Multiple strands of glass-like flesh snagged the doll and lifted it toward what Minji suspected was a face.
Ava giggled.
“Minji...” Alec’s voice sounded weary and fearful. “I’m going to open the doorway.”
“Ava, go back to Alec. Mommy needs to do this, okay?”
Lightly stroking the other’s many tentacle-like appendages, Ava nodded. “Okay, Mommy.”
The little girl turned on her heel and walked back.
“It takes a playmate from another world to get her to obey.”
With the shake of her head, Minji attempted to study the creature in her arms, but again she found it nearly impossible to truly absorb and understand what she was observing. It was so beyond the realm of reality, her mind could not process the creature’s true appearance.
“Minji...”
“Do it, Alec.”
Somewhere deep in the walls came a terrifying booming, then the air began to vibrate. Teeth chattering from the resonance, Minji stood her ground, clutching the child from another world. Loud blasts of air and sound deafened her seconds before spots formed in her eyes. Blinking rapidly, she realized they weren’t in her vision, but in the air. Like bubbles bursting at the top of a glass of soda, the fabric of reality popped open to reveal something cold, vast, and pulsating with sound and color.
The doorway looked nothing like a door, a portal, or anything she’d seen in movies. Her mind processed it as a rip in the air, even as her senses told her she was standing on a precipice. In the corner of the tear, a tendril, as delicate as spun glass, clung to the reality of the human world. This was what had kept the doorway partially open. This is what had allowed the mother to influence the human world. Minji had been right. The mother had reached for its infant just before the scientists had tried to close the doorway. It was through this tiny rip in reality that she’d destroyed so much of the human world in an effort to retrieve her child.
And then the mother appeared.
Once again, Minji’s senses couldn’t absorb the splendor of the being. She tasted its colors, heard its fragrance, and felt its voice. Feet leaving the ground, she tumbled into the center of its terrible existence. The air was alive with its essence and it flowed around her like the water of the rapids, crashing against Minji like a boulder in its fury. Minji knew it to the core of her being that the mother of the infant in her arms meant her no harm though it could crush her body and toss her away like rose petals. It was angry, hurt, and still thankful.
“I’m sorry,” Minji said, but wasn’t certain she spoke aloud.
A massive tentacle wrapped around Minji for a scant moment. Blinded for an instant, Minji heard the voice of the being, understood its purpose, and trembled at its words. Then, very gently, the mother tugged the child from Minji’s arms while setting the human on the ground.
The mother and child withdrew from the world, the plastic doll standing out among the mass of luminous light and colors. The mother slithered into the miasma of ethereal noise and glowing color. Its many limbs retreated, writhing through the air around Minji until they, too, withdrew.
Then one last limb slid past Minji carrying a blubbering, terrified Arthur.
“No!” Minji cried out, but it was too late.
Arthur vanished into the other world with one last scream.
The thunderous noise in the walls shut off, the undulating air fell still, and reality reclaimed the doorway.
Shaken, Minji slumped to the floor shivering from the freezing temperature within the room and weeping in the aftermath of what she’d witnessed. She wasn’t even aware of Ava’s approach until her daughter was in her arms, kissing her, and patting her cheeks.
“It’s okay, Mommy. It’s okay. They went home,” Ava whispered.
Wracked by tears, Minji could barely speak. “I know, Ava.”
“Can we go home, too?” Ava asked hopefully.
Dragging a deep breath of cold air into her lungs to steady her nerves, Minji nodded. “Yes, Ava.”
“With Daddy and Bailey?”
“Yes. Yes. With Daddy and Bailey.” Minji forced a smile.
Ava beamed affectionately at her mother. “Can I have more tattoos now? Mine got all gone.”
Minji snuggled her daughter. “We’ll ask Daddy.”
