Into the Mist (Into the Mist 1)

“Where am I?” He looked around frantically. “Jason? Where’s Jason?”

Mercury touched his shoulder gently. “You’ve been in an accident. We’re going to take you to find help. Your friend is already in the back of our truck.”

“He’s—he’s my cousin.” The man started to sit up, moaned painfully, then reached up to touch his forehead. He flinched and began to pant with panic.

“My face! What’s wrong with my face?”

“Don’t touch it.” Mercury tried to keep her voice calm, but she was utterly out of her comfort zone. Unlike Gemma, she had definitely never wanted to be a doctor.

“It’s not your whole face,” Gemma said kindly. “Your forehead’s been cut up some, but don’t touch it ’cause there’s still glass in your skin. You’re gonna be fine. What’s your name?”

“T-Todd,” his voice shook. “Todd Wilson.”

“Hi, Todd, I’m Gemma. Don’t worry, okay? We’re gonna get you out of here now.”

“Todd, can you slide one arm around my neck and the other around Sadie’s?” Mercury asked, cutting her eyes to the woman whose wrist she’d grasped.

“Who are you?” asked Todd, whose eyes didn’t seem to be able to focus, but looked glassy and blank. “Where am I?”

“I’m Mercury and you’ve been in an accident, remember? We’re here to help, but we have to get you into the—”

“Something’s wrong!” Todd’s body began to tremble. “I feel wrong. Inside. Like, like I’m broken. I don’t think I can—” His words ended as he began to cough so violently that Mercury lost her grip on Sadie’s wrists, and she had to catch Todd’s torso before it smacked against the ground.

“Hey, it’s okay. We can wait for you to catch your breath,” Gemma said.

Todd reached wildly out and snagged Mercury’s hand. She was shocked at the strength in his grip. “It’s okay,” she said, repeating Gemma’s words, careful to keep her voice soothing. “Like Gemma said, we can wait for you to—”

Todd made a horrible noise—a cross between a scream and a retching sound—more animal than human. Then he flopped to his side and began to vomit something that looked like red Jell-O. It was pouring from his gasping mouth, his nose and even his eyes. It spread around them in a sickening, sluggish pool of scarlet.

Mercury’s mind whirred. It’s like what Hale turned into and what hemorrhaged from Amelia. She wanted to fling Todd’s hand away and run, but she couldn’t. She wouldn’t. Instead, she gripped the dying man’s hand tighter and murmured, “I’m here, I’ve got you,” over and over as Todd vomited his life onto the snowy grass.

It didn’t take long. Todd was dead in minutes. Mercury pried her hand free and placed Todd’s gently on his chest, folded with his other one.

“Here’s what’s left of the T-shirt I used for the splint and the other man’s bandage.”

Mercury looked up to see Gemma offering her an old T-shirt that had about half of the bottom of it ripped away. She smiled shakily and placed the shirt over Todd’s face. “Thanks, Gemma.” She touched the dead man’s hands once more and spoke to him softly. “I’m sorry we couldn’t save you. Blessed be.”

“D-do you think that’s going to happen to us?” Gemma blurted.

Mercury stood and faced the girl. She didn’t lie or prevaricate. Teenagers could spot an adult lie in a heartbeat. And Mercury preferred sticking with the truth. “How do you feel?”

“Alright, I guess. My stomach is upset, but I’ve never seen so much blood and stuff before.”

“But besides that, you feel normal?” Mercury pressed her.

The girl nodded. Her dark hair was long and straight, and it fluttered around her with the movement. “Yeah.”

Mercury’s gaze went from Gemma to her mom, and then to Marge and Nathan. “How about y’all? Besides queasy stomachs and your obvious injuries, how do you feel?”

The three adults muttered various versions of okay.

“Well, one thing I’ve noticed is that whatever is killing people makes them feel wrong first. We lost a good friend back at the turnout after the bombs hit. Right before she died.” Mercury paused and then decided it would be better for morale not to mention the dead infant. “She said the same thing Todd did—that she felt wrong, broken inside. So let’s not worry unless any of us starts feeling like that.”

“That actually makes sense,” said the teenager.

Mercury smiled at the kid and then walked to the woman with the broken leg. “So, Marge, you ready to be carried to the truck?”

“More than ready,” she said.