The Bridge (Para-Earth Series) (43 page)

             
Eventually, between their visits, the white men arrived and built nearby…

              “Then you screamed and the white wolf took off,” Julie finished.  “There was more to the story now, I’m sure of it.”

             
“I believe you’re right,” said Cassandra pointing to the baby in Veronica’s arms, “Look.”   

             
The living black coils seemed to be pulling away from the child’s head, leaving behind only the remnants of what had been her own hair. 

             
Julie stared in wonder and horror.  “What the…?”

             
“I told you,” Cassandra smiled, “she was being controlled.  But Alex and Ronnie have freed her and...”  The sound of sound of stone moving against stone suddenly cut her off.

             
Looking around Julie muttered, “I think we all need to get the hell off this bridge.”

              Back on the psychic plane, Veronica was fixing her daughter’s hair.  Her not-so-little girl was going to her first school dance and was very excited. She and Alex had taught her Ballroom and now the girl was very eager to show her friends. 

              Cassie shook her head, “Not yet.  We can’t risk breaking the link Alex has between the three of them.”

             
Julie was becoming frustrated.  Part of it was because she was angry with herself for being frightened.  But, the fact that there seemed to be nothing she could do was bothering her even more. 

             
The sound of stones grinding came again, only louder.  “Hurry Alex,” she murmured, not realizing her muscles were tensing for battle.

              She had graduated medical school and had gotten engaged to a doctor she’d met in her last year there.

             
Her parents were so proud of her and she loved them.  Oh, there had been difficult times: teenage heartache, rebellion, misunderstandings… but there had always been love. Now, she was a beautiful bride.  Her Dad was giving her away, while Mummy sat nearby.  They wouldn’t be around as much, but she was okay with it.  They were always going to be there for her.  She knew it.  She was never going to be alone and…. 

             
IT WAS COMING!

             
She turned and stared at her parents.  They were in danger. IT was furious for what they had done.

             
She left the altar and raced towards her parents.  She WANTED to protect them…

             
SHE LOVED THEM!

             
“MOMMY… DADDY…. IT’S COMING!!!”

              The infant in Veronica’s arms cried out loud, breaking the spell.  Alex could sense the baby’s terror and the reason behind it.

             
Cassie must’ve sensed it too, because she suddenly cried, “Alex I think it’s coming.”

             
“No,” he corrected, “It’s already here.  It’s always been here.”

             
At that moment the stones beneath their feet slowly move up and down.  The bridge seemed to be breathing.

              Julie knelt down by Alex and began assessing his condition.  They needed to get out of there, but she didn’t want to risk causing him further injury in the process. 

             
“You all right?” he asked her quietly.

             
“I’m pissed if you must know,” she replied bitterly. “You and Cassandra have abilities I understand, but don’t have.   Veronica’s keeping the baby safe.  And me, I’ve been pretty much useless until now.”

             
“You’ve done more than you realize,” Alex countered, “I heard everything you told Cassandra, especially the bit about the stone in the water.”

             
“Is that significant?”

             
“The stone you saw in the vision was built into this bridge.”

             
A startled look crossed Julie’s face.  “The Shaman said it had to stay in the water, otherwise that thing would eventually break out.”

             
“It broke out years ago, it just couldn’t leave.  It needs another to merge with in order to survive outside the stone,” Alex told her and glanced over at his lady who was calming the baby in her arms.

             
Julie followed his gaze, and straightened her broad shoulders. “Well, IT is going to have to learn to live with disappointment.”

             
Alex gave her a weak smile and then winced while clutching his leg.

             
‘That’s not good,’
Julie thought and reached into her bag where she always kept an ace bandage and other emergency medical items.  “Cassie, I need that flashlight over here,” she called and waited.  There was no response.  Looking up she spotted the heiress slowly moving towards the end of the bridge leading to Jason’s old cottage.   “Cassandra!” she yelled.

             
Cassie blinked and shook her head, as if coming out of a dream.

             
“I need you over here.  Bring the flashlight and that walking stick you took out of the limo,” Julie instructed.

             
Cassie looked around bewildered for a moment.

             
Shaking her head Julie shouted, “You dropped them at the foot of the bridge when we saw Ronnie trying to pull this idiot,” she gestured at Alex, “back onto the bridge.”

             
With a nod, Cassandra raced back to where she’d left the items and came back with them.

             
“Shine the light down here so I can see what I’m doing,” Julie instructed. “Good.  Now as soon as I have him bandaged up we get out of here.  It feels like we’re being watched.”

             
“More like sized up,” replied the heiress.

             
“You feel it too?” asked Ronnie joining them, “Why doesn’t it attack already?”

             
As if in response, the bridge shifted slightly beneath them.

             
“Veronica, as a friend, I love you dearly.  But if you give IT any more ideas I’m going to hit you,” Julie muttered without looking up.  She was completely focused on her friend’s wound.  He had lost a fair amount of blood and…

             
The bridge suddenly gave a violent heave. 

