October 31, 1986
The bathroom counter was covered with makeup, curling irons, brushes, and enough Aqua Net to put a sizeable hole in the ozone layer. Jenny leaned toward the mirror, carefully applying eyeliner, while Kelly worked a round brush through her bangs, trying to achieve a level of height that probably violated several laws of physics.
Kelly switched off the blow-dryer and studied her reflection. “What do you think? Big enough?”
Jenny glanced up from her eyeliner. “It’s 1986. It’s never big enough.”
“That’s what I thought.” Kelly reached for the Aqua Net and gave her hair another generous blast.
“Save some for the rest of us.”
Kelly laughed and handed Jenny the can. “Here. You’re gonna need it.”
From the bedroom, Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” started playing, and both girls immediately abandoned their hair to turn up the stereo. They danced around the bedroom, singing at the top of their lungs until Kelly caught sight of the clock.
“Crap! We’re gonna be late.”
“We’re not late.”
“I don’t want to miss anything.”
“Brian and Mark aren’t even here yet.”
“I know. I just can’t believe we actually get to go.”
Jenny grinned. “Me neither.”
Kelly looked at her in the mirror. “And you’re going to spend the whole night avoiding Brian.”
“I’m not avoiding Brian. I like Brian.”
“You like his car.”
Jenny grinned. “Have you seen his Monte Carlo?”
Kelly burst out laughing. “You’re terrible.”
“What? It’s a really nice car!”
They returned to the bathroom, where Kelly picked up the curling iron and Jenny attempted to repair the damage their impromptu Bon Jovi concert had done to her hair.
“So,” Kelly said, separating another section of Jenny’s hair, “anything spooky happen to you yet?”
Jenny looked at her through the mirror. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s Halloween, dumbass.”
“Oh, right.” Jenny thought for a moment. “Actually, yeah. There was this owl outside my bedroom window last night.”
“An owl?”
“Yeah. It woke me up making this awful noise, and when I looked outside, it was sitting in the tree right by my window, staring straight at me. I even turned on my lamp, and the damn thing just sat there.”
Kelly stopped curling her hair. “Oh, that’s creepy.”
“Tell me about it. I felt like it was watching me.”
“You know, I read something about owls the other day.” Kelly lowered her voice. “Some old poem about them and spirits or something.”
Jenny stared at her reflection. “Well, that’s comforting.”
“No, listen. It went something like this.”
Kelly leaned closer to the mirror and recited in an exaggerated, spooky whisper:
When the owl calls in the dead of night,
It follows shadows out of sight.
Through moonlit woods its wings may roam,
To lead the wandering safely home.
Jenny turned around. “So, you’re telling me I had some kind of flying funeral director sitting outside my bedroom window?”
Kelly burst out laughing. “Maybe it was waiting for you!”
“Oh, shut up.”
Kelly grinned and picked up the Aqua Net again. “Hey, you’re the one being stalked by the death owl.”
Jenny snatched the can out of her hand. “Would you finish my hair before I become one of those wandering spirits?”
A few minutes later, they were finally ready. Kelly checked her reflection one last time, adjusted her sweater, and announced that Mark had better appreciate the amount of work she’d put into looking this good.
“If he doesn’t,” Jenny said, grabbing her jacket, “just stand near the bonfire. With that much hairspray, he’ll definitely notice you.”
“Bitch!”
They were still laughing when a car horn sounded outside.
Jenny hurried to the window and pulled back the curtain. Brian’s Monte Carlo was sitting at the curb, with Mark already riding in the passenger seat.
“Our ride’s here!”
Kelly came up beside her. “Finally.”
“What happened to beauty taking time?”
“It’s taken enough time. Let’s go.”
Outside, Brian was watching the front door when Jenny stepped onto the porch. He’d known her for years, but something about seeing her standing there in her black jeans and pink sweater, laughing with Kelly as they hurried down the steps, made him forget whatever he’d been about to say.
God, she looked beautiful.
He’d liked Jenny for a long time, and although she’d never given him much reason to think she felt the same way, maybe tonight would be different. There was the party, Halloween, and an entire evening ahead of them. Maybe he’d finally get his chance.
Jenny opened the back door and leaned inside.
“Hey, Brian!”
“Hey.” He smiled. “You look really nice.”
“Thanks!” She glanced around the interior. “God, I love this car.”
From the passenger seat, Mark started laughing.
Brian shook his head, smiling despite himself, as the girls climbed into the back.
“About damn time,” Mark said. “We were starting to think you two weren’t coming.”
Kelly leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. “Beauty takes time, babycakes.”
“Correct, your hotness.” Mark grinned. “I mean, highness.”
Kelly smacked his shoulder.
Jenny settled into the seat. “Let’s get this party rollin’! Some of us have people to meet tonight.”
Brian caught her eye in the rearview mirror and grinned.
As they pulled away from the curb, Jenny glanced toward her darkened bedroom window.
She knew Kelly was just trying to scare her. Still, there had been something strange about the way that owl had watched her.
***
By the time Brian’s Monte Carlo pulled into the Petersons’ driveway, the party was already in full swing. Cars and pickups lined both sides of the gravel lane, and a huge bonfire burned behind the machine shed, sending sparks into the October sky. AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” poured through the open doors, competing with the laughter and shouting of teenagers gathered around the fire.
