Stan Morris - Surviving the Fog

“Motorcycle,” was all he said.

“Get across the bridge! Now!” Mike shouted unnecessarily, because there was a general rush for the bridge. Mike hurried up to the guard post with Jacob. He listened carefully for a minute, but he couldn’t hear anything.

“Are you sure, Jacob?” he asked. Jacob nodded. If it had been anybody else, Mike might have had doubts, but he did not doubt Jacob.

Mike thought for a moment. “The place where we hanged that guy,” he said. “That’s where he stopped.” Jacob looked down the road, and then he nodded again.

“Did it sound like more than one?” Mike asked.

“No. Just one.”

Mike thought again, and then he said, “Go ask Yuie to bring her bow and arrows, and bring two more girls with their bows and arrows. Tell Howard to send the boys that have the pistols. Tell the Spears to arm themselves. Tell them to stay out of sight behind the girls’ cabins. Tell the guy with the rifle to stay with the Spears. Tell everyone else to hide. I don’t want to be able to see anybody from here.”

Jacob rushed down to the camp. Shortly, Yuie and two other girls came running up the hill. Three boys carrying the hand guns followed them. Mike explained his plan to them. They would move off the road and into the trees. If only one biker came over the hill, they would wait until he was down at the camp, and then they would come down behind him. Yuie would be in charge.

“Yuie, if you hear more than one motorcycle, don’t come out of the trees,” Mike commanded. “In fact, if there’s more than one, move farther back into the trees.”

“Yes, Chief,” she said. Yuie was frightened, but she was determined to do her part to protect the tribe.

Mike waited on the hill. At last, he heard the engine of the motorcycle. He sped down the hill to the cabins. The Spears were in place, and there was a boy holding the rifle. The boy with the rifle was wide eyed.

“I’ve never fired this, Chief,” he explained. “I don’t even know if it’s sighted in. I don’t know if I can hit anything with this.”

“It’s just for show,” Mike reassured the nervous boy. Mike hoped that he would be proved right.

The motorcyclist appeared at the top of the hill. He waited while he looked around, and then slowly he made his way down the hill. He came close to the cabins, and then he stopped.

“Hello!” he shouted. Mike shook his head at the others. They waited out of sight, behind the cabin.

The man started his bike forward again. When he was almost to the waiting boys, Mike stepped sideways into his sight.

“Halt!” he commanded. He grimaced when his voice cracked. “We have you surrounded.”

The man froze. He stared at the young boy for only a moment, and then quickly scanned the vicinity. He was a man of medium height with black hair, light brown skin and dark intelligent eyes.

“It doesn’t look like I’m surrounded, amigo,” he said mildly.

“I’m going to call for the others to come out,” said Mike. “Don’t move. Come out, Howard.”

The man’s eyes narrowed when he saw the boys who were carrying their spears, and then he saw the boy with the rifle. Mike realized that he was about to turn his bike and flee.

“There are others, behind you,” said Mike hastily, and then he called, “Yuie!”

Yuie and the others came out of hiding. The man looked around anxiously at them, and then he said in surprise, “You’re all kids.”

Mike didn’t really know how to reply to that. What the man had said was true. They were all kids.

“We can take care of ourselves,” Mike said bravely.

The man considered him. “The man hanging from the tree; did you do that?” he asked.

“Yes. He was a killer and a rapist. He killed two of us, and he raped two girls. So, we hanged him.”

The man whistled. “Crap,” he said and went on to say, “Look I don’t want any trouble. I don’t hurt kids or anybody else if I can help it. And I don’t want to get hurt myself.”

Mike was undecided as to how to continue. This man could be a threat. Still, the man seemed a lot different than the other bikers.

“Please, get off your bike,” Mike instructed him.

The man hesitated, and then he nodded. He shut down the motor, and then he swung himself off the bike.

“Now, please, undress,” Mike said.

“Pardon?” responded the startled man.

“You heard me,” Mike insisted. “Take off your clothes.”

“Why the hell should I?” demanded the man, who was becoming irritated.

“I want to see if you are carrying any weapons,” Mike explained.

“Crap,” said the man. He thought it over. “That’s sensible,” he growled.”

Slowly, deliberately, the man doffed his baseball cap, and then he unbuttoned his brown flannel shirt and removed it. He sat down and removed his black work boots and his woolen socks. Next he unbuckled his leather belt and pushed down his jeans. Finally, he took off his undershirt. This left him standing in only his white briefs. At a gesture from Mike, he moved away from his clothes.

“Jacob, check his clothes,” ordered Mike.

“Take it easy with my cap,” the man exclaimed. “My papa gave it to me.”

Jacob went forward, and he carefully pawed through the man’s belongings. “No weapons except for this,” he said. He held up a black case containing a sturdy folding knife.

“Can I put my clothes back on?” the man asked politely.

“Um…sure,” Mike replied.

As he was putting on his clothes, the man said, “My name is Hector. I’m a logger most of the time, but right now I am the caretaker at a logging camp. It’s back down the road and up a side road. Do you know about the mist covering the ground lower down?”

Mike realized that he had to make a decision. “He’s okay,” he said to the Spears, and then he gestured at Yuie to come to him.

“Yeah, we know about it. We call it the Fog. Do you know that it’s dangerous?” Mike asked.

“Si, I know that it’s dangerous. I’ve been waiting weeks for the crew to show up for the spring job. When no one contacted me on my cell, I rode down and found it. I didn’t want to ride into it. I saw a rabbit by the road. It was standing in just a few inches of the junk. Then I saw the rabbit get dragged into the junk. The Fog. It tried to escape. Then it went under. I couldn’t see what took it.”

Hector finished dressing and then he asked, “Who are you kids and what are you doing here? And where are the grownups?”

They all started talking at once, until Howard shushed them so that Mike could tell their story. Hector listened with interest, and then with astonishment, and then with anger.

“Those bastards!” he exclaimed at last. “So that’s what that smell was along the road. I thought it was a deer or a bear.” He looked at the kids in wonder. “This sucks, but you kids are alive at least. Me, too. I hope we can all stay alive.”

“Yeah, that’s what we hope, too,” Mike replied.

“Do you kids got enough food?” Hector asked. “I got a lot up at my camp. The supplies for the summer and for the fall logging crews were dropped off the first of May. I know I can spare some food and maybe other stuff. There were four women expected on the crew, so I found a lot of…uh…girl’s stuff for when they have their periods.” There was a loud cheer from the girls.

“We have some food, too,” said Mike. “But we don’t think that it’s going to be enough for the winter. Can you take a look? Can you see what else we need?”

The cabin floor that they were moving was abandoned for the moment. Mike gave Hector a tour of the camp. They were followed by many of the kids who were glad to see a helpful adult at last. Hector saw that they would need more food. He approved of many of the measures that they were taking, but when he saw the cave and heard their plan to build a lodge, he shook his head.