Scavengers by Rosalyn Wraight

hung the most rickety footbridge I had ever seen. As we scanned the area, Holly and I spied Maggie and Susan on the other side. Perhaps they accounted for the eerie swaying of the bridge.

    "Okay, guys, we're at the bridge,” I said.

    "It's not a regular bridge, though,” Holly chimed in. “It's ropes and boards. Susan and Maggie are on the other side."

    Oedipus and Echo were not particularly overjoyed at the prospect. Unintelligible blabber forced its way through their bandanas.

    "Trust, guys,” I said. “You trust us, don't you?"

    There was more unintelligible blabber. We decided, nonetheless, to take it as a “yes."

    I told them, “It's about fifteen feet in the air. So I think even if we fell we wouldn't get hurt, just severely muddied."

    "I think we should get moving right away, before Maggie and Susan start coming back; otherwise, they'll be way ahead of us,” Holly said. “You guys go first."

    "Oh gee, thanks for that kind gesture,” I replied sarcastically.

    I took Claudia to the edge of the bridge, and I told her to take hold of my hands and not let go. I would back myself over the bridge with her in tow. I made a few steps out with her, and it didn't seem that difficult, but soon the swaying made me realize that holding onto each other and not the ropes would probably send us over the side. I stopped her and took each of her hands and put them on the rope handrails. “You'll have to listen to me, hon. I'll get a little a head of you and then wait for you. Okay?"

    She nodded, and I carefully held onto the ropes and backed up a few steps. “Okay, Claudia, come forward three steps and then stop."

    She did as she was told, but screaming was definitely not unintelligible blabber. I did my best to reassure her, and by the time we reached the end of the bridge, we were getting rather skilled. I hugged her tightly as we disembarked. I told her we were safe for the moment. I felt very protective of her, perhaps in a way I never had or at least hadn't been allowed to in a long while.
    She was always so willful and self-sufficient.

    "All right, go for it, Holly,” I yelled across the gully, refusing to acknowledge Maggie and Susan in fear they'd want to head back first.

    I moved Claudia to a spot where she could sit. I greeted the others and noticed that from hip to calf, Susan's right leg was covered in mud. Afraid to ask for details, I returned to bridge's edge to make sure that Holly and Laura fared as well as we had.

    About halfway across the bridge, Holly lost her footing and fell. In the midst of a shrill scream that seemed to echo for miles, she held on tightly to the wooden slats and ropes. I could hear Laura scream through the gag in her mouth, and I saw her hand struggle to remove her blindfold.

    "She's okay, Laura! She's okay! Leave the bandana on. Leave it! She's okay!” I yelled as loudly as I could. “Holly, tell her you're okay."

    "I'm okay! I swear, I'm okay,” she said, but the person who turned around to look at me was not someone who was okay. A scared little girl peered back, begging for reassurance.

    "Holly, youare okay. Even if you fell, you'd be okay. So grab the ropes, steady yourself, and get back up. Laura needs you to get back up."

    I could hear Laura screaming through the bandana, and then suddenly Holly heard it to. “Oh for Christ sake, Laura, I'm the one who fell, not you! Quit your screaming. I am quite capable of getting us across this stupid thing. So just shush your mouth!” she directed, the scared little girl evaporating into thin air.

    "All right, Laura. I'm up. Move three steps toward me."

    Laura still made disgruntled noises through the gag, and Holly yelled right back at her, prodding her onward. When she made the third step and felt Holly in front of her, she completely let go of the ropes and just held her. I prayed that the resulting to-and-fro was not enough to hurl them over the sides. It wasn't, but it was enough to make Holly lose her balance