Through the Hooded Bridge - 1. Part I: The Last Rites of the Fall

Through the Hooded Bridge

By W.L

Part I: The Last Rites of the Fall

Is there anything more hauntingly beautiful than an autumn day in New England? The falling yellow and orange leaves create a land of vibrant colors, contrasted with naked branches that stuck out of trees longing for the green finery of youthful seasons past. If spring is the season of love with promise of burning passions, then autumn is the season of longing with the tragic coldness of separation undeniably felt in the air.

Still, even with death and separation so close at hand for nature itself, human beings like to celebrate the season; perhaps knowing all too well that every hope, joy, or passion is fleeting. A group of youths in the spring of their lives are dancing around a fire pit, Bluetooth speakers are roaring with music, kegs of beer are being emptied every moment, and a strange earthy odor from glass tubes and rolled up joints fill the air. A decade earlier, most of these youths were parading in elaborate costumes knocking on doors with huge grins for the “promise” of sweet treats or horrifying though enjoyable tricks of their hosts. Now, they have nothing to fear, no one to submit to as they are free to enjoy all the treats of life, free from responsibilities for the moment. As Halloween is the celebration of autumn and mortality, it is their time to claim the only true freedom they will ever have for as long as the joints, the beer, the battery, and the flames of youth last.

Every year, college kids across the many diverse New England College campuses would gather at sunset in random locations within the woods. They don’t know who started this tradition, or who is organizing it, if anyone can organize a spontaneous eruption of freedom. All they know is someone would text them or tweet them to follow a hashtag, so they would gather. Not everyone is called up, nor is everyone allowed to join in. As such, despite all the efforts of the police and campuses to disrupt the gatherings, they have never been discovered.

Despite the revelry, there are always those who lack a joyous spirit. Adam Birch was such a young man. He is gay, 20 years old, majoring in biochemistry with a minor in LGBTQ studies, and recently separated from his boyfriend of 6 years, Jordan.. While freely enjoying the beer, dance, joints, and quick blow jobs with curious boys, who he will never meet again, there was a longing within him for something else, an empty place where his lover formerly inhabited. No one knew the depths of his loneliness as he danced and indulged the night away, except for himself.

As the night wore on, the booze and joints dried up, the fires cooled, and the 8 hours of battery life in the Bluetooth speakers were exhausted, everyone began making plans for departure. “Breathometers”, a breathalyzer for your iPhone, were passed around to find the least inebriated among the groups and assigned them as designated drivers. Trickles at a time left the woods in different directions, heading back to their respective college campuses. After about the 10^th round of Breathometers screenings, Adam was the designated driver for his group consisting of his roommate Chad Akron, a 20-year-old economics major, Allan Sparks, a 21-year-old liberal arts major who lives across the hall from Adam, and Dan Truong, Allan’s 20-year-old roommate and a hospitality management major. The car belonged to Chad, but Adam had used it in the past for beer runs, so he was used to the car’s handling despite the manual transmission. The drive back was strangely icy; even as the boys conversed about the night’s events. Perhaps the buzz was wearing off from the alcohol and uninhibited activities they were all privy to.

Dan pulled out 2 small zip lock bags from his pocket and all the small talk ceased for the moment as everyone other than Adam were transfixed on the contents.

“Excellent, dude, you stashed away like a quarter’s worth of stuff!” Allan presented his nickel plated lighter.

“Cool huh, this guy from the party said this shit will fuck you up really good, something about it being high grade “G-13” from Colorado, not the shitty stuff we have up here grown in closets or behind shrubs”, Dan began wrapping a big joint.

“Dude, like I don’t want this to stink up my car!” Chad chimed from the front seat; though interested in smoking the joint himself.

“No sweat, we’ll keep the windows open and we got plenty of Fabreeze,” Allan quickly countered offering his host the first toke with the completed joint and his lighter.

Looking over at his roommate, Chad mumbled, “Adam, you okay if we smoke while you drive?”

Adam, feeling neither supportive nor judgmental over his roommate’s activities, replied “Whatever Chad, it’s your car. I can’t take any ‘cuz I need to focus on the road.”

