By the time Ron got back, I was beginning to doze off. I woke up to him getting into the passenger seat. It took me a second to shake my confusion but as soon as I did I was filled with overwhelming anxiety.
“Let’s go,” he said cooly and confidently.
All sleepiness had left me as I started the engine. We crept up through the dark basement. The engine felt way too loud in the dead silence. When we got to the top one of the guards pulled the door open and we left. Without A/C it was almost painful to drive so I rolled down my window. The air felt cool on my face and helped to calm my nerves a bit. The streets were practically empty except for the occasional stray dog. Ron directed me and we got there with no issue in about 30 minutes.
I parked the car and we both got out. I forgot how romantic this place was at night. There was a small walkway close to the water. Along the walkway, you could see couples walking hand in hand or kissing in secret. We start walking around trying not to draw too much attention.
“In the future, that bridge they’re building will be very beautiful,” I said pointing to the construction.
He nodded, “Yeah, it’s being constructed by the military.”
I nodded knowingly as we walked to the edge of the water. As I turned to look out across the water I felt my fingertips brush against his. I felt my face flush a bit.
Just 10 meters away there were some rustling trees. “What’s that?” I asked pointing.
He quickly pushed my hand down whispering into my ear. “Shhh, don’t point its probably a couple.”
“Oh,” I said giggling.
We decided we better keep walking and give them some privacy.
“Have you seen anything useful?” he asked as we walked.
“No,” I said. “Well, I don’t think so anyway. It’s hard to tell, I don’t really know what I’m looking for.” It was true. I had no idea what we were looking for and this whole trip probably had no point. I just felt so hopeless and this was all I could think of.
“What do you think we should do?” he asked stopping to look at me.
“I think we should go take a closer look at the bridge maybe.” At this point, I was just making things up. I had no idea what we should do but I didn’t want to have driven all the way out here for no reason.
We made our way over to the bridge. As we got closer we were met with a fence. “Can you see anything?” Ron asked.
“No we need to get closer,” I said. I then started climbing the fence.
“What are you doing, we’re no aloud there. That’s why there’s a fence.”
“If you are too afraid then stay here,” I called down swinging my leg over the fence. I thought he probably would but when I looked down I saw that he was already halfway up. I climbed part of the way down before dropping to the ground. I thought about going on ahead but I decided I should probably wait for him.
If we got caught I decided I would just pretend that I didn’t understand and tell Ron to tell them it was all my fault and that he tried to stop me.
Ron carefully climbed to the ground beside me and we began walking the rest of the way to the bridge. We stood for a moment at the edge of the bridge and then without thinking a just stepped forward. Almost without my consent, my feet were moving, one in front of the other to the edge of the bridge. I could vaguely hear Ron calling out to me but I didn’t seem to care. Everything felt distorted like I was underwater. Before I knew it I was standing at the very edge. My toes are hanging off the edge. Below them, the dark water churned against the posts of the bridge as if rejecting its new inhabitant.
Suddenly I could hear Ron’s voice. I couldn’t understand what he was saying but I could tell it was full of fear. I felt gentle hands on my shoulders pulling me backward. I fell into them and let out a sign. Finally, his voice came into focus.
“Mickey, Mickey what are you doing? Hello? Why won’t you answer me?”
I turned to him. “I’m sorry,” I said but I couldn’t look at him. I looked past him while he continued to ask me questions. Just past him were three concrete barricades meant to stop traffic. I must have walked past them without even realizing. I looked closer trying to focus on what I was seeing. There was something written. I took a step around Ron who was still talking rapidly. I put up my hand motioning for him to stop and then pointed in front of me. He fell silent.
“It’s here,” I said. “That’s the code.”