"I wish I didn't have to babysit that little twerp!" Ashley grumbled to herself. With Tabitha at choir practice, she had to walk home alone for once. Ashley sighed, looking up to the sky for some form of guidance. The blue sky reached to the horizon without a single cloud in sight. As she wandered down her usual path, the whole town seemed lonelier than ever.

As she walked past, Ashley peeked at the yards of her neighbors, noticing some had put out decorations for Thanksgiving. One particularly festive individual had a large, air-filled turkey sitting in the middle of their yard. She never had time to look around like this when she hurried to school ever morning. I really need to fix that alarm-

"Hey! You go to Snapdragon Junior High, don't you?" Ashley turned to see a boy sprinting up behind her. He was wearing her school's uniform, adorned with a half-folded collar. There were plenty of pieces to mix and match within the uniform guidelines, and she noticed he opted for a blue tie and a gray sweater along with the required white shirt and mahogany pants. He stopped, huffing, until he finally threw out his hand. "Name's Edwin Bell." he panted. "Nice to meet you."

"Ashley Reading. Spelled like a book, but said like the color." She returned the handshake, trying to identify the stranger. His dark hair was an absolute mess, and his face was completely unfamiliar. With a school of over a thousand students, it wasn’t uncommon to meet someone new, even after attending Snapdragon for two years. "I've never seen you walk home this way before,” Ashley said, quickly adding, “I guess I'm usually in clubs."

"Well I'm never at any afterschool activity, so that explains things. What homeroom are you in?" He asked kindly. "That is, if you don't mind me asking."

"8A. You?"

"Oh, 8C, almost next door! Mr. Davis is your teacher, right? How is he? I’ve heard he can be a bit of a hard-ass when it comes to tests."

“Well, he’s not a fan of partial points, but he does offer extra credit, so I can’t complain.” Ashley laughed, thinking about how her math grade would look if she hadn’t taken up every extra credit assignment last quarter. She didn’t understand why this random kid was talking to her, but she was lonely without Tabitha. There was no harm in having some walking companionship. “Who’s your homeroom teacher?”

“Mrs. Schumacher. She teaches English, and it sucks having it first thing in the morning. Math is probably worse, though.”

“No, its great! Nothing gets me back to sleep faster than finding slopes.” Ashley joked, causing Edwin to chuckle.

“Can’t deny that. There was this kid in my science class last year that fell asleep during one lesson, and the teacher had us all leave the room and turn off the lights. Then he dropped a textbook in the doorway, and the kid shot awake. His face was so funny when he saw we were all gone. It was a nice distraction from discussing kinetic energy.”

“Oh my god, my math teacher in sixth grade hid one girl’s textbook on the television when she left it in class everyday for a month. It took her two months to find it.”

Laughing at the stories they shared, the pair reached an old stone bridge, crossing a small river that wove through Summers. Ashley walked to the railing, leaning over to see the clear running water. The river was calm, a few minnows shimmering in the sunlight. It was surprisingly nice for her little town. Did she really cross through here everyday?

Edwin followed her over to lean against the railing. "See anything coo-WAH!" As soon as Edwin put his weight on the metal railing, it snapped at the base, taking some of the stone bridge with it. Edwin was left flailing, trying to get back on the bridge as his body fell further into the air. Time seemed to slow as Ashley watched the boy fall, and without thinking she reached out to grab him, grasping his left hand tightly. She leaned back, trying to get Edwin’s weight back over the bridge as his feet stayed on the edge of the structure. He steadied himself, and Ashley breathed a sigh of relief.

Then the bridge beneath Edwin’s feet crumbled, and he plummeted down, pulling Ashley flat against the pavement. Pain seared through her body where she collided with the ground, and Edwin was left dangling nine feet above the river. “Are you okay?" she yelled, barely able to keep him up. "Try and climb up!"

"I'm going to die," he muttered in shock, looking down at the water below. It wasn't deep enough to break a fall at this height.

"No you won't! Just get your other hand up here!" Ashley shouted, her muscles straining to support him after her injury. She could feel herself shaking, arms turning to jello as the life of a stranger was ending in her grip. Edwin gulped and took a look back up to the bridge. He shifted, throwing his right hand back to the rocks, only for his fingers to slip away.

“Edwin!” Ashley yelled, feeling the fingers of his left hand slipping away. Edwin held his breath, throwing his right hand up once more. This time, he kept his grip against the stone. Ashley was relieved to see his progress. “Do you think you can climb up?”

"I... I'd rather not,” he replied, having gone very pale. "F-fire!” Ashley glanced to where Edwin looked beside her, only to find the bridge was ablaze. Fire leaped around her, the stones mysteriously burning even though there was no cause in sight. But there wasn't time to think about why. Very soon she would be burnt crispy if they didn't do something. "Jump in! It'll be safer!" Edwin demanded, loosening his grip in her hand and letting go of the bridge.

"We can't! The fall alone will break us!” she protested, wringing his wrist tighter.

"A few scrapes and a broken bone are better than dying!" With one swift tug, he freed himself from her grasp and fell to the river below.

"Not fair," Ashley muttered as she turned back to the burning bridge. She didn’t want to see what happened to him. Her arms were shaking from how much she overstrained her muscles, and the rest of her felt like she’d been run over by a truck. The fire was coming closer, and she weighed the options. The fall from the bridge killing her would probably hurt less than burning to death. She sighed, struggling to get up on her knees. She didn’t dare look below her, instead looking at the river stretching into the distance. It was scenic. Beautiful, even. Something nice for her last sight.

Ashley shuffled on her knees to the gap in the railing and closed her eyes. She tilted her weight forward, feeling as the solid ground transformed into the air. For a moment she felt like she was floating. And then there was nothing.