Chapter 5:
Subey felt the cold bite of the evening air as he and Caroline approached the bridge, the tallest structure in the city looming ahead of them. The last rays of daylight were fading, leaving the sky a bruised purple, as if the sun had been beaten into submission. The wind was picking up, gusting through the city streets like a warning, pushing them toward the looming structure that stood between the present and the past.
"This place always made me uneasy," Subey said, his voice tinged with a grim reflection. He glanced at Caroline, who, despite her composed exterior, had a tight grip on the strap of her bag. "Even before all this."
Caroline nodded, her gaze flicking from the bridge to the darkened streets that surrounded it. "It's not just the height," she said, her words slow and deliberate. "It's the silence. This place feels forgotten. But we both know that's never the case, right?"
Subey didn't answer immediately. The bridge's metal beams and cables stretched high into the sky, towering over the ravine below. Built decades ago as part of the city's industrial boom, it had always been a marvel of engineering, a reminder of the past. But now, it was an eerie relic, unused for traffic for years, save for the occasional pedestrian and, as they'd come to find out, those who had disappeared.
The old bridge stood like a silent sentinel in the heart of the city. At its highest point, it was nearly two hundred feet above the ravine that ran through the valley. Below, the ground dropped sharply, disappearing into darkness. There was a sense of isolation here, despite the city surrounding it, like the bridge was standing guard over something no one dared to uncover.
"I don't know why I always get the feeling that something's watching me when I'm here," Subey said, glancing over his shoulder. The streetlights had started flickering, casting long, jagged shadows across the pavement. "It's like the city itself is holding its breath."
Caroline was quiet for a moment, as if considering his words. She stepped up beside him, her eyes narrowing as she took in the surroundings. "Maybe because it's not just a bridge. It's a symbol. A place people have used for years to make disappearances happen. All we need is to understand what connects it to the people who've gone missing."
Subey nodded, the pieces of the puzzle beginning to fall into place. The bridge wasn't just an accident of geography—it was a point of convergence, a meeting place for hidden truths. He stepped forward, the rusted iron beneath his feet creaking with each movement, and the wind howled around them, as if urging them to leave.
"We need to go across," Subey said. "The pattern—every time someone disappeared, it was near this bridge, or they were last seen here."
Caroline shifted uneasily. She had seen the files—twenty-nine people had vanished over the years. Some of them had been runaways, others had no traceable connections to the city, and a few had even been thought to have left for good. But now, with the map in front of them and the trail pointing here, Subey was convinced that the bridge held more answers than the city was willing to admit.
Together, they crossed the worn, weathered surface of the bridge, the wind whipping around them, urging them forward. The sound of their footsteps echoed eerily as they approached the center of the bridge. Beneath them, the ravine yawned wide, a yawning abyss, its depths shrouded in shadow. Below, the faintest sound of rushing water barely reached their ears, as if the bridge were cutting them off from the rest of the world.
As they reached the midpoint of the bridge, Subey's eyes scanned the metal beams. He had been here before, many times, but never quite like this. Today, something felt different—darker, almost suffocating.
"I don't like this," Caroline muttered, her eyes darting around the empty space. "It's too quiet."
Subey halted, his gaze falling to the side of the bridge. There, partially obscured by creeping vines and ivy, was an old, tarnished plaque, barely visible unless you knew to look for it. He approached it, brushing the leaves aside with a swift motion. The plaque had the words "The Heart of the City" engraved on it in bold, fading letters.
Caroline stepped closer, her face reflecting both curiosity and suspicion. "What does that mean? Why would they put something like that here?"
Subey studied the words, deep in thought. "The Heart of the City... It's symbolic, right? But why here? Why this bridge? It doesn't make sense unless it's referring to something deeper. Something hidden."
Caroline pulled out her phone, quickly snapping a picture of the plaque. "Maybe we'll find something in the archives," she said. "But for now, I think we need to move on."
Subey didn't respond. His attention was drawn to a faint sound—a low, almost imperceptible creaking. At first, he thought it was just the wind, but it was too rhythmic, too deliberate.
Caroline seemed to sense it too. Her eyes went wide, and she immediately looked around, searching for the source. "What is that?"
"Stay close," Subey muttered, already reaching for the gun tucked beneath his jacket. His instincts, honed after years of solving cases, told him something was wrong.
From the shadows beneath the bridge, a figure emerged, moving slowly but deliberately. The person was cloaked, their face obscured, and they stepped with a purpose, as though they had been waiting for them.
Subey's hand tightened around the grip of his gun, but he didn't draw it yet. The figure wasn't rushing toward them, but the tension in the air was palpable.
"Who are you?" Subey called out, his voice steady, though his heart pounded in his chest.
The figure didn't answer. Instead, they took another step closer, their footfalls silent against the bridge. The only sound was the wind, now howling like a warning.
"Stay back," Caroline said, her voice firm as she moved closer to Subey. "We're not here to hurt anyone. Just tell us who you are."
Still, no response came, only the sound of the figure's slow, deliberate steps, getting closer with each passing second. Subey's fingers hovered over the gun, ready to act if the situation escalated, but something told him the figure wasn't here for confrontation.
Finally, the figure spoke, their voice low, almost a whisper. "You're looking for answers. But the bridge... it doesn't give them. It only takes."
Before Subey could respond, the figure turned and disappeared back into the shadows, vanishing as quickly as they had appeared.
Caroline exhaled slowly, her eyes wide. "What the hell was that?"
Subey stayed silent for a moment, his mind racing. The bridge, the figure, the cryptic message. Everything was beginning to fall into place, and yet, they were still just on the edge of something far larger than they could understand.
"It's not over," Subey said, his voice darkening. "We've only just started."