“Alec, wake up! Something’s wrong!”
“What?” The military man was instantly awake. “What is it?”
Simone hurried up the aisle clasping a water bottle in one hand. “What’s wrong?”
A large cluster of the mesmerized gathered around a big blue truck blocking the shuttle’s passage. From the way the top of the cab was bobbing side to side, it was evident that the mesmerized were rocking the pickup.
“What the hell?” Minji checked Ava, but the blank stare was unchanged. A rapid study of her husband and Jesse revealed they were sedate as well. On the road, the mesmerized were in an uproar. Over the idling engine of the shuttle bus, she could hear inhuman cries issuing forth from the throng.
Simone gripped the pole near the steps to the front door and leaned over to peer out. “What are they doing?”
“Have you seen anything like this before?” Alec stopped next to Simone, pressed his palms against the ceiling to steady himself and slanted forward to watch.
Simone shook her head while Minji said, “No, never.”
“Are they attacking it? Or is it just blocking their way?” Simone asked.
“The people at The Venetian tried to grab me this morning, but I think it was to return me to the girls.” Minji clasped her hands together and tucked them under her chin as she scrutinized the scene. “Are there people in the truck?”
“I can’t see anyone, can you?” Adam’s fingers drummed against the roof, his eyebrows lowered in a thoughtful pose.
“No,” Simone answered. “There’s too much glare on the windshield.”
A loud pop startled Minji and it took her a second to realize it was gunfire. Moments later, more shots followed, and above the crowd, geysers of blood appeared. The mesmerized responded by swarming over the vehicle like ants. The shooting continued and there was a bright flash when someone kicked out the windshield and the glass caught the sunlight. Two figures scrambled onto the hood of the pickup truck dressed in Army fatigues.
“Shit!” Reaching under his jacket and shirt, Alec pulled a handgun from a holster hidden at the small of his back. “I need to help them!”
“You have a gun? You didn’t tell us you had a gun!” Simone exclaimed.
“Don’t rag on me,” Alec tersely replied.
Outside, the two people, a man and a woman, struggled to maintain their balance on the rocking vehicle while shooting and kicking away the mesmerized reaching for them. Minji took hold of Ava’s hand and tried to get her attention. “Stop it. Leave them alone.”
Ava’s only response was to stare past her at the rampaging mesmerized.
“Alec, you can’t go out there anyway. They’re acting like zombies!”
“Simone, back off. I have to help them.” Alec opened the door to the shuttle bus.
Gripping his upper arm, Minji tugged on him. Alec swung toward her, blue eyes boring into hers.
“The mesmerized are not going to stop their attack and bullets aren’t slowing them down. You can’t help them, Alec.”
“Minji, I have—”
“Oh, shit!” Simone cried, flinging out a hand as though she could somehow stop the unfolding drama. “He fell!”
Minji shot out of the driver’s seat when she realized only the woman remained on top the truck. The female soldier was backed onto the roof and the mesmerized were swarming over the hood and bed. Though she was obviously screaming, her voice was drowned out by their disturbing cries. Horrified, Minji watched as the woman was dragged off the cab and disappeared into the throng.
“Fuck!” Alec roared. “Fuck!”
“What are they doing to her? What are they doing to her?” Simone screamed.
Bailey let out a bleat, then started to wail.
Minji swiveled about to calm her baby, but instantly froze. Ava was staring at her with a small smile on her lips.
“Moommy,” she said.