Jenny climbed out of the backseat and surveyed the scene. There were kids everywhere, most of them juniors and seniors, and several she didn’t recognize.
This was her first real party. She’d been excited about it all week, but standing there now, surrounded by upperclassmen who looked like they did this every weekend, she suddenly felt a little more nervous than she wanted anyone to know.
Kelly came around the car and leaned toward her.
“Okay. Try not to look like a bitch.”
Jenny looked at her. “You first.”
Kelly grinned. “Too late.”
Jenny laughed. They’d been friends since they were five and six years old. There wasn’t much either of them could say to the other that was going to cause permanent damage.
They followed the boys toward the bonfire, where a couple of upperclassmen were passing around a bottle of Boone’s Farm. Someone had set bowls of chips and dip on a folding table, and a group of kids near the machine shed were arguing over whose turn it was to play quarters.
Jenny spotted a girl from school standing near the fire and waved. As they made their way through the crowd, she noticed that beyond the bonfire, the woods were completely dark. Every so often, a distant scream rose above the music, followed by laughter.
“What’s going on out there?” she asked.
“The hayride,” Mark answered. “Peterson’s older brother and his friends have been setting it up all week. Supposed to be pretty good this year.”
Kelly slipped her arm around his waist. “I heard they scared some girl so bad last year she peed her pants.”
Mark grinned. “That was Peterson’s little sister.”
“Seriously?” Jenny asked.
“No,” Mark said, laughing. “But I bet I could get one of you to.”
Kelly smacked his arm. “You’re such an idiot.”
Brian laughed. “Come on. They’re loading the wagon.”
The hay wagon was already filling with teenagers when they reached it. Bales of straw lined the sides, and a few kids had claimed spots near the front, where the tractor’s headlights cast a weak yellow glow over the trail.
Kelly and Mark settled together on one of the bales, while Brian climbed toward the front to sit with some guys he knew. Jenny found a spot near the back, brushing loose straw from her black jeans.
“Great,” she muttered. “I’m going to have hay in my underwear for a week.”
Just before the tractor started moving, a boy climbed onto the wagon and glanced around for somewhere to sit. He had sandy hair, a denim jacket, and black high-top Converse that looked like they’d seen better days.
He stopped beside Jenny. “Anybody sitting here?”
“Nope. It’s all yours.”
He smiled and sat down, leaving a polite amount of space between them.
Jenny gave him a quick sideways glance.
Well, hello.
The tractor lurched forward, and the wagon rolled away from the firelight and into the woods. Almost immediately, the temperature seemed to drop. The sweet smell of hay mixed with damp leaves and diesel exhaust, and the laughter from the party gradually disappeared behind them.
Branches reached over the narrow trail, scraping against the wooden sides of the wagon. Someone near the front started making ghost noises, which earned him a chorus of groans and several suggestions about where he could shove his ghost.
The first scare came when a figure wearing a grotesque rubber mask leaped from behind a tree. Kelly shrieked and grabbed Mark’s arm, nearly pulling him off the bale.
Mark grinned at her. “How about you come a little closer?”
“Shut up.”
She moved closer anyway.
The wagon continued deeper into the trees. Somewhere off to their left, a chain rattled, followed by a long, miserable groan. A figure in a bloody nightgown stumbled across the path, dragging one leg behind her.
“Nice outfit!” someone yelled. “My grandma’s got one just like it!”
The wagon erupted in laughter, and even the girl in the nightgown broke character long enough to flip them off. Jenny was still laughing when the tractor rounded another bend and suddenly slowed.
A man wearing a hockey mask stepped out of the trees, carrying a chainsaw. He yanked the starter cord. The engine roared to life, and he charged toward the wagon.
Jenny screamed and launched herself sideways, grabbing the boy beside her and nearly landing in his lap. He caught her around the waist just as she started sliding off the hay bale.
The chainsaw man chased the wagon for several yards before disappearing into the trees, while Jenny struggled to regain both her seat and what little dignity she had left.
“Oh my God. I’m so sorry!”
The boy was laughing. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I think so.” She glanced down at the arm she was still clutching and quickly let go. “Sorry about that too.”
“It’s okay. I wasn’t planning on using that arm tonight anyway.”
Jenny burst out laughing. “Well, you could’ve warned me that maniac was coming!”
“I didn’t know!”
“Some help you are.”
He grinned. “I’ll try to do better next time.”
Jenny brushed a piece of straw from her sweater and held out her hand. “I’m Jenny, by the way.”
“Danny.”
“Nice to meet you, Danny. Sorry I tried to kill you.”
“Nice to meet you too. I’ll probably survive.”
She laughed, and he smiled at her in a way that made her suddenly forget about the chainsaw.
“So,” Jenny asked, turning toward him, “you come to these things very often?”
“Not really.”
“Me neither. Although I’m beginning to understand why.”
Danny laughed. “You always this dangerous?”
“Only when threatened.”
“Good to know.”
They were still smiling at each other when another figure stepped into the headlights.
He wore a dirty red-and-green sweater, a battered brown hat, and a glove with long metal blades extending from the fingers.
