The Mesmerized (12 page)

“It’s about damn time,” Arthur muttered,
guiding the stretcher around the median.

A car was smashed into the palm trees
adorning the divider and the person within appeared to be dead or
unconscious.

Looking back where they had come from, Minji
shuddered. The thickening smoke was the malignant threat of a
growing fire.

Near the entrance, there were I.V.’s and
other medical equipment strewn about like refuse. Minji wondered if
they had been abandoned by mesmerized patients when they had
escaped the building.

“Please open,” Arthur whispered as they
neared the doors.

“Why wouldn’t they? The electricity is still
on.” “Oh,” Arthur said, but he was visibly relieved when the thick
glass doors slid open at their approach.

Minji followed her two companions and the
stretcher into the building and out of the human misery and smoke
filling the boulevard.

The wind outside had been cool, but the air
inside the building was frigid. When the doors whooshed shut behind
them, the three people yanked off their facemasks. Minji dragged a
deep breath into her lungs. The clean air was wonderful.

The large, empty white waiting room
stretched across the front of the building decorated in black
leather and stainless steel furniture. It was deceptively normal in
appearance except for the body of a doctor lying face down in a
pool of blood near double doors that most likely opened to the
examination rooms. The receptionist area, tucked behind the thick
glass panels rising from a black marble counter, was abandoned. In
one corner of the room, a large screen television jabbered away.
The world outside was tinted aqua by the enormous glass windows,
and Minji wondered at the design. It was almost as if the people in
the waiting room were part of the spectacle of the drag.

Simone tossed the diaper bag onto one of the
coffee tables before attempting to open the door to the
receptionist area. It was locked. Checking the double doors on the
far side of the room, she quickly shut them. “There’s a lot of dead
bodies,” she warned.

“Like out there,” Arthur said, pointing at
the front of the building.

“No, there’s a lot of blood. It looks like
they bled to death,” Simone replied.

“Is there a phone?” Minji asked. Earlier,
she’d been so rattled it hadn’t occurred to her to attempt to use
the landlines at The Venetian when her cellphone hadn’t worked.

Simone glanced into the receptionist area.
“They have several in there, but the door is locked. I guess I’ll
check…” She glanced over her shoulder at the doors that led to the
bloody corridor. “Well, I guess I don’t have a choice.”

“You do that and I’ll check the news,”
Arthur said, eyes already fastened to the television.

Simone glowered at the man before
disappearing through the doorway.

Minji leaned over Jake and gently removed
the facemask. His eyes followed her and a low hiss escaped his
lips. She touched his head, worried his warmth was a sign of a
fever. Stroking his cheek gently, she whispered, “Jake, if you can
understand me, we’re at the medical center now. After I take care
of Bailey, I’m going to see if anyone is here to help you.” She
gazed into his eyes, searching for his soul, his life spark, but
came up empty.

With a sigh, she strode over to one of the
couches, drawing Ava after her. Though the little girl was clearly
under the influence of the event, she had stopped trying to follow
the other mesmerized. Minji decided to experiment and set Ava on
the black leather seat. The little girl stared at her, her lips
flexing, but didn’t try to scoot off. Relieved, Minji sat next to
her and carefully freed herself of the backpack. Bailey was deeply
asleep inside the contraption. Drool had left a large wet spot on
the face mask and Minji tossed it aside. Cradling Bailey in her
arms, she allowed herself the luxury of sinking into the softness
of the couch.

“Landlines are dead,” Simone announced
striding into the waiting room. “I couldn’t even get a dial tone. I
tried getting onto a computer, but they’re password protected.”

Arthur raised his head. “At least we have
the television. That’s a good sign, right?”

Simone shrugged. She was obviously peeved
with Arthur.

Minji bent over to retrieve the diaper bag
from where Simone had discarded it. She was so tired, emotionally
drained, and confused that it was difficult to concentrate on more
than one thing at a time. For the moment, her baby needed to be the
priority.

Bailey hardly roused as Minji changed her
sodden diaper and for a moment of panic, the young mother feared
the baby had fallen victim to the event. Relief came in a great
flood when Bailey yawned, gave her mother a slight smile, and sank
back into her slumber.

The other two adults in the room weren’t
paying attention to anything other than the news report and didn’t
seem inclined to help her search or help with the kids. Simone
perched on the wide armrest of a chair while Arthur stood with his
arms crossed over his chest, both staring avidly at the
television.

Ava continued to watch Minji, her mouth
always in flux, but never uttering a discernible word. Tucking
Bailey onto her lap, Minji leaned her head back against the leather
and focused on the television. She just needed a minute or two to
rest before searching the medical center to see if any of the staff
had survived. Her head was pounding and her feet felt like they
were about to fall off.

“...
difficult
to
ascertain
what
areas
of
the
country
have
been
affected
so
far
due
to
the
complete
information
blackout
that
occurs
...”

The words said by the newscaster gradually
sank through the layers of dismal emotions clouding Minji’s
thoughts.

“
What
we
know
at
the
moment
...
at
least
six
commercial
passenger
jets
circling
the
Las
Vegas
airport
crashed
before
all
others
were
diverted
away
.
Commercial
air
flights
have
been
grounded
,
though
more
crashes
were
reported
before
most
of
the
West
Coast
went
dark
...”

Simone sighed. “Thank God my plane landed
before all this hit.”

Minji thought of the Nordims and hoped their
plane had landed safely in an unaffected area. Maybe her parents
had heard about the event and pulled the car over. The thought of
her folks mesmerized and trapped in their car was too horrible to
contemplate.

Bailey woke again and frowned at her mother.
“Baba,” she commanded, using her word for food.

