The gray dawn penetrated through the pinned windows of the supermarket with dim rays. Although it was difficult to say for sure whether the day had come or just the fog slightly brightened, creating the illusion of the morning. Alexander, who didn't close his eyes all night, watched the people waking up. In one night, new wrinkles and shadows appeared on their faces, as if everyone had aged for several years.
He gently touched the wound on his back. The pain dulled, but when moving, it still made itself felt. "Without invulnerability and immortality," he thought gloomily. "What a shitty superhero I am."
At the other end of the hall, Mrs. Carmodi has already gathered a small but loyal flock around her. She spoke softly, but Alexander could understand individual phrases about God's wrath, filth and atonement for sins. Her fingers frantically went through the pages of the shabby Bible, and her eyes burned with an unhealthy fire.
"Fanaticism," Alexander thought. "The most dangerous virus in the world. Worse that any creature from the fog."
David came up to him with two cups of instant coffee:
- How are you? - he asked, holding out one of the cups.
Alexander nodded gratefully, taking a hot drink:
- Alive. And you?
- I'm holding on too, - David glanced at Billy sleeping in the corner. - For him.
They were silent, watching a group of people led by Alden Brown disassemble the products for breakfast.
- You talked about the plan yesterday, - David reminded. - What did you come up with?
Alexander took a sip of coffee, frowning at its tastelessness:
- We have to get to your house. Maybe your wife is still alive there.
David's eyes lit up with hope:
- But how? You said yourself that going out is a suicide.
- I didn't say it was a safe plan, - Alexander shrugged. - Only that we have a chance. I have a few ideas on how to get through the fog.
- I'm ready to take a risk, - David said decisively. - When are we moving forward?
- Not so fast, - Alexander nodded towards Mrs. Carmody's group. - First we need to solve this problem. If I assess the situation correctly, soon this woman will turn half of the people here into religious fanatics thirsty for blood.
David frowned:
- Do you think everything is so serious?
- I know, - Alexander answered firmly. - Panic, fear, unknown... an ideal environment for people like her. People need a scapegoat and a promise of salvation. She will give them both.
At that moment, Mrs. Carmodi's voice became louder, and Alexander distinguished the words "devil's bastard" and "generation of darkness". He had no doubt who she meant.
"I'll talk to her," David said, taking a step forward.
Alexander stopped him by putting his hand on his shoulder:
- Don't waste your time. It's impossible to agree with people like her. Just be prepared for the fact that it will soon be very hot here. And I'm not metaphorically.
David looked at him carefully:
- What are you going to do?
Alexander grinned crookedly:
- What I do best is to survive. At any cost.
***
By noon, the atmosphere in the supermarket was heated to the limit. Mrs. Carmodi has already gathered more than half of the survivors around her, and her sermons became more and more aggressive. She openly called Alexander Satan's messenger, and creatures from the fog - messengers of the Apocalypse.
- Brothers and sisters! - her voice rang in the half-dark room. - God is testing us! He separates the lambs from the goats! This mist is a punishment for our sins!
People nodded, many cried, some fell into a kind of religious ecstasy, swaying and muttering prayers.
- And the devil sent his emissary! - she pointed with a shaking finger at Alexander. - The one who commands lightning, like Satan himself! The one whose heart is black as pitch, and cold as the ice of hell!
Alexander crossed his arms on his chest, calmly meeting the hateful glances of her followers. Next to him stood David, Jim, Mrs. Reppler and a few other people who kept their sane mind.
- Madness, - Mrs. Reppler said quietly, correcting her glasses. - Pure madness.
- Worse, - Alexander replied. - Organized madness. The most dangerous species.
David leaned towards him:
- We need to leave. Now, before they did something.
Alexander nodded:
- Gather people you trust. I'll distract you.
He stepped forward, deliberately slowly and theatrically, attracting all the eyes to himself.
