Wet (785 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.85 on 29 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Saffron (View user info) at 2005-11-07 23:28:21 EST
Wet was about the only thing she respected. She understood the need to slow down in it, that beyond the slick it brought things unseen to the surface; caustics that made things dangerous. Her normal mode of travel was at minimum 10 miles per hour over the speed limit in town. Except in school zones. Kids were stupid. That went double for their parents. She understood her car and had an inherent spidey sense when it came to police presence. But the wet made her mindful, cautious.
The wipers had a personality of their own. Something $200 would fix. They would stay on until they either warmed sufficiently or the motor was cut. Intermittent was a series of two to five journeys across the windshield versus the standard one before the break. It was random. It was worth the $200 to ignore.
The rain was coming down in fat lazy droplets. A nice change from the mist that obscured as it seeped into your bones and frizzed your hair. The kind of rain you want to dance in.
The wipers caught their rhythm and settled into background noise. Lights replicated in street shine became obnoxious. An SUV with blue halogens pulled up behind her, blinding her. She flipped the rear view mirror up and adjusted the side mirrors to reflect the offending white back where it came. She hated sharing the road with SUV's. They were a hazard; impossible to see around and adept at flooding the cabin of the car with light. The driver honked in protest at being blinded. She made bunny rabbit finger puppets in the light in response. It was more amusing than a single fingered response and it is always important to amuse oneself as often as possible.
The light turned green.
It had been less than a year since the last series of rains. How was it that people forgot how to handle themselves in between ? She understood slowing by 10 miles an hour, but not TO 10 miles an hour. For christ's sake the idiot in front of her was being over taken by a fat commuter on a bicycle. Good for him for getting out there and getting the exercise. Too bad he has to wear a tarp in this danger zone while doing it.
The SUV, tired of the slow take off and the refracting side views, gunned its engine and pulled ahead of her, peppering the night with a series of non-interesting curses and honks. He hit the street car tracks and began to fishtail.
It never ceased to amaze her how time could slow down, how in what was to the outside world a matter of scant seconds could be transformed into a complicated series of decisions and reactions by those embroiled in the moment. Or not.
She hit her brakes. The anti lock's pulsed under her right foot. The Honda in front of her decided to swerve out of harm's way rather than gun it and he began to slide. She didn't want to see this. Didn't want to hear the sick sound of plastic crunch and she feared for the man in the tarp. She couldn't make out where he was. She closed her eyes, relaxed into the possible collision and exhaled.
She heard the impact. It sounded bigger than it should have. The SUV had fishtailed into Honda, who was already sliding towards the guard rail. They had blessedly missed both her and the man on the bike. She inhaled slowly, aware that she had come our unscathed. The drivers were shaking themselves free of their initial shock and the driver of the SUV had begun screaming. He was at her window screaming. She rolled it down anticipating he needed her to ring someone for help.
He was screaming for her blood. Demanding her insurance information, threatening to sue her. "Fucking bitch, blinding me so I couldn't see, this is your fucking fault you fucking bitch," spittle mixed with the rain blowing into her car as he raised a fist.
She avoided it easily, noting that he was still shaking from the crash. "Sir, you need to calm down. Are you hurt ? Do you need me to call someone?"
"Cunt ass bitch fucking bitch motherfucker I am going to kill you!"
The Honda driver had made his way out of his car and was pecking away at his cell phone, distancing himself from the scene as it played out, unbelieving eyes witnessing the moment before the violence begins in earnest. She shot him a look that calmed him, a look of control and comfort. He got through to dispatch as the SUV driver reached inside her car.
She had removed her seatbelt after the first swing. He reached in and grabbed a hold of her sweater as she was pushing herself across the bucket seats, it pulled him into an awkward position.
"Sir, you need to let go and back the fuck out of my car or this is not going to end well for you."
He ducked his head and shoulders into the window as if he was going to climb in after her. She pulled her legs to her chest, took aim at his face and kicked, assuming her life depended on it. Both feet found purchase and he recoiled, nose broken, in a fit of curses. In his panic he did not clear the car on the first try and she let loose with a barrage of kicks that would have made her ninth grade swim coach proud.
She got the window back up, locked the doors and began to fumble for the phone when she noticed the new lights dancing on the wet. They were red and blue and for the first time in her life, a welcome sight.
They took statements. They asked her if she wanted to press assault charges. She entertained the thought for a moment. She looked over at the squad car, saw a dejected cuffed man with blood running down his face. She smiled at the idea that he would look like a raccoon tomorrow and wondered how he would tell the story. "Yes I do".
The officer gave her a puzzled look, " You are going to add insult to the injuries you gave that man?"
"Bets on him dragging me into court over this incident ? I'm guessing he has an over developed sense of blame."
"Ma'am, don't you think you could cut the guys some slack ? You busted his nose up pretty good."
"I don't see anyone here overly concerned by the fact that he attacked me. He attacked you, he got cuffed. He hit that Honda, he and his insurance company will have to work that out. What about my justice? "
"Ma'am, that man over there is a Judge. I'm guessing the facts of tonight's little escapade are going to cost him more than that busted Honda. "
"Has he ever done anything like this before ?"
"Nothing on the record."
"I'll take that as a 'yes'. I plan on being on the record sir, that man over there is in some deep need of counseling before he kills someone with his stupidity and temper."
