Sam awoke in the dead of night, curled up on the mattress of his floor. It was time to leave. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, before stretching while letting out a quiet yawn. His body ached from the bruises that swelled all over his body, but that wouldn’t stop him from taking his annual night walk. He got up, still wearing the same dirty clothes. They were a bit too tight for him, but it was all that he had to wear. He walked to the window on the other side of the room, opening it all the way so he could fit through. Immediately, he was assaulted by a thick fog, it rolled into the room and blanketed the floor below him. It wasn’t usually this foggy, but tonight was different. The fog was so thick that he couldn’t see the world outside. No matter, he much rather prefers to be out there than in here. 138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPlWfJaTLJa
Sam pulled himself over the window still, sitting on it for about a moment before slipping down onto the ground. The soft grass he found comforting on his night walks felt slimy as he landed, the sensation on his bare feet was unpleasant. Everything felt off… the air around him felt cold and heavy, and not the usually welcoming chill of the cool night wind. Though he didn’t want to go back, he would miss his only chance to go outside. He stepped forward, wading through the fog to get to the sidewalk. It was hard to see where he was going, but he trusted his feet. Eventually, his feet touched upon the cold concrete. He knew it was the end of fall, but it being this cold and yet so foggy was unusual. Sam followed the sidewalk to his right, heading down his usual route so he could walk to the park. Mother never took him to the park during the day, “Too many kids.” she would say. So he decided to go on his own time, but there would never be anyone to play with. 138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfx0Hlb81Dg
Sam was disheartened when he didn’t hear the songs of the crickets and frogs, in fact he heard nothing. It was completely silent, aside his own labored breathing from the fog. Doubt began to fill his mind, perhaps going home would be a wise idea. Then the flashes of his mother punishing him for sneaking out came into his mind. If he was going to be hit no matter what he might as well make his time outside worth it. He pressed on to the intersection, it was strangely clear there as the fog didn’t seem to go past the cross walks. On the other side diagonal to him, he saw a figure about his size submerged in the fog next to the park. He never saw anyone else as old as him out this late, so seeing a person he could possibly interact with made him excited. Though it seemed strange to him that someone would come out to the park on a night like this, of all days he’d think someone like him would come out on a night that wasn’t foggy. Maybe this was the only time they were able to leave home without being caught.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8yBw3GWOgZ
Sam began to cross the intersection, slowly but surely approaching the figure. Yet the closer he got it seemed the person delved deeper into the fog. He stopped at the border where the fog and the open space met, exactly where they were standing. The person had completely disappeared, but he had an inkling that they were already at the park. He pushed through the fog, hoping to not bump into the tree on the parking lot's border. To his surprise, the fog was cleared there too. From afar he could see the person sitting on the swings. Swaying back and forth ever so slightly. He walked from the edge of the lot and onto the park's wood chips, the feeling of being stabbed from the sharp ends of the wood always made him grimace. The park itself was decently big, but it was mostly made up of a soccer field and some courts for sports like tennis. He would always reside in the small play area to the side, there wasn’t much to do but it was a good way to pass the time. 138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6x8oZMah9d
As he passed the equipment he began to hear clicking. At first the sound was faint but the nearer he got to the person it grew in volume. Was it the swings? He knew that they were rickety, he was surprised that the person before him was even able to sit on them without the chains snapping. It didn’t seem to be the swings, they weren’t moving all that much. At least not enough to be causing a loud click. The person who sat on the swings was a boy with skin pale as snow and hair dark as ink. They were dressed in somewhat clean clothes, but overall they looked greasy. Their hair and skin had a sheen to them, but who is he to judge someone based on their appearance? They didn’t seem to notice he was there, so to catch his attention Sam tried to engage in conversation, “Hi there… What's your name?” He said to the boy on the swings. The clicking stopped for a moment and the boy began to shake. Twitching slightly, he slumped over on the swing. Sam grew concerned, “Hey, are you okay…?” he asked, but the boy only began to convulse more. 138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3YDoQhoqFi
The fog began closing in on the two, swallowing up the soccer field and parking lot. The boy began to rapidly click, still violently shaking the swing. Sam knew something was terribly wrong, this kid was not right. He decided that his best course of action would be to go home, consequences were the least of his concern he was just scared. He turned around and began to speed walk back to the now fog cover lot, then the boy stopped clicking. He felt a bone chilling fear run up his spine as soon as the boy went quiet. Sam looked behind him, then went into a full sprint. The boy had contorted into a creature that no longer resembled a child, he looked more akin to a chupacabra. Sam pushed through the fog, quickly scrambling away from the creature behind him. His heart beating at the speed of sound, he'd never run so quickly before. The pure terror inflicted upon him only worsened as he began to stumble, his weak body couldn’t keep up from the lack of energy. He fell multiple times, crawling and pushing himself up only to fall again on the pavement. He could hear it skittering around him, its hands and feet slapping the ground. If he didn’t move quickly he couldn’t imagine what it would do to him. 138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFgAsn2lU3N
The fog felt denser than before, it was like breathing underwater, each breath felt like he was drowning. He still couldn’t see anything and the cross section was no longer clear, it was just an endless blob of white. “Help!” he desperately yelled, but no one answered. He had to be close to someone, the whole town can’t just disappear. He continued scrambling down what he hoped was the sidewalk, but he knew he could not run for much longer. His legs have become heavy and weak, he could tell that he was slowing down. “Help!” he screamed at the top of his lungs, hoping that maybe someone would hear him. Once again no one answered, how could there be no one here? He reached a patch of grass which was still disgustingly slimy. Unfortunately, with him running on the slick surface he rolled his ankle. Sam fell to the ground, face planting right into the dirt. He’s been in pain before, but with the added fear the swelling of his ankle hurt like never before. Sam began to whimper in pain, his eyes welled up with tears. He dragged himself across the ground, grasping the grass to try to pull himself forward. He wasn’t ready to give up yet, he didn’t want to die. Yet the harrowing sound of clicking began again.
With each time he crawled forward the clicking grew louder. “Please don’t find me, please…” He repeated in his head, this can’t be the end for him, not like this. He still clung on to what little hope he had left, but everything was over when the creature pounced on him. He couldn’t see it on him, but he could feel its nails digging into his skin. “Please… No!” he pleaded, but he knew that the creature would not listen to his request for mercy. It dug its sharp canines into the back of his neck, blood spurting out from the freshly made wound. 138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYpJGQULKvF
“Ahck!” Sam sat straight up from his mattress, his whole body dripping in a cold sweat. He hurriedly checked his ankle and slapped his hand to the back of his neck, affirming if the wounds were there or not. Alas, it was all but a nightmare. He was in his home, no fog or creature to be seen. He sighed in relief, but now he couldn’t sleep. The only thing that would be left to do is take a walk, but after that... would he even feel safe too? He got up from his mattress and walked to the window, this time checking to see if there was any fog. Thankfully there wasn't, so maybe a walk wouldn't hurt after all.
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