The Fog Of No Return

 

"A group of four weary, battle-hardened soldiers in tattered vintage military uniforms stand in a small wooden rowing boat on a vivid, turquoise sea shrouded in thick white fog.

The Town

A very long time ago, there was a town that was nestled in the far corner of the world. This town has no name, and it is out of time itself. This town can only be accessed through the great sea of the Marfolk. They protect the town and the people, and the people honor them by worshipping them. The people live a simple life of fishing and toiling the soil; they know nothing about technology. They live in simple mud huts with thatched roofing. They live in peace and harmony with no conflict or dispute; it was like a mini paradise. They are tall and have long limbs; their eyes are dark like night, and they all have a mark of gills on their chest, marking them as the people of the Marfolk.

The Retreating Soldiers

There is a great war going on in the main world. People are dying and cities are destroyed. There is famine and starvation everywhere. It was a bleak sight; everywhere, you see people scavenging in the bush for rodents, and some are even eating lizards. It was a very brutal period, and morale is low in the army. So many died of starvation rather than bullet or bomb wounds.

Platoon Ten

Platoon Ten contains some of the best battle-hardened men. They are gradually turning into monsters, as war has changed most of them by killing their humanity. None of them will say they are innocent of committing atrocities; they just believe it is either the enemy or them. They have done all manner of bad things for the sake of survival.

One particular day, the battle is going on, and it was fiercely fought with casualties on both sides piling up. Platoon Ten is in the thick of it; they love the chaos and the madness that follows. They enjoy the clean-up after a hard-won victory. But that day, they could see the handwriting on the wall; they could see that they are losing and soon they would all meet their maker.

"This is not going to work," their commander was saying as they crouched down in a trench not far from the sea.

"We are done for today," said Elvis, the youngest of the soldiers.

"Don't be bad luck, Evil," one of the men said as he peeked out of the corner and immediately ducked back as a bullet zipped past his head.

"That was close, Chris," the commander said to the man who had ducked back behind the trench.

"Yeah," Chris said, looking at the men. "Seems like the fuckers have lots of bullets to spare as they pepper us non-stop."

"What do we do?" Elvis asked.

"Evil, shut it and get ready to give them hell."

"My name is Elvis and not Evil, Chris."

"Does it matter? You have a few minutes before they get here and you're worried about your damn name."

They were bickering when the commander told them to shut it. "Shut up! If you guys want to die here, you can go on and wave at them, saying 'Have fun and pepper me with bullets!'"

The commander was looking about as the enemy kept peppering them with bullets. He watched as some of the unlucky men were cut down; he knew they all depended on his experience and leadership to get them out of the mess. He kept looking and then he noticed: the only way out is through the sea.

"To the sea!" he roared.

"I prefer to be cut down by a bullet than be eaten by monsters," Elvis said, looking at the rushing water of the sea.

"Shut it, Evil! You're more than the monsters in the sea. Get your damn feet moving!" the commander barked.

Even though they were in a tight situation, Chris couldn't help laughing. He turned to the men and was shocked to notice they are only five out of the fifty. He swallowed hard and obeyed the commander's directive as he rushed to the sea. The others soon followed and they were lucky to see a boat that can carry the five of them. They piled in and, in no time, the flow of the water soon took them out of the reach of the enemy.

"That was a daring rush," the commander said as he lay down panting.

"We could have had it worse," Elvis said.

"Shut it, Evil! We aren't through yet. See, just look around you and tell me if you know where we are?" Chris asked him.

"This is the Great Sea," Elvis replied.

"Yeah, everyone knows that, but where are we?"

"How would I know?"

They kept quiet as the wind became bitter; they could practically feel it in their blood. The water became mucky one moment and then green the next. Then they noticed a great fog approaching them and they watched as it made the water stand still.

The Village Beyond Time

Old Man Bansky is well-known as the clam harvester. He is the only one who is free to visit the Marfolk below the water of the Great Sea, and he talks of things he saw there. He talks of the Marfolk and people wonder if he is right in the head. He claims the sea bed is like the upper world; he claims that there are homes and fields for crops just as there are homes on the dry land. No one had seen it and no one believes him.

He said the first day he started to pick clams, as he dived into the water, he appeared on a roof—like he was standing on a roof and the Marfolk were waiting for him. "How dare you trouble our domain?" one of them had asked as he stood there holding his breath and soon feeling the effect, and he knew he was done for.

