The Strangers In The Fog

Chapter One

My eyes opened as I sat up in bed, I rubbed them as I let out a yawn, I had gotten fairly drunk again last night, leaving me with a searing migraine that gave a hard punch to the face of my mistake of drinking again. I glanced at the alarm clock.

5:45 AM.

Wonderful, that just proving the fact that I wouldn't be getting back to sleep before the sun would rise, so I gave myself the opportunity to crawl out of bed. Once my eyes seemed to finally adjust to the cold darkness of my bedroom, I began to stagger to the kitchen, occasionally dragging my hand over the wall as support.

It was..a hard time. Ever since I had to deal with the passing of my mother due to the cancer that became too strong to beat, and eventually took her life as I stood beside her until her final moments, I had began drinking almost every day, sometimes in the local bars, most of the time at home so I wouldn't have to deal with the constant interrus of men trying to get a quick ticket to get laid. Of course, not the best coping mechanism, I'm aware, but it was something I had simply no control over getting it to stop. The alcohol makes you forget the pain, and the pain was something I didn't want to feel.

I made it into the kitchen, and made coffee in an attempt to get atleast some of me back into working order before I'd have to deal with the boring everyday life. I made my way to my back patio after the coffee had finished brewing.

I sat down, apartment views being the least exciting. Cars, people walking, perhaps the occasional conflict somewhere, rarely though. The breeze was chilly, but not chilly enough to where I was freezing in my T-shirt and shorts outside. It was Saturday, do I didn't have a shift in the local cafe a few minutes away. It was just..me, myself and I. At least I thought so, before the phone rang. I sighed, and answered it, I slurred though some of my words, still groggy and hungover from my Friday night pity party.

"Jen! The hell was that last night?"

I rubbed my eyes again as I sat down my coffee mug on the patio table, I was of course confused on why my friend called only to seemingly cuss me out over the phone.

"..Evelyn, what are you on about?"

"Uh, maybe the fact that you ditched us last night before we got to see the fireworks."

I rested my head in my hands, damn, she actually remembered that. I must be in for a treat then, she obviously knows what I'm going through and expected me to go to some party last night. Evelyn is one of my best friends, knew her since we were both in high school, but ever since she got herself a boyfriend she's been going to parties or hanging out with people I find myself sticking out against.

"Oh..that..? Listen, Ev-"

"Jen, don't tell me you've been drinking again. I thought you stopped that habit a while ago!"

"I did! I did..Listen, I wasn't feeling well last night so I figured I would just head back home so I wouldn't ruin your little get together."

" Okay! Okay, whatever you say, Jen..I didn't call for that. I wanted to ask if you wanted to come with me to Karmen later. I've really been craving the food there."

I stood up out of my chair, amd grabbed my coffee as I headed back inside, my phone still up to my ear as I shut the sliding screen door behind me as I made my way back upstairs, I continued to keep thr phone to my ear as I opened my closet to find something decent. I eventually settled on a red flannel shirt and jeans.

"Karmens? Really? We haven't been there since we were fifteen. You sure you aren't craving nostalgia instead?"

Evelyn chuckled from the other side of the phone line beforw she spoke into the phone again. I had set it to speaker as I began to get dressed in the background.

"Just figured we could get out more, Jen. It's been a while, and I miss the old days. so is it a yeah?"

"Yeah." I answered, cracking a small grin as I pulled my long blonde hair into a low ponytail.

"Cool! Pick you up at 2:30, alright?"

Evelyn said with excitement in her voice before she abruptly hung up on me. I put my phone in my pocket and headed downstairs to kill time until she'd show up. I sat down on the couch, and switched on the TV. The news was on, so I decided to sit and watch whatever they were discussing abiut the day.

The camera was panned up toward the sky, faint, but seeable if you concentrated enough, waves seemed to be in the sky. Just..floating there. They had a resemblance to the heatwaves you see if it's blazing outside. It was..odd, however it soon switched back to the weather broadcast, and the woman listed a few areas which seemed to have a light case of fog. Nowhere near us, mainly areas that were about two hours from our small city. However, a few of the members of the news broadcast seemed a bit weirded out as apparently one of them repeatedly kept glancing out of the window, looking absolutely petrified of what was outside. It wad not specified of course, and the weather broadcast cut off to the commerical.

Superstition, maybe. They're totally thinking too much into whatever is going on, that has to be the reason why. We got this weird stuff about the apparent end of the world and they always end up being lies used to create worldwide panic. You'd think they'd get the hint by this point. I switched the channel, and continued to wait for Evelyn to get here.

I did get the feeling every few minutes that felt like something was watching me, I don't know how or why, though. I couldn't see or pinpoint the source, but it continued happening.

Just superstition, right?