Hand of the Goddess ✔️

Prologue: A Foggy Morning

It was a foggy morning unlike any other. It didn't have the regular haze that blurred the edges of buildings, reducing them to shapeless blobs. This fog turned the world into a blank sheet of paper. It made her feel small and insignificant as if a magical deity took a giant eraser and wiped away all of human civilization.

She shivers, small tremors traveling up her exposed arms. The cold air adds to the feeling of isolation the fog created, the iciness clinging to her body like a leech. She instantly regrets not bringing her sweater. There were no other living things walking near her to radiate any heat and the cold kept pressing in, intent on sucking the life out of her.

She stops in the middle of the sidewalk, noticing the unfamiliar bareness of the streets. She pulls out her earbuds. Silence. There was no other sound except the faint buzzing of her earphones and the echo of her previous footsteps.

Is there really nobody else walking here? It couldn't be. There were usually at least three other people heading to the same bus stop.

She looks around. No. It can't be. She rotates her body a full 360 degrees. No cars. No stores. The only things that were visible were the street lights, but even the collective glow they emitted was dim.

What happened to everyone? Cold drops of water land on her skin, causing her to jump in surprise. A steady drizzle falls from the sky. Her t-shirt was a flimsy shield against the gloomy weather conditions. The regret she feels over not bringing a sweater intensifies.

Her mother usually never let her leave the house without a long sleeve, but this time she had managed to evade her nagging. It was all because of the stupid weatherman. He had promised sunny weather and warm breezes in his forecast and she had believed him and his pearly white smile.

Nothing but filthy lies, she seethed. Why do I even watch television? God, I should've just checked the weather app instead. She had been looking forward to the good weather. Now, she frantically rummages through her bag, hoping for some form of protection against the icy assault of the rain. Her hands wrap around a cylindrical shape. She pulls out the object triumphantly, grateful that her mother had packed her an umbrella. With a flourish, she opens it and continues to tread through the streets, pleased that she was prevailing against the rain.

Somehow, the fog was even thicker and her thoughts return to the desolation of the roads. By now, the streetlights were no longer visible. The rain was getting heavier. The drops hit her umbrella harder in sync with her increasing heartbeat. It didn't help that her glasses were fogging up, rendering her sight useless.

She quickly cleans them, using the hem of her shirt to wipe away the moisture. Satisfied after several minutes of rubbing the glass, she continued her walk, no longer sure if she was even heading in the direction of the bus stop anymore.

A bout of paranoia hits her. What if the only reason why these streets were so empty was that there was a serial killer on the loose? Maybe the murderer had already slit everyone's throats and dangled their corpses from trees. Then, was this all just a game for the killer? She couldn't figure out any other reason why she would be the only one left. With all this fog, it would be ideal for this twisted psycho to play hide and seek. The question was, who or what was hiding? Since she was out in the open, she assumed she was the seeker. Maybe she had to find all the hypothetical dangling corpses, lest she suffers the same fate. And if she won, the killer would make her his or her apprentice...

"Gah," she cried out. I've got to stop with all the horror movies. Why would I ever watch a Saw marathon? There must be something wrong with me. But, alas she had a thing for horror movies, especially all the blood and gore that accompanied them. Creepy dolls and serial killers? Count her in. There was something comforting about watching thrillers. But as much as she loved scary movies, she valued her life a billion times more.