The Bridge of the Believer | Teen Ink

The Bridge of the Believer

October 13, 2022
By abbypotts, Conneautville, Pennsylvania
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abbypotts, Conneautville, Pennsylvania
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Author's note:

INSPIRED BY "The City of Ghosts" not entirely, however.

Cassidy wakes up, throws on her clothes, and rushes out the door. Marley was taking her to school today. Marley is Cassidy's older sister. She's 23 years old and Cassidy is 14. "Bye mom!" Cassidy yells while running to greet her older sister.

"Hey Cass!" Marley says as Cassidy sits down.

"Hi Marley! I'm so happy you're taking me to school today. Mom grounded me from riding my motorcycle ever since she caught me and Jaylin sneeking out." Cassidy said. Jaylin is Cassidy's best friend and she almost loves motorcycles just as much as Cassidy does. Almost, that is.

"Oh! You should really start listening to her you know" Marley said, giggling.

"Yeah yeah whatever." Cassidy hopped out of the car and the two sisters said their goodbyes and Cassidy walked into school. Cassidy was very popular. She's a very good kid. She is smart and pretty and athletic. It's hard not to like her. Cassidy's day goes by normally and she just can't wait to go home. Once school is out she walks home.

"Hey kiddo!" Cass's mom says. Cassidy's mom is a single mom and Cassidy is basically the only child since Marley moved out.

"Hi mom! Before you ask, yes school was good. Also can I please go out riding today? I promise I won't sneak out again!" Cassidy begged her mom. Cass couldn't barely make it the whole school day without riding, let alone a full week!

"Fine. Just please be safe. I don't want you getting hurt. No night rides though. It's not safe Cass." her mom said. Cassidy jumped up and down, hugged her mom, and went outside. Meanwhile, Jackson Jones was just waking up, at 6:45 pm. He walked to school. Jackson was none for his dirt bike skills. It was all anyone could ever talk about in his small town. Jack didn't like his town though. He preferred the bridge above the highway 3 towns away. After school he would always walk there. He stopped riding his dirt bike because.. it was stuck on the Other Side. But he would walk there and stare down at all the other cars driving by. Sometimes he would see himself.. laying there. In the middle of the street with his bike suffocating him. He hated seeing that. Other times he would see Cassidy. He never knew her name though. He never knew anything about her. And Cassidy never even knew he was there because, he wasn't. Jackson Jones is a ghost. Cassidy went out for a ride. Obviously, riding a motorcycle at the age of 14 is illegal. That's the main reason Cassidy's mom doesn't want her riding. If cops ever found out, Cassidy's mom could be taken away leaving Marley as her legal guardian. It's a small town though no police ever drive by, and Cassidy's mom thinks she has nothing to worry about. What she doesn't know, is that Cassidy goes 3 towns over and rides on her favorite spot, the bridge above the highway.

For some people, riding over a highway is terrifying. For Cassidy Jones, she lives for the thrill. Cassidy met up with Jaylin and they rode up to the bridge, then stopped before it.

"You know, some kid died here. 2 years ago today!" Jaylin told Cassidy

"Who?" Cassidy asked. Jack walked up to them. He heard their conversation. Cassidy and Jaylin had no idea Jack was watching them.

"I don't know his name! He was 12 years old though. I guess he loved dirt bikes. I don't know how it happened, but my mom told me about it since his parents made a post about it." Jaylin said. Jack smiled. His parents. He really missed them. But he smiled because he was almost 14 years old!

"Oh. Okay then. Well are we going to take on this bridge or what!" Cassidy said. Jaylin laughed and hopped on her bike.

"I'll beat you to the other end!" She took off and Cassidy chased after her. Not many cars rode on the bridge. Cassidy and Jaylin didn't know why, but it made them feel more confident to ride along it. Once they got to the other end, they raced back. Jack watched and sighed. He wished he could remember that feeling. he looked off the bridge and saw himself again. Laying there. The bike on top of him. The gravel under him. He looked back up. He wished he never looked down.

"Wow! That was fun! Meet me back here at 11 pm so we can go again!" Jaylin said. Cassidy knew she shouldn't. Not only would her mom kill her if she was caught sneeking out, but her left hand headlight was broken.

"I would love to bu-" Cassidy tried to say. Then Jaylin interupted.

"Great! See you then!" Jaylin said and rode away. Last time Cassidy didn't show up to the bridge when Jaylin asked, Jaylin didn't talk to her for 3 weeks! So Cassidy knew she would have to be there. Jack watched Jaylin drive away. He had a bad feeling about this. Jack blew in Cassidy's face has hard as he could, and on that bright, warm, sunny day, Cassidy felt a strong gust of wind blow right in her face.

