Misty, or foggy, I don’t know which one is correct. I feel like I’m stranded within a blurry mist or fog, I can’t see anything, I can’t hear anything…I can’t feel anything.

I tried screaming, but nothing, I can’t even feel my jaw, nor can I feel my body. I’m trapped, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I can only wait for something, whatever that something will be.

Time passed, not that I can count it, but I can count sheep and I’m at almost 127k sheep now, whatever equivalent to time that amount of sheep is. If it is other, I don’t know how long they will last. They’re not like me who’s almost immune to boredom.

300k sheep…

600k sheep…

1,400, 543...

5, 600…

150, 600…

I don’t what specific amount of sheep it happened, but close to me reaching about a billion sheep, it tugged on me. Like waking up from a long sleep, my eyes snapped open and I found myself between strange trees and a thick mist. I can barely see a few feet from me and everything more than that is shrouded.

The trees are twisted and growing higher than my vision can afford me, but they’re covered by moss that sends out hairy growths draping to the ground as if the trees have grown curtains of hair. The plants are strange too, they’re succulent and the leaves are more like round bulbous growths filled with water. A better description would be to call them overly hydrated plants.

The mist is suffocating, so dense that beyond a few feet from me is nothing but thick smoky white wall, almost writhing, wriggling. I crouched down and carefully tread, hiding behind tall plants while moving forward. My eyes dart from side to side, alerted by the slightest sound. Even my footsteps, each pressing on the ground slowly and lifting equally as slow.

Time passes by, I’m delving deeper, my surrounding never changing. I don’t know if I’m just feeling things, but beyond the mist I can feel things. I can feel them wandering, crawling, climbing, walking. Whatever is hiding within, I don’t want to know.

I’m worried about my safety, and progress, but most of all, I’m worried about her. I don’t know where she is, I don’t know how she is doing, and most of all, I don’t know if she’s safe. All I know is this connection to her that I’m following. Deep within me, I can vaguely know where her direction is, but I don’t know how near or far, as if the mist is stopping me.

The dark thoughts are nagging me, my mind is going heavy, and my thoughts going astray. Sometimes I’ll see things, creatures popping out of the mist, or the dread of seeing her dead body. This thoughts however I pushed to the side, for what I need is to find her.

I stopped behind a tree and closed my eyes, breathing in and breathing out.

‘Calm down, she’ll be alright, she’ll be safe’

‘But what if she’s…SHUT THE FUCK UP’

‘SHE’S ALIVE AND THAT’S ALL YOU NEED TO BELIEVE IN’

I took a deep breath, and resting my forehead on the tree barks, taking a breath in and out. Time passed and slowly, my mind begin clearing up, like lifting a curtain of fog. Once again I opened my eyes and continued sneaking towards where it is leading me.

My knees are aching and my soles poked by thorns, but I held on, I continued. I plucked the thorns off my sole and continue moving even as each step is riddled with pain from the holes poked by thorns. I shrugged it all off, they’re not as important as her.

The scenery however, will soon change.

I stopped, my eyes landing on what is before me, a house. The house itself is probably two floor or more. Vines and roots crawl around its walls and bursting off some part of it. Other than that, it looks like a normal house you’ll see at the side of a street.

I pushed open the door carefully and stepped in before closing it, making sure I’m crouching as low as possible. Inside, the mist is not as dense. I can see clearly and much better. Instead of a dense white wall, the mist here is more like a translucent white layer.

The infestation however is worse inside. The floor is cracking and bursting with roots and the wall is crawling with vines and some unknown plants.

I carefully avoided them and made my way to the kitchen which doesn’t look better, instead it is worse. Bundles of roots twisted together took-over portions of the kitchen and entirely consumed the wall. I’m hoping that what I’m looking for is still here.

Gently stepping and avoiding the roots and weird plants as much as possible, I made my way to the counter, raising my head and there I found it. Knocked over by the roots are knives, usable knives. Some are covered by roots, but I found two that are safe to get. I don’t know how the roots will react to being cut, so I’m not going to risk it.

