“Hey!” Minji almost swerved, but caught herself.
With a grave expression, the deputy shook his head. “It won’t do any good because the creature is out there. She’s just its way of spying. We’ve got an hour to worry about it. We’ll deal with the situation when we get there. One way or the other, this thing needs to die.”
Ava’s eyes flicked back and forth between the two men, and then settled on Minji.
With all her heart, Minji wished for another attack.
Instead, Ava set her hand on Minji’s wrist as if to comfort her.
Chapter 32
The vast heavens were alive with the brilliance of stars and a glowing sliver of a moon. Ava’s face turned upward to gaze at the beauty of the sky, ignoring the fetid appearance of the mesmerized. Minji wondered what the entity saw among the stars. Did it see the world similarly to how humans did? She rather doubted it. The visions during the first attacks were unlike anything she’d ever seen. The intense colors, the canticle of ethereal resonances, and the surreal landscape were nearly impossible to describe. Even her memory was a faded replica of what she’d seen. How frightening the world of humanity must be to a being used to such majesty. It must be like being cast out of heaven.
“It’s wearing your daughter’s face, but it’s not your daughter, you know,” Deputy Hatcher said, jolting her out of her reverie. “Look at what it has done. The destruction. The death.”
“It doesn’t understand. Or at least it didn’t,” Minji retorted. “We brought it here, then trapped it. It was defending itself.”
“It killed my family,” Arthur raged, pointing an accusing finger at Ava. “It murdered them. And it would kill us, too, if we weren’t immune.”
“It murdered those soldiers back there. You saw them, didn’t you?” The deputy shot a disapproving look at Minji.
&
nbsp; The gun pressed harder into her side. Was Deputy Hatcher doing it out of anger? Or unconsciously?
“They were identified as a threat. Maybe because of their uniforms. Or because they tried to get into the facility. Just like all the people wearing white,” Minji replied. “Did you think of that? Maybe it thought they were trying to hurt it. Which is the truth of the matter. They were trying to hurt it.”
“And that’s why you’re with us.” The deputy watched the mesmerized part before the SUV like the Red Sea parting for Moses. “For some reason, it likes you. And for foolish reasons, you’re protecting it.”
Resisting the urge to get into a verbal war with the deputy, Minji concentrated on the patch of road in front of the SUV. The pathway through the mesmerized made the journey easier, but she didn’t dare drive too fast. There were children and elderly in the crowd and sometimes they were bumped into the path of the SUV. So many had died already and she didn’t want to be responsible for any more deaths.
“We’re almost there,” the deputy said studying the GPS on the dash. “We should be coming up on it any second now.”
Minji slowed the SUV as the road gradually curved. It was difficult to see the lay of the land with the mesmerized obscuring the view. The tall posts of a toppled fence came into view. Beyond the remains of the enclosure were several squat concrete buildings. The mesmerized were swarming a dome shaped building on the far end that wasn’t much larger than a shed.
Deputy Hatcher pointed toward the oddly shaped structure. “That’s the entrance.”
The mesmerized were compressed so compactly into the area, they could no longer move to allow the SUV to pass. Minji was forced to stop.
“Keep going, keep going,” Arthur insisted.
“I can’t. There’s too many. We have to walk,” Minji answered.
“Fences are down,” the deputy observed. “There are about a hundred yards between here and the entrance. Walking through it will not be easy. Minji, carry the little girl and take the lead. I’ll be right behind you. Arthur, you’re last.”
“But what if they try to hurt me?” In the rearview mirror, Arthur’s face resembled that of a mouse cornered by a cat.
“They won’t.” The deputy shoved the passenger door open and pushed on it with one foot until the mesmerized scooted out of the way. Wrapping one arm around Ava, he motioned for Minji to turn off the SUV. “You’re going to slide over the console just like before. Understood?”
Nodding, Minji popped her seatbelt and obeyed. She’d hoped for some relief from the constant prodding of the gun, but the deputy was very good at keeping it lodged against her ribs. When she set foot on the ground, he swung Ava into her arms. The little girl was no longer ramrod straight in Minji’s embrace, but clung to her.
The gravel covering the parking area made the ground uneven and crunched beneath the soles of her boots. The mesmerized pressed in around her, but she managed to keep moving. The wretched smell of body odor filled her nostrils and made her eyes water, but it was better than the acrid smell of the fires in Las Vegas. Bumping into the men, women, children, and elderly, she fought the urge to apologize for forcing her way through their midst. The blank faces and empty eyes sent slivers of fear through her. What if she was wrong and they turned on her? Visions of the two dead soldiers sprang to mind. Fear almost froze her in her steps, but a hard jab from the gun prompted her onward.
“Keep moving,” Deputy Hatcher barked.
The heads of the mesmerized swiveled to watch her passage, though their eyes remained lifeless. Was it the other entity watching? Minji swallowed the hard lump in her throat and whispered to Ava and the child entity that everything was going to be okay.
The gun was an unwavering presence at the base of her neck. It was a relief after the bruise inflicted on her ribcage.