By the lakeside after the heavy rain, a cold wind swept in.
Drayton hugged his wife as they stepped out of the wooden cabin. The earthy scent of wet soil hit them immediately.
He stood on the muddy lawn, staring at the massive tree beside the house that the previous night's storm had uprooted. His brows furrowed tightly.
His wife hugged her arms, shivering. "You'll have to run into town to the hardware store."
"Buy some sturdy plastic sheeting and waterproof tape. A few windows got smashed by that tree."
"Mm-hmm."
Drayton nodded, gazing at the fallen tree with complicated eyes and letting out a sigh.
"I never thought it would come down. When I was a kid I used to climb it all the time to raid bird nests."
"Mom! Dad! Come look at this!"
In the distance, their son Billy's excited shout shattered the morning quiet.
"Hey, Billy, stay close and don't run off, okay?" his wife called loudly.
"Come quick! The boathouse is totally wrecked! It's a total mess!"
Billy's voice carried not a trace of regret—only the pure, childish thrill kids get from destruction.
With that, he sprinted off toward the lake.
Drayton shook his head, about to head over with his wife to check the boathouse, when—
"Ka-ka—"
A sound like a mechanical failure came from the other side of the road.
The couple turned. A dark-blue van sat there, black exhaust coughing from the tailpipe.
The van lurched once in the mud, then died completely at the roadside.
The doors opened and three people stepped out.
Soren stood beside the stalled van, watching Andrei inspect the engine.
"Figures. I really am cursed when it comes to vehicles."
"Sorry, guys," Andrei wiped his hands, smiling awkwardly. "Probably been running too long, plus I picked this bumpy dirt road. And it poured last night…"
He patted the van. "Anyway, the old girl's given up. Looks like we need to find a town, hit the hardware store for parts, or call a tow."
"Need a hand?"
A voice called from not far away.
Soren looked over. A white man in a blue plaid shirt waved and walked toward them.
Andrei hurried to meet him.
After a quick exchange, Andrei turned back with a bitter smile, pointing at the smoking van.
Drayton listened, then looked at the broken-down vehicle with genuine sympathy. "This damn weather really tore the roads apart."
"I was actually heading to the hardware store in town for supplies myself. If you don't mind squeezing in, you can ride with me in the Jeep."
Andrei's face lit up. He glanced back at Soren and Clancy.
Soren had no objection. His gaze drifted to the white fog rolling in from the distant mountains across the lake.
Then he looked at the Drayton family—who clearly hadn't received any evacuation notice—and a thought struck him. He called out to Drayton, who was about to head back inside for his keys:
"I suggest you bring your wife along too. Town might be safer."
Drayton paused, turning to stare at the strangely dressed young man in confusion.
They were only going to buy a few things—why drag the whole family?
Soren met his questioning gaze, tone calm. "Trust me. You'll thank me later."
In his mind, he already had a pretty good guess what those fully armed troops on the highway had been sealing off.
But until the mist fully revealed its threat, he wouldn't jump to conclusions.
In the end, Drayton followed the oddly convincing advice.
The group squeezed into the Jeep.
Drayton drove, his wife in the passenger seat with little Billy on her lap.
Soren, Andrei, and Clancy took the back row.
Luckily none of them were big, so it wasn't too cramped.
Clancy kept fiddling with his precious camera.
The Jeep bounced along the potholed road.
Uprooted trees and snapped power poles littered the route.
Several yellow-flashing road-rescue trucks kept passing by.
"Dad! Look over there!"
Billy suddenly pointed ahead and shouted.
At the intersection, a convoy of camouflaged military trucks rolled toward the mountains in an endless line.
"Those… are regular army? There's a military base around here?" Andrei asked curiously.
"They're from the base up in the hills," Drayton answered casually, one hand on the wheel, the other hanging out the window to feel the cool breeze.
"What are they researching up there?" Soren asked, eyes locked on the trucks.
"Who knows? Officially it's a missile-defense research facility."
"But folks in town have always whispered that they dug up a flying saucer up there—with frozen alien corpses inside."
Drayton scoffed, clearly skeptical. "They say there's some top-secret project called the Arrowhead Project."
Arrowhead Project?
The familiar name made Soren's suspicion solidify instantly.
So it really was The Mist.
If memory served, this fog came from a military experiment gone wrong—an accidental dimensional rift to another world.
Hordes of giant insects and monsters would pour out with the mist, swallowing most of the region.
When they reached the small town, it looked eerily deserted—barely any pedestrians on the streets.
Last night's freak storm had wrecked roads, power, and infrastructure everywhere.
The Jeep stopped in front of the town's largest hardware supermarket.
Inside, however, it was packed. Plenty of locals had damaged appliances or homes from the storm.
Andrei and the Draytons each grabbed a shopping cart and went hunting for parts and supplies.
Soren stood alone at the entrance, staring deeply at the distant mountain range already swallowed by white fog.
He was actually quite interested in the opened otherworld on the other side.
If he went in to explore personally, there might be unexpected gains.
But then he remembered—he was out here to investigate leads on Mammon's descent.
Jumping blindly into an unknown dimension for curiosity's sake could trap him and derail the main quest.
Plus, he still had these ordinary civilians tagging along.
After weighing the pros and cons, Soren decided to stay in the supermarket and observe for now.
He could wait until military reinforcements arrived before deciding.
At that moment, several officers in green uniforms hurried into the hardware store.
"Hurry up and buy what you need. The last evacuation bus out of the base leaves in half an hour—move fast."
On the road outside, several police cars with flashing lights sped past.
Town dogs started barking wildly as if terrified. Even the pets inside the store began growling and whimpering.
"Woof—! Woof—!"
Suddenly, a massive air-raid siren blared across the town sky.
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