Dyavolski Most

A couple checked into a small boarding house in the city of Ardino. They were enjoying the adventure of their lifetime. Taking three months to travel through Europe, they were exploring Bulgaria as they documented their trip. Rick promised a dream honeymoon to Daniella and made good on his promise. Her adventurous side and her free-spiritedness were in full bloom as they roamed the countrysides, enjoyed the different cultures they found, took hundreds of photos, and reveled in calling each other mister and misses.

Choosing to hike different parts of their path through Europe, Rick and Daniella fell more in love with each passing day of their adventure. As they reached Bulgaria, Daniella suggested that they look for a room somewhere. The hiking was fun, but Daniella wanted a hot shower after five days of camping and hiking through the country.

In the quaint little village of Ardino, in the Rhodope Mountains, Daniella found a boarding house. It was a convenient find. The rooms were on the top floor of a tavern that served food. Ardino was close enough to the Ardo River that they could hike there and take some photos. Daniella wanted to make the trip there and enjoy the scenery along the river. The pictures on her phone as she looked up the area did the river justice. It was a beautiful place to visit. She could read about the history later, after getting some rest and her hands on her husband.

They walked inside, expecting to find a small desk or a clerk to service their needs. What they found was a bar full of patrons at one o'clock in the afternoon. There were six or seven men and one woman at the bar. The place smelled of stale beer, tobacco smoke, and smoked pork. Despite the tempting smell of the pork and the chance to find an actual bed to sleep in for a night or two, it had an eerie feeling.

Rick approached the bar and asked if the bartender was the one to speak with about getting a room. The bartender, Berna, told him the price of the rooms per night. Ten dollars felt like a steal. When Rick tried to pay her for the room, she refused his money.

"No!" she insisted. "You pay when you leave. You and the lady might decide to stay longer--no?"

"Well, you do have a point," Rick replied.

Rick and Daniella had their room key and carried their bags up the rickety old staircase leading to the second floor. Their adventure left them both exhausted. Rick was thankful that his new bride wanted this reprieve before moving on. The idea of a long, hot, soapy shower was far more appealing than another day of bathing in rivers and springs. A second idea of climbing into the shower with the gorgeous brunette he married also came to mind.

"This place has got to be a couple of hundred years old," said Daniella. "I mean, look at the moldings and fixtures. This place is right out of the past."

"It is special," Rick admitted, thinking it was more like something he saw in a horror movie about the traveling vacationers getting slaughtered.

The upstairs hall was ominously dim. Lit only by a window on each end, Rick and Daniella could barely see the numbers on the doors as they walked the length of the hall toward their room. Much like the downstairs, the walls were in desperate need of a brighter coloring. As they found the end of the hall, Daniella shined a light on the door, reading the number five. Rick put the key in the door, both of them a little nervous, not knowing what to expect.

When the door opened, the two honeymooners smiled from ear to ear. Daniella was excited to see the large windows that overlooked the village below. She pushed past Rick as she ran into the room to take in the scenic view. While she took in the scenery, Rick walked into the room with their bags, then plopped himself down onto the king-sized bed. He breathed a sigh of relief. The mattress was the softest thing he had slept on up to then. Rick could stay right there for the rest of their trip and happily so.

"We have a private shower," Daniella said as she turned toward the separate bath area.

"Great," sighed Rick. "I wasn't looking forward to communal showers."

Daniella peeled off her sweatshirt, tossing it on Rick as she headed into the shower. Before Rick could even comment, she had the water running and was shimmying out of her jeans. She ran back out to her bag, intent on getting some soap and her favorite body wash. Standing there, items in hand, Daniella was surprised that Rick hadn't reacted. Her new husband was insatiable in the bedroom. Daniella standing there in just her panties would have little Rick standing at attention. Today, nothing.

"Awe, poor Ricky," she said, pulling a blanket over him.

Daniella went back into the bath to take a shower. She knew Rick was trying, but he was ten years older than her. The two of them were a great couple. Rick didn't possess the stamina he once had. She could live that because Rick was the most supportive and loving man that she knew.

Stepping under the warm water, Daniella felt a sense of relief wash over her body. Admittedly, the former college athlete was feeling the pains of hiking with all over their gear, camping equipment, and spare clothing. She stood, with her back to the shower, arching as she let the heated waters rush down her spine and over her shapely backside. It felt so good Daniella could stay there for hours.

