The Rumbling Monster of Death

The air was crisp and the wind felt food on my cheek as I step outside and made my way to my car. My sister needed her to run her into town about fifteen minutes away to meet up with a friend. We had only been in the car a minute, cruising down the dirt road lined with trees starting to fade into fall colors, when I saw something small in the road. At first, I thought it was a decent sized rock. However, in the split second before it slipped between my tires, I realized it was a beautiful woodpecker. My mouth, along with my sister's, dropped open as we heard a clunk beneath the car and I frowned. I was immediately filled with guilt and with I could go back to avoid any contact with the innocent little bird that was minding its own business in the middle of a death strip. Glancing in my rear view mirror, I was horrified to see the wings of the bird flapping about as its body undergoing a spasm in the road. I frowned even more. My sister was in a hurry, so I didn't have time to turn around.

On my way back home, I pulled my car over to the side of the road next to where I had injured the bird. I put on my hazard lights even though the probability of someone driving by was slim out where I live. Walking out onto the dirt, I found its small body. Its black feathers were speckled with white spots and its red-feathered neck was bright. I was glad it was laying still. When driving back, I had been mentally preparing myself for if I needed to put the bird out of its misery. It might seem over the top to care or go back for such a small animal. There are an access of birds everywhere. But, the thought of the animal suffering and slowly dying in the road was something I didn't want to happen if I could avoid it. It wasn't suffering anymore. I gently scooted its body out of the road so it wouldn't get mutilated any further, then walked back to my car. So many animals die from cars all the time, probably even more than we realize when we are paying attention or they are too small to see while we are driving. Not only do I emit harmful fumes into nature's clean air when I drive my car, but I also sometimes kill its' creatures.