Kalen leant against his front door and pushed it closed with a click. The warm hallway light soothed his strained eyes after having stared at harsh screens for most of the day. The door supporting his back feeling like absolute bliss after eight hours on his feet. He was finally home.

The weekend was here. For two amazing days he could read, game and rest as much as he wanted. There would be no constant flow of disgruntled customers and no insufferable boss. The thought filled him with excitement as he began to think of all the serials he followed that he could now catch up on. 

He took a deep breath and looked up at the clock that was mounted on the wall a little further in the hall. 11:00pm. He was tempted to load up his computer right this second, to play a game or two of his favourite MOBA. He knew he shouldn't however, he was tired enough as it was. He could always play tomorrow. 

Kalen slung his messenger bag to the floor and dumped his coat on top. He bent down and groaned as his carves ached. He undid his shoes and kicked them off next to the rest of his stuff. The cool floor provided some relief to his swollen feet. Then, with all the energy he could muster, he stumbled through the hall towards the bedroom. 

He opened the door to his room and turned on the light. It smelt stale and looked like a it had been ransacked - just as he left it. The centre of the floor was covered in piles of books ranging from light novels to botanic encyclopaedias. If he had more spending money, a bookcase would be his first priority but for now, the floor would have to do. 

One side of his single bed was pushed against the back wall, the head board removed to get it to even fit. Above the bed was the only window, covered by some cheap white blinds. The rest of the room looked like a beginners game of Tetris: a PC, chair and desk, a wardrobe with mirrored doors and a washing bin filled the rest of the outer edge of the room.

He gingerly made his way across the room to his wardrobe, taking the extra care to avoid yet another bruise caused by sliding on a book. He promised himself that he would tidy them up tomorrow but he knew he would likely break that promise. He went to open the wardrobe doors but hesitated when he saw his appearance reflected back. 

Kalen had looked run down recently. He had always been quite thin and though his job could sometimes be quite physical, there wasn't much muscle on his frame. His white skin looked dry and sickly which contrasted with his messy black hair and the dark circles that surrounded his eyes. He most certainly looked older than his actual age of 24. A lack of sun, sleep and big dose of stress can have that effect. He opened the wardrobe doors fully so didn't have to look anymore. he knew full well that he couldn't take any holiday anytime soon with his bills to pay.

"Think happy thoughts Kalen." He muttered to himself. 

The inside of the wardrobe was similar to the state of the room. He rummaged inside making sure to not let anything fall out before he finally found what he wanted: his bed clothes. He turfed out his pockets, depositing his keys and phone on the bed. He got changed out of his uniform and dump it in his washing basket. 

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

A faint tapping came from the window. Rain. He quickly crawled onto his bed and opened the blinds. The sight of droplets on the window made him smile his first true smile of the day. He opened the window and basked in the mildly cold breeze, savouring the faint earthy rain scent that came with it. He looked up the name for it once but no longer remembered it, at least he would be sleeping well tonight. He crawled back down from the bed, stretched his arms and then his stiff back before he carefully made his way through the books to the bedroom door. 

A shiver ran up his spine, the wind whistled through his window in a quick burst. He took a sharp breath in on reflex. Freezing air hit his lungs making cough at the suddenness of the change. He felt his body tense and go on high alert. Something didn't feel right. It was like all warmth in the world was sapped at once. he looked around the room for second but didn't find anything unusual. Was it just really cold? He didn't think it was that cold outside but maybe he wouldn't be sleeping with his window open after all.

A loud thud came from the apartment below. Glass shattered. A woman screamed out. Then it stopped. Kalen froze, taking a moment to process what he heard. His heart began to race. The tiredness he felt melted away as a sense of urgency took over. Police. He needed to call the police. Now.

He rushed back to his bed slipping on a few books on the way. Was someone murdered? Domestic abuse? He grabbed his phone off the bed and dialled the emergency services. The silence coming from the apartment below set him on edge. Was he too late? 

the phone kept ringing and time stretched on. it didn't connect. why now of all times! He crawled onto his bed and braved the cold coming from outside and dialled again as his looked up and out on the surrounding estate.

White. The night sky, the moon and stars were there but the town that once surround his apartment building was gone, swallowed up in the thickest blanket of fog he had ever seen. The more he looked the more worried he became what about the woman down stairs, am I not going to be able to get help? how are they going to get here? Could fog block signal? then, he noticed it. It didn't act like fog, the more he watched, the more he was sure of it. It clung to the surface of what it touched like oil, outlining it. It moved almost like a thick liquid and yet gravity didn't seem to effect it. It flowed upwards. 

Flowed upwards. 

Realisation dawned on him as looked down. Something white reached out. He flung himself away from the window, dropping his phone on the bed. He fell to the floor and watched in absolute horror as the absolutely-not-fog began to pour into his room.  it crawled up the walls. It poured onto the floor and swallowed books. He backed away, slipping on books as it dripped from the ceiling, as it flooded out directly towards him.

He crawled backwards and before he knew it his back hit something hard, it clicked shut behind him. his heart was racing and a sinking feeling came over him. Behind him lay his only exit and his own body now blocked the door. He couldn't escape. 

A tide of white washed over his legs. He screamed, the pain far greater than anything he could have imagined. He swiped at it with his hands only for pain to flare up there as well. It climbed his body and dripped on him from the ceiling. it swallowed his vision. He could no longer move, he could barely think. Every passing second he felt weaker and more hollow, until the only thought left was that he had never felt so cold.