What’s going on! What the hell did I just get into! When I phased into the thick fog, only the unconscious person on the edge of the bridge remained. They were lying over the bar, ready to fall into the rampaging waves of the river. “Wait, weren’t there two other people here?” I looked around with no sign of them. Almost as if they vanished. “Hey, are you okay? Hey! Are you hurt?” I placed a hand on the unconscious person’s shoulder; they were wearing some form of a long, black cloak and hoodie. “I need you, to, help me…” I grunted as I tried pulling them off the rail bar. No offense to this person, but I didn’t weight train like Nathan so it was a struggle. “Ah! Come on, arm strength!” Even though it was really cold out here, I began sweating from the force used. About a minute later, “Yes, finally!” I said as I managed to pull the person away from the bridge’s edge. 

Then came a moment of shame. Being the idiot I can be, a puddle caused me to slip headlong. “Crap!” I covered my face with my arms, but the pain from hitting my right arm on the stone-like bridge floor preoccupied me. “How could I let myself fall like that? Ouch, anyway,” I slowly raised myself on one foot and checked on the person. “Excuse me, hey, are you alright! Wait a minute.” My eyes froze for a moment when I got closer. The person was wearing an exotic uniform with light armor, blue and white platings like the Unitarian Guards, but it resembled an outfit rather than a full suit of armor. “Are you really a Unitarian Guard?” I whispered and brought my hand close their visor goggles, they were the first Unitarian Guard I saw without a helmet. When I removed the visor, my breath got caught up when I saw their face; it was Amara Shapiro, one of my classmates. “No way, this can’t be…” Amara had something in her right hand tucked in the cloak. Like some sort of necklace or tag. It had death written all over it with that skull. Before I had time to think, a metallic slash sounded behind me, and my heart tanked.

“Well, well, well, what do ya know? Picked the wrong time to play hero now, huh, kid?”

I raised my hands slowly above my head. “Um, hey, uh, I…”

The person chuckled, “So he does speak? Honestly, I wasn’t expecting anyone to pass by here since this bridge has an urban legend about ghosts. Alright then, here’s what's going to happen brat.” The enemy’s dark blade gently poked my back, making me twitch. “You’re going to turn back the way you came, and you’re gonna keep that mouth of yours shut.” I began shaking, and my palms were sweaty. Jesus Christ, why was I shaking like a little kid! “Forget what you just saw, and you can go back to your little stroll. Sounds like a good deal, am I right?” The enemy spoke in a mocking, calm tone, which made them even more freaky.

“Look, I, she’s my, um…”

The enemy’s eyes widened. “You know this person?” Their voice became more of a low growl.

“No, I mean! It's just, I see them often at work!” I was trying to make shit up, but I sounded so obvious. “Please, take my money, or my phone, but please, just let me help my co-worker!” I desperately cried.

The enemy stayed silent for a moment before saying, “Idiot, so you’d rather throw your own life away, just to save another?” 

“What? Ah!” The enemy kicked me hard, and I slammed down over to the side. I hit my shoulder against the wet bridge floor. My shoulder was now spiking with pain. "No, wait, please!"

The enemy scoffed before walking over to me with their blade in hand. Their footsteps splashed in the storm’s puddles. “You disgust me, every last one of you. It's no wonder the United Surface Nations sends folks like you to die for them. You’re all pathetic piles of trash who don’t value your own lives.” Their cold voice approached, colder than the storm. I grasped my shoulder on the floor while having a demon-looking hazmat suit creeping by the second. This wasn't a person; it couldn't be a person. I haven't felt this much fear since... "What? Did you shit your undies or something? Whatever, you don't need to speak for what comes next." The gas-masked demon raised their dark blade again. The blade lit up with a molten glow before catching on fire. How is that even possible in the rain?

I.." I couldn't speak at all, my mind felt like mush. I glanced between the blade and the enemy. It was almost as if I was seeing two masks, or rather, two faces at the same time. The creepy smile mask from 12 years ago glitched on their gas mask. What is this! There’s no way this is happening again! Am I still reliving that nightmare? No! I’m actually screwed this time! 

The gas mask enemy’s blade swung for the kill in an instant, but just a nanosecond before their blade made contact, they screamed with blue electricity zapping around their body. “Ah!” The blade was retracted as high voltage coarsed through their veins. “Ugh…” The enemy groaned and collapsed to my level, becoming drenched in the unbearable downpour. 

You know those moments in movies when the main character gets saved by someone? The Unitarian Guard standing before me was barely holding themselves together. Holding a taser stick, their face, along with their arms were stained with bruises, cuts, and sweat. All of those marks, they were the same kind that my dad showed me long ago. Then, “Are you, okay?” Amara’s voice sounded softly in between pants. Her grey, gloved hand appeared through the dark, thick fog. It was the clearest thing I could see other than her eyes in this storm. 

“You’re…” I gasped when I saw another demon masked figure charging towards us. “Watch out!” I yelled and Amara barely blocked their blade strike. She grunted and turned around to attack back.

“Ahhhhhhh!!!!” She yelled while igniting another taser stick. Amara jumped onto the enemy and slashed their face with the taser sticks, electructing them unconscious. Then more demon gas masked enemies appeared from the forest across the river and bridge.

“Oh no, there's too many!” I perked up, though still down on the floor, when something flung from Amara’s uniform belt. It was the weird skull tag she was holding when I first found her. “What is that?” Amara leaped forward and clashed with more of the enemies. I carefully tried standing up, my arm still hurt like crazy, but I needed to know what was happening. I approached the skull tag on the floor, it looked broken, half of it was missing actually. “Really, what is this?” I then heard Amara scream in agony.

“AH!” Amara knelt and held her left arm, she got a massive cut through her cloak. 

“Amara!” I shouted her name by accident, and she glanced at me with widened eyes. The enemies all turned towards me, then stared at the skull tag in my hand. “Uh oh.” Without a moment to spare, all of the gas masked demons jumped into the air, ready to kick the crap out of me. It was there that Amara took a deep breath and dashed like a lighting bolt, pushing me off the bridge. When I got a better look at her face, it surprised me, because it wasn’t the same concerned look from before, it was a blank expression. No, don’t! Don’t you dare think like that! I won’t let it happen again!!! I then grabbed Amara’s two gloved hands, her expression shifting once more, and we joined gravity to descend into the river’s raging abyss.