The Fog

Carly, hunny, be careful on your drive to school. Im on my way to drop your sister off
and its super foggy out here I can barely see the car in front of me. Its weird, I dont
remember it being foggy when I woke up this morning but as soon as I pulled out of the driveway
the air thickened right up. Anyways, give lots of space to the car in front of you. You know us
Southern Californians trying to drive in weather! I love you, text me when you get to school.
Please be safe! Bye babe.
Carly listened to her moms voicemail, the high-pitched voice sounding distorted and
cloudy, like the opaque sky. She saw what her mom meant as soon as she stepped out of the house
that morning; the sky looked angry, sad, like it hadnt seen the sun in months and wanted to
punish the world for the lack of Vitamin D. She was used to fog in the morning sometimes,
rolling in over the hills and through the valleys before dispersing out over the ocean and
disappearing. The process took less than an hour, but she thought that it looked different that day,
felt different. It looked like it was there to stay, packed a bag and was trying to move in. The
marine layer was thick and cold and wet. The dense expanse in front of her made her feel like she
was going to be eaten and swallowed whole. She was driving into grey.
Radiohead poured through her front left speaker, the right one vibrating in brokenness,
Thom Yorkes voice sounding far away and lonelier than usual. Barely able to see five feet in
front of her, Carly fiddled with her headlights, trying to find a setting that would allow her to see
another color outside monochrome. She normally saw trees and cars and stores and gas stations
and pavement and the sun on her way to school. Today, she couldnt see at all. The marine layer
was special in the way that it seemed to engulf the world, settling near the ground at sea level like
a dark kiss with staining lipstick. She vaguely wondered when it would blow off, breeze away
through the city of San Diego, leave her with her beaches and blue skies. She paused her music,
tuning into the radio, trying to find an update on the weather. She pressed her seat heater and
cranked the knob on her heat all the way left, shivering in her white Jetta. She glanced at the

dashboard, scanning over the green symbols and gas level before finding the temperature: 78
degrees Fahrenheit. Could that be right? She turned up the volume, trying to hear the weather
report.
Good morning everyone. Its 7:27 AM, and Im Steve Harrington. Well, its foggy out
there today, folks. Foggier than usual. Were getting some reports of bad accidents on the road, as
well as some unusual activity downtown. The Union Tribunes website just reported that there
have been two shootings this morning, as well as an apparent case of what seems to be
unauthorized burnings Downtown. The fog is completely unexpected, and didnt show up on our
systems until it had already come in this morning. Were not sure how long its supposed to
stay Our machines are down, it seems the humidity in the air is causing an adverse reaction. We
apologize for the inconvenience. If youve checked your temperature gauge recently, its not
wrong. It really is in the high seventies, but we cant seem to get the chill out of this office. Well
report more as soon as we know something, anything about this fog. Reports are indicating it
came down from Alaska and is expected to make an Eastern movement soon. Drive safely
everyone, and please call 619-WEATHER if you have any news. Again, thats 619-932-8437.
While Steve Harringtons velvet voice was slipping through the speakers, Carly had
begun itching around her neck and face, keeping one hand on the steering wheel. She coughed
absentmindedly, pressing her turn indicator down, stopping in front of the traffic light that she
could barely identify as red. No one was on the road, and her head was buzzing like there were a
million flies nesting in the crevices of her brain. She felt dizzy, like she felt when she got off the
space ship ride at the Del Mar County Fair every June, the one that made her feel really sick but
that she went on anyway because something about the shine of the faux metal made her think she
could handle it; it was only a construction, after all. Her back felt like it needed to crack, her legs
like they needed to stretch, and she twisted her neck around and around, hoping it would relieve
some of the tension between her shoulder blades. She felt the flies crawl from her brain and creep

down her spine, laying itchy eggs the entire way down from the nape of her neck to in between
her toes. Her head pounded on.
She reached for her phone, pressing the first name on her Favorites list and hearing the
shrill ring. There was no answer. Carly left a message after the beep.
Hey, Mom. God, this weather is something, right? Like, its so weird Its making me
feel so weird. Kind of like I dont have anything to think about besides this fog, like its inside
me. I dont know. Im driving to school but Im also looking around and feeling like, really alone.
I dont mean that in the way that Im lonely, which I guess I am, but in the way that Im actually
alone on the road. I dont think anyones out here. What the fuck is with this fog, anyway? Why
hasnt it gone away yet? Ugh, God, I feel awful. Seriously, I feel really bad. I think Im going to
pull off on the side of the road and breathe for a sec. Im not sure; I just think I need to breathe. I
mean, we live in Southern California and theres fog so thick I think Im choking. How is that
possible? What is going on? Okay, Im going to pull over. I dont really know where I am, but
Im pulling over. Call me back God, what is this fog? Okay, I love you. Bye. Carlys car
stopped on the side of the road, but her scratching did not.
***
Come on Rachel, get in the car. Carlys mothers voice sounded flat, and Carlys
younger sister slid into the passengers seat.
Carlys mother looked tired, like she hadnt slept very much, like shed spent the entire
night searching for the daughter that had never called her back, that had only left one voicemail
and no trace of where shed gone. Carlys mother looked like someone who had driven around for
hours, then resorted to heading out on foot, flashlight in hand, calling Carly! Carly! over and
over again until she was hoarse. Carlys mother looked like someone that went back to her home
as the sun was beginning to rise, wearing clothes dripping with accumulated condensation, having
no luck in finding her daughter that had all but disappeared, distraught with the possibility that
something had happened, determined to think nothing had.

Carlys mother looked a mess, and felt even worse. What else could she do, she
wondered? The police wouldnt file a missing persons report for 24 hours, so it wasnt worth the
call. Carlys fathers deep voice said he would help his wife search for their daughter as soon as
she came back from dropping Carlys sister off at school, and not to worry, they would find her.
Carlys mother heard nothing but the voicemail of her daughter playing in her, as if on loop.
Rachel turned on the radio.
Good morning everyone. Its 7:03 AM, and Im Steve Harrington. Well, folks, as you
can see, the fog has cleared up, and there isnt even a trace of chill in the air, thank goodness! A
little strange, I know, but it seemed to be gone as soon as everyone woke up this morning, and we
just had the most beautiful sunrise San Diego has seen in what seems like years! Were still not
totally sure what that fog was, but we can officially confirm it was not the marine layer, as
scientists originally suspected. In fact, a professor at UCSD has already called in to inform us that
he spoke with another professor, Dr. Ben Campbell, at Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage,
and the two discussed the very similar fog, as well as occurrences, that we shared over the last
few days. According to Dr. Schaffer of UCSD, Dr. Campbell was actually able to collect a sample
of the fog. Thats right, folks. It was thick and dense enough to maintain its form in a jar! Dr.
Schaffer promised that as soon as he heard more from his friend in Alaska, wed be the first to
know. That being said, Alaska experienced some similarly odd events the day they had the fog.
There were reports of burnings and shootings, just like we had, as well as reports from hospitals
announcing that people were coming in complaining of dizziness, fatigue, exhaustion, and
delusion. In a particularly extreme case, a patient apparently could not stop scratching
themselves, to the point where pieces of skin were torn off by the time the patient arrived at the
hospital-
Carlys mother turned the radio off. She couldnt stand to hear of such awful things. She
looked around, the sky bright and blue around her. She thought of how much Carly loved sunny
days. Death by scratching, she thought. What an awful way to go.