The Mesmerized (3 page)

“Why are they just standing there, Jake? Why
are they bleeding?”

“Maybe its shock.” Jake guided her past the
bridesmaids. “I don’t know. Whatever hit us must have had a more
adverse effect on them.”

“I want to go home!” Ava announced. “Now! I
want to go to Austin!”

“Ava, we’re going home. You just need to
give Mommy and Daddy a second to figure out where to go next,” Jake
said in a calming tone. “Okay?”

Ava nodded.

Another wave of pain and blindness hit
Minji, sending her reeling. Pressing her palms against her
forehead, she sobbed in despair and fear. The rapid fire assault of
the icy needles threading through her brain ceased abruptly. Ava
violently threw up her breakfast onto the floor at their feet and
Minji fought the urge to follow suit. The reek of vomit filled the
air as others lost their meals. The acrid smell made Minji’s eyes
water. She fished some tissues out of her messenger bag to wipe
Ava’s lips and make sure her mouth was empty so she wouldn’t
choke.

“What
is
this?” Jake whispered. The
horror in his eyes matched her own feelings. She could see and
sense his desperation. They had to get their girls away from
whatever was attacking the people in the mall.

In chilling unison, the bleeding men, women,
and children crumpled to the red-stained floor.

The fleshy thud of the bleeders striking the
floor echoed throughout the shopping area. Instantly, hysteria
cleaved the crowd in half. Some ran for the exits while others
scrambled to help the wounded.

“Min, we need to keep the girls away from
the infected!” Jake pointed toward a store and started weaving
through the frantic throng.

Minji glanced fearfully at one of
blood-soaked victims near her feet. “Infected?”

“Or whatever the fuck this is.” Jake used
his size to plow through the human obstacles.

Minji stumbled after her husband, pressing
Ava into her side. She was buffeted on all sides by the flesh of
the fleeing. The blood seeping from the wounded created slick
puddles that sent some people sprawling across the floor leaving
florid red designs in their wake. Fear was a tangible force,
growing, pulsating, filling the air already scented with blood,
vomit, and sweat.

“Don’t look, baby. Don’t look,” Minji
pleaded.

Ava’s small fingers dug into Minji’s waist,
her whimpers nearly lost in the increasing clamor. The faces of the
people orbiting the family were a blur of alarmed eyes and
screaming mouths. Minji maintained a firm grip on her daughter,
fighting to keep close to Jake as he pushed his way through the
tumult while avoiding the fallen people.

Near a store entrance, the female tourist
who had spoken to them earlier was sprawled in an ever-widening
pool of blood. At her side was the man with the slicked back hair
and tennis whites. Their slack faces, glazed eyes, and still chests
heightened Minji’s terror.

“Jake, are they...?”

“I think so.”

Outside the casino, loud booms shook the
building. Screams of terror echoed throughout the corridor,
drowning out the whimpers and sobs of the stricken. Bloodied
victims littered the floor, encircled by those attempting to revive
them. Jake found a spot tucked behind a fake potted plant and
gathered his family against the wall. Minji flattened her back
against the cold surface, attempting to stay out of the way of
those hurrying toward the escalators. Ava clung to Minji, but
reached out to grip the rough fabric of her father’s shorts for
reassurance. Jake lightly brushed his fingers over his daughter’s
cheek before he fished his cellphone out of his pocket and tapped
on the screen.

“I’ll call for help.”

Knowing her husband well, Minji understood
he was striving to take control of the situation. Jake was always
proactive. If there was a problem, he tried to resolve it. If a
mistake was made, he tried to fix it. Surveying the surreal and
tumultuous scene, Minji knew that it would take more than one
stubborn Swede to set things right. Yet Jake would try because that
was his nature and one of the things she dearly loved about
him.

Stroking Ava’s hair with one hand and wiping
away Bailey’s tears with the other, Minji struggled against the
growing dread filling her. She couldn’t comprehend what was
transpiring. It was difficult to even accept the current happening
as reality. It was like being trapped inside a nightmare and unable
to awaken.

“All circuits are busy. I can’t get through
to 911.” Jake glared at the phone, and then pocketed it with a
grunt.

