THE FOG

It was gaining on me.
I kept running, one foot in front of the other, chest heaving from the exertion. I looked around, hoping for assistance, praying for help, but no help was visible.
I'd been running through the streets for several minutes at top speed, knowing that it was hot on my heels. I was barely able to see two feet in front of me. The fog was impenetrable, and it was a miracle that I hadn't run into a dead end.
I didn't know how I'd arrived in this place. The last thing I remembered was a bright light, and then I woke up on a sidewalk here. I'd wandered the streets for hours, never seeing another soul. I called out.and something answered. Something with eyes that glowed a deep, fiery red and cut through the fog, piercing my very being. Something immense.
I ran.
Never one for exercise, I was out of shape, and I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up this pace much longer. Suddenly, a square of light appeared ahead of me, faint, but inviting. As I got closer, I saw it emanated from a doorway. Using the last of my energy, I shot through the doorway, and shut the door behind me.
After the gloom of the fog, it took my eyes a few moments to adjust enough for me to make out the details of the room.
There was a sofa and a recliner, both facing a large television, at least sixty inches across. There were a couple of videogame consoles on the floor in front of the television. Behind the sofa, the wall was filled with books of all types. This place was a refuge in every sense of the word.
Sighing, I slumped to the floor, back to the door, and dropped my head to my chest. Eyes closed, I could feel myself relax for the first time since arriving at this strange place. A gasp from the other side of the room startled me and I stood straight up, ready for anything. The last thing I expected to see was another person. Not only a person, but the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen in my life. She took a step back into the hallway behind her. "Wait!" I cried. "I'm not going to hurt you! I just had to get away from that thing that was chasing me."
"It chased you too?" she asked in a soft, sweet voice.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I don't know. I just know I arrived in this place some time ago. Days, weeks, I don't know, there's no way to tell time here. That blasted fog, every time I look outside, it's the same. And that creature! I spent days hiding, hoping to not get caught. And then I found this place."
I took a step toward her and said, "I don't know how I got here, or where I came from. All I know is that I don't want to go back out there."
Slowly, shyly, she came forward, step by step, until she was standing in front of me. "My name's Lucy. I also would rather you didn't go back out there." She paused. "Promise you'll behave?"
"I promise," I said, staring straight into her dark eyes. I had never been a believer in love at first sight, but I definitely felt some kind of connection.
She stared back at me for several moments, then finally spoke. "You get the couch, I get the bed. Any questions?"
My stomach picked that moment to grumble. Lucy smiled. "Kitchen is through the hallway, first door on the left. Fridge is always full, don't ask me how, and you can always find just what you're looking for." With a nod to Lucy, I headed down the hallway to the kitchen.
The next few days, weeks, months were a blur. I lost track of time, and my days were filled with plenty of diversions. The place was fully stocked with movies and video games. I also found the bookshelves would provide any book I wished to read. I found it easy to forget about the fog and the creature out there, but every now and then I would wake up in a sweat, the image of the two blood-red eyes etched into my mind. I could hear its booming voice, so loud it threatened to deafen me. All it would say was, "I'm waiting for you, right outside." Those mornings were the worst. Everything seemed so unreal to me on those days, so pointless. I would watch TV, play video games, eat, and wonder why I even bothered. I was stuck in this house until I died, or the creature found some way in. On those days, I was ready to throw open the door and meet my fate. But on those days, Lucy always seemed to say or do just the right thing to drive that idea from my head.
I had eventually convinced her that I could be trusted, and we spent most of our days together, snuggling on the couch watching a movie, or playing video games, competing against each other. One day Lucy turned to me and said, "You don't have to stay out on the couch anymore, if you don't want to."
I looked at her. Again, she seemed to know I was having one of those days, and she knew just what to say. I'd dreamed of the eyes again this morning, and despair weighed heavily on me. "Lucy, do you ever wonder what the point of all this is? Ever wonder where we came from, how we got here?"
Lucy stared at me expressionlessly, but I was sure I saw anger in her eyes for just a second. "Why should I wonder about all that? All that matters is here and now."
I felt the onset of a headache. "So, you're okay doing this forever? Never a thought to what else there may be?"
"There is nothing else! You've seen it yourself! This," she thrust her arms out, "is all there is. Why shouldn't we enjoy it?"
I stood up, shaking my head. "No, there is more. Something is providing us with our food. Something is keeping the power on in here. Something provides our water. Don't you want to know what that something is?"
"No!" Definitely anger in her eyes now. "Where are you going?" she asked as I headed for the door.
"To find the meaning behind all this."
Lucy ran to me and grabbed my arm. "But what about that thing out there?"
I shook myself loose, opened the door, and walked out.
Nothing had changed outside. The fog was still thick, and the streets were still deserted, but for some reason, I felt better than I had in the house. I realized I'd just been wasting time, time that could have been put to better use. My headache was gone. And the fog seemed to be thinning.
My heart stopped as I spotted the two blood red eyes looming before me. Glancing over my shoulder, I could still see the warm, inviting light from the house. I knew I could make it back to safety, but I didn't want to run anymore. I didn't want to hide.
"I have been waiting for you," the voice boomed through the fog, but it wasn't as deafening as I had imagined it to be. Then the eyes moved toward me. Only, as they got closer, I realized they weren't eyes. As two outstretched arms emerged from the fog, I realized those blood red marks were due to wounds on the wrists. And then the rest of the figure emerged from the fog.
I fell to my knees, fully aware of who I had been running from, the fog finally lifting. "Forgive me, forgive me, forgive me," was all I could say.
"You are forgiven, my child," Jesus said. "Rise and walk with me."
I immediately stood, my heart filled to bursting with joy. I faintly heard Lucy call my name, but didn't turn around.
"Away with you, Lucifer," Jesus said, "This one belongs to me."
An unearthly scream of rage filled the air behind me, but all I could focus on was the light emanating from my Comforter, my Redeemer. Bright and beautiful. I closed my eyes, feeling the warmth of the light.
"He's coming around."
I opened my eyes and found myself staring into a bright light. Headlights. I was lying on the ground. My head hurt and my legs felt numb. I was confused for a moment, but then it all came back to me. I'd been hit by a car.
"You're going to be all right, sir," one of the paramedics said to me.
I smiled, remembering the bright, beautiful light. It was true. I was going to be all right.