|| 𝐴𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 || [𝙆𝙖𝙧𝙡 𝙃𝙚𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙜]

Part 16

Heisenberg locked the door behind him as they left.
He put the keys back in his pocket, and trailed down the steps to meet Aless.
As they walked amongst the trees in the forest, Aless hummed.
"What song is that?" Heisenberg inquired.
Aless stopped humming and sighed.
"Oh, it's just a song, nothing too important." Aless said. "Is it bothering you?"

"Oh, no buttercup." Heisenberg replied sweetly. He enjoyed the sound of her voice.
It struck a chord in his heart, the way she smiled, laughed, talked, and sang. It was like music, fluidly and freely creeping it's way into his feelings, quietly reminding him that he loved her with everything he had.

"Oh." Aless said.

"I didn't say stop, did I?" He smiled.
Aless's eyes brightened at those words.
"No, I believe you didn't." She returned the smile and continued humming.

They reached a path leading to the village, a bridge just beyond the cusp of the village outskirts.
Heisenberg stepped onto the bridge, walking about halfway through, when he realized Aless wasn't around him. He turned around to see Aless, frozen, looking down at the ground, which was quite far down, and they were quite high.
"What are you doing?? Come on." Heisenberg called.
Aless shook her head.
"Is there another way we can get there?" She replied.
Heisenberg sighed deeply.
"Well, uh, yeah, we can go through the woods, but there's a shit ton of Lycans there and I'm not risking you getting attacked again, especially with that arm."
Aless huffed.
"Come on. What are you waiting for?" The man grumbled impatiently.

"Ummm... I just have.. a teeny.." Aless pinched her fingers together indicating something small, "..tiny fear of, um, heights. And rickety old bridges that might snap at any moment."

Heisenberg's eyes widened. "Oh."
He gestured to his hammer that he brought with him, hell, he carries it everywhere with him.
"This thing's pretty damn heavy. If the bridge was gonna snap under the weight, it already would have."

Aless shivered. The ground was so, so far away.
They must have been at least 10 meters high from the ground.

"Hey. Don't think about it." Heisenberg consoled.
"Just try stepping on the bridge. It's okay."
Aless hesitantly and slowly put her foot on the bridge. It shook a little bit, which made her all the more frightened.
Her muscles tensed.

"Hey." Karl snapped. Aless's gaze shot back up at him.
"Don't look down. Look at me."
Aless gulped.
She took another slow step.
And then another.

"That's it. 'Atta girl. Just keep looking at me."

Her clammy, sweaty hands clasped the rope handle tightly.

///

Suddenly, the bridge started swaying, almost violently. She snapped her gaze down in fear, then looked back up at Karl, who was rocking the bridge side to side.
"Stop!! Stop it!!!" She cried.
Heisenberg let out a guttural laugh.
"Oh, relax baby. Everything is fine."

"Everything won't be fine if you keep rocking the damn bridge and I fall!!" Aless choked.
"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry!" Heisenberg grinned.
Aless continued to steadily cross the bridge.
One of the wood panels broke off as she stepped on it, falling down into the abyss.
Aless gasped.

Luckily, she was in close range with Heisenberg, who pulled her by the arm to keep her from stumbling through the small hole.
Her face gently pressed against his chest. When she looked up, she was met with a grinning Karl.
"There. That wasn't so scary, now, was it darling?"
He held her hand as they finished crossing the bridge. When at long last they reached land, he helped her get off the bridge.
She nervously dusted off the light pastel green dress she was wearing. It wasn't the usual kind of thing she wore, but it was good enough, because her favorite white dress was torn up and pretty much destroyed.