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Literally crawling over a large man blocking her way, Minji spotted Jake in the midst of the heavy throng of people within a few feet of the handrail.
Another step.
Minji screamed in horror when the people against the guardrail scaled it and fell.
Heavy, meaty thumps and splashes reverberated through the courtyard.
“Jake! Wake up! Oh, God, Jake!”
Bailey’s screams echoing around her, Minji half-crawled, half-climbed over people that were so firmly compressed she couldn’t squeeze between them any longer. Jake’s tall frame and long blond ponytail helped him stand out among the others. Resolutely, Minji fought her way toward him.
The crowd advanced.
More victims crawled over the wrought-iron barrier. Minji averted her eyes while men and women fell to their deaths. Unable to scale the railing, children were flattened against the iron slats, faces bloodied and eyes staring as they were gradually crushed to death.
Minji’s feet scrambled for purchase on hips, knees, thighs, and bellies. Fingers digging into shoulders, arms, necks, and hair, she scrambled in the direction of Jake and Bailey. Her baby’s cries only added to her desperation.
“Bailey, I’m coming!”
Bailey’s splotchy face streaked with tears peeked around the edge of the backpack’s frame. She let out another hiccupping cry that sent a sharp splinter through Minji’s heart.
Only a few feet separated her from her husband and baby, but Jake was drawing closer to the opening to the balcony area and the plunge to the floor below. Arms aching, hips bruised, and leg muscles straining, Minji forced her body onward, closing the gap between her and her husband. Bailey screeched, chubby fingers straining to reach her. Minji caught the tiny hand.
“I’m here, Bailey.”
Another step tore the mother and baby apart.
More people toppled over the second floor railing. Dark shapes hurtled from above, victims plummeting from the third floor.
Hopelessness filling her heart, Minji realized how close they were to the balustrade in front of them. The arch to the balcony loomed overhead and Jake would reach the rail in a few more steps. Minji didn’t care if the objects beneath her limbs were human anymore: she had to save Bailey. Crawling forward, she screamed Jake’s name over and over again. He never looked toward her. Never acknowledged her presence. Her stomach was a gnarled, twisted thing inside her, forcing Minji to fight to keep focused despite the pain.
With numb fingers, she worked at the straps and buckles of the baby backpack. Bailey stretched out her plump hands toward her mother. It was disconcerting that the only sound other than the waterfall was the shrieks of her baby.
Another step.
The large atrium loomed around her now. The view from the balcony was breathtaking. The top of the villa was actually a shallow pool that fed the waterfall and extended outward for several feet in each direction from the edges of the balcony. Water spilled over the face of the mock building into a narrow basin on the first floor. On large pedestals at each corner of the balcony were glowing decorative obelisks that rose to the height of the third floor. The panorama of shops, the faux garden, and pools of water made Minji a little dizzy. She was not fond of heights.
Minji lost her grip on the straps of the backpack and almost fell. Catching herself on the shoulders of a man and a woman, she kept herself upright. Again, she gripped the backpack and struggled to free the child.
Beyond the heads of the transfixed people was the awesome expanse of the corridor that led deeper into The Palazzo to the casino. It made her head swim to see the thick crowd filling the area below. Perched precariously on the shoulder of a big man, feet planted into someone’s gut, Minji grappled with the contraption. The entire time, she shouted Jake’s name, urging him to awaken, but his profile remained impassive.
Another sharp step.
People clambered over the railing and onto the ledge beyond it. Slipping on the slick bottom of the basin, a few toppled off while others stood in the rushing water at the very brink of the drop.
Jake was to the railing.
Minji dared to look downward.
Below, bodies were piled in the reddening water. Both the ascending and descending escalators flanking the waterfall were clogged with transfixed victims. The vast courtyard was filled with people moving in the direction of the casino. Small piles of dead bodies broke up the thick congregation. Those falling from above were killing the people below.
“Jake, wake the fuck up!” Minji screamed.
Bailey howled.
With one final tug, the straps released the baby from the backpack into Minji’s grip.
In that second, Minji realized the precariousness of her situation. She couldn’t crawl back over the crowd while holding Bailey. There was no way she could lower herself to the balcony floor and fight her way through the thick press of flesh. She and the baby would be carried along with the crowd and over the rail.
