The Nightmare (The Mist #2) - Regine Abel Page 0,2
up were super vague. Frankly, I still cannot believe I was selected. And now, hearing your profession makes me even more confused as to what the role will be.”
“That makes two of us,” Riley said pensively. “I know they're looking for people with something specific. And it has nothing to do with our jobs. That's all I could get out of my contacts in high places.”
Before I could reply, the intercom came to life again.
“Dear passengers, we are preparing for landing. Please remain seated with your seatbelts fastened until the doors have opened,” the female voice said. “Careful opening the overhead compartments to retrieve your belongings as the bags may have shifted during the flight. Once you disembark, please go up the escalator into the Observatory. Spread out and walk around the bay windows. Do not be afraid by what you see. Your safety is guaranteed. Continue until an agent approaches you to let you know whether you will proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process.”
Riley and I exchanged a baffled look. That did nothing to reassure me, not to mention increase my confusion level a thousand-fold. While their selection process was making even less sense to me, the female’s comment about walking around the windows was what truly freaked me out.
Heart pounding, I followed the other candidates as we filed out of the shuttle. I had speculated about a million different things that this recruitment process could involve. A part of me had known that it would be what I was certain awaited me upstairs. But I’d convinced myself otherwise. My skin heated, and an invisible weight suddenly crushed my lungs, keeping me from drawing enough air. I focused on my breathing, more grateful than ever for the escalator that spared me from also having to pay attention to where I stepped. As the landing came into view and, with it, the massive circular room ahead, cold shivers ran down my spine.
I stepped off the escalator, moving out of the way in a nearly panicked daze. Wall-to-ceiling windows surrounded the aptly named Observatory. In the time it had taken to complete our registration, security check, and travel here, the Mist had risen outside. Many of the Mist Beings lurking within had already reached our location, drawn by the lights and so many visible prey to feast on—us.
When the Mist first appeared, taking the world by surprise, countless lives were lost, devoured by the creatures dwelling within the otherworldly fog. Livestock and indigenous tribes weren’t spared. Since then, once a month, the world shut down while the Mist took over. Every house was now equipped with metal shutters and reinforced doors to keep it secured from the moment the city’s defense siren heralded the beginning of the Mist until it resounded again to announce its end three days later. No one looked directly at the Mist or allowed its dwellers to look back at them. Why tempt the devil?
But I had seen it once before. Walked within it even… against my will.
I shuddered, casting away the traumatic memory that I had foolishly believed myself far more recovered from. The overwhelming urge to turn tail and run back to the shuttle tugged at me. Pressing myself against the white wall next to the escalator, I closed my eyes and practiced the visualization and breathing exercises I often used with my patients.
This is why I’m doing this. To face my demons and put them to rest, once and for all.
It shamed me to admit it. But while being a better psychotherapist for my clients remained part of my motivation for my presence here, more selfish reasons were also driving me. Moments later, my eyes flicked open as the strong sense of being observed took hold of me.
The first thing I noticed were two of the candidates that had already been in the observatory upon our arrival being escorted back towards the escalator. Their dejected expression led me to think they’d been cut. My gaze flicked around the room to settle on a tall agent, with blond hair and penetrating blue eyes staring at me. My heart skipped a beat, and my stomach sank at the realization he was likely about to come escort me out as well.
Just like that, the burning desire to flee faded to be replaced by the urgent need to make it to the next stage, whatever that involved. I averted my eyes from the agent for fear he might signal for me to come towards him.