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Chapter 28

"This looks like something out of a bad horror movie," I said, stopping in my tracks.

I gazed up at the path before me. Traces of a light mist were visible between the thick brush of trees and bushes. I threw my head back and looked up towards the top of the mountain where our destination was and saw the fog become thicker. If we kept walking in the direction we were heading in now, soon, visibility would become minimal. And minimal visibility meant that I would be stripped of the most important of the five senses. And in a place like this, that meant danger.

"Just keep walking," Gerrard said, pushing past me to continue on down the path.

It was starting to get dark out now. We didn't want to leave the small village that we had found because it had provided us with a cozy shelter and food for a few hours. But time was ticking and we needed to get on our way.The problem was, in this season, the days were shorter and the nights were longer. And even though it was only about five in the evening, darkness was falling fast. The sun was only a sliver in the sky now, covered in thick purple clouds. The darkness would simply add to the visibility problem.

Which brought me back to my horror movie reference.

"I'm not going any further!" I called out to Gerrard. He stopped a few yards ahead of me and shot me an annoyed look.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Have you not seen every horror film known to mankind? This is a recipe for disaster! Girl and boy wander into woods. Thick fog. No lights. No civilization. Just the two of them and the unknown...I'm not ready to die this way!" I exclaimed. 

"You are being completely unreasonable right now," Gerrard said.

"I beg to differ," I replied, stomping my foot on the ground.

"Caley, we need to keep going. We've barely made any progress. What are you afraid of, anyway?" he asked.

"Ummm...Bigfoot? Ghosts? Crazy ax murderers?!" I listed. He gave me another look. I set my jaw squarely.

"I am not going," I said.

"Fine. Don't. I'll just keep going and you can catch up to me tomorrow," he said, turning around to continue walking down the path until I couldn't see him.

"Gerrard! No! Wait!" I shouted, scrambling forward and delving into the fog after him. I ran for my life for a good thirty seconds before spotting his dark silhouette. When I caught up to him, my heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest cavity.

"I can't believe you would leave me behind to get raped like that!" I shouted at him. He chuckled.

"I knew you would follow me," he said with a shrug.

"And what if I didn't? What if in the sixty seconds it took me to catch up to you, something happened to me? What then?!" I exclaimed. 

"Stop being so dramatic," he said. I glared at him. "Ok, when you're done playing a reality TV star, can we get going?" he asked.

"I hate you," I said.

"No, you don't," he replied.

"Yes, I do," I snapped back. He chuckled.

"I think I'm okay with that," he said. I punched him in the arm and he laughed, rubbing his arm where I hit it. "Can we go now?" he asked.

I looked at the thick fog forming ahead and swallowed, my nerves getting the better of me. I grabbed a hold of Gerrard's hand and looked at him. He had an eyebrow quirked at me and I wondered if he was putting up a front; if under that masochistic exterior, he was actually frightened. But the way he was looking back at me, I didn't think so. He was brave. That's just who he was. 

"Yes, we can go now," I said. He rolled his eyes at me, but at the same time, squeezed my hand, assuring me that he wouldn't let anyone or anything hurt me. With my heart beating in my throat, we began walking forward into the dark, looming fog. 

We walked for about an hour before we found the fog transforming. It had increasingly become thicker as we ascended the mountain. The terrain also became more rocky and hard to navigate. There were turned over trees and roots sticking out from the ground and thick vines hanging from tree limbs. I had let go of Gerrard's hand a while ago because it made it easier to go around the obstacles. We had both conjured up orbs of light so that we could keep track of each other in case one of us fell behind. But now, as we walked further into the fog, even the orbs of light became difficult to see.

As we continued walking forward, the fog thickened. It was no longer a thin mist, but rather a thick smoke. Not only could I barely make out what was in front of me, but it was also becoming difficult to breathe. My breaths came out in shallow gasps and my lungs felt like they were burning. I had fallen behind Gerrard and I had no idea where he was. Up ahead, though, I could hear the sound of his coughs, which mimicked my own.

I was wheezing and coughing and sputtering. I wasn't so out of shape that I couldn't breathe while walking up a mountain, so I attributed the coughing to the altitude change. But even that wouldn't cause such a violent reaction. 

My head was beginning to spin and my body felt numb. It was colder up here and since it was dark out now, the sun wasn't even there to provide some ounce of daylight to give warmth. My hands were shaking and my legs were trembling. My ears felt like they were going to fall off the sides of my head. And with every step I took, my breathing became more shallow.

Soon, the fog began to take on a greenish blue hue. It was thicker than ever and now it burned my eyes. Tears spilled down my cheeks and froze due to the climate change. In the distance, I could hear a twig snapping, indicating that Gerrard--or something--was up ahead.

"Gerr!" I called out, inducing a coughing fit. "Gerr, where are you?!" I shouted. 

"Caley!" I heard a voice call back, followed by a fit of coughing. 

"Gerr! I can't see anything! Where are you?" I yelled. I doubled over in a fit of coughing. I squatted down, clutching my stomach with my arms and clawing at my throat. My head was spinning from lack of air and my uneven breathing. I wiped my eyes from the tears that had formed and looked up, my ears ringing. 

The green fog loomed in front of me and seemingly began to shift. I could see a light in the distance and I thought that maybe the fog was clearing at that the light was Gerrard. I stood up and shakily moved forward, taking ginger steps and taking care not to trip over any tree roots. I made my way to the light and saw from the glow a figure lying there up ahead. 

"Gerrard!" I called out, breaking into a run. But when I got to the figure, I stopped. It wasn't Gerrard on the ground.

It was me.

~~~~~~~~~~

My eyes widened and I felt my heart rate quicken. What was this? 

I began walking forward to the figure of me on the ground. Had someone found Nina and brought her here? Who was this girl? How did she look like me?

I approached the figure and squatted down next to it. Her hair had fallen over her face and she was slumped over on her side. I reached out a shaky hand and pulled her towards me. Her hair fell back and I let out a strangled scream.

The girl's eyes were completely white and rolled back into her head. She had a bruise on the side of her face and a gash in her neck. The arm she had been leaning on was twisted in a direction it wasn't supposed to go in. The girl was indeed me, but it was a me that was brutally beaten.

"P-please. S-stop," the girl begged, her voice hauntingly like my own.

"C-Caley?" I asked, my voice coming out as a squeak.

"Please! NO!" she shouted, throwing up her other arm to shield her face. I fell backwards as I saw a blinding flash come straight towards me and my doppleganger. It was an energy orb and it struck the girl straight in her chest.

"You betrayed me!" I heard another voice say. I looked towards the direction of the new voice and my eyes widened.

It was Trey.

Except it wasn't my Trey. This Trey had eyes that flashed bright red and yellow in anger. His expression was livid. And he was larger. Much larger. Tall and looming and muscular, built to kill. He gaze was menacing and his hands twitched at his sides, eager to finish the girl off.

"Trey, please. Please, stop. It's me. It's me, Caley. Your fiancee. I love you  I'm so sorry.

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