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By Sunny Tunget

It was a Tuesday night and I had a ton of homework. Normally on Tuesdays, I am out shooting pool. That Tuesday, I stayed home to get my homework done.

I was sitting at my computer when I heard a loud noise outside around 8:30 pm. After first I thought it was thunder. I had just let the dogs out and it was raining.

Both of the dogs started barking though. My sheltie barks at the cats outside so it really wasn’t anything new for her to bark. My husky never barks at anything so I thought that was weird. A few minutes later, she started to growl and that was really not like her.

Being the chicken that I am, I went to the closet and got out my gun and the bullets from the other closet and set them both beside me. I didn’t load the gun though.

I didn’t hear any more after that. The dogs were quiet so I let it lie. I live in the country and was by myself that night. I could not bring myself to look outside for fear that eyes could be looking back at me.

My husband came home later and apparently didn’t notice anything. When I opened my shade the next morning, I saw two ambulances, two fire trucks, and two county squad cars.

I watched all the events unfold like it was slow motion. First I saw the firemen bring up what looked like metal debris. My husband walked over there to find out what was going on. He came walking back shaking his head.

The noise I heard the night before was a lot more than thunder. Apparently, a man had driven straight across the road, into a sign and into the creek.

The man had been lying in the creek apparently pinned in his car for ten and a half hours. He was lucky that there was very little water in the creek. He could have frozen to death or possibly drowned.

After what felt like an eternity, the ambulance crew brought the man up from the creek on a backboard. It looked like his leg was dangling off the side.

All that day I felt guilty. I cried my eyes out every time I thought about it. I kept thinking that if I hadn’t been so chicken, the man would not have laid there all night. I thought he might lose his leg. I was a mess.

When I got home from school that day, someone had already fixed the sign and the accident scene was cleaned up. I walked over to the creek and saw pieces of the car still lying there. There was an air filter and some pieces of headlights. I also saw what I assumed to be the man’s coat on the ground. I left it where it lay, but I started welling up in tears again.

I called the county sheriff’s office to let them know what I had heard the night before and to find out if the man was okay. The person I talked to told me not to feel guilty. He said that the man would be okay, and it was a piece of cut clothing hanging off the backboard, not the man’s leg. I felt relieved.

I had blamed myself all day, thinking that man could have died or lost his leg. I kept sulking about it, but now I have come to a realization. If there is a noise outside again, I will load my gun and wait inside, but I will call the police and let them investigate, being the chicken that I am.