Page 138 of Into the Mist

Everyone turned to Stella, who cocked her head to the side in the inner listening pose they’d become accustomed to. Then she shrugged. “I’m not getting anything specific except a feeling that we definitely need to go there.”

“Well, good,” Gemma said. “If no one’s gonna almost die again, then I for sure want to stay here and help Imani.”

“The children and I will gather firewood while you’re gone,” said Karen. Then she hastily added, “But we’ll be careful not to roam too far from the cave, and we’ll definitely keep an eye out for green fog, right boys?”

The twins nodded.

“Okay, it’s a plan!” said Stella. “Acorn, shove leftovers from last night into your face, make your morning toilette, and then let’s go!”

“Ooh! I can’t wait! I’m starting to like this hunting-and-gathering stuff.” Mercury hurried back into the cave as she mentally added to her list of necessities.

They checked the map to plot the best path to Mitchell, and because the town was only about twenty miles away, the three decided to follow the regular roads rather than cut cross-country.

Bridge Creek Road fed into highway 26, which went straight through the heart of Mitchell. The section of 26 between the Painted Hills and Mitchell was riddled with sinkholes—so many that Stella drove most of the way on the shoulder of the road or the easements on either side of the highway.

They saw not one living person, though they were able to syphon enough gas to fill their tank and the spare containers they carried in the bed.

“I thought there would be more vehicles,” Stella said. “Twenty-six is a major highway out here, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, for sure,” said Ford. “But this is a sparsely populated area, and the weather did report that the winter storm that hit a couple days ago was going to be a bad one. That seems to have kept hikers and campers to a minimum—at least between Mitchell and the Painted Hills.” Ford pointed at the green road sign that had fallen across the highway. “Says Mitchell is one mile away. We should see it as we drive over this ridge and down into the valley.”

“Are you sure we’re far enough away from this town? If we hadn’t stopped to siphon gas, it would’ve only taken about two hours to get here.” Mercury chewed her lip.

“That’s a Stella question,” Ford said.

Stella moved her shoulders. “I can only tell you what my gut knows, which is what I said yesterday—the Painted Hills are our new home. That hasn’t changed.”

“I have an idea that will help our isolation and safety,” said Ford. “If we can find a tree saw or an axe, I can cut down some junipers and cedars and create road blocks into the Painted Hills. I think it would also be a good idea to bring down that bridge over the creek.”

“Yeah, we definitely need to do those things,” said Stella. “As well as cover the path the truck makes from the road to our cave. Actually, covering the tracks won’t be enough. We need to limit the use of the truck anywhere near a road so that we don’t draw attention to ourselves.”

“And we have to remember to try to reach Jenny and tell her we’ve found a place to stay,” said Mercury.

“Imani and I already tried to do that this morning,” said Ford. “We couldn’t reach her, but Imani said we should drive the truck up as high as we can in the hills. That might help the signal stretch to Timberline.”

“That’s a good idea,” said Mercury.

They were silent as the truck topped the incline and the town of Mitchell stretched before them.

“Uh, this is a town?” Mercury said.

“Yep, to about one hundred and twenty-five people,” said Ford.

“Shit,” Stella said as she braked the truck. “It’s a valley. This is not going to be cool. At all.”

“What are those black things on the street and in front of the—” Mercury began, and then she understood and echoed Stella. “Shit!”

“They’re crows on bodies. Aw, man.” Ford shook his head. “A lot of bodies.”

Vehicles, mostly trucks and old SUVs clogged the two-lane that went through town. Around the vehicles, in the street and on the sidewalks that butted up to the parking spaces that lined the highway, were dead people. Many of them were deflated sacks of skin and clothes, but some—the women—had remained intact so that it was obvious they’d died sometime after the flattened men. Mostly it seemed they died from injuries that happened either after or during the earthquakes.

Stella steered the truck slowly around vehicles as clouds of dark birds lifted from their feast. She tried not to run over the remains of anyone, but had little choice. The three of them cringed and shuddered as the truck’s wheels squished along the street.

“Do you see anyone alive?” Mercury’s voice was hushed.

“I don’t think there is anyone left alive,” said Ford. “Look at this. Nothing’s been moved—except by those carrion birds. It looks like the entire town was wiped out.”

“Mitchell is in a valley,” Stella said. “It must have been completely filled with the green fog, and until the storm blew through two days later, chances are the fog just sat here.”