The Fog (HIATUS)

Chapter 2

,,We're here" Tio stopped the car and got out.

After a short drive we arrived in the middle of nowhere. Maybe it felt like a short drive because I'm used to ten or even twenty hours of driving.
We stopped in front of a little tree house. Who build it? I have no idea, but it looked rather cozy.

,,Where are we?" I asked, curiously looking around at the scenery. The greenery and gentle wind made a serene sight. I wouldn't mind waking up to this silence. I was so used to travelling between cities that this quiet atmosphere felt like refreshing cold water in a hot day.
In other words, I like this place.

,,We're between three lakes. Some miles north-west from Athabasca" He grabbed some bags out of the trunk before making his way to a make-shift ladder. At first glance I could tell that I didn't trust it.

,,So, we're staying here? for a week?" I eyed the structure and grabbed my bag before getting out of the car myself and closing the door. I walked up to the ladder and after a brief hesitation i started climbing up.

Tio called from the top. ,,Two weeks not one"

When I finally reached the top I glanced around in the almost barren room. There was only one table and three chairs. Some planks, nails and a hammer laying around.

,,Didn't know you can make furniture" I stared at the wooden constructions in shock. Tío grinned before placing some bags on the table.
The table swayed a little but didn't break. If I was the one making it, it wouldn't even look like a table. Let alone stay standing.

,,I made the table but the chairs are Coopers work" He grabbed something from one of the bags. When I looked over his shoulder I noticed that it was a sealant.
,,Cooper? I think you mentioned that name before"

,,When you were younger, he came and helped me fix the leak in the roof. He even wanted me to work with him but I already got the job at the laboratory"

,,Well, that didn't work out so well" I commented and watched as he sealed the window frame.
,,Do you need me to do something?" I asked glancing around the room and noticed how new the wood smells.

,,Can you hang the hammocks? They should be in the bag on the table"

True to his word I found the hammocks and tried to figure out how to actually hang it. After five minutes on struggling I managed to hang it properly. The second one took shorter time to hang.

,,Done!" I grinned at my work and decided to check if I even did it properly by laying in one.
And I apparently did.

Tío finished applying the sealant and the smell was rather unpleasant.

,,Hungry?" Tío asked as he grabbed another bag and went to one corner of the room where a wooden box was. It blended so well with the wall that I didn't even notice it at first.

,,I have some dried fruits and vegetables and some canned stuff here if you want to take a look" He said as he emptied the bag full of water bottles and started to sort the food he had.

This place seemed way too prepared but I decided to keep quiet for now. For all I know he's just mistaken.

,,Shouldn't the government warn people if something is happening?"

Tío without stopping answered my question ,,They probably already know since the lab has to tell them if something like this happens. They just don't know how to tell the people and since that thing is spreading in the darkness, they have time to prepare. Later they will just collect the people and try to solve this mess"

,,If they collect people why did we leave? We would be fine. Besides aren't you a scientist? They could use your help."

He got up and shook his head ,,Not really. I worked on it yes, but only on a few strands. The guy that called me this morning, he was inside the lab when the fog leaked. He isn't even sure what strand it was."

I still couldn't really understand everything. Strands? ,,The Fog? How many strands were there? What do you mean?"

,,Hard to tell" He grabbed a few cans of tomato soup and a pot ,,I worked on strand 13 and 27."

I stayed silent and watched him heat the soup over a portable stove. He glared at the stove when it didn't turn on and started checking it.
,,Well looks like we're eating cold soup today" He growled.

I snickerd and went to help him.
,,Well, first thing first" I grabbed a gas bottle and handed it to him. ,,Make sure you bought the non-electric one"

He grabbed the bottle and mumbled under his breath a quick ,,Right" before finally managing to lit up a fire.

As he stirred the pot I went to check what we had here. I rummaged through some clothes before finding a compass, several sheets of paper, electronic lighter and a small radio.

,,How do I turn it on?" I turned the radio every way before trying a few buttons.
Tíos hand grabbed the radio and he showed me a little switch on the back, before switching it on. The silence after the click was defining.

,,I can swear I put batteries inside" Tío opened a small hatch and took out two batteries. I eyed the radio before remembering I had some spare batteries in my backpack.

I grabbed it and emptied almost everything until I found four exact same batteries still in the pack I bought them in.
,,Will these fit?" I handed them to him and he immediately put them in.

,,They fit fine" As soon as the second battery was inside the radio blasted static and some words that were hard to hear.

,,Don't burn the soup" I eyed the steaming pot next to us and Tío immediately stirred it, giving the loud radio to me.

I played a little, trying to find a working station for a while, and I luckily found one.

The man was talking about the weather at the moment. Sunny and a little bit of clouds.

,,Seems like the public doesn't know yet" Tío mumbled and grabbed two plastic bowls.

,,Will they even be warned?" I took the bowl he gave me and sat down on one of the chairs that was surprisingly sturdy.

,,Knowing my boss? The military and government know already. I don't know what are they waiting for"

I sipped the warm soup and thought how could something like this happened. If something happened at all. But since Tío promised that if nothing shows up in two weeks it should be fine.

,,Soo, what now?" I ask as I look for anything that at least resembles a spoon ,,Want to play cards?"

We end up playing cards for a few hours. Tío even showed me a magic trick with them and I try to mimic it. It was getting rather dark and Tío was getting more and more restless.

He was looking out of the window a lot and checking the time, as well as scribbling some notes in his journal. I ended up writing to Eva but since it was getting late and my battery was draining rather fast I texted her a goodnight. She didn't have problem with it as she wanted to study for tomorrow.

I stretched across the entire hammock and yawned. I loved a good night sleep and this was rather comfortable. I managed to doze off, but something woke me up.

Tío was still looking out of the window and mumbling something under his nose.
I got up and went towards him.

,,Tío? Why are you still awa-" I stopped as I saw something that was unnatural.

,,It's here" Tío mumbled as he gazed at the teal, slightly glowing mist outside.

I could feel my heart beat speed up. Tío wasn't lying. He warned me and it really came.

,,The Fog"