“Oh, shit!” somebody shouted. “It’s Freddy!”
Kelly immediately started chanting, “One, two, Freddy’s coming for you!”
The boy in the costume dragged his claws along the wagon’s wooden railing, making a horrible scraping sound as he moved beside them.
Jenny shuddered. “God, that gives me the creeps.”
Danny leaned closer. “Who’s Freddy?”
She turned to him. “What?”
“Freddy. Who is he?”
Jenny stared at him, trying to decide whether he was kidding.
“Freddy Krueger? Nightmare on Elm Street?”
Danny shook his head.
“You’ve never seen it?”
“No.”
“Oh my God. Where have you been? Living under a rock?”
Danny laughed but didn’t answer.
“Well, you’ve got some catching up to do. I’ll have to educate you.”
“Sounds like I better watch out.”
“Probably.”
As the wagon rolled on, Jenny noticed how completely the darkness swallowed everything beyond the trail. The tractor’s headlights illuminated the trees ahead, but behind them, the woods seemed to close in almost immediately.
A branch snapped somewhere off to their right. Jenny turned toward the sound, expecting another masked teenager to jump out, but nothing appeared. Then came a soft rustling, almost like footsteps moving through the leaves.
“Did you hear that?” she asked Danny.
He looked toward the trees. “Yeah.”
Before she could say anything else, the tractor sputtered and the wagon slowed almost to a stop. A few kids groaned, but the engine caught again and they continued down the trail.
From somewhere behind them came the unmistakable sound of a child laughing. Jenny turned around. There was nobody there. She looked toward Danny, but he was watching the trail ahead.
They rounded another bend, and an old wooden sign appeared beside the trail, its crooked letters barely visible in the weak light.
BEWARE OF WHAT LURKS IN THE DARK.
“Oh, that’s original,” Jenny said.
“Maybe it’s talking about you,” Danny replied.
She looked at him in surprise, then laughed. “Well, look who’s getting brave.”
Danny grinned.
Something moved behind a tree.
Jenny caught only a glimpse at first—a flash of white followed by a shock of bright red hair.
“Oh, hell no.”
Danny looked at her. “What?”
“I hate clowns.”
A figure stepped out wearing a filthy clown costume, an enormous red wig, and a painted face twisted into a hideous grin.
“Nope,” Jenny said. “Absolutely not.”
The clown disappeared behind another tree as the wagon approached.
Jenny leaned forward, trying to see where he’d gone.
“Where the hell did he—”
The clown sprang out of the darkness, lunging toward the side of the slow-moving wagon, his face suddenly inches from hers.
Jenny reacted before her brain had a chance to catch up.
Her right fist shot forward and connected squarely with the clown’s cheek.
“OH, SHIT!”
The clown stumbled backward, clutching his face. For one stunned second, the entire back of the wagon went silent.
Then Kelly started laughing.
“OH MY GOD! JENNY!”
Jenny stared at the clown in horror. “Oh my God! I’m sorry!”
The kid pulled off his mask, still holding his cheek. “Holy shit, lady!”
“I’m so sorry! You scared the shit out of me!”
Danny had both hands over his mouth, trying desperately not to laugh. Jenny turned toward him, still staring after the clown.
“I just punched a clown.”
That did it.
Danny doubled over laughing, and Jenny started laughing too, even as she leaned over the railing to call another apology. By the time the wagon moved on, the story had already traveled halfway to the front.
Brian twisted around from his seat. “Wait. You just decked Ronald McDonald?”
Jenny covered her face. “I panicked.”
Mark was still laughing. “She absolutely did.”
Jenny pointed at both of them. “Shut up.”
Danny leaned closer. “For what it’s worth, I think you showed remarkable restraint.”
Jenny turned to him. “You are not helping.”
The tractor finally emerged from the woods, and the warm glow of the bonfire appeared ahead. Danny climbed down first, then turned and offered Jenny his hand.
“Thanks,” she said, taking it.
“I figured I should stay on your good side.”
“Smart man.”
She had barely stepped down when a horrible, piercing shriek tore through the darkness. Jenny grabbed Danny’s arm. Kelly shrieked, and Mark jumped backward into Brian.
“HOLY SHIT!” Mark shouted.
Something small swooped through the edge of the firelight and vanished toward the trees. For a moment, nobody moved.
“What the hell was that?” Kelly demanded.
Brian looked toward the woods. “Screech owl.”
Jenny stared at him. “That was an owl?”
“Yep.”
Kelly slowly looked at Jenny.
“Don’t,” Jenny said.
Kelly grinned. “Death owl.”
“Oh, shut up.”
Beside her, Danny had gone quiet.
He was staring toward the trees where the owl had disappeared, an expression on his face Jenny couldn’t quite read.
“You okay?”
Danny blinked and looked back at her. “Yeah. I’m good.”
Jenny slipped her arm through his. “Come on. I need something to drink.”
He glanced once more toward the woods before following her back to the bonfire.
***
The warmth of the fire felt good after the chilly hayride. Music spilled through the open machine-shed doors, and the smell of burning wood mixed with cigarette smoke and somebody’s questionable choice of perfume.
