement near the door caught her eye and she pulled Ava
close to her, casting a nervous look in Arthur’s direction when he
entered the room. The man glared at her while keeping his
distance.

“We need to go,” Alec said firmly.

“Not with her.” Arthur thrust a finger in
Ava’s direction. “She’s behind this. It’s all her.”

“It’s not Ava,” Minji protested.

“Oh, really?” The sarcasm was thick and
Arthur’s distrustful expression was a nasty match.

“We don’t need to talk about this now. We
have to go. Arthur, help me with Minji’s husband.” Alec’s voice was
pure authority. He hobbled out the door obviously expecting Arthur
to follow. Grumbling, Arthur started in the direction of the
doorway.

“I’ll take the baby off your hands,” Simone
offered.

Minji gratefully held out Bailey to Simone.
Though every part of her body was aching, her arms were terribly
sore from the day before. Simone’s hands were just closing around
Bailey’s waist when Arthur grabbed Ava. Minji thrust Bailey into
Simone’s arms and swung about just in time to see Arthur slam Ava
into the wall, scrabbling for her throat.

“
You’re
doing this! You’re killing
us! You killed my family!” he howled, his fingers wrapping around
the child’s slim neck. “I’m going to stop you!”

Cupping her hands into fists, Minji aimed
for Arthur’s jaw and jabbed hard. Shocked by the attack, he
staggered to one side, breaking his hold on Ava. Minji immediately
swung again, pivoting her upper body as she delivered a powerful
cross to the side of his face. Years of kickboxing had created
perfect muscle memory and she instantly fell into a fighting
stance. It was years of dealing with the occasional jerk while
bartending in her early twenties that had taught her to fight to
win and to win fast. She pummeled Arthur, unrelenting in her
assault. Jabbing with her left hand and crossing with her right,
she kept the blows flowing, trying to keep Arthur unbalanced from
the continual attack. He was bigger, heavier, and male, and she
couldn’t let him use that to his advantage. Delivering several side
kicks, Minji fought to keep her anger in check.

Simone screamed for Alec.

Arthur surprised her by dodging out of one
of her kicks and lunging for her. She managed to get an uppercut to
the bottom of his jaw before he could get his hands around her
throat. The rage-fueled man grabbed at her arms, but she kept
hitting him, keeping her elbows up to protect her face and neck.
She was aware of Alec entering the room and shouting, but she
didn’t pay him any heed. Hitting a person with the intent to
disable was very different from hitting a punching bag or sparring.
Ignoring pain and the shocks to her own body, Minji fought Arthur
into a corner, ignoring his untrained attacks to her upper body.
Finally, she saw her opening and pivoted on one foot, delivering a
brutal roundhouse kick to the man’s temple. Arthur hit the wall,
slumped, and didn’t move.