Mona tries to find shelter.

Mona pressed on deeper into the fog. As she continued down the street, it suddenly started to become harder to see. Reaching to her face, she wiped a finger across her lenses, finding them to be covered in condensation.

Cleaning them off on her shirt, she placed her glasses back on her face. They began to fog again almost immediately, some sort of heatwave having descended upon the town without warning.

It wasn't just her glasses, though. Everything was starting to feel hot. Hot and constricting. None of her clothes felt like they were fitting right anymore, even her hair seeming to cling strangely to her head and neck.

The more she walked the worse it became, coming to a point where she began to try the door to every building she could find to take shelter from this heat. None opened for her, though, either being locked or simply broken. To make matters worse, she started to feel as if she was being watched, a distinct possibility given how thick the fog was.

Wandering without any real objective or understanding of where she went, she finally came upon something to break up the monotony of buildings and streets. It was a roadblock at the intersection between Bradbury and Bachman, blocking her advance down the road. She couldn't quite make it out through the fog, but it almost looked like there was a sudden drop off just beyond the police tape.

Either way, the signs marked "Turn Back" were enough of a reason as any to try a different path. Going to the left, she continued her strategy of trying to forcefully enter different buildings as a deep sense of dread began to take hold. Whatever may have been following her felt much closer now and she had nothing to defend herself with.

This thought alone was odd to her. She'd never been a violent person, so to immediately come to the idea of fighting whatever it might be in the fog was kind of a shock. For all she knew, it could simply be a lost dog. Even if it was a stranger, what guarantee was there it would be a dangerous one?

Logic did tend to break down when fear came into the mix, but pondering this could wait. Against all odds, she finally found a door that was open. Scrambling inside, she immediately closed herself inside and clicked the lock before moving away from the windows. She couldn't place why, but she felt like she had to stay out of sight.

That wouldn't be too hard inside what seemed to be a home goods store, trading the oppressive fog for almost pitch darkness. She couldn't quite decide which was worse, but it was at least a touch less hot now.

She retrieved her phone from her pocket, turning on the flashlight feature and placing it into the breast pocket of her jacket. Reluctantly, she also chose to zip up her garment to try and keep the beam of light from wobbling all around, deciding it would be more beneficial to see than to be cool.

Her hope now was to find some kind of light switch and maybe a landline. Even if she didn't know exactly where this place was, she could at least call for help. The police could certainly trace her call if they had to.

The dated look of all the appliances in the store matched the rest of the town, a thick layer of dust giving the impression that nothing had been moved around or bought here since at least the 90's. Only one thing seemed to challenge that, the "thing" in question being the smell of gas beginning to spread through the store.

Not wanting to suffocate and die, Mona tracked the scent to its origin. Among a row of several other ovens, there was a white one sat near the middle with its door slightly ajar. It didn't look to even be powered let alone attached to a gas line, but she couldn't exactly doubt what she saw right in front of her.

Her natural reaction was to try and find a way to turn off the gas, but what she actually did was plant her feet firmly and stare at the thing like it was diseased. Her mouth started to feel dry, her body refusing to respond as she willed herself to go closer.

With a great amount of effort, she managed to force her hand towards the appliance, shaking visibly as she did. Touching the cold metal stove top sent chills down her spine despite how hot she still felt. Slowly she began to go over the machine to look for a way to turn it off.

Finding what looked like the right switch, she tried turning it. The gas could still be heard spraying out. She tried again. No result. She tried again after that. Still, nothing happened.

Almost in a trance, she repeatedly switched the stove on and off, listening to the switch click as it moved back and forth. Evidently, something went wrong after a time, a much louder click acting as a prelude to a spray of flames that sent her tumbling backwards onto the floor.

Something had made a spark inside the oven that was now engulfed in deep red flames. Again, she would normally attempt to find something like a fire extinguisher or a sprinkler system to activate in this situation, but her body simply wouldn't respond.

Transfixed by the flames, she could do nothing as they began to spread to the rest of the units. She screamed at herself inside her head to move or run or do anything in response, but she couldn't listen. Something was keeping here there, whether it be a force of this horrible place she'd landed in or something inside her own mind.

Suddenly, the door to the first oven broke off, falling to the ground with a thud. Despite the flames, it looked as if something was moving inside the machine. Just as she realized this, what looked to be a scaly, charred human arm emerged from the open oven, gripping the side of the burning appliance. A second emerged after that, both working to pull whatever had been crammed inside out into the world.

Needless to say, the fire was now the least of her worries.

Finally finished the second chapter. Not that anyone was really clamoring for it at this point, but maybe we can change that.

Thanks for reading. Tell your friends if you're enjoying. Always remember to turn your ovens off.