Brian wandered over from the cooler carrying a couple of cans of pop and handed one to Jenny.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
His eyes flicked briefly toward Danny, then back to Jenny. She was smiling, and Danny was smiling too.
Brian took a drink from his can and headed back toward the cooler.
Kelly and Mark disappeared into the machine shed to dance, leaving Jenny and Danny near the fire.
“So,” Jenny said, turning toward him, “are you from around here?”
“Yeah. Not too far.”
“Do you go to school around here?”
Danny hesitated. “Yeah.”
“Which one?”
For a moment, he seemed to be searching for an answer. Then he smiled. “You always ask this many questions?”
“Only when I’m trying to figure out whether somebody’s worth talking to.”
“And?”
Jenny pretended to consider it. “Jury’s still out.”
Danny laughed. “Guess I’d better keep trying.”
Jenny smiled. There was something different about him. He wasn’t trying to impress her or tell her how much he could drink or what he drove. He seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say.
And she liked making him laugh. From inside the machine shed came the opening notes of Bryan Adams’ “Heaven.”
Jenny turned toward the music. “Oh, I love this song.”
She set her drink down and reached for Danny’s hand.
“Come on.”
He looked toward the shed. “Where are we going?”
“To dance.”
“I don’t really dance.”
“Well, there’s a first time for everything.”
She pulled him toward the building.
Several couples were already slow dancing inside. Kelly and Mark were near the middle of the floor, wrapped around each other.
Jenny turned back to Danny. “Come here.”
He smiled nervously as she slipped her arms around his neck. His hands hovered awkwardly at his sides.
Jenny looked down at them, then back up at him.
“You can put your hands on my waist, you know. I promise I won’t punch you.”
Danny laughed and settled his hands gently against her waist.
They began to sway with the music, awkwardly at first, until Jenny moved a little closer and Danny relaxed. After a minute, he looked down at her.
“Can I tell you something?”
“Sure.”
“I’ve never done this before.”
“Slow danced?”
He nodded.
“Really?”
“Never.”
Jenny smiled. “Well, I’m honored.”
Danny smiled back, and after a moment Jenny rested her head against his shoulder. For a while, neither of them said anything.
As the song neared its end, she lifted her head.
“See? That wasn’t so bad.”
“No,” Danny said. “It really wasn’t.”
The song ended, but for another moment neither of them moved away. Then Jenny slipped her hand into his.
“Come on. Let’s go get some air.”
Danny followed her outside, still holding her hand.
***
Jenny and Danny had barely made it back to the bonfire when a shout came from the other side of the machine shed.
“SHIT! COPS!”
Heads turned toward the gravel lane, where a pair of headlights was slowly approaching the farm. For about three seconds, absolute chaos erupted.
A guy near the bonfire dropped his beer can into the dirt, someone shoved a bottle of Boone’s Farm behind a hay bale, and two girls came running out of the machine shed looking like they’d just been caught robbing a bank. Inside, the music abruptly stopped as somebody scrambled to clear the cups off the quarters table.
Jenny watched a senior from school attempt to hide an entire case of beer beneath his jacket.
“Oh, that’s convincing,” she muttered. “Nobody will ever notice the twelve-pack growing out of his stomach.”
Danny laughed as Kelly and Mark hurried over.
“What’s going on?” Kelly asked.
“Somebody thinks it’s the cops.”
Mark squinted toward the approaching headlights. “That’s not a cop car.”
“How do you know?”
“Because cops don’t usually drive station wagons with wood paneling.”
Sure enough, an old station wagon pulled into the yard, and half a dozen teenagers climbed out, completely unaware they’d nearly caused a mass evacuation. The party collectively exhaled.
“Oh, come on,” Kelly said.
Mark started laughing. “You should’ve seen your face.”
“My face? You were halfway to the cornfield.”
“I was going to warn everybody.”
“Bullshit.”
Brian joined them, shaking his head. “I think half these idiots are going to have a heart attack before they’re old enough to drink legally.”
Mark looked at him. “You guys wanna get out of here?”
“And go where?” Kelly asked.
“Cruise around for a while.”
Brian shrugged. “Works for me.”
Jenny turned toward Danny. “You wanna come?”
He smiled. “Sure.”
Brian watched Jenny smile back at him. It wasn’t exactly how he’d hoped the night would go, but Danny seemed all right. And Jenny was his friend before she was ever anything he wished she might be.
“Come on,” Brian said. “Let’s go.”
The five of them piled into the Monte Carlo, Mark riding shotgun while Kelly, Jenny, and Danny squeezed into the back.
Within minutes, the windows were down, the heater was cranked as high as it would go, and the radio was blasting. Cold October air rushed through the car while they sang along, yelled over the music, and drove the same streets they’d driven a thousand times before.
There wasn’t anywhere in particular they needed to be. That was half the fun. Danny sat pressed against Jenny’s shoulder, looking thoroughly entertained by the whole ridiculous bunch. After a while, his hand found hers between them. Jenny smiled and laced her fingers through his.
Up front, Mark suddenly reached over and turned down the radio.
“Hey!” Kelly protested.
“Hang on. I just thought of something.”
Brian groaned. “That usually doesn’t end well.”
Mark turned around with a grin.
“We should go to Dead Man’s Bridge.”
