Their purchases made, and before the two girls understood what had happened, they were ushered out of the shop with only the words, "Enjoy your costumes," and breathing in the cold night air, they listened as the lock engaged on the front door and watched as the lights inside the building turned off.
Emily, who continuously shifted about as she found her balance still wasn't the greatest, eventually looked at Samantha and whispered, "Well, that was rather abrupt."
A nod from her friend before she walked down the couple steps to the street below and began looking about. The night having gotten darker and a heavy fog having set in whilst they had been inside, Samantha thought it was even more difficult to tell where exactly they were. Certain they still were not in Shadow Falls, she listened as Emily joined her, the toenails on the girls paw-like feet making the only noise as she tread softly away from the shop entrance.
"So, now what?" Emily asked the moment she came to a stop alongside her friend and knowing what the other girl meant, that she was really asking how they were going to find there way back, Samantha whispered, "I do not know."
How long the two stood there, each lost in their own thoughts, with Samantha wondering if the shop owner had a phone they could use, whilst Emily wondered if it would be prudent to try on at least the feet portion of her costume as the animal feet were starting to get uncomfortable. After some time, Samantha heaved a sigh and stated, "Suppose we'll simply have to make our way back," to which Emily, after taking a quick look about, inquired, "Do you know the way?"
The darkness and fog throwing off her sense of direction, Samantha shook her head, then said, "But if we find the street corner of Nighdon and Lathshex, I am sure we are on the right track," and choosing a direction, she began to walk.
Briefly, the thought flashed through her mind that her friend had decided on the wrong direction. Nervously shifting the bag with her purchase, Emily almost called out, "Are you sure that is the right way?" But, seeing the way everything seemed confusing, and that Samantha was rapidly disappearing into the fog and the dark, she took one last look about, found it odd that she couldn't even see the shop behind her, then hurried after her friend. Catching up, she hugged the bag containing the costume close and peered into the darkness, searching for something familiar.
Next to her, Sam also gazed about as she wished and hoped to see something that would tell them they were going the right way. When a street sign did finally appear, she found she had difficulty making out what it was and after some time, gave up as she silently prayed that it was the same one they had passed before. The night growing darker and the fog growing thicker, she nearly screamed when suddenly a hand grasped her shoulder. Glancing back at Emily, seeing that it was the other girl who had grabbed her, Samantha hissed, "Don't do that."
"Sorry," Emily whispered back, then hastily added, "But I just realised that at some point, I lost my shoes. I think I accidentally left them in the costume shop."
Tired and feeling out of sorts with everything that had happened, Sam almost snapped, "So what. It's not like you need them right now," but managed to hold her tongue. After a moment, she finally asked, "Do you think we should go back and see?" not liking the idea of going back, but not seeing any alternative.
Emily, who hugged tighter the bag that contained her purchase, thought about how she had really liked that particular pair. But, remembering the other pairs of shoes she had at home, she eventually sighed and muttered, "No. I guess they're gone."
As she stood there and wondered what her mother would say when she explained she had lost a pair of her shoes, her friend said, "Are you sure? We can go back and ask. I honestly do not think we have gone too far. Probably only a block or two," to which Emily only shook her head and replied, "No. Let's get going. I want to get home and out of this dismal fog."
Near ready to argue that they should go back, mostly because she wasn't too certain they were going the right way, Sam peered at her friend and, after a couple seconds, turned and started walking again. Except for the couple times her toenails clicked, she wasn't really able to hear her best friend following after, yet could sense her presence sometimes next to her, sometimes a step behind. Finding it comforting, Sam breathed deeply the cold air and tried not to let her fears that they would never get home get the best of her. A couple times she heard strange noises close by that she couldn't identify and, judging by the way Emily sometimes stiffened, Samantha was sure that her best friend had heard them as well.
