The spirit spoke to Simon as he ran. “Running water is no friend to–”
Simon tuned him out. The Gemini bridge was an ancient walkway over a small river, barely larger than most creeks. It formally had no name, but was known by nearly everyone as the Gemini bridge. This bridge was reportedly the site of a brazen act of fratricide. Some stories claimed a boy was murdered by his identical twin brother. Other reports went on to say his twin sister did the deed.
Tales of the murderous sister were very popular. They allowed further speculation into her true identity. The future works of an unknown murderess fascinated the isolated groups of teenage boys who sprang up in every such place.
Simon ran so fast that the rope handrail left a pink welt on his palm. The creatures remained behind him. The slowly churning stream lay just a few yards ahead. Then he would be over the running water. He would be safe.
He stumbled and fell hard. The creatures stepped onto the bridge, causing it to sway worse than his own violent fall. Simon stood, started at a full run again, and skinned his face against the rope as he fell.
“Simon!” the spirit guide chided. “Running water is no friend to you tonight.”
The creatures laughed. One had a voice not unlike a nurse at a doctor’s office. Her voice was feminine and relaxed on the surface yet undeniable in its grave seriousness. “What’s it going to be?”
Simon tried to make her out among the crowd. Dark crimson pigtails fell off her temples, and a large patch of hair tickled at her waist. He checked his options. Face the crowd or jump.
“Don’t do it Simon. You have more choices than that.”
Simon shook his head. “Yeah right. Either you get me or I jump.”
He could see her head twist to a crooked, curious angle in the moonlight. Then, she laughed aloud. The others joined her, infected by her laughter.
“You have a lot more options than that, Simon. What’s it going to be?”
Back to part 1
Concludes tomorrow.
