"There's something in the mist! It took John!"
Conversations died instantly.
People stopped what they were doing and slowly turned toward the glass doors at the entrance.
Through the wide glass doors they could see the street outside—and the fog that had been rolling down from the hills was now swallowing everything.
The mist was already covering the road.
It moved fast, thick and unnatural, pouring across the parking lot and creeping between the cars like a living wall. Within seconds the far side of the street disappeared completely.
Several people were running through it.
Their shapes were barely visible in the fog as they stumbled and shouted for help.
Then the screams started.
A woman's terrified cry echoed from somewhere inside the mist, followed by the sound of someone shouting a name over and over before the voice abruptly cut off.
Everyone inside the mall instinctively stepped back from the doors.
The glass entrance now showed nothing but rolling white mist—and movement inside it that no one could clearly see.
"Henry?" Madison asked quietly.
She could clearly see something strange was happening, and the expression on Henry's face wasn't helping.
Before he could answer—
The ground suddenly shook.
A deep rumble rolled through the building as the entire store trembled violently. Shelves rattled, glass bottles crashed to the floor, and several people lost their balance as the mall floor shifted under their feet.
"Earthquake!" someone shouted.
People dropped instinctively, some kneeling on the ground while others grabbed onto counters and racks to keep from falling. Merchandise tumbled from the shelves and scattered across the floor while metal display stands clattered loudly.
Madison grabbed Henry's arm to steady herself as the shaking continued.
Then, after nearly a minute—
It stopped.
The rumbling faded and the building slowly went still again.
One by one people stood back up, brushing dust from their clothes and looking around nervously, fear spreading through the crowd as no one understood what had just happened.
Voices started rising again.
"I'm telling you that smoke is chemical—we shouldn't go outside!"
"Someone call 911!"
"Why aren't the police here yet?!"
People began pulling out their phones, trying to call for help while others kept staring toward the glass entrance.
"Henry? Tell me what's happening?" Madison asked, grabbing his arm and shaking him lightly.
"Come with me," Henry said.
He motioned for Madison, then looked at David. "You too."
They moved away from the crowd and walked toward the back of the store where the shelves blocked most of the view of the entrance. The noise of the crowd faded slightly there.
Henry turned to face them.
"I don't really know the best way to say this," he said quietly, "but we're in a very dangerous situation right now."
Henry gestured toward the front of the store where the white fog pressed against the glass doors.
"The mist outside… that's not normal fog. It's something else. Something supernatural."
Madison's mouth opened slightly in shock.
They had come here for a simple vacation, and now within minutes everything had turned into something far worse.
David blinked, clearly unsure if he had heard correctly.
"Uh… supernatural?" he repeated, his tone full of disbelief.
Henry nodded without hesitation.
"Yes. And believe it or not, the moment anyone steps outside into that mist, things will get very bad. Very fast."
He didn't say they would die.
David's son was standing right there beside him.
David glanced toward Madison, lowering his voice.
"Madison…?" he said slowly, as if questioning whether her new boyfriend was someone who believed in strange conspiracies.
Madison ignored the look and focused on Henry.
"Is it really that dangerous?" she asked.
Henry met her eyes.
"Yes. Very," Henry said.
He knew the truth was worse than anything they could imagine.
If he stepped outside into that mist, he could probably survive. The abilities he carried now were far beyond normal human limits.
But that didn't mean the others would.
The creatures moving through that fog were not from this world. They were things dragged into Earth through a dimensional tear caused by military experiments that had gone terribly wrong.
And even with all his strength, Henry knew one thing clearly—
He wouldn't be able to keep everyone safe.
Of all things… why do I have to end up in this situation? Henry thought as he glanced at his phone again.
No signal.
He slipped it back into his pocket, his expression tightening slightly. He wasn't even sure the military would come and save anyone the way things played out in the story he remembered.
Near the entrance of the store, the noise was getting louder.
Several people were arguing near the glass doors. A group wanted to leave the store and run back to their homes before things got worse.
"I'm telling you we shouldn't stay here!" one man shouted. "My house is five minutes away!"
Another voice answered, "Yeah, we can make it before that fog spreads!"
Standing in front of them was a middle-aged man in a store uniform—the storage manager, Bud Brown.
"Everyone calm down!" he said loudly. "We need to stay calm and wait for help. The safest thing right now is to remain inside the store until we know what's going on."
But not everyone was convinced.
Henry walked closer when he heard the argument.
"That's a bad idea," he said firmly.
The crowd turned toward him.
Henry pointed toward the mist outside.
"The moment you step into that fog, you die. The safest thing you can do right now is stay inside this store."
A man near the door frowned and looked him up and down.
"And who the hell are you supposed to be?" he asked suspiciously.
Henry answered without hesitation.
"I'm with county disaster response," Henry said, keeping his voice steady and authoritative. "For your safety, I strongly advise everyone to stay inside the store. Outside is effectively a ground-zero situation until we understand what we're dealing with."
"County?" someone in the crowd repeated, a flicker of hope crossing a few faces.
"Yes," Henry replied. "So please remain inside and wait here. Moving out into the mist right now is extremely dangerous."
For a moment it seemed like the crowd might listen.
Then a woman near the entrance pushed forward.
"I have two kids at home," she said, her voice shaking. "They're alone. I have to go get them."
Henry stepped toward her quickly.
"Ma'am, please don't go out there," he said firmly. "If you step into that mist, you won't be able to help them."
But fear had already taken over.
She looked around the crowd desperately.
"Will anyone come with me?" she asked.
No one moved.
After a few seconds of silence, the woman clenched her jaw, turned, and pushed through the doors.
She ran straight into the mist.
Within seconds the fog swallowed her.
Henry watched the door slowly swing shut behind her.
Then a voice rose from the crowd.
"I'm telling you, this is the apocalypse," a middle-aged woman said loudly. "This is God's wrath for our sins!"
Henry turned sharply toward her, anger flashing across his face.
"No—you shut up," he snapped. "Don't you dare start spouting that kind of bullshit when you don't even know what's happening out there."
The woman stiffened, clearly offended, but Henry stepped closer before she could speak again.
"This has nothing to do with God," he continued, his voice hard. "And if I hear you open your mouth again to spread that nonsense, I'll show you exactly how wrathful a pissed-off human can be."
The store fell silent.
People stared between them, some shocked by the sudden outburst.
Henry held her gaze for a second longer before turning away.
This crazy Old Testament bitch caused enough trouble in the original events, he thought. I'm not letting that happen again.
There were already monsters outside the building.
He wasn't about to deal with chaos inside as well.
*****
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