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“Ava, you’re awake!”
“Mommy, it hurts so bad! Please, Mommy, make it stop!”
“What’s hurting you, Ava? Please tell me. What can I do?” Relief and terror fought for dominance as she tugged Ava into her embrace. The slender arms of the child hugged her neck.
“Ava, please tell me how to make it better,” Minji murmured into the red curls.
“It hurts, Mommy. It hurts!”
“I’ll fix it. Just tell me how. Tell me what’s happening.” Minji wanted nothing more than to protect her daughters from the terrors enveloping the world, but she was helpless in the face of Ava’s suffering and fears. Crying inconsolably, Ava’s grip on her mother’s body was almost painful.
“Ava, please, talk to me. Tell me what’s happening to you,” Minji pleaded.
“Make it stop!”
“Ava, I will. I promise! Just tell me how!”
Ava’s hiccupping sobs ceased. Her small frame grew still. Though her arms remained around her mother’s neck, the limbs drooped over the curve of Minji’s shoulders.
“No!” Minji tugged Ava from her chest so she could see her face. One look at the doll-like eyes and blank expression confirmed Minji’s fear. Ava was once more mesmerized. “Ava, come back to me. Ava!”
Minji had forgotten all about the stranger until his hand rested on her shoulder. “Ma’am, she’s one of them. I don’t think she can hear you.”
“Maybe she can’t, but it can,” Minji growled in agitation. Setting Ava on her feet, she squatted and gripped her wrists. Staring into Ava’s eyes, she said, “Let my daughter go. I know you can hear me. Let her go! Please!”
Ava’s head tilted just a tad.
Convinced the entity was listening, Minji restrained her wrath and forced her voice to be even. “I will help you. Just let my daughter and the others go.”
“What’s going on?” Jesse bounded into the room and started at the sight of the newcomer. “Who are you?”
“My name is Alec Markham. I just got here.”
“Jesse, Ava was awake.”
“What?” Jesse crouched at Minji’s side. “Seriously?”
“Yes, for just a little bit. When she saw this man, she screamed, but then she woke up! She said something hurt and begged me to help her. Then...” Minji’s voice cracked.
Jesse sorrowfully regarded Ava’s appearance. “She went back into it...”
Minji nodded, swallowing sobs and fighting tears. “Is she hurt? Is there something I’m not seeing?”
Guiding Ava to face him, Jesse tenderly started a cursory examination. Ava kept her gaze firmly on Minji. “No broken bones, no lacerations, I don’t see anything, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a fracture.”
“I don’t think she’s physically hurt,” Alec spoke up. His voice reminded Minji of a cowboy’s. It carried a slight twang, was deep, and a bit rough. “What has her trapped is hurting her.”
Looking up, Jesse appeared to take note of the man’s condition. “You’re pretty banged up.”
“I was in a car accident and hit my head. That’s the reason for all the blood.” The man had a nice, but worn face. The lines around his eyes and mouth told the story of a hard life, though his blue eyes had a gentle quality.
“I’m sorry, Minji,” Jesse said, “but I don’t know what to do for Ava since I can’t find anything to treat. Let me take care of Alec.”
Resting her face in her hands, Minji struggled to maintain her composure. Ava stayed in front of her, unmoving. That fact made it even harder to gain control over her emotions. She’d seen her beautiful daughter’s spirit for just a few precious seconds and the hope that had filled her seeped away into a terrible dread. What if it never happened again? What if Ava never woke up? She couldn’t allow herself to entertain such dark thoughts. Ava needed her and Minji had to find a way to rescue her.
When she had her emotions firmly under control, Minji lifted her head and saw Jesse helping Alec to one of the examination rooms. The newcomer ambled with a distinct limp, so their pace was a little slow. She waited until they turned into the room, and then lifted Ava into her arms. Carrying her over to the front entrance, she gazed out at the last remaining mesmerized in the city staggering through the rubble. The orange haze in the sky appeared to have intensified and Minji wondered if the fires were spreading, and if so, how far.
“Do you see what you’re doing?” Minji asked the entity within her daughter in a hushed voice. “This is what you’re doing to us. Do you even understand it? Are you the one asking for help? Or is my daughter somehow using you to speak to me?”