- You know, Mrs. Carmodi, - he said loud enough for everyone to hear, - I have always admired people who are ready to doom others to death for the sake of their beliefs. It's such... selflessness.
Mrs. Carmody squinted:
- Don't you dare tempt us, you creation of darkness! We know who you are!
- Really? - Alexander took another step forward. - And who?
- Servant of Satan! Messenger of hell! - she shouted, and her followers buzzed in agreement.
Alexander laughed, but his laughter was as cold as the wind from the cemetery:
- If you really read your Bible, you would know that the devil does not send servants. He tempts people to do his work for him. - He looked around the crowd. - Look at yourself. You are ready to kill each other. Out of fear. Out of superstition. If anyone here serves the devil, it's not me.
Mrs. Carmodi turned red with rage:
- Blasphemy! - she screamed. - He mocks the Word of God! He has to pay! Grab him! Only blood will redeem our sins!
The crowd, as a single organism, took a step forward. Alexander noticed that David and his few allies managed to leave for the service exit, taking Billy and several other children with them.
"Great," he thought. "It's time to finish this performance."
- Do you really want to do it? - he asked, and blue sparks danced in his hands. - Think carefully.
But the fanatics were too far beyond reason. The first man rushed at him with an improvised spear - a mop with a knife attached to it. Alexander easily dodged and grabbed his hand, passing an electric discharge through the attacker's body. The man screamed and fell, twitching in convulsions.
It served as a signal. The crowd with screams rushed at Alexander, waving an improvised weapon. He retreated to the wall, creating an electric barrier between himself and the attackers - an invisible wall of energy that sparked and crackled when approaching.
- WITCH! BURN HIM! - Mrs. Carmody shouted hysterically, while remaining safe behind the backs of her followers.
One of the fanatics, a large man with a wrinkled face, broke through the barrier, getting burns, but without stopping. He grabbed Alexander by the throat, trying to strangle him.
- Die... evil... - he hissed.
Alexander felt the air leaving his lungs, and black spots were blurring before his eyes. In a panic, he concentrated all his energy at one point and released a powerful discharge.
Electricity pierced the attacker's body through, coming out of the back with a dazzling arc, which jumped to other fanatics. There were screams of pain and the smell of burnt flesh.
Alexander fell to his knees, grabbing the air with his mouth. His strength was almost running out, but he forced himself to get up. The surviving fanatics retreated, looking at him with superstitious horror.
Only Mrs. Carmody kept shouting:
- Don't be afraid of him! These are devilish tricks! Grab him, and the Lord will protect you!
- Shut up, bitch, - Alexander wheezed, pointing his hand in her direction. - Just... shut up.
The electric discharge was weaker than the previous one, but strong enough. He hit Mrs. Carmody right in the chest, throwing her against the wall. Her body twitched several times, her eyes rolled up, her mouth foamed. After a few seconds, she fell silent.
There was a grave silence. Fanatics looked at their dead leader with shock and confusion, as if waking up from a deep sleep.
Alexander took advantage of the moment to retreat to the official exit, where David was waiting for him with the others.
- What happened? - David asked, helping him to go.
- The sermon is over, - Alexander replied, breathing heavily. - We have to go.
***
Their group was small: David and Billy, Mrs. Reppler, Jim, a young cashier Sally and three other men whose names Alexander did not remember. They quickly collected everything they needed: food, water, improvised weapons, and most importantly - the keys to David's pickup truck, which was still standing in the parking lot.
- That's the plan, - said Alexander when they gathered at the service exit. - We run straight to the car, without stopping, no matter what happens. I go first, create... let's call it an electric panel. This should scare away the little creatures.
- And the big ones? - Jim asked.
- We'll deal with the big ones on the situation, - Alexander looked at David. - As soon as we get to the car, you get behind the wheel, Billy is next to you. The rest in the body. Only you know the way to your house.
David nodded:
- And then what?
- If your wife is alive, we pick her up and head south. Sooner or later we will leave the fog zone or come at a military checkpoint.
