My little red car thrumming along
Driving north to work
The road wet with a recent rain
Tall clouds all around
Lit in unusual ways by the rising sun
Unseen but illuminating everything
In a half light kind of way
The occasional lightning making an appearance
I listen to the radio
And the sound of the tires
Wetly tracking along the pavement
At a sedate 55 stay alive rate
Everything is not right
Everything is not wrong
Everything just is
In this way
I smell it
Almost the same time as I see it
A skunk
Lying dead in the road
It's intense smell permeating the world
Burning tires
Smashed rotten garlic
Whatever it smells like to you
That's what it was
Turned up to "10" on the amplifier
Unbidden
A memory runs to the front of my mind
A memory I try to push back
I push it back halfheartedly with other ones
I think of a time fifteen years ago
Not far from this spot
A lonely country road
An empty small farmhouse
With a white picket fenced yard
Right up next to the road
Overgrown with grass and wildflowers
Containing nothing more amazing
Than a baby skunk
Rolling itself in the grass and flowers
Looking for all wonderfulness
Like a scene from a Disney movie
We had stopped and stared at the little thing
So obviously enjoying itself
And taking no note of our presence
A small selfless joy
On a hot summer day
But my dark memories drive me
And drive that nice skunk memory out
Bringing the three ton door set with it
Stacked and rolling
On solid steel wheels
Driven by chains
Hooked to electric motors buried in the base
The Pratt blue hangar doors rolled
Slowly and accompanied by a loud buzzer
Opening the hangar wide
To allow the exit of our Boeing 747
All set to fly on this summer morning
I was walking slowly at the door's pace
As it slowly covered the sixty odd feet it had to go
When the smell started
Burning rubber
Smashed rotten garlic
And strong
Like right next to me strong
It had me looking around
There HAD to be a skunk around here
The door soon revealed the source
When out of the end of the door
Right next to where I was walking
Holding the 'travel' button
The three ton steel door gave birth
To a shiny red wet creature
It slid out at the pace of the doors movement
Not too fast or too slow
It looked like a fat red bloody rat
And attached to it's long tail
Was something.......
It was a pelt
An inside out black and white furry pelt
Burning rubber
Smashed rotten garlic
The creature was making a noise
It's mouth was open
Lidless eyes staring up at me
Making a soft breathy little scream
I took a step back
My heart skipping beats
Horrified at what I was seeing
This skunk had been nesting inside the door
It had gotten caught up in the chain drive
And the relentless force had skinned it alive
Burning rubber
Smashed rotten garlic
I felt panic for it
I looked at it laying there
Looking at me
Making it's screaming noise
Laying right on top of the steel rail that the door rode upon
My eyes started to water
It must have been from the smell
I took a step back to it
And pushed it's little head so it rested on the steel rail
With the toe of my boot
Then I stomped on it as hard as I could
Then again
And again
My horror at seeing it like that
My knowing that there isn't any coming back from something like that
My having to do what I did
Burning rubber
Smashed rotten garlic
My eyes smeared up
It's the smell dammit
I finished opening the door
I watched the wing as the plane was pushed out
I went and got a shovel
I took the skunk across the ramp
I dug a hole
I buried it
I washed down the rails and the concrete with a hose
Trying to wash it all away
The blood
The burning rubber
The smashed rotten garlic
Though it was the wrong time of year
I couldn't get it out of my head
What if it was a female?
What if there were babies in that door somewhere?
I grabbed my tools and removed the access panels
I looked everywhere I could with my flashlight and mirror
All I found were some scraps of skin and black and white fur
Stuck to the chain
Stuck to the gears
And more of that smell
Burning rubber
Smashed rotten garlic
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