The Next Accident Read Online Free PDF

He rose shakily to his feet, covered in goo. His mother sighed and passed away.
    Sitting too far away to help, Rainie heard herself cry, "Run little guy, run." Though she didn't know yet why she was afraid.
    The hour-old baby leaned against his mother, trying to nurse a corpse. Finally, he staggered away.
    Rainie followed him through the desert. The air shimmered with heat, the hard-baked earth cracked beneath their feet. The orphaned elephant uttered little moans as he searched for food, for companionship. He came to a grove of sagging trees and rubbed his body against the thick trunks.
    "The newborn pachyderm mistakes the tree trunks for his mother's legs,"
Rainie heard an unseen narrator report.
"He rubs against them to announce his presence and seek comfort. When none comes, the exhausted creature continues his search for badly needed water in the midst of this savage drought."
    "Run little guy, run," Rainie whispered again.
    The baby lurched forward. Hours passed. The baby began to stumble more. Collapsing into the unforgiving ground. Heaving himself back up and continuing on.
    "He must find water,"
the narrator droned.
"In desert life, water means the difference between life and death."
    Suddenly, a herd of elephants appeared on the horizon. As they neared, Rainie could see other young calves running protectively in the shade of their mothers' bulk. When the herd paused, the babies stopped to nurse, and the mothers stroked them with their trunks.
    She was relieved. Other elephants had arrived, the orphan would be saved.
    The herd came closer. The baby ran to them, bleating his joy. And the head bull elephant stepped forward, picked up the infant with his trunk, and hurtled him away. The nine-hour-old baby landed hard. He didn't move.
    The narrator commented again.
"It is not uncommon for a herd of elephants to adopt an orphan into its midst. The aggressive behaviour you see here is indicative of the severity of the drought. The herd is already under stress trying to sustain its own members, and thus is not willing to add to their group. Indeed, the bull elephant sees the newborn as a threat to his herd's survival and acts accordingly. "
    Rainie was trying to run to the downed infant. The desert grew broader, vaster. She couldn't get there. "Run little guy, run."
    The baby finally stirred. He shook his head, climbed unsteadily to his feet. His legs trembled. She thought he was going to go down again, then he bowed his head, pulled himself together, and the shaking stopped.
    The passing herd was still in sight. The baby ran after them.
    A younger bull elephant turned, paused, then kicked the tiny form in the head. The baby fell back. Cried. Tried again. Two other male elephants turned. He ran to them. They slammed him to the ground. He staggered back up. They slammed him back down. The baby kept coming, crying, crying, crying. And they pummeled him into the hard, cracked earth. Then they turned and ponderously moved on.
    "Run little guy, run," Rainie whispered. She had tears on her cheeks.
    The infant crawled wearily to his feet. There was blood on his head. Flies buzzed around the torn flesh. One of his eyes had swollen shut. Nine hours of life, all of it cruel, and still he fought to live another.
    He took a step. Then one more. Step-by-step, he followed the main elephant herd, no longer bothering to cry and no longer getting near enough to be charged.
    Three hours later, the sun sank low and the herd found a shallow pool of water. One by one, the elephants went into the water. According to the narrator, the newborn orphan was waiting for them to be done, then he would have his turn.
    Rainie finally breathed easier. It was going to be all right now. The animals had found water, they would feel less threatened, they would help the orphan. He had persisted, and now everything would be all right. That's the way it works. You bear the unbearable. You earn the happily-ever-after.
    She thought that right up to the moment when