B11

“Oh my god! This was THE worst idea I’ve ever had!”

She glanced around the at the train bridge connecting either side of a very... Very... deep chasm. Surges of regret and panic pulsed through her very being with each peek down at the distant dots of green.

“What are those dots of green- OH FUCK! Those are trees! Holy shit! I’m high up!”

She grimaced, and hissed a breath through her teeth. Her fingers clung onto the rusty, painted chipped surface of the iron girder. With each passing second, the quiver in her forearm muscles grew more noticeable. Her nervous gaze watched the cramping in her limbs and she gritted her teeth.

“Okay- Okay- You fucked up, yet AGAIN! But, you can undo this mistake. Yes. Just need to climb up back to the top and go home. Forget this ever happened and go on with your miserable life!”

Taking a deep breath, she looked down and snapped her head back up.

“Why THE FUCK did I pick this BRIDGE to jump off of!”

Twisting her mouth, she grumbled and shook her head slowly.

“Because, you wanted to make sure it got the job done. Right, yeah. Thank you, past me.”

Summoning her strength, she slid her fingers along the aged steel and curled them around a new grip. She drew in a long breath, exhaled slowly, and mustered her courage. Gently shifting her weigh, she eased herself over and inched her other hand over. With a few calming sighs, her last vestiges of courage forced her will to override fear and she flung one foot over. She hooked the angled steel beam with the lower leg, tightened her hold, and paused. The dry arid wind blew around her, rustled her loose shirt and plain shorts.

“Okay... Just got to get the other leg over... Then, climb up the beam… And, get up to the tracks. Almost there. You can do this. One... Two... THREE!”

With a mighty mustering of determination, she kicked the remaining foot off her previous spot, swung herself up, and wrapped her arms and legs tightly around the rust coated girder. Her green eyes wide, she slowly breathed in quiet desert air, and swallowed down a huge gulp of fear. Blinking herself back to awareness, she glanced around new steel rail, squirmed cautiously upon the beam, and released a long sigh.

“Oh fuck... Oh... Fuck... I can’t believe I did that. Wow... Isn’t that something. Now what...”

A low rumble gradually became audible. She cocked her head, aimed her curious stare above, and watched specs of dust and rust crumble off the latticework metal above her. Faint metallic rattles sounded out, and bits of pebbles clanked down.

“The hell is that?”

Vibrations radiated through the steel and her body shuddered with the energy.

“Oh. No. Is that a-”

A rolling roar crested into the air space. A huge locomotive sped down the tracks and approached the bridge.

“OH. GOD. Just hold on! You can do it! Just hold-”

The train rolled onto the bridge at full speed, the sheer mass pounded the rails, and the energy of movement exploded through the supports below it. The force bouncing through the structure rattled her mercilessly. Her screams drowned by the cacophony of steel upon steel and mass shoved across the bridge, she belted out imperceptible wails against the uncaring physics converging upon her. With each passing second, her grip on loosened as the powerful vibrations overwhelm her. One minute in, she struggled against rotating around and now hung from the bottom of the beam. Next minute in, her feet strained against the girder and slipped off. A dirty tennis shoe freed itself from her foot, fell down, and sailed straight into the dirt far below. The final minute, her elbows failed her and she dangled from the angled steel beam.

Panting out her panic, she opened her green eyes, gazed up through her dark hair, and assessed the new undesirable situation.

“... Oh God. Oh God. This is even worse than before! Of course, a train had to cross right when I was trying to get up. It’s ALWAYS like this! If it’s not one thing, it’s another.”

Rage boiled up inside her and found escape through her mouth. “WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT FROM ME?! How about you give me a sign or something?!”

Her voice echoed out into the vast chasm below, bounced around, and faded away. Pings of metal sounded out. She glanced up. From the deck of the bridge, a large stone rolls free. Her eyes widened in horror as a rock the size of her head carved through the air and tumbled straight for her. In the split second, the closing distances, and the fading of hope...

She closed her eyes and let go of the ledge.