Daniella started to get tired, feeling far too relaxed, and her mind started to wander. She began fantasizing about Rick. She imagined him joining her in the shower, his chiseled abs and rockhard chest pressing against her from behind. Rick would put his hands around her cupping her breasts as he pulled Daniella back against him. Her arms would stretch up and around the back of his head as Daniella turned her head to taste his lips. She would feel the hardness of his manliness against her backside, and as she turned to face him, Daniella would press herself against him she would take him in her hands.

As Daniella got increasingly lost in her thoughts, she felt a twinge of excitement building up from below. Her fingers traced their way down her body, sending a chill up her spine. Lost in her lust, Daniella barely noticed the cool air passing into the shower as the curtain was pulled. Her body shivered with pleasure as the feeling of a hand upon her flesh cut her concentration on the future pleasure she was nearing.

"It's about time you got in here. Did you have a nice nap?" asked Daniella.

When there was no response, Daniella took her hand away from the wall and reached for Rick's, which felt different. She turned to her lover and let out a guttural scream that woke Rick from his sleep. When Daniella opened her eyes, the person in the room was gone. Daniella nearly leaped from the shower and grabbed a towel as she ran out of the bath screaming.

Rick mumbled, "Jesus, baby. What is it?"

"Nice try," she said.

Daniella stood there looking at Rick with a petrified expression across her face. Her hands were shaking. She was still yelling at Rick, despite the dumbfounded look he was wearing.

"Slow down," Rick said as he stood up and put his arms around her. "Tell me what happened."

Daniella continued to shake and stutter through her tears. She leaned into Rick feeling safer and protected with his strong well-toned arms around her.

Rick had Daniella sit on the edge of the bed. She was still stuttering her words but started to tell him what happened. When she described something touching her in the shower, Rick's blood boiled. He ran into the bathroom to make sure there was nobody there. Rick came out of the bathroom and rushed to the door. Turning the knob, he turned and looked at his new bride, confused.

"Babe," he said softly. "The door's locked on our side. There couldn't have been anyone in there unless they climbed through the window."

"Wah,wah, what," stammered Daniella.

"It's just us in here," sighed Rick.

Had she imagined the thing that touched her? If so, then this was the most horrific thing Daniella's overactive imagination ever conjured. Rick always told her how easily she spooked. She was exhausted, even before the shower. Daniella considered she could have started to fall asleep on her feet. It could have all been a dream.

"I'm sorry, baby."

Rick snickered.

"What's so funny?" asked Daniella.

"You're exhausted. We have been sleeping in the tent for three days, having the time of our lives, but it hasn't been easy on either of us."

"Maybe you're right," agreed Daniella.

Rick wiped the hair out off of her face, revealing her beautiful brown eyes. Smiling, Rick laid back, tapping the bed next to him.

"I know I'm right. Let's take a nap. When we wake up we can go down to the bar and eat, then come back up here and wear ourselves out again."

The two of them lay beside each other as Rick pulled the bedding up and over them. Daniella nustled her head into Rick's shoulder, enjoying his warmth. She scooted in closer, draping a leg across his thigh. Resting her eyes, she quickly started to drift off. Daniella laid her arm across Rick's chest, wrapping herself around her husband. Rick just lay there, smiling to himself.

Daniella opened her eyes surprised to see that the sun was still up. She looked around the room realizing that Rick was gone. Sitting up, Daniella held the blankets up in front of her, even though she was alone. The sound of the door opening startled Daniella. She nearly jumped from her bed, still anxious from her experience last night. It was Rick that came through the doorway, holding a tray of food in front of him.

"Good morning," he said. "I bet you are hungry."

After the two ate breakfast and enjoyed a vigorous session of sexual antics they got dressed, grabbed their packs, and headed out for a day excursion. Leaving half of their gear and supplies behind them, Rick and Daniella felt lighter on their feet. Rick carried the tray with their dishes down to the bar and left it along the side of the server's area before telling the bartender she'd been correct. They were going to spend another night or two before moving on.

Stepping outside into the cool morning air Rick looked to Daniella for suggestions.

"I found an old bridge that we could go check out. It's right along the river just a couple miles that way," she said as she pointed to a treeline.

"Sounds good to me," he admitted.

Entering the wooded area alongside the village, the two found their way onto a trail. Snapping pictures along the way, she told Rick the story of Dyavolski Most. Like most of the bridges in the region, the bridge had its' own folklore. In the XVI century, the Arda River was deep, rough, and wild so there were few places that bridges could be built.

"Legend says that the builder met with the Devil. The Devil offered him advice on how to construct the bridge but it was with a condition. Dimitar was forced to inwall his wife's shadow," explained Daniella.

