BLAME

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My head and my body ached. Afraid, and unsure of what I'd see, I started to open my eyes, but they burned and I quickly closed them. Very slowly, I tried to open them again. Except for the almost total darkness, a tiny light glinted to my right, like a small, lit candle. But I couldn't tell. My vision was too blurred.

Under me was something cold and hard. I tried to shift my weight to get more comfortable, but even the slightest movement was wrenching. Unsure if my attack had just happened, or if it had been hours before, my mind sluggishly played back the events at the bridge, and settled on one. Instinctively, my hand went to my stomach ...!

No tackiness of blood. Impossible – because something had happened!

Everything was just like before, except ...

Trying to concentrate against a stronger fear about to take over, I struggled to focus.

The pain had been real and I'd seen him ... my attacker. I hadn't dredged him up from nothing. That, I knew. What I was not certain of ... the mysterious person inside the bridge ... he wasn't Zil – or, had Zil used the darkness to mask his appearance and concealed his voice so I wouldn't know, and to finally frighten me away?

I started to get up to leave, but it hurt too much and I laid back.

I was about to try to move again, but a slight noise in the stillness caught my attention. Indistinct at first, I realized what it was ... footsteps! Someone was coming toward me.

Afraid he'd returned to finish what he'd started, I remained still, though my blurry eyes strained to see what I could. Knowing how vulnerable I was, and with my body wracked with pain, I was still determined not to fall victim to further assault. I'd fight my hardest to escape – even without my flashlight there to use as a weapon. I tensed ...

I was startled by a soft, unfamiliar man's voice breaking the stillness. "You've been hurt."

My realization that he wasn't the attacker wasn't immediate and I started to painfully move away.

"You must remain still." He sounded almost – nervous.

I paused. "Who are you?"

"A friend of the one who rescued you."

"Make it so she cannot hear," whispered another person – in a French accent!

Squinting to see Zil, I was stopped by something feathery tickling my face ... and I was all of a sudden very drowsy so that holding my eyes open was a chore. I felt myself lying back onto the hard surface beneath me.

Behind me, quiet, muffled voices started – then something uncomfortable gently touched my hand. I wanted to pull away but didn't have the strength to. Slowly, almost reluctantly, it withdrew, leaving behind its icy feel on my skin. Then something that smelled strongly of lavender passed my nose ... left me ... returned ... and repeated.

My body began to involuntarily relax. Telling myself to resist the pleasant dizziness, and to keep my mind clear to figure out a way to escape, I was distracted by the sound of soft humming.

It was soothing and I wanted to sleep – but I couldn't get past the brink. The humming ceased and unintelligible, fragmented, and endlessly drawn-out words began, making the throbbing in my head return and worsen.

I opened my drowsy eyes. I wanted to see where I was, and those with me, Zil undoubtedly being one of them. They no longer burned, but I was surrounded by such darkness that knowing if my eyesight had been restored was impossible. I turned my chin to my right to search for anything I might see, and something slowly came into view. Gradually, my eyes adjusted and I could see it was a light. As I watched, the strange light started to glow, and in a slow repetition, began to change its hue from white to orange, and then back again. Then, in a freakish imitation of a kaleidoscope, grayish-looking objects began to move slowly before it, switching images from normal to fiendish, but lingering on the latter.

I wanted to scream at the person to make it stop. But the smell of lavender returned. Once again, I felt myself becoming involuntarily tranquilized.

I could hear the person leaving me, but then the footsteps stopped. Lying there, I strained to listen within the utter silence. He was trying to make it seem as if I'd been left alone, but I wasn't fooled. I hadn't heard the sound of a door opening or closing. While the stranger may have moved to a place where he could watch me, I could sense his presence closer than I wanted.

Suddenly, I felt my body shift. A soft voice close to my ear whispered, "Ashe."

A French accent!

I opened my eyes. They didn't burn. My sight was restored and my head was clear. I was still inside the bridge and Zil was squatted next to me.

"How do you feel?"

Locking eyes with him, I slowly sat up and then stood. The pain from my attack, and the injuries to my arm and hip, were gone.

Zil stood, too.

"You?" I quietly demanded.

His silence told me everything I needed to know.

He turned to watch me go as I started past him. "I told you not to come here. Why did you not listen?"

I stopped, but kept my back to him. I despised him. He'd taken his stunt, where I'd been hurt and thought I'd been stabbed, too far. But he'd gotten his point across.

"The bridge is dangerous. You did not heed my words."

I turned and glared at him. "You mean your threats!"

I was surprised not to see smugness in his expression, but concern instead. "I did not threaten you. I would not. But I did tell you to stay away. What do you remember?"

"I remember smelling lavender – and pain ... minutes, maybe hours of it. And you were here, but didn't look like you."

What I'd said seemed to make him uncomfortable. "What you perceive as a long time was nothing more than a few seconds." Looking at me cautiously, as if he was about to say something astronomically revealing, or ridiculous, he added, "Perhaps time was slowed so what happened would make sense to a mortal's mind."

"What? Listen, I admit you might know more about ghosts than I do, but do not talk to me like you're one of them!"

"Who?" His look of confusion angered me further.

"Them! Weirdoes who think they're paranormal beings and not human. Remember – at the warehouse – you said you were a vampire?" I shook my head at how stupid I'd just sounded.

"I am not innocent of many things, but I am guiltless of what I am being accused of. I was here, I am still here, but I did not bring you harm. Mont ..." Zil paused and then finished slowly. "Something supernatural was responsible."

My fists balled tightly. "Pay attention, because I've said this before ... I know the damn bridge is haunted! What I don't know is what you know about it, in particular. What in here is so important that you want to keep secret for yourself?"

"Please do not ask me anything else about the bridge. I cannot tell you, except to ask that you keep away from here."

"I will not stop coming here, but as far as you? Your pretense of being blameless is disgusting! Stay away from me! I don't know what you did, but I did not like it!" I exited the bridge and started down the path. I never want to see you again!

"It is impossible," he said.

I turned. "What did you say?"

"Because of what happened tonight ..." Seeming to weigh his words carefully, he continued, "If you had listened to me, your wish to not see me again may have been granted. Not by my design, but because it was your desire. Now it is impossible."

I didn't know what to think. The coincidence of his reply ... it was as if he'd actually read my mind.

He started towards me, but didn't stop until he'd passed me and was a few paces away. Keeping his back to me, Zil turned his chin slightly. "For that, forgive me, but I am glad. Your misery brings me happiness. In time, you may come to understand."

"That's another thing you keep saying," I bit out. "What am I supposed to understand – and why would my misery bring you happiness?"

He left and was soon lost to the shadows.

I glanced back at Cortland Bridge. Feeling at odds with myself over its deepening mysteries, and the scare I'd suffered because of my unwillingness to let go of my obsession, I considered what Zil said ... and was forced to admit he might be right. Being new at ghost hunting, I'd need more experience before I returned – and I planned to do just that.

As I started my walk home, I marveled over my pain being gone. I couldn't help but to wonder, as farfetched as it was, if Zil was responsible for that, too.

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