The Mist by Stephen King

leaving and walk right into that thing out there! For Christ’s sake, don’t you understand?”
    â€œLet me go!”
    â€œNot until you come back there with me and see for yourself.”
    â€œI told you, no! It’s all a trick, a joke. I’m not as stupid as you take me for—”
    â€œThen I’ll haul you back there myself.”
    I grabbed him by the shoulder and the scruff of his neck. The seam of his shirt under one arm tore with a soft purring sound. I dragged him toward the double doors. Norton let out a wretched scream. A knot of people, fifteen or eighteen, had gathered, but they kept their distance. None showed any signs of wanting to interfere.
    â€œHelp me!” Norton cried. His eyes bulged behind his glasses. His styled hair had gone awry again, sticking up in the same two little tufts behind his ears. People shuffled their feet and watched.
    â€œWhat are you screaming for?” I said in his ear. “It’s just a joke, right? That’s why I took you to town when you asked to come and why I trusted you to cross Billy in the parking lot—because I had this handy fog all manufactured, I rented a fog machine from Hollywood, it cost me fifteen thousand dollars and another eight thousand dollars to ship it, all so I could play a joke on you. Stop bullshitting yourself and open your eyes!”
    â€œLet…me…go!” Norton bawled. We were almost at the doors.
    â€œHere, here! What is this? What are you doing?”
    It was Brown. He bustled and elbowed his way through the crowd of watchers.
    â€œMake him let me go,” Norton said hoarsely. “He’s crazy.”
    â€œNo. He’s not crazy. I wish he were, but he isn’t.” That was Ollie, and I could have blessed him. He came around the aisle behind us and stood there facing Brown.
    Brown’s eyes dropped to the beer Ollie was holding. “You’re drinking! ” he said, and his voice was surprised but not totally devoid of pleasure. “You’ll lose your job for this.”
    â€œCome on, Bud,” I said, letting Norton go. “This is no ordinary situation.”
    â€œRegulations don’t change,” Brown said smugly. “I’ll see that the company hears of it. That’s my responsibility.”
    Norton, meanwhile, had skittered away and stood at some distance, trying to straighten his shirt and smooth back his hair. His eyes darted between Brown and me nervously.
    â€œHey!” Ollie cried suddenly, raising his voice and producing a bass thunder I never would have suspected from this large but soft and unassuming man. “Hey! Everybody in the store! You want to come up back and hear this! It concerns all of you!” He looked at me levelly, ignoring Brown altogether. “Am I doing all right?”
    â€œFine.”
    People began to gather. The original knot of spectators to my argument with Norton doubled, then trebled.
    â€œThere’s something you all had better know—” Ollie began.
    â€œYou put that beer down right now,” Brown said.
    â€œYou shut up right now,” I said, and took a step toward him.
    Brown took a compensatory step back. “I don’t know what some of you think you are doing,” he said, “but I can tell you it’s going to be reported to the Federal Foods Company! All of it! And I want you to understand— there may be charges! ” His lips drew nervously back from his yellowed teeth, and I could feel sympathy for him. Just trying to cope; that was all he was doing. As Norton was by imposing a mental gag order on himself. Myron and Jim had tried by turning the whole thing into a macho charade—if the generator could be fixed, the mist would blow over. This was Brown’s way. He was…Protecting the Store.
    â€œThen you go ahead and take down the names,” I said. “But please don’t talk.”
    â€œI’ll take down plenty of names,”