The blue car came hurdling down the road, suddenly veering off course. In seconds, the vehicle was shoved into a tree, screaming to the sky with a deafening crunch. The car doors crumpled, the window pane shattering into the air and the roof shooting upward, crashing to the ground in my direction. It killed me to move my injured knee as fast as I did, but thankfullly those conditioning lacrosse practices strengthened by reflexes enough to the point were I could swiftly move and get out of the way. I barely dodged the sunroof, colliding with the tree behind me. As a fire had started within the car, I darted to the other side of the road. Once I reached a perfect place of shade, I stood frozen. There was no way that I would be able to re-trace my steps. I tried to focus on my body, filling my lungs with fresh air and releasing the panic that had previously entered. Every muscle in my body ached from running, the dreadful feeling of shame and disappointment circling through my mind. Man, I could seriously use some childhood ice cream right about now. Ice cream had been a symbol of hope in my family, the first spoonful of chocolate delight erasing all negative emotions that flooded my brain. With each bite that I craved, the exhaustion and powerful heat from the sun faded, just enough were I could slightly cool down. It felt as though every last tasteful ice cream moment had vanished from where I stood, but, to my surprise, I heard a faint bark in the distance. I raised my head upward, just in time to watch a small brown dog emerge from a flourishing bush of brightly colored flowers. It was Rocky! He ran directly to my side, gently sitting down next to my wounded leg. Although I was relieved, having the dog next to me didn’ t change the fact that I was a witness to a fancy car striking a large tree. A huge cloud of smoke poured out of the car’ s broken windows, my stomach filling with the awful flavor of gasoline and spice. I was forced to cough a few times, wiping my mouth with my dirt covered palm. Searching for Rocky must have really stained my hands.
To my relief, the blue dog leash was still connected to the dogs collar, allowing me to safely grab the fabric rather than the metal piece that I was holding before. Home seemed miles away, the panting sound from my throat appearing much louder than the dog’ s small nosies as I prepared it for the walk back. It was clear that I needed to go, already being way behind a normal schedule. I glanced back at the car once more, but something had changed. At first, I couldn’ t figure out what it was, smoke still draining from where the roof once was. Then, it hit me. Just as strong as the car crashing into the tree. The drivers door was open. Terror struck me in the face, like those red rubber balls we would use during gym class. Scanning the street with eyes wide open, I begged for someone, anyone, but the driver, to find me. The driver had disappeared, obvious tracks that he had been there, but nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, Rocky began to bark. A horrible sound. Screeching in the silence and roaring in the wind. My head seemed as if it was turning in circles, round and round, looking for something that would never be found. The driver, then, became visible to my left side. He was dashing towards me at full speed, a speed that would knock over hundreds of bowling pins. At least he was out of the car, whereas if he was not, he would have been blown into millions of pieces. Picking up the dog in one arm, I sprinted away. Questions overwhelmed my mind to why I was being chased. There was no time to ask though, especially as the driver caught up closer and closer to me. Rocky’ s paws dangled in mid-air as I ran, his ears flopping with each step. His tail would not stop wagging, an expression of confusion and excitement covering his face. Right as I was about to reach the next street, I felt a firm grasp on my ankle. The sudden stop jolted me forward, making me wonder why I felt like I was falling in slow motion, which was a strange feeling that I wasn’ t quite used to.
I hit the ground face first, skull crashing with the surface and body not far behind. Although the collapse was hard, the ground was soft. Similar to a pillow-like material that did not hurt