Kelly’s expression changed immediately.
“No.”
“Oh, come on. It’s Halloween.”
“I don’t care. No.”
Jenny leaned forward between the seats. “What the hell is Dead Man’s Bridge?”
Mark looked delighted to have an audience.
“You’ve never heard the story?”
“Would I be asking if I had?”
“It’s this old bridge out by the river. Back in the fifties, a school bus went off it and into the water.”
Kelly shook her head. “That’s not exactly how I heard it.”
“Fine. You tell it.”
Kelly leaned forward. “Supposedly a school bus full of kids crashed through the railing and went into the river. Now people say if you park your car on the bridge, put it in neutral, and turn off the lights, the ghosts of those kids will push your car across.”
Danny looked at her. “Why?”
“So you don’t go over the edge like they did. And afterward, you’re supposed to find little handprints all over the back of your car.”
“Bullshit,” Brian said.
Mark pointed at him. “Then let’s go prove it.”
Kelly stared at him. “Or—and hear me out—we could not.”
Jenny laughed. “So these ghost kids spend eternity pushing idiots across a bridge?”
Brian laughed. “Apparently.”
“Somebody ought to give them a night off.”
Danny had gone quiet. A school bus. A bridge. The river. Something about the words made him uneasy. Not frightened exactly. Familiar. He looked out the window, trying to catch hold of whatever was stirring in his memory, but it disappeared as soon as he reached for it.
Jenny nudged him with her shoulder. “What do you think?”
“About the bridge?”
“Yeah. You wanna go?”
Danny hesitated.
Kelly pointed at him. “See? He’s thinking. We should try that.”
Mark ignored her.
Danny looked at Jenny. She was smiling at him, waiting.
“Okay.”
Kelly groaned. “Great.”
Brian turned the Monte Carlo toward the edge of town. The radio went back up, but as the streetlights disappeared behind them, the car gradually grew quieter. Jenny leaned against Danny, their hands still joined between them. He watched the headlights sweep across harvested fields and bare trees. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d been this way before.
***
The pavement eventually gave way to gravel.
“Next left,” Mark said.
Brian glanced at him. “You sure?”
“Yeah.”
Danny stared through the windshield. The road narrowed between the trees, and every turn seemed to tug at something just beyond his memory. A glimpse of water through the branches. A sharp curve. The road dipping downhill. He shifted in his seat.
Jenny squeezed his hand. “You okay?”
“Yeah.”
“You sure?”
Danny nodded, but his eyes stayed on the road. Up ahead, the trees opened. The bridge appeared.
It was narrow and old, its steel beams dark with rust, the roadway made of weathered wooden planks. Beneath it, the river moved black in the moonlight, swollen from recent rain. Brian slowed the Monte Carlo.
“Well,” he said, “that’s cheerful.”
Kelly stared through the windshield. “That thing doesn’t even look safe.”
Even Mark seemed slightly less enthusiastic now that it was actually in front of them.
Danny said nothing.
He stared at the bridge as a strange pressure built in his chest.
He knew this place.
He was certain of it.
But when he tried to remember why, all he could see was darkness.
Mark opened his door. “Come on.”
Kelly stared at him. “We’re getting out?”
“We came all this way.”
Brian killed the engine but left the headlights on.
Jenny looked at Danny.
“You coming?”
He hesitated only a second before opening his door. Jenny followed. Kelly muttered something under her breath and climbed out after them. The five of them walked toward the bridge.
Their shoes crunched over the gravel until they reached the first wooden planks, where the sound changed to a hollow thud beneath their feet. For the first time since they’d left the party, nobody had anything funny to say.
Jenny peered over the railing. Water rushed against the supports below, dark and swollen from recent rain.
“How deep do you think it is?”
Brian looked down. “Pretty deep.”
“That’s helpful.”
He grinned. “Happy to be of service.”
A sudden crack came from the trees on the opposite bank. Everyone stopped. Another crack followed, then the rustling of dead leaves. Jenny stared into the darkness.
For a moment, she had the unmistakable feeling that someone was standing beyond the reach of the headlights, watching them. Then she heard something else beneath the rush of the river. A whisper. She turned toward the far bank.
“Did you guys hear that?”
“Hear what?” Brian asked.
Jenny listened again. Nothing.
Behind them, Danny stood staring down at the river. A cold sensation had begun creeping through his legs, and for one dizzying moment he felt as though the wooden planks beneath his feet were moving.
He grabbed the steel railing to steady himself. The instant his hand touched the metal, an image flashed through his mind.
A dark window. Water. Then it was gone.
“Danny?”
Jenny was watching him.
“You okay? You look kind of pale.”
“Yeah.” He tried to smile. “Just cold.”
A branch above the river suddenly shook. A bloodcurdling shriek tore through the darkness.
A dark shape burst from the trees and swooped low over the bridge. Jenny ducked against Danny as it passed overhead and landed on one of the steel beams. For several seconds, nobody moved. Then Jenny looked up. An owl sat in the moonlight.
“Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
Kelly stared at it. “Death owl.”
“Not now, Kel.”
Danny looked up at the bird. For some reason, the tightness in his chest eased. The owl turned its head toward him, its dark eyes catching the moonlight. Then it spread its wings and disappeared silently into the trees. Jenny took Danny’s hand.
