Going In

Written for Crimson’s Creative Challenge

Detective Nadine Harrow crouched at the edge of the old boardwalk, where sun-bleached planks gave way to a tangle of willow and nettle. The wood underfoot was soft with rot, groaning with each step she took toward the fallen railing …. snapped clean, not weathered.

She’d been told the bridge was impassable, that no one used this stretch of the marsh path anymore. Yet here, wedged against a broken post, was a boot print pressed fresh into the mud. Too fresh for a path nobody walked.

Detective Harrow ran a gloved finger along the splintered rail. The break was deliberate …. someone had wanted this passage to look abandoned, discouraging casual walkers while leaving it just navigable enough for those who knew the way.

She spoke into her two-way radio. “Nelson. The old footbridge. I’ve got a bad feeling about this. I’m going in”.

NAR©2026

This is “In the Woods Somewhere” by Hozier

Crimson’s Creative Challenge #095

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