by Scott O’Neill Twelve hundred pounds of angry Kodiak bear sliced the tents, guide, and tour group into bloody lasagna. The two survivors hid behind the campsite’s redolent porta-potty. Ronnie pulled a stubby .32 semi-automatic pistol from his pocket. “Are you insane?’’ hissed Chad. “That’s just gonna piss him off.” Chad knelt and laced up […]
by Ann Wuehler My firstborn crawls out of the hole I dug with my strong hands beneath Snakestone Bridge. I pant beneath the arch of stone and rotting wood. Her tiny hands grip my out-flung arm. I wince but keep still as she slices my finger with her new sharp teeth, as she feeds from […]
by Luc Diamant The problem wasn’t that the bridge at the end of our street led to a different place each time you crossed it, but that once out of every hundred times or so, it wouldn’t take you back. Sometimes someone would show up in the next town over, but there were also those […]
by Francesco Levato This isn’t a gateway to hell. It’s not one of those bridges. There are no billy goats crossing, or hungry trolls lying in wait. If you approach on a moonlit night, no ghostly figure beckons you across or chases you down on horseback, its sword slicing at your head. I’ve come here […]
by Liam Dragan There is mould under every bridge. Seeping into foundations, winding through brick and around rebar. It isn’t on the blueprints and definitely violates regulations. When someone crosses the bridge, heading home from work or on an early morning jog, the mould whispers. Like a spore, an impulse drifts into their head. They’re […]
by James Rumpel “The explosives are set.” “Where’d you find dynamite?” “Charlie Hatcher had some from when his company worked on Highway 12. He gave it to me as long as I promised to wait until he got here before blowing the bridge.” “He’d better be coming soon. We have 500 healthy people on the […]
by Kateri Tough It was the third time Nora had left the house on her own. Three times, the usually obedient five-year-old had been found on the old bridge. I fought back tears. This’s how it started with Suzy last year until she disappeared completely, just her crumpled bow left behind on the old bridge. […]
by Juliette Gillies “Wait! Don’t!” The man stands close, almost within arm’s reach. His voice sounds panicked. “Please come down. It’s not safe up there.” The wind is hitting me a little harder than him. It’s cold up on the suspension bridge. The metal railing feels frozen to my skin. “Can you help me back […]
by Tracy Davidson It lies halfway across the bridge. Makes people shiver, even on hot nights. Legend speaks of a long-armed troll, that grabs folk by their heels, drags them to their deaths below. I’m no troll. Ghostly arms, full of broken bones, cannot grab, cannot drag. I jumped, centuries ago. Never left. Sometimes, others […]
by Jodi Jensen “You gonna do it?” Jeremy looked at the derelict bridge, considering. “I don’t know, man. It’s creepy. Why’s it called Cannibal Bridge, anyway?” “I dunno, maybe cannibals live under it.” Oscar shrugged. Standing before the dilapidated wood, Jeremy’s nose crinkled at the rotten stench and he hesitated. “What do I get if […]