One Step Beyond: 1A

    This is not the start of our story, if you haven't already, please read the beginning of our callaborative effort before continuing. You can find it here Thank you.



    Such an awful way to go, Thomas thought to himself as he watched the girl fall off the path. The girl had been trespassing, but he still felt a pang of sadness watching her disappear into the black depths. Most of the locals don’t know about the bridge, because it hasn’t been used in nearly seventy-five years. Some of the older families are vaguely aware of an old ghost story, but they didn’t really believe, still, most warned their children against stepping toe one across the DeWitt property line.



    The girl’s family moved into town a couple of years ago. If anyone had warned them, they clearly hadn’t heeded the advice. The girl spent many days on the old bridge, drawing. Thomas and his family lived in the house at the top of the hill, if Thomas positioned himself just right in the apple tree, he could peer through his binoculars and watch the young girl.



    Thomas ran inside and tried to forget about the girl, what was he supposed to say, anyway? He barely touched the soup his mother had prepared because he just didn’t feel like eating. The old stories said a lot of things about those waters, one of them was very comforting. Thomas excused himself under the guise of feeling unwell and spent the rest of the evening in his room, replaying what he had seen.



    During the night he tried to perform a familiar ritual. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine what life would be like with that girl. But all his usual fantasies were interrupted by the memory of her falling off the bridge. I have to do something, he told himself. If I don’t, I might never sleep again.



    Thomas grabbed a duffle bag and stuffed a few towels and a blanket into it. He grabbed a flashlight and a bag of trail mix, filled up a canteen and ran out the door. The air was chilly and crisp, and the girl had probably already drowned or succumbed to hypothermia. Thomas cursed himself for being so slow and hustled down the hill pass.



    Thomas exited the path and got as close to the water as he dared. This time of year, the water should be nearly frozen, yet Thomas felt an inviting warmth radiating from the ebony brew. He felt a tremor run through his body. The place was just so unnatural.



    “Hello?” he called out. “Are you hurt? Can you hear me? I brought a blanket.”


    Thomas strained his ears and heard nothing. He knelt by the edge of the water and hesitated. Looking around, Thomas found a long stick and picked it up. He dipped the stick into the water to try and see how deep it went. The stick was easily five feet long, but it couldn’t reach the bottom. Thomas pulled the stick out and looked at it. The black water congealed and dripped off the stick. Whatever it was, it looked nothing like any water Thomas had ever seen.


    “Miss?” Thomas called out, even more desperately.


    “Miss, please!”


    “She isn’t here,” came a hoarse whisper.


    Thomas looked around but couldn’t find the slightest sign that somebody else was with him. He decided his brain was playing tricks on him. Thomas put the stick in the river and stirred it around, hoping not to find anything.


    “She isn’t here.”



    Thomas still couldn’t locate the source of the voice. Annoyed, he asked “Then where is she, huh?”


    Suddenly the water began to glow light a blacklight. Thomas jumped back, startled at first. After he got over the sudden fright, he made his way back to the water’s edge and stared, transfixed into the glowing stream.


    Thomas poked it with the stick again, but this time something grabbed onto the stick and tried to wrench it from him. After a brief struggle, the stick disappeared, and Thomas lost his balance. He steadied for a moment and fell on his ass. He decided he better run back home, maybe call the sheriffs department and tell them about the girl.



    “Leaving already?” The whisper asked. “surely you’re not afraid of a little water?” there was a sound like a salmon jumping and the stick Thomas was using landed on the grass next to the river. “You’ll see, there is no reason to fear.” Thomas tried to stop himself, but an overwhelming curiosity carried him to the edge of the river. The stick was completely covered in the water. “Pick it up, what could happen?”


    Thomas wrapped his fingers around the stick. As soon as he touched the glowing liquid, he went limp. His body crashed to the ground and Thomas began to scream.


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