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Elaine slammed the door and ran out of the house. She got in the car and
spun the tires in the gravel driveway pulling onto the street.
"Bastard," she muttered under her breath.
It was a warm Saturday and all around town folks were out lawn mowing or
cooking over charcoal fires. Everything smelled like summer. An
old couple ate dinner at a card table in front of their garage and
her eyes teared up. Her anger melted and she slowed as she watched
for kids on bikes and skateboards. At the edge of town she swung
the car onto County Road Y. The pavement stretched out before her,
flat and almost completely straight. Thirty-seven miles through
the Atchinson-Hill grass marsh.
It was coming onto the purple time of day she loved and a drive through
the marsh would let her think more clearly about the latest fight
she just had with her husband.
The marsh was beautiful with areas of open water reflecting the sky, and
other areas where tall grasses grew right up close to the road.
Red winged blackbirds gathered in large groups cackling from the
tops of stalks of last year's grass. She smiled as two of the more
elusive yellow-headed black birds screeched out a warning cries as
her car passed.
Three miles into her drive a truck came up fast behind her and blew past
doing at least seventy. The driver never even touched his brakes.
His taillights faded in the distance.
Five minutes later she saw the truck again, pulled to the side of the road
with the driver's door open. Her heart jumped. She was alone out
here and this could be some weirdo.
Then she saw the birds and slowed. There were duck feathers floating
everywhere in the half-light. The strange snow settled on the road
and grass as the truck driver checked his front bumper for damage.
A mother duck and her brood trying to cross the road. He smashed
into the whole family.
She stopped behind the truck and got out. She could hear ducks calling
from the grass and some were still flopping in the road. At least
two were dead but there must be eight more hurt and dying.
The man said, "I never saw them, I couldn't stop, what should I
do?" His voice was high and cracking.
"We have to kill them," she said. "Do you have a knife or
something? We can't leave them in misery like this."
"I don't have anything, look this wasn't my fault," he started
looking toward his truck. "I'm going to be late." He
climbed in his truck and drove off.
Elaine watched his taillights fade then did what had to be done. One by
one she twisted their necks till they were dead. Warm feathers
stuck to her hands and face as she wiped away tears. At last there
was no more stirring or flapping or pitiless quacking, just
evening settling down noises.
She climbed into the car and sat shaking as complete darkness fell. She
clenched her teeth so hard that her jaws ached. Her bloody hands
were sticky on the steering wheel. She did a three-point turn and
started back to town.
Back at the house she walked past Jerry lying on the sofa in front of the
TV and into their bedroom where she packed a suitcase. Back in the
living room Jerry looked up, "Hey, where are you going?"
"Sometimes, Jerry, you just can't leave things in misery."
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