A/N: So I'm sort of taking a break from Something To Live For if it wasn't evident already, and I came up with this today, a one shot about an actual place based off an actual legend. Just google "cry baby bridge" if you'd like to know more about it. It's a bit short but I'm quite happy with it, I hope you like it too! Leave me your thoughts, I love to know your opinions and it only takes a minute.

"Are you sure you'll be fine on your own, madam? A storm is supposed to fall tonight," The house maid assisted the madam of the home with wearing her jacket and then proceeded to hand her a bassinet in which a beautiful newborn baby girl slept soundly. The child was due to be taken to the town doctor for a quick check up as the child would wail the entire night. Although the infant was silent at the moment, the mother decided it would be a good idea to just make sure nothing was going wrong anyway.

"Do not fret, Lydia," the young woman smiled in reassurance at the housekeeper. "Just make sure mister arrives to a warm bed later tonight. I will be staying at an inn, and town isn't too far off anyhow, so I should be able to make it there before the storm hits."

"If you say so, madam." Lydia bowed her head as the madam walked out the door and head into the carriage, placing the bassinet beside her. It definitely was going to be a tiring journey, but the mother knew since it was to insure her child's health, it was worth more than anything in the world.

About mid-day, the blonde-haired mother peeked outside the carriage to see that rain clouds had begun to blanket the Oklahoma town, announcing the impending thunderstorm, and it was then she began to worry that Lydia may have been right. She sat up and moved to the front of the carriage, where the driver was seated, his eyes also wandering towards the sky.

"Alfred," she called him, "Do you reckon we'll have arrived by the time the storm hits?"

"I do hope so," was his reply, but she could tell he was only saying that – even she knew it was well near impossible. By now, the rain had started to fall, and the only thing that could be heard was the pitter-patter of thousands of droplets hitting the awning above them. She knew they would never make it, and all she could do was pray for the best and hope there was no flooding.

But flooding there was. A whole lot of it. Even so, whenever Alfred insisted they stop, the mother only took a weary glance at her child and shook her head vigorously. Alfred may have asked to stop their trip because he was soaked on more than one occasion, but the miss took no note of it, only caring for the health of her newborn. This weather would not help the possibly ill baby to get any better.

Suddenly, the carriage came to an abrupt halt. Alfred peeked in to the back of the carriage, his clothes completely sodden. "We've come to a bridge, madam!" Alfred shouted over the now roaring sound that was the rainfall. "It doesn't look very stable but say the word and I'll keep going!"

The madam didn't even look outside the carriage to examine the bridge or evaluate Alfred's opinion on it. She merely replied: "Keep going," and so he did. Alfred had definitely slowed them down, as the bridge was quite old. He wished he could reason with the madam, but he had been ordered by her husband that he shouldn't argue with her. If only he could tell her how strong the current of the river beneath them seemed. If only he could tell her of the frightening sight of the rotting bridge that now, they were risking each one of their lives to cross. Ever so slowly, Alfred guided the horse over the bridge, but once they'd reached the middle, lightning struck the ground nearby and startled the horse, causing him to neigh loudly and stand on its back hooves, only to slam back down, breaking some of the wood panels the carriage rested on.

"No!" Alfred cried, but it was too late. The horse was running full speed ahead, and the front wheels of the carriage were now stuck in the gap the horse had created in the midst of his fright. In no time at all, the carriage was flipping forward as the horse pulled it on, but eventually it broke free of the reigns, leaving the Alfred, the madam, and her child to fend for themselves on the tipping carriage – not that the horse could have done much for them anyway; they were most certainly stuck.

The jolt of the carriage falling over had caused the madam to be shoved to the front of the carriage as well. Peeping through the curtains, she found that Alfred was no longer in the obverse side of the carriage, and quickly scanned her surroundings for him. At last, she found him, and he was barely hanging on to a plank of wood. "Help! Madam, help me, please!" he screamed, and the madam felt obliged to, since she was the one who ordered him to keep going and she was the one who got them into this mess. Stealing a quick glance towards the back of the carriage, she found that the bassinet was still strapped down to the inside of the carriage and the ties looked sturdy enough to hold while she saved Alfred. Quickly she hiked up her dress and made her way over to where Alfred was hanging by a thread, bounding over the holes in the bridge.

"Alfred!" she called, holding out a gloved hand to assist him. "Take my hand!"

Alfred struggled to hold his weight and grasp on to her hand, but it was no use. He was too heavy, and if he pulled himself up, he would pull her down. Tears prickled at his eyes and water dripped from his mustache as he let go of her hand and fell into the rocky river that was below them. "No, Alfred!" she shouted, before shielding her eyes from the view of him slamming into the rocks as the current carried him farther and farther into the darkness.

