It could happen anywhere, anytime, to anybody. You could be walking in a city, on a boat, asleep, or even taking a shower. But that didn’t matter; if The Mist happened to you, you could be gone forever.

I’m Noah, and to anyone in the whole world, I seem like your average guy: black hair, blue eyes, light skin, whatever you can name it, I probably have it in one way or another. But something I do have that no one that I know has is that I can hear what people think. I know that is like super weird, and as far as I know, I am the only one who has this. And it’s not what you think, I don’t just invade your thoughts, looking through every thought like it's in a filing cabinet, I actually can’t hear multiple thoughts at once, I can only hear what certain people I think have thoughts of, but yeah, that isn’t really any better. But honestly, I don’t tell anyone, so it's only my problem, not theirs. 

I first discovered this strange ability when I was about six. I remember I was on a walk with my mom and my dog, Moose, the best dog in the world if you ask me. Anyway, we were walking down a block when I saw a man in a strange-looking costume that looked like he had just come right out of the 1800s! He had a light tan tailcoat, with a perfectly matched light tan tophat, and a light baby blue dress shirt tucked underneath. He had a long, intricately carved wooden cane, which he used to steady himself on, which was quite odd because he looked like he was only in his early 20s. Anyway, we were walking past him when all of a sudden Moose began to bark viciously at the man. I did feel bad because this instantly triggered the man, sending his whole body into fear. While my mom calmed down Moose, I stared at the man with curiosity. I had only seen how men who dressed like him from early Victorian history books, but never in real life.

“Nice costume,” I stated with awe.

“Thank you,” responded the man, in a curious accent that I just could not figure out what language it belonged to. As I was confused by his accent, the man went on to say, “But it isn’t a costume, dear boy, I do wear this style of clothing just like you prefer to wear that T-shirt and sneakers.” He gestured to my “trendy” clothing style for a 6-year-old. 

By this time, mom had finished calming down Moose, who still looked scared to the bone, or should I say fur? As I considered the possibilities of people wearing very outdated clothing, like by generations, the man patted my messy black hair with his silk white glove, and then everything changed. As I studied more of the man's clothing, I saw a black square-shaped pin that wasn’t very large, tucked just under the visibility of his blue dress shirt. As I studied it more, it glowed a deep blue, and then instantly, almost like it was planned, the man noticed me staring at his pin. He smirked a little and took it off his shirt and placed it in the palm of my hand. 

“Keep it,” he told me in his odd accent. By this time, realized just how much I had only been staring either at him or his pin, that I completely didn’t notice that the whole world was frozen. It was something straight out of a book. Moose in the middle of a bark, mom still bent over trying to calm him down, kids walking nearby, shoppers looking at products, it all stopped. Like someone hit the pause button on the world! I quickly look back at the man, who had a serious face painted on. He bent down, leaned into my ear, and whispered,

“Keep this pin with you at all times, your very life depends on it.” The words by themselves shook me to my core. A few minutes ago, I was just walking, just like any normal day, enjoying myself with my dog and my mom as we looked and saw the same stores adding their new fall touch to their products, since it was already late September. And now this tiny, almost insignificant pin that apparently can change colors is putting my life on the line? Before I can say a word, or even scream at what’s happening, the man placed his finger gently on the top of the pin still in the center of my palm, which now flashed an orange color, and whispered to the pin, 

“Operation Shadow,” which somehow the pin flashed a bright green, and responded with the words “Access Granted.” All of a sudden, I felt a slight tingle in my mind, and then I heard the same voice of the man, with his gentle accent, but now in my mind! Like my head was a radio receiver! All he said was, “Noah, stay safe, keep it protected, and don’t tell anybody about what just happened.” 

The rest was a blur; everything went back to normal, mom waved friendly at the man, and started a small and quick conversation about the weather (her go-to conversation starters). After we waved goodbye, I barely knew what to do. The man gave a slight nod and walked off. What do I do now! He said not to tell anyone, and I was already scared to death, so I decided to keep what happened quiet, shoving the small pic still in my hand, into my pocket. 

That evening, when I got home, I ran to my room, threw the pin in a drawer, and cried a little. I can’t tell anyone what just happened, the man, the world freezing, the pin, and above everything already, now I suddenly am hearing my parents' thoughts when I speak with them! What is going on?

Shortly after the incident, people began to go missing. Eyewitness stated on the news that a heavy wall of mist would form in an area, and if you stayed in the mist too long, you would go missing. Forever. Too many coincidences appeared right after I met the man. 

Which catches things up to about now. People still are going missing every day, and I can still hear people’s thoughts. If something doesn’t change, I might go crazy!

This is for a book, check for updates here: livingindrama.com