The Mesmerized
Authors: Rhiannon Frater
Tags: #undead, #as the world dies, #rhiannon frater, #horror, #zombie, #supernatural, #female lead, #apocalypse, #strong female protagonist, #lovecraft
A PERMUTED PRESS book
Published at Smashwords
ISBN (Trade Paperback): 978-1-61868-5-001
ISBN (eBook): 978-1-61868-3-557
The Mesmerized
copyright © 2014
by Rhiannon Frater
All Rights Reserved.
Cover art by Claudia McKinney, Phatpuppy Art
Studios
This book is a work of fiction. People,
places, events, and situations are the product of the author’s
imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or
historical events, is purely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without
the written permission of the author and publisher.
Table of Contents
Dedicated to Corey, my loving husband, who encourages
me to believe in myself and keep writing.
Special thanks to Erin for pizza nights and
margaritas when things got tough.
It was silence, not screams of terror, which
proclaimed the end of the world…
Las Vegas, Nevada
Friday 11 AM
“I need more tattoos, Mommy.”
An insistent tug on Minji Nordim’s studded
belt pulled the young mother’s attention to her five year old
daughter peering up at her. Leaning against the wall outside of one
of the swanky shops located on the second floor of The Palazzo
Resort in Las Vegas, Minji was busily texting her parents and
in-laws. Meanwhile, her husband, Jake, was changing their baby
daughter’s diaper in the men’s bathroom further down the corridor.
The Shoppes at The Palazzo was a lovely mall with its obelisks and
shallow pools fringed by bright fake foliage. The rush of the
waterfall looming over the massive courtyard and the din of the
many shoppers echoed through the vast opulent structure. Wrought
iron railings laced the walkways of each floor bordering the atrium
illuminated by sunlight pouring through the massive domed
skylight.
“What did you say, Ava?” Minji tilted her
head and her tidy black and purple dreads shifted over one
shoulder.
With great exasperation, Ava replied, “I
said
I need more tattoos, Mommy!”
Minji arched her thin, dark brows. “Watch
that temper.”
Ava was very good at living up to the fiery
redhead stereotype and her cupid bow lips pressed into a tight
line.
“Now just wait until I’m done, then we’ll
talk about it. I’m texting Grams and Grandpa.”
With a very dramatic sigh, her daughter
leaned against the wall next to her. Dressed in bright pink
leggings covered in black glittery skulls and a black shirt adorned
with one giant pink skull, Ava looked like a dark little princess.
Kicking the heel of her ballet flat against the wall, Ava
moped.
“No pouting, Ava. We’ll go as soon as Daddy
is done changing Bailey.”
“I wanna see the tigers.”
“I know.”
“And I want another tattoo.”
“We’ll talk in a minute,” Minji said firmly,
then returned her attention to the screen of her smartphone.
Jake and Minji Nordim had invited both sets
of grandparents to join them during their weeklong vacation in Las
Vegas with their two young daughters. To their delight, both
couples had agreed. The Nordims had flown in from Sweden while
Minji’s parents had driven from Texas. Jake secured a decent
discount package for the entire family at The Palazzo Resort which
was connected to The Venetian. It had been a lovely few days, but
now the grandparents had departed. Jake’s parents were flying home
and though both were seasoned travelers, they tended to fret about
making plane connections. Texts from both Emil and Linnea poured
into Minji’s phone, while the messages to her technophobe parents,
Alan and Lily, remained unanswered. A wry smile pressed onto
Minji’s lips at the thought of her mother trying to figure out how
to respond to a text.
Another short-tempered exhalation from Ava
was a clear indicator of her daughter’s increasing restlessness.
The family had just eaten breakfast at a restaurant located off the
Grand Canal on The Venetian side of the resort and the little girl
was bouncing with unused energy.
“Ava, give me just one more minute. PawPaw
and Halmuhni are supposed to send me a message to let me know how
their drive back to Texas is going.”
“Are we driving back to Austin?”
“No, Ava. We’re going to fly. Halmuhni
doesn’t like to fly, remember?”