Chapter 34
The mesmerized awakened the moment the doorway between the two worlds closed. Outside the first facility, the crowd stirred in one great wave. Cries of fear and shock filled the night as people found themselves far from home, famished, dehydrated, and among complete strangers. Some fell to the ground, too weak to stand. Others sobbed in terror, a hazy memory of a beautiful, yet horrific dream haunting their thoughts. People of faith prayed. Others screamed in terror. Many were too stunned upon finding themselves stranded in the dark desert to do anything more than wait for someone to help them.
In the Grand Canyon, Kristen and her family remained crumpled corpses at the bottom.
In Texas, Ruben awakened to find himself tied to a tree along with his sisters. In shock, he watched his best friend unfurl himself from the sleeping bag laid out on the ground beside them.
“Finally,” Chuck said.
“You found my sisters,” Ruben gasped.
“What’s going on?” Esmer demanded.
Chuck just grinned. “First time I ever roped myself some humans. Hopefully, the last time.”
“We were like the others?” Ruben asked, horrified.
“Yep. It didn't affect me though. So I rounded you up and watched over you. It just took some time to find you in the big crowd.” Chuck cut the three loose while Esmer and Terry exchanged confused looks.
Once free, Ruben enfolded Chuck in a tight embrace. “Thank you, brother.”
In Virginia, Rachel and Juan Carlos came to with a start. Battered, bloody, and bruised, they stared at each other, then the wall that had taken the brunt of their attempts to escape the house while mesmerized. In a panic, they raced into the rooms of their children to find them struggling to free themselves. Once free, their reunion was joyous.
Across the world, the mesmerized were released from their fugue states. Countries that had enough time to prepare awakened to less chaos than those in North, Central, and South America. The Unites States Armed Forces immediately sprang into action. Early intel had allowed them to formulate a plan of action before the event had consumed the world. The men and women of the military had discarded their uniforms and been secured with ropes to keep them from wandering off. Upon awakening, they ate, drank sports drinks, put on their uniforms and mobilized.
Inside the bus, Jesse woke with a start, looked around, and then swore. Witnessing the turmoil outside, he claimed the medical supplies Simone had packed and immediately hurried to help.
Jake roused gradually, lifted his head, saw Simone holding Bailey, then looked down at the straps keeping him in the wheelchair.
“Please tell me my wife has something to do with this.”
Simone attempted to explain what had happened as the roar from the crowd escalated. People were afraid and pounded on the sides of the shuttle bus, crying out for help.
Alec, Minji, and Ava emerged from the facility’s delivery tunnel after disengaging the security on the massive blast doors. They mingled with the crowd until they reached the shuttle bus. Jesse, police officers, some military personnel, and first responders that had all been part of the massive crowd of the mesmerized eventually were able to calm the frightened people. Using the shuttle bus as a headquarters, they attempted to reach the outside world.
When Minji climbed onto the bus, Ava pulled free from her grasp to run to her father. Already holding Bailey, Jake snuggled his eldest daughter. After brushing away tears with the heels of her hands, Minji cupped her husband’s face and tenderly kissed him.
“Let me guess. You saved the world,” Jake said, pride in his voice.
“She sure did,” Alec agreed, patting Minji’s shoulder.
Turning about, M
inji wrapped her arms around Alec and gave him a fierce hug. With a smile on his lips, Alec returned it before tugging Simone into the mix.
In the sky above the facility, National Guard helicopters descended, their rotors slicing through the warming air.
Help had arrived.
It was over.
Epilogue
Austin, Texas
The hot September air ruffled Minji’s bangs and played with the dreads she had pulled into a high ponytail. The purple was gone from her hair, and blue had taken its place. Ava had picked the color. Dressed in a summer dress with white skulls printed on a black background, Minji watched her daughters bounding around the shaded backyard with their new pet. Jake had finally capitulated to their demands for a dog and had selected one of the many orphaned pets from the Austin Animal Center. The tall pecan trees kept the worst of the bright sunlight at bay, but Minji wore her cat-eyed sunglasses. She’d been light sensitive since the night she’d peered into another world.
