My eyes slowly widened. I sat up slowly from the backseat. My gun was digging into my hip. I'd seen Dan still asleep in the front seat. I decided that almost risking my life and limb was ridiculous. Anyone could've just packed up and gone home. Yeah, That's right. Screaming home to mommy. But that was always the cowards way out. I need this research. I need this new book. I wanna take my wife out of that crummy house and into a mansion. My wife deserves at least that much. But what good is a mansion if the husband died. I'd probably die. I wasn't invincible. I didn't have special powers or any crap like that. I clumsily fell scared to this town. My left side and right side of my brain were arguing back and forth like this. But the real fight breaker that cleared my mind was my curiosity.

Curiosity killed the cat.

But that's only a cat.

I'm a man.

So screw that cat.

I slipped my leather jacket on. I'd been using it as a blanket for when I was sleeping. If you could call it sleeping. I was surprised I even closed my fearful eyes. I kept on hearing scratching against my car. It sounded like giggling and tiny but lethal knives. Children of the dead is what I'd call them. Just thinking about it made me shiver uncontrollably. I hopped in the driver's seat. I was about to start the car. But my mind kept repeating: Was it all worth it?

I glanced over at Dan. He was still sleeping. I wanted to wake him up. Tell him that it was morning now and that we were safe.....for the time being. But I'd thought he would figure it out. I stared at his blonde hair. He must've died his hair because I'd seen the black roots at the top of his hair. He also had a 5 o'clock shadow that was equally black stubbed. I placed my hand on the rear view mirror. Looking at my scared features. I slicked back my greasy black hair and started the car. It gave that same delightful roar and we drove off.

As I drove around. I drove around slowly. Dan was still asleep. I'd seen through the window. It was hell on earth. Creatures walking the sidewalks. Slouching as they moved. They had looked like hell's guards. Looking for customers to come down hither. Deep down into the darkness. One was a sickly brown, its arms and head molded together at the top of its upper body. It shined and retched flys and vomit. If I ever experienced a nightmare, this would be it. A town full of dead. I realized that we must leave this part of town. I'd make for The Bridge.

I pulled up to the bridge. Stopping at the Guard tower. This is the test that I was not ready for. I had heard about this bridge once before. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a Marlboro cigarette. Whipped out my lighter and lit the Cancer stick. Smoking was the least of my problems. Who would think of health at a desperate time such as this. I dragged a long puff and blew it before me. The smoke slid across the windshield and floated around until it dispersed. Funny how smoke makes hypnotic patterns. Like ghosts trapped between a piece of paper and a filter waiting to be released.

I was afraid to cross this thing. The story went like any other urban legend style telling. The guard who resided at the tower had heard or seen something outta shape at the point of the bridge where it dissects. He took a death walk towards that dangerous point. Shining his flashlight around. Looking for the unfindable terror. The bridge rose up and he fell in the gap. His flashlight fell down to the watery descent below but the guard was not as lucky. He was even worse. His arms were each on the sides of the bridge. He strained to pull himself up. The bridge whirred a ghostly mechanical screech and closed for no utter reason....with the guard still stuck between. Sliced him right in half. right at the waistline. 4,000 tons of hard metal can do that kinda damage. The worst kinda damage. If it was me, I'd rather fall to the water. It'd be less gruesome. But I guess you really never think of that when you're greeting death with a weak response time.

I made the symbol of the cross against my shoulders. God help me. May god have mercy on his soul...and mine. It was then that I felt a coolness that didn't belong. Call it a bewitching feeling, but I just don't know. My soul turned ice cold. What was Dan doing? He looked at me with those brown eyes and they became a fierce Red. As if he was possessed? He stared an accusing stare at me and silently he sang....an Erie tune that scared me down to my last drop of blood.....

"Lon-den bridge is fal-ling down.....fal-ling down....fal-ling down.....Lon-den bridge is fal-ling down.....My.....Fair....la-dy....."