He couldn't speak as he was just dying from lack of breathing, but suddenly an air bubble covered his head and he could breathe. He had gasped and drawn in a deep breath of air. "I don't mean to intrude on your domain. I pick clams."

"That is no excuse, and the clams you pick are ours. How dare you claim our property?"

"No," he had pleaded, "I never claimed it. I was just picking it."

"You will pay for this effrontery."

He had knelt and begged like a man on his last breath—and he guessed he was. They told him before he picks a clam, he is to perform a sacrifice to appease them, and that is the only way to be safe. He had begged and pleaded, claiming he was ignorant of such rules and promised to be of good behavior as of that day.

They had forgiven him and told him he should tell no one about what he had seen, and anytime he wants to pick clams, he should perform a sacrifice by killing a live chicken and throwing the head into the sea. He had agreed and they had let him go after showing him where the clams are. He had gone home with such a harvest that everyone who saw his bag as he came out of the sea knew it hadn't been ordinary.

He was out again that day when he saw them. He saw the men in the boat, five of them, and they held something pointing it at the water. He saw that they were weak from starvation and dehydration. He watched from the fog; he could see the desperation in their eyes and he knew these are not men to interact with. He quietly made his way to the town, alerting the people of the strangers in the water with strange sticks that made noise.

In The Boat

"This is not a nice place to die," Elvis said as he pointed his gun around, watching the fog come nearer.

"Evil, you better make sure that gun isn't pointed at me. I don't want to get poked by your nervousness," the commander said.

They watched, eyes roaming about, and suddenly the gun in Elvis's hand and the others in the boat vanished.

"Where is my gun?" Elvis asked frantically, looking around.

"And mine!" Chris said, standing up and making the boat tip dangerously.

"Mind how you shake the boat!" one of the men said, holding the boat tight.

"Shut it, Panny!" the commander said, rounding on the man. "Where are the guns?"

"No idea," he said, and as he was about to sit down, that was when he saw the old man far in the distance and he wordlessly pointed at his retreating figure.

"How did he steal it? I never even saw him near us," Elvis said.

"Shut it and follow! We will know how he stole them when we get there. Must be full of food, too," the commander said as they started rushing the boat toward the town.

But they noticed no matter how fast and frantic they rowed, the boat didn't move. It seemed like it was moving to them, but it never did, and soon they were all breathing hard and Elvis rounded on Panny. "Did you hide a stash of liquor in that coat of yours?"

At this, the others stopped rowing and looked at Panny. Panny could see the madness in them; he could see that he needed to solve this matter or they would have his neck. Desperate men can do desperate things—he knew that because he had done it, too.

"No," he said, opening his coat to show them he is not lying.

"So how come you saw a man and we have been rowing for hours and are still not near where he was?" Elvis asked.

"How would I know? You all saw him," Panny said.

"Must be the fog playing tricks on us," Chris said. "I remember my old man said that if..." He was cut off by the commander. "Shut it with your old man! Can he get us out of this jam?"

"No," Chris said.

"Then shut it, Elvis!"

"Yes, commander."

"Can you swim toward that direction we saw the old man?"

"No! Are you okay? Do you want me dead in this damn fog?"

"Worth the asking," he said with a grin.

"That isn't funny," Elvis said, frowning.

"Are you guys feeling what I'm feeling?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, hungry and dehydrated."

"No, I can feel the air growing thicker, like it is hard to breathe."

"Now that you mention it," Panny said, adjusting his coat, "I could feel my grandma calling me. I can see her inside the sea; she is waving a skin of wine and chicken at me, beckoning me." And he stood up, pulling off his coat to jump into the sea, but his comrades held him as the boat shook dangerously.

"Cut it out, you fool! There is no one in the sea but fog and something that is hungry for lunch," the commander said, glaring at the sea. "I'm not afraid of you!" he roared.

The boat started speeding on its own, moving so fast that they held on to the sides tight. Elvis started praying and asking for forgiveness about what he had done. "It was the war, I swear I wasn't that bad."

"Shut it! Don't give in to your fear—they feed on it," the commander said.

"Who feeds on it?" Chris asked.

"How the hell would I know? I read a book once and that is what it said."

"You're betting on our lives from a damn book?" Panny said, agitating.

Very soon they saw the town and they all went quiet, staring. Now they knew it wasn't ordinary wind that dragged them here. They watched as they stood on the shore, and Panny could swear he saw the old man they had seen back then standing at the front of the people.

