Fog

"Katyja! Look, the fog!" Several children dressed in white robes, playing at the edge of the forest, followed the little blond boy's finger with fright. It pointed to the fog spreading over a small clearing a few meters away. The oldest of them, a nearly adult girl, stopped playing her harp and slowly rose from a large rock. The fog slowly approached them. The little blonde tugged at the hem of her dress.

"Katyja... what, what are we doing? Is that...

" "Shh..." The girl put her index finger to her lips. She stared into the fog. Suddenly, she noticed that a hare, which had tried to escape but failed, had fallen dead to the ground. "To the village!" she screamed, taking the little girl in her arms and running away. The other children followed, trampling the gilded instrument in the process.

"Fog! The fog is coming!" they shouted over each other. The gates of their city were already closed, but a rope hung from the walls, and a tall man, the father of the eldest child, stood beside him. Trumpets and bells warned of approaching danger.

"Quick, pull yourselves up!" The man handed them the rope, taking the blonde from his daughter. "Go, I'll go in last with her!" he added. The girl nodded and began climbing. Everyone in the city was already hidden, doors and windows closed, cracks sealed to prevent the fog from entering the houses. Katija glanced back one last time. Her companions were already safe in their homes; the guards, including her father, had sealed themselves tightly in the tower. The fog slowly began to creep into the city as the girl reached her home.

"Hurry, my love!" her mother called, letting her inside. "Help me close the door!" she ordered. The girl helped her mother. Then they quickly descended to the basement. Katija sat in a corner and curled up as tightly as she could. Her mother did the same, in the opposite corner. Through closed eyes, they didn't notice the fog that had entered their house through the open kitchen window, which they had forgotten about, and then seeped into the basement through a small crack. By the time they began to suffocate, it was too late to escape. Katija grabbed a linen rag and pressed it to her mouth and nose. She covered her ears with her hands and closed her eyes as tightly as she could, preventing the fog from entering. She had heard of cases where this had happened. A person, unless they died instantly, behaved completely differently. They killed everything living in their path as long as the fog lingered. When the fog cleared, the possessed person died, screaming and writhing in pain.

She groped for her mother's body. It was cold, even icy. Instinctively, she opened her eyes. The last thing she saw was her mother's frost-covered face, twisted in a grimace of pain

.

A thick fog was everywhere. The children of the wealthier families sat in their sealed windows, terrified but also curious, gazing down at the streets of their town. However, when they spotted a white silhouette with bowed heads, slowly marching along the stone paths with screams, they hid in the deepest corners of their parents' houses. Anyone who saw the figure in the fog covered the windows with blankets and, along with the rest of the household, hid in the darkest corner of the house. Everyone except a little girl, who recognized the mysterious figure as her beloved guardian, who had saved her life many times, helped ward off bad dreams, and wove wreaths for her, just like the ones Little Gara was now wearing on her head. Her usually quiet and sweet voice now echoed through the hushed village. The girl's mother pulled her away from the window, covering her mouth with her hand, hoping the Mist hadn't heard her. Standing opposite the window so she could see the possessed woman's reactions, it seemed that everything was fine. The sound hadn't escaped the house when, at the last moment, the white figure stopped and stood by the window. For a time, she stood silent and still. Little Gara sobbed quietly, nestled against her mother. A pale, almost white hand touched the windowpane and scraped her nails across the glass. The girl squealed, shielding her ears with her hands. A sinister smile appeared on the possessed woman's face. A few drops of blood trickled from the corners of her blue lips, which she immediately licked away. She withdrew her hand, clenched it into a fist, and with a swift blow, shattered the glass.

The woman took her daughter in her arms and, shielding her own and her daughter's faces,

ran out of the house, hoping that the Possessed by the Mist wouldn't catch up with her. Every now and then, she glanced back; each time, the girl she once knew stood by her farm. Suddenly, she felt the strong grip of her daughter's small hands around her neck. Her once-blue eyes now had no color, as if they had faded, and her skin was exceptionally pale. The woman stopped, suffocated by her daughter and the devilish mist. Little Gara's delicate fingers, however, were faster, and Zetra managed to expire before the Mist possessed her. As the girl rose to her feet, she stared for a moment at Katija, a few meters away, before the two of them set off on their separate paths.

They knocked on the doors of the houses they passed, scratched at the windows, and as soon as they heard something inside, they broke down the doors and killed the occupants. The fog dissipated, and with it, the power of the Possessed diminished. People slowly began to approach the windows, hearing the sound of the wind. The wind brought salvation from the deadly fumes. Along with its roar, a scream filled with hatred echoed through the village. All the survivors emerged into the market square, where two white figures rolled on the ground, writhing in pain. Their chests rose and fell violently, and Gara and Katija's wails were at once beautiful and eardrum-shattering. Suddenly, both rose, their bodies swelling, as if the souls of their victims were being ripped apart from within. An eerie silence fell…

"And what happened next?"

"Damn it, Dian, I told you not to interrupt me." The black-haired girl with her face painted white reproachfully shot a murderous look at her younger sister.

"Because you were so quiet, so what happened next?" Dian, dressed as a vampire, apologized.

"The possessed ones rose up and from their..." The story was interrupted by a knock on the door. The girls hid behind the sofa with a scream, and the older one went to the door, stopping at the window. "Oh, bye, it's foggy! Perfect Halloween weather, right? It's a good thing we got back from hunting in time, or we wouldn't have made it back to the cabin." She said, pulling a few candies from a pumpkin bowl, popping two in her mouth, and leaving the living room. Dian ran to the window. The entire street was shrouded in a thick white fog. There were a few clouds in the sky, behind which the round face of the moon was emerging. The lights in most of the windows were already off, and there wasn't a soul outside. She sat there for quite a while, but Carie didn't return. The cold breeze from the hallway indicated the door was open.

"Carie, who's that?" Silence. "Hey, come on, who's that?" No response. Dian felt her young, strong heart begin to beat faster, her blood rushing. The girl staggered into the hallway. The door stood open, and there was no sign of Carie. Dian's heartbeat drowned out everything. "Carie?" Her trembling voice broke, as if disappearing into the fog that slowly began to fill the hallway. The young brunette took a few steps forward, finally emerging outside. The fog had a strange, suffocating smell. When she looked to her left, she felt a sharp blow to the back of her head and a strange warmth flowing down her neck. The last thing she did was quickly turn around and look death in the eye.