Road Kill

A Story by Leslie

A strange tale that shows how being a good samaritan doesn't always pay off.

           The dog was in the middle of the left-hand lane. The section of the bridge the woman was driving on was dark with no streetlights and she didn’t see the light-golden creature until she had almost smashed into it.
            She stomped the breaks as the dog turned its face to her headlights, slipping its tail between its legs and looking sufficiently frightened. It seemed confused and walked in a curving line as it tried to decide whether it should move right, left or stay put. It chose to stay put.
            She could easily have moved into the right lane and passed the dog but she somehow forgot the lane was there. She kept her eyes on the dog and crept along behind it. After a car had passed swiftly beside her, the driver obviously annoyed that he had to expend the energy to flip his turn signal, she finally pulled into the right lane and inched up next to the dog.
            The dog looked sheepishly over at her then continued to trot with its head down. She called to it, trying to coax it to her. But the dog was even more confused and couldn’t decide whether to risk responding to her call or continue along the bridge. Now she was annoyed.
            She sped up to get in front of the dog and then crept onto the shoulder, flicking on her emergency flashers and putting the car in park. At her spot at the top of the bridge she looked behind her and saw that no cars were immediately coming and none were coming from far off.
            She fumbled out of her seatbelt and glanced behind her again. Still no cars. Now the dog was shambling toward her. It didn’t see her at first but when it did it halted. It looked at her and began to move again, edging further left, away from her.
            She stepped forward and again called to the dog. It seemed more interested in her and slowed its pace. She stepped back and reached to open her car door and beckon the dog inside. But she heard the soft click of claws on asphalt and turned to see the dog resume its pace and trot away from her. She stepped out again so that she was in the middle of the right lane and called to the dog, her hand held out to the animal, concern coating her words.
            The dog looked at her but made no motion to move to her outstretched hand. It just looked at her. She stayed in the same spot for some reason and continued to plead with the dog. She was determined to take care of the dog and not let it be hit by some careless driver.
            The dog’s ears perked up suddenly and it looked past her. Its tongue fell from its mouth and its bushy tail began to sway. She stood up from her beckoning crouch and turned in the direction of the dog’s stare. It occurred to her that she hadn’t even heard it coming, she hadn’t heard anything since she stopped to help the dog. Not the wind, not a cricket, not even the hum of her engine. And certainly not the roar of the semi that was upon her. She had just enough time to turn back and see the dog grin before the semi plowed into her, tearing her from her flip-flops and crushing her delicate frame. Her head was caught under the wheels on the driver’s side of the vehicle and her skull was easily crushed, her brain splattering in a shower of pink and gray. She didn’t, couldn’t, hear the soft snicker that seeped from the dog’s glistening lips.
            The semi barreled across the bridge, the driver perhaps too frightened to stop or even completely unaware of what had just happened. The dog swaggered slowly to the mass of flesh and bone and meat in the road and began to lap hungrily at its meal. Within half an hour every speck of the splatter in the road was gone, including the clothes and the flip-flops. The car was left, abandoned.

He was coming home from a long day at work. It was snowing lightly, delicate flakes dissolving on the warm windshield. He barely saw the dog in time to avoid a collision. The beautiful golden animal was loping along the side of the road. He wondered what such a pretty dog was doing on a busy highway in the middle of nowhere. The dog was noticeably thin, as though it hadn’t eaten in quite a while. He sighed, cursing the negligent owners, and pulled his car onto the shoulder.