I was walking home from school, on an unusually dark afternoon, when I felt a pair of eyes staring right at me. Turning around, I expected to find my little sister, Wendy, but instead I found a blanket of fog, starting from the little valley and going down the creek, creeping up the hill and covering the little town called Evergreen’s Burge (because it was lined with evergreen trees).

That’s strange, I thought, there wasn’t fog a minute ago. Leaping back to the path, I decided to take the alley instead of the main street. It’s safer to take the main street, but it’s faster to take the alley. Wanting to get home where it’s warm, I skipped down the alley.

Suddenly, I heard a twig snap and stopped abruptly in my tracks. Slowly, I turned around but just in time to see a large, brown, leather boot slip behind the corner.

Someone’s stalking me! I thought as I sprinted down the alley. I wanted to get home more than anything else. A couple of times I risked a peek behind me. Nothing but fog.

When I got to my front door, I was out of breath. I still had enough energy to yank open the door, sprint up the stairs, dive into my room, lock the door and hide under my bed. It didn’t take long for my mom to creep up the stairs after me. Whew! Mom’s home! I thought, unlocking the door for her to come in.

A man with a plain white T-shirt on and some jeans stepped into my room. His long beard almost touched the carpet. Brown, leather boots covered his feet. A grim expression was upon his face.

“You have five minutes,” he croaked. Turning on his heels, he jumped down the stairs and sprinted out the door. He was the one stalking me! I thought as I jump down the stairs after him. Opening the front door, I saw nothing but fog. Slamming the front door, I think, where is everyone?

Tick! Tick! Tick! What’s that? I think as I searched for my MP3 player. Tick! Tick! Tick! There it sounded again! Tick! Tick! Tick! I decide not to pay attention to it, so instead I listened to “Set Fire to The Rain” by Adele.

I thought, What could be making that sound? I’m being silly. There’s nothing in this house that could hurt me. Maybe I should go outside just in case. Dropping my MP3 player on the dresser, I jumped down the stairs and out the door. Walking through the fog, I thought, I’m being a chicken! My house is the safest place in our neighborhood and I’m scared of it. I should just go home.

Finally deciding to walk back home, I turned around. BOOM! As I peered though the smoke, I spotted my home in a pile of ash and rubble … and heard an eerie laugh in the darkness.