Next I searched the entire kitchen for anything consumable. Unfortunately, the refrigerator is covered by roots, but I did found a jar of cookies. Other besides the cookies are breads and broken jars of cookies that are not viable because of the plants growing on them.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Carrying them over to the living room, I placed the jar on the table before going on to explore the rest of the house with a knife. Most of the area are consumed by roots and plant life, the second floor is dangerous because of how much broken the floor is, and so most of the rooms there are inaccessible. The way to the third floor is also blocked by roots, so it’s a no go.

I did manage to obtain valuables, clothes, a bag, two empty water bottles, a kettle, and in additional, the two knives and the jar of cookies earlier. I carefully put them on the bag and tied the kettle to the bag because it won’t fit. And while it’s a bit tight, I have a pair slippers now to protect me from thorns at least.

Moving down to the first floor as carefully as before, my heart nearly stopped beating. The door…it’s creaking, it’s being opened by someone or something.

I slowly hide on the stairs, using the roots to my advantage and crouching. My eyes watch attentively as much as my ears are focused. I can’t see beyond the mist, but I hear footsteps, a set of it, which means there is only one.

Whatever it is, it is not careful, and I’ll be a fool if I fight something I don’t know. The best thing to do right now is to leave as soon as possible.

Slowly, I stepped down, my breathing as controlled as possible, but it was at this moment that I saw it, staring back at me. It smiles widely with hollowed mouth and its eyes looking with shriveled eyeballs. It was once a human, but now…

“Found you~”

It lunged at me, its hands reaching out and its gaping mouth wide open, filled with jagged teeth and bleeding from cuts on its gums.

I reacted fast, jumping to the side, my breath stuck to my nose and like my heart stopped beating. My vision slowed down, I can see it clearly, turning to me as it land on my previous position.

“Dear~”

It prepared to jump once again, but I didn’t hesitate and stuck the knife at the back of its neck with all of my strength. The knife dig deep just below the skull, hitting the bone and the impact making my hand numb.

My breathe finally catches up to me and I slumped down near the limp body. Now I’m finally able to see it clearly. It’s a lady with cuts all over her body and her skin writhing and pulsating as if something inside is moving. Looking closer, within her wounds are roots constantly shifting and moving, their appearance similar to the roots here. Bad thing however is…they’re still alive, and no doubt that this body will be moving again anytime soon.

But I don’t have all the time to think. Suddenly, the roots in the house begun writhing and twisting on each other. The second floor immediately collapse, as well as the third floor. As debris are falling, I immediately pushed open the door and sprint over, lowering my body as low as possible and hiding behind plants.

I ran without looking back. I didn’t care that I’m hitting unknown plants and that I’m stepping on thorns, I need to get as far away as possible. My skin start turning red from all the plants hitting my skin and my knees are burning, but I continue.

“RUN, I’LL CATCH YOU!”

Screaming came behind me and I feel not just one, but a lot of them running in different direction. At this point they’ll catch up to me, and the mist is still impeding my sight.

I speed up until my sight open up to a tree I nearly banged my head on to, the screams are getting nearer. No choice then, climbing up it is. I walk around the tree before grabbing a branch and pulling myself up, climbing higher. It’s only a few climb and I already can’t see the ground, but I can hear them below, snarling, and sounds of anger.

Slowly I climb higher, as high as this tree can support me. My heart is speeding up, I feel it thumbing in my chest. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, breath in and breath out. Just have to stay here for a while until I know I’m safe. There is something bothering me however, this feeling leading me to her is pointing beyond the house, which means sooner or later I’ll need to fight similar creatures.

I can still feel them rustling below, but oddly enough all of them suddenly stay still, as if they’re scared. And even if I know I’ll see nothing below, I still tried looking down, and what I see terrifies me. Swarming below is a flood of red blinking dots that’s somehow can still be seen with the dense mist. They’re moving like a wave, carpeting the ground in nothing but red. They pour through from an unknown source and continued like a blood red river. Then screaming, those creatures that chased me are screaming, as if they’re being pulled apart, eaten, consumed by the endless wave.

I stayed still until the wave slowly decrease and the last of them left. I, however, will not use the ground for a while. Looks like I’ll be climbing for a while, I hope it’s not as terrible here, I truly hope even if I know this hope will not come true. In this world, there are only dangers and lesser dangers, but taking a lesser danger is better than encountering that swarm.