Chapter 1 : Djinn

            Somewhere over what remains of Middle America the mist churns, and a ghostly apparition rises slowly above the cloud bank that completely obscures the ground. For a short time the mist clings to the ghostly figure, but it quickly falls away as the ghost stares on at the sun. Once all the mist fell away the ghostly figure no longer stands out from the surrounding area. With no mist to color the apparition it is as invisible as the air above the cloud bank. The apparition looks on at the sun with pain and loss in the heart. A longing for something lost so long ago.

            His sentiment, that is unheard and unshared with any others.

            I don’t remember the last time my eyes have personally seen the sky. The last days of light were beautiful, but it distracted my mind from the glory of the sun. Memories haunt my unrelenting mind. Those were the days I spent getting a simple sunburn. But I could feel it, really feel the warmth of the day across my body. Back then it was a far different feel than living in a cold lightless place. It is as if the burn was proof of truly being alive. But can I say I am really living when I spend most of my time like this. Rarely do I eat or drink anything anymore. Hunger is a constant companion, but I can barely feel it now. And still I don’t die from starvation.  I barely remember the beautiful golden orange glow, especially during the sunset.  Now I can’t truly sleep. I simply leave my body and wonder the land for things I need. My body and I have traveled to and fro but rarely can I even find a person that is remotely sane. Most of the time those that live can’t even hold a conversation. You might think seeing without a body is better, but it isn’t. Life just doesn’t have the same flavor like this.

            The apparition eventually weary of being unable to see the sun correctly gives up and descends back into the mist. Like a long awaited lover the mist rushes to surround and fill the ghostly form. Even as the feeling of being empowered reinforces the figure, the pure melancholy pervades his emotion. Moving easily the entity sails soundlessly down to ground level and continues to map out the landscape. Lots of the same are found for many long minutes. Small clusters of trees that appear to continue to grow but they are bare and bone white. They stand out like thorns growing from the desolate landscape. Few places have pools of what could be water but according to his senses he knows that they are alive. They settle in low spots near tree types and appear to be unmoving and unrippling water. But for a living fleshy creature they will spring forth to dissolve anything with flesh.

            In another place a metal car has somehow been grafted onto a grub like beast. For all intense it looks like a car with tinted windows and flat tires. But if you open the door then sticky tendrils will lash onto you and pull you in. For some reason malice rolls off of these creatures while the puddle things are like a dull hungering mind. Several more minds are felt the closer he gets to an area where buildings were once abundant.

            A number of buildings are reduced to piles of rubble and a few things stick out like picture frames and scraps of clothing. But nothing like can goods or hiking supplies. So deeper in the settlement he travels. The ghostly figure passes by other creatures in places like an old grocery store, a few gas stations. Several beasts that roughly resemble man sized wolves with disfigurements are spooked and driven away at his passing. But despite their sniffing they can’t seem to detect him. Still they flee and keep a certain distance as if they can feel something dangerous. Deeper he travels where more buildings stand.

            In the last area of this city it feels quiet. Several skyscrapers have fallen and lean against one another. But some sort of fleshy thing grows from the area. It reminds the ghost of some of the people who had something like that growing out of their body. Like their body was taking on a new life and veins grew from inside to outside of their body. Those things took on a life like hunger and tried to grab at living flesh. With that in mind he decided it would be the last place he would want to go even in this ghostly form. That leaves the other direction. After some looking he crosses an area that is park like and finds a massive building that still yet stands nearly unmolested. With a great deal of hesitation he tries to sense all minds in the local area and is finding that there is nothing past the park. The whole area over here is devoid of life. While ominously quiet it could be the last place to find some can food in bulk.   

            Hoping as he goes he heads for the building. At a speed faster than a man running it is still very slow for him. The ghostly form lurks up to the main doors and finds them largely intact. Odd he admits to himself. Extending his power he tries to open the door as a test. And it swings open without making so much as a squeak. This could only mean a preserved place. So any food would have remained intact with no spoilage. But the problem is these places are never really empty.

            With a great deal of effort he chooses to investigate even further. So far, so good. Maybe he actually found the 1/100 chance of everything just right for plundering. Or this is the other end…   He chose to give no voice to that end.

            Inside banners dangle along the walls. Flags hang from flag poles and memorabilia shops of clothing remain. Everything inside is covered in a white dusty substance obscuring the teams names and logos. Most would probably freeze at this eerie sight but he doesn’t pause and just moves on after noting a chance to get some new clothing for a change. Deeper inside the building are passage ways that lead to the innermost section of the building. As the ghost gets closer the mist becomes extremely dense even for him to make out with his remote sensing or empathic powers. Normally he has the ability to feel the mind of anything nearby along with surface emotions.

            But he senses ….  He reaches out more to hopefully feel the whole stadium.

            He feels…. Nothing, a void.

            For just the briefest of moments he recoils as something brushes his mind. Like a single spider web strand just for the faintest moment touched the side of his mind.

            INSTANTLY he recoils out of shock. Out of instinct he puts forth the maximum effort to hide his presence like he’s done ever sense the mist came. Nothing or almost absolutely nothing has ever found him. But worst of all nothing ever touched his senses like that before. This was a new sensation. Completely foreign sensation when compared to all his years of projecting like this. Real fear touched him for the first time in recent history. Even his body’s heart was beating abnormally.

            So he waited with the intention of fleeing at the first change in anything. Long minutes pass while he waited. He calmed down and waited for hours. Still nothing changed. Nothing came from the mist, and no beast chased his form. This could be another mutation on my abilities. Some different kind of sense could be developing. This could be a remote feeling of touch maybe? No beasts ever would have waited this long to spring an attack.

            Pulling back away from the center of the stadium he searched for the food carts, then the food stalls built into the walls. A few were locked up. But he passed through to find store rooms and started to root around for the can foods and openers. He must never leave an opener behind. They are as good as gold.

            After several hours he found a number of areas with food to his liking. For all that is holy they have pineapples here. That’s going to be so bloody good. There are some cans of mixed fruit, some packs of hot dogs, buns, beer (gag motion), and apparel. Gah this place is way to good to pass up. If only his powers were greater he could fly this crap all the way back. But there’s no way. It’s just too exhausting to hold pounds of stuff up for hours at a time. It’s just too draining and I can’t use my other abilities at the same time. In absolutely NO circumstance will I ever be without hiding my presence. That mistake will never, ever, forever be repeated again.

            Making up his mind he recalls his spirit form back to his body to start his trek into the city. For the first time in a long, long while he will be able to restock on essential supplies. Gah this is going to take hours just to get there. Just as he winks out of existence in that place, a young man who is probably late teens into early twenties wakes up with drool coming from his mouth. He is many miles away but he knows exactly where he needs to go.  The clothing is looking like it is ancient and falling apart, but if the truth was known it is only a few years old at most. Skin that is pale enough to look like it was finely powdered poke out from the gaps in the clothing. His hair is cut roughly about shoulder length. Most of the color is black like coal, but some sections are abnormally white as if he took a terrible fright. The shoes and socks all look like they are from different homes. Ribs are visible on his chest and his bones are easy to make out giving him a starved or malnourished appearance. Despite his looks he moves along the ground with unnatural ease. His steps are light, his jumps are elegantly exaggerated, and even with uneven ground he seems to always find a footing. His eyes have a nearly ice blue color. In horror stories he would fit in as a wraith, ghost, banshee, or djinn. But the truth is he is one of the Mist Touch as the towns call them.