People looked at each other, assessing the chances. The plan was risky, but better than staying and becoming a victim of either creatures or religious fanatics.
- Are you ready? - Alexander asked, taking the doorknob.
Everyone nodded, clutching their weapons tighter.
- Then let's go.
He opened the door, and a fog gushed inside - cold, damp, smelling of mold and something uncertainly disturbing.
Alexander stepped out first, stretching his arms in front of him. Electricity crackled around his fingers, creating a faint bluish glow that slightly dissipated the fog around.
- I see a car," he said, looking into the white veil. - Twenty meters straight. Hold on to me and keep up.
The group moved forward, trying to stay as close as possible to each other. The fog distorted the sounds, making them deaf and unreal. Somewhere in the distance, a strange grinding sound was heard, as if something huge was moving on the asphalt.
They almost reached the car when a tentacle the size of a log suddenly appeared from the fog. It wrapped around the leg of one of the men who was walking last. He screamed, trying to escape, but the tentacle was already dragging him into the fog.
- Jeffrey! - Sally shouted, trying to grab his hand.
- NO! - Alexander dragged her away. - He's already dead! RUN TO THE CAR!
He created an electric discharge that hit the tentacle. The creature made a screeching sound and relaxed its grip for a moment, but did not let go of its victim. The man kept screaming until he disappeared into a white shrood.
- FASTER! - Alexander commanded, and the group rushed to the pickup.
David was the first to get to the driver's door, threw Billy inside and jumped himself. The rest climbed into the body, pressing against the sides in search of at least some kind of protection.
Alexander jumped last, creating an electric field around the car to scare away the creatures.
- GO! - he shouted when David started the engine.
The pickup rushed from its place, cutting the fog with headlights, which almost did not help - the light was reflected from the white veil, creating the effect of snow blindness. David drove the car almost blindly, focusing only on his memory of the location of the roads.
Alexander, standing in the body, continued to create electrical discharges, scaring away the creatures that repeatedly emerged from the fog. Once something big, with wings, spoke directly at them, but he managed to create an electric barrier, and the creature flew away, screeching in pain.
The journey seemed endless. Time in this white void has lost all meaning. Minutes stretched into hours, or maybe, on the contrary, compressed to seconds. Several times David stopped to orient himself, and these moments were the most tense - the creatures, as if feeling their vulnerability, immediately began to gather around.
Finally, the pickup turned onto a narrow road leading deep into the forest.
- We're almost there! - David shouted through the window. - A couple more kilometers!
But it was at this moment that a huge figure grew out of the fog ahead. Something so big that even in the fog you could see his silhouette - a six-legged creature as tall as a two-story house, with many eyes and strange appendages hanging from what could be called a head.
- SLOW DOWN! - Alexander shouted, but it was too late.
The pickup crashed into one of the creature's legs at full speed. There was a grinding of metal, and the car was thrown up, it turned over in the air and collapsed on its side, sliding on the ground.
Alexander flew out of the body, painfully hitting the ground. It got dark before his eyes, but he forced himself to get up. There were screams and moans of the wounded around.
A huge creature turned to the broken pickup, bending over as if looking at new prey. David got out of the cabin, holding Billy, who seems to have lost consciousness.
- HERE! - Alexander shouted, trying to distract the creature's attention from himself.
The creature turned a lot of eyes located all over the "head" in his direction. Alexander saw one of the hanging appendages begin to inflate, as if filling up with something.
"Acid or poison," the thought flashed, and he instinctively created an electric shield.
The creature released a stream of thick liquid, which, having hit the electric barrier, hissed and partially evaporated. But part of it still broke through, hitting Alexander's shoulder. The pain was instant and blinding - as if someone had applied red-hot iron to the skin.
Alexander screamed, falling to his knees. His consciousness was foggy with pain, but somewhere on the periphery he heard David's cry:
- HOME! WE ARE ALMOST AT HOME!
