Chapter 1

I look up from the taxi's stained glass window towards the road and the passing trees beyond, glad that any conversation he may have wanted to have with me died the instant I gave him directions, the moment the name of the city came out of my mouth and made the driver frown as he looked over the car mirror towards my face, as if asserting if I was joking or not.

I wasn't, so after a long glare he stops talking and starts driving.

I don't mind if he thinks that I'm a freak or anything, I'm just glad to be left to my thoughts as he does his job without complaining in the end.

Especially because today, of all days, nothing would be able to sore my high in the clouds mood!

The roads are fairly normal looking for what is coming up at its end, going out from the city towards the surrounded by woods asphalt, the new made roads making this journey very smooth and relaxing, especially since inside the car is very cozy and warm while I can watch the snow pile outside.

But as my warm breathing adds to the increasing fog on the glass window I still somehow manage to see the tip of the city cutting through the fog up front, sharp pointy ends that looked like sharp lances heads cutting the clouds, menacing looking, and unfortunately that's when the driver decides to break the comfortable silence and speak up.

"Young man, do you really want to go there?"

I sight internally. Guess we will have to do that, socialize and stuff. Why do people always think is right to snoop around other people's business?

Would rather brush him off, but he is driving and getting to the city by foot in this snow is not on my plans today.

"Such a young man, you have your life ahead of you, you should not throw it away just for a thrill in there." Wait, I didn't even say anything, how things turned this way already?

"E-excuse me?" I manage to say, keeping my face glued at the window to keep watching the approaching city, trying to glimpse more of it beyond the ever lasting fog.

I can feel his gaze on me before he stumbles with his words. "Oh, s-sorry about that, is just that we have been receiving so many young people nowadays that want to go there just to have some fun, all parties and drugs until a bloodsucker gets a good grip out of ya, you know what I'm saying. I mean, the tourism is good and all, but-"

Oh joy, he is the blabbering type.

"Is not like that, I'm with the police. I'm-I'm a supernatural investigator." I say, still getting used to my new title and position at the police force, not only thrilled to have a good use of my knowledge than to be able to move in one of the Foggy Cities with a stable income already guarantee.

"Oh… oh!" He says, digesting what I'm saying. "You are quite young for the police uhm, do you have a gun?"

"S-sure?" I say, never been good with socializing and speaking out, pity that our society forces int on us anyway.

"Good, good… You may need it where you are going, poor thing, such a young man thrown to the wolves… sigh…"

Seems like he is one of the many who dislike and fear the supernatural, but I do not feel bothered by it at all, I've seen far worse people.

And they are one of many reasons that troubles arise from the coming out of the cities, and especially its citizens.

For none of them were filled with… normal average people per say.

And, if the new found odd cities popping up left and right weren't enough, the discovery of the supernatural made people rather energetic about it, in both ways.

Some wanted to storm into them to find their true call, become one of the tribe, everlasting love and life, and others… others grabbed on guns and wanted to march towards the city gates.

But what is the supernatural, the beyond natural, the unknown extraordinary, when it becomes the new normal?

Ha, try to explain that to the people wilding torches screaming for a new witch hunting.

Not only that, but all the political discussion it started too, countries having to come to an understanding if those gigantic fog covered cities where part of their countries, or a foreign country on their own right inside their territories.

Most accepted them as their own, having to, however, come to an understanding with the city lords that, as is done within the American states, had their own laws and governance, even going beyond that from having the right to choose their lords the way they pleased.

The United States is one of the most understanding of the lot… as not only they added the Foggy City, the one I'm currently going, New Stormhold to its overall territory, as were not only discussing favorable law regarding the supernatural creatures but were too doing great deals economically as they had exclusive merchandise from the mystical at hand, and a lot of tourism and curious people from all around the world coming in too.

Many disagreed but, to the surprise of most, none who bared evil intentions towards the city could enter it, getting lost and send back by a thick white fog, almost as if the fog is a living being protecting the cities.

So even if many were not accepted and people may have wanted to eradicate them, they still stood above all, unreachable, and sometimes surrounded in great mystery, still cut from the outside world.

But here… well, they even have a tv show, and the vampire models are blasting social medias and being the new living dream of many girls and boys around.

Cannot blame them thought, great beauty and charisma is one of the vampire's greatest weapons after all.

I did not bother with all of that, nothing a nobody like myself could do, plus I'm not good with words to begin with, but I guess in some way I, too, would be categorized as abnormal…

For this knowledge I carry, which has fueled many supernatural encyclopedias, blog posts, and got me a job as a supernatural investigator, does not come from a fertile creative mind, nor a paranormal guiding above being, but from a reincarnated person that came from a world filled with them previously.

And this precious knowledge that here is treaty as mere fairy tales, there where common day by day encounters, easy to remember, easier to replicate for me.

And who would have thought that it would come in handy?

And even if the driver's words stuck a little doubt in my heart, I'm far too in it to back down now, rented place, contracted signed, new job, new city, new life.

Plus, what can go wrong? Everything really, but I try not to think about that, enthusiastic as I am to finally be able to make decent money and have a stable job doing what I love the most, sharing my knowledge from the supernatural.

And even if I just remember flashes of my past life, no emotions attached as if filtered by an outsider type of view, almost like nothing but a movie with the images coming to be, I cannot help but look at the city eagerly.

Because, finally, it feels like I'm going back home.