The flames from the wildfire raged on, painting the night with their fierce orange glow, but Sol was too exhausted to care. He hadn’t slept since his ordeal began, and every fiber of his being was focused on the water before him, not the distant threat of fire. He noted, however, that the flames seemed far enough away from the waterfall to pose no immediate danger. The smoke, too, drifted harmlessly away from his position. He was safe, for now.

He approached the riverbank, his eyes drawn to the waterfall, which now glistened under the flickering light of the flames. Up close, the waterfall was even more beautiful, its cascading waters sparkling as they tumbled down into the pool below. As Sol gazed at it, something caught his eye—a space behind the waterfall. It appeared to be a small cave, a hidden refuge tucked away behind the rushing water.

"Finally..." he muttered under his breath, his voice barely audible over the sound of the falls.

He reached out, his hand trembling slightly, and dipped it into the cool, clear water. The moment the liquid touched his lips, a wave of relief washed over him. It was like nothing he had ever tasted before—so pure, so refreshing. Sol drank deeply, savoring each sip, feeling his parched throat and dry lips regain some semblance of life.

With a sigh, he stepped into the water. His shoes and feet were instantly soaked, but he didn’t care. The sensation of the cold water was a welcome relief, despite the initial shock that made him flinch. He crouched down, fully immersing himself in the coolness. His injured arm submerged along with the rest of his body, and though the cold stung the wound, it also numbed the pain.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Sol's body relaxed. The tension that had been coiled within him, the fear, the exhaustion, all seemed to melt away as the water washed over him. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, savoring the peace. The night itself seemed to be changing, as if the forest was holding its breath, waiting for something.

The fire in the distance continued to burn, casting long shadows across the trees. Yet, as Sol soaked in the water, a strange shift began to take place. The thick black smoke that had risen from the fire started to change. At first, Sol didn’t notice it—his focus entirely on cleaning his dirtied clothes and trying to rid his skin of the grime that had clung to him since he arrived in this strange place.

But then, as he wrung out his shirt, a creeping, ghostly white fog began to roll in, overtaking the smoke that had previously filled the sky. It was so subtle at first that Sol didn’t pay it any mind. Only when it was near him did he finally look up.

"What the..." he muttered, his eyes narrowing in confusion.

The fog moved unnaturally fast, blanketing the entire area in a thick, white mist. It swirled around the waterfall, creeping closer and closer to where Sol stood. The once crackling flames from the wildfire began to dim as the fog touched them, and, impossibly, they died out, leaving only smoldering embers behind.

Sol’s heart raced. This wasn’t normal. The fog had appeared out of nowhere, and now it was spreading as if with purpose, as though something was controlling it. It didn’t feel like any natural occurrence he had ever seen.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Do fogs just form like that? he wondered, his mind racing as he tried to make sense of what was happening.

The air around him grew colder, and the fog pressed in, making the already dark night feel even more suffocating. Sol stood there, frozen for a moment, unsure of what to do or where the fog had come from. His instincts screamed at him that this was not normal, not natural—but what could he do?

Sol felt the icy weight of the water pressing against his back as he swam toward the small cave behind the waterfall. Each stroke was deliberate, heavy, like his limbs were fighting the world itself. The water rushed down on him, the roar of the falls filling his ears as he slipped beneath the cascade, his body brushing the cold stone before he found his footing in the shallow pool inside the cave.

He crouched low in the darkened hollow, watching as the thick white fog rolled in, swallowing the landscape in silence. It crept in like a living thing, covering the ground, seeping into every crack and crevice, until the world outside the waterfall was nothing but a formless blur. The air inside the cave felt colder now, heavier, as if the fog had stolen all the warmth, all the life, from the air.

For a moment, everything seemed still. Nothing moved. No sound, no flicker of life beyond the cave. Just the sound of the waterfall and his own ragged breathing. He crouched in the dark, his wet clothes clinging to his skin, feeling the weight of exhaustion settle over him like a second skin. But something gnawed at him. Something primal, something just beneath the surface of his thoughts. It wasn’t just the fog. It was more than that.

It’s too quiet. The thought struck him like a cold slap. The forest was never this quiet. Even with the fire and the chaos of the dogs, there was always noise. The distant rustling of leaves, the call of birds, the faint murmur of life in the trees. But now, there was nothing. Just that endless, suffocating silence.

He peered through the waterfall, straining to see through the fog. But there was nothing out there. No shapes, no movement. Just the thick, white mist hanging like a shroud over the world.

But he could feel it.

Something out there, moving. Or maybe not moving, maybe just… waiting. It wasn’t a noise. It wasn’t a sight. It was a presence. A weight pressing on the edges of his senses. Something that slithered beneath his skin and made his heartbeat quicken, even though there was nothing—nothing—he could see.

Stop it. You're just tired. Your mind’s playing tricks on you. It’s the fog, that’s all.

But the nagging feeling wouldn’t leave him. He could feel it like a shadow on the edge of his thoughts. Something was there. It wasn’t his imagination. It wasn’t just fear twisting his mind into knots. There was something out there. He couldn’t see it, but it was there, moving in the fog. The way you feel someone standing too close behind you in a crowd. You don’t hear them, but you know they’re there. Too close. Too quiet.

He tried to steady his breathing, tried to convince himself that it was all in his head. But every instinct screamed at him to stay hidden, to not make a sound.

Don’t breathe too loud. Don’t move. Don’t let it know you’re here.

The fog pressed against the waterfall, curling over the edge like pale fingers, creeping closer. Sol tightened his grip on the broken blade in his hand, feeling the sharp edge bite into his palm. His body was tense, every muscle coiled, as if ready to spring, but where could he run?

What are you gonna do if it comes in here? Fight it? Run back into the water? Swim into the fog? The questions crowded his mind, gnawing at his resolve.

Still, he watched. Watched the fog, watched the dark beyond the falls, waiting. Waiting for something to happen. Something to emerge.

But it didn’t.

Not yet.

Sol's heart pounded in his chest, and as much as he tried to keep calm, the feeling was undeniable: Something was out there in the fog. Something that was waiting for him to make the first move. He just didn’t know what it was.