Dark Grid by David C. Waldron Page B

be President,” Joel made air quotes to emphasize the last word.
    “Carey, I’m serious…get out of the way.”  Joel just wanted to leave and escalating the situation wasn’t going to help.  Although it was the last thing in the world he wanted to do he needed to convince Carey move.
    “You aren’t in charge like you think you are.” Joel said.  “Maybe at some point you will be and that will be great and I’m sure you’ll do a fine job.  Three housefuls of people leaving aren’t going to make a difference in the long run either way, but we’re going.”
    “No you aren’t; you can’t go.  I forbid you to leave!”
     “Listen to yourself.  You can’t forbid me from doing anything.  Move or you’re going to get run over.  Truck versus human--the truck wins every time.”
    Rachael had opened her door by now and stepped out.  “Carey, please just move.  Please.”
    “Hon, get back in the truck.” Joel said, without taking his eyes off of Carey.
    “Better yet, why don’t you go back in the house,” Carey said, with a distinct lack of respect.
    “Don’t ever talk to my wife again, period.”  Now Joel was mad.  That was a line you didn’t cross.  “You have nothing to say to her or any other member of my family, but especially her, ever.”
    “Right, and I suppose you’re going to stand up for the rest of your little brood too aren’t you, starting with your daughter?  Like mother like daughter?  The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree?  Learned it all from her mom, the little…”
    Joel didn’t even remember making the fist but he certainly remembered the satisfying meaty feeling when it hit Carey in the middle of his face.  He was also very gratified to see Carey land squarely on his butt almost three feet away with his hands over his nose and mouth.  When he pulled them away, already covered with blood, the look on his face was one of purest shock.  And then he spoke.
    “I’m going to SUE YOU!”
    It took almost three full seconds for the words to register with Joel, but when they did he laughed out loud.  Exactly the kind of deep, stress-relieving belly laugh he’d needed ever since the power went out yesterday.  “Are you kidding me?  You still don’t get it!  You’re the one who told me ‘it’s the end of the world’ and you still don’t get it !  Well you were right.  There, are you happy?  I said it, you were right!  You’re going to sue me?  With what?  For what?  Where?  HOW?  It’s over Carey!  I don’t trust you or the bulk of the people in this neighborhood in a crisis so I’m leaving with the people I do trust.  Now get out of the way or I’m going to run you over and not even look in the rear-view mirror when I’m done.”
    Joel turned around and got back in the Suburban and put it in gear.  To his credit, he did in fact drive around a scurrying Carey to avoid hitting him.  He also looked in his rear-view mirror to make sure nobody else hit him either.
    …
    Traffic wasn’t as bad as they had feared it would be on the turnpikes and parkways by now.  Most people had realized there wasn’t going to be anything to do at work the previous day and the majority of traffic seemed aimless and sporadic.  There were a larger than normal number of police on the road, but that was probably more a matter of ratio than actual numbers.  They passed a couple of convoys like their own headed in the opposite direction, each consisting of five or six cars and trucks.  One even had a surplus school bus, although Eric wouldn’t have wanted to be in that for much longer than absolutely necessary.
    The couple of times they saw RVs Joel was openly jealous.  “We’re going to be sleeping in tents, most likely, and they’ve got a hotel on wheels…so unfair.”
    Rachael was a bit more pragmatic in her approach to the situation.  “Yes dear, and they get a whole 1.2 gallons to the mile and we have no idea how soon, or even if , we’re