Calm - September 03, 2012

[note: this was written during a writing exercise: we had 20 minutes to write something inspired by the word "calm". This is the result, unedited, exactly as it appeared when time ran out. You can read all of them in the waves category]]

Calm - Squiddy Geiger - September 03, 2012

The accident happened in slow motion. Jerry stood at the corner, watching in horror as the blue pickup went through the stop sign. The old beat up old Chevy was already in the intersection but moving slowly, compared to the truck. The old man barely started to turn his head when the truck hit his door, blocking Jerry's view of him as the door and the front fender caved in under the momentum of the larger vehicle.

The front of the truck started to buckle and collapse, as it was designed to do, to try to absorb the energy of the collision. Glass shattered, and the driver of the pickup was thrown forward - Jerry saw his head hit the windshield. Glass flew everywhere, and the awful sound of the impact hit Jerry as the Chevy was pushed sideways, bits exploding off of it and the front end of the truck. The two came to rest in a mangled tangle on the corner opposite Jerry. As he watched, bits settled around the two vehicles, and there was silence.

In that moment of shocked silence, a calm fell, before the adrenaline hit him and he rushed over to the vehicles. He surveyed the situation slowly., checking the car first. It was obvious the old man was beyond help. He checked the pickup and sighed - no, there was no help for this one, either. He'd never seen anything like it and hoped he never would again.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his mobile phone and dialed 911. After reporting the collision, he sat on the curb and waited, the appearance of calm falling over the scene again. That night he would have nightmares, the first of many, but for now, if he didn't look at the vehicles, he was able to maintain a semblance of calm. It wouldn't last.

Posted by Squiddy at September 3, 2012 09:05 PM | TrackBack