"That looks like that old pal I saw back then on the sea."

"So? What is the damn difference?" the last man on the boat asked.

"Shut your trap, Bigfoot! No one wants to hear your damn opinion," the commander said.

They soon arrived and he turned to his men. "Shut your damn traps and let me do the talking. You know what we are capable of; if they don't play ball, we devour them. This could be our new base."

They arrived and he jumped out of the boat; he had forgotten about his hunger and dehydration. He plastered on a fake smile. "Hello!"

They just stood there looking at him blankly.

"Do you understand what is coming out of my mouth?"

There was no response, and Elvis muttered, "Must be the mouth odor."

Chris couldn't hold it and he laughed. The commander jumped when he heard the laughter. "I said shut it!"

Old Man Bansky stepped forward with a placating hand gesture. He pointed to a disgusting, rotten fish lying on the sandy shore and pointed at the commander; he then pointed at his mouth.

"Are they starving too?" Panny asked.

"Shut it! I said I don't want your damn opinion."

"What do you mean?" the commander asked.

"Isn't it obvious? He says you should eat the damn rotten fish," Elvis said with a grin.

"At least it is better than you," Chris said.

The commander had had enough. He didn't want to start on a poor note and so he moved to the fish and poked it with his toe. It was disgusting and had a load of fluid coming out of it. He bent and the smell hit him hard. He looked back at his men who were watching and, with a sigh, he bit into the fish.

It was delicious, and he greedily ate the rest. His men were all making disgusting faces at him, but he didn't care—if only they knew. He turned to the old man and he saw him speak, and this time he could understand him well.

"I'm Bansky," the man said, slapping his chest three times and touching his forehead.

"I'm Commander Jim. These are my men," he said.

The Bargain And Conclusion

"You have trespassed upon the land of the Marfolk; you have soiled their sanctuary with the blood on your hands," Bansky said.

"What blood?" Commander Jim asked.

"You have killed, and you have committed atrocities, and they know because they can feel the cry of the dead who want justice."

"It was war."

"Eh, commander, I don't want to interrupt, but what are you growling about? You're talking like a frog that croaks," Elvis asked.

The commander turned to them. "You can't hear what we are saying?" But they looked at him blankly.

He turned to Bansky. "What have you done to me?"

"Nothing. You have a price to pay for the lives of those you have taken. The Marfolk demand you pay, and it shall be so."

"When and how did they tell you this? I have never even seen any Marfolk. Are you making it up? I don't like your tune, old man. I can level this town."

"Your threat means nothing. Look at the sea and you will see your noisy sticks that are missing."

The commander turned and, to his surprise, he could see the guns floating on the sea. He pointed at them, knowing his men wouldn't understand any word he said. Panny looked in the direction of the commander's finger and he swore. "That is our guns!" The rest of the men turned and they just stared with open mouths. "A floating gun!"

"The Marfolk demand you serve them for ten years—you and your men—and at the end of the ten years, you would be taken by the sea."

"You mean killed?" he asked him.

"No, taken. The sea has its own price too; you drenched the sea with blood."

"I would have been killed by the same people I killed. It was war."

"Then you shouldn't have trespassed on their domain. Your war should have been fought in time, not beyond time."

"How?"

"Here, you are out of time. A day here is like a year in time. You crossed the border between due to the cry of the dead; it tore the veil of time, time that is between two worlds."

"And my men?"

"They are bound to you. Let them eat the fish and you can explain to them. If you agree, dip your index finger three times into the sea and the Marfolk will come." And with that, Bansky walked away.

The commander turned to his men and pointed at the fishes that had been left for them, but Elvis took a step back. "No way am I eating that."

Panny just shrugged his shoulders and took a bite. He soon greedily ate it finished, which prompted Elvis to give it a try. Soon they sat in a circle as the commander explained everything to them.

"What are we going to do?" Elvis asked.

"Beat me if I know, but I always knew there is a price for any life taken."

And at the end, they agreed to the demand of the Marfolk. The commander dipped his index finger three times in the sea and the Marfolk appeared. Each of them was marked just like the town people, and they started serving the Marfolk.

Commander Jim came to the conclusion that even though it was a war that turned him into a monster, there is always a price to pay for a life. It wasn't just the language of war; it was the language of humanity, which comes first before any other thing.

Next story:Chain on the crescent