"Inwall, what does that mean?" asked Rick.

"I don't know," she told him, turning a bend in the path as she got her first glimpse of the bridge.

"Oh wow!" Rick exclaimed as he caught up to her.

Rick and Daniella walked through the trees. Daniella excitedly snapped pictures of the bridge as they walked onto it from the Ardino side. Rick stared in awe. As Daniella stopped in the center of the bridge, taking pictures of the view in both directions, she wondered about the wife of the original builder.

In the stories about the bridge, there was near no information on the wife. Forty days after the bridge was completed she died in the middle of the night. When Dimitar completed the bridge at the behest of Sultan Selim I, he was safely in the good graces of the Sultan but his wife was gone.

"So the builder, Dimitar, sacrificed his wife to get help building this thing, from the Devil," Rick exclaimed.

The two stood on the bridge holding hands as they stared into the gorge, admiring the scenery. Rick hugged his wife, proud of her ambition, and the travel blog she was preparing to do. Traveling the world and exploring all the planet has to offer was an ambitious undertaking. For Daniella, he was willing to follow her on her path. As they embraced, Rock looked up at the other end of the bridge and froze.

"Honey, what is it?"

Rick pointed to the opposite side of the bridge, holding his wife's hand as he started to pull her back to the Ardino side. Daniella screamed, realizing what he saw was the thing in the shower.

"Jesus, Rick, that's what I saw in our room!" screamed Daniella as she ran.

The thing following them was inhuman. Shaped like a human, but covered in black muck, it moved faster than a human. It rattled as it moved on human-like legs. The creatures' arms flailed, as it gave chase, moving at incomprehensible speeds. It moved so quickly that it caught the two lovebirds before they were a third of the way across the bridge.

As it passed its' prey, stopping Daniella and Rick in their tracks, the creature let out a shrieking scream, its mouth opening like that of an anaconda. Daniella held her hands over her ears as Rick dropped to a knee, desperate to end the pain. Ricks' left eardrum popped blood spattering out of his ear.

Daniella tried to run for her life as Rick passed out, leaving her to think that he was dead. Running away from the ghastly beast, she screamed for help, her screams going unheard. When she reached the center, the creature appeared out of nowhere in front of her.

Daniella froze, staring at the creature. Its cold, opaque eyes, stared right through Daniella's soul. She lashed out and the mysterious thing. Her swings went faster than she could control, missing their target. She kept swinging at the creature, trying to grab hold of it, intent on throwing it over the edge. She thought to herself, nothing could survive that fall.

Instead, by surprise, the creature grabbed Daniella and hoisted her body into the air. Daniella looked down at an unconscious Rick, knowing she would never see him again as the creature leaped into the air and they both fell the full distance into the rocky laden waters below.

Near nightfall, Rick groaned from the top of the bridge. He rolled onto his side, trying to climb up to his feet. Screaming her name at the top of his lungs, Rick didn't see Daniella anywhere. He frantically looked side to side, hoping to see her come out of the trees on either end of the bridge. She was gone.

He knew he had to get to town to get help. Surely, the people of the town could provide help. Surely, someone there would help him look for his missing wife. As he stumbled across the bridge, intent on searching for that which he would never find, he missed his last chance to see what happened to Daniella.

Two shadowy figures followed him as he walked toward the Ardino side of Dyavolski Most.

Rick got back to the boarding house, telling the bartender to call the police. He was frantic and out of his mind from the pain in his ear. The dried blood on the side of his face alerted the bartender that he was in serious trouble.

"Alright, I will call."

She picked up the phone and called the local police officers. They said they would come so she hung up the phone. Looking at her patron, she grabbed an ice bag for his ear and a bottle of whiskey to calm him down.

"You tell, what happened? Where your wife go?"

"We were attacked on the bridge. I think something took her," he replied.

"No, not took her, killed her," the bartender said. "You went to Dyavolski Most."

"Yeah, so what!"

"Dyavolski Most mean Devils Bridge. Nobody goes there on this day. This is the anniversary of the day that Dimitar's wife died. Every year, on the anniversary, Dimitar's wife is allowed out of the bridge to claim another victim."

Rick sat there, sipping from the bottle, in the most horrible pain of his existence. Listening to the old woman, his wife was trapped in that bridge. It held her soul there, along with the wife of the builder.

"I have to get her out," he sighed.

"Nobody get's out. The wife--she takes the souls to the devil himself. They're suffering a fate worse than death. Your wife belongs to him now."

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