The hours slipped by and still, neither of them found themselves seeing anything to hint at that they were close to either Sam or Emily's place. When they came to another intersection, both girls tried to read the street sign as they listened to what sound like a creaking sound, which reminded Sam of this film she had seen with a team of horses hitched to a wagon. Unable to determine what the sign said, or what the noise was, both shivered and soon pressed on. After another block or two, they began to debate furiously about whether they should continue going straight or maybe turn left or right. Emily was certain that, at some point, they had turned and continuously insisted on this, whilst Samantha was adamant in her stance as she repeatedly stated, "No. I am sure we travelled in a straight line. That we went from my house and headed toward the downtown area, without turning, which we would have had to do sooner or later, but hadn't yet."
Both insistent they were right, it was the sound of something heavy as it moved close by that caused them to suddenly stop. Each looking in the direction, both thinking of a large creature that went about on four legs and had sharp fangs, they listened for the sound again. When it didn't come, Sam whispered, "Let's go. Next block, we'll turn either left of right. Your choice," in a small, frightened voice.
Not in the mood to argue any longer, Emily nodded. Failing to see that her friend probably couldn't see her, she glanced at the shadowy form that was the other girl and Sam started walking again, Emily hurried after until she was walking alongside her. Taking the other girl's hand, she briefly tightened her grip as she whispered, "Sorry. But this fog and the weirdness of everything has finally gotten to me," as Sam replied, "It's all right. Everything is starting to get to me. And, I guess, I'm just scared we'll be lost forever."
"We don't have to turn at the next block," Emily answered. "I think you are right. About us having gone straight from your house."
At a loss what to say to this, tempted the say that her best friend was right and that they should try a new direction, Sam instead inquired, "What do you think happened to Tad?"
"I don't know," Emily answered in a hushed whisper, then added, " But, whatever it was, I hope it doesn't happen to us."
A quick nod and Samantha was tempted to state aloud her agreement, but instead briefly tightened her grip on her friend's hand in reassurance that conveyed her hope that they and her brother would be fine as once again, each slipped into their own thoughts.
----
Slowly, the night gave way to day and as the two girls witnessed everything brightening around them, they found it disheartening to see that they still were not out of the fog. Gloomy, grey, they each stared at the shadowy buildings, thinking about the noises they had heard the previous evening, some so frightening they had nearly brought them almost to the point of screaming and running for their lives. Wondering where exactly where they, the light never getting to bright, they stopped at a street corner and stared up at a blue street sign that had an unpronounceable jumbled of consonants printed on it. Thinking about the couple turns they had made, Samantha soon commented, "I think we are lost," in a tired voice.
Emily, who was dead on her feet, and struggling not to show it, blinked up at the sign, then looked to her left, then to her right. Peering straight, she morosely asked, "So what should we do? Go back?"
"I do not know," Sam snapped in a clipped tone before taking a deep breath and saying, "I'm sorry. I'm tired, hungry, cold, and scared. For myself. For Tad. For you. About everything. And this street sign, however you pronounce it, isn't helping matters," and tightening her grip on the bag she was holding, she gazed down, thinking, unaware that she was staring at Emily's feet.
Next to her, Emily continued to stare ahead at nothing in particular, also thinking. Her thoughts circling back to the notion that they would wander forever in the fog, she considered briefly going up to one of the houses and knocking. But, after a quick glance in the direction of the nearest one, she dismissed such a notion as she suppressed a shudder when she saw how creepy and abandoned the building looked. "I agree," Sam suddenly announced, cutting into her musing and looking at her friend, Emily listened as the other girl said, "I think you're right. That we should turn back. Try and retrace are steps. Maybe, with it being light out, we'll have an easier time finding our way home."
Having nothing to say to this, Emily silently nodded and as her friend turned, she gripped her purchase tighter and followed. The blocks slowly slipping past, they are first passed the time talking about whether they would try on their costumes right away, something Emily was in favour of doing, or wait until Hallowe'en, which was what Samantha was leaning towards. After some time, their conversation shifted and they began to speculate on what had happened to Tad, with both eventually agreeing that he must have come home by now. After that, they chatted about the costume shop, the fog, speculations on the buildings buried in the fog, why the streets were all named so strangely and how long it would take them to get back to something more familiar, with each hoping that it would only take a half an hour, forty five minutes tops.