A tear curved its way over my cheek. My hands were shaking and my cigarette was of no use to me. Dan's eyes returned a brown color and gazed at me as if he was confused. He looked at me with those curious eyes. "Wa-what just happened?" I didn't know how to answer him. What was I suppose to say? It was then that I heard it. I knew that sound to well. It was blaring in the fog like a ghost in pain. It blared three times, four times, five, six. It was the sound of a ship's foghorn. My mouth dropped open as I flinged my cigarette out the window. "The Old ship....I...I...T-think it came back." I squinted through the mist. There it was. Heading straight for the bridge. It was a disgusting green mixed with a brownish color. It looked centuries old and I knew as well as Dan that it was a ghost ship. All the crewmen were the walking dead. Parts of them missing. One missing an arm, another missing some skin around his ribcage where all his internal organs were exposed, another was missing his head. They were all gazing at my car. Oh no. "Shit" I think they thought I was the enemy. They gathered near their seaweed covered cannons.

Dan: "Oh shit! They're going to fire at us!"

Jack: "Shut-up! It's not possible! This could just be another Hallucination, that's all."

We had both seen a puff of smoke and a glow set off by the cannon. A loud whistle was heard and it just became louder. The pitch black cannon ball flew toward us at alarming speed. We both screamed out in horror. The cannon ball clunked against the street and cracked it. A jolt of sparks whooshed up in our view. A large ditch imprint with the cannon ball buried in it was ten feet away from our car. They had missed. The smoke from the impact cleared and we both shaked like crazy. Lucky to be alive.

Dan: "Hey, they missed."

Jack: "Yeah, (looking at the ship with a worried look) but that doesn't mean that they ain't reloading."

I threw the car in reverse. I sped backwards. I heard an enormous boom and another cannon ball crashed against the spot where we were once parked. I kept on driving backwards. Dan looked behind too.

Dan: "Stop!"

I screeched my tires to a burning-rubber stop. Now I know why he said stop. The pyramid headed beast was at least 30 feet behind us.

Jack: "I thought I killed that thing!"

Dan: "Yeah? Well quit thinking cause it ain't helping a bit!"

Jack: (Looking back and forth) "We're trapped from both ends!"

Dan: "No shit, Sherlock!"

Another cannon boomed a foot in front of us.

Dan: "What the fuck are we gonna do?!"

Jack: "I dunno!"

Anyone else would say that we were fucked and screwed from both ends. But I just could imagine what the Readers would think of if they were reading my life story. They would all say: Go for it! My mind was never so cleared. My adrenaline pumped, my nostrils flared, my muscles tightened until they ached, I breathed heavily and grunted hard. Go!,Go!,Go!,Go!,Go! They had always spoon-fed to me since I was a little kid that Curiosity killed the cat....

I held my foot on the brake and jammed my foot on the gas pedal. Ready to throw it in reverse....

3 more cannon balls crashed along side us in a raining pattern....

I looked behind my back with my arm thrown over my seat....

Rage was in my eyes.....

"Screw the Cat!" I whispered.

I released my foot from the brake. The beast was readying to spear my car. I jammed the speed another couple of notches. My bumper crashed up against the Walking Punishment. It screeched in pain as I switched gears quickly and spun the whirling tire against it's torso. June would have been proud. I shifted it into drive and sped for the bridge! Fear was not an option. We were so close to the bridge yet so far away. The bridge was raising itself up for the ghost ship. I needed more speed! I jacked it up to 90 miles an hour! The cannon balls clunked the street taking chunks out of it. I swerved recklessly to keep from getting hit. Who knows how many cannon balls they shot at us. Dan was scared out of his wits!

The bridge rose to a 50 degree angle.

Dan: "We're not gonna make it!"

I jacked it up to 98 miles per hour.

Jack: "We...are...fucking..making...it!"

The sparks rose around us like a ring of fire. My car clunked up against the incline. I screeched it all the way up. "Whoooooooo-hooooooo!" I screamed with excitement. Dan was screaming with fear. The ship was in between the huge gap. The mass was in view with a dead crewman readying a cannon aiming right for us. My tires were burning like there was no tomorrow. My back felt tons of pressure. My car flew off the edge. It flew straight over. We were both screaming. My hood crashed the mass in half. The skeleton's body was clunked up against my hood stuck in the windshield wipers. I smiled proudly. We grazed the edge of the other half of the bridge and zoomed down its angle. When I met the road, I screeched to a stop which put the car in a spin.

I was breathing hard. The skeleton was still stuck to my hood. Me and Dan slowly exited the car. I was laughing like a maniac. Dan pointed a angry finger at me as he said...."I'm driving."

[ Author's Note: This is my favorite chapter also. Please review and tell me what you think and if I should write more because I am really enjoying this. ]