ELDRITCH NIGHT (Rough Draft)

Chapter 25: Smoke on the Water

A slight breeze blew across the Cooper River creating small, gentle waves that carried above them large clouds of dust that brought the smell of smoke and burning rubber. The sun was beginning to set at our backs, painting the sky with wide bands of orange and gold that cut across a backdrop of deep purple and blue beginning to transition into darkness.

The rubble of the Ravenel bridge was still smoldering, releasing dark plumes of thick, heavy smoke. Both ends of the bridge were relatively intact, but the middle had completely collapsed into the waters below. Debris peaked up above the waves as lengths of steel and concrete blocks leaned up against the triangular pillars that had once supported the majestic bridge. It was a curious juxtaposition of beauty and ugliness.

What remained of our group stood on the west bank of the Cooper river. We were slightly downstream from the bridge, and directly across the river from the USS Yorktown, the old WWII aircraft carrier turned museum.

We'd had a short service to honor those who had died on the bridge, but a proper memorial would have to be left for later. After this impromptu funeral, the remaining bridge guards had left taking Rachel with them. It was bittersweet, but I was glad at least one of us would return unharmed.

Of the original group, only Worthy, his blonde follower, Tiller, Catayla, and I remained. My other companion had discarded the borrowed flesh it had worn at the end of the battle and returned to its bird form. It appeared to be sleeping while perched on my shoulder, though I could sense its alertness. The terrifying thing was that I knew it could change into the form of a mass of tentacles and eyes whenever it wanted to. It might have given me nightmares if all the vacancies hadn't already been filled by even greater, more existential terrors.

"Are you sure that thing will float?" asked Worthy. "It creeps me out a little."

In front of us my 'boat' sat on the bank of the river. It was little more than a large box, open at the top with three lines of benches and a flat canopy roof. It was constructed completely from black threads of energy that were constantly moving, containing streams and swirls of deep crimson embers that glowed beneath the thin black mist that rose up from the craft.

I took another moment to look at my creation before answering.

"Probably," I said. "It should be okay. Not a lot of mass, mostly water tight. Why don't you give it a try?"

"Mostly?" Worthy asked while raising a single eyebrow. "Ah, fuck it. I'm not going to drown in five feet of water."

"I don't think you need to worry about drowning," said Tiller. "The local marine life is probably just as aggressive as the rest of the wildlife in the area. Who knows what could be beneath this seemingly peaceful water. What sleeps in the depths."

Tiller's voice got deeper and more theatrical as he finished.

"Cute," Worthy said. He began to push the boat across the sand and jumped into it with an easy grace as the craft slid into the water.

He stood still for a few seconds before shifting his weight from foot to foot, barely rocking the boat. Even as his stomping became more vigorous the craft remained remarkably stable.

"Seems sturdy enough," he said. "Are you sure you want to do this now, though? It'll be dark well before we make it across. Bridgett and I brought camping supplies, I hope the rest of you did as well."

It was Catayla who answered. "Normally, I'd agree with you, but we don't have the time to wait. We've rested long enough." The tall blue-scaled scout jumped up into the boat beside Worthy and turned to look at the rest of us.

"Your physical stats should allow you to easily skip a single night of rest, and if we make good time and have a little luck, we should meet up with the rest of the Peacekeepers well before the moon reaches its highest point."