The burned man stumbled from the momentum of Simone’s thrust, then recovered his balance. Minji fully expected him to turn and stare at her again, but he trudged after the rest of the horde.
“Minji, we can’t deal with anyone else. We need to get Jake and Ava to the medical center and hope there’s someone that can treat them. We can’t help everyone!” Simone briskly walked to the end of the stretcher and took up Arthur’s old spot. “Let’s move before more of them decide you’re the greatest show on Earth.”
Running on the balls of his feet in an attempt to be quiet, Arthur rushed over and grabbed the hand holds in the front of the stretcher. “I say we go fast, because this is getting really, really disturbing.”
“Agreed. Let’s go.” Simone forced the stretcher into motion. “I don’t want to be out in the open if this is going to get any worse than it already is.”
Tugging on Ava’s hand, Minji hurried behind Simone past the tangle of cars to a more open part of the northbound side the boulevard. Both sides straddling the median were heavily congested with traffic heading southward. It was evident from the many police cruisers that all lanes had been redirected away from the event.
Continuing toward the tall free-standing tower at the end of the Las Vegas Strip, the three people lapsed into a disquieting silence. Whenever one side of the boulevard became too difficult to traverse, they’d find an opening in the median and cross to the other side. Weaving back and forth, they trudged toward the Stratosphere. The white and faded pink big top of Circus Circus loomed just ahead. Through the gray haze, the neon sign for the casino with its creepy clown glowed menacingly. There was a lot of construction underway in the area before Circus Circus. The older casinos were giving way to new, swankier structures.
“I hate clowns,” Minji said, nodding to the circus-themed casino.
“But it’s a good sign that we’re almost to the Stratosphere. You said the medical center is close to it, right?” Simone stumbled in her high heels, caught herself, and took a second to shove her foot back into the shoe. “By the time we get there, I’m going to need medical attention for these blisters.”
Not only were Minji’s feet aching and feeling bruised in her wet boots and socks, her back hurt from the backpack. Watching the mesmerized stumbling along the boulevard, she found it difficult to feel sorry for herself. At least she still had control of her faculties. It hurt to see Jake and Ava under the control of the event, but at least they were alive. How many were dead? How many were dying? These thoughts she kept to herself. It was easy to do. Simone and Arthur were very quiet on their long hike past construction sites, and buildings with flashy neon lights glowing on the glass facades.
The Stratosphere loomed ahead, barely visible through the murky air. With relief, Minji spotted the white brick emergency care center with large teal glass windows. An ambulance had struck the exterior wall, but was now abandoned.
“There,” Minji said, pointing.
Stark lettering read, “Boulevard Emergency Care.” There was a portico on one side for ambulance arrivals and a parking garage tucked behind the structure. The entire building had the aura of new construction from its freshly planted flora and fauna in triangular shaped flowerbeds outside the front door and the “Now Serving Your Medical Needs” neon sign flashing on the corner facing the road. Minji supposed it was impossible to escape the lights of the Las Vegas Strip.
“It’s about damn time,” Arthur muttered, guiding the stretcher around the median.
A car was smashed into the palm trees adorning the divider and the person within appeared to be dead or unconscious.
Looking back where they had come from, Minji shuddered. The thickening smoke was the malignant threat of a growing fire.
Near the entrance, there were I.V.’s and other medical equipment strewn about like refuse. Minji wondered if they had been abandoned by mesmerized patients when they had escaped the building.
“Please open,” Arthur whispered as they neared the doors.
“Why wouldn’t they? The electricity is still on.” “Oh,” Arthur said, but he was visibly relieved when the thick glass doors slid open at their approach.
Minji followed her two companions and the stretcher into the building and out of the human misery and smoke filling the boulevard.
Chapter 15
The wind outside had been cool, but the air inside the building was frigid. When the doors whooshed shut behind them, the three people yanked off their facemasks. Minji dragged a deep breath into her lungs. The clean air was wonderful.
The large, empty white waiting room stretched across the front of the building decorated in black leather and stainless steel furniture. It was deceptively normal in appearance except for the body of a doctor lying face down in a pool of blood near double doors that most likely opened to the examination rooms. The receptionist area, tucked behind the thick glass panels rising from a black marble counter, was abandoned. In one corner of the room, a large screen television jabbered away. The world outside was tinted aqua by the enormous glass windows, and Minji wondered at the design. It was almost as if the people in the waiting room were part of the spectacle of the drag.
Simone tossed the diaper bag onto one of the coffee tables before attempting to open the door to the receptionist area. It was locked. Checking the double doors on the far side of the room, she quickly shut them. “There’s a lot of dead bodies,” she warned.
“Like out there,” Arthur said, pointing at the front of the building.
“No, there’s a lot of blood. It looks like they bled to death,” Simone replied.
“Is there a phone?” Minji asked. Earlier, she’d been so rattled it hadn’t occurred to her to attempt to use the landlines at The Venetian when her cellphone hadn’t worked.
Simone glanced into the receptionist area. “They have several in there, but the door is locked. I guess I’ll check…” She glanced over her shoulder at the doors that led to the bloody corridor. “Well, I guess I don’t have a choice.”
“You do that and I’ll check the news,” Arthur said, eyes already fastened to the television.
Simone glowered at the man before disappearing through the doorway.
Minji leaned over Jake and gently removed the facemask. His eyes followed her and a low hiss escaped his lips. She touched his head, worried his warmth was a sign of a fever. Stroking his cheek gently, she whispered, “Jake, if you can understand me, we’re at the medical center now. After I take care of Bailey, I’m going to see if anyone is here to help you.” She gazed into his eyes, searching for his soul, his life spark, but came up empty.