I stand up and take a look at the wrecked cars. Neither driver seems to have gotten out. 

To mine and the crowd of onlooker’s horror; screaming and pounding from a window erupt through the scene. 

No!

Another person’s yelling resounds from behind one of the crashed cars, “HEY, SOMEBODY HELP!! HE’S STUCK IN HERE!”

Blast! There’s still a pedestrian on there too?!

Then I see them. 4 Shadows are still on the bridge while the other 19 have already disappeared. 3 of the 4 shadowy figures walk over to surround the wrecked vehicles. 

Everyone just stands around, gawking, unsure of what to do. One onlooker tries to step onto the bridge but a crack races towards where he put his foot and he races to take back his leg before he could fall through. 

Why… how?

A bigger crowd forms as the sounds of creaking are added to the crackling of concrete. People start to scream and yell and pray to Death or Life or to whatever Host who would spare them. 

The sound of breaking glass makes everyone go silent. 

Yelling from the cars is heard again. The pedestrian that is still on the bridge struggles on the other side of the red car, “His seatbelt won’t let me drag him out! Someone help me! Come on, don’t just stand there! We still have time!”

I scan the wreckage. The flipped silver car is diagonal to the red car. The red car is smoking and is lodged into the railing of the sidewalk and has a streetlight on top of it. I can see the driver and someone else hanging from the backseat of the silver car. The person in the back is pounding on the window while the driver is still unconscious.

I take it in.

I take it all in. 

My eyes flash across the scene. As if highlighting the path, my vision focuses on the railing the red car crashed into. It’s all bent out of shape. A few of the thin bars holding up the railing came loose, only being connected to either the top or bottom rim. My vision then focuses over to the other side of the wreckage where the streetlamp’s glass broke, the glass lies in a pile on the ground.  

A wire snaps as the bridge creaks further and breaks my focus. Two shadows go over to the windows of the silver car and squat. One puts their hand to the glass window next to the driver while the other simply looks at the passenger banging on their window. 

Immediately I’m reminded of the time when I first started to see the shadows of Death come around. 

|| Aly, let’s walk. ||

I was 12, standing at a 4 way intersection with my adoptive father, trying to cross the street. It was the 33rd day of Winter and the snow had turned to slush. The city streets were dangerous and Papa-Barry and I were trying to get home.

There was something that caught my eye. I just stood there, not able to figure out what it was that I was looking at. 

The light for pedestrians just turned green and Papa-Barry was trying to get across the street before the light changed, but I was firmly planted in place trying to figure out why…

|| Aly? ||

Why my heart skipped a beat and why there was a shadowy figure walking across the street on the opposite side. It walked until it loomed behind someone, a man with a trench coat and scarf. The shadow just stood there, like it was waiting for something to happen while it was stalking behind the man. No one else seemed to notice it. Or knew that it was there.

Our light changed, and we weren’t able to walk across, but the light for the man changed and he began to walk. 

The shadow didn’t follow immediately, but instead watched the man cross…

|| Aly, what are you looking at? ||

The only thing is, the man never made it all the way across.

|| Oh no, Aly don’t look! ||

"Aly!”

I awake from my daze to feel my sister shaking me. I’ve somehow collapsed to one knee.

She hugs me, “I’m so happy you’re okay! What happened!?”

I wince at the pressure of her crushing my certainly fractured ribs. While still looking at the car wreckage I manage to say, “ An elemental landed on the bridge…”

She gasps and looks at the bridge.

“It’s going to fall….”

“How do you…?” she starts to ask but then asks a different question, “A-are there people still on there?”

I point at the two cars in the wreck without looking at her, “Four.”

Her eyes burn into me but I don’t even turn to meet her gaze.

"Aly!”

I keep scanning for a solution to the dire situation before me.

She grabs and shakes me again.

"Aly!”

I slowly turn to meet her eyes.

“Please, tell me you’re not going to go!”

I don’t answer her. 

Sirens sound off in the background and wash over the crowd of people yelling and chatting.

“Look, help is almost here! You don’t have to go! You already did what you needed to do before, right?”

While still looking at the scene ahead I answer her, “The nearest station on this side of the city is 3 miles away. On the other side, it’s 4 miles. Someone must have reported it less than a minute ago, but we have to consider two things: first, sirens sound closer than they really are due to echoes in the city.” I pause to look her in the eye, “And secondly, this elemental has possibly been sighted throughout the city… meaning those rescue crews could be headed anywhere.”

I just realized this a second ago. There is no hope for them coming in time.

Sarah’s eyes slowly drop, losing any chance to argue a point.

“Either way they won’t be making it in time. It’d be considered fortunate if that bridge lasts 10 minutes.”

