The autumn air was crisp on this beautiful September morning and
Officer Thomas Burke was on his way to a meeting in Mount Abraham. Thomas
was behind the wheel of his Explorer, and was keeping half an ear on the
radio as he drove towards the beautiful suburb where his fiancée Kimberly
was interning. Suddenly, his attention was drawn off thoughts of his soon-
to-be wife and toward less pleasant memories as he approached the railroad
tracks that led into town. Those memories were those of a rather
unpleasant night that had forever changed his life. That was the night it
happened, the loss of his partner and he was assigned to clean up the
remains of an unfortunate young man of about 17. The details flooded back
through his mind with the force and abruptness of a freight train, forcing
Thomas to stop. The details were so vivid and fresh in his mind.
That night he had to clean up the remains of one William Sean
Hitchcock, a Senior at Mount Abraham Senior High School according to
his student ID and his recently-issued driver's license. There was
blood everywhere. Blood was glittering on the ground in the
moonlight, glistening on the cold iron of the train tracks, and all
over the decapitated torso that had fallen by the tracks. The air was
heavy with the sickly-sweet aroma of blood and the oppressive stench
that he couldn't identify definitely until a year later. That was the
smell of Death itself.
Mentally Thomas flashed forward to later that night when he had to assist the Medical Examiner with informing the family. As this next section of memories began to flash across his conscious mind, his foot eased up on the brake pedal just slightly, causing the car to begin to slowly roll into the crossing. As the wheels jolted lightly from going over the tracks, Officer Burke's coffee cup jarred in such a way that it was now balanced precariously in the cup holder, ready to fall onto Thomas at the slightest provocation.
Officer Burke stood on the curb by what was by all appearances a nice,
cozy home full of love and good memories. Thomas noticed a Chevy
Malibu and a Ford Expedition in the driveway and exhaled sharply,
regretting the news that he had to deliver to this boy's parents and
family. He finally walked up to the door of the house and knocked
firmly, another soft sigh escaping his lips.
The door opened quickly and standing there was a man with graying hair
who looked quite worried. This worry deepened as he saw that it was a
police officer, not his son standing in the doorway.
"Can I help you Officer?" The man, who must have been William's
father, inquired. There were footsteps and a woman appeared in the
doorway, William's mother.
"Yes, may I come inside?" Officer Burke inquired, never really
enjoying this part of the job.
Maybe it was something about the way he said it, but in that single
moment, Thomas could see that Mrs. Hitchcock had some sort of idea as
to what sort of news that Thomas had come to deliver. She burst out
into loud sobs almost immediately.
The further memories of that evening continued to play through Thomas' mind as his vehicle finally came to a rest across the railroad tracks. There was a slight hissing noise as the front tires rolled over multiple shards of broken glass and metal that may have remnants of what was at one time Carter Horton's car. Just as abruptly as the car had begun rolling forward, it stopped rolling; the tires now completely flattened by the roadway detritus, and the coffee cup mere millimeters from tumbling.
William's parents were crushed by the news that despite the fact that
a few weeks before, William and others had 'cheated' death in that
horrific airline accident, he was now just as dead as those who had
been killed on that day.
"I'm so sorry that this happened, I'm sure it must be difficult."
Thomas attempted to console the grieving parents.
"Yes, dear" Mr. Hitchcock consoled his wife; "at least we still have
one son, unlike the Waggners."
Mrs. Hitchcock continued weeping for the duration of Officer Burke's
visit, while Mr. Hitchcock detachedly took all the information as to
when they could claim the body and etcetera. As Thomas left the
house, he took one final look at the house that was now bereft of one
of its inhabitants, leaving the survivors to grieve. It really was a
pity that he had to be the one to deliver this kind of news, but at
least it beat being shot at he thought as he unlocked his cruiser,
climbed in and backed down the driveway. It was a real shame.
Suddenly Thomas was wrenched from his quiet reverie by the sound of a railroad-crossing bell and the crossing's cordons descending into place. With a jolt, Thomas realized that he was now sitting directly in the middle of a railroad crossing. This jolt is just enough to send the coffee spilling onto the power locking system, causing them to malfunction and lock up, trapping the helpless Officer in the car. With a shrill blast of a train's horn, Thomas realized that Death, the great equalizer of all, had come for him finally.
