By the lakeside after the heavy rain, a cold wind swept through.
Drayton stepped out of the wooden cabin, his arm around his wife, as the scent of damp earth rushed over them.
He stood on the muddy lawn, brow furrowed as he stared at a massive tree next to the house that had been uprooted by last night's gale.
His wife crossed her arms, unable to suppress a shiver. "You'll need to make a trip to the hardware store in town."
"Buy some sturdy plastic siding and waterproof tape. A few windows over there were smashed by this tree."
"Mhm."
Drayton agreed, sighing as he looked at the fallen tree with a complex gaze.
"I never thought it would go down. I used to climb it all the time when I was a kid to look for bird nests."
"Mom, Dad, come look at this!"
In the distance, his son Billy's excited shouting shattered the morning silence.
"Hey, Billy, stay put and don't run off, okay?"
His wife called out loudly.
"Come look! The little boathouse is completely smashed, it's totally wrecked!"
There was no regret in Billy's voice; instead, it held that peculiar fervor and excitement children naturally feel toward scenes of destruction.
Having said his piece, he bolted off toward the lake.
Drayton shook his head, preparing to head over with his wife to check the state of the boathouse.
Clatter-clack...
The sound of some failing machinery drifted in from the other direction.
The couple looked toward the source of the noise. A deep blue van was sputtering, thick black exhaust billowing from its tailpipe.
The van rocked twice on the muddy ground before coming to a complete dead stop by the roadside.
The doors pushed open, and three people stepped out.
Sephirot stood beside the broken-down van, watching Andre inspect the vehicle.
"Sure enough, I really am cursed when it comes to cars."
"Sorry, guys."
Andre wiped his hands, offering an awkward smile. "Maybe it's just been running too long, plus the dirt road I picked was too bumpy, and with the heavy rain yesterday..."
He patted the van. "Bottom line, the old girl's gone on strike. Looks like we'll have to find a town, hit a hardware store for parts, or call a tow truck."
"Need a hand?"
A shout came from nearby.
Sephirot looked over to see a white man in a blue flannel shirt waving as he walked toward them.
Seeing this, Andre hurried over to meet him.
The two exchanged a few words, after which Andre pointed back at the smoking van with a rueful grin.
After listening, Drayton looked at the stalled van and sighed sympathetically. "This hellish weather really tore the roads to pieces."
"As it happens, I'm heading to the hardware store in town for supplies anyway. If you don't mind a tight fit, I can give you a lift in my Jeep."
Andre's expression brightened, and he glanced back at Sephirot and Clancy.
Sephirot naturally had no objections. He gazed out at the lake, where a bank of white mist was rolling in from the distant mountains. Looking at the Drayton family, it was clear they hadn't received any notification to evacuate. Moving on a hunch, Sephirot called out to Drayton as he was heading back into the house to grab his keys:
"I suggest you bring your wife along. The town might be safer than here."
Drayton stopped in his tracks, looking at the oddly dressed young man with a hint of confusion.
It was just a quick trip to town for supplies; why bring the whole family?
Sephirot met his searching gaze, his tone calm: "Trust me, you'll thank me later."
He had a rough idea of what was happening. Those heavily armed soldiers on the highway earlier had been blockading something.
But until that mist fully revealed its threat, he couldn't jump to conclusions just yet.
In the end, Drayton followed Sephirot's somewhat cryptic advice.
The group piled into the Jeep.
Drayton took the wheel, his wife sat in the passenger seat, and their son, Billy, sat obediently on her lap.
Sephirot, Andre, and Clancy occupied the back row.
Fortunately, none of the three were particularly large, so it wasn't too cramped.
Clancy continued to fiddle with his precious camera.
The vehicle bumped along the uneven, pothole-ridden highway.
Uprooted trees and power poles snapped by the storm were visible everywhere along the road.
Several roadside assistance vehicles with flashing yellow lights passed them continuously.
"Dad! Look over there!"
Young Billy suddenly cried out, pointing at the road ahead.
At the upcoming intersection, rows of military trucks painted in camouflage patterns were driving toward the mountains in a massive convoy.
