Alternate

Chapter 12

Morning mist covered the landscape creating eerie shapes from the otherwise ordinary trees and bushes. It had rained the previous day so everything had a dampness to them that made for a gloomy atmosphere. The mist was so thick the road was not visible from the edge of the forest.

Seth cursed.

"What is it?" asked Carl. He was practically blind with the combination of the mist and the particles floating in his vision. He'd tried, but there was no way to turn off his ability like Rand could. Most frustratingly, he had yet to discover what he could actually do with the particles. He'd tried almost everything they could think of, but nothing had produced results.

"I stubbed my toe on a tree root," said Seth and cursed again.

"Be quiet you two," came the voice of Jen from up ahead. "We don't know who or what is hiding in the mist."

Seth glared towards her voice, but said nothing more. He limped along, ensuring Carl stayed in his sight. Somehow the tall man managed to move without hitting anything, despite the impaired vision.

For two days they'd travelled. The ruined city of Siver was long behind them, but still they were careful with their movements. There was no guarantee that the monsters had remained behind. Even if they'd sent only a few to scout ahead, they'd pose a threat.

Rand had gone ahead to try and prevent the group from stumbling into something unwanted. Last night they'd set up camp and sought shelter from the rain. They'd talked and came to the conclusion they couldn't be that far from the group of refugees. Despite Carl's weakened state, they'd kept a good pace and it was unlikely a large column of men and women could keep up a brisk pace. Even with Trez motivating them, along with the horrors they were escaping from, there was no overcoming the fact a large crowd moved slow.

There were wounded that slowed them down, elderly people who wouldn't be able to walk at the same pace as the younger ones, children that didn't yet have the strength for a long march.

At worst, Carl had figured, they'd be a day behind now.

Seth pushed aside a low hanging tree branch and stepped to the side to let Carl past. He glanced to the edge of the forest, but the mist was still too thick to see the road he knew was there, only a stones throw away.

"Why are we going in the forest instead of the road?" asked Seth in a hushed tone so as to not raise the ire of Jen again.

"More cover," replied Carl in an equally hushed tone.

Seth let go of the branch and followed Carl. "We can't see anything in this fog anyway."

"Which is why it's best to stay close to a place you can hide in," came the reply from the tall man. Both men reached for their weapons as a figure emerged from the mist. They relaxed only when they saw it was Jen.

"Something up?" asked Seth with a frown.

Jen pulled back the hood of her cape. They'd ran into some abandoned farms that still had usable items in them. They all had a bit more clothes to use and bags in which to carry items. They'd found some food as well which meant they didn't have to spend time hunting and could instead travel on.

"Rand said there's something up ahead. He went to check it. Said we should wait here." She brushed a stray lock of hair from over her left eye. She wished there had been a time and place for a bath. She wasn't too picky about cleanliness, but there was a point where the layers of dirt became too much.

"Great. He's playing hero all alone," Seth muttered and looked ahead into the fog. All he saw was a wall of light grey.

"Let's just wait for his return," said Carl and sought a tree to lean against. He wanted to sit down, but he knew the muscles in his legs would cramp up the moment he stood up after sitting for a while.