Black Fog

The atmosphere seems to have warmed up a bit, but the thick fog is beginning to creep into the town. Initially, it was just wisps of mist floating in the air, but it gradually thickened, quickly enveloping every tree branch, blade of grass, and even the houses. Down at the foot of the mountain, faint amidst the mist, was the flickering glow of a fire from a house. In front of the house, the gate had collapsed from being hit by a large container truck.

The fog started to become dense, creeping into the house, adding to the unease of the four people inside who were already having a restless night. Within this strange fog, there was something that suddenly made all four of them cough uncontrollably, feeling dizzy and faint. A slender young man stood up, holding his nose, and rushed to the living room, then returned with four masks and two large rolls of tape.

“You guys put these on and help me seal the door shut,” he said. “This stuff smells like burning plastic.”

A tall man stood up, covering his mouth with the mask, and used the tape to seal the door tightly, while a woman covered her face with a mask. Another person’s hand had turned dark purple, and they groaned in pain, causing the other three to become even more anxious. They quickly sealed any gaps around the house to prevent the fog from seeping in. It seemed to help somewhat, but the acrid smell lingered, causing them pain with each breath.

Khánh said, “Is there any pharmacy nearby? We need something to ease Thắng’s pain.”

“Right across the street, but this fog is like smoke, going there might suffocate us,” someone replied.

“I can hold my breath, describe it to me. I’ll give it a try,” Khánh insisted.

“Are you sure about this? Who knows what’s out there?” another person asked.

“If not, we have to try. We can’t leave Thắng like this.”

Khánh turned to look at Thắng, who was clearly in distress. Now the only option seemed to be to run quickly over there and hope to improve the situation. Khánh said, “There’s a sign over there that says ‘Dũng Lan.’ Mr. Dũng is a doctor, but I’m not sure…”

“Sure of what?”

“Not sure if they’re still alive.”

Tú froze. Indeed, were they still alive? Did the shadows from last night take them away? Who could know? Tú went to the kitchen, grabbed a knife, then wrapped it tightly with tape on the wooden broom handle in the corner of the house. After that, he took more masks from the table and tied them tightly over his face, creating two layers.

“Now I’ll shout to open the door, you open it and close it immediately. I’ll hold my breath and run over there. Don’t know if this will work, but let’s take it with us just in case,” Tú instructed.

Tú shouted and rushed outside. As Khánh opened the door, he quickly closed it again, then swiftly sealed the edges of the door. The fog rushed in, making Khánh’s throat constrict. The fog outside was as thick as glue, making Tú unable to see his own nose, running blindly. Then, after a few steps, he reached the other side of the road. The fog was so dense that he couldn’t see the sign ‘Dũng Lan,’ running back and forth as his breath ran out. Then, just a few steps away, he found the sign ‘Dũng Lan.’ “Here it is, luckily.”

Tú tried to pull the iron door, but it was locked from the inside. With no other choice, he shouted, “Uncle Dũng, it’s me Khánh, help me!”

The iron door creaked slightly. The fog rolled into his lungs, and Tú began to feel dizzy and choked. He shouted in frustration, then strange hallucinations appeared. He heard horses neighing, the clashing of swords, saw a man chasing a woman and a child in ancient costumes. Then he passed out.

“Hey, wake up, who are you? Where’s Khánh?”

The voice calling woke Tú up. He lay on the bed, surrounded by a man and a woman. His chest ached, his heart pounding.

“Who are you? Where’s Khánh?”

“You’re Mr. Dũng Lan, right?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Khánh’s friend. Khánh is injured badly, he told me to come get you.”

“What happened to him?”

“His hand feels like it’s frozen. I don’t know if it can be treated, but I think we need to ease his pain, or else…”

The two looked at each other, the man pulled his wife out and closed the door. Outside, there were heated arguments. Inside, Tú looked out the window facing the street. The fog was dense, there was the sound of the door opening, the man was about to speak:

“We…”

Suddenly, there was a noise, at first a scraping sound, then a faint growl in the air. Then something rushed in front of Tú. He recoiled. That bizarre thing stood next to the pharmacy sign, scraping against the iron door of Mr. Dũng Lan’s house. It emitted a choking sound like retching, using its six sharp legs to pace around the house before disappearing into the fog.

“Did you see that? We can’t go out there now.”

“What… what is that?”

“When we opened the door, it dragged me in for a few minutes before that thing appeared. It’s been circling around here several times.”

In addition to the shadowy demons from the night before, they now had to face this bizarre creature lurking in the thick daytime fog.

“Listen to me, we need to stick together to protect each other. It’s too dangerous to be alone like this. I think they’re tracking us by sound, so we just need to move quietly. Did you see those human shadows yesterday?”

“Did you see them too? We had to stay under the bed all night.”

“I did. They even disguised themselves as us, but I know how to avoid them.”

“How?”

“You help me save Khánh, and over there, I have a plan.”

Mrs. Lan pulled Mr. Dũng’s hand.

“Helping him is helping us. The two of us are not safe here.”

Mr. Dũng hesitated, still undecided. Mrs. Lan said:

“Let’s agree on this. I’ll get the medicine ready, and we’ll go slowly.”

“Do you have a small oxygen tank? It’s too suffocating outside, we need to wear it.”

“Yes, we have it. We know about this.”

The iron door creaked softly as the four people clung to each other to cross the street. The fog was thick, and they didn’t know if they were going in the right direction. As soon as they touched the other side, there was a scraping sound. Mr. Dũng startled, slipped, kicked the roadside barrier, and fell to the ground. A scream echoed, startling the other two. The scream was enough to disturb the others. Now it wasn’t just one, but ten such screams resounded. Tú turned back to support Mr. Dũng, then faintly a few steps away, something rushed towards them. He quickly pulled Mrs. Lan, ran as fast as he could, turned into the collapsed gate in front of Khánh’s house, and burst in. Mrs. Lan fell in the middle of the house. Tú closed the door, raised his hand to his mouth, telling the other three to stay silent, while covering Mrs. Lan’s mouth as she struggled. Outside the door, that bizarre creature began to approach. The scraping sound echoed, making all four of them stand still, like dead.

Then it stood before the door. The space felt suffocating, as if everything was pressing down on the air around them. They could do nothing but hold their breath and wait.

Strange noises from outside made all four people in Khánh’s house hold their breath, tense to the extreme. The bizarre creature still lurked outside the door, unwilling to leave. Suddenly, from the dark corner of the house, another noise echoed, startling them. Was it a survivor or a new danger? What secrets awaited them in the dense fog outside? Don’t miss the next part to uncover the horrifying truth in this dark night!