On the patio Jake expertly grilled fajitas while keeping an eye on the kids. He still wore a leg cast and was struggling to regain his strength.
The cellphone in her hand buzzed again and Minji checked the latest text message from her mother. It was a subtle hint for a grandson. Her mother was determined to live life to the fullest now that she’d barely escaped death. Part of that plan was to have Minji produce another grandchild, preferably a boy.
Both of Minji’s parents had survived, though they had been severely dehydrated when they awakened and spent a few days in a medical rescue center. Lily had forced her husband to pull off the road and open the windows just before the event had struck. The Nordims’ plane had performed an emergency landing and the Swedish couple had endured their time as mesmerized strapped to airport chairs. Sadly, Jake’s sister was among the missing in Sweden, while Minji’s brother had nearly lost his life when he’d fallen down a flight of stairs. He was still in the hospital. Nearly a third of Minji’s clients were either dead or on the list of the missing. Lady Bird Lake and Lake Travis had been filled with the dead and were still off-limits. Every day, boats dredged the murky waters seeking more victims.
Jesse’s family had lost half its members and his girlfriend was listed among the missing in Mexico. He was busy helping with recovery efforts in Las Vegas and it was helping him cope with his losses.
Simone’s family also survived. Her oldest son had been immune and taken care of the rest of his family. It was weeks before Simone made it home due to the massive damage to the country’s infrastructure. She’d stayed with Minji and Jake in Austin before Alec had been able to wrangle a ride for her on a military transport.
Arthur Freestone was listed as one of the missing though his wife and children survived. After seeing Arthur’s call into the network, a policewoman had located his family and helped them to a safe place before the event had reached the area. Arthur’s death weighed on Minji, but at least he had managed to save his family.
Out of all the people she’d spent those strange, horrible hours with, it was Alec that Minji felt closest to. In retrospect, she suspected he’d lied to her more than she wanted to admit at the time and he’d never told her anything about his personal life. They never had a chance to really talk about what they’d seen for Alec had been whisked away by the military within hours after the end of the event.
Later, when she’d been questioned by the authorities, she stuck to the story he’d instructed her to tell and never deviated. He called her a few times, but their conversations were always guarded. When he’d called to tell her he wanted to drop by and see her for a short visit while on his way to San Antonio, she’d been both excited and apprehensive.
“Ava, be careful with the dog!” Jake called out, waving his tongs. The hot breeze sifted through the long blond hair that she loved so much.
The doorbell pulled Minji’s attention away from her phone and she set it next to the glass of cold sweet tea on the patio table.
“That’ll be him,” she said, and pushed up onto her toes to give her husband a kiss.
“Ask him to stay,” Jake urged. “It’ll be nice to have another guy in this estrogen filled house. Even the dog is a girl!”
With a smirk, Minji pulled open the back door. “Boo hoo! But I’ll try.”
The refreshing air conditioned air dried the sweat beading her tattooed shoulders as she walked through the single story house to the front door. The Nordims lived on the east side of Austin in an older home that Jake was slowly refurbishing. Decorated with Minji’s original artwork and a mix of antique and Ikea furniture, it was a home Minji loved, but it no longer felt safe. But then again, she didn’t feel safe anywhere anymore.
Opening the bright red front door, Minji smiled at Alec.
“Long time no see, man of mystery.”
“Not so mysterious,” Alec assured her. His cane tapped against the dark wood floors as he entered. Glancing around, he grinned while aiming a finger at a Mexican Day of the Dead skull sitting on a bookshelf. “Just what I imagined.”
“I will take that as a compliment.” Minji shut the door and waved him toward the back of the house. “We’re barbecuing. Jake insists you eat.” She wanted to talk to him in private, but her stomach was in knots and she was tempted to delay their talk.
“Sounds good, but I can’t really stay long.”
“You can take a fajita taco with you then.”
“That I would love,” Alec replied with a wink.