She sat there momentarily, just to whisper a prayer in remembrance of the good family friend, and to his family whom would undoubtedly be forever inconsolable. From behind, the sound of a child wailing came into range and she knew at once that it was her baby. She sat up and hurried back to the carriage, where the bassinet was being flung around by the rocking of the collapsing carriage. The harsh wind had untied the knots that held the curtains of the carriage closed and soon enough, the bassinet was headed the same direction Alfred had gone. Hysterical, she jumped right into the river below them, but it was shallow enough that she could stand on her tiptoes. She held on to a rock she'd fallen on, the searing pain in her ankle being the least of her worries right then.

"My baby!" she cried, tears streaming down her face. "Oh, God, my child! Where is my baby?" she carried on, flailing her arms in the water as she attempted to fight the current. The infant's cries trailed farther and farther off, soon becoming a mere echo in the distance, but the mother continued to scream. "My baby! Where is she? Where is my baby? Where is my baby?"

A sound from the bridge above her silenced her howls of desperation, and instead she only mustered the strength to attempt a getaway as the carriage was going to fall right where she was floating. The mother was only able to whimper not only in defeat, not only in sorrow, but in longing for forgiveness from God in hopes she would still be accepted in to heaven after this tragic incident. She counted backwards in her head as the carriage creaked deafeningly, and she screamed stridently before she was silenced forever.

"Wow, what a story," one of the students at Tulsa University said, once the professor was finished telling them the story.

"Isn't it?" He retorted, pushing his glasses back up his nose. His grey eyes scanned the room of students as they let the story sink in.

"Does the bridge still exist today?" A brunette girl asked.

"It most certainly does, and it has come to be known as the Cry Baby Bridge. In fact, I think they've even rebuilt it."

"Do people still go there?" A boy named Christian asked, his amber eyes sparking with interest. He was always looking for terrifying places to visit, and unfortunately for his best friend, Hance, he always dragged him along.

"I believe so, it's been said that the ghost of the unnamed woman haunts the bridge at night, still searching for her lost child." The professor replied. Christian looked back at Hance, winking at him, and Hance sighed knowingly.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the session, and everyone hurried to gather their things so they wouldn't be late for their next classes. Christian waited for Hance at the door of the classroom excitedly, and once he'd caught up, they walked in to the hall together.

"So," Hance asked monotonously. "When do you want to go?"

"Tonight, man, this can't wait another day."

"Fine, but if she's not there, we leave okay? No funny business." Hance warned, and Christian only nodded vigorously, his friend's words going in one ear and out the other.

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered in response.

Night fell way too quickly for Hance's liking, and soon enough it was time to head to the bridge. Christian insisted that most frightening things happen at midnight, so he'd decided they would arrive then. Christian and Hance headed down to Christian's car, and immediately got in. Christian seemed a bit too excited.

"Calm down, man, this is scary,"

"Please, don't be such a baby, Hance, there's nothing to be afraid of. We'll be fine." He placed a digital camera in between them and Hance rolled his eyes.

"You brought a fucking camera?" He asked incredulously.

"Yeah, so what?" Christian replied dumbly, shrugging.

Hance only shook his head, laughing humorlessly under his breath. His friend turned the key in the ignition and the old Ford Thunderbird purred to life, and then they were speeding down the road, following the directions Christian had pulled up on the screen of his smart phone.

"Take a left," Hance told him, reading off the directions, "And then two rights and we should be there."

Christian did so, and sure enough, they were in the idling car right in front of the bridge. "Well," Christian began, "It looks pretty new, so I think it would be okay if we parked on it."

"'Kay," Hance scoffed, trying to think of other things that could take his mind off this. He hated when he was dragged along on these stupid trips. Christian had admitted once that it was because he was scared to go alone, which would be a great thing for blackmail, but Christian had threatened to beat Hance up if he ever told a soul.

"You look on your side, I'll look on mine," Christian ordered, and Hance complied, but not completely. He only scanned the outside of the car, not seeing anything but the rushing water beneath the bridge. The sound was comforting and was lulling him to sleep until Christian cried out.

"What, what is it?" Hance asked worriedly, looking over to his best friend.

"I – I think I see her!" He replied enthusiastically, his voice increasing an octave.

"Yeah, right, lemme see," Hance muttered leaning over to get a view of whatever Christian was looking at. All he saw was a white trash bag that seemed to glow under the light from the moon. "I don't see shit, all I can see is a trash bag you idiot."

"Oh, so that's what that is." Christian slumped back down into the driver's seat, obviously disappointed. Hance resisted the urge to say 'I told you so,' by biting his tongue, and instead he crossed his arms and laid his head back, hoping to get some shut-eye while Christian wallowed in his broken dreams.

Suddenly, Hance heard Christian rolling the window down. "What the hell are you doing?" He shouted. "It's freezing out there, roll the window back up!"

"Just a minute, you crybaby," Christian responded, and then proceeded to gulp loudly. Hance anticipated what would come next, and sat rigid in the passenger's seat.

"Hey, I found your baby!" Christian yelled as loud as he could, his voice echoing through the night. Immediately he rolled the window back up and waited, sniggering. The wind picked up and the trees rustled loudly, but when Hance listened closely he could make out the sound of frantic rustling like someone was running through the woods. The sound only got closer, but then suddenly, it stopped all together.

