This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/K1R4_SH1KE1 on 2024-11-04 17:48:04+00:00.
“Damn it!” I exclaimed, fingers in pain as my heel scraped them against the inside of my shoe. “Stupid piece of sh-” “Language.” a voice called from the kitchen. I looked up to my mother’s face of judgment.
“Sorry, mom.” I began, hitting my foot against the floor. “My dumb shoe won’t go on and I’m late.”
“Did you get up on time?” she asked, moving a towel along a wet plate. “I tried.” I responded, clutching the sides of my shoe to pull it onto my foot. She sighed as the plate landed on the counter with a clatter. “Wake up at a reasonable time and you’ll have no need to cuss in my house.”
Finally, the shoe went on my foot. I sloppily tied the laces and sprung back up to stand. “Okay,” I started, flinging my backpack onto my back. “I’m heading out, mom.” Walking toward her, she flipped the towel onto her shoulder. “Be careful.” she warned, giving me a hug. “It’s very misty today.”
“Figured.” I responded, kissing her on the cheek. “I love you.” Turning around, I headed for the door. “Wait!” my mother exclaimed, taking a few steps out of the kitchen. “Take the bridge to school today.”
“Why?” I questioned, opening the door. “I’m already late.” “The mist is too thick on the road.” she stated. “I don’t care how late that makes you. Children get lost in it often.” “Fine.” I responded, stepping out. “Bye!” If my mother said anything after that, I didn’t hear.
After jumping down the stairs leading up to my front door, I ran down my sidewalk. “Wow.” I thought, looking ahead. “The mist really is thick. I can see it from here.”
Continuing to make my way to school, I eventually reached the bridge about a block from where I started. A few feet past it was the start of the road, covered in a solid layer of mist.
Staring into the foggy white, I thought, “I’ve walked through mist to school before. As long as I keep walking forward, I’ll be just fine.” After a quick shrug, I made my way into the mist.
The soft texture felt like cotton candy along the skin of my arms and legs. The whole area was silent aside from the taping my shoes made along the pavement. It was cold, unusual for so early in August. My choice to wear shorts and a tank top was becoming a strong regret.
I breathed out a loud gasp. “Was I unconsciously holding my breath?” I thought, putting my hand to my chest. “My breathing does seem a bit loud.”
This was like a horror movie. I turned my head, expecting a mist monster to come and kill me. Nothing but a long stretch of white was behind.
A chill ran up my spine and caused my hair to stand up. I swung my head back in front of me. There was a woman standing in the middle of the road. Swaying from side to side, she walked with her head down. Her curly dark hair framed her face and a baggy shirt draped over her body. It appeared to have a dark stain under the neckline.
“Hey!” I called out, my voice producing no echo. “Are you okay?” I wasn’t sure if she even heard me.
Her head shot up and she stared at me. A closer look at her face gave me an audible gasp. Her left eye was whited out as if she was blind. The right one was completely gone, replaced by a gaping hole. Blood pooled out of it and coated her shirt even more.
“Ma’am?” I asked, taking a step closer. She opened her mouth and screamed. Her voice felt like needles stabbing into my ears. I covered them up, fearing they would pop. It was futile. The sound wasn’t muffled in the slightest.
I didn’t know what else to do so I ran. The mist seemed to sting my eyes and scrape against my skin. Spending all my energy, my legs became weak. My arms fell to my sides as I slowed down. I expected to hear the woman’s gut wrenching scream, but it was back to the lack of sound.
Quickly, I began to walk, arms hugged around myself. The absolute silence was deafening. I was too scared to talk, thinking that something might hear me if I made any other sound besides walking. A part of me wished that I could hear screaming again.
I looked around to scan the area, praying that something would come into view. The mist seemed to stretch out for miles. Suddenly, I saw an outline of a building in the distance. Smiling, I ran toward it, knowing my school was only a couple dozen feet away.
