Alice Mare

There Is Something In The Mist

The first thing I remember when I woke up was that I took in the deepest breath I ever took in my entire life. I literally was hungry for air as I took deep breaths one after the other not even minding that I was lying on a stone ridden patch of dirt. I tried forcing myself up but I haven’t even got one inch off the ground when I felt a sharp pain radiate all throughout my body. What the hell happened? I pondered on the thought for some time but in the end I couldn’t find any logical answer to why my body felt like it just experienced one hell of a beating. Once again I tried getting up, propping myself up on one elbow first before anything else. It was painful, it felt like my entire body was as heavy as lead and the stones digging into my skin wasn’t making things any easier. With one final push I was able to sit myself up, my arms were trembling from the pain and I was already drenched in sweat. Now having the chance to look around I finally saw where I was trapped earlier. A wooden coffin just around my height was snugly fitted into a freshly dug hole about six feet deep, a dirt mound and a shovel lying just a few steps away. I felt my insides tighten as the realization started to sink in. Someone tried to bury me alive. I felt horrified, I could feel dread gripping my chest, my insides tightening, the insides of my stomach churning, I felt sick, I could feel the acid rising up in my throat. I wanted to vomit but nothing would come out. I felt my entire body tremble as my fingers wove themselves into my hair, I could feel my nails dig themselves into my scalp and to my surprise I started to chuckle. To what started as a small chuckle slowly turned into something maniacal. Why was I laughing? Was I losing my mind? What’s wrong with me? I waited till I’ve calmed down from my laughing fit before I decided to try and stand. Grabbing the nearby shovel I forced myself on my feet, putting most of my weight on the shovel as I did. Now standing I had a clear view of my surroundings, well somewhat clear since everything was covered in a blanket of mist. The mist was so thick that it made it impossible to see what was in front of you, heck even my own hand that was already in front of my face seemed hazy. Steeling myself I started to shuffle my way deeper into the mist but not before noticing the large inhuman footprint sitting just behind the dirt mound. The footprint was at least the size of my head with a large piece of wood, which looked strangely like the top of the coffin I was in, beside it.  I wasn’t sure if this thing was friendly or not but I wasn’t willing to find out.

“Damn it!” I huffed, leaning onto the shovel. I’ve been wandering around blindly to what seemed like hours already but I couldn’t find anything that might tell me where I was. Aching and exhausted I clung unto the gravestone beside me. These things seemed everywhere from what I can tell. Rows after rows of gravestones scattered around like pebbles on the ground. Some were already cracked, some seemed new, one even had the roots of a dead tree beside it cover it entirely. This world was dead as far as I can tell, dead trees on the ground, dead people below the ground. I chuckled at the thought. The sound of wings followed by a rather loud crowing overhead suddenly made my head shoot up. I had been trying to find that bird for what seemed like forever now. It would always fly just over my head without me seeing it, and when I thought that I was right on its tail it would swerve around and head for the opposite direction.
“Stupid bird.” I said bitterly, slumping against the gravestone. My feet were already shaking from exhaustion, my hands scraped raw from handling the shovel and I could already feel my hunger staring to take its toll on my body.
“What I’d give for some bread and water right now.” I said to myself, closing my eyes as I did. I wanted to rest even if it was just for awhile, to forget about all the aches and pain that I felt. Just to forget it all and sleep. I was just a moment away from dream land when I suddenly heard an unfamiliar sound. My eyes shot open immediately as soon as the sound registered in my head. Scrambling to my feet, I crouched beside the nearest gravestone and tried hard to listen to what it was. It first sounded like soft thumps in the distance but soon enough it got closer and closer. It was the sound of chains being dragged that got my attention first. With each thump the sound of the chains soon followed. There I realized that this sound I was hearing was the sound of footsteps and based from what I’m hearing the one that was making it sounded big. As the sound came closer I suddenly felt that same feeling of dread come over me. My heart started to beat faster, my breathing also started to accelerate, I began to sweat buckets, and that dull aching hunger in the pit of my stomach was suddenly gone but was switched with that awful feeling as if your insides were being twisted. I instinctively dropped back into the ground as soon as I judged that the sound was close enough. I felt my hands and feet grow cold as I waited. I knew where the sound was coming from, it was from the other side of the gravestone and from where I was lying I had the perfect view to see what was coming towards me. I waited in silence to what seemed like hours as I soundlessly listened to the sound of rhythmic thumping and chains. There was nothing there at first, just an empty space filled with mist. Soon enough however a silhouette started to take shape. It was at least three time my height and was wide as a door! The figure looked human as far as I could tell from a distance but when it came into view it didn’t look human at all. Its face was riddles with patches of dried blood, so was its chest and hands. Its nose was almost twisted into nothing, its lips pulled back to the point that it appeared as if it didn’t have any lips at all, its teeth were sharp and a few strands of what looked like meat hung in between, and its eyes, its eyes were the worst. They were pure white, like the eyes of someone blind but one look into them and I knew that this creature wasn’t something I wanted to encounter. I shifted slightly in my place and that was where I felt my entire body run cold. It looked directly at me.