"Are those... regulars? Is there a military presence stationed around here?"
Andre asked curiously.
"Those are the people from the military base up on the mountain,"
Drayton said casually, one hand on the steering wheel while he stuck the other out the window to feel the cool breeze.
"What are they researching up there?"
Sephirot asked, his eyes fixed on the military vehicles.
"Who knows? The military claims it's a research base for a missile defense system."
However, rumors had always circulated in town that they had unearthed a UFO up there, complete with frozen alien corpses inside.
Drayton curled his lip, looking dismissive. "Supposedly, they're running a top-secret project called the Arrowhead Project."
"What kind of top-secret project is common knowledge?"
The Arrowhead Project?
Upon hearing that familiar term, Sephirot immediately confirmed his suspicion.
So it really was the Mist?
If he recalled correctly, the source of this mist was a military experiment gone wrong, which had accidentally torn a dimensional rift connecting to an otherworldly space.
A swarm of giant insects and monsters had swept across the region along with the mist.
When they arrived at the town, it felt unusually desolate, with few pedestrians on the streets.
The rare storm from the previous night had not only destroyed the roads but had also severely impacted the town's electricity and infrastructure.
The car pulled up in front of the local's largest hardware store.
There were plenty of people inside the store; many had homes or appliances that had sustained some level of damage from the storm.
Andre and the Draytons each took a shopping cart to look for parts and materials.
Sephirot stood alone in front of the supermarket, his gaze deep as he watched the distant mountains already swallowed by the white mist.
He was actually quite interested in that breached alien world.
If he could go in and explore it for himself, he might find some unexpected rewards.
But on second thought, he had come out this time to investigate and find clues regarding Mammon's descent.
If he plunged headfirst into an unknown dimension just to satisfy his curiosity, he might get trapped and delay more important matters.
Besides, ordinary people like Andre were still with him.
After weighing the pros and cons, Sephirot decided to stay at the supermarket for the time being and observe the situation.
It wouldn't be too late to make another move once military reinforcements arrived.
Just then, several officers in green uniforms hurried into the hardware store.
"Get in and buy what you need. The last bus leaving the base departs in half an hour. Hurry up."
On the road outside the hardware store, several police cars with flashing lights sped past.
The town's dogs began to bark frantically as if startled by something; even the pet dog inside the hardware store behind them began to bare its teeth and growl low in its throat.
"Waaaaah! Waaaaah!"
Suddenly, the loud blare of an air raid siren echoed across the sky above the town.
─────────────────────────────────────────
TL NOTES — CROSSOVER GUIDE
Some references in this chapter come from source universes that may be unfamiliar to some readers. The notes below provide the context needed to understand them without leaving the page.
SOURCE UNIVERSES
The Mist — A horror story by Stephen King, originally published as a novella and later adapted into a film directed by Frank Darabont. Set in a small town in Maine, the story begins after a powerful storm. A thick, unnatural mist rolls in from the mountains and engulfs the town. Trapped inside a grocery store with other townspeople, the survivors quickly discover that the mist conceals enormous, terrifying creatures from another dimension. The mist is the direct result of a military experiment gone wrong: the Arrowhead Project, a top-secret research program at a nearby base, accidentally tore open a rift between dimensions, unleashing the creatures. Sephirot's immediate recognition of the situation, and his decision to get Drayton and his family to town before the mist arrives, shows he knows exactly how this story plays out.
CHARACTERS
David Drayton — The protagonist of The Mist. A local artist living by a lake in rural Maine. In the original story, he takes his young son to the grocery store for supplies after the storm, where they become trapped when the mist descends. His wife remains home and does not survive. Sephirot's intervention, convincing Drayton to bring his wife to town, is a direct departure from the source material's tragedy.
Billy Drayton — David's young son. He accompanies his father to the store in the original story.
CONCEPTS
The Arrowhead Project — The classified military experiment at the base near town, officially described as a missile defense program. In reality, it was an attempt to tear open a window into another dimension, or "the mist." The experiment succeeded, at catastrophic cost: the dimensional rift it created unleashed the mist and everything inside it onto the surrounding region.