The Fog Part 6

For those that have been following along with this I apologise for the long delay between the last part and this one - I've been hesitant to make this part public because it just won't do what I want it to - after a couple of subtle nudges I've decided to just go for it - the final part is being much more co-operative so I'm getting this part out there now because I'm sick of looking at it

this is a work in progress - any comments, suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated

Previous parts can be found here - "The Fog - Work in Progress"  [18+]


Chapter 20


With a determined breath, Cass turned to face the others in the room.

"Adam. Was that the only torch?" Even with daybreak fast approaching, Cass knew if they were to step too far away from the light of the fire, that the gloom of the fog combined with the general overcast days and broken lights, they would need some form of light if they decided to make a move.

"Yeah, well it was the only one I could find down here. I suppose there is a chance there might be one in one of the rooms upstairs."

"Hmm. It's gonna be way too dark to go searching up there without one. Do you think we can make something out of a stick of wood? Even if it's just enough to light the way while we look." Cass asked, turning her attention to her brother and Jo.

"I guess. Surely with all this alcohol down here we can soak some rags or something and put it on one of those pieces of kindling by the fire." Jo smiled, "I've never tried anything like that before, but it always works in the movies." She was happy to see a slight grin make its way briefly across Cass' face.

"What are you thinking Cass?" David asked.

"I'm not really sure. I'd just feel a little better if we were doing something. I know it's obviously not safe to go tearing off into the unknown. But I'm not entirely sure it's all that safe to wait around here either." Cass shrugged. "Earlier, when I mentioned to Jo about something attacking us, we both kind of passed it off as my imagination getting the better of me. But I've kind of been thinking a little more about it, and as weird as it may sound, when I add things up in my mind, I'm beginning to think that something is out there; and it's slowly picking off the occupants in the town, one by one."

"I agree that we may need to do something but can you tell me what you think is out there. Even if it does sound weird, at this stage I'm willing to listen to anything," David said.

"Me too," Jo added, "looking back, it might be a good idea if we didn't discount anything."

Cass moved to sit back in front of the fire. "First: there are the burns on both Red's leg and Dave's arm." Red, at hearing his name, limped over to Cass and dropped down at her side. Cass gave him a quick pat between the ears before continuing.

"When I think of them I can't help but wonder if that was what Mark was trying to say when Adam heard him yelling."

Adam nodded his head, not necessarily agreeing, but willing to admit the possibility.

Hearing no response, Cass continued, "we haven't actually seen what happened to those that have gone missing. It seems that one minute they are here the next they are gone. We heard Harriett scream, but by the time we got there she'd disappeared, same with Mark. According to Adam, they were both running back inside, Mark yelled and then just disappeared." Again Adam nodded, though this time he couldn't help but close his eyes and shudder as he remembered the strange events.

"Okay," Cass took a deep breath, as she released it she made direct eye contact with the others in the room. She knew that what she was about to say would sound extremely far-fetched, but she wanted the others to see and hopefully understand her reasoning. "Then we have the piles of what I initially assumed was dust. I don't know if you guys noticed or not, but for what seems to be a pretty well kept hotel it seems strange that the dirt would be all swept up in piles and then left. When I think of them and what we saw when that guy outside seemed to vanish, that stuff wafting down onto the window ledge it makes me wonder. What if it wasn't dust?" Cass stared straight at Jo, wanting her to jump to the same conclusion.

Seeing Jo's eyes widen, Cass knew that Jo, at least, could guess what she was about to say.

"What if there is something out there that is...I dunno...attacking people and somehow once it has finished all that is left is a pile of ash or dust or something? That would explain why it seems that the town is deserted, people aren't just leaving or disappearing without a trace, they're being reduced to nothing but piles of dirt."

Utter stillness once again closed in on the occupants as they each tried to come to terms with Cass' statement.

The only movement was David as he slowly shook his head, he wanted to deny what Cass had said, but as implausible as it sounded, it also strangely made sense.


~~~~~~~~~~~

"No Cass." Adam was adamant that there could be no way that what she had said could be possible.

"I know it sounds weird Adam, but do you have any other explanation at all? Anything that could possibly explain what is going on?"

"Well no, but can't you see that what you're saying is impossible. People don't just crumble into dust."

"It's the only halfway logical explanation. Think about it; all the empty and locked up houses, the vacant cars you mentioned earlier. Where did they all go? Why wasn't there anyone at the scene of the accident?" The more Cass thought about it, the more things seemed to fit together, and the calmer she became. While Adam was becoming more vehement in his denials, Cass found that now she had something to focus her thoughts on; her previous fear, while still present, had dwindled to the point that she could now centre her attentions on maybe getting out of the town.


