People are scared in America, my uncle is Dante

A cold wind swept across the lakeside after the heavy rain.

Drayton took his wife's arm and walked out of the cabin, the smell of earth filling the air.

He stood on the muddy lawn, looking at a large tree next to his house that had been uprooted by the strong winds of the previous night, his brow furrowed.

His wife crossed her arms and couldn't help but shiver: "You'll have to go to the hardware store in town."

"Buy some sturdy plastic sheeting and waterproof tape. Several windows over there were damaged by this tree."

"uh-huh."

Drayton agreed, looking at the fallen tree with mixed feelings, and sighed.

"I never expected it to collapse. When I was a kid, I used to climb up there all the time to raid bird nests."

"Mom, Dad, come and see this!"

In the distance, Billy's excited shouts broke the morning's tranquility.

"Hey Billy, behave yourself and don't run around, okay?"

The wife shouted.

"Come look! That little boat house is completely smashed, utterly wrecked!"

Instead of regret, Billy's tone was filled with the fervor and excitement that comes with a child's nature when it comes to such destructive scenes.

After saying that, he took off running towards the lake.

Drayton shook his head, preparing to go with his wife to check on the houseboat.

"Click-clack—"

The sound, like some kind of mechanical malfunction, came from the other end.

The couple looked over at the sound and saw a dark blue van with black exhaust fumes coming out of its exhaust pipe.

The bread cart wobbled twice on the muddy ground before coming to a complete stop on the side of the road.

The car door was pushed open, and three people got out.

Suren stood beside the broken-down bread truck, watching Andrei inspect the vehicle.

"As expected, I still ended up colliding with the car."

Sorry, guys.

Andrei wiped his hands and laughed awkwardly, "It's probably because we drove for too long, plus the dirt road I chose was too bumpy, and it just rained heavily here yesterday..."

He patted the bread cart. "In short, the old guy's on strike. Looks like we'll have to find a small town, go to a hardware store for some parts, or get a tow truck."

"Do you need any help?"

A shout came from not far away.

Suren looked over and saw a white man in a blue plaid shirt waving and walking towards them.

Upon seeing this, Andrei quickly went to meet him.

The two exchanged a few words, and then Andrei pointed to the smoking bread cart with a wry smile.

After listening, Drayton looked at the stranded bread truck and sighed with empathy, "This damn weather has really ruined the roads."

"Perfect timing! I'm also going to the hardware store in town to buy some materials. If you don't mind squeezing in, you can ride in my jeep."

Andrei's expression brightened, and he turned to look at Suren and Clancy.

Suren naturally had no objection to this. He looked at the distant lake, where a white mist was drifting over from the distant mountains.

Looking at the Draytons again, he clearly hadn't received any notice to leave. A thought struck him, and he called out to Drayton, who was about to go back inside to get his keys:

"I suggest you bring your wife along; it might be safer in town than here."

Drayton stopped and looked at the strangely dressed young man with some confusion.

Why bring the whole family along when we're just going to town to buy some things?

Suren met his probing gaze and said calmly, "Trust me, you'll thank me later."

He had a rough idea of ​​what the fully armed troops on the highway were blocking off.

But he couldn't draw any conclusions until the fog fully revealed its threat.

In the end, Drayton heeded Suren's somewhat absurd advice.

The group squeezed into the jeep.

Drayton was driving, his wife was in the passenger seat, and their son Billy sat obediently on her lap.

Suren, Andrei, and Clancy sat in the back row.

Fortunately, none of the three were overweight, so it wasn't too crowded.

Clancy was still fiddling with his prized camera.

The car bumped along the uneven road.

Along the way, uprooted trees and downed power poles were everywhere.

Several roadside assistance vehicles with flashing yellow lights kept driving by on the road.

"Dad! Look over there!"

Suddenly, Billy, the son, pointed ahead and exclaimed in surprise.

At the intersection ahead, rows of military trucks painted in camouflage were driving in a long, imposing procession into the mountains.

"These...are regular troops? There are actually troops stationed around here?"

"Andrei asked curiously."

"Those are people from the military base in the mountains."

Drayton, with one hand on the steering wheel and the other out the window, enjoying the cool breeze, casually remarked.

"What are they studying on the mountain?"

Suren stared at the military vehicles and asked a question.

"Who knows? The military claims it's a research base for missile defense systems."

However, there have been rumors in town that they dug up a UFO there, and that there were even frozen alien corpses inside.

Drayton curled his lip, looking unconvinced. "I heard they even have a top-secret project called Project Arrow."

"What top-secret projects could we possibly know about?"

Project Arrow?

Upon hearing this familiar word, Suren immediately confirmed her suspicions.

Is it really just a fog?

If I remember correctly, the source of this fog was a military experiment that went out of control, accidentally tearing open a dimensional rift connecting to another dimension.

A vast number of giant insects and monsters, accompanied by a mist, swept across most of the region.

When the group arrived in the town, it appeared unusually desolate, with few pedestrians on the streets.

Last night's rare storm not only destroyed roads but also severely impacted the town's power and infrastructure.

The car was parked in front of the largest hardware store in the area.

The supermarket was crowded, and many people's appliances or houses were damaged to varying degrees due to the storm.

Andre and the Drayton family each pushed a shopping cart to look for accessories and materials.

Suren stood alone in front of the supermarket, gazing intently at the distant mountain that had been swallowed by white mist.

He was actually quite interested in that other world that had been opened up.

If you could go in and explore it yourself, you might find something unexpected.

But then I realized that I had come out to investigate and find clues related to the coming of Mammon.

If you recklessly plunge into an unknown alternate dimension to satisfy your curiosity, you might get trapped inside and miss important matters.

Besides, Andrei and the other ordinary people were with him.

After weighing the pros and cons, Suren decided to stay at the supermarket and see how things went.

It's not too late to make plans after the subsequent military support arrives.

Just then, several officers in green military uniforms hurriedly walked into the hardware store.

"Hurry inside and buy what you need. The last bus leaving the base will be leaving in half an hour, so hurry up."

Several police cars with flashing lights sped past on the road outside the hardware store.

The town's puppies seemed to be frightened by something and began barking wildly. Even the pet dogs in the hardware store behind them started baring their teeth and whimpering softly.

"Waaah—! Waaah—!"

Suddenly, a huge air raid siren blared over the town.