Disclaimer: I do not own anything, be it setting, characters, or plot, or any other such thing related to "Bridge to Terabithia"
Author's note; What do you think so far, people? I think this is going to be the last chapter for a few days, but we'll see. R&R, please.
Despite his disturbing dreams, Jess found that he had never been happier than the days he spent with Leslie in Terabithia. He had only truly realized it a few days before the coming of Prince Terrian, and, though he continued to enjoy the time he spent with her, after that day there was always a grim undertone he felt deep inside. Something fishy was definitely going on. He had later went to the "mark of heaven" and found the hilt of a sword in the bottom of the creek. It wasn't some simply explanable artifact either, like part of a sword from the civil war that had somehow ended up there. It was an ornate hilt with black leather gripping that seemed none the worse for wear despite its previous watery residence, and the crossguard and pommel appeared to be burnished bronze set with smooth, precious looking blue stones.
If it weren't for the conditions under which he found it, he would be sorely tempted to present the object to his father in order to lessen the financial burden, but with the ominous dreams he felt that he had to keep it tightly under wraps. He didn't even show it to Leslie, or May Belle. And since that day he often led Leslie around the forest in the name of adventure, though his true reason was that he was seeking out the mark of earth. As the days passed, the creek bed held more and more water, and before Jess knew it, it was easter and the mark had yet to be found.
Jess managed to convince his parents to let Leslie come with them to church, and he was surprised at how nice she looked in her dress clothes as well as how polite she was, though he knew it was merely an effort to please his mother, who was afraid of being disrespected.
When all was said and done, Leslie proved to be a fine lady while Jess's sisters acted like spoiled peacocks, though overall the day was a success. That night Jess heard the first Guardian's voice again, though all he saw in the dream was black. There were no more riddles or prophecies, merely a warning that time was running out. Jesse eyed the water level of the creek the next day, eventually deciding that it wasn't quite at the level as in his dream but resolving to build a bridge and take down the rope as soon as possible. Jesse spent his time the following week scouting for building materials and searching for the mark.
When he did finally find the mark, it wasn't on a tree as he had expected. Rather, it was chiseled into a moss covered boulder, an image of two mountains with the moon floating between them. Leslie didn't see the mark, but she did marvel at the size of the rock; it was easily the size of the golden room Jess had helped her family paint. They then set about speculating as to how it got there.
"It was once a great rock giant, a servant of the Dark Master!" Leslie chimed, magic in her voice, "It was in slaying this monster that the blade of the king finally broke from its new handle!" She then added in mock sadness, "Unfortunately, the king who slew the monster was crushed beneath it as it returned to the earth."
"Nothing crushes us, of course." Jess added afterwards, feeling a strange sense of foreboding. He climbed about the rock, poking into various nicks and crannies. He was about to climb off of it when he noticed something peculiar amidst the rubble surrounding the colossal stone. "Err.. Leslie? What's that?" He asked pointing. She was closer after all. She went to where he pointed and shifted some of the rubble before making a shrieking noise and jumping backwards quickly, tripping and falling over. Jesse rushed to the edge of the rock, leaping down recklessly but luckily keeping his feet.
"What is it? What's wrong?" He asked, focused on her and not on what she uncovered. "Are you ok?"
"I-I'm fine." She stuttered, "But he's not." She pointed at what Jesse had seen earlier. It turned out to be a human skull, yellowed and completely bare of flesh; it had been there a while.
"Should we call the cops?" He asked. She nodded and said, "I don't think I'd be able to find my way back, though... Maybe one of us should stay here." Jess agreed and volunteered, arguing that she'd had enough of a fright uncovering the thing.