~~~~~~~~~~~




Jo searched for some rags and bottles of anything flammable she may be able to soak them in. The argument between Adam and Cass as Adam continually tried to negate Cass' comments was beginning to wear on her already rattled nerves. A brief spark of light from the fire loosened the hold the fog seemed to have on her surroundings enough for her to make out what looked like a fridge and cupboard fitted below a sink. Guessing this to be the best place to find cleaning rags she hurried over to it, swiping some bottles as she passed.

With the argument in the background finally coming to a halt, neither side entirely convinced of the others stand-point, Jo reached into the fridge hoping that a cool beverage would help ease the simmering tension in the room. Juggling four bottles of water, Jo's mind snapped into focus when one of the bottles rattled against the freezer dislodging some of the ice.


~~~~~~~~~~~


"I think she's right," Jo said as she moved closer to Cass and gave her a quick smile.

"Why? What's happened now?" David asked as he rejoined the conversation. He had kept his thoughts to himself earlier, knowing that Cass could handle herself in any form of debate.

"Nothing actually happened. But I certainly agree now with what Cass was saying about the burns." Jo looked to David's arm as she spoke, "I know you didn't really see what it was that got you Dave, but you said it felt like something really cold?"

"Yes, similar to holding an ice cube in your hand, if you hold it for too long it starts to burn."

"Okay, now I know it only touched you briefly, but what if it was something like that? Something that as soon as it touched you it started to burn."

"But it was only small, small enough to fit in my hand before I threw it in the fire."

"What if starts small but it can get with other small parts and clump together?" Jo brought her hand that she had been holding behind her back forward. Showing the others the cloth she held, she unravelled it, letting them see the clumps of crushed ice she had been holding inside the cloth. "So depending on the size of whatever it is that touches you will determine the size of the burn." She separated the ice into smaller piles, then joined and reshaped it. Each time the ice held its shape until she re-arranged it again.

"I know that doesn't completely explain things, but it's a start," Jo finished.

David took one last look at the small piles of crushed ice before placing the ice on the nearest table, he shook out the cloth, sending the last clinging pieces of ice into the fire.

Hearing the crisp crack of wet material as David flicked the cloth, Cass turned to Jo.

"Snap Frozen!"

"Huh?" Jo asked

"What if it somehow freezes it victims. That guy we saw out the window, it looked like he was totally surrounded by something, right?"

"Yeah," Jo agreed

"How 'bout if, after something is frozen, it breaks, or is squashed or snaps or something. Think about it, if something is frozen quickly and then has a great pressure applied it can crumble or shatter."

"Now you're really getting carried away Cass." Adam had been caught up in his own musing, not paying much attention to what the others were saying, it wasn't until he heard Cass' outrageous statement that he was brought back to the present.

"Fair enough." Cass really didn't want to get into another argument, "but regardless of what may be happening, rather than sit here and dispute it, I really think we need to get back to working out if we are going to try and get out of here and how we're going to do it."

Adam grudgingly agreed, while both Jo and David automatically nodded their heads.



Chapter 21


The creature slowly made its way overland, drawing ever closer to its final destination. Not being able to see what was ahead, it drew on its sense of touch on the ground below and control of the particles to constantly check it was moving in the right direction. It travelled as quickly as possible through the thick air, even with frigid particles flowing over its body as it moved, and the fog shrouding it in gloom, it could feel its body slowly starting to react to the small pockets of remaining warmth. Its body shuddered yet again, small flakes of skin disintegrating as it crawled over a patch of dirt that still held the warmth of the sun from days gone by. A warning tingle skidded along its body, letting it know that it would soon encounter a moving heat. Quickly exhaling more particles it sent them to extinguish it. Had it the ability to visualise what was happening, it may have been pleased to see a small dog quickly swallowed and crushed to nothing more that small specks of cooling ash.


~~~~~~~~~~~
"I think that should do it." Jo waved her unlit torch around the room, "I've made two, I figure that should be enough for now. At the moment we just want them to work well enough for us to look around upstairs and see if we can't find a better torch."

"Are you sure we should do this?" Adam asked again, even though he couldn't bring himself to believe what Cass had said he still understood that there was something seriously wrong in the town; he just couldn't come up with a better explanation and was hesitant to go wandering around outside.