“I like to fly. The plane people give me
juice. Muhni is silly.” Ava’s abbreviation for the Korean word for
grandmother always rubbed Lily the wrong way, but Minji found it
endearing.
At last, a text dinged into the phone from
her mother. Lily’s message was direct and to the point. It read:
Still alive.
Minji smirked.
“Mommy, are you done now?”
The final texts from Jake’s parents revealed
they’d reached their gate. Minji tucked the phone into her
messenger bag adorned with an embroidered zombie Bettie Page and
zipped it shut. “All done with the grandparents now.”
“Good! I want more tattoos.”
Squatting, Minji surveyed the little girl’s
arm. It was covered in temporary tattoos of various cartoon
characters, flowers, and decorative designs.
“Hmm, Ava, I don’t know if you have any more
room.”
“You have a lot more than me.” Ava pointed
to the full sleeve of intricate and colorful artwork on Minji’s
arm. “And so does Daddy.”
Clad in a black tank-top, black shorts, and
black lace-up combat boots, many of Minji’s tattoos were on
display. Some she had actually inked herself, but all were her own
designs. It was an impressive display of her artistry. Lily had
trouble understanding her daughter’s counter-culture appearance or
her profession as a tattoo artist. Since Lily didn’t approve of
Minji’s or Jake’s tattoos, it had been surprising when she’d
purchased the temporary ones for Ava at one of the Las Vegas shops.
Minji had taken it as a sign that her Korean-American mother was
attempting to be more accepting of her daughter’s career.
Minji tucked her fist under her chin,
resting her elbow on one knee. Gazing into her daughter’s brown
eyes, she asked, “If we put more on your arm, we’re going to have
to start covering up some of the other ones.”
Ava clutched the sheet of temporary tattoos,
her tiny mouth twisted thoughtfully. “Well, I don’t like the
sunflower. Can we cover it up with a pony?”
Minji examined the sunflower, then the pony
sticker. “If we take the flower off, the pony still won’t fit.”
“Can I put it on my other arm?” Ava bestowed
her mother with a charmingly naughty smile. The halo of her auburn
curls made her look like an adorable angel.
“Daddy said you could only cover one arm,
remember?”
Ava let out another dramatic sigh.
“What a precious little girl!”
Minji glanced up to see a heavyset woman
staring at them. Clutching colorful bags, sporting a glittery white
Vegas t-shirt stretched across her ample bosom, and sporting a bad
sunburn, the fellow tourist flashed a wide smile. The reek of
expensive perfume, suntan lotion and sweat wafted off the woman’s
flushed skin. She’d obviously just returned from strolling on the
boulevard in the hot summer sun.
“Thank you. I think she’s a keeper,” Minji
said, and winked at Ava.
Ava giggled.
Quickly taking in Minji’s waist-length black
and purple dreads, black clothing, tattoos, and Asian features, the
woman’s expression took on an air of confusion. The stranger’s eyes
slid back and forth between Minji’s distinctly non-white features
and Ava’s freckles and red hair.
“Oh, I see! Her eyes are like yours,” the
woman said triumphantly.
Minji gave a brief nod, struggling not to
show her annoyance. “And she has my father’s red hair.”
“But Daddy’s freckles,” Ava added.
“Oh, so she’s only a quarter Japanese?” The
words were said as if she’d solved some great mystery.
“Korean,” Minji corrected.
“Ah, that’s so nice,” the tourist decided
with a pleased smile.
“What’s nice?” Ava asked, sounding
suspicious.
“That you’re part Korean. That’s very
nice.”
Minji and Ava exchanged amused looks. This
wasn’t their first time dealing with people who found Ava’s
bi-racial appearance intriguing. Minji looked like her mother’s
side of the family though she did have her father’s hazel eyes and
naturally thick wavy hair, so she wasn’t the subject of as much
scrutiny as Ava. It did hurt when people asked if Ava was her
biological child. Since their youngest daughter strongly resembled
Minji, her husband was often asked if the baby was adopted when he
was out in public and Minji wasn’t about. Those comments angered
Jake, but Minji was gradually developing scripted responses for the
occasional odd inquiry into her daughters’ genetic background. Her
husband had no time for such nonsense and let people know it.