Islands in the Dark
Nobody knows where the world went. It can't have just vanished. And yet, the evidence is there, incontrovertible. Walk to the edge of the city, and the road disappears. The fog just outside of town never lifts, and cars vanish from view just a few meters in. You can't even hear their engines any more, and nobody's driven into town in months.
Islands in the Dark
We know some things still work out there. The self-driving trucks still show up, carrying groceries from the farms and products from the factories we know are still running. Nobody's starving, any more than they were before, and all the stores still have stuff on the shelves. The planes are all grounded, though; they vanish in the fog same as cars. Everything's slowed down a lot since the Fog rolled in.
Islands in the Dark
A few years back, a couple of brave souls put sleeper cars on an electric train and tried to drive it by wire from the tower. That worked... mostly. Those who slept through the trip got where they were going, and most of them say the dreams eventually faded. We don't know where the others went. We just know not everybody showed up, and nobody who's gone into the fog comes back. The world just isn't there, or might as well not be.
Islands in the Dark
We've got ships still, great carriers that are used to carrying freight and people through the fog. Open ocean routes don't seem to have suffered, but the closer to land you have to get, the bigger the risk that the fog will find you. The waters talk, moreso now than before. And they don't seem to take kindly to cheaters.
Islands in the Dark
In the end, the fog just _is_. It's just another force of nature. Some days it's thick and you should stay home and wrap yourself in a warm blanket and try to sleep. Some days it's thin and you can imagine what the next town looks like through the faint haze on the horizon. We still have weather, or at least climate, and some radio station will report on the fog thickness in your area. Pay attention and watch for when it rolls in.
Islands in the Dark
Oh... and be careful if you breathe it. At least, know what you're getting into.
Everyone's heard the reports, seen the stories. I don't believe the rumors about anybody being _hurt_ by breathing that stuff, but you don't want to stand on the borders too long unless you know what it's likely to do to you. Of course, if you know what it's likely to do to you, you're probably the type to want to stand there and let it.
@literorrery This is an awesome story. :D
Islands in the Dark
Of course, you give a group of bored and restless folks a relentless fog that disappears people, and you'll have folks testing the boundaries, finding what works, what doesn't. And all anyone knows for sure is that it depends. Sometimes folks can walk around in it for days untouched. Some have just vanished, soon as all eyes are off them. It's like somebody's in control, testing the testers, but to what end nobody can say.