Bridge Of Solitude

Margaret threw her head back and g.r.o.a.n.e.d.

Of course... How could she forget?

Well, it could've been worse. At least they were generous enough to leave her 'clues' and didn't send her on a wild goose chase across the whole campus.

Who said chivalry was dead.

She took a second look at the note. So if she were to follow the clues, she may be able to finish this stupid game in one period's time. She would have to miss History but she should be able to make it for Math and Literature. And besides, she could use this as exercise to burn the calories gained from lunch.

Margaret grabbed the note and closed the door. Does she need to lock it? Clearly, she was not the only one with the key to her locker.

'Well, I'll lock it anyway. Just for the heck of it.'

Now, what was the first clue? Margaret flipped the piece of paper in her hand and saw a sentence written on it.

[Round 1: Reach the Grand Hall and claim your prize.]

"Grand Hall ?" Margaret thought out loud, and then snorted. 'Is that it?'

She couldn't stop shaking her head in disappointment. They couldn't even write a challenging clue. But in this situation, Margaret shouldn't complain since it made things much easier for her. And, she could quickly finish the game and get back.

For the first location, there are only two places in the campus which could be called 'Grand Hall.'

First was the auditorium and the other, the sports hall. The only problem here was they were on the opposite ends. She has to make a correct choice here or she'll end up going back and forth. But she doesn't have much information to get to any sort of conclusion. She could only check the two locations one by one and hope she gets lucky.

Margaret sighed heavily. This was all 'their' game. Why would they make it any easier for her? It's a waste of time to stand and think here. She has to take a chance and see how it goes.

- -

Margaret slowly pushed the double doors in front of her, just enough to squeeze her head between to peek inside. Then she blew a sigh of relief and went in, closing the doors behind her.

She stood in front of a large rectangular hall with grey walls and high ceiling. On one side were numerous rows of step seating with full view of the hall. And the opposite wall has large rectangular windows aligned horizontally at the top to let sunlight and fresh air. The polished wooden floor was spotlessly clean except for the colored lines spreading across the floor, marking various courts.

It was the multi-sports hall of the university. The size of the place made her feel tiny and insignificant. It was where all the big games were hosted in front of a large audience.

Lucky for Margaret, it was empty at the moment.

But she wondered why such a place wasn't locked when no one was using it. She didn't want to think it was opened or rather, left open especially for her. Margaret looked around and her eyes spotted a suspicious, tall step ladder at the other end of the hall. She started moving towards it as she squinted her eyes and focused on the ladder. A big smile formed on her face as she got a closer look and found her property. Lucky!

There were a couple books placed on top of the ladder in plain view. And she was indeed lucky because she managed to find her stuff at the first place and avoided the trip to the other end of the campus. She was off to a quick start. And she needed to be quick too, after all she was in a race against time.

Margaret slowly ran towards the ladder and carefully climbed it to reach high enough to grab the books. And as she took the books into her hands, a thin string placed under them slipped away, and Margaret realized that she triggered some sort of trap.

'Damn it. I should've been more suspicious, it was never so easy. I was careless.' She mentally scolded herself as she turned her head left and then right, trying to find whatever it was, before it finds its way to her.

Then she heard a small pop and understood that it was too late. A moment later, there was a loud bang and a large black weight plate tied to a rope came swinging down behind her. Margaret turned around and her eyes widened at the sight of the oncoming threat as her heart started pounding in her ears. It was aimed straight towards her on the ladder, and if it does hit her with such force, she won't get away with just slight bruises.

She looked down and gritted her teeth. There was only one way to escape, the 7ft jump to the ground. She could make it, she was confident in her physical abilities. And besides, there was no other way, and more importantly, no time.

With two big books in her arms, Margaret turned to the side and jumped away just as the circular weight crashed into the ladder with a loud bang.

She closed her eyes in a panic and couldn't keep her balance intact on landing. She dropped heavily on her legs, and a sharp pain flashed across her face. She hissed in pain and clutched her right ankle as the ladder fell to floor behind her making another loud noise.

Margaret winced at the chaos behind her and then began to assess her ankle. There was slight pain when she tried to move it, but it wasn't unbearable. After trying a few movements slowly, she concluded she wouldn't be crippled and let out a sigh.

She then turned her attention to the two books lying face down in front of her. She scooted close and picked up the nearby book. She put it in her l.a.p and scanned the pages quickly. Then she picked up the second book and did the same. This time she stopped midway and plucked out a small piece of paper from it.

[Hope you are still in one piece. Stay safe.]

