{"id":6485,"date":"2012-09-10T09:45:08","date_gmt":"2012-09-10T13:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scifisaturdaynight.com\/?p=6485"},"modified":"2012-09-10T09:45:08","modified_gmt":"2012-09-10T13:45:08","slug":"beyond-the-fog-by-ll-soares","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/scifisaturdaynight.com\/?p=6485","title":{"rendered":"“Beyond The Fog” by LL Soares"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Due to technical difficulties, last week’s Fiction Friday has become this week’s Fiction Monday. Enjoy!<\/em><\/p>\n

L.L. Soares<\/a> is a man with a mission: to bring reality to horror fiction. A prolific writer within the genre, his work has been published in many anthologies and websites for the past 12 years. He co-wrote In Sickness: Stories from a Very Dark Place<\/a><\/em> with his wife, Laura Cooney. His newest novel, Life Rage<\/em> is being published this month and he will be joining us on the podcast to talk about it.<\/p>\n

In this short story submission we follow some men out for a night to celebrate the finality of a long and messy divorce. We learn about the secrets of a long abandoned public airstrip. We learn about the horror of unknown singing. We learn what lies Beyond The Fog<\/em>:<\/p>\n

When I finally figured out where the singing was coming from, we were at the top of the hill, looking down at the abandoned airplane hangar.\u00a0 The hangar had been there for as long as I could remember, but I didn\u2019t know anyone who could remember when it was actually in use.<\/p>\n

Maybe back when planes were a brand new thing and you had to turn the propellers with your hands to get the engines started.\u00a0 Like in the old movies.\u00a0 Maybe that\u2019s when this place was in use.<\/p>\n

Now, it was just deserted property.\u00a0 Why hadn\u2019t they torn it down and replaced it with something useful?\u00a0 I\u2019d always thought it was the perfect spot for a baseball diamond.<\/p>\n

So here we were, the four of us, at the top of the hill at midnight, and there was strange singing coming from the deserted airplane hangar.\u00a0 I guess it wasn\u2019t deserted anymore.<\/p>\n

Harry was drunk out of his mind by then, the worst of us, and he wanted to go down to the airstrip and play some football.\u00a0 He\u2019d even brought his ball.\u00a0 We hadn\u2019t played football together in years, but this was a special night.\u00a0 Harry had found out the divorce was final earlier that day, and he wanted to celebrate with a night out with the boys.\u00a0 We\u2019d been happy to oblige.\u00a0 It had been a long and messy divorce, and we were all glad it was finally over.<\/p>\n

I was relieved when Harry suggested the football game.\u00a0 At least he\u2019d stopped ranting about \u201cthat cunt\u201d by then.<\/p>\n

Tommy raised the bottle of Wild Turkey to his lips and tipped it back, trying to catch up.<\/p>\n

\u201cMight as well play one last game,\u201d he said, wiping his lower lip.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that sound?\u201d I asked, taking the bottle from him.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t sure yet if they heard it, too.\u00a0 I think I was more sober than they were; my senses were clearer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat sound?\u201d Harry asked, looking around.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t hear anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat singing,\u201d I said.\u00a0 I\u2019d heard it back at the car, when we\u2019d first gotten out and started heading downhill, but I didn\u2019t feel confident enough to mention it until now.<\/p>\n

John tried to focus.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, I hear it, too,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cFaintly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the hell is it?\u201d Harry asked, staring down at the hangar.\u00a0 He obviously heard it now.\u00a0 \u201cIs it coming from that<\/em> place?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go find out,\u201d Harry said.\u00a0 He tossed the football up in the air and caught it again, and then began to run.\u00a0 We did our best to keep up with him.<\/p>\n

Light came from some lamp posts, here and there around the site.\u00a0 Some of them still worked, and others had burnt out. They\u2019d been there as long as I could remember, too.<\/p>\n

None of us had ever been athletes.\u00a0 We hadn\u2019t had any desire to join the football team when we\u2019d been in high school, that was for sure.\u00a0 None of us had fit in anywhere and just kind of drifted into each other\u2019s orbit.\u00a0 It was funny how strong a bond we\u2019d been able to maintain.\u00a0 Sure, there were times when we wouldn\u2019t see each other for years, but we always stayed in touch; we always knew what the others were up to.\u00a0 Our friendship had outlasted most of our jobs and marriages.<\/p>\n

