One by one, they disappeared, retreating into the mist without a word. Only a few determined souls remained behind, clinging to Samantha’s stubborn, aching hope. Her muscles screamed with every step, but she pressed forward into the suffocating gray. She couldn’t—wouldn’t—let the darkness have the final word.
The sun, fighting to rise higher, began to thin the mist slightly, lifting it just enough for her to see the uneven ground ahead. Samantha wiped her sleeve across her eyes, panting, when something caught her beam. A patch of white—small, matted, half-buried in the damp earth.