It was only a few days ago when I woke up to go to work. The alarm on my phone is set to play "1901" by Phoenix at exactly 6:00 each morning. I had come to really despise that song, just because I relate it to my groggy mornings and long standing ovations in the shower. It used to be a great song to listen to but now I make sure to leave it off every playlist I have. Anyway, that morning was normal as usual. Got in the shower and let the hot water run down me for fifteen minutes. Brushed my teeth. Heated up a biscuit and ate it with some tangy orange juice. The usual rinse and repeat. I sat down in the living room and waited for my time to leave, thinking about the math homework I needed to do for school. Everything was just the way it was, except for the heavy fog outside. Nothing about it was unusual, but something about fog always sat the wrong way with me. When I was a kid, I used to think they were just clouds that needed to take a rest from floating all day and I thought that was really cool. I don't know why it bothers me now, it just does.
Anyway, forwarding ahead a little, I drove into town with the headlights on, traversing my way through the dense fog, hoping nothing would come barreling my way and wreck my car. Where I use to live, it was common for deer to come out of the woods and just wreck your car, and sometimes even you if they happened to hit the right spot. The speed gauge was balancing at twenty mph the majority of the ride, with me being very cautious and alert.
When I finally made it into town, something felt ... off. Though the fog was heavy, I could make out the parking lot to the grocery store where I worked at and found no cars there. This place is the center hub of the town and there are no cars to be found any where. I parked into my usual parking space and turned the car off, only to be overcome with silence. Even inside the MINI, it was disturbingly quiet. No sounds of traffic, just the sound a slight breeze blowing against the driver's side window. Opening the door and stepping out, the silence had crept in more, which made me even more uncomfortable. I walked over to the doors of the grocery store and attempted to open them, with no luck. Locked.
I knocked on the door and yelled for my boss to come and open it. I realize now that was stupid since he usually parked in front of the store anyway. He wasn't there. No one was there. The fog was starting to lift during this time, as the sun was starting to come up, which opened my vision further to see the highway empty of traffic still. The businesses around me were closed. Subway, Texaco, the diner, everything was just dark. Nothing was there to indicate anyone had come in to open up shop.
I was getting creeped out. I remembered that the guy that owns the grocery store just lives up the hill close to the school. I ran on over, running through the dew covered grass, some of it sticking to my shoes and the bottom of my pants. I got to the door and knocked several times, calling for the owner to come out and let me in or something. But the silence still kept coming to me instead of any human voice. In that moment, I feared the worst. Is he alright? Are he and his wife alive even? I didn't hesitate. I grabbed whatever metal object I could find, settling for a jack was propped up against the brick wall in the garage, and headed over to the