River Girls

When the river swells in Brookwood, it doesn't just rise. It waits.

Each year, as the thawed snow rushes down from the highlands, the current turns fierce beneath the bridge. And like clockwork, a girl vanishes. Always between sixteen and twenty-five. Always around the time, the river starts to roar.

I'.ve read the old reports, pored over the yellowing case files. Different names, different faces, same ending: silence. Locals whisper about the river being cursed. Some say the town was built on old blood. Most just pretend it's coincidence. They come to the festival, light candles, drink too much wine-and then go home.

Except for the girls.

Sometimes, a car skids on the slick, narrow bridge. Sometimes, it overturns. They say it's the weather, bad luck, reckless driving. But no one ever sees it happen. And sometimes, the girls are just walking nearby-headed home, to meet a friend, to clear their heads-and they're never seen again

I didn't come to Drauheim for the legends. I came because my sister vanished here. One of them. One of the lost.

Now I wear a badge, and I ask the questions no one else dares. Why is it always girls? Why this river? Why when the river swells?

This town keeps its secrets tangled in the water, but I'm going to pull every last one to the surface