In the old days, we liked to have a game just among ourselves.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t matter if we sucked or not.\u00a0 It was just for fun.<\/p>\n

When we reached the air strip at the bottom of the hill, the singing got louder.\u00a0 Now there was no mistaking it.<\/p>\n

\u201cMust be some kind of late night choir rehearsal or something,\u201d John said.\u00a0 He was normally the quiet one of the group.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s get a closer look,\u201d Harry said.\u00a0 He\u2019d dropped the football by now and had lost all interest in a game.\u00a0 Which was fine by me.\u00a0 I joined in because that\u2019s what we did, but I really didn\u2019t care one way or another.\u00a0 Somehow the Wild Turkey bottle had come back to me, and I found that a lot more interesting.<\/p>\n

We ran along the airstrip, chasing one another.\u00a0 For some reason we knew we shouldn\u2019t shout out or anything.\u00a0 The only sound we made was that of our feet running along the asphalt, and even that was muffled by the weeds.<\/p>\n

When we reached the building, it looked to be closed up pretty tight.\u00a0 There were windows on the side, though, so we went around to find them.\u00a0 They were filthy, and no matter how many times we wiped them with our hands, we couldn\u2019t get a clear look inside.<\/p>\n

There was light.\u00a0 We could see that much.\u00a0 But nothing else.\u00a0 No shapes, no shadows.\u00a0 Nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe we can\u2019t see anything,\u201d Tommy said.\u00a0 He had the bottle by then and poured some whiskey on his handkerchief.\u00a0 He wiped harder at the glass.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dirt\u2019s on the inside<\/em>,\u201d I told him.\u00a0 \u201cYou can\u2019t clean it from out here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever,\u201d he said, but he\u2019d already figured out it was futile and had given up.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly one way to find out then,\u201d Harry said, taking the bottle from Tommy.\u00a0 \u201cWe have to go inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sure about that?\u201d I asked.\u00a0 \u201cWhat if they see us?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what?\u201d Harry said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not like this is a private house or anything.\u00a0 It\u2019s an abandoned building.\u00a0 Public property.\u00a0 No harm in just checking it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess not,\u201d I said, not really sure of his logic.\u00a0 But hell, we were all drinking, and it made sense at the moment.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t occur to any of us that maybe someone had bought the property and this place was now off limits to trespassers.\u00a0 Not the way we felt that night.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a door right over here,\u201d John said, leading the way.<\/p>\n

It was locked, but Harry didn\u2019t waste any time jimmying it.\u00a0 I remember he was a whiz at getting laundry machine coin boxes open back when we were kids.<\/p>\n

The first thing we noticed when he got the door open a bit, was the fog.\u00a0 There was this strange mist in the air, making it hard to see.\u00a0 You could still see the light, emanating from the center of it, but not much else.\u00a0 This made me think that it wasn\u2019t dirt that kept us from seeing in the windows, but this thick fog.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the fuck is this?\u201d Harry asked.\u00a0 \u201cLooks like someone\u2019s running a fog machine in here or something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe we should just go back to the car,\u201d Tommy said.<\/p>\n

We could all hear the singing now, and it was much louder, but muffled.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d John said.\u00a0 \u201cNobody\u2019s seen us yet.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s a good time to cut out.\u201d<\/p>\n

They felt it.\u00a0 I could feel it, too.\u00a0 A sense that we shouldn\u2019t move forward.\u00a0 That we should cut our losses and just get out of there, while the going was good.<\/p>\n

Harry was so numbed out; he probably didn\u2019t feel it.\u00a0 Or maybe he just didn\u2019t care.\u00a0 He was always doing things to show the rest of us how fearless he was.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI want to see what the singing is all about.\u00a0 Are you guys with me, or not?\u201d<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t imagine any of us would have felt right leaving him there.\u00a0 We stuck together, even when it was stupid to do so.\u00a0 There\u2019d been a few run-ins with the law because of this code we had.\u00a0 But nothing serious, so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on, Harry,\u201d I said, trying to reason with him.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s nothing here to see.\u00a0 Let\u2019s do something else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis fog has got me curious,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s got to be covering something.\u00a0 Let\u2019s see what.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a chance that someone might see us now, if we went inside.\u00a0 I thought there was something brazen about going that far to see what the singing was all about.\u00a0 But we were all liquored up and Harry was good at getting us to go along with what he wanted to do, even now.\u00a0 He was just the same when we were kids. \u00a0 Funny how some things didn\u2019t change.<\/p>\n