“Come on. I’ve had enough of this place.”
Nobody argued. They headed back to the Monte Carlo.
“We still have to see if the story is true?” Brian declared. No one really wanted to, but it would be like chickening out on a dare or something. They climbed back into the car.
Brian started the engine and pulled slowly onto the bridge. The wooden planks rattled beneath the tires as they approached the middle.
“Right here,” Mark said. “Stop.”
Brian brought the car to a halt.
“Now what?”
“Put it in neutral.”
Brian shifted gears.
“And turn off the headlights.”
Kelly leaned forward. “Absolutely fucking not.”
“That’s how it works.”
“Of course it is.”
Brian looked into the rearview mirror. “We’re already here.”
Kelly folded her arms. “Fine. But when we all die, I’m haunting every one of you.”
Brian reached for the switch. The headlights went out. The world outside disappeared.
Without the lights, the steel beams were little more than black shapes against the sky. The river moved somewhere beneath them, unseen but unmistakable. Brian turned off the radio.
Nobody spoke. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Jenny listened to the idling engine and the water below. A gust of wind sent dead leaves skittering across the bridge.
Kelly shifted beside her.
“This is stupid.”
Jenny leaned closer to Danny.
He was staring straight ahead, his body rigid beside hers. She slipped her hand into his. Then the car moved. It was barely noticeable at first, only a slight rocking sensation.
Jenny sat up.
“Did you feel that?”
Mark leaned forward.
“Wait.”
Nobody moved.
The Monte Carlo began to roll. Slowly.
Only a few inches at first, but enough for Jenny to feel the tires crossing the uneven wooden planks.
“Oh my God,” Kelly whispered.
Mark grabbed the dashboard.
“Holy shit.”
Brian stared through the windshield.
“Are you touching anything?” Kelly asked.
“No.”
The car rolled forward another foot.
Brian shook his head. “There’s gotta be a slope.”
“Then why weren’t we moving before?”
He didn’t answer. The Monte Carlo continued creeping forward. Then it stopped. Three soft taps came from behind them. Everyone froze.
Another tap. Then a faint scraping sound moved slowly across the back of the car. Brian looked into the rearview mirror. Nothing. He noticed Danny’s face in the rearview mirror went pale.
“Okay,” he said quietly. “That’s enough.”
He pressed the brake. The rear of the Monte Carlo shifted. Sideways.
Jenny slid against Danny.
“Brian?”
“I know.”
The car shifted again. Brian tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
“Something’s wrong.”
Kelly grabbed the back of Mark’s seat. “BRIAN!”
“I’M TRYING!”
He pressed harder on the brake. The Monte Carlo rocked sharply, and a horrible grinding noise came from beneath them, as though something heavy were being dragged across the wooden planks. Danny’s hand tightened around Jenny’s. She turned toward him. His face had gone deathly pale.
“Danny?”
He didn’t answer. Cold water surrounded his ankles. Danny jerked his feet backward. There was nothing there.
Only dry carpet beneath his shoes.
Then he heard it. A child crying. The sound was faint at first, nearly lost beneath the engine and rushing river.
Then it grew louder. A little girl sobbing.
“Do you hear that?” Danny whispered.
Jenny leaned closer. “Hear what?”
The crying was everywhere now. Then came the screams. Images flashed through his mind.
A crowded bus.
Someone shouting.
A terrible crash.
Twisting metal.
Water rushing in.
A little girl crying for her mother.
Danny grabbed the sides of his head.
“NO!”
Jenny grabbed his shoulders.
“Danny!”
The water rose around him, over his knees, waist, chest. A little girl screamed somewhere in the darkness. He knew her.
He knew that voice.
“Danny! Look at me!”
His eyes flew open. For an instant he saw Jenny and then she disappeared.
But then the water surrounded him. A small hand reached toward him through the darkness. And suddenly he knew what he had to do.
“GET THEM OUT!”
Everyone froze.
Danny stared straight ahead, his eyes wide with terror.
“GET THEM OUT! HURRY!”
The Monte Carlo lurched violently toward the railing. Kelly screamed. Brian froze behind the wheel.
“GO! GO! GO!” Jenny shouted.
“BRIAN, DRIVE!” Mark yelled.
Kelly joined them. “GO!”
Their shouting snapped Brian into motion. He slammed the gearshift into drive.
“FUCK THIS!”
He hit the gas and the rear tires spun against the damp wooden planks. For one horrifying second, they went nowhere but then the tires caught! The Monte Carlo shot across the remaining length of the bridge, bouncing over the uneven boards before hitting the gravel road on the other side.
Brian didn’t slow down and nobody asked him too. All of their hearts were racing.
Jenny kept one arm around Danny as they raced away from the river. His breathing was ragged, and his entire body trembled beside her. She wanted to ask what had happened—what he’d seen, who he had been trying to get out.
But when she looked at him, she couldn’t.
Up front, Mark stared silently through the windshield. Kelly sat pressed against the seat, both hands covering her mouth.
Nobody was laughing now.
***
Brian didn’t stop until they reached the gas station back in town. He pulled beneath the bright fluorescent lights, shut off the engine, and sat for a moment with both hands still gripping the steering wheel.