The sound of the train's brakes was the last sound that reached Officer Thomas Burke before the jolt came. The sensation of being both crushed and torn apart was the last sensation he would ever feel, a dark shadow the last thing he would ever see, and just before the darkness claimed him, the last thought his mind would ever generate began to echo through his head:
"Oh God, it's started all over again."
That night he had to clean up the remains of one William Sean
Hitchcock, a Senior at Mount Abraham Senior High School according to
his student ID and his recently-issued driver's license. There was
blood everywhere. Blood was glittering on the ground in the
moonlight, glistening on the cold iron of the train tracks, and all
over the decapitated torso that had fallen by the tracks. The air was
heavy with the sickly-sweet aroma of blood and the oppressive stench
that he couldn't identify definitely until a year later. That was the
smell of Death itself.
Mentally Thomas flashed forward to later that night when he had to assist the Medical Examiner with informing the family. As this next section of memories began to flash across his conscious mind, his foot eased up on the brake pedal just slightly, causing the car to begin to slowly roll into the crossing. As the wheels jolted lightly from going over the tracks, Officer Burke's coffee cup jarred in such a way that it was now balanced precariously in the cup holder, ready to fall onto Thomas at the slightest provocation.
Officer Burke stood on the curb by what was by all appearances a nice,
cozy home full of love and good memories. Thomas noticed a Chevy
Malibu and a Ford Expedition in the driveway and exhaled sharply,
regretting the news that he had to deliver to this boy's parents and
family. He finally walked up to the door of the house and knocked
firmly, another soft sigh escaping his lips.
The door opened quickly and standing there was a man with graying hair
who looked quite worried. This worry deepened as he saw that it was a
police officer, not his son standing in the doorway.
"Can I help you Officer?" The man, who must have been William's
father, inquired. There were footsteps and a woman appeared in the
doorway, William's mother.
"Yes, may I come inside?" Officer Burke inquired, never really
enjoying this part of the job.
Maybe it was something about the way he said it, but in that single
moment, Thomas could see that Mrs. Hitchcock had some sort of idea as
to what sort of news that Thomas had come to deliver. She burst out
into loud sobs almost immediately.
The further memories of that evening continued to play through Thomas' mind as his vehicle finally came to a rest across the railroad tracks. There was a slight hissing noise as the front tires rolled over multiple shards of broken glass and metal that may have remnants of what was at one time Carter Horton's car. Just as abruptly as the car had begun rolling forward, it stopped rolling; the tires now completely flattened by the roadway detritus, and the coffee cup mere millimeters from tumbling.
William's parents were crushed by the news that despite the fact that
a few weeks before, William and others had 'cheated' death in that
horrific airline accident, he was now just as dead as those who had
been killed on that day.
"I'm so sorry that this happened, I'm sure it must be difficult."
Thomas attempted to console the grieving parents.
"Yes, dear" Mr. Hitchcock consoled his wife; "at least we still have
one son, unlike the Waggners."
Mrs. Hitchcock continued weeping for the duration of Officer Burke's
visit, while Mr. Hitchcock detachedly took all the information as to
when they could claim the body and etcetera. As Thomas left the
house, he took one final look at the house that was now bereft of one
of its inhabitants, leaving the survivors to grieve. It really was a
pity that he had to be the one to deliver this kind of news, but at
least it beat being shot at he thought as he unlocked his cruiser,
climbed in and backed down the driveway. It was a real shame.
Suddenly Thomas was wrenched from his quiet reverie by the sound of a railroad-crossing bell and the crossing's cordons descending into place. With a jolt, Thomas realized that he was now sitting directly in the middle of a railroad crossing. This jolt is just enough to send the coffee spilling onto the power locking system, causing them to malfunction and lock up, trapping the helpless Officer in the car. With a shrill blast of a train's horn, Thomas realized that Death, the great equalizer of all, had come for him finally.
The sound of the train's brakes was the last sound that reached Officer Thomas Burke before the jolt came. The sensation of being both crushed and torn apart was the last sensation he would ever feel, a dark shadow the last thing he would ever see, and just before the darkness claimed him, the last thought his mind would ever generate began to echo through his head:
"Oh God, it's started all over again."