Alex moodily peered out the ferry window, the fog that clung eerily to the water's surface obscured his view greatly.
The waves crashed lazily against the hull of the boat, a reassuring crash of sea-spray that his sister found comforting. She sat by his right arm, holding onto it for support as she leaned over the edge of the flimsy railing to wave at the fish.
The boat they were travelling on was a quaint little thing called The Crimson Aurora. It specialised in ferries and tours, their parents had hired it to get them to the remote island their grandparents lived on, they'd been travelling for six hours now, and still, the island was barely a dot on the horizon.
Talk about remote.
A tender tap on his shoulder brought him back to reality. "Huh?" He turned around with a start.
Despite being hired to take them to the island, Alex and Erica were not the sole passengers. The only other inhabitant beside the crew was a rather elusive and peculiar man.
His stance, clothes and speech were more at place two hundred years ago than in the modern world, but in all that eccentricity, nothing intrigued Alex more than the man's eyes, they were a startlingly bright shade of indigo and often seemed to twinkle when he talked.
Which is why Alex was not surprised to find himself briefly staring into a sea of purple. The man leaned back in his chair, the tips of his eyebrows twitched in amusement, his eyes twinkled mischievously. "Tell me, dear boy," He leaned forward and pursed his lips slightly, "What do you think of the mist?".
"The mist? What about it?" By now Alex had turned to face the man, leaning against the railing in order to properly observe him.
"Everything boyo, don't you feel that rush? The exhilaration of mystery hanging in the air? The mist covers everything, as far as the eye can see. It's that air of mystery that compels people such as you and I to stare, thinking "What if...?". Exciting isn't it?".
Alex shook his head. "Curiosity killed the cat... You know the saying, besides," He shuddered, "The mist is just creepy, nothing more.".
The man cocked a brow. "Don't like eeriness?".
Alex sighed. "No... It's hard to explain... No offence, but I don't know you or your name, do I at least get to know who you are?".
The man chuckled. "Of course, Alexander. My name is Leopold, but friends call me 'The Mystery Man'.".
"Nice to meet you, Leopol- Wait, how do you know my name?!".
"Let us call it a mystery." Leopold winked and laughed. "But seriously, I saw the name tag on your satchel.".
"Ah... Sorry for being a little paranoid, recently been through some stuff...".
"That's okay boyo," He smiled mysteriously. "Your paranoia might help in the future, now..." He leaned back in his chair and relaxed into the stiff plastic armrest. "I really must take a rest, all this excitement has left me sleepy.".
"Hey.." Alex started, but Leopold was already fast asleep. "Never mind...".
Turning back to watch the mist roll against the sea, the soft salty breeze ruffling his hair, Alex wondered if maybe his parents were right, maybe he did worry about nothing a lot. Now as he watched his sister recklessly hang off the side of the boat, he wondered if finally, for the first time in fourteen years, he could properly relax.
It took eight hours to reach the shore, the sun slowly setting on the horizon. As the last rays of light vanished and the mist receded back into the ocean, Alex couldn't help but notice how the fading light seemed to turn the darkening sky an eerie crimson.
Erica squinted at the empty dock, her keen eyes swept the harbour. She groaned, "Welcome to Dullsville, population zero." A quick flourish of her long, black hair and a brave step of confidence later carried her onto the grimy wooden floor. She looked back at her brother who still sat on the boat, legs hanging off of one side, a thoughtful and paranoid expression on his face, it was a look she was very familiar with.
She gestured at him. "You scared? Or just worried? With all that worrying, you'll end up giving yourself an ulcer.".
He glared at her. "I know I worry a lot, but shouldn't you? Our parents just decided for us to suddenly spend the summer with grandparents we've never met, doesn't that confound you?".
Erica rolled her eyes, she was used to this, this always fretful nature of his. "Alex, you know why, mom and dad wanted us as far away from Malcolm's family. Because of an ordeal, that let us not forget, was your fault, always got to play the hero, don't you?".