Adam was not feeling awfully social at the moment. The separation from his boyfriend had taken a toll on him. It had happened less than 24 hours ago and, despite the alcohol, drugs, and sex from earlier, which barely numbed his pain and had already dissipated now, his mind was focused on the bitterness. Was he wrong to have slept with another guy? Maybe, but he told his boyfriend he’d been experimenting a little with other guys on campus. He just wanted the freedom to express himself sexually as his boyfriend was attending college at UC Berkley. A guy had needs and he held out for a while, then his lab partner, Patrick who was attractive, invited him to a tournament of beer pong at Gamma Kappa Epsilon dorms. One thing led to another, and the next morning in a surprise visit, his boyfriend found him in bed spooning his lab partner with condom wrappers all over the floor. In a state of absent mindedness, Adam began to whisper something. What followed was screaming, insults, accusations, and lamentations from Adam, that continued until a Campus police officer escorted Jordan out of the dorms.

Adam has not been able to get in touch with Jordan again. To Adam, the relationship was over. Part of him was angry at Jordan for not understanding his needs and holding such high moral standards for him. Yet, beneath his anger at his ex-boyfriend, he was angry at himself for blowing his relationship after so many heartaches and so many troubles they had gone through from high school and family to be together. He was hoping a night of debauchery and hazy sex could release him from anger and guilt, but he could not escape his feelings.

As the car filled with the unique stench of marijuana and the jeers of young men retelling their joyous tales of the night’s events, past sexual conquests of beautiful women, and general disregard of anyone else, Adam was alone as he peered into the dark winding road through the woods. He knew eventually he’d reach an interstate or highway, or even a town that could give them bearings as his smartphone’s GPS could not pick up their location this far out.

In the distance, he spotted an old wooden bridge covered with a roof like a hood. He remembered reading old New England folktales in elementary school about these bridges, stories about witches, pilgrims, and headless soldiers from times long past. However, one story in particular came bubbling up in his memory. Supposedly, if you were to journey into one of these bridges, you can make a wish in your mind as you hold your breath, then inhale at the other end to make them come true. Not knowing where to go in any case, following the river might not be a bad idea to find interstate or human civilization.

As Adam neared the Hooded Bridge, he felt a strange otherworldly energy surrounding him, testing him for his worth. He hesitated, but did not stop in his path as he began entering the Hooded Bridge.

Adam thought to himself as he held his breath, “I wish I could find a place where I could be me without judgment, where I would not feel so alone with other people.”

Upon exiting the bridge, Adam inhaled deeply and caught the strong scent of the marijuana fumes that had permeated the car. It caused him to cough several times and he felt somewhat light headed as he continued driving. Then, suddenly a loud sound shot across the car, and the engine stopped.

“What the fuck?” Adam blurted, but the other passengers were too blazed to care.

Adam shifted gears to put the car on stationary to inspect the problem from the outside. Smoke was rising from the front, so he popped the hood, which produced another plume of smoke, filling his lungs with a taste even more foul than the smoke inside the car.

Knowing the situation was hopeless and the lack of cell phone coverage in the area he had driven them into, he knew he had no other choice, except hiking up the river to seek help. Adam had enough training on hiking trails and his time in the Scouts to keep him safe. Luckily for them, he had brought his backpack on the trip with his filtered water bottle and he always had his Swiss army knife. The problem now was what would happen when his would-be rescuers find his friends in a burnt-out state with about a quarter of marijuana. He knew whatever he said would not be remembered in their current state, so Adam opened backpack and took out a notepad.

“Chad, Allan, Dan, the engine blew out or something. I am going to hike up the river. If I find someone I’ll try to get them here tomorrow morning after 11. Try to get everything cleaned up and disposed of by then.”

Adam left his note and began to set off into the woods. Despite the alien environment and the eerie silence, Adam actually felt at peace with himself in these woods, more so than he had been earlier in the car or at the party. After about 20 minutes of walking, he felt a sudden sting on his neck, which was not uncommon for the woods, but most mosquitos had either died off or moved away due to the cooler climate. The sting had a warm glow to it that felt pleasant. It made him sleepy and he fell to the ground.

***

Hours passed, Adam could not determine if he was asleep or awake the entire time, but he could feel motion like he was being moved, cool air blowing on his skin as if he were naked at some point, and he heard voices.

“He’s an amazing “Natural”, 99% verified after 4 separate tests. Andy will hit the roof.”

“He’s the first of our kind to come here unassisted in 3 decades.”

“He’s also fairly attractive.”

“Hold back, remember the protocol for newcomers even, in this case.”

“He’s not one of the others, he’s just like us.”

“Still…”