The Mist

I t was a misty cold morning in May. The clocks were striking thirteen and the Xavier was still outside. I brushed the mist off the window and realized that there was no sign of him. Tentatively, I opened the doorknob and stepped outside. The mist loomed as far as the eye could see, it was almost tangible, shrouding everything in a thick veil, the light barely penetrating the haze. The bone-chilling mist had clung to every surface and day by day it was thickening into an impenetrable fog.

The weather suddenly changed a month ago and has been continuing to get worse. The entrance to Times Square was declared as the border between the Mist, as our locals called it, and the Haven. Areas that were safe to dwell in were made part of the Haven. Rumors have spread that whoever goes into The Mist never comes back. I brushed the negatives thoughts aside and focused on finding my brother. After an hour long search for Xavier, I still could find no sign of him. The stillness of the air seemed to suck even the sound of my heavy footsteps into the nothingness of the barrier. Even the trees seemed not to rustle as if they were tense with nerves for what was to come.

There it was, right in front my eyes. The Mist, our silent enemy. Adrenaline flooded my system; it pumped like it was trying to escape. My heart was about to explode and my eyes were wide with fear. I wanted to either run fast for the safety of the Haven or cross the barrier at the exact moment, but instead I remained where I was. What lay before me on the ground was clear evidence that my brother had crossed the barrier, his watch rested on the ground.

Absentmindedly, I crossed the barrier.

I should’ve been scared for my life but instead curiosity urged me to keep on moving. Nothing was clearly visible to the eye. Old blood was sprayed on the road and on the cars that had crashed into each other. Big, solemn, leafless trees shadowed the area, increasing the ominous atmosphere of the area. I lingered around aimlessly until something odd got my attention. All the buildings in this area were decomposed due to a rather mysterious reason, yet one tall building stood in front of me. The bricks of the building had weakened; the paint wore off and layers of dust coated over it. The building looked aged.

As I made my way into the run-down building, I found myself staring towards complete horror. My mind went blank as what rested in front of my eyes was something that imprinted a permanent mark on my brain. Piles of body rested on the ground, all stained with blood. The life that had dwelt within them before was gone. The bodies were cold. So cold. What if …

It couldn’t happen, not after all this. I ran up the stairs as soon as I heard angry voices from upstairs. The warm humidity of the place made me feel asphyxiated as I ran. The tension that had kept me up for 5 hours straight melted into nothing as soon as I saw Xavier’s face. However, he didn’t share the same thoughts, instead his eyebrows were crossed and his emerald blue eyes were warning me. “You shouldn’t have followed me,” said Xavier finally breaking the gruesome silence. Something was wrong and I could sense it.

He filled me in with everything that happened as we tried to get out of the building. “I can’t tell from the noises as to what It was but it was nothing earthly -,” he was cut off when something came stomping down the stairs. The only way to describe what were my eyes were viewing was a bipedal complete absence of light. It wasn’t just blackness, it was nothing at all. It cast no shadow, made no noise and gave off no odour. The only thing that was illuminated about it was its eyes. Fiery orange red marbles remained still in its sockets. Its gaze was fixed upon us.

Xavier took my hand and whispered,” Run.” We keep on running knowing that our time is up. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something sharp and long coming towards me. Adrenaline coursed through my veins and a thin layer of sweat covered the nape of my neck. Keeping my breathing steady, I pushed harder and went faster until we reached the barrier.

Through the darkness came the glow of two burning eyes, like sallow lamplight eight feet off the ground. That’s when I came to the realization that its claws had pierced a painful hole in my ankle with its sharp claws. Slowly, my surroundings became blurring and I lost focus. In a few seconds everything faded away.

The last thought that went through my head was,

Was I dead?