Dead In The Mist

Part Four: Silence

Elijah

I walked towards the chalky white wall that swooshed outside of the town's border. I also noticed a couple of Humvees parked in the middle of the road that led out of town. It was a roadblock. Concrete and metal barriers lined perfectly to create a fence. The desert tan trucks for the military were unoccupied. I didn't see any uniformed men that stood guard. Not even civilians like me. Why would they leave their post alone? I carefully leaped over the barriers, making sure the coast was clear so I wouldn't get shot or shouted at because I was trespassing.

I went to one of the parked trucks and peaked at the window, it was difficult to see because it was tinted but I can still see through.

Empty. I tried to open the door but it was locked. Huh. Just beyond the roadblock was the ghostly white mist. I went to it and reached out. It was slightly cold. The fog was murky, I couldn't even see the road that continued on from where I am. I looked around and saw that the entire fog surrounded the town, it just stood there. Motionless, except for the small twists it made. But it didn't flow in or out like a normal fog would do. Fog isn't heavy and can easily be carried away by wind.

But that didn't happen, I moved my hand and noticed something bizarre. Purple, dark and velvety purple. Almost the same shade as an eggplant. I stirred my hand again and it did the same thing.

Streaks of royal purple moved along with my hand and swirled like ink in water. I pulled my hand back, away from the fog as thin strips of purple separated from the clean white wall and into the clear air. It slowly dissolved, not leaving any traces at all. I looked back at the cloud-like wall in front of me, the mysterious color no longer in there. I didn't put my hand back in there and took a few steps back. Whatever that was, the purple only shows up when there's movement. Just like I tried with my hand.

Well, this is weird. I had enough exploring and jogged to my car. Still, there wasn't a single person in sight. The store was still empty just like I left it. As I was about to close the door I noticed something off. I listened to my surroundings, taking note of every sound.

The wind blew and the trees hissed as its leaves moved altogether, my breath coming out in a steady pace. That was it. There wasn't any background noise, like the chirping of birds since the town is surrounded by forest. Not even the distant hymn of cars on the highway outside of town. I should've heard them from here since the highway isn't that far. It's right outside of town, it's quite busy even with the quarantine and the sounds made by vehicles would be in earshot. I know this because I stopped by the gas station to refill on gas last week.

I heard the familiar whir of cars zooming by the busy highway that day. But why isn't it making a single sound now? As if no car was driving in it.

I was starting to feel uneasy so I closed the door, locked it and hurried home. Everything was so weird. The empty town and store, now the fog and highway? That's a bit too much to think about. What if I asked Zach about it? Maybe he knows. I really could use an explanation right now. I took the same path I did earlier on my way home. The town was the same as I left it. The entire place was lifeless even with the quarantine. Nothing changed. I kept an eye for any uniformed group around so I could ask what was going on.

But that attempt failed. Not a single soul showed on my way. Anxiety started to crawl up, slowly but surely like water on a sinking ship as it submerged everything in its way until nothing was left.