“So why the visit if you don’t plan to stay long?” Minji escorted him to the black leather sofa decorated with brightly colored pillows with classic movie monsters on them.
Alec took a seat and leaned forward so his elbows rested on his knees. “Well, I’m a little parched, so could I have something to drink first?”
“Want some sweet tea?”
“Absolutely.”
Minji took a few minutes to grab tea for Alec and one of the first tacos off the grill. When she returned to the living room, he took both gratefully.
“So?” Minji sat in the chair across from him, tucking one foot under her butt and crossing one leg over the other.
“I just wanted to let you know that you won’t be questioned anymore even though you’re going to hear a lot about an official inquiry into the matter by the government. Everything has been resolved behind the scenes. The rest is just bread and circuses to placate the media and let a bunch of politicians grandstand.”
“Are they going to tell everyone what really happened?”
“No, they won’t. Even though Russia, China and the European Union are pointing at the United States demanding answers, what they’ll get is an approved pack of lies.”
Minji shook her head in disbelief. Already there were wild theories surrounding the event. The fact that the mesmerized appeared to be drawn to the Nevada desert had ignited the fervor of the conspiracy nuts. Of course, in this case they were right about secret bases and experiments. Most were convinced the event happened due to alien technology.
“Who’s taking the fall?”
Alec chuckled. “Honestly, they’re just going to say they have no idea why it happened and vow to sink billions of dollars into finding out the cause.”
“And what about you?”
“What about me?” Alec took a long sip of his iced tea.
“Did they give you a reward? A medal? Something?”
“Something.”
Minji rolled her eyes.
“I’ll be okay, Minji. So will you. I’ve seen to it. There were feathers ruffled over me not following my orders to the T, but it actually worked out that we didn’t set off the bomb. Imagine if they had to explain why they nuked an area in Nevada and killed hundreds of thousands of American citizens.”
Fidgeting slightly, she said, “You pointed that out to them?”
“Of course.”
“Who are you really, Alec?”
“I’m just a guy.”
“Bullshit.”
&nb
sp; Alec smirked. “I’m no one important.”
“More bullshit.”
Alec took a big bite of his taco and made a point of chewing.
Growing somber, Minji leaned forward, checking to make sure the girls and Jake hadn’t entered the house.
“What is it, Minji?”
“There’s something I haven’t told you. That night I wanted to, but it was all too fresh and raw. I was a little overwhelmed.”
“I know. I saw that thing. I still see it my nightmares.”
“Me, too. Anyway, I thought about telling you then, but I started to doubt myself. Besides, we were both caught up in the aftermath.”
Alec nodded.
Eyes burning with emotion, Minji braced herself to reveal what had her waking in the middle of the night screaming in terror while Jake tried to comfort her. "I’ve struggled about whether or not to tell you this. A part of me feels by divulging this information I’m somehow making it more real. Like the words themselves will give it life. But...I can’t...I can’t pretend it’s not real anymore.”
“Minji?” Alec touched her hand lightly. “What is it?”
Lowering her eyes and pressing her lips together, Minji listened to the sounds of her daughters playing and her husband calling out to them. She’d fought diligently to be able to hear the joy in the voices of her family again and did not want to ever face losing them in the future. “Since you’re no one important, can you make sure the other not important people know something?”
“If it’s,” he shrugged a little, “important.”
“That night the mother spoke to me. Not in words exactly. Not even in images. It was in a way I can’t even explain, but I know she spoke to me.”
Alec nodded. “Okay. What did she say?”
“She thanked me for returning her child, and as a show of appreciation she was taking Arthur because he’d tried to hurt my child.”
“That’s not your fault,” Alec said swiftly, attempting to console her.
“I know that. I do. Arthur made some bad choices. But maybe we all did because she said one other thing. One last thing.” Minji pressed her trembling hands to her lap to steady them. “Alec, we should have destroyed the facility. We should have destroyed the equipment and everything inside.”
The Mesmerized Page 24
