Old Alton Bridge
Chapter 5: Resting for the night
After a long day of successful fishing, the three friends were sitting around their campfire; dusk was approaching. The smell of burning firewood saturated the air. Songbirds competed with the running water for sound conquest.
William: It’s getting dark. Do you think we have enough wood to keep the fire burning?
Sally: It’s essential to keep the fire going, to keep the bugs away, and for heat and light.
William: Yea… It can get awfully code in Northern Texas at night.
Sally: Did any of you see that sign of the paranormal association?
William: Yea… There are some ghostly rumors about this place. The pet stores quit selling cats near Halloween. There were reports of people sacrificing cats near Halloween. It’s a good thing we’re not superstitious. The fried fish smell good. It’s a good thing we started cooking the fish while the fire is hot.
Soon it was obvious that they needed more wood. The fire had burnt down to coals.
Sally: Judging from the wood in the fire, we urgently need to collect some more firewood.
The hours ticked away and there was still no sign of Fred. The fire was getting lower and lower.
The sound of an owl seemed to make a tense situation tenser. As the hooting sounded ghoulish. Suddenly, there was a burst of air from the atmosphere. The wind whistled through the trees giving a ghastly sound.
William: Wow… That was weird. It gave me a chill down my backbone.
Sally: It gave me a chill down my backbone also.
They're the first mistake of their outing was soon obvious. The party of friends first started looking for wood near their campsite. When it was clear that all the wood near their campsite was already used, they conceded the inevitable, they hadn’t collected enough firewood earlier and now had to venture long distances in search of firewood in the dark.
Fred: I’ll go collect some more wood.
Several hours passed, and Fred had not returned. The fire was burning out.
Sally: It’s been several; hours, shouldn't Fred be back by now?
William: Yea… I wonder what is taking him so long.
Sally: I’m getting worried. Do you think something happened to him?
William: Hopefully he took one of the flashlights. I don’t think it was dark when he started searching for firewood.
Sally: I’ll check to see if any of our flashlights are missing.
Sally went to the utility tent and counted the flashlights.
Sally: I counted three flashlights. Is that how many we brought?
William: Ah… I’m not sure. If we go out searching for him, we all might get lost.
Sally: He may not have a light source. I will wait to see if he comes back on his own, if he doesn’t come back, I will take one of the flashlights and search for him.
Before, Sally went searching for Fred. William and Sally grabbed a flashlight and walked the short distance from their campsite to the Old Alton Bridge.
William: Why don’t we take a walk across the bridge, maybe we can locate him from a better vantage point.
Sally: That sounds like a good idea. Anything is better than sitting here doing nothing, maybe it will take my mind off worrying.
They walked across the bridge to the remains of an old farmhouse. Just then there was another burst of wind high in the atmosphere that caused the air to produce a dreadful sound as it moved through the trees.
William: There is that eerie sound again. It is giving me more chills down my backbone.
Sally: What a coincidence, it gave chills down my spine as well.
William: Talk about a coincidence, you and I and Fred are all descendants of the Klansmen that hung a black farmer from this very bridge. The story is thought to be folklore.
Sally: You must tell me the story.
William: If we find Fred and get plenty of firewood, maybe I will tell you the story.
There were the remains of an old barn about fifty yards from the remnants of the farmhouse.
William: That must be the farmhouse where Oscar, the black farmer the Klansmen lynched, was initially when the Klansmen started looking for him.
Sally: Don’t you think we should get back to the campsite in case Fred has returned.
William: Yea… That sounds like a good idea.
William and Sally began walking across the bridge to their campsite.
Sally: Why didn’t you point the coincidence out before we decided to camp here?
William: I didn’t think it was important, you're not superstitious are you?
Sally: So this is the bridge where our descendants lynched an innocent man.
William: Yes… This is the bridge, and one of those two rails must be the rail the hanging rope was tied to. Legend has it that when Oscar the black goat farmer was tossed over the side of the bridge, with the hanging noose tied around his neck, the Klansmen never heard a splash and Oscar seemed to disappear. The Klansmen searched hard for the remains of Oscar, but they never found anything, not even the rope that Oscar was lynched with.
After crossing the bridge at a slow pace, the two then hurried the rest of the short distance to the campsite. As they approached the campsite they began to shout for Fred.
William: Fred! … Fred!… Fred!
Sally: … Fred!… Fred!… Fred
There was still no sign of Fred. It had been hours and dusk had fully settled in. There were only timbers fueling the fire now.
Sally: I’m really worried now. Fred must be in trouble.
William: Yea… I’m also worried. If only we knew if Fred had a flashlight with him.
Just then, there was another burst of air high in the atmosphere, producing wind that made a creepy sound as it passed through the trees.
Chapter 4: Digging their own graves.
Chapter 6: They all disappeared looking for wood.