Finally, Mark exhaled.
“Well, that was fucked up.”
Kelly stared at him. “You think?”
Brian opened his door. “I’m getting out.”
The others followed. Jenny had never been so happy to stand beneath ugly fluorescent lights in her life.
Kelly turned toward Brian. “Your foot was on the brake?”
“The whole time.”
“And the car still moved sideways?”
Brian looked at her. “Yes.”
That shut everybody up. Mark walked around to the back of the Monte Carlo.
“Let’s see.”
Brian followed him. “See what?”
“The handprints.”
They gathered around the rear window. Mark studied the dusty glass.
Nothing. No small handprints or marks where anything had pushed them.
Kelly shook her head. “Something was touching the car. We heard it.”
Brian stared at the glass. “I don’t know what happened. But my foot was on the brake.”
Jenny looked toward Danny. He stood a few feet away, pale and exhausted.
She went to him.
“Hey.”
He looked at her.
“You okay?”
“I think so.”
“You scared the hell out of me.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.”
Danny glanced toward the dark road beyond the gas station.
“I don’t know what happened.”
Jenny waited.
When he didn’t say anything else, she slipped her hand into his. A moment later, Mark broke the silence.
“Anybody else hungry?”
Kelly stared at him.
“Seriously?”
“What? I’m starving.”
Jenny laughed despite herself.
Mark shrugged. “Being terrified works up an appetite.”
Brian shook his head. “You are unbelievable.”
“Does that mean no French fries and shakes?”
Kelly opened the car door. “Get in, Mark.”
He grinned. “I’m taking that as a maybe.”
***
Everyone tried to get back to acting normal, trying to block out what they had experienced and just listed to the radio and dipped salty fries in their shakes as they cruised around.
It was well after midnight by the time Brian dropped Jenny and Danny at the corner near her house.
“My parents are going to kill me,” Jenny whispered as the Monte Carlo disappeared down the street.
Danny smiled. “Sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. Although if my dad grounds me until I’m thirty, I’m telling him it was all your idea.”
“Fair enough.”
They walked beneath the streetlights, staying close together. The neighborhood was quiet now, most of the porch lights dark and Halloween decorations stirring gently in the breeze with a few jack o’ lanterns with dim flickering lights that would go out soon.
After a few houses, Danny stopped.
“What?” Jenny asked.
He bent down and picked something up from the sidewalk. A penny.
He turned it between his fingers, then held it out to her.
“Here. You keep it.”
Jenny laughed. “A penny?”
“Yeah. For luck.”
“You think I need it?”
Danny smiled. “Couldn’t hurt.”
“Gee, thanks.”
She took it and studied it beneath the streetlight. It was an old penny, with a small nick along one edge.
“Wow. This thing’s older than we are.”
Danny looked at it. For just a moment, something changed in his expression, almost as though he recognized it.
Then he smiled. “Guess it’s been around awhile.”
Jenny slipped the penny into her pocket, and they continued toward her house. Every light was off when they reached the front porch.
“Good,” she whispered. “They’re asleep.”
Danny laughed quietly. They stopped near the steps, neither of them seeming particularly eager to say goodnight. Jenny looked up at him.
“So, since you live around here, I guess I’ll see you at school Monday?”
Danny hesitated. “I’d like that.”
“Good. Because I think you still owe me another dance.”
He smiled. “I thought I did pretty well for my first one.”
“You did. But you could use some practice.”
“I suppose I could.”
For a moment they just stood looking at each other.
Then Danny cleared his throat. “Can I ask you something?”
Jenny smiled. “Another question? Look at you.”
He laughed nervously.
“What?”
“Can I kiss you goodnight?”
Jenny grinned. “You’re asking?”
“Well, yeah.”
She stepped closer.
“You know, Danny, sometimes you think too much.”
Before he could answer, she kissed him. It was sweet and slightly awkward. For Danny, the moment her lips touched his, a rush of electricity seemed to travel all the way down to his toes.
When she pulled away, he had the biggest smile Jenny had seen all night.
“What?” she asked.
For a second, Danny almost told her it had been his first kiss too, but the words seemed stuck somewhere behind the ridiculous smile on his face.
“Nothing.”
“Danny.”
He laughed. “It’s just been a really good night.”
Jenny smiled. “Yeah. It has.”
She stepped toward the porch.
“Goodnight, Danny.”
“Goodnight, Jenny.”
She watched him walk toward the corner. Then came a soft call from somewhere above her.
Jenny looked up. An owl perched on a branch beneath the glow of a streetlight. It hadn’t shrieked like the ones earlier.
It watched her for a moment before turning its head toward the sidewalk where Danny was walking.
Then it spread its wings and lifted silently from the branch, gliding through the darkness in the same direction.
Jenny watched until both Danny and the owl disappeared from sight.
“Goodnight, death owl.”
She slipped quietly inside.
Before getting into bed, Jenny emptied her pockets onto the dresser…a couple of dollars, a piece of gum, and the penny. She set it beside her jewelry box and climbed into bed.
***
Monday morning, Jenny looked for Danny. She watched for him between classes and scanned the cafeteria at lunch.
