by Andrew Gates
“He’s right,” Dan agreed. “All this waiting isn’t going to make the crossing any easier.”
Greyson sighed and wiped his forehead. He seemed to be sweating, which was surprising given the cold weather. He must be nervous, Iris thought. She could not blame him.
“Can’t we wait another day? We could camp here in the meantime,” Greyson suggested. “We can wait out the storm.”
“We should get far from this river. Water attracts animals, including the zombies and mantises. The more west we go, the better,” Dan explained.
“He’s right. Is everybody ready?” Tobias asked, getting right to it.
Iris looked around at everyone. They had only just finished eating, but it seemed like the group was prepared. Iris simply nodded her head.
Ryan gave a command that prompted people to stand up at the ready. It seemed like they were heading out now.
Greyson and Tobias went over to the sick women and helped them up. Greyson held his wife around her shoulders. Tobias did the same for Sixtine. The women did not seem particularly eager to get moving, though they complied nonetheless.
The group set off along their journey, following behind Ryan. It did not take long for the monument to fade from sight amongst the trees and foliage.
All along the walk, Iris felt an unexpected level of excitement. She was eager to see the mighty river for herself. This river, assuming the geography of this area had not changed much over the past several thousand years, was once known as the Potomac.
The Potomac was one of the most significant rivers in surface history. It stretched out as far south as Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay and as far west as West Virginia. A legendary American war hero named George Washington famously grew up upon the shores of this river. His home was said to be one of the most beautiful homes of the time. Iris did not doubt those words. Looking at the world around her, she wondered how anything could be more beautiful.
In the late 1700s, it was decided that the new American capital city be built upon this river. It stood strong here for centuries until the war that finally brought humanity’s doom. During the war, Washington was among the most heavily guarded metropolises. Despite their best attempts, the Asian League was not able to hit the city with any successful missile attack. Nearby cities like New Baltimore or Virginia City did not share the same luck. These cities crumbled to rubble beneath the blasts.
But it was not the force of the bombs that destroyed the lives of all the people who once lived here, rather the aftermath of them. Nuclear winter: disease, radiation, suffocation, these were the fates of those who survived. Not even those in Washington could be saved.
“How much longer?” a tired Misha asked, pulling Iris’s focus back onto their journey. It was easy for her to get caught up in the history of it all.
Misha was walking by herself, though she stayed closely near her father, who was already carrying Selena in his arms.
“Not far, Misha. It’s just down this hill,” Greyson answered. He turned to Iris as they walked. “Iris, do you mind watching her?”
She nodded.
“Come over here, Misha. I’ve got you!”
The girl walked over to Iris and grabbed onto her hand. Iris held it tight.
I have to get used to this, Iris thought as she held onto little Misha. Soon this will be my whole life.
Someone hollered something from the front of the group. Iris was about mid-way through the pack and could not make out the words. She turned to Misha.
“What did they say?” she asked.
“Ryan says that we’re here,” she answered.
Iris did not expect them to arrive so soon. She supposed she must have zoned out for longer than she realized. Good thing the storm hasn’t hit yet. There’s still time to cross.
The group passed through the final line of trees until they reached the shore. Iris stopped in her tracks. The Potomac was much wider than she expected.
“That’s huge!” Misha said in excitement. She did not seem as worried, though Iris doubted the girl understood what they were trying to do.
“She’s right,” Dan agreed. “I didn’t think it was going to be this big. How wide would you say that is?”
“Between 600 and 700 meters across,” Tobias answered.
Jallah added something, but Iris could not make it out.
“We can’t walk that. It looks too deep!” noted Ophelia.
Iris had to agree with her. In the days of the surface, large bridges were constructed to cross the river at different points. It seemed whatever bridges used to exist no longer stood. Or if they did, they were now buried underground with everything else.
Suddenly this task no longer seemed achievable, with or without a storm.
“Could we build a raft?” Dan asked.
“That would take a long time. The storm would be on us by then,” Ryan answered.
Iris could feel the wind picking up. She saw birds flying away to the south. It’s almost on us.
Tobias picked up a rock from the ground and tossed it into the water. It sunk right down and out of sight. He picked up another and threw it to a different point. This one sunk as well.
Misha let go of Iris’s hand, picked up her own rocks and started throwing them. Iris was about to run forward and hold her back, but Greyson subtly shook his head. Iris simply stopped and left her alone. Kaitlyn soon joined in too.
“What are you trying to see?” Iris asked.
“I was just checking depth,” Tobias answered, “but now I’m noticing something else.”
“What?” she asked as he threw one more rock into the water.
He turned so that everyone could hear him.
“Look at the fish in this part of the river,” he explained, pointing to a section of the river a little to the south. Iris studied it. The fish seemed to be swimming downstream. “And now look at the fish over here,” he said, pointing to another part of the river a bit closer to where they stood. Iris studied this portion, but could not see any fish. If they were there, they were too deep to spot.
“I don’t see anything,” Dan explained.
“Exactly. The fish are swimming deeper here and higher there,” Tobias elaborated.
“So what?” Jallah asked, seemingly growing impatient.