             
Instinctively, Julie quickly splayed her body across Alex to keep him from being jostled, until the stones settled back down.  “Is everyone all right?” she shouted.

             
Clinging to the railing with one hand and hanging onto Veronica and the baby with the other, Cassie replied. “We’re okay, how’s Alex?”

             
“Doing jolly well down here,” came a muffled reply, from beneath Julie’s chest. 

             
Rolling her eyes, the big brunette sat up and told him, “Congratulations you’ve been where no man has gone before.”  Then she turned to Veronica, “Are we getting any back-up?  Or are we on our own?”

             
“Roy’s supposed to be on his way,” Ronnie replied, repositioning the infant in order to reach her shoulder radio. 

             
The bridge gave another shudder.

             
Cassandra immediately grabbed the walking stick, “Do you want him to use this or lean on us?”

             
“Neither,” replied Julie reaching down and lifting Alex in her powerful arms. “This’ll be quicker.”

             
Staring at her in amazement he commented, “You never struck me as the kind of girl who goes around picking up blokes.”

             
“Only if they didn’t get out of my way,” she smiled, adjusting him carefully in her arms. “Back in school I used to stuff them inside the nearest locker.”

             
“I thought I recognized you from somewhere in my embarrassing past,” he replied.

             
Julie laughed, if Alex could joke, he was hanging in there.

             
The four of them turned to head back to where the cars were parked and stopped.  There was a figure standing at the end of the bridge blocking their path.  A flash of lightning gleamed off his long white hair. 

             
“Ronnie?” murmured Julie.

             
“Other way, we’ll try and get to the mansion,” her friend instructed, pulling out her service revolver.

             
They were just about to turn and flee when they heard the cracking of stone behind them. 

             
Cassie swung the beam of the flashlight at the source of the sound. 

             
The ornate slab in the center of the bridge had cracked and black tendrils were emerging.

             
Veronica felt the baby tighten its hold on her. “That’s it, isn’t it?  That’s what was using my baby?” she snarled.

             
“Don’t let it touch you,” Alex shouted. 

             
“Should we try going over the side and take our chances in the water?” cried Julie.

             
“No, it’s running too fast,” replied Cassandra, fiddling with the walking stick in her hands. 

             
Then, out of the darkness came the sound of sirens.

             
“The Cavalry’s coming!” cried Julie.

             
“They still have to find us,” her patient muttered.  “Better put me down and grab some railing.”

             
“Huh?”

             
Suddenly the stonework began shift and bulge as a huge ripple-like wave was coming their way. 

             
“NO!” bellowed Cassandra, as she twisted the handle of the walking stick and pulled out a wicked-looking three foot blade.  Leaping forward she plunged the weapon into the stonework just as the wave reached them.  The ripple suddenly split in two, sparing them from its effects.

             
Julie, along with Ronnie and Alex, stared in amazement.  Not only had Cassandra saved them but now they seemed to have a weapon to fight with.  The black appendages coming out of the bridge seemed to recoil from the heiress, who was now taking a defensive position between them and her friends.

             
‘Oh, I’m really starting to like her,’ Julie thought to herself and turned to Ronnie to see what they should do next.

              Cassandra was breathing heavily, but felt full of confidence.  She hadn’t known about the blade inside the walking stick.  But a familiar presence had compelled her to twist and pull on the handle.  And now they had a weapon and one of their enemies was pulling back.  Should she press her advantage?

             
But then a chilling voice from behind her said, “
No child.”

             
Slowly, she turned and stared at the figure at the end of the bridge.  The white-haired man smiled and stretched out a hand to her. 

              Meanwhile, Veronica was saying to Julie, “We need to hold out till Roy finds us.  Better put Alex down like he said.  He’s probably getting a bit heavy for you.”

             
“Give me the little one,” Alex instructed as he was set down. He could sense a change in the infant.  With the snake-like tentacles no longer attached to her, the child was growing weaker.  He realized now that link between her and creature had been more than a psychic one.  It had been symbiotic.  The creature had been not only feeding off her but keeping her alive as well.  But, now that link was broken.

             
He could tell she wouldn’t last much longer, but he also knew her time hadn’t come, at least not yet.  “
Draw from me little one,”
he told her mentally and opened himself more fully than he’d ever done before.  A moment later he felt her spirit bond with his, soon their hearts began to beat as one.

              With weapon in hand, Veronica took a kneeling position and tried to take aim at whatever was coming out of the bridge.  But with the darkness and the rain, she couldn’t get a good look at her target. “Cassie, I need that light over here,” she called and waited.

             
There was no response. 

             
“Cassie?” she began when another stroke of lightning illuminated the scene.  What she saw in those brief seconds was emblazoned in her brain forever.   The thing defied description.  It was as if a column of black ropes had risen up from the broken slab.  Many strands were moving and waving about like tentacles, while others were working their way between the stones of the bridge itself.  As she stared at the main body, a shape like a human face bulged out for a moment then melted back into it.