The Mesmerized
“Nope. They’re all walking off in that direction,” Arthur said, pointing over his shoulder.
The woman’s face reminded Minji vividly of the statues of Queen Nefertiti. Sh
e was a striking beauty and there was an aura about her that demanded notice.
With a sigh, the woman pressed one manicured hand to her forehead. “Great, just great.” Lifting her other hand to look at her phone clenched in it, she said, “I suppose neither one of you has a working phone?”
“I don’t have any bars,” Minji said.
“Me neither,” Arthur admitted.
“A tower must be down,” the newcomer decided.
Arthur rolled his eyes. “Can we please get out of here?”
The other female regarded Arthur thoughtfully, raising an eyebrow. Without another word, she walked over, laid the tire iron on a table, and placed her hand on the other handhold at the head of the stretcher. Minji gave her a grateful smile before they started walking out of the casino area.
Even though the jubilant sounds of the machines in the casino drifted through the cool air, the aura within the resort was somber and eerie.
“I’m Simone. Simone Avery,” the stranger said in a lowered voice.
“Minji Nordim.”
“And who’s this little angel?” Simone asked, lightly touching Ava’s red curls.
Unexpected tears flooded her vision and Minji choked out her daughters’ names.
“And him?” Simone asked, her golden-brown eyes flicking toward Arthur.
“My name is Arthur Freestone,” came the snappish response.
Simone didn’t rise to the challenge in his voice. “And I assume this is your husband on the stretcher?”
Minji nodded. “His name is Jake.”
Resting one hand on Jake’s forehead, Simone said, “You’re going to be okay, Jake. We’ll get you somewhere safe.”
Seconds later the floor beneath their feet shook and a low grumble echoed down the expanse of the lobby. Then a roar unlike any sound Minji had ever heard before burst in the air.
It sounded like the end of the world.
Chapter 11
The rumbling growl swelled in volume while the walls and ground trembled.
Minji shot a quick, worried look over her shoulder. “Is that sound inside or outside?” Had the skylight collapsed?
“Definitely outside.” Simone eyed the swinging chandeliers near the check-in counter set behind the gilded fountain with its ornate globe. “And it’s definitely not a good sound.”
Minji bolted past the fountain toward the front doors, dragging the stretcher behind her. Simone helped, but Arthur abandoned them and sprinted to the entrance.
“Oh, my God!” Arthur came to a stop and stared in horror at the world beyond the glass doors.
“What is it?” Minji called, bringing the stretcher to a halt. It banged into her hip painfully. How much worse could things get? She was terribly afraid to find out. “Is it safe to go out?”
“I...I...” Turning several shades lighter than normal, Arthur retreated from the exit. “This is bad. Very, very bad.”
Minji and Simone cautiously pulled the stretcher to within a few feet of the doorway and peered outside. A churning gray fog obscured the view beyond the arrival area. Minji watched the thick haze creeping over the still running vehicles toward the entrance. It took several seconds for Minji to comprehend that the roiling gray cloudy fingers reaching for the front of the resort were something other than fog.