He moved forward and we were close behind. \u00a0 And then we lost sight of him as he went into the fog and disappeared.\u00a0 We kept moving and followed him inside.\u00a0 I\u2019d like to say we\u2019d follow Harry to hell and back, but that\u2019s a lie.\u00a0 There were limits.\u00a0 But that night, the limits weren\u2019t all that clear.<\/p>\n

There was a moment or two when we lost track of each other, and we called out so that we knew we were all still there, but we could barely hear each other over the din of the singing.\u00a0 It had gotten much louder, almost deafening, and at one point I had to cover my ears.<\/p>\n

And then we came through on the other side of the fog.<\/p>\n

We saw each other first, and I felt a wave of relief knowing that we hadn\u2019t lost anybody, that there was an end to the fog. That it wasn\u2019t anything dangerous.\u00a0 Here we were, just as we\u2019d been before we\u2019d walked through it.\u00a0 Despite the sense of dread some of us had felt following Harry inside.<\/p>\n

But then, after we saw each other, the fog moved and we saw the rest of it.<\/p>\n

Bodies.\u00a0 It looked like hundreds of them.\u00a0 They were all impaled on sharp shafts that jutted up from the floor.\u00a0 Or was it dirt beneath our feet?\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t see for sure.\u00a0 The bodies reminded me of accounts I\u2019d read of the kinds of things Vlad the Impaler did to his victims.\u00a0 The real-life guy who was the inspiration for Dracula.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not really sure if bodies<\/em> was the right word in this case, though, because they weren\u2019t actually dead<\/em>.\u00a0 They should have been, the way those strange shafts ripped through them.\u00a0 But, you see, the sounds we\u2019d heard, the singing, was coming from them<\/em>.\u00a0 Except, now that we were inside the hangar, I wasn\u2019t so sure it was singing anymore.\u00a0 It could have been the wailing of people being tortured.\u00a0 People in pain.\u00a0 But there was also a melody <\/em>to it all.<\/p>\n

The hangar was full of these people.\u00a0 More than it would seem could fit in that place.\u00a0 And yet, there they were.\u00a0 Their sounds louder than ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s going on here?\u201d Harry said, trying to talk over the wails.\u00a0 We could hear him faintly, but I had to watch his lips when he spoke.\u00a0 I could tell he wasn\u2019t fully grasping what was happening.\u00a0 Maybe he thought he\u2019d passed out and was having some kind of dream.<\/p>\n

Tommy and John just stood there, as shocked by the sight as I was.\u00a0 It really looked like a scene out of hell.\u00a0 Except it was here, in front of us.\u00a0 And none of us remembered dying.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to get out of here,\u201d Tommy said.\u00a0 I watched his lips, because it really wasn\u2019t easy to hear each other in this howling place.\u00a0 And I knew that he was right.\u00a0 We shouldn\u2019t linger there any longer than we already had.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Harry said, \u201cWe have to help them,\u201d and he\u2019d already started moving toward the impaled people, moving awkwardly, not sure how to go about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to leave,\u201d Tommy said, walking back toward the fog, back toward the way out of this place.<\/p>\n

I grabbed his arm.\u00a0 \u201cHelp me with Harry,\u201d I mouthed, because I wasn\u2019t sure if he\u2019d hear me.\u00a0 He shook his head.\u00a0 Then he pulled his arm away and kept walking.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t make it very far.\u00a0 Something large and sharp came up from the floor without warning and forced its way through his body as he stood there.\u00a0 It was an angle that was painful to look at, and he started screaming almost immediately.<\/p>\n

John stood frozen beside me.\u00a0 We watched as Tommy wriggled in agony, trying to get free of the thing that tore through him, literally nailing him to the spot.<\/p>\n

I looked over at John, hoping he might have an idea of how to proceed, and seeing that he was as clueless, and as scared, as I was.<\/p>\n

All through this, Harry continued to try to pull people free of their shafts.\u00a0 He\u2019d seemed to have forgotten we were there with him.\u00a0 Or maybe he just assumed we were trying to save people, too.<\/p>\n

But all John and I were concerned with, at this point, was saving ourselves.<\/p>\n