As their conversations ran their courses and slowly petered out and each lapsed into silence, the day slowly wore on. And as night once again began to fall, it was Emily who eventually called out, "That's it. I'm done. I'm not going any further," and when Sam looked back at her, the girl with animal feet announced, "I'm tired. My feet hurt. My balance is getting worse. I think we are even more lost than we were earlier. And this wandering isn't getting us anywhere. I am surprised that we haven't seen a single person and that, given I haven't eaten anything for what seems like twenty-four hours, that I am not hungry. Hungry to the point I should be close to passing out. Or something like that."
Quietly, Sam listened to her friend's outburst and when she could see Emily was finished, she inquired, "So you think the solution would be to stand here and do nothing?"
"It's better than wandering about and getting nowhere," Emily cried out, then, heaving a sigh, she added, "Or, we could try one of the houses. Knock and hope someone is home. And if they aren't, if the building is abandoned, we could find a way in and find a place to lay down and get some sleep. Maybe with a couple hours sleep, we could approach this problem with a fresh perspective."
Unhappy with the idea of not only going up to one of the buildings, as she thought, unaware that her best friend had thought the same thing, that they looked creepy, let alone the idea of attempting to force entry into one, Samantha thought furiously about what they could do. Drawing a blank, short of trying to convince Emily to press on, something she could see the other girl was dead set against, Sam huffed in agitation and said, "We'll try three different ones. If there is no one home, and we cannot get into one, we continue on. Agreed?"
An eventual slow nod from the other girl and then they began to discuss amongst themselves whether to try one of the buildings close by, something Emily wanted to do, or go a block or two more and try one of the buildings there, which was what Sam wanted to try. After a fierce argument, they settled on trying the closest one and, if nothing came of it, they would go up a block and try again. And if nothing came of that, they would go one more block, try again, and if nobody answered and they couldn't get in, they decided to simply kip out on the sidewalk, something neither wanted to do, but each were certain it would probably come down to that.
Neither in a hurry to go first, it took a bit of goading from each other before both Samantha and Emily stepped off the sidewalk and onto the grass. The fog immediately growing thicker, both shivered and considered turning back. Taking a couple steps forward, it was Emily who noticed that, at a bit, the grass gave way to what felt like a paved area. Thinking it was likely the driveway, unable to see what it was because of not only how thick the fog had gotten but also because of how much the daylight had faded, she was tempted to point out what she could feel beneath her feet, but in the end kept it to herself. Approaching the building, everything around them taking on a confusing, disorientating feel, the two girls clutched tightly at each other's hand as they stepped closer and soon began to make out clearly that building that they had taken for a house looked actually be an abandoned two-story, wooden office building.
"I think we should go back," Sam right away stated upon finally able to make out what was in front of her.
Emily, who had shaken her head in reply, said, "Let's at least see if there is a way in. I mean. Come one. It's not someone's house. And it looks abandoned. So what harm could it be to take temporary shelter inside. Besides. It could be the best we find."
Seeing a number of flaws in what her friend was saying, Samantha wanted to point them out, but found she was too cold and tired to argue. Heaving a sigh, shifting her bag so she had a better purchase on it, she whispered, "Yeah. Okay," before letting go of Emily's hand and starting to scope out a way to get in.
When she came to a door, which had two large pieces of glass dominating the bottom and the top of it, she expected it to be locked and almost passed it by. But, at the last minute, she walked up to it and tried to pull on the black, metal handle. To her surprise the door swung open easily and letting it go, she watched it swing close. Calling out, "Emily. Over hear," she reached for the handle and once again pulled the door open as the other girl joined her and, after exchanging a worried glance between themselves, they slipped inside.