snaked over the bridge and onto the next few miles of meandering curves into the faint horizon where it disappeared.
It was not cold, but Doug lamented forgetting his jacket as he lurched through the unforgiving gale force wind which left his hair unkempt and wild. Then Doug noticed that he was not in his body anymore and he watched himself pushing the creaky chrome scooter along the shoulder of the road where it started over the bridge. Not even a quarter of the way across he noticed something in the water below. For a moment Doug wondered how he could see so well in the night, but the street lights perched across the sides of the bridge shone like sunshine. Sunshine? He saw himself walking to the barrier to make sure he saw what he thought he did. Clothed in his school uniform, the boy leaned over the barricade and to his astonishment, there it was!
Bobbing along the rise and fall of the water of the water surface, Doug saw the black briefcase again. This time it hardly moved forward and he knew this would be the best chance he would ever have to fetch it once and for all. In his gut the excitement grew at the possibilities of finally discovering what it held and he quickly descended from the road onto the whipping weeds which bent under the force of the wind. Without any reservation, the curious young man leaped into the water and caught his breath. It took a bit long for him to resurface and around him the water was dark and murky, bubbling and churning in the thrall of the angry current. He wondered why it wasn’t cold. In fact, he could not feel the water much as he paddled with his outstretched arms to reach the outside air before he drowned. Krista said he would drown and he felt his chest burning as he failed to reach the top while the water threw his body about. Submerged under the river he watched himself struggle to come up and he told himself to remember what Mr Browning said.
Remember, you have potential! You can swim well if you really try!
With a mighty effort Doug slid through the water and broke the surface with a loud gasp. Outside the wind was howling but the water had no temperature, still. The briefcase was just out of reach and did not drift any further than it had when he first saw it. It was waiting for him. With great glee he started swimming, just like he had that afternoon at school and he was good, too. Quickly he approached the item he so wanted to get his hands on and from the foamy water he reached out to it. It felt hard and warm under his hands as his eager fingers grabbed at it to get a firmer hold. Doug pulled the case closer until he had it in his hands and hoped it was not locked or sealed with a code.
Clumsily his wet fingers fumbled to pull the two knobs aside and unlock the hold.
‘Click’
He loved the sound of the right lock opening and shortly after the left. Not even bothering to get out of the river, he stood waist deep in the current in the starlit sky which looked exactly like a dusky day and he lifted the lid to see what hid inside. The first thing he saw was his own eyes, staring back at him. Doug’s body jolted with fear and disbelief as he opened the lid wider to reveal his own hair and face, his expression contorted in a frozen fit of terror. His mouth agape and his neck severed, his decapitated head filled the briefcase just perfectly inside. It seemed to be screaming and he could have sworn he heard his own scream before realising it was him, uttering an involuntary hysterical shriek which echoed across the river and the reverberated under the confines of the bridge. Raw and coarse, his throat kept hissing under the force of his screams, but he felt nothing come out. It was his head screaming.
With a start, Doug awoke in his bed. The rain and thunder pummelled the exterior of the house and he could hardly hear anything else but the clamour of the restless weather. Soaked with sweat, he wiped his brow and panted to catch his breath. His throat still hurt as well
It was not cold, but Doug lamented forgetting his jacket as he lurched through the unforgiving gale force wind which left his hair unkempt and wild. Then Doug noticed that he was not in his body anymore and he watched himself pushing the creaky chrome scooter along the shoulder of the road where it started over the bridge. Not even a quarter of the way across he noticed something in the water below. For a moment Doug wondered how he could see so well in the night, but the street lights perched across the sides of the bridge shone like sunshine. Sunshine? He saw himself walking to the barrier to make sure he saw what he thought he did. Clothed in his school uniform, the boy leaned over the barricade and to his astonishment, there it was!
Bobbing along the rise and fall of the water of the water surface, Doug saw the black briefcase again. This time it hardly moved forward and he knew this would be the best chance he would ever have to fetch it once and for all. In his gut the excitement grew at the possibilities of finally discovering what it held and he quickly descended from the road onto the whipping weeds which bent under the force of the wind. Without any reservation, the curious young man leaped into the water and caught his breath. It took a bit long for him to resurface and around him the water was dark and murky, bubbling and churning in the thrall of the angry current. He wondered why it wasn’t cold. In fact, he could not feel the water much as he paddled with his outstretched arms to reach the outside air before he drowned. Krista said he would drown and he felt his chest burning as he failed to reach the top while the water threw his body about. Submerged under the river he watched himself struggle to come up and he told himself to remember what Mr Browning said.
Remember, you have potential! You can swim well if you really try!
With a mighty effort Doug slid through the water and broke the surface with a loud gasp. Outside the wind was howling but the water had no temperature, still. The briefcase was just out of reach and did not drift any further than it had when he first saw it. It was waiting for him. With great glee he started swimming, just like he had that afternoon at school and he was good, too. Quickly he approached the item he so wanted to get his hands on and from the foamy water he reached out to it. It felt hard and warm under his hands as his eager fingers grabbed at it to get a firmer hold. Doug pulled the case closer until he had it in his hands and hoped it was not locked or sealed with a code.
Clumsily his wet fingers fumbled to pull the two knobs aside and unlock the hold.
‘Click’
He loved the sound of the right lock opening and shortly after the left. Not even bothering to get out of the river, he stood waist deep in the current in the starlit sky which looked exactly like a dusky day and he lifted the lid to see what hid inside. The first thing he saw was his own eyes, staring back at him. Doug’s body jolted with fear and disbelief as he opened the lid wider to reveal his own hair and face, his expression contorted in a frozen fit of terror. His mouth agape and his neck severed, his decapitated head filled the briefcase just perfectly inside. It seemed to be screaming and he could have sworn he heard his own scream before realising it was him, uttering an involuntary hysterical shriek which echoed across the river and the reverberated under the confines of the bridge. Raw and coarse, his throat kept hissing under the force of his screams, but he felt nothing come out. It was his head screaming.
With a start, Doug awoke in his bed. The rain and thunder pummelled the exterior of the house and he could hardly hear anything else but the clamour of the restless weather. Soaked with sweat, he wiped his brow and panted to catch his breath. His throat still hurt as well
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