As if agreeing with my point, two cables snap from one of the support columns and land heavily on the bridge, making it crack further. I stand to dust myself off and steady my aching body.

My sister stands to argue, “Don’t do it, Aly! Please don’t do it!”

I look towards the wreckage. The cracks from the impact point are spreading farther and farther throughout the bridge, one of them inches closer to the pile of broken glass.

“If not me, then who else.”

“But it’s not your job!”

I snapped my head to look her in her eyes with a fierceness I never intended to show, “People’s lives are at stake right now! If people are poisoned before you and you have the cure, would you not save them? Would you not have mercy?

“You should know first hand, Sarah! Would you not share it? Or, does it only count when it’s related to that ‘Father of Lights’ you and mama-Mary are always talking about?!”

She holds my glare and calmly retorts, “That’s not the same and you know it!”

“Yes it is! Same principle! Same rules! It’s just real now!”

“Not if it costs you your life.”

“Would it?” We hold each other's stare. “What did you come here for Sarah? I told you to go home.”

“I-I wanted to…” She looks at the bridge, “make sure you were alright!”

The crack gets dangerously close to the pile of broken glass. 

Now or never!

“Sit here if you want Sarah, but I can’t let the Host of the End have her claim today!”

I break free from her hold on me and run onto the bridge.

“ALY!”

As soon as I step on it, 2 ft of bridge crumbles between the solid ground and the start of the bridge.

The first stop— 

Before the crack swallows the glass shards I run to the broken pile and snatch the 2 longest ones with a sharp point to them. I then jump and slide over the hood of the red car and shove the glass shard over to the pedestrian who stayed to save the guy who was still trapped. “Use this to cut him out!”

I turn to the railing with slightly bent metal bars partially broken off from the impact. I grab one of them and break out the bar with a swift kick. 

Another wire snaps and I hop back over the railing to the other side of the flipped silver car. I shove the bar into the back passenger’s car door. 

“Push from your side, I got you!” I tell the girl in the back seat.

Wedging it into the door, I try to use it to pry open the door with my weight. The door squeals then busts open, but not without fully bending the bar in the process. 

DARN IT! Is there another one?

I glance behind me over to the impact point of the railing, but there isn’t another easy bar to get to. The one I had in mind for a back-up is gone.

I help the teenage girl out of the car and feel the need to retreat, the bridge is starting to make pitfalls in the road.

“My Dad!” The girl says as she leans on the car to steady herself. 

I look over at the red car, the pedestrian is carrying the driver on his back over to the far side of the bridge where it’s still connected. 2 of the shadows watch them run to safety, but instead of fading out, they instead turn back to us. 

But I’ve saved, 3…

BANG!

I twist around and to my surprise, a blonde girl in a skirt and short jacket is prying another bar into the driver's door.

Stunned, I stare at the girl who literally shines before me— the girl I barely recognize as my own sister. 

“Well, are you gonna help me,” She yells over her shoulder, prying at the door, “or just stand there as the bridge collapses!” 

I rush over beside her and grab the bar.

“Together! PULL!”

The door pops open and the driver somewhat regains consciousness.

I use the other shard of glass to cut him free and pull him out. Sarah helps me bring him to his feet as we both put him on our shoulders and we head to the other side of the bridge that's still connected. 

Just as we get on our way, we feel the bridge tremble as one of the support columns behind us crumbles off into the river below while still attached to the wires. 

“RUN!” I command.

We all start to pick up the pace. Sarah and I both help to drag the groggy driver to the other end as the bridge starts tilting to an incline.  

“Go on, we’ll catch up!” I tell the girl in front of us, hoping to clear the danger in time. I look around to still see 4 shadows following us with a sinister pace.

DISAPPEAR ALREADY!

The teenage-aged-girl runs ahead of us while Sarah, the driver, and I aren’t too far after her. The girl reaches the end with someone from the crowd pulling her over to safety. The man is wearing thin beige and burgundy leather armor.

It looks like the Fire-Knights are finally here! 

I look over to Sarah, still surprised that she hopped on this bridge with me and even more astounded to see that she’s glowing. She’s still wearing the jean jacket and skirt from earlier, and her curly hair is still the same blonde color and in the same style; but she’s glowing as if she’s emitting a faint light. 

I’ve never seen her glow like this before. But, now that I think of it I have seen that glow before but not from her… Ever since I started seeing shadows appear, some people on the street glow like this too. But I rarely see it. What is this? I can see shadows, but do people also glow a certain color…?

Whatever! We’re so close to safety, please let things go smoothly from here on out!

Sadly… I make the mistake of looking behind me.

There’s still 4 shadows!