"Weird." She thought. Was the weather trying to tell her something? Jack smiled. He was the gust of wind Cassidy felt. Which met he was slowly reaching "The Other Side" even if nobody would ever see him.

It was 11 pm. Cassidy and Jaylin met before the bridge. Jack was there too.

“I don’t know if this is a good idea Jaylin. It’s way too dark and my headlight is broken. Maybe we should just go home.” Cassidy said. Jack frowned when she said that. Now he couldn’t say hi to her.

“Oh you’ll be fine! No cars barely drive on this bridge and I’ll drive right behind you so you see what in front of you better.” Jaylin said. Cassidy shrugged then nodded. She just wanted to get this over with. The 2 girls hopped on their motorcycles and started driving on the bridge. Jack chased after them. Jaylin was telling stupid jokes and Cassidy was laughing so hard she could barely breathe. Jaylin said something really funny about Cassidy’s teacher, and Cassidy squeezed her eyes shut in laughter. When she opened them back up, a big truck was driving straight toward her. Cassidy knew she either had to drive off the bridge and.. Die. Or take the risk and get hit. Cassidy stopped her motorcycle. She chose to get hit.

“No! You are supposed to swerve off!” Jaylin screamed. She turned her motorcycle to hit Cassidy, and Cassidy went flying off of the bridge. Now it was Jack’s turn to take action. He jumped off the bridge and faced his biggest fear. He landed in the same spot, same position, he died in. For  few seconds, Jack could remember the what it felt like with his dirt bike suffocating him, and the damage he took from the fall. But now, he needed to act like a mattress of Cassidy. He used is hand like a force field to make all of the cars halt. Then he prayed. Cassidy was falling right for him. She landed on him! Now for part 2 of this act. Jack blew with all of the air in him and sent the motorcycle to land beside Cassidy, not on top of her. Cassidy woke up the hospital. Cassidy noticed a shadowy boy she didn’t recognize, but figured she forgot who he was. She looked around at everyone, but what scared her the most was seeing her mom in handcuffs with 2 police officers behind her.

“What happened?” Cassidy asked, confused. The doctors looked around at one another.

“We were hoping you knew. You went flying off the bridge and onto the highway. But we don’t know how you survived. Jaylin, however, didn’t make it. She got hit by a truck on the bridge.” The doctor said. Jack was standing in the corner of the hospital. He erased Cassidy’s memory of Jaylin being the reason she died. He knew it would hurt her terribly if she found out. Cassidy’s mom was later taken to jail and Cassidy rode home with Marley. The 2 didn’t say a word to each other. 

Meanwhile, while Cassidy and Marley were driving home, Jaylin and Jack were talking.

“How could you save her? I was supposed to live not her! You’re lucky you’re already dead otherwise I would kill you!” Jaylin screamed. 

“Why did you want her dead? I’ve been watching her forever and there isn’t one thing she has done wrong to you.” Jack said. He was confused. The 2 were best friends, What happened?

“That is none of your business. Now, if you think this is over, it’s not. I will grow stronger, strong enough to take Cassidy spirit and make it my own! See you on the other side.” Jaylin said. She waved her hand and disappeared. Jack knew he needed to find Cassidy and tell her. A few days go by and Cassidy blonde beach waves have somehow turned into pin straight blackness. She had no idea how, or why, but she finally got her answers the day Jackson showed up.

“Cassidy, I know you don’t know me, I am your ghost. Now before you ask questions, an evil spirit is coming to take your spirit. We need to prepare for battle. I can help you. There is this place, its called ‘the other side’ or at least that’s what I call it. Anyways, Since you are a living person, only your spirit can cross to the other side, I will do the fighting so we can keep you safe. If The evil gets to your spirit, then she can reverse time and swap places. The only issue is, we have no idea when the battle will begin.” Jack said. Cassidy stared at him. She had so many questions. Who was the evil spirit? Who was jack? Does he know why Cassidy’s hair is black?

“Well then, we better get started” Cassidy said. Soon Jack and Cassidy started to become best friends. People at school thought Cassidy was weird and that she was the reason of Jaylin’s death, so they stopped talking to her. Jack toldCassidy why her hair was turning black. It was because she was supposed to die, but she survived. Jack never told her how she survived though. He always told her he was her hero, but never how he saved her. The only other thing Cassidy didn’t know was who was the evil spirit? So she asked him.

‘Hey Jack! I know we should be preparing for battle now, but I want to know exactly who, or what, or was what, I am battling.” Cassidy said.

“Well I’m the one doing the battling first off. And second off…” Jack told Cassidy everything, how he saved her, who Jaylin was, and why Jaylin did what she did. Cassidy told Jack how they could defeat her. They didn’t need to practicing spells, they needed to be thinking of the words to say.