“Everyone's calling.” Minji gestured toward
several young men nearby that were on their cellphones.

“Then help is on the way,” Jake said, but
his tone sounded doubtful.

“Mommy, I’m scared!” Ava whimpered.

“It’ll be okay, Ava,” Minji promised, though
she wasn’t too sure if her words were true.

A cluster of dazed shoppers bustled past,
ushering their families toward the escalators. Some were tripping
in their haste, and there was an increasing chance of people being
trampled. Huddling together, Jake and Minji endeavored to avoid the
wild flow of the crowd.

“What do we do, Jake?”

Both daughters were sobbing loudly and Minji
felt close to joining them. Ava’s face was pressed firmly into her
mother’s side and since Minji’s t-shirt was hitched upward, her hip
was smeared with the snot and tears of her daughter.

“We need to get away from here. We should
hold up in the hotel room and wait until the authorities let us
know what to do next.” Jake’s blue eyes worriedly scanned the
pandemonium before them. “It’s just going to be tricky getting to
the elevators.”

Bailey’s snuffles tugged at Minji’s heart
and she reached up to console the baby.

“Leave her in the backpack, Min. She’s safer
in there for now. Carry Ava and keep close, okay?”

Lifting her whimpering eldest daughter onto
her hip, Minji nodded. Jake was always level-headed, but fear for
his children’s safety eroded his usual calm demeanor. His
heightened color and the obvious worry in his eyes were unsettling.
As though sensing her disquiet at his ruffled exterior, he slung an
arm around Minji and kissed her lips before leaning down to press
one to Ava’s cheek.

“We’re going to be okay,” he said to his
daughter, and if the confidence filling his voice was fake, Minji
didn’t care. Rising, he said to his wife, “We’ll deal with this
together.”

Minji nodded. “I know.”

“Ready?”

“Yeah,” she lied.

Gripping her hand, Jake started to push
through the human stampede.

The next wave of disorientation seized not
only Minji’s brain, but her body. Stuttering to a halt, she was
immobilized by the sensation of icy water rushing over her flesh
and freezing her limbs. Ava slipped from her grasp and hit the
floor with a resounding thump. Unable to move or cry out, Minji
fought against the overwhelming power attempting to subsume her. A
black void swallowed her eyesight, rendering her blind once again.
This incident felt different from the preceding ones. This time,
the power that seized her mind and body felt absolute, terrible,
and eternal.

No
,
no
,
no
,
no
...

For the single beat of her heart, her
eyesight returned, but the world was transformed into a miasma of
brilliant colors. Eerie voices rose in an off-key chorus of
unimaginable beauty. The shocking, abysmal magnificence of what she
was witnessing left her on the verge of madness.

Was she seeing heaven or hell?

As abruptly as it had come, the glorious,
incomprehensible vision vanished, leaving Minji trembling in the
wake of what she’d experienced. Darkness returned, but the
blindness was welcomed after the terrible hallucination she had
suffered.

In increments, mobility returned to her
body. Warm liquid trickled from her nose and a coppery taste seeped
between her lips. With quivering fingers, she wiped blood from her
face.

The mall was eerily quiet. At first Minji
thought she’d been deafened by the latest attack, but then her ears
detected the rumble of the waterfall. Minji sucked in a harsh
breath through her chattering teeth as her sight returned.

Every person in the area was unmoving,
unblinking, and silent. Those who had been helping the bleeders now
stood next to the dead in perfect mockery of stone sentinels over
quiet graves. No one moved or gave any indication of awareness. It
was as if the scene had been caught and suspended in a single
moment of time.

“Jake!” Minji gasped. “Jake! What’s
happening?” She pivoted toward her husband.

The tall Swede was completely still, blue
eyes staring straight ahead. Jake didn’t flinch when she grabbed
his arm and shook him.

“Jake! Wake up! Please, babe, wake up! We
need you!”

Her husband remained impassive. Though his
chest moved with breath and his eyes blinked every few seconds, he
didn’t respond to her increasingly desperate cries. Slapping her
hands against his chest, Minji attempted to awaken him.

