The Sorrows of Snow

Blair stood watching the snowfall, from his office window at the University. He hadn’t noticed when it had started, but at this point the snow was falling heavily and there was a good inch on the ground. Turning back around he decided to forgo trying to finish the rest of the grading here and packed things up so he could head home. Blair really didn’t want to be out in this mess any longer then necessary. It was the first snowfall of the year and they were always the worst to drive in. The snowplow and sanding trucks took forever to get out and then there were the drivers that had never driven in snow before. Either they went to fast or drove down the road at two miles per hour. Either way it was going to be hazardous.

Picking up the last of the papers and putting them in his backpack to protect them from the falling snow, Blair took one last look around to make sure he wasn’t forgetting something. He did not want to come back tonight and the college was probably going to be canalled the next day if it kept snowing heavily. Locking the door to his office, he made his way down the stairs only stopping once to tell a fellow professor that she might want to get home before it got worst. The other professor had her blind closed and wasn’t able to see outside. She thanked Blair and said she would be leaving in a few minutes when her husband arrived. He car didn’t have the traction to drive in the snow so he had called saying he was on his way. Blair bid her goodnight and made his way to his car.

He climbed in and thanked Jim silently for getting the heater in the car fixed. The detective refused to have his guide show up half frozen anywhere. He had made the comment about not being able to do paperwork as a popsicle and that it would save him money in the long run without have to pay the hospital bills that would occur from treating the pneumonia Blair would most likely come down with. However for whatever reason drove his Sentinel to have the heater fixed, Blair was just glad to be out of the cold and in a warming up car. Not that he got to stay there long. Grabbing the ice scraper, he preceded once again into the cold to scrap of the snow and ice that had formed on his windows. 

Soon he was on his way now, taking care to drive slowly and have plenty of time to stop. Even then however he slid from time to time. The roads were worst then he had imagined. A thin layer of ice had formed before it had snowed and even in places that had had a lot of traffic and looked bare was covered in ice. Already he had passed four minor accidents on the roads and he doubted he would get home without seeing more. He just hoped none would be too serious. 

Blair sat in front of a stoplight hoping it would hurry up and turn. He usually didn’t go this way but because of the snow he wanted to by pass the two hills between him and home. That meant sitting at the one stoplight in town that seemed to never turn green. Even as it did turn Blair hesitated and it was that which saved his life. However the car going the other direction wasn’t so lucky. The truck that had come sliding through the intersection slammed into the small car and they both plowed into a lamppost. The screeching of metal against metal seemed to last forever, and when it was over a dead silence fell over the intersection.

Grabbing the cell-phone that laid on the set next to him Blair dialed 911 as he exited his car and headed to help the people in the other two vehicles. As he gave the information to the 911 operator, the man that was driving the truck fell out. He kept repeating over and over again that he couldn’t stop. Handing the phone to the man and telling him to talk, Blair ran to the car. He had to climb over the truck to get to the driver side window since the light post crushed the passenger side in. 

The scene was one that would haunt his dreams for some time to come. Inside a young woman was pinned inside crying. Beside her was what was left of a baby seat. The force of the impact on the passanger door had crushed it. A small head could be seen, but that was it. The woman herself was badly hurt and Blair could do nothing but trying to comfort her. As Blair talked to her and held the young woman’s hand he watched the life spill out of her in the form of bright red blood. He wanted to trying to stop the flow of blood, but because of how the car and truck were situated he couldn’t reach. Even as he heard the first sirens he watched the young woman’s eyes slip shut and her take her last breath. He didn’t leave her side through until the firemen pulled him away.

Giving his statement to the officer that had shown up on the scene, Blair was soon free to go. The officer knew Blair from his work with Jim and told him that he could come in the next day and give a full statement. Then he offered to call Jim to come pick him up. Blair declined stating that he was only a few blocks from home. 

The sobbing words of the dying women filled Blair’s mind with grief as he drove home. As he finally pulled into a parking place at the loft he saw the first sanding truck making its rounds. With a sorrowful through he realized that it was a little late to stop one death tonight. Not that Blair knew that the cinders would have helped the truck stop any better at the light, but it might have helped. 

He took the elevator and was glad that for once it was working, because he wasn’t sure he had the strength to climb the stairs. Jim was waiting at the door from him the officer had called anyway. The Sentinel steered him towards a warm shower and when it was over sat down and listen as Blair talked out the pain. It was all he could do and the young guide dealt with the death of a member of his tribe.