Having gathered his last strength, Alexander created the most powerful electric discharge he was capable of. The blue lightning struck right in the center of the creature, burning it through. The creature let out a deafening squeal and recoiled, losing her balance.
It gave them the necessary seconds. David, still holding Billy, ran up to Alexander and helped him get up:
- Hold on, - he said. - The house is around the corner.
They ran, stumbling and falling. Of the survivors, only Mrs. Reppler was with them, the others either died in the accident or became victims of the creature.
After a few painful minutes, the outlines of a large wooden house appeared in the fog. David rushed to him, shouting:
- AMANDA! AMANDA!
The front door was wide open - a bad sign. They ran inside, and David put Billy on the sofa, then rushed to search the rooms:
- AMANDA! ARE YOU HERE?
Alexander, overcoming the pain, inspected the house. There were no traces of struggle or blood inside, only a few overturned chairs and things thrown in a hurry.
- David, - he called, - look.
There was a note attached with a magnet on the fridge: "I went looking for you. If you come back, I'm at the neighbors."
David grabbed the note, rereading it again and again:
- She's alive! - he exclaimed. - Or she was alive when it all started.
- Who are your neighbors? - Alexander asked.
- Nortons," David replied. - They live across the street, two hundred meters from here.
Alexander approached the window, looking into the fog:
- We have to check. But first you need to make sure that Billy is okay.
The boy had already begun to recover, opening his eyes and weakly calling his father.
- I'm here, son, - David got down next to him. - Everything will be fine.
Mrs. Reppler, having examined the house, found a first aid kit and brought it to Alexander:
"Let me look at your wound," she said in a practical tone.
Alexander carefully removed the remains of his coat and shirt. The shoulder on which the acid hit was a burnt mass of flesh. Mrs. Reppler, despite her age, acted confidently and quickly, washing the wound with an antiseptic and applying a bandage.
- This is just a temporary measure, - she said. - You need real medical care.
- Thank you, - Alexander sincerely thanked.
David, making sure that Billy was all right, approached them:
- I have to check the Nortons' house. Amanda can be there.
Alexander nodded:
- I'll go with you.
- No, - David said firmly. - You're wounded and exhausted. Stay with Billy and Mrs. Reppler. I'm fast.
Alexander wanted to object, but he understood that David was right - in his current state he would be more of a burden.
- Be careful, - he said. - And take it.
He handed David a small metal object that he found in one of the boxes - a stun gun.
- Not as powerful as my ability, but it can scare away small creatures.
David nodded gratefully, took a stun gun and went out into the fog.
The next minutes dragged on for a painfully long time. Alexander stood by the window, looking into the white veil, trying to distinguish at least some movement. Billy was lying quietly on the couch, holding Mrs. Reppler's hand, who was whispering to tell him some story to distract him.
Suddenly, silhouettes flashed in the fog - not one, but two. David was coming back, and he was not alone.
The door opened, and David entered the house, supporting a woman with disheveled hair and a tired face.
- Mom! - Billy exclaimed, jumping up from the couch.
The woman rushed to her son with a scream, hugging him and bursting into tears.
- Thank God, you're alive, - she whispered. - Thank God.
David approached Alexander:
- She was hiding in the basement of the Nortons' house. The Nortons themselves... didn't survive.
Alexander nodded, feeling a strange relief. He changed the course of events. David's family was gathered and alive. Now we just had to get out of this nightmare.
- What now? - David asked. - The car is broken. We're trapped.
Alexander thought:
- Do you have another car? Or the neighbors?
David shook his head:
- The Nortons had a jeep, but I didn't find the keys.
- Maybe I can start it without keys, - said Alexander. - If I have the strength left...
At that moment, they heard a sound - low, buzzing, reminiscent of the operation of a powerful engine. And he was approaching.
Everyone froze, listening. The sound was getting louder, and now it was possible to distinguish that it was not one engine, but several.
- What is it? - Amanda whispered.
