A view from the gentle abyss

A Story by potatolemon

Humanity

The sky was a cool shade of blue, and the radiant yellow of the sun’s rays projected across the highway. Normally a cluster of wheels and loud sounds, it was unusually empty today. Birds were soaring across the sky, their shadows flashing over the shrubbery and treetops. This was a calm moment, a happy moment, and one reminiscent of a time before humans existed. I stood and enjoyed this rare moment of serenity, for I knew it would not last long.

“The calm before the storm”

I had heard this phrase many times before; the universe seems to have dictated that tragedy strike at the most peaceful of times.

I saw it then, a filthy black vehicle, streaming down the road. Its windows dirty, cracked and covered in blotches of brown. The surface of the car shared a similar look; this was the product of years of neglect. The driver was a woman in her late thirties, although she looked much older. I had met her twice before, both times she had wandered dangerously close to me.

She has a cigarette in one hand, and a cellphone in the other. Tarry black smoke poured out of her mouth every time she spoke. It surprises me, this woman can sense that I am near, but she perseveres past all sense of better judgement.

The colours outside the vehicle are bright and warm, but for reasons unbeknownst to me, inside the car they turn a much more sinister shade. A young child is situated in the back-seat, her bright blonde hair dampened by the smoke. She is coughing but her mother takes no notice. The floor of the car is littered with rubbish; it’s all grey to me.

Something suddenly takes my gaze, I see, amongst the sea of a grey, a single diamond ring. The diamond is clean, and a warming white emanated from it. A wedding ring, I had seen this spectacle many times before, but usually the ring wrapped tight around a finger.

The vehicle is travelling quite fast, but the mother doesn't seem to care. I have had to visit quite a few people in my time due to their disobedience of the ‘road rules’. I am following the car, and the only scenery is a green blur. In the distance I hear a feint humming, it’s getting louder with each passing second.

A second car is now travelling alongside the first, but this car is different. It is a sterile orange, and has no visible roof, a sports car. The interior of the car is a calm white, unlike the first car; there are no stains or rubbish within in the car. The driver is a middle aged man, one that I have never met. Sunglasses, slick black hair and a bow-tie. A dazzling white radiates from the suit he wears. It is evident that this man is very wealthy.

The man in the second car glances over to the mother in the first, I watch as a spectrum of emotion passed over his face. First was disgust, then anger when he noticed the child and finally pity after a few moments had passed.

Soon, the mother noticed the man in the orange car staring at her. She turned to look, and then she coughed. A pale white suddenly blanketed her face, and then she coughed again. Soon the mother was incapacitated by a violent coughing fit, drops of crimson splattered onto the wind shield.

Terror plastered the man’s face as he saw the cold grey intersection cut-off quickly approaching. I knew that I would have to start working soon, but it was inevitable, like an old English phrase I had heard: “Three strikes and you’re out”

The sky flashed yellow, than orange and finally red. The accompanying sounds of thunder were louder than I had ever heard before; I hadn't seen such a spectacle since the war. I lingered into the black fuming smoke to complete my work. Slowly, I grasped a soul, it was a male soul.

Oh how humans are strange. In a daring twist of fate the man had decided he would visit me in her place, but I do not understand why. Since Eve ate that dreaded fruit, humans have committed acts across the broad spectrum of good and evil, but never in my existence have I ever been witness to a scene of such charity and sacrifice.

Still, I am confused.