Oh the Humanity

I walked out of my apartment to a typical Friday morning and immediately began sweating. With my head shaking in what can almost be defined as disgust, I began to unlock my bike from the railing. The familiar clicks and clinkings filled the quiet air as I complained to myself about being tired and already hot and at the same time trying to remember my French words for the vocabulary test I hadn't really studied for. Today began the same as every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning had so far, little did I know that I would have the chance to save a life.
As I kept my routine going of riding out of my apartment complex and onto California, I began my trek the 1/2 mile to the bike rack where I secure my bike every morning. My tires began their usual hum as I gradually got up to cruising speed. My mind wandered, still half asleep so it took me a while for it to wrap itself around what the scene I was about to witness.
"What the..." I said to myself before the rude awakening hit me like that proverbial ton of bricks. A movement in the middle of the road had caught my eye. The cutest, most innocent, little black kitten I had ever seen had just been thrown into the air by some blend of rubber and asphalt. We made eye contact as I rode by and its mouth opened in a cry that was covered up by the roar of engines all around his small, frail body. As I looked around to see if anybody was chasing the little kitten or was planning on helping them, my eyes landed on another forsaken kitten. I will probably never forget this little bundle of innocence as it pushed itself towards the safety of the sidewalk on its back legs while its mangled front limbs and head dragged across the pavement. I feel like I could see the pain and absolute bewilderment that were on each kitten's face.
But the worst part of the situation is that I did nothing. I rode by slowly and immediately came up with a myriad of excuses why I should do nothing. The most prominent being that I am allergic to cats, they were already too hurt to survive, and I can't run in front of the now fast approaching truck. I looked over my shoulder at this angel of death as it flew towards the kittens, who both lay in its path. My head turned away right before the menacing, black tires whired over their soft, and small bodies.
Why didn't I do anything? What kind of person just lets kittens die like that? I can tell myself that I didn't have time to get there before that truck hit them, and while that is definitely true, I still feel like I should have tried to stop the truck. I feel as it I just failed a character test. I am no hero. The worst part is I can still see those kittens and hear the sounds of traffic all around. I can smell the warming pavement and can feel the wind on my face as a cruised by.
What a way to start a Friday right?