Page 7 - Tank

Until he stopped the vehicle. Out of nowhere this misshapen hulk of a man
appeared. He’d run from the other side of the road. Slammed his entire body into
the speeding Humvee.
Everyone who witnessed the event agreed. It was unbelievable. A surreal scene.
The man slammed his body into the vehicle. Gripped the driver’s side corner and
wrapped his arm into the wheel well. Then, beyond all plausibility, the man hefted
the vehicle off the ground. All while the little girl stood still.
The misshapen man slammed the vehicle down. Held on as it bounced. By this
time, the momentum of the vehicle was gone. The front driver’s side was smashed
into the wheel. The driver had been knocked into the windshield. The passengers
tossed about like ping pong balls.
The man once again told about being able to watch but not move. He watched as
the misshapen man slid to the ground. Jerked his arm free from the underside of the
car. Described in horrid detail the way the now grotesque figure of a human being’s
man’s right eye hung from its socket. The way his face was twisted too far to the
right. The shape of the man’s jaw from the impact. The way teeth flew as he tried to
speak.
The misshapen man’s arm was no better. Skin and flesh were ripped away enough
to expose bone. His right hand a mangle of blood and tissue. His chest all but
crushed and his leg showed bone sticking out.
And yet? All the witnesses said the same thing. Once the man collapsed, the young
girl took the man’s hand. Helped him back across the street. Sat with him as blood
gurgled from his ripped mouth. Wiped his face with her dress. Petted his matted
hair. Hair matted with blood and bone and what looked like greyish material.
The misshapen man finally managed to speak. His words labored. His attempts
juvenile. The EMT asked him why he did it. His words were simple.

“Me not important,” the man said as he struggled to speak. “Girl is. Save Girl.
Must save girl. Must…save…girl.”
As the bleeding hulk of bone and flesh faded into unconsciousness, more words
flowed.
“Momma,” escaped with a hiss. “Momma. It hurts Momma. It hurts so bad. Help
me Momma. Please.”