The Mesmerized

“Oh, well, I meant—”

“My husband’s family was brought as slaves to this country, but my point is that we’re all Americans. Minji told you already that her family has been here several generations, so what the hell is your problem?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Minji saw a subtle smile on Alec’s lips.

“Why is she the only one who’s immune?” Arthur’s voice was almost a screech.

“Maybe it’s all the tattoos. Wait, no. I got some of those, too,” Alec answered, pretending to look befuddled. “Oh! Maybe all the piercings. Wait, no. Simone and Jesse have a few piercings, too. Could be the dreads? Or the purple dye? Or maybe it’s the black clothing? Or maybe it’s because she has two precious little girls with her? Why assume it’s her race?”

Something in Alec’s response sparked a fresh thought in Minji’s mind. Glancing at Ava and Bailey, she wondered if maybe her immunity and the being’s interest in Minji herself was truly that simple. Bailey gurgled and slapped her bottle against the top of the table. Cooing the nonsense language of babies, she gave Minji a sweet look.

“Could you shut her up? We’re trying to have a discussion here!” Arthur said, having the audacity to glower at Bailey.

Simone crossed her arms over her breasts and regarded Arthur with contempt. “She’s just expressing herself, Arthur. It’s how babies learn to talk. Calm down.”

“Everyone is ignoring the big picture here, Simone! She’s fully immune and we’re not! Why?”

“We don’t know if she’s fully immune. Maybe she’s just waking up faster than the rest of us.” Alec nibbled some wheat toast, his blue eyes hard as stone as he regarded Arthur.

“Then maybe we should film her or something.” Arthur shoved his plate away, folded his arms, and scowled at each person at the table in turn.

“It’s already been recorded. On the security cameras.” Jesse pointed at one in the corner of the room with his fork.

All eyes turned to the small white camera.

“I’d like to check that out,” Alec said after a beat. “We should actually confirm if she’s immune or not.”

“I’ll show you the security room. It’s on the second floor. But we do need to move soon. The wind is still blowing away from us, but there are more buildings on fire this morning.” Jesse rubbed his bleary eyes and sighed. “We should start making plans to evacuate.”

“There’s a shuttle bus a block from here that’s parked on the side of the road. The keys are in the ignition and it’s empty. The driver may have made a run for it,” Alec said. “I suggest packing food and water. Also, find containers you can fill with gasoline. You’ll have to drive through the desert so the first operational gas station you find, you need to top off the tank and get reserves.”

“You sound like you’re not coming with us,” Simone said pensively.

“I’m not.” Alec finished eating, picked up his plate, and turned his attention to Jesse. “Can you show me that security room now?”

“If you’re not coming with us, where are you going?” Arthur demanded, his suspicion clear.

“I’m going to follow the...mesmerized. I want to see where they are going. Maybe the answer to all of this is at their destination.” Alec hobbled to the sink and rinsed off his plate.

“How do you know they’re all going in the same direction?” Jesse asked.

“The news. People on the West Coast started walking east. The people on the East Coast started walking west. People in the south, started walking north. Before all the networks went off the air last night, speculation was that everyone is heading to the same spot.” Alec leaned back against the sink and rubbed his hands together. “So I plan to find a way to join the horde and find out where they’re going.”

Silence followed this proclamation and worried looks were exchanged among the four people remaining at the table, but no one said anything. Minji popped the lid off the bottle of the protein shake Jesse had set on the table for Ava. She wasn’t about to speak up until she had time to formulate what course of action she was going to follow. Simone, Jesse, and Arthur fully expected for her to drive them out of the city and seek out their family members, but Minji was starting to have serious second thoughts.

Ava’s eyes shifted toward Alec for an instant then back to Minji. The other was watching the former military man. Did that mean Alec was right? Was the answer to all that was occurring at the destination of the mesmerized?

“I’ll have to prepare all my patients for transport,” Jesse said.

“Why are we taking them?” Arthur snorted. “What’s the point?”

Jesse narrowed his eyes on the man across the table from him. “What if they were your family?” “But they’re not.” Arthur shrugged.

“How long can you keep them alive?” Alec asked. “How long will you let them be a burden?”

Unlike Arthur’s comment, Alec sounded genuinely curious and not condemning.