Foggy Bottom Boys

100.

"I don't think we can literally fight the weather Gilbert."

"It's not the weather girl, its unnatural the kind of fog that can drain a man dry in seconds." The old ship captain talked like a cliche old pirate.

"Carl here knows his fog's Clarissa, I trust him." Carl had been the first client after thanksgiving for GD exterminators. Doris was still on family leave, but this was normal she usually took Christmas time off.

"As I was saying, there's an evil fog out there Gilbert, not caused by no ghosts or anything else I've ever seen in all my years. Navy ain't talking about it, but they lost a whole crew of men to it shipping out of Bremerton. Just ship went into the fog full of crew, came out of the fog empty, picked clean." Gilbert hadn't been contacted by anyone in the military, but it didn't surprise him considering the current state of affairs.

"When did it show up?"

"Shortly after that fire up on the peninsula." Gilbert sucked air between his teeth. He was afraid of something like this, knew it was coming, but a fog? That was a different kind of thing than what he'd expected.

"It's why I'm here Gilbert, I heard you were involved in that, I knew the evil of those woods, but I didn't think that they could manifest on the water like they are now, or I assume they are now."

"You still got that old rust heap on the coast?"

"Gassed up and ready for you." Gilbert nodded and Captain Carl nodded and then left. Clarissa was left just wondering what happened.

****

"This is a bad idea Gilbert, the forest was one thing, but evil fog on ocean? That sounds like it would be worse."

"Can't just leave the problem for someone else Clarissa, that ain't my way." Gilbert didn't want to tell her how afraid he was. The evil in the woods was bad, worse than most things he'd dealt with, and now it was spreading to a new thing, which was mobile.

"Call the government."

"This government? You must be joking, even if I could convince my old unit to help, I don't think they are equipped for this, hell I don't even know if I am, and I understand if you want to stay behind on this one."

"I'm going, I just don't think we should Gilbert, this almost killed you once and that was on land."

"We'll be fine, Carl's an excellent captain, though it has been some years since I've been on one of his ships, I'm sure its in perfect quality."

****

Carl's ship was a rusted wreck of a barely functioning vessel when Gilbert got a look at it. He could hear Clarissa chuckling behind him when they had come down the pier with their gear.

"Shit."