Fog of Shadows

Part 20

The more Flinn traveled on the path the more discouraged he became in the thought that he had chosen the right one; sure there were signs that someone had recently been on it, but the further he traveled on it the more overgrown and unused the path became. There, where there had once been a clear ground free of weeds and debris, was now only a shallow footpath through the grass, rocks, and weeds. He noticed that the further he walked away from the town the clearer his surroundings became to him; it was as though the fog only clung to the filthy civilization and not to the purity and solitude of nature. Though the sky was over cast and grey, he could see for several yards; he could see the forest line up on the hill and a town further down the path. "Great, maybe there is someone who can help me." Said Flinn aloud as he quickened his pace, but as he did that, he saw a figure running out of the forest line and onto the path.

It was Janet.

"Janet wait!" He took chase, but it was no use; she was faster and knew her surrounding a lot more than he did. Where she jumped and dashed, he stumbled, slowed, and slid, ultimately causing him to lose sight of her once they reached the town. His leg still hurting from the other day. "Oh damn it!" he cursed aloud and noticed the fog covering the small town like it had the other one. "Even better, now I will never find her." Deciding to try his luck, he started walking around the seemingly empty town. The houses were decrepit and overgrown in weeds and vines, the roads were overgrown and unkempt, and the fountain in the town square was vine covered and seemed charred from a fire. "Why would she run here? There is nothing and no one around." He took a closer look at the charred angle fountain and wondered how it got that way, there was nothing else burnt, but it.

Suddenly he heard voices in the distance.

"Come on you pansy, I went down there countless times and nothing has ever happened."

"Oh give him a break Milo; if the rumors are true, then he will live longer than the rest of us."

"I am not a pansy!"

From what he could hear, the voices belonged to an older teenage boy, a young woman, and a younger boy. "Perhaps they have seen Janet." He hoped as he followed the voices to a far end of the town square; there he found three figures standing before the charred, burnt-out remains of an old building. "Hey excuse me, can you help me?" the closer he got to them the clearer he could see them. One was a tall, blond guy with a lit cigarette hanging from his lips, the second one was a young woman with long white hair and cat ears, and the third one was a boy who seemed much younger than the other two.

"What do you want?" Asked the tall blond boy with a snarky tone in his voice, which earned him a glare from the cat-girl.

"Milo behave." She then turned her attention to Flinn, "what do you need, sir?"

"I am looking for a girl."

"Oh a Casanova, Star I think he means you!" The boy she addressed as Milo elbowed the cat-girl in the side, "very funny Milo, but I think he is looking for a friend, not a stranger." Star sounded annoyed as if she had dealt with his antics all day.

"You can never be too sure with those new ones. You are a new one, right?" He asked Flinn with a mocking smirk as if being a new one on the island was a bad thing.

"Yes, I am a new one, but I am not planning on staying here. I am part of a rescue team, here to recover Janet; her aunt and uncle are very worried about her and would like her to live with them. I have seen her earlier, but I lost her in this fog. I think she might be hiding around here somewhere."

"Y-you have seen J-J-Janet?" The youngest one finally opened his mouth and asked in a trembling voice.

"He probably means a different Janet, Percy." Star tried to tie down his seemingly growing hopes. Flinn then pulled out the small picture of the Janet he was looking for. "She looks like this, is this the Janet you mean?" he took the small picture out of his pocket and shows it to the group and Percy recognizes her. "Yes, that is Janet!" exclaimed, "But we have not seen her in a year."