Stan Morris - Surviving the Fog

Mike stared helplessly at Jacob. He did not know what to say. This was stuff for adults to consider. This was not stuff for a kid like him to be worried about.

Feeling defeated, Mike said, “Be careful, okay?”

“Okay,” Jacob said, and then he walked away. But after a few steps he stopped, and turning back he said, “Hey, Mike. Thanks.”

Mike waved.

“See you,” he said more cheerfully than he felt.

Jacob turned and walked away. Mike watched him climb the low hill, and when he disappeared down the other side, Mike went back to his cabin to work on his spear.

While Jacob was gone, Mike practiced every day with his spears trying to find the best design. John and Eric joined him. Two other boys, Peter and Howard, expressed interest in what he was doing, and they also began to build spears. Between the five boys, they found a design that was sturdy and could easily pierce the bales. Each day, they practiced throwing their spears.

Late in the afternoon of the sixth day since he had left, Jacob returned. Jacob was hungry and exhausted. There was a bleak look in his eyes. As he approached the camp, he noticed five boys out by the bales. When he realized that Mike was one of them, he turned that way, and went stumbling down to the bales.

Mike had just thrown a spear, hitting the paper archery target that the boys had fastened to one of the bales, when he turned and saw Jacob. At once, he hurried over to the returning boy. Jacob was so spent that he was struggling to remove his backpack. Mike quickly grabbed it and took it from him.

“Are you okay,” he asked anxiously.

“I’m just tired. And really thirsty,” answered Jacob in a weary and raspy voice. “I need a drink of water real bad. I didn’t drink anything since last night. And I never ate yesterday or today.”

“Pete, run up to the hall and get some water and food, quick!” commanded Mike. Pete nodded and swiftly ran to the dining hall.

“Did you find anyone?” asked Howard eagerly.

“Howard, let him drink something first,” Mike said.

Howard grimaced, but he nodded. Mike understood Howard’s impatience, but he had gotten more and more worried each day that Jacob had not returned. Now that Jacob was back, Mike was more relieved than anxious for news.

Pete was fast, and shortly Jacob was drinking a bottle of water and devouring a sandwich. The others waited patiently while he regained his strength. Presently he finished eating, lay back on the grass, and sighed sounding very sleepy.

“Well?” John asked, unwilling to be silent any longer.

“I walked three days,” Jacob began. “On the morning of the third day, I didn’t eat any of my food because I wanted to conserve some. That afternoon I found it. The fog, I mean. It was about four o’clock. I know because I checked my watch. I was about a half mile past the seven thousand feet sign. The elevation marker, I mean.

“The road started going down real fast. I saw some fog ahead of me. It was real strange because it was level. I could see over it. It looked like the ocean, except that it was brown, and there were no waves. There was a deer standing next to the road, close to the fog. I stopped to watch it. Then it walked into the edge of the fog. The fog was only by the ground there. Then it walked down farther into the fog, so its feet and part of its legs disappeared. Then I saw its head come up, and it tried to, like, jump out of the fog. It fell down with its head and shoulders out of the fog. I could see it was trying to struggle. It was making strange sounds. Then it stopped moving. I think it was dead. Then I saw the body of the deer moving backwards into the fog like something was dragging it. Then it was gone.

“That really scared me. I was, like, not breathing and my heart was pounding. I watched for another hour, and I saw a bird fly very low over the fog. Something came out of the fog and grabbed the bird, and it disappeared. It was so fast, that I couldn’t tell what had happened. I climbed a little hill next to the road, and I looked over to the other side. There was more fog. It’s like we’re on an island in an ocean.

“That’s when I turned around and started back. I felt sick to my stomach, and I didn’t eat anything that day, I only drank water. I tried to conserve my food and water on the way back, but then I ran out.”

The faces of the other boys grew grimmer and grimmer as Jacob told his story. Mike felt the hairs on his arms and on the nape of his neck stiffen. John was thinking about the Admin and the counselors who had left to find some help. Had they driven into the fog?

Mike drew a breath. “Well,” he said slowly. “Now we know.”

“We’ll have to tell the others,” said Howard.

Mike nodded. “Yes, but not today. The sun’s going down. We’ll tell them in the morning.”

“Why not tell them now,” Eric asked.

“Better to get scared in the morning than at night,” John answered. Mike nodded.

“You come with me,” Mike said to Jacob. “The rest of you; well, just don’t tell anyone, all right?” There was a chorus of agreement.

Mike and Jacob walked up to the Admin’s cabin. As they were entering they heard a shout. Jacob was too tired to turn back, but Mike looked towards the shouter. It was Ralph; at seventeen, one of the oldest boys in the camp. Hurriedly, Mike shut and locked the door, just as Ralph arrived at the cabin.

Mike told Jacob to lie down on the bed. Outside, Ralph was banging on the door and demanding to be let inside. Jacob pulled the bed covers over his head, and soon he fell asleep. Mike ignored Ralph. He decided to climb the ladder leading to the loft. Upstairs, he found two separate futons. He laid down on one and waited until Ralph gave up and went away.

Sometime after midnight, Jacob awoke and insisted on returning to his own bunk. Mike accepted his decision reluctantly. He hoped no one was awake in Jacob’s cabin who would try to get Jacob to talk. He thought it would be better for everyone to hear the story at the same time. He walked with Jacob to his cabin. The night was bright, because the moon was just past half full, and there were only a few thin wispy clouds in the sky. Mike was unsettled as he returned to the Admin’s cabin, and he wondered if John, Pete, Howard, and Eric were getting any sleep.

Mike’s late night anxiety caused him to sleep later than usual the next morning. Shortly after he left the cabin, he realized that one of the boys had talked. He wasn’t surprised. He hadn’t expected that news of this sort could be kept quiet for long. As he made his way to the dining hall, he heard boys whispering about monsters and aliens.

There were a lot of boys in the dining hall, and Mike could see why. Jacob was there eating a bowl of cereal. Many boys were pressing close, trying to talk to him, but John, Pete, Howard, and Eric were fending them off.

“Tell us what happened,” a boy angrily demanded.

“Shit!” John exclaimed. “At least let him finish eating his Cheerios!”

Mike walked past the clump of boys, and he stepped on to the platform at the end of the building.

“Hey!” he said in a loud voice. Everyone stopped talking and turned to look at him.

“Jacob’s going to tell everyone what he saw. Give him a few minutes. Some of you need to go down to the girls’ camp, and tell them that we’re having a meeting.”

“Who died and made you Chief?” someone sneered. Mike looked to one side, and he saw that it was Ralph who had spoken.

“Do you think Jackie will come up here, if you tell her what’s happening?” Mike asked Ralph.

Ralph shut up. Everyone knew that he liked Jackie. He hesitated, and then he stood and left the room. Mike truly hoped that Ralph could get Jackie to come and listen to Jacob’s tale. Jackie was the only person available who was close to being a real adult.