Finally, she asked Kelly, “Have you seen Danny?”
Kelly glanced around. “No. Are you sure he goes here?”
“I thought so.”
“What was his last name?”
Jenny stopped.
“I don’t know.”
Kelly stared at her. “You kissed a guy and don’t even know his last name?”
“Oh, shut up.”
By Wednesday, Jenny was starting to feel stupid. Brian didn’t know him. Mark said he’d never seen Danny before Halloween night. Nobody else seemed to recognize his description. It was strange. She’d spent nearly the entire evening with him, yet she didn’t know his last name, where he went to school, or exactly where he lived. And Danny hadn’t shown up.
Later that week, Jenny and Kelly were talking about the bridge before history class.
“I still say something moved Brian’s car,” Kelly said.
Mark turned around from the desk in front of them. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t say ghosts.”
“What else was it?”
“Can we not talk about this?” Jenny asked.
Their history teacher, Mrs. Henderson, looked up from her desk.
“What bridge are you talking about?”
Mark grinned. “Dead Man’s Bridge.”
Mrs. Henderson’s expression changed.
“You kids went out there to test the legend, didn’t you?”
Nobody answered. That was answer enough.
Mrs. Henderson sighed. “You wouldn’t be the first.”
She looked at them for a moment. “You know the story about the school bus isn’t exactly true.”
Jenny sat up straighter. “What do you mean?”
“There was an accident. That part is true. But an entire busload of children didn’t die.”
Mark frowned. “They didn’t?”
“No. Most of them survived.”
The bell rang for the next period.
Chairs scraped against the floor as students started gathering their books. Jenny stayed where she was. She knew Mrs. Henderson was probably telling them the truth about the accident. But she also knew what had happened on that bridge. She remembered Danny’s face. The terror in his voice.
Get them out.
Jenny waited until the other students had started filing from the room.
“Mrs. Henderson?”
“Yes, Jenny?”
“When did that accident happen?”
Mrs. Henderson thought for a moment. “Nineteen fifty-seven, I believe. Right around Halloween.”
***
That afternoon, Jenny went to the library.
She told the librarian she was looking for an old newspaper article about a school bus accident at the bridge sometime around Halloween in 1957. Eventually, they found it on microfilm.
November 1, 1957. The accident had happened the evening before…Halloween.
Jenny leaned closer to the screen.
A school bus returning from a Halloween party had crashed through the railing of the old river bridge after the driver suffered a sudden medical emergency. Heavy rains had swollen the river, and the bus had been partially submerged in the rushing water.
Most of the children escaped. One fifteen-year-old boy had helped several younger children through a broken window. A witness stated that he went back to get a little girl still trapped inside. He got her out, but then the current swept him away.
His body was recovered downstream the following morning.
Jenny sat back. Then she noticed the photograph beside the article. A teenage boy with sandy hair and a familiar smile.
Her breath caught. She leaned closer and read the caption.
Daniel “Danny” Miller, 15.
It was him.
Jenny looked at the photograph again, her hands beginning to shake. Danny. The bridge. The water. The little girl crying.
Get them out. Hurry.
He hadn’t been trying to scare anyone. He’d been remembering.
***
Jenny hurried home and went straight upstairs. The penny was still sitting beside her jewelry box.
She picked it up and carried it toward the window. She wanted to make sure. The year on it was 1957. Jenny sat on the edge of her bed with the penny resting in her palm. She didn’t know how any of it was possible. But she knew one thing; he’d been real.
***
A few days later, Jenny convinced Kelly to go back to the bridge with her–in daylight. Kelly hadn’t required much convincing about that part.
The girls walked toward the middle, their footsteps echoing against the weathered wooden planks. In the afternoon sun, the bridge looked smaller and less frightening than Jenny remembered. The river moved beneath them, reflecting the pale November sky. Jenny stopped near the railing with Kelly standing quietly beside her. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the penny. Holding it for a moment, then she closed her fingers around it one more time.
“Thanks for the dance, Danny.”
She tossed it over the railing. The penny flashed briefly in the sunlight before disappearing into the river. Jenny watched the water, then turned toward Kelly.
“Come on. Let’s go.”
They had almost reached the end of the bridge when something caught the sunlight behind them. Jenny stopped. Something small lay on the wooden planks near the middle of the bridge, and Kelly saw it too. Neither of them spoke. Jenny walked back. A wet penny.
She bent down and picked it up. 1957 and along one edge was the same small nick.
Then, from somewhere in the trees along the riverbank, came the unmistakable call of an owl. Jenny looked up, and there it sat on a bare branch overlooking the bridge. This time, it didn’t frighten her.
Kelly hollered from the car, “C’mon! I think we need fries and a shake from Tastee-Freez.”
As Jenny headed toward the car, Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” came blasting from the radio.
She slipped her lucky penny into her pocket and smiled, knowing that somehow, she’d had a chance meeting with a special boy, a hero—and a crazy, scary, special Halloween she’d never forget.
© 2026 Erica Shoemaker. All rights reserved.
Anyway—Off We Go™.
#DeadMansBridge #ShortStory #GhostStory #1980sNostalgia #HalloweenFiction #EricaShoemakerWrites #AnywayOffWeGo