Hahaha. Margaret let out a dry chuckle at the satiric remark. Although she was supposed to be angry, there was nothing she could do. So she would never give them the satisfaction by falling to their provocation. She calmly ignored the remark and flipped the paper for the next clue.

[Round 2: Inside the dungeon of the forsaken, awaits your gold.]

As she read the rather creepy clue, Margaret felt a chill down her spine.

But first things first. She quickly stuffed the books into her bag and stood up, only to slump down immediately. Her ankle was throbbing with pain, unable to bear her weight. She gently touched her ankle and felt it slightly swollen now.

She couldn't help but groan in disbelief as she realized that she might have sprained her ankle. She took a deep breath and let it out, as she slowly tried to stand up again. This time more carefully, making sure not to put too much weight on her right leg.

This was not going to be easy, she thought. The sprain may not be serious but it will definitely affect her movement. She could only hope it cooperates with her in the rest of the search.

She opened her palm and looked at the now crumpled piece of paper with the second clue. She let out a dejected sigh.

It was not going to be easy at all.

- -

Margaret slowly peeked her head through the doors of the sports hall, looking around before stepping out. If anyone were to catch her exiting the sports hall now, it'll be really hard to explain herself. So she slowly stepped out after making sure no one was around and walked away, limping, towards the bench nearby to sit down and analyze the clue.

The clue itself was very easy to figure out. It was no different this time either. It was short and straight. Not much of a challenge for Margaret.

This time too, the clue pointed to two places at two opposite ends to each other. First was the run-down, discarded chemical lab and the second, the abandoned old library. The problem here though, was not as much about the locations as it was about their history.

Both were equally infamous and spooky with numerous rumors and stories surrounding them.

Margaret hoped it was not the old library though, because it has a much more long and compelling history which was known not only in the campus but the outside areas surrounding the university as well.

The library was one of the oldest buildings constructed along with the main campus building, with more than 100 years of history to it. It was a part of the heritage and legacy of the founders.

It was said that more than a couple decades ago, the board of directors at that time, as a part of the renovation project, decided to demolish the old library and build a large academic library at the eastern center of the campus. They saw the old library as outdated, and waste of space and expenditure.

At least, that was the excuse they used to order the dismantling of the old library. The main reason was that they wanted to build a sports ground in that place by cleaning out the surrounding vegetation.

However, the head librarian of that time, Ms. Felicity, stood firmly against the destruction of the library and the surrounding greenery. It was recorded that she was the daughter of the first librarian and grew up in that library. She spent all her life caring and protecting the peaceful place. For her, it was not just a building. It was her home, her sanctuary.

It was said that she fought for months as she tried to find support for her cause and protect the place she believed more important than anything. But because of the strict warnings from the higher ups, no one dared to go against the board to stand beside her.

After numerous failed attempts to convince the board members, she was unable to find support from neither students nor the staff. Unable to bear the thought of watching the library being destroyed, Mrs. Felicity locked herself in the library as a last effort.

She refused to come out or listen to anyone as she secluded herself inside and stayed there for four long days. On the morning of the fifth day, with the pretext that she has gone mad, the authorities resorted to force to break in and get her out. Even then she didn't make things easy and struggled till the end as she collapsed at the door of the library, clutching her c.h.e.s.t.

She worked for the welfare of the university for more than 50 years without any reservations. She saw the place grow from a small institution to a major university. She helped many eager disciples become educated bureaucrats and officials. But in her last fight, no one stood with her. She died desperate, alone and most of all, heartbroken.

It was a true tragic story but what transpired after, changed the scenario of the situation. Her death triggered a serious reaction and many accusations were made. But a few days after her mourning, people started claiming to see a faint silhouette of a women standing in front of the library. There were even some who even said to hear sinister laughter and wails echoing from the library at nights.

Many came to the conclusion that Ms. Felicity was still lingering around, protecting the library, even after her death. And anyone who dares to enter it will suffer her wrath.

Even the workers who came to dismantle the place experienced many strange occurrences which strengthened the rumors.

Margaret wasn't one to believe rumors but the effect they had was hard to ignore. As the rumors were getting out of hand, the board decided to scrap the deconstruction plans and ordered students to stay away from the western corner of the campus. Soon students as well as teachers started to avoid the area. And in the course of time, the library was enveloped with an eerie aura and stood alone as a mausoleum.

And now, what remained was an urban legend of an abandoned library and the ghost haunting it.

Suddenly, Margaret realized something as a cold glint flashed in her eyes as a smug smile danced on her face. And with that, she decided her next destination.