Fog Knows Your Name Fanfic

Just a little something that’s been racking around my brain since the Fog Knows Your Name. There are some slight ending spoilers, but nothing major.

Yasmin pulled her coat tightly around her, noting how her breath misted over. It was already snowing when the Fog released her, and it looked like it was going to last all night.

At least I should make it to town, she thought, before the worst of the storm hits.

All was quiet except for her boots crunching through the accumulated snowpack. She jumped slightly when a loud crack pierced the air, only to see a branch broken by the weight of snow.

Behind her, she heard the sound of an engine. Turning her head, she saw an SUV coming down the road. For a moment, Yasmin considered hitching a ride, but thought better of it since she didn’t know who’d be driving it.

So Yasmin continued down the road, only to feel a bit of panic when the vehicle came to stop with a loud squeal of breaks about ten feet in front of her. She quickly looked to the woods, wondering whether to make a dash for it when a voice cut through her fear.

“Yasmin,” said a low, hopeful voice, “Is that really you?”

Yasmin raised her head, seeing a woman in her early twenties, looking straight at her, causing her heart to beat a few extra times. “Ennis?” she replied.

“Oh God, it is you!” said the young woman, and Yasmin temporarily lost her breath as the other’s arms tightly wrapped around her, rocking from left and right. Unconsciously, Yasmin returned the gesture, in that brief moment, felt a peace she hadn’t known in a long time.

Ennis gently shepherded Yasmin to the SUV, saying “Let’s go someplace warm.”

Yasmin let out a soft sigh as she sank into the passenger seat, luxuriating in the warmth of the vehicle. She turned her head and looked out at the passing countryside, her breath causing fog to appear on the window. Yasmin had to repress the urge of drawing a heart and the letters Y + E in the middle of it. After all, who knew what had changed with her departure?

Yasmin was deep in these idle thoughts when she realized Ennis was asking her a question. “I’m sorry,” she said, “what were you saying?”

Concern laced Ennis’ voice as she asked, “What were you doing on that stretch of road?”

“The Fog…the Fog said it was time for me to go, and when it pulled back…there I was,” Yasmin slowly said, “How…how long was I gone?” Time was meaningless when in the Fog’s clutches, but Yasmin that didn’t pertain to the rest of the world.

“Two years,” answered Ennis, “you were gone for two years.”

“Two years,” repeated Yasmin softly, “A lot can change in two years.”

“Yes it can,” Ennis said, “But you’re here now, and that is what is important.”

“Maybe,” Yasmin said, disbelief coloring her tone.

Silence filled the vehicle until they started to enter the town proper. Yasmin exhaled softly as at least most of the businesses and homes remained the same. Yasmin bit her lip as they passed Spirit Drive, and she said, “Could you turn back? I know it’s probably been a while, but my home is back there.”

This time Ennis kept her eyes glued on the road, but one hand twined her fingers with Yasmin’s. “I…I can’t do that. After you disappeared, your mother left town. Sold the restaurant, and everything.”

“Oh,” Yasmin said, mind numbed at this news.

Ennis made a left turn, maintaining contact with Yasmin, “You can stay with me, however long it is. I promise you this.”

Eventually, the SUV pulled into the driveway Yasmin was familiar with, one that belonged to Ennis’ family. “My parents went on vacation to Florida,” Ennis explained, unlocking the door, “They asked me to housesit. Why don’t you take it easy while I make us something to eat. You must be starving.”

Yasmin curled up on a chair, “I felt like I haven’t eaten in two years. Oh wait, I didn’t.”

Ennis gave a small chuckle which died on her lips as she realized Yasmin was being serious. Instead, she ducked back into the kitchen, and dug through the refrigerator. Ennis frowned as the only thing worth cooking was a lasagna in the freezer. She pulled it out, and let the oven to preheat.

It was while she was digging through the cupboards to find something to go with the meal when she heard muffled sobs coming from the living room. Cracking open the door, Ennis saw Yasmin scrolling through a phone quite dated by modern standards, tears streaming down her face.

“What’s wrong?” Ennis asked gently, noting that Yasmin must have been checking social media while she was busy in the kitchen.

Yasmin sniffed, “Ever thought the world might be better if you disappeared? I sometimes thought that with my mom. I mean, my dad left us because of me. She…she was seeing someone a few years back. There was talk of marriage, then he left…because of me.”

Yasmin held up a phone, revealing her mother, couple years older than the last time Ennis saw her, smiling and hugging a strange man, and a young baby rested on her hip. “Turns out I have a sister,” Yasmin continued, “Guess I was right; the one thing preventing my mother from being really happy was me.”

Ennis knelt by the chair, pressing her head against Yasmin, holding her face between her hands, “Baby, don’t ever think that. Your mother…she was devastated. She left…she left because staying held too much pain.”

