A nightmarish structure

This predatory monster bridge selects a victim here and there, as the need arises. And that need is the catch, the very reason that the state got such a sweet deal on a long lasting, practically maintenance free structure. Few know anything about the company that designed the monster, or how it was planned out and built. But there are some people who do have such inside knowledge, those who consider the monster’s carnivorous tastes a small price to pay for all of the benefits that it provides. Some in the state government know about it, as do a few in the resort town. But as time goes by, many of the locals have learned to respect the monster, knowing that it always takes only the non-natives as long as it is left to its devices. Tourists, travelers and visitors from outside the local area, and sometimes from far flung locations, are the usual victims of the monster. Very much like the New River Gorge Bridge, which often claims jumpers from hundreds or even thousands of miles away.

This nightmarish structure is not unlike a living thing, made out of lifeless materials but yet imbued with a supernatural energy giving it the means to literally taste – and drink – the blood of its prey. And just like the vampire of Gothic lore, once it devours that essential fluid of its victims, it extends its own life. A patch of rust, flaking concrete, a pot hole on the road deck, all vanish in the night once the monster has fed. As seasons change the monster is buffeted by rain, wind, water and harsh weather. Then it seeks renewal and continued life once the weather is more favorable. Frequent visitors who cross the bridge sometimes wonder why they see repair work on area roadways but never on the bridge itself. But for any who might find out the true reason, by the time they realize what is happening, it is too late.