Part one, 1-25-2010

Ahead of a speeding car, just beyond the snow banks, a moose jumped to the top of the bank, even still unnoticed by the distracted driver. It stammered down to the road, fully intent of crossing that moment. It didn’t look both ways; its mother hadn’t taught it that same trick that so many mothers of human childs do. Instead, he moseyed on. He walked in front of the car.

The boy noticed, after looking up from the radio knobs and immediately stiffened. His back straightened against the seat and his arms stiffened in front of him. His knuckles whitened immediately. His eyes were frantic as his leg sent the pressure of the brake fluid against the brake pads raising dramatically. The steering wheel fluttered minimally, but the car shuttered due to the locked front wheels under him. The car and driver were frantically trying to skid around this exasperated moose, desperately trying to stop before any metal was bent, bones were broken, or anything got killed.

The moose finally looked up at the screeching Corolla only moments too late. Had the moose been agile enough, he may have been able to leap across either way. The bulky older moose tried, but to no avail. Old wounds, a gunshot to the rear quarter, staggered his full potential; it sealed his death to this moment, his destiny bound to the car, and the young man, a destiny leaving them both with loss.

The car skidded even still. The front wheels pivoted from the middle of the car, twisting one way or the other, differently each second. The moose still tried to escape, being a mere second from the front bumper, he had no escape. The bumper slid into his front knee, buckling the large moose onto the hood of the car. The car was still moving, the moose slid to the windshield, after further buckling when his rear leg was broken in several places by that same bumper. He rolled, crushing the windshield. Before he could blink, this moose had totaled that car. He was shot over the cab, partially crushing it, and landing, head first on tar. This moose was dead upon landing.

The car still continued for a few feet, being drastically altered, and bloodied, having fresh hide packed into cracks and designed spaces. Hair and blood tainted the silver of it. The tires rubbed up into the wheel wells of the car. Even they were mutilated by the accident. Bits of glass lay on the dashboard and seats and lap of the driver. The steering wheel was bent, twisted towards the dashboard near the top, and bloodied by a different blood than what was outside the car.

The air bag failed to explode into the driver’s face, but his seat belt kept him in place while the bottom of the dashboard was pushed into, and not stopping for the driver’s bent legs. Ski boots, the culprits for actually breaking the windshield, were directly in front of the car on the road. Glass peppered his face and forearms, even through the thin warm-up jacket.

The young man bled freely as his unconscious body leaned against the seat belt and steering wheel, head propped on the bend, almost stretching to where the windshield should have been.

A mere passer-by watched in amazement from no more than 200 yards behind, having pulled from a side road after the young man and the Corolla passed by. Truly astonished at the sheer quickness of the moment and now running on adrenaline, he thumbed his phone out of his center-console and dialed 9-1-1.

“9-1-1 emergency response, how can I help you…?”

“T-T-T There’s just been an accident; hit a moose right in front of me!” The caller said, mustering enough energy to break his terse speechlessness.

“Where are you sir? Is anyone hurt?”

“I think so, it looks really bad, no movement in the car as of yet!” He responded.

“We are on the Mountain Road…, Mars Hill Mountain is on my left!” He said.

“We will send an ambulance immediately.” The responder replied, getting ready to hang up the phone and dispatch the last ambulance available at the moment

“Send an animal control unit too, I think the moose is dead!” The man said, having seen only that aspect of the accident. He was just 20 yards from the moose and had no knowledge of what happened inside the car.