"Oh my God, Christian, if we die I am going to have your head in the next life. I will spend my entire lifetime searching for you if I have to." Hance warned, stuttering over his words.

"Quiet, it stopped," Christian whispered frantically. The two boys waited for what seemed like hours, patiently awaiting what would happen next.

"…Maybe we should just go," Hance held, eyes still wandering involuntarily.

"Shh," Christian quieted him once more, turning on the camera, turning it to video mode and capturing the surroundings shakily. "Something's coming,"

All of a sudden, the car doors locked themselves, and they both jumped a foot in the air.

"Holy crap," Hance managed. "The doors were unlocked? Nice going Christian, you could have at least warned me you were going to do that. You scared the hell out of me!"

"Hance…I – I didn't… That wasn't me," Christian explained wearily. "You know the locks on this car don't even work,"

"Oh please, I know you and your ways, you love to scare me when we go on these stupid trips,"

"They're not stupid – live a little, nothing's ever happened before, we always come back in one piece."

Hance huffed breathily. "Yeah, well from what I can see, we're not going anywhere any time soon. Everything was all right until you went and taunted her, now you've probably brought her out!"

"Be realistic, will you?" Christian handed Hance the camera which was still taping and ordered him to get everything that happened. "Fine, we'll leave."

Christian attempted to pull the gearshift into reverse, but it wouldn't budge. He tried again, and again, even using both hands at one point in an attempt to pull it back. It remained put. It was like some unseen force was playing tug of war with him, and they were winning by a long shot.

"It won't move." Christian stated, dumbfounded. Hance didn't reply, he just tossed the camera back in to his friend's lap and breathed out a long sigh, allowing his head to fall back on the seat. Moments later, the wind picked up again and the footsteps were back, although this time they were closer and each step caused a reverberating creak in every direction. Hance lifted his head jadedly and listened. Christian just held the camera although his hands were so clammy that it was practically slipping right through his fingers.

The footsteps stopped once more.

The headlights shut off with a click – Hance didn't need to ask whether or not Christian had done it. A bright, blue ball-like structure appeared in front of the car, glowing brighter and brighter to the point that the boys felt the need to shield their eyes from the intensity of it. The orb continued to glow momentarily, until it dimmed, faded, and then disappeared.

"…W-where did it go?" Christian stuttered, and Hance opened his mouth to reply but no words would come out. Christian continued to look at the camera's screen, taping the view in front of the car, too preoccupied to notice anything else that was going on, zooming in and out trying to see what the naked eye could not. Hance just sighed deeply once more, until he spotted something in his peripheral vision. Something small, petite, thin. Something that looked frighteningly human – or not. Christian was busy looking outside Hance's window with the camera, so his back was turned to the terrifying sight. Hance was far too thunderstruck to tell Christian to take a look, so he merely pointed weakly. Christian noticed Hance's movements, and gulped hard before turning back to look through the window.

Christian whimpered.

Before him stood the silhouette of a woman who was soaked from head to toe, her hair stringy and her dress tattered and torn and dirty. The moonlight not only illustrated her feminine outline, but it also shone upon her face, which held a solemn expression. Her arms looked to be scratched, thin and bony, and as Christian's eyes travelled farther down her frame, they came to rest upon the most inhuman thing of all – her hands which had been replaced by a macabre set of claws, sharpened to a horrific point.

In the blink of an eye, one of the animal-like claws shot straight through the glass in the window, shattering it as she swiftly grabbed hold of the front of Christian's shirt and yanked him out through the remaining glass that once was the window. The camera fell to the floor of the car but Hance couldn't bring himself to pick it up. Christian was now dangling from her extended arm, his body thrashing in a desperate endeavor to escape her menacing grip.

Christian couldn't muster up the courage to look away from her cold stare, and her lips curled into an ominous grin as she studied him. Much like her claws, each tooth was sharpened to a point, and the sight was hair-raising. Christian cried out for help but soon silenced himself when her grin turned in to a sneer.

"You do not look to have a child with you," she spoke, the words cool and articulated.

"I-I'm sorry!" Christian wailed, tears racing down his reddened cheeks.

"Funny, the last person who claimed to have found my daughter said the same thing,"

"Y-yeah, but I mean it! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I lied!"

"You share a striking resemblance to the man who was once my husband," she began, and resolve crossed her eyes but Christian's thoughts were so jumbled that he couldn't realize what for.

"You can be my new baby now," she murmured. Hance watched from the passenger's seat as she hovered into the woods until she was out of sight, Christian flailing as she dragged him behind her.

Hance stared blankly out the window, the way they'd gone, and then there was nothing more but the warmth trickling down his leg, and the video camera beeping announcing the battery had died.

A/N: So what did you think? Please review! I'm hoping to finish another one-shot I'm working on soon, but it requires a ton of research so just sit tight! :) Thank you for reading, as always!