Ennis swallowed, “She wasn’t the only one flailing when you were gone. I…I was in a dark place. The woman I…I loved…taken from me, the one I almost killed…” Tears started to stream down Ennis face, and she wiped her nose with sleeve of her blouse.

“I…I can’t speak for anyone else, but you will always be important to me,” Ennis continued. She walked over to the bookshelf, and pulled a hardback down. “This…this was printed earlier this year. I’m contracted for two more after this. I…I apologize in advance…I…thought you were lost to me forever.”

Ennis pressed the book into Yasmin’s hands, then darted into the kitchen to make dinner while she had the stamina to do so. Looking at the cover, Yasmin felt a shiver as there was an ominous fog surrounding a young woman. She ran her fingers over the embossed title: Mist Taken.

Yasmin curled her legs up, and started to read. Silence filled the house, and she lost track of time until Ennis came out with a steaming pan of lasagna, and bowl of soup.

“This…this about me,” Yasmin said, wonder in her voice, “Well, sort of. I mean, you called her Jasmine, but…”

“I wanted to honor you,” Ennis babbled, her emotional façade breaking down again, “Even if some said I was in it for the money, but…”

Yasmin shot out of the chair, pressing her lips against Ennis’ in desperate need. When the two parted, Yasmin said, “You don’t have to explain. I believe you.”

“Then you’re one of the few,” Ennis laughed, “But then you always assumed the best because of me.”

Yasmin didn’t know how to answer that, but didn’t think she had two. Instead, she pulled out Ennis’ chair, “Maybe we should eat before it gets cold.”

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Hey, this is really good!

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Thanks; there are some games that I was sad ended because I wanted just a bit more…The Fog Knows Your Name was definitely one of them.

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Just another little something. I don’t really remember seeing too many games dealing with how if someone disappears (like to an alternate dimension) how much stuff they’d have to do to get back into society, etc.


Yasmin felt a small thrill when Ennis pulled out the chair, almost like one of her daydreams where the two went out on restaurant date. She was about to sit down when a gentle, but firm hand wrapped around her left wrist. Yasmin was silent as Ennis turned arm upside down, the kitchen light revealing a series of scars almost as fine as spiderweb running up and down the length of Yasmin’s inner arm.

“Is…is this what I think this is?” Ennis asked in a voice laced with concern and sadness.

Yasmin pulled her arm back as if she just touched a live wire, pressing it tight against her breast. In that moment Ennis took note of the teenager’s fingernails, cracked and jagged like the teeth of a steak knife.

Yasmin turned her head, focusing on a cat-clock on the far wall, its tail moving back and forth as the seconds slowly ticked by. “Remember I asked how long I was gone?” Yasmin answered, her voice barely above a whisper. Before Ennis could reply, Yasmin continued, “So everytime I’d go to sleep, I’d make a mark.”

Yasmin gave a small laugh devoid of mirth, “When I woke up, everything was different. Oh, it looked like some part of the island. However, there was nothing to write with, so I made do.”

Ennis took in a deep breath, easily imagining how those nails would feel against one’s flesh. After Yasmin’s disappearance, Ennis had her own dark thoughts about handling what transpired. “If you don’t mind answering…how…how many marks are there?”

Yasmin gazed downward, looking at her shoes, “I stopped after three-hundred and sixty five.”

“A full year,” Ennis murmured.

Yasmin nodded, “If you found this shocking, maybe I shouldn’t wear any bikinis or shorts if we go to the beach.”

Ennis stomach fluttered as she briefly imagined Yasmin in a revealing bathing suit, a playful smirk on her face. The thought left as quickly as it formed, realizing that Yasmin’s marks weren’t just on her arms.

However, all Yasmin noticed was what might have been a smile quickly turn into a frown. Grimacing, she took a seat, feeling like the sixth grade ‘barnacle’ Rex called her all over again, trying to be around as Ennis as much as possible.

“Sorry,” Yasmin muttered, slumping down into the chair, limply picking up her fork, “It’s been two years…you probably have someone in your life, and even if you don’t…”

A loud thud interrupted Yasmin as Ennis took her seat, “That…that wasn’t what I was thinking. I was just imagining how things must have been for you, and it left me silent.”

“Oh,” Yasmin said, emotions swirling as it started to hit home that she actually was in the physical world, and she was seriously out of touch, both mentally and emotionally. Instead, she took a bite of the lasagna, and in that moment nothing had tasted so good, and she followed it up with another bite.

After a couple more mouthfuls, she pointed her fork at Ennis, “So what have you done the last couple years?”

Glad for the change in topic, Ennis answered, “In three more years, I should be able to vote again.”

“Hmmm?” interjected Yasmin, her mouth full of food.

“You can’t kidnap someone at gunpoint and expect to go unpunished,” Ennis said softly, “I hurt a lot of people. I’ve made what amends I could, but others…I mean, a person can’t exactly blame Angela’s father getting a restraining order against me, you know, just in case.”

