Shivers

The Fog

In the autumn of 2023, four friends, William, Edward, Elizabeth, and Margaret, set out on a holiday to North Wales. As the sun began to set on their journey home, a thick and impenetrable fog descended upon the road, as though summoned by some malevolent force. The fog bore an oppressive weight that seemed to crush the very air from their lungs. They drove slowly, their headlights barely piercing the veil of mist, their hearts pounding in their chests.

"I cannot see a single thing," muttered William from behind the wheel, his voice betraying his trepidation.

"Neither can I," agreed Edward, his eyes straining to discern anything beyond the fog. "This is unnatural."

Margaret and Elizabeth, huddled together in the back seat, exchanged worried glances. "We should find somewhere to stop," Margaret suggested, her voice barely above a whisper.

As if in answer to her plea, a narrow path materialized before them, lined with gnarled and skeletal trees. William hesitated but ultimately turned onto the path, his unease growing with every inch they ventured further.

Suddenly, their vehicle gave a violent shudder, and the engine died, leaving them stranded in the desolate wasteland. The trees stood like twisted sentinels, and the earth beneath them seemed barren and dead. Around them lay the rusted husks of abandoned cars, which appeared to have been consumed by some unspeakable horror.

Their phones were as silent and lifeless as the landscape that surrounded them, not a single bar of signal to be found. They were utterly alone.

"What do we do now?" Elizabeth's voice trembled, her eyes wide with fear.

"I don't know," William admitted, his brow furrowed in desperation. "We have no choice but to wait until morning."

As the fog congealed around them, they could hear the faintest of whispers, like the rasping breath of some eldritch creature. With each passing moment, the whispers grew louder and more sinister, as if spoken by the very fog itself.

"What is that?" Margaret's voice was barely audible, her body quaking with terror.

"I hear it too," Edward confessed, his eyes darting about in a futile attempt to locate the source of the sound. "We must not leave the car. Whatever it is, it may be our only protection."

Hours passed like centuries, the fog growing thicker and more malevolent. Suddenly, a ghastly figure materialized before them, its monstrous visage barely visible through the mist. Its eyes, like bottomless pits, seemed to draw in the very souls of the terrified friends.

"God help us," William whispered, his voice cracking with terror.

Edward, though shaking, found the courage to speak. "Who are you? What do you want?"

The creature's voice was like the sound of a thousand tortured souls. "I am the ancient one, the harbinger of despair. I dwell within the fog, feasting upon the souls of the lost and forsaken."

"What do you want with us?" Elizabeth asked, tears streaming down her face.

The monster's laughter echoed through the fog. "Your souls shall be mine. There is no escape from the fog."

As the creature lunged toward them, the friends clung to one another, their screams swallowed by the suffocating mist. The fog rolled over them, a merciless tide, and their world was consumed by darkness.

In the days that followed, search parties would scour the desolate wasteland, but no trace of the four friends would ever be found. Only the rusted husk of their car remained, a silent testament to the horrors that lay hidden within the fog.