Stopping dead in my tracks, I looked up at the misty building. It was mostly crumbled as if halfway through a demolition process. However, that’s not why my feet stopped moving.
“There’s no buildings near the road.” I thought, examining the structure. “The only one is my school and it’s in perfectly good shape.” Pipes stuck out of walls, drywall patches covered the floor, the rubble looked dusty and old. “I shouldn’t be here.”
Speeding up my previous walking pace, I continued down the path. More destroyed and falling buildings appeared. It was as if it was an old ghost town, lost to time.
A silhouette of someone came into view. I flinched back, worried that this person was like the screaming woman. Coming closer, I saw she was a beautiful lady. She walked with grace and a straight posture. I walked past her with no issue. Although, I could’ve sworn she was bleeding from her neck.
As soon as we parted, more people appeared. Some stood upright, others severely hunched over. One man had a very curved spine.
My legs refused to move when I got closer. His spine wasn’t curved, he was cut in half with the top half placed off-center. He moved around normally, unaware that one hard turn would make his top fall off.
I turned around, my head on a swivel. Every person there had some form of a severe injury. Missing limbs, bullet wounds, anything that would adorn a corpse. People conversed with broken jaws and children played with innards spilling out. I backed up into a building, not believing what was in front of my eyes. The cold cement touched my skin as I had nowhere else to go.
All of a sudden a pair of legs fell in front of me. I screamed and fell to the ground. When I looked up, I saw a woman hanging by her neck. The rope held tightly under her blue face, eyes devoid of any color. Her noose snapped and she toppled to the ground. As if nothing happened, she stood up and looked at me.
Gazing past her, they were all looking at me. She, along with a few others, held blank stares. Most looked at me in fear and confusion. It was me who was a stranger here.
I quickly scrambled to my feet and began to sprint. It didn’t matter how, I had to get out of here. With every step, more and more people appeared, all staring at me. The mist clung to my skin like a glue, seemingly trying to pull me back. I swung my arms in front of me in a desperate attempt to swat it all away.
I tripped on the ground, my chin landing scraping against it. There was an ice cold feeling by my ankle. Looking down, a man laid on the ground, his eyes piercing into mine. He dragged his bottom half by one string of guts. I gazed up and saw the other people behind him walking slowly closer to us.
I’m not quite sure why I did it, but I screamed again. I screamed as I got up and as I ran. Closing my eyes, I prayed my legs would know where to guide me. The mist scratched at my skin, feeling like hands with sharp claws bringing me back to that town of death.
In one more desperate act, I shouted what seemed to be a war cry. The hands of the mist were not going to steal me.
Then I fell once again. With my eyes still shut, I clawed my way forward. Dirt seeped under my fingernails. My eyes then shot open. There was no dirt in the mist.
The gray building of my school laid a few feet away from me. I swung my head behind me and the mist was still there.
I had made it out.
I got to my feet and scrambled away from the thick wall. My heart rate began to slow and my breathing became steady. A deep breath helped me to relax as much as I could.
“Are you okay, little missy?” a voice called. I flinched and faced who was talking. The groundskeeper of the school tilted his head a bit. “Y-yeah…” I stammered. “I’m all good.”
He chuckled and walked closer. “It’s not a good idea to go into the mist when it’s that thick.” he began, looking into the white void. “I don’t know why this stupid town decided not to tell kids what happens when it’s like that. Now some are trapped there.” He turned back and gave me a somber smile.
“Consider yourself lucky,” he said, tipping his baseball cap. “Just be sure to only take the bridge on your way here next time.”
I nodded profusely, visibly still shaken up. “T-thank you sir.” I managed to get out. “No problem.” he responded, making his way past me.
I stared at my feet, processing what I just learned. “What is that place?” I thought, lost in my own mind. “Why would my mom not tell me the truth?” Too many questions, so little answers.
“One more thing,” the man called out, breaking me out of my trance. “My daughter might’ve screamed at you. I’m sorry about that.”