*Screa-e-eep.*
Even through the noise of rain and the roar of the turbulent stream, the creaking of the bridge pierced their ears.
The bridge was leaning to the right. It hadn't collapsed completely yet—but it was clear that one blow from a large rock tumbling from above would be enough to bring it down.
Eloise stared at the bridge in despair and heard Richard's shout from the opposite bank.
"What was that? A rope?"
Hearing this, she looked toward the edge of the bridge and saw a rope stretched across.
If there had been trees on both sides, it could have been secured properly—but trees stood only on Richard's side.
He must have prepared it in advance, just in case.
Meanwhile, Ryan inspected the bridge. It was already beginning to tilt. Moreover, it was so weakened it seemed liable to collapse the moment an adult stepped onto it.
But standing still was impossible.
Ryan lowered Andrew to the ground. The lamb in his arms was shaking from the rain and didn't even bleat.
"Andrew!"
"M-Mama!"
At that moment, Mrs. Ogilvy appeared on the other side. People quickly seized her as she tried to run across the bridge.
"Madam, calm yourself!"
"Andrew! Andrew!"
Hearing Mrs. Ogilvy calling him, Andrew immediately made ready to run across the bridge.
Ryan grabbed him, then tied the rope Richard had prepared tightly around him.
"What are you going to do?" Eloise asked fearfully.
"We can't cross. But Andrew can make it before the bridge collapses."
"But if it collapses while he's on it—"
"Then they'll pull him out quickly from that side."
At these words, Eloise's face turned white. He was going to make Andrew run across this crumbling bridge.
*What if it collapses while he's on it?*
Eloise looked at the raging current beneath the bridge. Everything that had been swept from upstream was rushing through the water. Even if he was pulled out swiftly, he could be gravely injured.
"Perhaps it would be better to climb the hill and wait until the rain stops..."
"I considered that. But what if the rain intensifies? And if the dyke collapses entirely, the hill won't be safe either. If we're swept away, our chances of survival will be nearly zero."
"..."
All of this was true. Eloise had nothing to say in reply.
Meanwhile, Ryan had secured Andrew tightly with the rope.
He took him by the shoulders and said:
"Andrew, you're going to run to your mother now. Can you do it?"
Hearing this, Andrew looked at the bridge with dread. Even though he was a child, he understood the bridge was dangerous.
At that moment, one of the sheep people had led from the village approached the bridge and began bleating.
In response, the lamb in Andrew's arms bleated back. Undoubtedly its mother.
Hearing the ewe bleating, Ryan looked at Andrew again.
"Can you bring this lamb to its mother?"
At these words, Andrew hugged the lamb even tighter. The knowledge that he had to save someone gave his gaze a determined cast.
"I'll try..."
Upon hearing Andrew's answer, Ryan immediately led him to the bridge.
"No, no! Me! I'll go!"
"I can do it!" Mrs. Ogilvy shouted, but Andrew—having shouted back—shook his head.
"Don't stop for anything. Run without looking back. Remember how we ran in Blissbury's garden?"
Before the celebration, while Ryan greeted guests, he had watched over the children playing in the garden.
He'd arranged a candy race for them. Andrew had won.
Perhaps recalling that cheerful moment, Andrew's face—previously filled with fear and tension—brightened for the first time.
"You were faster than everyone. You can do it."
Ryan's words gave the boy courage. Andrew stood before the bridge. From the other side, Richard shouted:
"Even if you fall, we'll pull you out immediately! Don't be afraid—just run!"
There was no time to waste. Ryan, just as he had during the race, began counting behind Andrew's back.
"One, two, three! Run!"
Andrew ran across the bridge at Ryan's cry. Running across the tilted structure wasn't easy.
But Andrew—though he stumbled a couple of times—ran without faltering. Just when he was nearly across—
*Crash!*
A stone struck the base of the bridge with a deafening crack.
"Ah-ah!"
Andrew staggered. Richard immediately assessed the situation and shouted:
"Pull!"
The men gripping the rope hauled with all their might. Just as Richard—standing with outstretched arms—caught the boy, the bridge—hanging by its last thread—collapsed with a thunderous crash. At the same instant, Andrew landed in Richard's arms.
"He's safe!"
"Andrew!"
Richard handed Andrew to Mrs. Ogilvy.
She embraced her son, sobbing. Andrew, realizing he was truly in his mother's arms, also relaxed and began weeping.
A nearby ewe, having found her lamb, bleated loudly.
Eloise, watching from the opposite bank, also burst into tears of relief.
But now the real problem began.
"We're trapped," Ryan said in a voice mingling relief and despair.
Eloise felt the same.
Andrew was safe with his family. But they were not. Now they were stranded with no escape route.
Eloise looked out at the stream where the bridge had been swept away, beneath the darkening sky.
The stream—which had previously been knee-deep for children at its deepest—had transformed into a raging torrent.
Perhaps the edge of the dyke had also begun crumbling, because even under the dim sky, a flow of reddish earth was visible rushing along with the rocks.
It was more mudslide than water.
*Gr-r-r-r.*
A roar came from above, shaking the earth. A flow of mud began creeping toward the place where people stood.
"Get back! Get back, move away!" the people shouted, retreating in panic.
Eloise and Ryan as well. Ryan grabbed her hand and pulled her up the hill.
A crimson stream of mud followed closely behind.
*Gr-r-r-ro-oo-oar!*
The sound grew even louder. Now, even without seeing, everyone understood.
**The dyke had finally collapsed.**
The rumble of tumbling stones shook the earth. The sun seemed to be setting—light was fading. The downpour rendered the lamps and candles people had brought utterly useless.
Only the faint white garments visible in the distance indicated there were people on the far bank.
They climbed to the very top of the hill.
Seeing the house standing there, Eloise breathed heavily.
"I never thought I'd come home like this," she murmured.
Their refuge was her house—the highest dwelling in Feltham.
But they didn't dare go inside. If the landslide from the collapsed dyke struck the house, they would be buried alive.
But remaining outside was no better.
They leaned against the wall of the house and listened to the roar of the descending landslide.
*This must be what the end of the world sounds like.*
Eloise trembled from the roar—a sound she had never heard in her life.
At that moment, Ryan squeezed her hand tightly. The warmth that penetrated made Eloise feel she wasn't alone in this darkness.
She squeezed his hand in return.
In the pouring rain and gathering darkness, the only thing they could feel was the warmth of their clasped hands.
The sound of the world collapsing continued.
---
How much time passed?
The sound—which seemed as though it would go on forever—began to fade. Eloise, her eyes accustomed to the darkness, blinked and looked downward.
The landslide had stopped just ten paces from the Severtons' house.
Ten paces.
Having left this narrow margin, death relented and ceased pursuing them.