Journal #3

It is a warm, breezy Spring day in the middle of a busy Pennsylvania highway. The air is sweet, fresh with the scent of fresh grown leaves and grass. The breeze is cooling, enough to prevent sweating but not so much to create discomfort. The sky is free of clouds, and the sun sits in the center of the sky. The scent of emissions begins to pick up, as more and more cars travel along the road. The sound of cars passing by increases; the rubber of the tires gripping the road, and the air whizzing as cars pass through it. Sunlight reflects off the car paint, sparkling sporadically and beautifully with great luminescence. Suddenly, something goes awry. A small, blue car loses control, screeching as it fishtails back and forth across the road. The brakes scream and rubber burns off the tires, leaving distinct marks on the road. The front right side of the car smashes into the back left side of a small white pickup truck, crumpling the metal and sending the truck into the center of the lanes. More cars come from behind, unable to stop in time to prevent a collision. They too crash into the truck, demolishing it and the front of their vehicles. Metal crumples and bends as the force of the impact tears it apart, creating a deafening sound. Windows shatter, and people can be heard screaming in their cars. The collision is over as fast as it started; the smell of gasoline permeates the air, whisking away the pleasant smell of spring. The breeze brings more unpleasant scents with it: burning rubber, fuel, and oil. People begin to get out of their cars, bloodied and injured. Glass spills out of car doors and off of dashboards. The bent hinges squeak as they are forced open. Light reflects off the newly created bends in the metal, sending beams out in random directions. The beauty of spring fades, as a new scene of carnage emerges on the highway.