“So look beyond the fish, what do you see there?”
Iris did as he asked. Underneath the fish seemed to be a sandy brown surface. It was as if she were looking at the river’s bottom.
“The ground!” Margery said with excitement.
“This portion of the river is significantly shallower. And by significantly, I mean a lot,” Tobias noted.
“We can cross here!” Dan suggested.
“It’s worth a shot,” Ryan agreed. “It looks shallow enough. We could walk it, so long as we stay on this portion of the river. Good eye, Tobias.”
“Thanks, Lieutenant.”
The group started walking to the south.
“Misha!” Iris hollered. She held out her hand and the girl instinctively ran up to her and grabbed onto it.
They walked together to where the fish swam higher in the water. Once there, Iris noticed that the shallow portion was about the width of a transition zone and ran perfectly straight, perpendicularly across the river.
“No way,” she said aloud, though she did not intend to say anything at all.
“What is it?” Dan asked.
“This… this shallow portion is like a perfect line across the river,” she finally said.
“You’re right,” Ryan agreed. “That can’t be natural.”
“Perhaps this was once a dam,” Tobias suggested.
“No, no,” Iris interjected. “There were no dams here. This must be… no, it can’t be.”
“What?” Dan asked.
Iris turned behind her and looked at the shore. A round hill sloped up behind them. She turned back around and looked across the river. A much larger and wider hill stood on the other side.
“This
could be a bridge,” she finally explained. “In fact, I believe this was once a famous bridge.”
“A famous bridge? And it’s underwater now?” Dan asked.
“Yes, apparently. The rest of this city is underground. It’s not surprising to think that the bridges would sink as well.”
Iris could hardly believe her own words. She let go of Misha’s hand and walked up to the water. She pressed her left hand down into the shallow portion. The riverbed was covered in sand and sediment, but beneath the sandy layer, she could tell it was hard.
“What was this bridge?” Tobias wondered. It was refreshing to hear him be the one asking questions for once.
“They called it Memorial Bridge,” Iris answered. “It took you right to a very famous cemetery, not far from here.”
“What’s a cemetery?” Margery asked.
“It’s where they used to put dead bodies in the old days.”
“Interesting. As much as I like the history lesson, we need to get moving,” Dan said.
Iris did not like his tone, but she understood his point.
“Sorry,” she said. “I just get caught up in this stuff.”
Ryan walked past Iris, several meters into the water. The Navy man held his gun in his right hand, keeping it dry as best he could. He stood on the shallow portion for a few seconds, testing its strength. The river came up to his waist. He nodded his head and looked to the group.
“It’s solid,” he explained. “I think it’ll work. I’ll go over first.”
“How are we taking the sick and the kids?” Greyson wondered.
Margery suggested something right as another big gust of wind came by. Iris could not hear anything the girl said, but others seemed to be nodding in approval.
“Good idea,” Ryan agreed.
“What are we doing? Sorry, I missed it,” Iris said.
“There are four people that need to be helped. You help Misha. Dan will help Kaitlyn. Tobias will continue to help Sixtine and Grey will continue to help Selena. I will be free to lead up front and each of the other three kids will be free to lend a hand if we need anything,” he explained.
“Iris is pregnant. She should not bear so much weight. Why can’t you look after Misha instead?” Greyson questioned.
“If we come under attack, someone needs to defend us. Imagine if the zombies arrive while we’re halfway across the river,” Ryan answered. He displayed his firearm.
Iris nodded. The lieutenant would be a better choice to defend them. Good plan, Margery.
Ryan started moving west across the river. Iris lifted little Misha into the air and placed her on her shoulders. As soon as she felt the weight of the girl on her, Iris realized this was not going to be as easy as she thought. She adjusted herself, trying to straighten her back. It took a lot out of her.
Asking a pregnant woman to carry a child across a river, Iris thought to herself with a grunt. She understood the plan and did not disagree with it, but that did not make it any easier.
She stepped deeper into the cold water and shivered immediately. She took a few more steps and felt as cold as ice. Her throat was sore for some reason. Iris coughed straight forward and felt a cramping around her lungs.
Iris was a few steps into the river now and could feel the force of the water pressing on her body, trying to move her downstream. Fish scrambled around her feet, avoiding her as they swam through the current. The pregnant woman looked up, trying to ignore the fish. They were a distraction.
The water level was now up to her breasts. The bottom of Misha’s feet dangled in the river.
“Ah! It’s cold!” she cried from atop Iris’s shoulders.
“I know, but it’s just your feet,” Iris explained. If only I were so lucky. “You’ll be okay.”
Misha started kicking now. Each strike almost knocked Iris off balance.
“Misha, you need to stop. I’m going to fall over if you keep kicking!” she ordered.
The girl stopped, though she did not seem too happy. She made a whining noise. Iris wondered if she was crying now, but did not bother to find out.
“Misha, listen to Iris!” Greyson shouted from behind. That seemed to stop the whining.
Iris saw small impacts forming on the water. At first there were just a few, but then came more and more. Even with Misha on top of her, Iris felt a few drops of water land on her head.