“I can tell you this,” Cassidy said, “We need to get Jaylin on her bad side. Then we should talk about how I will always be, a better person, or spirit than her. And we will watch her crumble with smiles on our faces.” Jack nodded. He knew Cassidy had no real idea what they were dealing with. He hoped that in the end everything would be okay. Little did the both of them know, ‘The End’ was coming much sooner then they could imagine.

“Cassidy! WE are visiting mom today in jail! Hurry up and get your stuff on let’s go!” Marley yelled from downstairs. Jack and Cassidy looked at each other with half worried half blank expressions on their faces, then they went downstairs.

Marley silently drove Cassidy (and Jack) to the jail. Cassidy wishes she could tell Marley everything, but Marley would never understand. So instead of saying anything, she keeps her mouth shut and they drive along. When they arrive to the jail, Cassidy’s mom is sitting with a phone to her ear. Cassidy picks up the phone across from her.

“Hi mom,” Cassidy starts, “ I am so sorry for everything. I ruined our lives. I should’ve never snuck out with Jaylin. I should’ve never asked for that stupid motorcycle in the first place! Everything that is happening is because of me!” Cassidy said bawling. Marley felt bad for her sister, and gave Cassidy a hug. Then her mom spoke on the other end of the phone.

“A sad spirit is a bad spirit,” She said. “I can fix that Cass, let me take you, let me wake you, let me make you.” Cassidy mom’s said. Her voice, raspy, dark. Cassidy disappeared in plain sight. Jack, by her side. The two had entered the battle with Jaylin. Cassidy’s spirit was held tightly by Jack.

“Welcome to Ghost town Cassidy!” Jaylin said. Even though Cassidy wasn’t present, she could still hear what Jack and Jaylin were saying.

“Miss me? HAHAHA who am I kidding? Of course you missed me! This is the place Jack has spent 2 years of his life, or should I say, death, watching you drive your motorcycle.” Jack and Jaylin were standing on the bridge over the highway. Jack looked down, instead of seeing himself with the motorcycle suffocating him, he saw Cassidy. Cassidy dead.

“You are a sick monster!” Jack yelled. Just as he did, Jaylin threw a fast fireball at him. He ducked and the fire missed.

“You wouldn’t say that if you knew what she did to me, Jack!” Jaylin hissed. Another fireball, even bigger, just barely missed Jack.

“She did nothing to you Jaylin! Don’t you see? She has no friends at school since you aren’t there. It’s not her the people liked, it was you! I’ve been watching Cassidy closely enough over the past 2 years to know that! People are always talking to Cassidy, about you! About how pretty, and smart, and nice you are! And here, all this time, you thought they were talking about her! You are crazy! And sick! You were so jealous of something she didn’t even have! She took nothing from you. And you tried to take her life, her whole life, away from her. Cassidy isn’t perfect, nobody is, but everyone thought you were. People talked to Cass not because she was nice or popular, but because she was your friend. All everyone ever cared about was you. You had plenty of friends! None you ever noticed because you were too busy worrying about Cassidy’s life. I’ve been watching Cassidy because she makes me feel at peace. She makes me believe I am more then just some stupid joke. I’ve been watching her because, in order to go beyond the ghost town, ghost need to find peace. Cassidy is my peace. She’s pretty, thoughtful, nice, adventurous, you name it! I think by saying these words, that I’ve put myself at peace, and you too, Jaylin” Jack said. Just then Cassidy broke from her spirit form and turned to her normal self. She looked around but both Jack and Jaylin were gone. They both found their peace, and moved on. Cassidy yelled everywhere for Jack. She needed him. He was apart of her. She stopped out of the Ghost town world and was back at the jail. She ran to the bathroom. In the mirror she saw herself, beach blond waves, and a mark on her neck, the letter ‘J’. ‘jack” she thought, When she walked back out her mom and Marley were nowhere to be found. Cassidy went home and they were both inside, like nothing ever happened 4 weeks ago. Cassidy went up to room and cried for awhile. How could she not?  Jack moved on, her ‘best friend’ died. He best friend wasn’t even he a good friend. Just then she heard a knock on her door. She ran downstairs and answered it. A boy, who looked just like Jack was there, standing, real, not ghostly.

“Jack!” She yelled. The boy stood there, confused.

“My name is Jackson, I never go by Jack.” The boy said. Cassidy frowned. It wasn’t him. Then the boy smiled, and winked.

“I’m back!” Jack said. Cassidy rushed him inside.

“HOW?” she asked. She was so happy to see Jack but this time, he was real.

“Don’t worry, Jaylin won’t be coming back, but let’s just say, I believed you were my peace, and here I am!”

The End.



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