LIVING DEAD GIRL - PART 01

The television goes dark. An antique clock’s chime announces the next hour. Another program springs to life. A man in a somber suit sits at a massive, curved desk with stacks of thick books and scattered papers before him. Harrowing music blares. A title card appears— ‘Unsolved Mysteries: Special Report - The Fog Domes’.

“Tonight on Unsolved Mysteries, we have a very special episode for all you ghost hunters and aspiring detectives out there. Today marks the forty-fifth anniversary of the day when our favorite unsolved mystery—the Fog Domes—first appeared. Forty-five years ago today, the world as we knew it changed in the blink of an eye.”

Monochrome footage of German tanks lumbering across plains and soldiers marching in formation fills the screen.

“September first, nineteen-thirty-nine: Germany invades Poland, marking what might’ve led to a global conflict even more devastating than the Great War of the nineteen-tens. However, as German forces were on the move, something unprecedented occurred the world over.”

Aerial still-shots of the domes slide by as if displayed on an old projector.

“New York City, London, Berlin, Moscow, Tokyo. In total, twenty-five major cities across the globe were swallowed by dome-shaped masses of what can only be described as fog. Not the kind you see on a misty morning cleared up by noon, but a thick, impenetrable mass of dark gray where you’re lucky to see a meter ahead of you. What the fog is, no one knows. What we do know is how dangerous the domes were and are to this day. A cruel truth of which humanity was made painfully aware in the days that followed."

"Panic-stricken at the sudden appearance of these otherworldly domes, those who found themselves inside tried to escape. They soon discovered they were trapped, unable to step even a foot outside the dome. Those that forced their way to the edge either fell deathly ill or outright perished on the spot. Innumerable lives were lost before those inside the domes accepted their tragic fate as prisoners of the fog. Germany put a halt to its invasion. Japan paused its expansion efforts into China and Korea. Every country in the world went from enemies to allies overnight, banding together to combat this newfound threat dubbed—the Fog Domes.”

People of every stripe are shown shaking hands. Scientists in lab coats shuffle papers and peer into microscopes. Hazmat-clad soldiers toting rifles enter the domes in single-file.

“A month later, the governments of countries affected by the domes joined together to form the Anti-Alien Invasion Coalition, or the AAIC. A comical name at first blush, but the domes defy any other description—alien, something beyond our human understanding. Despite the world’s brightest working together, very little progress was made in determining what the domes are, much less how to be rid of them or rescue those trapped inside. A mere decade later, the AAIC was dissolved, millions of taxpayers’ money wasted—our understanding of the domes no different than the day they first appeared.”

The heavy soundtrack brightens. People with huge smiles and tear-streaked cheeks run toward each other as families separated by the domes reunite.

“Nineteen-fifty-five: an unprecedented miracle. The dome in Bogota, Columbia starts to shrink. Yes—shrink. By mere centimeters, but it was the first time any sort of change in the domes had ever been observed. The AAIC reformed and stationed its headquarters in Bogota. Again, they discovered little, but their goal was achieved regardless."

"Nine years later, Bogota’s fog dome outright disappeared, freeing those inside after twenty-five long years spent in fear. It, along with several other domes, had been steadily shrinking year-by-year. By nineteen-seventy-five, a total of twenty domes had shrunk down to nothing. What were once thought to be immutable forces of nature had come and gone, their only legacy that of mystery and countless lives cut short.”

The scene shifts somber as smiling faces are replaced with anxious ones. Tokyo’s fog dome takes center stage.

“Despite the steady shrinking and subsequent disappearance of those twenty domes, five domes still remain. In the west: Los Angeles, London, Berlin. In the east: Tokyo, Shanghai. Still they remain a blot on these otherwise bustling metropolises. Even more concerning, they haven’t shrunk more than a few meters despite how many years have come and gone. And in the case of Tokyo’s dome, as I’m sure all our viewers can still vividly remember, not only has it been the only one to never shrink, it was the first and only…to expand.”

Sirens blare as the streets of Yokohama fill with cars piled high with luggage. Squadrons of imperial army soldiers guide citizens onto trains in droves.

“Evacuations begin mere minutes after the government’s official warning is issued. Those who’d grown accustomed to living near the dome don’t hesitate to pack up and leave Tokyo prefecture entirely. Even those living far from the potential danger zone evacuate as well. Only those too impoverished or unwilling to leave remain. And to the world’s surprise, there is no consequence for doing so. A year passes and Tokyo’s fog dome doesn’t expand any further. Yet the fear of that deadly potential still lingers, leaving Tokyo even more desolate than before.”

The scene fades and returns to the man at his desk.

“And that brings us to today—September first, nineteen-eighty-four. Forty-five years have passed since these mysterious domes first plunged the world into terror. What are they? Where did they come from? Will the world ever be free of them? We’ll attempt to answer those questions and lots, lots more tonight on: Unsolved Mysterious. Don’t touch that dial, we’ll be back right after these short—”

Rolling out of bed, I kill the TV. Laying around all day sounds nice, but programs like that don’t interest me. My other options are the nightly news and home shopping. Hard pass. Besides, I’ve got a job to do. One I’ve no desire to perform, but the pay is double. Unfortunately, the potential for danger scales with the reward.

I change into my scavenging gear: hoodie, cargo pants, and backpack. A knife in each boot. Flashlight in hand. Extra batteries in multiple pockets. Good enough. Better underprepared than over in my business—never know when you’ll need to ditch everything and run. After a few stretches, I cut the light and head outside.

Fog. As far as the eye can see—fog. Could I have avoided this by checking the weather forecast? Afraid not. For the weather is the same every day—fog. Why? Because I live inside the leading role of tonight’s episode of Unsolved Mysteries. That’s right—the Tokyo Fog Dome. Born and raised. Not trapped inside like the others, that happened about twenty-eight years before my time, but born to those who were. Fogbound, the locals call them.

Despite their better judgment and countless others telling them it was a bad idea, my parents decided to have a kid—me. Only me. And now that they’re gone, I’ve got nobody but myself. A bit disheartening if I dwell too much on it, but—

I shrug and sigh. “Time to go.”