"Yeah. No matter what is going on, I think the only way we can get out is to help ourselves, as far as I can tell no-one outside of this place has any clue as to what is happening, so it's not like we can expect help from another source," Cass said.

"Okay, just thought I'd ask again." Adam offered an apologetic smile.

Cass gave Adam a nudge, letting him know that their earlier argument was forgotten, it was now time to stick together and find a way out.

Cass turned to watch as Jo passed one of the newly made torches to David, before placing the end of the one she still held into the fire. With a brilliant flare the end of the torch burst alight. Stepping back from the fire, Jo made way for David.

With both torches now flaming, David asked, "So what's the plan? Do we know where we're going to look first?"

"I reckon that the small lounge kitchen upstairs would be the best bet. That's sort of a common room for any guests staying here, so I would imagine that's where they would keep that type of thing," Cass suggested.

"Sounds good. I'll go first with this torch, Jo how about if you bring up the rear with the other one, that way hopefully we'll have enough light to see where we're going and what we're looking for."

Turning their backs to the blazing fireplace the four cautiously made their way to the stairs; each step pushing the thick fog further back.


~~~~~~~~~~~

"Got one!" Adam told the group, he flashed the torch on and off a couple of times to check that it worked before holding it out to show the others.

Quickly checking the other cupboards they finally concluded that it was probably the only one they would find. "Well it's better than nothing," Cass reminded them.

"I guess we can make another of these torches, that way we will all have some form of light," Jo said.

"Okay, we'll head back downstairs, make another torch, then I suggest we just go for it and get out of here," Cass hesitated briefly before continuing. "You have all realised that we are gonna have to walk out of here, haven't you?" At the blank looks she received she had no choice but to remind them of Adams earlier attempt to leave, "remember Adam, you said there was no way you could drive out because you couldn't see where you were going; and with there already having been an accident it just wasn't safe to keep driving. I seriously doubt it's any better now. If I can remember right, the next town isn't all that far from the pass through the hills that surrounds Happy Valley, I would guess that it's probably an hours walk. From here at the hotel to the pass it's probably about 15 minutes, of course that's on a good day. " She grinned briefly, "but with what it's no doubt like outside at the moment you can probably add at least an hour onto that."

"Good point Cass. So we're looking at a minimum of a couple of hours walking before we're at the next town," Jo said.


"Yep. So let's get going." Now that a decision had been made, Cass was more than ready to make a move.


~~~~~~~~~~~

David cautiously pushed open the front door, every muscle tensed in preparation to jump back if something rushed in at him. Holding the flaming torch out in front he released a pent up breath when he realised that the only thing in front of him was a white wall of fog.

Having already decided before leaving the Hotel that it would be advisable to use the buildings as a guide while they made their way down the main street, David stepped away from the door and trailed one hand along the side of the building. He stopped to wait for the others to slowly approach, the hazy white light nearing let him know it was Adam that had been next to follow him out the door.

Cass gave Jo a quick nod before they too made their way outside.

"Wow!" Jo said, "even knowing that Dave and Adam are only a few steps away, all you can make out of them are the glow of Adam's torch and Dave's flame."

"Hmm," Cass agreed, finally moving close enough to make out the frown marring Dave's face. "Hey."

David held is torch out at arms length and made a final circle before turning to speak to his sister and the others.

"We're gonna have to do this single file, with each of us trying to keep as close as possible to the buildings." Once again holding his torch as far away as possible he nearly smiled in relief as it seemed to push the fog a touch further away. "We can barely see two steps in front of us, which is why we will each need to use the buildings as a guide. Adam, when you and Harriett tried to leave earlier, you only went down this one main road?"

"Yeah. I figure there is probably the Hotel, maybe two or three other buildings before you get to the front of the construction site, which, if I remember correctly, is fenced off, then there is maybe half a dozen smaller shops before the edge of town. Once you hit that it's just a straight road right through to the pass that gets you to the other side of the hill."

With a final wave of his torch and a quick glance at the others, David placed his left hand against the wall of the Hotel before slowly moving ahead of Adam.

Cass waited for Adam to take a couple of steps away, before bringing her torch forward. As she began to trail her left hand along the wall, she let out a brief yelp as something brushed her right leg, a quick glance down and she found Red, molding his body against hers as he walked as close as possible alongside her.

Jo once again brought up the rear, her heart finally slowing back to its normal rhythm after missing a few beats when she heard Cass cry out.

