Crimson Night (2)

—Everyone calm down! —said the man with a peaceful appearance who was starting to lose it.

He was the building's manager, who kept the records and was responsible for directing the staff consisting of a cleaning and a maintenance person who normally helped each other in their duties. The wonder of robots and automation took care of the tedious tasks, they just had to make sure everything was working correctly. But even if they were here, the dynamic duo of a staff certainly was incapable of handling a situation like a "murder."

That's precisely why the timid-looking man decided to take on the role of leader. Unfortunately, he wasn't a leader by nature. His requests and calls for order moved no-one. Instead of helping to maintain order, his commands only seemed to worsen the situation and stir the impatient state of the tenants and their concerns.

In reality, he acted more like a salesperson, as he was the one tasked to show the apartments to interested parties. And this was his favorite part of the job. Despite not being spectacular, he did it with such passion that it was hard not to get a good impression of the place, despite being simple prefabricated apartments.

His dream was to fill the building before he retired, but he never admitted it openly. Still, after more than a month of operation, the place remained relatively deserted. This sometimes led him to take extreme actions to get tenants.

—For some reason, neither phones nor internet work, but the fire department should be coming any moment —said the manager—. Please be patient and let's stay together, it's safer this way!

Despite his efforts, failed to be eloquent enough. The tension and distrust in the group was palpable, and nothing he said seemed to calm it.

—I'm not staying in this place for anything! —Said a bearded man in pajamas—. The safest thing is to leave here and call the police as soon as we have a signal.

—Yes, yes. I would rather not stay another second with a psychopath loose around here —added an older woman while checking the knot of her bathrobe.

—Hey, as far as I know, you could be the psychopath here.

—Do you dare repeat that!?

—Calm down, please, calm down! We must all stay here until the authorities arrive.

The manager raised both hands and made some directions as if trying to direct traffic during rush hour.

—You stay here if it suits you. Someone has died; two to make things worse! Calmness is the least you can ask of us. I'm getting out of here.

—The most reasonable thing to do is what the manager says —said another voice of reason, that of a young man, among the group—. At least that's what I think. We can focus on helping in the search for the culprit when the police arrives.

Ignoring the pleas and warnings, the man stormed out of the lobby door into the street. What he found, though, left him, and everyone who followed, bewildered. From the illuminated entrance to about five meters ahead, everything was normal, but beyond that five-meter mark, a thick wall of fog surrounded the building like a dome. The sky was difficult to see through the fog, let alone the surroundings. It seemed like a mixture of fog and a sandstorm, truly nothing could be seen beyond the dense cloud.

—But what the hell… —said the previously brave man, now thinking twice if it was a good idea to venture outside. He swallowed as if a big hard pill snuck in there somehow—. It's summer, isn't it?

—Not even in winter can you see such dense fog —replied the manager, equally bewildered. While the rest were stunned, unable to voice another complaint.

—N-No matter. It's just a slightly denser fog than usual. Seriously, what are those bastards in the telecommunications district doing? The forecast didn't say anything about fog stirring up.

Following his words, the man ventured into the mist. The rest remained at the edge of the main entrance, expectant. An alarming feeling was shared among those present, as dense as the fog itself. They could almost cut it with a knife.

The tenants' attention constantly shifted between the fog and uncomfortably inspecting each other.

They did not know what to expect: a bloody scream, the sound of a patrol, or what. The only thing they all understood was that the desolate silence was slowly and sadistically tightening their necks.

After a few minutes, someone took the first sigh of relief. For him, that there was no sudden tearing scream or that the man came running back covered in blood or some other ridiculous situation, that was as close to a victory as he could have hoped for.

He thought, "I just had to wait safely inside until he returns with help, maybe I'll go grab a knife or something, just in case." Then, following the example, and the continuous request of the manager, the group was about to return to the lobby when a young man noticed something. A figure making its way through the fog, walking confidently and at a good pace towards them. Some people's hearts sank, others prepared to flee, and another, perhaps the most peculiar of the bunch, prepared to fight.

However, all expectations were once again destroyed. The person who appeared through the dense curtain was the same brave and muscular man who had gone in the opposite direction searching for help.

As soon as he looked up and saw the group of tenants at the entrance, he first thought was, "I'm seeing things." "Illusions, must be," his heart wanted to cry out, but when they didn't disappear after rubbing his eyes, he felt even more confused than before.

—Ahhhh?