His head slumped down. He muttered, barely audibly, "Sorry...".
She shook her head. "It's okay, just get your butt down here. The sea air is slightly fresh and I'd like to make it to grandma's without turning into a human popsicle.".
Carefully picking up their belongings and tenderly stepping onto the slimy floor, Alex reached for his sister's bag and handed it to her, she gave a flat stare. "On second thoughts, I'll just carry all the bags myself." He grumbled.
She smiled and ruffled his hair. "Good boy.".
He grinned amiably at her, and despite the fact that he was carrying all their stuff, felt non of the strain as he and her ambled down the strangely old-fashioned cobbled street.
That wouldn't last, however. Sometime later and Erica was already feeling frustrated.
She tugged Alex's phone out of his hand, her fingers flicked across his screen in a blur. "Where is it?" She muttered in frustration, "These directions aren't clear at all!".
She sputtered angrily, swiping up and down the screen. "There's no road here called Ragnor Lane!" She shouted, looking around.
"Cool your jets, just give me back my phone so I can check the directions," He snatched the phone out of her hand. "And..." He murmured as he looked through it."This isn't helpful at all.".
Erica stared at him sassily. "I could have told you tha- Oh wait, I did!".
"Shush, Erica. Let's just look around and ask someone for directions, okay?".
Erica paced around, she randomly pointed around all around her. "Ask who!? There's no one around to ask.".
"Let's look around, we'll find someone eventually, I promise.".
"This place looks pretty deserted though, where will we find someone to ask for directions?".
"Maybe there's a bus stop nearby, we can ask someone there." He gestured towards an empty road that led towards a dimly lighted building, the sign hanging on the door read 'The Fairy King'. "If all else fails, head to that pub," He pointed at it, "There's bound to be someone inside who can help.".
She grumbled angrily. "Fine, but if we get even more lost, I'm breaking your phone, understand?".
Alex stared at her blankly. "Break my phone and I'll throw your bags into the river.".
"You wouldn't dare.".
His only response was a shrug. "Come on," He said, tugging at her sleeve. "Let's find that bus stop.".
He slung her bag over her shoulder and motioned her to follow him as he walked down the slimy, cobbled street. Not that their search would mean anything, there were no buses in Echo Falls, there hadn't been for a long time.
Alex and Erica's fruitless search carried them down narrow dark alleys, up back roads, around lanes that were little more than furrows in the cold damp mud, and yet, in the end, all their walking led them back to the old cobbled road, it's ancient gaslights seemed to dim mockingly at the twins.
The sun long since vanished had sunk below the horizon and in its place, the moon, full and proud had risen, silhouetting the town in a pale ochre haze. The air had grown chilly too, a slight mist created by the sudden drop in temperature curled around the street, tiny wisps of mist curled around the lampposts. Alex frowned. "Pub it is then.".
The narrow lane that led to the pub was completely shrouded in mist and as Alex walked down it he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched, abruptly spinning around to observe his surroundings, he couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised to see a bunny watching him. As he noticed it, the bunny's nose twitched inquisitively, they stared at each other for a brief interval before the bunny took off hopping into the undergrowth.
"Hey, hey!" Erica snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Snap out of it! We still need to get to the pub.".
"Yeah," He rubbed his head sheepishly. "Sorry about that.".
"It's fine, let's just get a move on.".
She grabbed his hand and led him to the pub, it was at times like this that Alex was glad he had a sister. She led him to the door of the pub and gestured. "Knock.".
He obliged her, knocking three times, if the light raps could even be called knocking.
The heavy wooden door opened, and a heavy-set woman poked her head out. She wore a wary and tired expression, her hair had been done into closely fitting curls and from the many colourful stains on her tunic, Alex guessed that she was either the cook or a waitress. "What can I do you for?" She said in a surprisingly soft voice, her eyes squinting in barely concealed suspicion.
Erica spoke up quietly. "Excuse me miss, but we're lost... We need directions.".