The Mist

Lauren branded another tree with a missing flyer of Juice, her German Shepherd, who had disappeared a week ago. Her fingers lingered on the image of his face as a tear fell from her eye. Juice was a wanderer, the kind to vanish for hours before reappearing like nothing happened, but never for this long. He always came back. Always. Lauren roughly wiped the tears sliding down her cheek. He’s not dead, something she found herself saying more often. With a shaky breath, she stepped back, the soles of her shoes crushing the weathered, missing flyers on the forest floor. Lauren’s gaze shifted, her breath caught in her throat, and her eyes widened at the mist in the distance.

There were countless rumors about the mist–whispers of a creature unknown to man, of voices that called to you by name. Lauren didn’t know if the rumors were true, but she had heard the stories– the stories of ones who went in and never came out.

“We should get going.” Jasmine, Lauren’s best friend and neighbor, had just finished hanging her stack of flyers. Her eyes locked on the mist swallowing the evergreens. “Like now.” There was a sense of urgency in her tone.

“Yeah, okay.” Lauren grabbed the box of flyers and followed Jasmine toward the exit path, but the faint sound of barking stopped her. Her head snapped back, her eyes scanning the mist. Was that…

“Lauren, come on.”

“You didn’t hear that?” Lauren’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“What?” Lauren waited, holding her breath, but the forest remained silent. She wondered if she had heard it at all. “Lauren?” Maybe she hadn’t.

“C-Coming.”

After promising to answer Jasmine’s call later, Lauren went inside, and her heart sank. Her house felt hollow without Juice, and seeing the abandoned toys on the floor and the untouched bowl of Kibble only fueled the ache. He was more than just a dog with amber eyes and black fur. Juice understood her in ways no one ever could.

Lauren tried not to think about the barking in the forest, but the more she thought about it, the more it sounded like Juice. What if he was calling for me and I left him? What if he’s hurt? What if—

Her phone rang, interrupting her thoughts. She grabbed it off the counter, her finger hovering over the green icon. Lauren knew this call was more for Jasmine’s benefit than hers, but still, she hesitated before accepting it.

“You answered.” She could hear Jasmine popping popcorn in the back.

“Well, you did make me promise.”

“Did you eat?” Lauren stared at her bowl of chili, which had been sitting on the table, untouched since she had heated it.

“Yep.”

“We’re gonna find him, L. You know that.”

“Yeah, I know…but…what if he ran into the mist?” Jasmine was silent. She had considered that too, and no answer she came up with would comfort Lauren. “Jas?”

“I'm here,” Jasmine finally said, her voice quieter now. “I just… I don’t know, L. If he did, then…” Lauren knew the ending to that sentence, but Jasmine wouldn’t say it.

“You know what? It’s late.” Lauren couldn’t continue the call or handle the building doubt. “Yeah, you’re right…we’ll, um, start again tomorrow.”

“Yeah…okay.” Lauren hung up quickly, slamming the phone down on the counter. He’s not dead. He’s not dead. Over and over, she would say it until she believed it.

The sound of barking tore Lauren from her sleep. Rushing to the window near her bed, she slightly opened the curtains, just enough to peer out. The night was thick with mist, curling like ghostly fingers through the trees. Lauren held her breath, straining to hear beyond the frantic pounding of her heart. Come on, bark again. The silence stretched, heavy and unbroken. She ran her hands through her hair, pulling at the strands. She had heard it. She knew she had. It was Juice, it had to be.

Lauren stepped back from the window, a surge of adrenaline coursing through her. She grabbed her phone off the nightstand, her fingers flying to Jasmine’s contact. Deep down, she knew that Jasmine would likely try to reason with her, maybe blame it on the mist itself, but she had to tell her anyway.

“L? It's—” Jasmine's groggy voice barely made it through before Lauren cut in.

“I heard him, Jas,” she whispered, “Just now. Outside. In the mist.” Jasmine groaned. “Lauren, it's almost three in the morning.”

“I know what I heard.” Silence. Then, a sigh.

“Okay, we can check in the morn–”

“No! It might be too late by then.”

“Lauren, I'm sorry, but no. You know the dangers of the mist; it might even be the mist playing tricks on you. It’s known for that.” Lauren’s grip tightened on the phone. Was Jasmine right? Was the mist deceiving her? The bark again then echoed in the distance. No, he’s out there.

“They’re just stupid rumors.”

“And I want to keep it that way. Don’t you remember all the people who went in there? Josh, Henry, April. People we knew. Where are they, Lauren?” Jasmine’s voice was low and filled with a chilling certainty. “’Cause their parents don’t know.” Lauren was silent, the weight of fear seeping into her bones. She knew there was truth to what Jasmine was saying.

“I just want him to come home, Jas.” Her voice was low and desperate.

“I know…he will, and I promise you we’ll head straight to the forest at dawn…okay? When the mist is gone.” Lauren hesitated, staring out the window again. The mist was thicker now. Maybe Jasmine was right. Maybe it wasn’t Juice. Her throat tightened, but she forced herself to respond.

“Okay,” she whispered. “Dawn.”

“Dawn,” Jasmine confirmed, her voice gentle. “Try to get some sleep, L.” Lauren nodded, even though Jasmine couldn’t see her, and ended the call. But sleep wouldn’t come. She lay awake, staring at the ceiling. Hours passed until she heard the bark once more. This time, it was closer.