The Mesmerized (33 page)

“We would have died. Your family. Simone.
All those people.”

Minji pressed a hand to her forehead,
nodding. “I know…but…maybe it would have been better then…”

“Minji, what did she say?”

It took all her willpower not to crumble
under the memory of what had transpired. Curling her hands into
fists, she spoke the words she hadn’t shared with anyone. Not even
her husband. “If we ever open the doorway to her world again, they
will come through. They will destroy our world. There will be no
mercy. Not for me. Not for my children. Not for anyone.”

Speechless, Alec sat back on the sofa, the
taco forgotten on his lap.

“When we tore through the fabric of reality,
we made them aware of us again. They’d forgotten us. That we exist.
That we’re here. But now they remember.” Minji drew in a deep
breath. “And this time...they will not forget.”

Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author
of over a dozen books, including the
As
the
World
Dies
zombie trilogy, as well as independent
works such as The Last Bastion of the Living (declared the #1
Zombie Release of 2012 by Explorations Fantasy Blog and the #1
Zombie Novel of the Decade by B&N Book Blog), and other horror
novels. She was born and raised a Texan and presently lives in
Austin, Texas with her husband and furry children (a.k.a pets). She
loves scary movies, sci-fi and horror shows, playing video games,
cooking, dyeing her hair weird colors, and shopping for Betsey
Johnson purses and shoes.