The Night After

As Billie reached her house, she sprinted up the porch steps and fumbled for her keys in her pocket. The adrenaline was still pumping through her veins, and she couldn't wait to tell her mother about the strange encounter in the forest with Ivan and Miron.

"Mama! You wouldn't believe wha--", as soon as she opened the front door, she was met with an eerie silence.

"Mama? Dada?" she called out, but there was no answer.

The familiar scent of her home filled her nostrils as she stepped inside. The hallway was dimly lit, and the only sound was the faint ticking of the antique clock in the living room. Billie tiptoed into the kitchen and flicked on the light switch. The bright fluorescent light illuminated the empty room, and Billie's heart sank. She had hoped that her mother would be waiting up for her, but it seemed that everyone had gone to bed early.

Billie tiptoed through the hallway and checked her parents' bedroom. Her mother and father were sound asleep, snoring softly. She let out a sigh of relief and moved toward Simeon's room. She peeked inside and saw him sleeping peacefully with his favorite teddy bear.

Feeling satisfied that her family was safe and sound, Billie turned to head toward her own room. But something stopped her in her tracks. She turned back and looked at her parents' room, frowning.

"Wait a minute," she whispered to herself. "Why are they asleep already?"

She had expected her parents to be up, asking her about her detention with Mr. Petrov. But they were sleeping as if nothing had happened. Billie felt a strange sense of unease wash over her. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

She decided to investigate further and checked the living room. Everything looked normal. The TV was off, and the only sound was the ticking of the grandfather clock.

"Maybe I'm just being paranoid," Billie thought, shaking her head. She was exhausted after a long day and decided to head to bed.

When she reached her bedroom, she kicked off her shoes and collapsed onto her bed. Her body was exhausted from the night's events, and she fell into a deep sleep almost instantly. But even in her sleep, she couldn't shake off the feeling that something was not quite right.

After parting ways with Billie and Miron, Ivan arrived at his house, which was a small wooden house in a quiet neighborhood. He hung his coat and backpack on the coat hanger, his eyes glancing around the place. His mother was sitting on the couch, typing on her work laptop with furrowed brows, her glasses perched on the tip of her nose.

"I'm back," Ivan said, hoping for some sort of acknowledgment.

His mother barely glanced up from her screen. "Hmm? Oh, hi Ivan. How was school?"

Ivan felt a pang of sadness and frustration in his chest. He knew his mother was always busy with work, but it felt like she didn't even notice him anymore. His friends were his only escape from the monotony of his home life.

"It was fine," he muttered as he headed to the fridge to make sandwiches for dinner.

As he ate his food, Ivan's mind raced with thoughts about the blue mist line and the mysterious building in the forest. But what worried him more was what would happen to them next. He pulled out his phone and opened the group chat with Billie and Miron.

"What the hell was that? What do we do now?" Ivan typed out, his fingers tapping furiously on the screen.

He waited for a few minutes, but there was no response from his friends. Ivan felt a sense of unease settle in his stomach. He knew they were all in this together, but he couldn't shake the feeling that they were in way over their heads. Ivan finished his food and went upstairs to his room, but his thoughts kept him up long into the night.

Miron trudged towards his house, still in a daze from what he had witnessed in the forest. He tried to shake off the feeling of unease that was creeping up on him. As he got closer to his house, he noticed that the lights were on, and his father was nowhere to be seen. He sighed, knowing what that meant.

Miron opened the door, and the stench of alcohol hit him like a ton of bricks. His father was passed out on the floor, a bottle of vodka still in his hand. Miron gritted his teeth, feeling a familiar sense of anger and resentment rise up in him. He dragged his father to his room, struggling to get him onto the bed.

He thought about his own miserable existence. He had missed two part-time jobs tonight because of the detention, and he knew his boss would not be happy when he showed up tomorrow. He felt trapped like there was no way out of this cycle of poverty and despair.

As his thoughts spiraled, Miron felt a sense of resentment towards his father. Why couldn't he have been a better father, one who didn't drink himself into oblivion every night? Why did Miron have to be the responsible one, the one who had to take care of everything?

He slumped onto his bed, his mind still reeling from the events of the night. As he closed his eyes, he thought about his friends Billie and Ivan and felt a sense of calmness and happiness wash over him. Despite the trouble they often got into, they were the bright spot in his life, and he looked forward to the next day with them.

But then his thoughts returned to the blue mist line and the strange building, and he felt a knot form in his stomach. He knew deep down that they shouldn't have crossed that line, and he feared the consequences of their actions.

He tossed and turned, unable to find any peace, until exhaustion finally claimed him, and he fell into a fitful sleep.

Despite the exhaustion, sleep was hard to come by for all three of them. Each was lost in their own thoughts, contemplating the implications of what they had seen. The blue mist line, the strange building, and the creepy woman - it all seemed like a nightmare. But even in the midst of their fear and uncertainty, one thing brought them a sense of comfort - the knowledge that they had each other. No matter what the future held, they knew that they had the strength to face it together.

The town of Enkem'ol slept on, oblivious to the secrets that lay hidden within its walls.