“What is that?” Misha asked.
“The rain has started. It’s going to get colder. It’s very important you stay calm,” she explained.
“But I don’t want the rain!” she said.
Iris did not reply. She just wanted to focus on getting across without losing her footing. They had not made much progress yet and the rain would only make things harder.
Suddenly a scar lit up the western sky like a second sun. Its bright white bolt struck the forest ahead of them and disappeared as soon as it had come.
Iris could hear Jallah scream from behind her. He shouted something that she could not make out.
“Don’t worry, it’s not the mantises! It’s just lighting!” Tobias shouted back from up ahead.
Crack!
The sky erupted in a booming roar. It sounded like an orchestra of drums echoing through the forest. It quickly faded away too.
That must be thunder, Iris thought. I never thought I’d live to see lightning and thunder, while walking on Memorial Bridge no less.
Misha started kicking again. Iris could hear her moan in fear.
“Don’t worry, calm down!” Iris said, trying to get her to settle.
“It’s loud!” she complained. The girl did not stop her kicking. Each strike made Iris hobble more and more.
“I know, but you need to stop. It’s safe!” Iris pleaded.
But Misha continued. One strike knocked her so hard, Iris’s left foot slipped and she toppled over. Misha fell off, landing right into the water.
“Misha!” Iris shouted as she leaned down to pick up the girl.
She could hear others running forward, sending splashes this way and that.
Iris reached out to grab the girl, but the current pulled her away. She flowed south. Iris dashed forward, trying to keep up, but the water was just too fast.
Misha neared the edge of the bridge. Soon it would be too deep to stand. Iris moved as fast as she could, pushing the water around her as she ran. But it did no good.
The girl’s feet were over the edge now. Misha was falling. Her body sunk, then her head. Soon her hands were all that remained above the waterline. Iris shouted in fear, too far away to do anything.
But just as all hope was lost, Ophelia’s hand came out of nowhere. She grabbed onto little Misha and started pulling, all while trying to maintain her footing on the bridge’s edge. Ryan jumped in and grabbed onto Ophelia, stabilizing her so that she would not fall over.
Iris took a sigh of relief as Ophelia pulled Misha’s head above the water. The little girl gasped for air and splashed around.
Everyone gathered around the rescue. Iris helped pull the small child back onto the bridge and then hoisted her up on top of her shoulders again.
The group all paused to gather themselves. Iris did the same. Her heart was racing.
“Misha!” Greyson shouted, breaking the silence. “What did I tell you? I said listen to Iris!”
“I got scared,” she answered. Iris could hear her tears through the words.
“Listen to Iris!” Greyson repeated. “Do not do that again.”
“I’m sorry,” she said through her tears. “I’m sorry.”
Everyone took a deep breath and stood still.
“Is everybody okay now?” Ryan asked once the group had calmed down.
There was a pause. It was quiet, except for Misha’s sobbing.
“I’ll take your silence as a yes.” He took another deep breath. “Let’s keep going.”
Iris and the others faced west again and continued along the bridge. She was a lot colder now and her cramping was get
ting bad. But at least Misha was safe and not kicking anymore.
The rain picked up. Thick, heavy drops collided with her body, forcing her a bit more off-balance with each drop. She felt her legs nearly give out a few times, but she always corrected and managed to keep upright.
Fighting the force of the current was the hardest part. She found that she had to lean to the right just to walk straight. It was strenuous on her already sore muscles, but she ignored the pain and fought through it, taking things one step at a time.
Ryan, Jallah and even Tobias and Sixtine passed her, moving at a quicker pace. She ignored them too. There was no sense competing to stay ahead of the pack.
Step by step, she continued on until she reached what appeared to be the center of the submerged bridge. The view was amazing from here. She could see the wide river flowing all around her, the sloping shores on both sides and the dangerous but beautiful storm clouds decorating the sea above.
Iris paused for a moment to take in the sight and to rest. She took a deep breath, but found that standing still in this current was not much easier than walking through it. She still had to fight against the force of the water just to remain straight.
“Why are we stopping?” Misha asked.
“No reason,” Iris answered. As she spoke, she suddenly realized how out of breath she was. Just answering Misha’s question was a challenge.
The pause was brief, but well needed. Iris continued along again after only a few seconds.
Crack!
Another wave of thunder echoed through the world, this time seemingly unaccompanied by a strike of lightning. Iris instinctively looked up again, as if trying to spot the source of the thunder. She realized right away that this was impossible, but continued staring at the clouds nonetheless.
Someone shouted something from up ahead, pulling her attention back down to the bridge. Soon someone else joined in. Before she knew it, there was a full conversation happening up front. Iris had no idea who was talking or what they were saying. With the wind, the rain and her damaged hearing, she was as good as deaf.
Each step seemed to get more and more difficult to take. Her legs were sore. Her lungs struggled for air. Her body cramped all over. She wondered how much longer she could endure this walk.
The child on her shoulders felt heavy. Iris reached up and touched her legs, feeling her cold pants. Misha may have been annoyed, but at least she was safe.