Yasmin nodded, “But you’re at least trying from the sounds of it. I…I wish I could have been there with you as you dealt with it.”

“You and me both,” Ennis mumbled, attention distracted as Yasmin twined the fingers of her free hand with her own.

“At least I’ll have a chance to take you to prom,” Yasmin said, causing Ennis to choke slightly at the non sequitur.

“Pardon me,” Ennis said, wiping her mouth with a napkin, “you took me by surprise.”

“Sorry,” Yasmin said, “You made me realize that just as you had a lot of stuff to deal with, so did I. I mean, I didn’t exactly finish high school.”

“And I can’t imagine to many schools where ‘abducted by ghost fog’ is a valid excuse,” Ennis added.

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Just a little something in my brain, a scenario of the teenager returning, and being discussed on a paranormal talkshow.


“Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome back to Walk on the Darke Side. Everyone is in for a treat tonight as we go back to Arbor Isle, Main with the spookiest weather in all of New England. Joining me tonight is my guest, Richard Hannigan, leader of the paranormal group, Phantom Investigators.”

“It’s great to be on your show again, Ms. Darke.”

“Please, call me Felicia. So what do you have to share with my listeners this evening?”

“As long time members of your audience might remember, the last time I was on, a high school student by the name Yasmin Garcia, had gone missing.”

“I recall that story well, especially as the fog was said to have claimed another victim.”

“Indeed, Felicia. Eye witnesses on the scene say an intense fog rolled in, covering a group of teenagers, and when it lifted, only one person was missing: Yasmin.”

“For those who don’t know the story, this was two years ago, right Richard?”

“Correct. No hide nor hair of her was ever found. Ultimately, the police ruled that she must have been caught by a riptide and dragged out to sea since this gathering took place on the beach.”

“Obviously this isn’t the end of the story, or you wouldn’t be here this evening.”

“Heh, I can’t keep anything from you Felicia. Well, I’m pleased to say that Yasmin has been found, unharmed. But what makes this one of the most fascinating cases I’ve ever studied…Yasmin looked exactly the same as the night she disappeared two years previously.”

“What do you mean looked the same?”

“Just what I said. Surveillance footage recently released to the public shows nothing changed. Her hair was in the same style, the same length, hell even all of her clothes were the same right down to the shoes.”

“For listeners out there, my staff has confirmed the footage as well as the pictures Richard mentions. It is like she vanished from the face of the earth, only to reappear 2 years later, but with no passing for her.”

“Exactly Felicia! And in my professional opinion, no time did pass for her. Sources within the police department stated she had no idea what happened over the last two years. Hell, even her cell phone’s updates were 2 years out of date, yet didn’t lose any charge at all.”

“So what do you think happened to her?”

“The same as every spooky thing that happens in Arbor Isle: the fog. Tell me, do you know of a gentleman by the name of Bruce Gernon?”

“He was the pilot who flew the Bermuda Triangle, but to have little time pass, wasn’t he?”

“Exactly. He talks about an electronic fog that enveloped his plane, and suddenly he was hundreds of miles away. I theorize the fog in Arbor Isle did the same thing, except it transported Yasmin through time, rather than space.”

“In other words, literal time travel.”

“Indeed. Not that she was the only one affected by it. Does the name Rex Keller ring a bell?”

“That name rings a bell…wait…he was another Arbor Isle resident, wasn’t he?”

“Remind me to never play against you in Guess Who. Rex was actually classmates with Yasmin, and for a while, the local sheriff even accused her of murdering him.”

“But didn’t Rex turn up alive? Something about how he escaped from a cult? I thought the grave was empty.”

“That is the cover story to explain what happened. The thing is, he was actually dead. We’ve included the coroner’s report and pictures, as well as the funeral held for Rex.”

“Damn, I imagine it wasn’t easy getting those records. So he was dead, and now he isn’t. Are you saying the fog brought him back to life.”

“In his case, no. Rex is both alive and dead.”

“Sort of like a Shrodinger’s Teenager?”

chuckles Not quite. As your astute listeners know, there are multiple dimensions in our universe, and this fog must touch on others, not our own. So the fog brought back Rex Keller, but it was a Rex from a universe in which he is still alive.”

“And the Rex from our universe is still dead.”

“Correct, and this naturally created headache for those people who try to keep all this stuff secret. Normally, they’d put a bullet into the brain of the double, and call it a day except to many people saw him walking around.”

“So they stole the body and made up a story of a cult?”

“Exactly, the same story that Rex continues to tell to this day. Not that I blame him; if he goes off script…well, he’d probably suffer an ‘auto accident’ or something equally deadly.”

“I’m going to have to interrupt you there, Richard, while we break for commercials.”

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