After she left, Jesse poked around a little more, his nerves on edge. He didn't find a blade, and the only piece of metal around was some rusted piece of scrap sticking out of the rock. How it got there was anyone's guess. What was probably only twenty minutes, but what seemed like hours, passed before Leslie returned with the police, and she shouted his name until he called back and she brought the police to him. Jesse then pointed out the skull they had found, and one of the three police officers escorted the children back to Leslie's home, where the Aarons family had gathered and Jess and Leslie were served hot chocolate as they explained their find to their respective families.
"How did you kids get over there, anyway?" Jack, Jesse's father, asked.
"The policemen brought a couple of boards to lay across the creek, but we used an old rope swing hanging over it." Leslie informed him.
"That doesn't sound very safe!" Their mothers both said at almost the same time. After an awkward moment passed, the fathers agreed as well and deliberated over what to do about it.
"We've still got some extra wood from the remodeling." Bill Burke remarked, "We could use that to make a bridge. What do you say to that?" He asked the question of the whole group, but it was obviously directed at the two kids.
"That would be great!" Jesse said, "I was thinking about making a bridge, but I couldn't find anything to make it with." Leslie shot him an upset look, obviously miffed he hadn't let her in on his plans.
"It's settled then. As soon as this whole thing blows over, we'll build a bridge across the creek." Mr. Burk said, brooking no argument.
The corpse-as it turned out the skull was still connected to a similarly colored skeleton- turned out to belong to Alexander Pendragon, the man that had owned the land he was found on. Investigations returned that while the man was trying to break down the rock so the land was farmable, he had ended up buried in rubble. Unable to unbury himself, and too far away from anyone to call for help, he died there from dehydration. Leslie didn't say anything, but she was obviously creeped out by the similarity between his death and how she had described that of the Terabithian king.
The man's discovery turned up in the papers, but it wasn't a large article and the small town of Lark Creek soon forgot all about it. As promised, Bill Burke helped the kids build a bridge, whenever he took a break from his writing. It wasn't nearly as magical as crossing via the rope, but it made them both feel safer. To eliminate the possibility of his dream coming true entirely, Jess secretly went out and cut down the old rope, borrowing a knife from his dad. As a form of honoring the rope's service, he wove it into the railing of their bridge.
For perhaps the first time since he'd befriended Leslie, Jess felt completely at ease, for the time not worrying about his dark dreams or mysterious prophecies that made no sense worming their way into the real world. He slept well that night. The next night, however, was not so tranquil. As he felt himself fall deeper asleep, his dreams got darker and more twisted, eventually coalescing into a pure black infinity surrounding him.
Why is it so dark? Jesse thought, staring into the darkness. It was a darkness that could easily convince the weak of mind that there was never anything else. He was trapped in this endless abyss. Nothing could permeate this total darkness. And that was what it was: Total Darkness. The darkness was not just one of vision; all of Jess's senses were giving back nothing. He could not feel anything. Not hot, not cold, nothing beneath his feet either, he just didn't feel anything at all but a dull numbness at the center of his being. There was no sound either. It was a silence that made one feel as if there had never been any sound to begin with, like it didn't belong. He screamed inside his head, anything to break that endless nothing, but it was for naught; Even his own thoughts were muted, drowned in the cesspool of darkness.
The lack of feeling was soon replaced by a falling sensation, and the silence became stifling. He felt that he would go crazy if it went on any longer. And then it ended, shattered by the words of the Guardian echoing in the dark recesses of his mind: "Heed my words once more, Jesse Aarons. It is not over. The river of time may change which route it takes to the ocean, but it will always get there, one way or another. You cannot save her while the Dark Master yet lives. You must find the cruel, crimsonblade of the king, and quickly, for my power wanes as swiftly as the moon. By the time there is only darkness in the night sky, Terabithia will be gone and she will be dead. You can still save her, Jesse. You can still save us all."
The silence resumed, and Jesse plunged into oblivion.
A.N. Well, thats that for now. sorry the writing was a little choppy this time, I'm trying to get it completely past the parts where the original storyline of the book holds sway. I'll be past that point completely by the next chapter, I promise. As always, Please R & R.