Alexander approached the window, looking into the fog. And then he saw it - huge silhouettes moving along the road. But not monsters, but...
- Military, - he exhaled. - These are military vehicles. Armored personnel carriers.
David rushed to him, looking into the fog:
- Are you sure?
Alexander nodded:
- Absolutely. They are combing the area. Rescue operation.
David's face lit up with hope:
- We are saved, - he whispered. - We are really saved.
They ran out of the house, waving their hands and screaming. The armored personnel carriers stopped, and soldiers in protective suits and gas masks jumped out of them, with weapons at the ready.
- CIVILIANS! - shouted one of them. - WE HAVE CIVILIANS!
The soldiers surrounded them, quickly assessing the condition of each.
- Are you injured? Bites? Contact with unknown organisms? - the officer asked.
- We're fine," David replied, holding Amanda and Billy. - But my friend is hurt. He needs medical help.
The officer nodded and gave the order. Two medics ran up to Alexander, examining his shoulder.
- Chemical burn, - one of them stated. - Urgent treatment is needed. Load it into the car.
Alexander and the others were quickly put in an armored personnel carrier. Inside there were already other rescued - exhausted, wounded, but alive people.
- Where are we being taken? - David asked the soldier.
- To the safe zone, - he replied. - The mist is receding. The experiment is out of control, but we are coping with the situation.
The car moved, and Alexander leaned back on the seat, feeling how the forces were finally leaving him. He did it. Changed the course of events. Saved David's family from a terrible fate.
David, sitting opposite with Amanda and Billy, caught his eye and just nodded - a gesture in which there was all the gratitude that cannot be expressed in words.
Alexander smiled faintly in response, and then closed his eyes, allowing himself to finally relax.
***
He didn't know how much time passed when he woke up in a strange place - not in a military hospital, as he expected, but in the same "nowhere" where he first met the Devil.
- Bravo, bravo! - a familiar voice sounded, and a figure materialized in front of him, constantly changing his appearance. - What a performance! What a drama! What a final!
The devil clapped his hands, his eyes sparkled with gold and silver.
- I completed the task, - Alexander said tiredly. - What now?
The devil came closer, and a smile appeared on his face (now it was the face of a young woman with scarlet lips and snow-white hair):
- Now you get a reward, of course. You didn't just complete the task - you exceeded my expectations. I thought you'd just kill a few monsters, save the main character and that's it. But you... - he paused, - you changed the ending of the story. It's... impressive.
Alexander shrugged his shoulders:
- I just did what I had to do.
- And even more, - the Devil touched his shoulder, and Alexander felt the warmth spreading all over his body. The pain from the burn began to subside. - Here is your first reward - the strengthening of electrical capacity. Now you can create more powerful discharges, control them more accurately and spend less energy.
Alexander felt as if an electric current ran through his veins, filling each cell of his body with new strength.
- And here's the second one, - The Devil touched him again, this time running his hand over his chest, where his stamp was hiding under his clothes. - Regeneration. Not instantaneous, of course - we don't want it to be too easy, do we? But fast enough to heal serious wounds in a day or two.
Alexander felt his body begin to recover - the wounds were tightening, the pain subsided, his strength was returning.
"Thank you," he said, surprised by his sincerity.
The devil laughed:
- Oh, don't thank me too early. There are still many challenges ahead, and each one will be more difficult than the previous one.
He took a step back, and the space around began to change colors, as if someone was switching channels on an old TV.
- It's time to move on, - said the Devil. - A new world. New monsters. New rules.
- What movie this time? - Alexander asked.
The devil smiled, and this smile was both seductive and frightening:
- Oh, that's a surprise. I'm sure you'll like it. Or not. - He laughed. - In any case, it will be... fascinating.
The space around Alexander began to twist into a funnel, and the last thing he heard was the voice of the Devil:
- Good luck, Alexander Fable. I like you more and more. Maybe next time I'll tell you why all this really is...
And then the reality dissolved, and Alexander flew into a new nightmare.