I quickly grab ahold of Sarah’s hand and run for the other end of the bridge.

“Aly?” She asks in between breaths, “What’s wrong? Why are we running?” 

I don’t answer, I just keep pulling her along with me. Saving other people is a priority but they aren’t at the top of my list. 

We blow past a homeless man in the middle of the bridge sitting on cardboard. He seems asleep but the empty cup begs for coins beside him.  I pay him no mind as we keep running. We pass by a few numerous shadows and pedestrians. Each of their heads swivel as their eyes follow us to the other side. I have only one goal right now: Keep Sarah alive!

When we reach the end of the bridge I let go of her hand, assuming we’re at a safe enough range. I look back across the bridge. The 23 shadows are all just sitting or standing in various locations all over the bridge as if they’re waiting. Some of them even stand between the traffic lanes. 

Could there be a horrible car accident, a tragic pile up? Would some mad-knight with a sword appear and start hurting people? Would I even be able to stop them? 

I shake my head to silence all the stray thoughts  to be more grounded. What's more likely to happen here? How could 23 people, Aly?!

Judging by how many shadows there are, I can only assume one thing:

The bridge is likely to fall. 

But why? And how? It’s a steel built bridge made with heavy concrete and steel cables. What could have enough force to make it fall?

Bridges are built to survive even earthquakes. Not to meantion, this bridge has been here almost as long as this city. Who knows how many severe storms it’s already weathered.

Unless…

“Aly, what was that all about? Why did we run to the other side? Did we need to get off the bridge or something?”

Ignoring her, I lean over the side of the bridge, hoping to get a view underneath it. 

It’s just as I thought. Two of the columns I see on the right side are cracked, with a few crumbling pieces missing from them. 

However, even with that light crumbling, it wouldn’t be enough to make it collapse right? It’s the equivalent of a small pothole in the street. So, what’s the deal? There’s no immediate danger— this doesn’t make sense. How would this alone put 23 people’s lives at risk? 

I feel a tug on my shoulder. I turn to see Sarah looking back at me, searching my eyes for an answer, "Aly, what’s wrong…?”

I look away, not knowing what to tell her. What good would telling her that 23 people are about to die do? What do I do if she asks how I know— tell her about the shadows I’ve been seeing since I was 12? Would she believe me so easily? Sure I’ve saved some people, but would she believe me if I told her how I knew to save them? 

“Aly?” She sees the concern in my face that I fail to hide. 

I wrestle with the thought of telling her but, just then another image goes through my mind about what happened earlier today. 

“Sarah, before, you said ‘I affect fate’. You’re right about that. Earlier today that boy was supposed to die and I stopped that. But what if I told you two people were supposed to die during that accident…”

“What are you talking about? How does that correlate to now? Plus it was only that kid who was in danger from running into the street.”

“No, that driver circled the lot 3 times before that accident as he was looking for a parking space, but he was too busy looking at his phone while driving.” I look her in the eye, “What would happen to a person who did something terrible that was completely avoidable if they had paid attention?”

“Well, I think they’d be severely punished.”

“Exactly! Sarah, what would a man do if he’d just lost his one and only son to a reckless fool?”

It takes a moment, but I know my question makes its point when her eyes go wide and she covers her mouth as she thinks about the dark scene that would have transpired if I hadn’t intervened. 

“Sarah, I know what’s about to take place here. An accident is about to happen. I don’t know exactly what causes it, or how. But I do know one thing: a lot of people are going to get hurt.”

She looks from me to the bridge looking for the same clues. I can tell she’s burning with the question of how I know. But just as her mouth opens—

“I never would have saved that family that night if you had been in the car.”

Her eyes dart around to find the right words, but they just come out as gasps and breaths.

“Sarah, please… Go home.”

She looks me in the eye, confused and worried, “Bbbut I— I can help!”

“I’m not willing to risk your life for the sake of others.” 

She’s entirely speechless, trying to find an argument to make. I move to turn around but she latches on to my arm.

“Aly, don’t do anything stupid.”

“Go.” I say one last time and reverse her grip on me. “And don’t stop until you reach home safely. I’m right behind you. I’ll leave once everyone is out of the area. You just focus on getting the presents home. I’ll be there soon.”

“Don’t crash a car again!”

A genuine smile pops on my face, “I will do no such thing. Now off you go.”

I watch as she jogs away until she gets across the next light. 

Now back to our big problem— 

How do 23 people die on a bridge that probably won’t collapse?