I tried to go out the way we\u2019d come through, but I couldn\u2019t find<\/em> the way we\u2019d come through.\u00a0 Every time I stepped through the fog, trying to find an exit, I found myself bumping into a wall.\u00a0 At one point, I walked into the mist for what seemed like ten minutes, until I ended up right where I\u2019d started.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t find the way out of here,\u201d John said, his mouth close to my ear.\u00a0 \u201cWhat the fuck is this place?\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a new sound then.\u00a0 And I knew without looking that Harry was now in the same position as those he\u2019d tried to help.\u00a0 I turned and saw him impaled, wriggling madly, trying in vain to free himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to help Harry,\u201d I said.\u00a0 \u201cAnd Tommy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, we have to get out here, before it happens to us,\u201d John said, as desperate and confused as I was.\u00a0 \u201cThere has to be a way out.\u201d<\/p>\n

I turned.\u00a0 Harry was still struggling, and now he\u2019d joined in on the screaming.\u00a0 He was a part of this great agonized choir.\u00a0 And so was Tommy.\u00a0 Blood trickling from his lips as he howled.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d John said, grabbing my shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cIf you stay too long, it\u2019ll happen to you, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

But even as he said the words, a shaft slid up from the floor, plunging through him.\u00a0 It looked as if it entered in through his anus and ripped up through the top of his head.\u00a0 It happened so fast, he didn\u2019t even have time to struggle.\u00a0 Blood poured out of him like some kind of obscene fountain.\u00a0 But he wasn\u2019t dead.\u00a0 His mouth was moving, though his lips were stained with red.\u00a0 His eyes stared at me, pleading.<\/p>\n

He tried to speak, but couldn\u2019t form the words.\u00a0 Blood splattered his clothes.<\/p>\n

I turned back to face the mist.\u00a0 It obscured the dimensions of the room.\u00a0 I had a general idea of how big an airplane hangar should be, but I was disoriented.\u00a0 There was nothing about this place that was logical.\u00a0 The rules of physics did not seem to apply here.\u00a0 There were so many more impaled bodies in here than there should have been.\u00a0 The more I looked, the further they spread in all directions.<\/p>\n

I thought of why we\u2019d come here.\u00a0 Harry had been in a funk; the divorce had clearly broken something inside him, despite his bravado.\u00a0 Now, the late night football game we\u2019d planned seemed so far away.<\/p>\n

I stood there, staring, not knowing which way to go.\u00a0 Part of me wanted to just run as fast as I could, but another part of me knew that sudden flight would probably mean a collision with an unseen wall.\u00a0 But I had to try again to get out of this place.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t let what happened to my friends happen to me.<\/p>\n

It was then that I heard the hiss of a shaft shooting up through the floor.\u00a0 Not that I could actually see<\/em> a floor.\u00a0 A layer of fog covered where I\u2019d been walking.\u00a0 Fog, and, I knew, blood.<\/p>\n

The shaft penetrated my skin, and as I struggled to get away before it ripped through me completely, it moved faster, surging more forcefully through me.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t feel any pain, but I knew what was happening to me.\u00a0 I could feel the pressure of the shaft ripping through my innards.<\/p>\n

I stared into Harry\u2019s face.\u00a0 His contorted, howling face.\u00a0 And I realized that I, too, was howling.\u00a0 But it didn\u2019t sound like howling to me anymore.\u00a0 It really did sound like singing.\u00a0 My voice melded with those of the others, and it was almost beautiful, the way we cried out in unison.\u00a0 Our voices embraced and enhanced each other\u2019s.\u00a0 Turned many sounds into one.<\/p>\n

And then, I felt my mind open.\u00a0 The shaft must have pierced my brain by that point.\u00a0 These gigantic thorns ripped through us as if they had their own agenda.\u00a0 As if this was all planned somehow, and they weren\u2019t simply random, mindless things, but living things. <\/em>\u00a0 I could feel movement inside me, pulsating energy.\u00a0 I felt my mind open to the other victims around me, and I could hear their thoughts, and they could hear mine.\u00a0 And there were two choruses being sung then.\u00a0 One by our mouths, and one in our heads.\u00a0 All in unison<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The fog seemed to be churning towards us, making it harder to see one another, but we each knew the others were there.\u00a0 The fog didn\u2019t block out the sounds, or the thoughts.\u00a0 It simply enhanced them.\u00a0 Nothing else mattered.<\/p>\n

I could feel blood dripping down my back, and it was the most wonderful feeling in the world.<\/p>\n

– the end \u2013<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u00a9 Copyright 2002 by L.L. Soares<\/em><\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/div>\n

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