chapter two

"Holy shit, I can't see a damn thing!" He exclaimed.

What in the Hell could make fog do that?

Blaine thought for a moment. "I don't know, but it did."

He drove in the small road that connects to Nathan Avenue. Blaine slammed on the brakes. "Damn it! I can't see a thing!" He opened the door, and instantly, the fog enveloped him and his car. The air was wet, and it was like a weight on Blaine's shoulders. He walked a few steps. "Hello?" He heard it echo, and then noticed the strangest thing of all; silence. Blaine could hear no motors, no hums, no distant voices; nothing. The fog seemed to be the only inhabitant of this town. Blaine yelled at the top of his lungs. "Hello?!"

. . .Hello?!

. . .hello. . .

"Where the Hell is everybody?" Blaine turned around, opened the door to his car, reached in, and pulled out his handgun, and all his ammunition.

It's not possible for people to simply vanish, Blaine.

Blaine loaded a clip into the handgun. "That's what happened to Dad, isn't it?"

You know he went somewhere.

Blaine said nothing. He walked up Nathan Avenue, hoping to find people at the Lakeview Hotel.

"Blaine. . ."

Blaine spun around. "Hello?"

No answer.

"Is anybody there?"

Still no response.

Blaine turned and ran. Not fast, because he was convincing himself that he wasn't scared and didn't hear anything. Blaine felt his foot slide. He fell hard to the ground, but his head hit nothing. He opened his eyes, and saw more fog. Blaine bolted to his feet and backed up.

The entire width of the road was gone. It was obliterated, like a bomb had gone off under it. There was no way to get to the other side.

"Holy shit. . ."

This isn't possible, Blaine

"Don't you think I know that?" He looked around. He had already passed the hotel. "That's it, I'm getting out of here."

You could go through the back door of the hotel to get to the other side. You've stayed there before.

Blaine looked at his car, then at the hotel. He could feel his heart pounding. He knew he was getting into something big. He turned and walked to the hotel, going over the fence and up the small set of stairs. The doors creaked open, they had to be forced.

"Hello?" No answer.

Blaine, you've done this already.

"Hello?!" Still nothing. He walked down the small hallway.

"Mr. Haloren!"

Blaine turned to the left, to see the door leading to some of the rooms. "Who's there?" He walked slowly up to it. It creaked open as well. "Who called my name?" Blaine couldn't see the end of the hallway. He started walking down it. He walked for three minutes, to find no end to the hallway. "I don't remember it being this long. . ."

He kept walking.

"Blaine!"

Blaine stopped.

"Help!"

He recognized the voice. "Amanda. . .?"

"HELP ME!!"

Blaine ran down the hallway as fast as he could, focusing on what was ahead of him, not noticing the doors blending with the walls. His eyes closed for a moment.

I thought you might want to talk?

When have I ever wanted to talk?!

Maybe when Dad disappeared. . .

I don't want to talk about that.

Blaine, if you'd just open up to me. . .

His eyes opened again. The doors were gone. Blaine looked around, but he could barely see anything. It was pitch black. He took a step.

Clang!

He stopped. He could feel his heart rate rising. The floor was metal. "This. . .isn't possible."

You're damn right it isn't.

Blaine took a few more steps, until he heard a faint rattling in the distance. He turned around, and it got louder, and louder. Now it was individual footsteps, coming at him. Blaine didn't know what to do, until he received instructions.

RUN!!

Blaine ran, again, as fast as he could, down the never-ending hall, still hearing the clanging sounds of his shoes hitting metal. There was a hanging light on the ceiling, swinging back and forth. Now Blaine could see the walls. They were rusted, as were the floors and ceiling, like at one point, the whole building was made of iron. He saw blood running down the walls, coming from nowhere, like the walls were alive, and they looked like they were moving, pulsing to some unheard heartbeat. Blaine was now past the light, back in darkness. He closed his eyes for a moment, then hit something, and fell back.

The answer. . .

Blaine opened his eyes.

. . .is right in front of you.

In front of him, was something that looked human in its shape. It had no face, it looked as though it had been removed. Its head appeared to have no skin. When Blaine saw it, the sounds stopped behind him. His eyes couldn't focus. He grabbed his handgun, raised it, and fired. The creature almost fell backwards. Blaine got up, and starting slowly backing up. It recovered from the blast, and again, starting walking towards Blaine. He shot again. Now he was shooting repeatedly, as he walked backwards. He felt something touch his back, and he looked behind him, still pointing his weapon at the beast.

There was a wall.

Blaine could feel his heart beat faster, and then a light hanging from the ceiling, exactly like the one Blaine had seen earlier, flickered on, then off. Blaine saw a wall behind the creature as well. Now he was completely trapped. He kept firing, and the creature wouldn't fall down. His gun clicked. He reached in his pocket, and pulled out another clip. The creature got closer. Blaine began firing again, but now it was like the creature didn't even feel it.

It shoots once, but I hear nothing. . .

Blaine suddenly felt pain, unbelievable pain, in his head. He clutched it as hard as he could. Then he heard that siren, the ambulance siren, distorted and mixing with everything else. He couldn't hold his arm up anymore, and he fell to his knees. Tears flowed down his cheeks, as memories flashed through his mind.

"You and the kid have a fucking roast, and leave me hot dogs!"

It was coming closer, and Blaine could do nothing.

"'I'm going to the store, I'll be back in a few minutes' is what he said, Blaine, and he hasn't come back in ten years!"

Blaine was crying, time was going horribly slow, as it came closer.

"He'll be back. . ." Blaine muttered.

He sobbed.

"He'll be back. . ."

His eyes opened to see a claw speeding towards him.

I see a lake, from the cabin I always went to as a child. I'm all alone here, but I don't remember how I got here. I didn't want to go swimming, but I made myself. I'm at the edge of a dock. I don't want to go in, but Amanda's going to kill me if I don't. I look at her, standing near the trees, and I realize that I have to dive in, because Amanda's going to die if I don't. I look at the water, than at Dad, standing near the dock, and I know that now I have to swim, or else Dad will disappear. I look at Mom in the sky, staring at me, and her eyes are talking to me.

"You have to dive in, Blaine, or else you'll never know what happened."

Again, I realize that I'm completely alone. I look into the murky depths of the water, and I take a deep breath, and jump off. I fall for hours before I hit the water.

But now I'm stuck. I can see the surface above me, but something's holding me here. I look down, and it's me, grabbing my leg, forcing me to stay under.

"Don't kill me, Amanda!"

"Amanda. . ."

"Amanda. . ."

Blaine bolted up. "Amanda!" His eyes slowly focused. His memory slowly came back to him. Tears were on his cheeks. He remembered the cabin, and the lake, and the creature. "Was it all. . .a dream. . ."

He then realized he was in the hotel. He looked around. He was lying down in the entrance to the hallway. Everything was as normal as it had been. Blaine slowly helped himself up. "It couldn't have been a dream, because it hurt. . ."

Believe me, Blaine, it was.

He grabbed his head again, the pain was not completely gone. He noticed his handgun on the ground. He picked it up. There were no bullets. He reached into his pocket. He had no more clips. "Oh shit. . ." Blaine walked back, slowly, to the entrance.

Blaine? What the Hell do you think you're doing?

"I'm getting out of this fucked up Hell hole."

Blaine exited the building, and stopped. He could see his car in the distance, but it was out of his reach, because another chasm had appeared in the road.

Blaine's eyes widened. "No. . .No way."

He looked the other way. The original hole in the road was still there. He was trapped. He had to go through the hotel.

No way to go but forward, Blaine.