Minji fumbled around in the bag for the
bottle they had packed earlier. She liberated it from the bottom of
the bag and set about feeding her child. Half-listening to the news
reports, the terror inside Minji swelled into a dark tidal wave.
There were no apparent answers to what was happening and the
hopelessness she’d been fighting against since the event had
started was close to winning the battle.

“Do you see that?” Arthur asked aloud.

Minji wasn’t sure who he was speaking to
until he turned and glared at her.

“More than half of the United States is
affected! And you’re just sitting there acting like it’s
nothing!”

“I’m feeding my baby, Arthur,” Minji
snapped.

“Do you even see that?” He motioned to the
television screen and the map showing the reported affected areas.
“My family is in danger right now!”

“What does that have to do with her?” Simone
asked sharply. “Why are you getting in her face?”

“Because she’s acting like she doesn’t
care!” Arthur snapped. “I guess those Asian stereotypes exist for a
reason.”

“Hey!” the two women chorused.

“You’re so unemotional!” Arthur
continued.

Bailey glared at him over her bottle.

“I am taking care of my baby,” Minji said in
a low voice trying not to upset Bailey.

“What about him? Not going to help him?”
Arthur pointed at Jake. “I guess fathers are just expendable,
huh?”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Minji
gaped at him in disbelief.

Simone stood and stepped between Arthur and
Minji, disrupting their stare down. “You need to calm yourself.
She’s taking care of her child. You and I could’ve easily looked
for someone to help her husband, but we didn’t, right?” Simone gave
Minji an apologetic look over one shoulder. “Sorry about that.”

“Well, maybe it’s because we want to
actually find out what’s happening to the rest of the world and our
families!”

Minji lowered her head as she recognized
what was happening. Arthur was upset over not being able to help
his family and directing that frustration at her. Minji’s family
was with her and possibly savable. Where was Arthur’s? Were they
safe? She could understand his distress, but she didn’t want to be
the brunt of it. Wearily, she closed her eyes and pressed her lips
against Bailey’s soft hair.

“Leave her alone, Arthur!”

“Did she even ask you about your family? Or
mine? We’re stuck here and they’re back home and who knows what’s
happening to them? My ex-wife and kids need me and I’m not
there!”

“Fine. We get it,” a male voice said,
startling them all. “The whole world is falling apart, but you’re
not the only one hurting.”

Twisting around, Minji saw a young man with
the features and coloring of the Native American tribes living in
the area. His dark hair was skimmed from his face and into a tight
braid that was looped over one shoulder. Clad in jeans, a brown
t-shirt under a weather-beaten leather jacket, and motorcycle
boots, he held a helmet in one hand and a leather backpack in the
other.

Arthur fell silent in surprise.

“I see I’m not the only one still walking
and talking. That’s a good sign,” the man continued. Tossing the
helmet and backpack onto a chair, he swiftly walked over to Jake.
“This poor fellow isn’t, I see.”

“That’s my husband,” Minji said.

“And you are?” The man looked at them with
keen black eyes.

“First tell us who you are,” Simone shot
back, clearly unnerved by the man’s rougher appearance.

“Jesse Martin,” came the answer. “I’m a
nurse practitioner and I work here.”

“I’m Minji, Jesse. I am so glad to see you.”
Tears filled her eyes, obscuring her view of the man carefully
examining her husband.

“You weren’t here when we got here,” Arthur
blurted out.

“No, I wasn’t. I was at home, asleep, on my
day off, then I heard a sound that made me think the world was
coming to an end. I walked outside and there was a plane sitting
where the elementary school used to be. Well, parts of the plane.
And then I saw them...” Jesse stared outside for a moment. “I tried
calling my family, my girlfriend, friends, and work. I couldn’t get
through on my landline or my cellphone. The plane took out all the
utility poles in my neighborhood, so I couldn’t check the
television.” Jesse continued his examination of Jake. Minji was
relieved to see how gentle his touch was as he studied Jake’s legs.
Casting a look past them, he said, “Now I’m glad I didn’t get any
television reception. I would have been tempted to stay home.”

Simultaneously, they all glanced toward the
big screen and the death and destruction it revealed.

Arthur pointed at Jesse accusingly. “It’s
your
job to help people.”

“Exactly. That’s why I got on my bike and
came into work even though I was scared shitless. Seriously, I was
starting to wonder if anyone was like me.”

“Immune?” Simone asked.

“Yeah.” Jesse hesitated. “Were you here on
the strip when it happened?”

Simone relayed their story while Jesse
listened, the furrow between his dark eyebrows deepening.

“Well, help me get Jake into the examination
room. I’ll do my best for him. I also need to check on our other
patients.”

“What’s it like?” Arthur ventured to ask.
“Out there? Past the strip?”

Minji raised her eyes in time to see Jesse
cringe. Rubbing the back of his neck with one leather-gloved hand,
Jesse took a deep breath. “Honestly, it’s like the end of the
world. Bad. Really bad. And it’s going to get worse.”

“Why?” Simone took a step toward him. “Why
would you say that?”

“Because every person in Las Vegas is
walking into the desert. And they’re going to die out there.”

Minji held the water bottle to Ava’s lips.
“Drink, Ava.”

The little girl didn’t respond, lips
twitching into odd configurations as weird sounds struggled to
escape her throat.

With a sigh, Minji leaned forward, pressing
a damp hand to her forehead. The coolness was refreshing against
her warm skin. She was weary of listening to the television, but
Simone and Arthur were riveted by the news. Casting a hopeful look
at the double doors that opened to the examination rooms, offices,
and the elevator banks, Minji waited for Jesse to return with news
about Jake’s condition. After moving the bodies of the deceased
cluttering the hallway, Jesse and Arthur had wheeled Jake into the
nearest examination room. It was a relief to know that Jake was now
under medical care, but it was difficult waiting to hear about the
prognosis on his injuries and recovery.