The Mesmerized

Again, Alec chuckled. “You’re a very smart woman.”

“So, what else did they say?” Minji persisted, repeating her earlier question.

“This is the part that’s going to sound very crazy.”

“Try me.”

Minji pointed toward the section with jackets and Alec shadowed her journey over to the racks.

“Well, apparently there was an experiment taking place out at one of those top secret facilities that everyone knows about, but isn’t supposed to. It wasn’t on UFO technology or anything like that. A group of scientists were attempting to create a way to transport soldiers and equipment long distances.”

“And you don’t mean with trains, planes or automobiles.”

“No, not at all. More like Star Trek’s transporters, but not quite. They were trying to open windows in space. The idea was to tunnel through space and time, creating a bridge between two points.”

“Kinda like Dr. Who,” Minji mused.

“A pretty, smart mom who rides motorcycles, and is also a geek. You’re full of surprises.”

“I also kickbox.”

Alec started to say something, then thought better of it.

“It’s a good work out. Besides, I used to work at a bar and got out late. I decided to get fit and learn how to defend myself.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything.”

“No kung-fu or karate jokes from you?”

“No, not from me.”

Minji spotted a lightweight leather jacket and shrugged it on. It fit. “My bad ass uniform is complete.”

“It’s also a ‘keep your flesh on your bones’ uniform.” Alec tugged on his own jacket, balancing carefully on one foot, his cane resting against his thigh. “Anyway, the first attempt at opening the tunnel yielded unexpected results.”

Minji met Alec’s intense gaze over the top edge of her facemask. All she had witnessed over the last twenty-four hours was clicking into place. “Something came through the tunnel, but not from our world.”

“Yes.”

There was so much weight in his answer it crushed what little hope remained within her. She grappled with an inevitable conclusion. Tears unexpectedly stung her eyes and she lowered them to gaze at her wedding band. The dark ruby glittered against the platinum band, a symbol of love from a man rendered nearly lifeless by the results of an experiment in the desert. Minji would do anything to save her family, which meant she’d have to leave them in the care of others and put herself at risk.

Alec was quiet, allowing her to process this new information before continuing.

“It doesn’t seem real,” Minji whispered.

“No, it doesn’t.”

The destruction outside the shattered glass doors and windows looked like a movie set of a horror film, not reality. A piece of her mind desperately wanted to cling to the notion that none of it was real, but the pungent smells of death and fire shoved that sliver of insanity away. “So something came through and then what?” Minji wanted to hear the whole truth so she could deal with the emotional repercussions, then focus on what she needed to do to help Alec.

“The scientists managed to isolate the thing that came through. At first they weren’t even sure it was a living being, but it started to...cry out. According to my briefing, every man and woman in the facility died exactly like the security guard did this morning. They bled to death in a matter of minutes. The feed from the main facility was being fed to the second one where the tunnel’s exit was supposed to be located, so their deaths were documented. The scientists at the second site were immediately dispatched to contain the situation, but the team soon realized they couldn’t enter the event radius without being affected.”

“When was this?”

“Yesterday, in the early morning.”

“Shit.” Minji’s mind reeled. The end of the world had started while she had been at breakfast with her family.

“Then the event expanded and encapsulated a good portion of Las Vegas. The second team was nearby, so they were sent to the area. According to what I was told, the head scientist did discover two people who were immune to the effects of the event. A man and a woman. Arthur Freestone and Minji Nordim. She also reported that she’d secured one of the affected. They were supposed to be transported out of Las Vegas, but then all communication with her was lost when the event expanded again.”