Whirling about, she mewled in despair when
she saw Ava among the human statues. Dark eyes unfocused, Ava
didn’t react when Minji clutched her arms and gave her a frantic
shake.

“Ava, Ava, please, look at mommy. Look at
me!”

The five year old remained stock-still and
silent.

With a sob, Minji pressed her palms against
the rounded cheeks of the little girl. “Please, Ava, if you can
hear me, look at me.”

Minji’s heart sank when Ava’s gaze remained
blank.

Fighting against the heavy weight of fear
and despair, Minji straightened and took several deep shuddering
breaths of the much colder air. The phantom touch of a thousand
strands of spider silk drifted over her flesh. She shivered.

Hugging herself, Minji warily scrutinized
the still forms around her. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe this wasn’t
terrorism. What if this event was the manifestation of something
not human? Pushing that irrational speculation out of her mind, she
wrestled her fear under control and focused her thoughts. If she
could move, then someone else may be immune as well.

“Hello! Is anyone else able to move? Or
speak?” Minji shouted, her voice reverberating through the long
corridors and courtyard.

There was no answer except for the noise of
the waterfall.

How could she be surrounded by people, yet
feel so alone?

Grabbing Jake’s arm again, Minji gave him a
violent tug. “Jake, wake up! Wake up!”

A stuttering cry burst out from the
baby.

“Bailey! Bailey!” Minji anxiously stretched
out her hand to soothe her youngest.

Over Jake’s broad shoulder, Bailey’s small
mouth twisted into an ugly shape as she let out a bloodcurdling
shriek. Fists clenched, the baby girl unleashed wails that made the
already horrifying situation even more fraught with emotion.

“Please don’t cry, Bailey! It’s okay! I’m
here!”

Even though Jake hadn’t wanted to remove
Bailey from the backpack earlier, Minji couldn’t stand for her baby
to be in distress. She raised her unsteady fingers to free her
daughter from the contraption.

Jake moved sharply to one side.

From the depths of her soul came a rush of
hope that chased away the dour thoughts laying siege to her mind.
Once Jake shook of the full effects of the attack, they’d escape
this insanity and find help. “Jake! Oh, thank God, you’re waking
up!”

Then as quickly as her spirits had risen,
they were dashed when Minji realized that everyone else had moved
in sync with Jake. All were now facing toward the atrium. Swaying
slightly on their feet, the transfixed people reminded Minji of
marionettes hanging from the strings of a puppeteer.

Bailey let out another sharp cry. Again,
Minji lifted her hands to free her child from the backpack. One
chubby hand gripped Minji’s fingers as Bailey screeched. The
unsettling sensation of cold mist slinking over her flesh sent
quivers of fear through Minji’s limbs. The icy pinpricks once again
assailed her brain, but this time did not pierce as deeply as
before. To her relief, she remained in control of her body and
didn’t endure another bout of blindness.

In unison, the mesmerized people moved
forward, the slap of their feet against the floor echoing
throughout the vast building.

Bailey’s slick digits lost their hold when
Jake’s long stride carried her out of Minji’s reach. Hurrying after
Jake and Bailey, Minji felt a tug on her wrist. Whipping about, she
saw Ava caught behind several young men, the leash between her
backpack and Minji pulled taunt.

The massive crowd took another synchronized
step toward the escalators and the balcony overlooking the
waterfall. Tracing their path with her eyes, Minji’s heart raced.
Would they stop when they reached the iron railing lining the
second floor? Would they tumble down the escalator? Panicked, Minji
shoved past the enraptured men blocking her daughter and jerked Ava
into her arms. Ramrod straight, eyes staring to some unknown point
and scarily reminding Minji of a doll, Ava didn’t resist. Desperate
to secure Ava’s safety, Minji pushed through the forest of human
statues to the entrance of the nearest store. The blank-faced
employees cluttered the doorway, making it impassable.

Another thunderous clap echoed as the crowd
again advanced.

Panicked, Minji checked on her husband. Jake
towered above the others making him easy to spot. The front of the
crowd had reached the opening to the balcony and the top of the
escalators. Jake was located in the middle of the mass and aimed
toward the rectangular balcony that jutted out over the courtyard
beneath the domed skylight.