The officer leaned in close, " I was hoping you'd say that, but you understand that given my job......" he trailed off in near embarrassment for the fact that he had an unspoken obligation to protect and serve some more than others.
"Happy to oblige sir."
The rain swapped gears and began to come down sideways waltzing under the streetlamps and dampening the noise of the street. She respected wet. It brought things unseen to the surface; caustics that made things dangerous. And it washed them away.
User Reviews
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2005-11-08 16:36:55 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
well written
Submitted by scourge (user info) at 2005-11-08 15:53:51 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Hmmm, I like this. More please.
Submitted by freebie (user info) at 2005-11-08 15:39:22 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Quality.
Submitted by joedaddy (user info) at 2005-11-08 15:35:15 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2005-11-08 06:41:00 (#)
Ranking: 1
Jo, it's a work of fiction. It's not real.
*****
ya think?
Submitted by skrapmetal (user info) at 2005-11-08 15:26:45 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Damn fine work.
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2005-11-08 15:23:37 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
nice.
Submitted by punkerrjess (user info) at 2005-11-08 14:52:13 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
"She understood slowing by 10 miles an hour, but not TO 10 miles an hour."
Sounds like Vegas drivers when it rains.
Really really well written, keep up the good work.
Submitted by jack11058 (user info) at 2005-11-08 14:39:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
damn near publishable.
Submitted by EAZEDZT (user info) at 2005-11-08 14:27:04 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Better than the majority of the crap here. Keep writing, I for one look forward to it.
Submitted by Stin (user info) at 2005-11-08 12:32:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I liked this a lot. I wanted more, which is always a good thing.
Nice job.
Submitted by Maddog (user info) at 2005-11-08 08:53:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Good flow, good imagery, good story.
Submitted by b0bbieb0b (user info) at 2005-11-08 08:36:09 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Best post I've read lately. Previous feedback is good, but they probably fail to see the artistry in Terminator movies too.
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2005-11-08 06:41:00 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Jo, it's a work of fiction. It's not real.
It's not a question of whether or not there is a moral dilemma, it is simply that she took Dickens and ended it with a gun battle in a public school. Whilst that does work from time to time, it didn't work here.
In an nutshell; she went from the sublime to the riciculous.
Submitted by Siren (user info) at 2005-11-08 06:40:33 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Good story.
Submitted by joedaddy (user info) at 2005-11-08 06:27:55 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I would be the first to admit that I'm not the most sophisticated user on this site
but I failed to see where she displayed a desire other than to protect her interests
and rights. Her conversation to the police officer was factual and included no
personal prejudice.
So she didn't want to give a judge a free pass.
Do you actually think that Judge has more value than she does, especially after such
conduct?
Or should certain people get a free pass no matter what.
I'd have to admit that I've seen that happen many, many times.
But,...... what the hell do I know about situations like this.
However I would speculate a certain amount of self-projection was contained in your responses.
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2005-11-08 05:34:41 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Submitted by joedaddy (user info) at 2005-11-08 05:14:39 (#)
Ranking: 2
Obviously my British friends have no comprehension, or do not want to accept, the
vulnerability that exists when a person sticks their head into an automobile window.
-----------
The point is not that we're saying: "A woman defeat a man in a physical way? phhfft! Ridiculous!"
We're saying that you start of with a lovely piece of writing about driving, detatchment and that weird thing where you look at cars and see giant square people.
Then it's like "Action woman driver: The greatest hero of them all!" and bravado and judges and police and "Now I will struggle to overthrow the forces of injustice present in our legal system following my weekly shop!" and it all just got a bit silly.
Submitted by joedaddy (user info) at 2005-11-08 05:14:39 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Obviously my British friends have no comprehension, or do not want to accept, the
vulnerability that exists when a person sticks their head into an automobile window.
It also seems to me that they also have problems accepting the gender of the
individual who's doing the ass kicking while sitting in that same car.
<sigh>
anda 1 anda 2.........
Macho Macho Man
No Woman's Gonna Kick
A Macho Man Ass
Submitted by zoobie2000 (user info) at 2005-11-08 05:00:35 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2005-11-08 04:42:00 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Apollo said it all. You'd have been golden if you'd just avoided going OTT heroic. I sympathise though, I can't do endings either.
Submitted by FunnyAsCancer (user info) at 2005-11-08 04:20:50 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Yep. What apollo said.
Submitted by joedaddy (user info) at 2005-11-08 03:46:14 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Good and accurate enough to remind me of actual accidents and the reports that followed
Submitted by GodChicken (user info) at 2005-11-08 00:08:05 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
you're getting better.
Submitted by Flapjacksupreme (user info) at 2005-11-07 23:53:32 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Saxon (user info) at 2005-11-07 23:53:15 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
A good read, you may be a new poster to watch for.
Submitted by domenad (user info) at 2005-11-07 23:47:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
I thought this was really good, really good, but I sort of agree with Apollo. Somewhere in there it seemed to go off track.
Submitted by Bob_Dole (user info) at 2005-11-07 23:46:55 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
well written
Submitted by simple_catalyst (user info) at 2005-11-07 23:44:24 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
damn good.
Submitted by ghola (user info) at 2005-11-07 23:39:17 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
interesting.
what spawned this idea?
Submitted by apollo88 (user info) at 2005-11-07 23:39:07 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
started good but ended, well, cliche and american cliche. the worst kind.
carry on.