“We’ll find out.” I gradually straightened. My heart beat dangerously hard. I tapped with my right foot lightly on the bridge, then pushed harder. The bridge held together. Good start. “If I die and you make it, please tell Andrew and William I love them. And tell Andrew I’d move to England.”
“So, you’re not only sarcastic, you’re also a pessimist?”
“I’m a realist.”
I scrutinized the bridge once more. Slow or fast? Or did it even matter? Was it all about the weight? If I moved fast, there was a better chance I could cross to the other side before it collapsed. I studied the wood planks for a while, then turned off my flashlight and secured it into my bra.
“Are you crazy?” Brie hissed. “You can’t see.”
“I feel better if I have free hands. Shine your torch so I can see where to step.”
Sweat soaked into the back of my shirt as I made the first step with my right foot. The bridge groaned but didn’t tremble. My feet, however, did—a lot. I placed my left foot on it and held my breath, my palms flat against the wall, fingers digging into narrow cracks.
Okay. Now. Move faster.
Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. The plank cracked.
“Fuck,” I screamed, adrenaline propelling me to do a broad side jump. My body molded into the wall, and my chest heaved.
With trembling fingers, I pulled out my flashlight and turned it on.
“Your turn,” I said, my voice shaking.
“If I die, it will be on your conscience,” Brie muttered, stuffing her flashlight between her boobs.
“Nobody asked you to follow me,” I said hoarsely between breaths.
“I said we should pick the left side.”
“You’re welcome to go back.”
“Fuck you.”
I laughed, but inside of me, everything trembled, and I wanted to cry.
Facing the ravine, Brie first shimmied slowly, then more quickly.
Right foot. Left foot. Right foot… straight through the wood.
Her high-pitched scream ricocheted off the walls. She bent forward and her flashlight flew out into the ravine. I grabbed her forearm and yanked her backward, hot pain piercing through my shoulder. She stumbled but pulled her leg out and landed on the edge of the stone path, throwing her head and back into the wall.
“This place is a death trap,” Brie said when she caught her breath.
“No shit.”
A nervous laugh bubbled up in me. Brie started laughing too. Like idiots, we laughed until tears streamed down our cheeks. I wiped my nose. She wiped hers, too. If Brie and I became friends, we could reminisce about this adventure over tequila shots in years to come. But it would never happen.
Several minutes passed before we felt ready to move forward. After another few feet, luck smiled upon us, and the footpath widened to where we could walk normally. Me leading. Her following. The pathway on the other side dead-ended into a wall. I took pleasure in pointing that out with the flashlight. Brie flipped me off. The passage became at least three yards wide, but we stayed close to the wall.
After a turn, a distant babel reached my ears. I froze, closed my eyes, and concentrated. The thrill expanded in my ribcage to the point it hurt. I could distinguish Andrews’s voice. My heart raced faster than when I had to cross the goddam wooden walkway.
“Do you hear that?” I whispered.
“I do,” Brie said, her voice for once laced with enthusiasm. “Where are they?”
My eyes darted everywhere, following the light of my flashlight, searching for any open space where they could be, but finding nothing.
“Maybe it is further down?” I charged ahead, just barely restraining myself from skipping and jumping and doing a cartwheel. There would be time for it later—I hoped—when we were on solid ground. Excitement at the possibility of soon being in my brother’s presence and feeling Andrew’s embrace moved my legs at a rapid pace.