They travelled in silence, the only sounds to be heard were the occasional woosh as a torch was waved through the air, and the clatter of Red's nails on the paved road.


~~~~~~~~~~~

"Do you think it's getting colder?" Cass briefly looked over her shoulder as she walked, waiting for Jo's response.

"Hmm. Yeah it could be, it also feels like the fog is closing in on us. Have you noticed that? Depending on where you hold your flame, if you hold it to your side a little it sort of feels like you have to push your way through the fog in front."

"I wondered about that, I thought maybe I was just tired. But you're right, away from the flame the fog does seem almost solid...thicker somehow."

"I've reached the construction site," Dave called back to the others, "well I'm guessing that's what it is, I'm now against some sort of fence."

Seeing the bouncing torch light behind him, and knowing Adam was only a few steps away, he continued moving.

Cass bent to give Red a reassuring pat, it seemed as if the labrador was trying to move in front of her, almost preventing her from walking forward. "Geez boy. It's hard enough to walk now when I can barely see where I'm going, you doing that is not helping."

"Oomph." Cass, who had momentarily stopped, was thrust several steps forward as Jo ploughed into her from behind.

"Sorry." Jo made a grab for Cass' hand, stopping from her from falling to the ground. "What's up?"

Cass gave Jo's hand a squeeze but didn't let go; having her hand snuggled within the taller woman's grasp gave her a feeling of both warmth and security.

"Ahh it's just Red. He's acting a little weird. Almost as if he is trying to make me stop." As she was speaking she felt Red's body begin to tremble against her leg. The trembles soon gave way to deep throated growl, with his hackles rising he lunged forward before either Cass or Jo could get a grip on his collar.

~~~~~~~~~~~


Adam turned at the sound of Red's growl, he linked one hand through the chain fence and with the other waved his torch, knowing it was futile, but somehow hoping the light would break through the wall of fog behind him.

Not being able to see what Red was growling at, he began to walk forward again.

Red's warning bark and the sudden drastic drop in temperature was the only warning he had.

Before he had a chance to loosen his grasp on the fence, his hand was enveloped in a vice-like grip. The burning sensation quickly gave way to numbness as the grip seemed to tighten even more. Screaming and frantically pounding at whatever it was that held him hostage with the torch, the seconds felt like hours as he noted the orange glow of the other torches race toward him.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where is it?" Jo dropped her torch as she grabbed Adam's waist and tried to pull him away from the fence.

"Can't tell," David said, he too dropped his own torch, before ducking under Adam's still frantically swinging hand, and grabbing the torch he was trying to bludgeon the unseen presence with. Not being able to see what had hold of Adam's hand he rapidly shone the torch around the fence line. The white light showing nothing but the grey links of chain.

Adam, who now appeared to be in shock, could only mumble, "arm." It felt like whatever it was that had hold of him was slowly swallowing his entire arm, he could now feel nothing below his elbow.

Cass waved her torch in front of Adam, trying to get a glimpse of something. The flame whooshing as it moved. After a couple of passes she noticed that the fog seemed to be retreating a little each time she moved the torch over his arm. Gradually she could make out a grey mass that appeared to have wrapped itself around Adam's hand and part of his arm.

"Ohhh," Adam moaned, the momentary lessening of the grip around his arm brought an incredible relief.

Jo felt a slight give in the hold on Adam, and quickly strengthened her grip before resuming her tug of war.

Cass dropped the flame as close as she dared to Adam's arm, not wanting to burn him but at the same time wanting to get a clearer idea of what it was they were dealing with.

Bringing the flame even closer to his arm, she felt a grin forming as she noticed the mass begin to shrivel. Small pieces began dropping away from his arm, while others started to melt away to nothing. With every moment more and more of Adam's now blackened hand and arm was revealed. Tiny flakes of ash drifted slowly to the ground.

Red lunged once more at the fence, he couldn't see what it was that was scaring his new pack, but he could sense their fear, and that was enough for him to continue his need to protect.

Adam was almost too scared to look at his now freed arm. Once the crushing pressure had been released the numbing feeling had begun to recede and he could again feel the dry burning sensation.

With Jo's arm still around his waist, he looked first to Cass then David before taking the plunge and assessing what damage had been caused to his arm.

~~~~~~~~~~

Not too far away, the great slug like creature wailed. It knew it was close to its final destination, yet now it seemed so far away. The pain radiating through its elongated body as the particles shrivelled away was like nothing it had ever felt before. Totally exposed it had no recourse but to continue on its journey, its body too weary to produce any more particles, it could only hope it could travel the last small distance without being exposed to any more danger.


~~~~~~~~~~


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