The rain hasn't stopped since the machines took control. I sit in my car, watching the drops fall on my windows, like watching the world melt around me. The sound is like a million small bugs hitting my windshield at super speed.

At first, we thought it would be a quick trip to the store, just to pick up some smokes, and maybe some beef jerky.

My wife and i were just having a quiet night, watching some old cheesy horror flick, trying to figure out what we wanted to do for dinner. I wanted Chinese, but of course the wife wanted a burrito, so we compromised. I also got a burrito.

As we settled in to eat, a news bulletin pops up in place of the vampire werewolf was just about to catch his next victim (who ran upstairs, of course), and we were brought to attention by the news anchor just about screaming about something

 

along the lines of "hide your wife, hide your kids, blah blah blah". I don't listen much to news.

My wife turns to me, and says, "Hey hon, what was in that burrito you ordered for me? It was good, but tasted a little different."

I told her that i ordered the usual, beef, rice, beans, all the good stuff.

"But I saw that they had a new hot sauce, and I figured we would give that a go. Tastes a bit earthy, but it wasn't bad."

She says "Oh, that's what was different. I liked it, but it's not really agreeing with my stomach."

"Are you ok? Want me to run to the store for some pepto?" I asked.

She says "Ya, but let's go together, I want out of the house for a bit, get some fresh air."

And so we went. Luckily, the gas station/

 

convenience store was right down the street. I hate going out after eating, but you know what they say, happy wife, happy life.

Now, I can't be sure on what happened next, but I can definitely tell you, it was unexpected.

We got into the car, and started driving. By the time I had gotten out of the driveway, I was starting to feel like my wife looked. Pale, dizzy, and definitely not good to drive. My judgement took a bad turn, and I decided since the store was just down the street, that it would be fine.

After that, I don't really remember the drive. I remember it was dark, and the streetlights had a halo of a glow around them. I asked my wife if she saw the same, and she nodded her head yes.

We must've gotten to the store, because as I sit in my car now, I have the bottle of pepto, a huge bottle of canadian clear

 

raspberry flavored water, and a pack of Pall Malls. God, I'm thirsty.

At this point, I think I am trying to get back to the street, but there is a line up of cars waiting ahead of me. I sit back, take a big drink of water, and wait for the halo of brake lights to disappear. As they do, I feel something grab my car, maybe from underneath, but I can't be sure, and we are pushed forward.

The next thing I know, rain comes down. Hard, like, harder than I've ever seen. Again, I ask my wife if she sees and hears the same, and she nods, wide eyed, staring out of her window. I look past her, and see a giant mechanical arm. It's comes within inches of the car, and I realize that it's about to hit the windshield. I push my wife's head down, and duck, waiting for the impact. But it never comes.

We waited there for what seemed like an

 

eternity, until whatever was pushing us stops, along with the downpour we were witnessing moments earlier.

I look up, afraid to see some giant robot whose arm was the thing I saw in the rain. But, I don't see anything except 2 cop cars, lights on, directly in front of our car. The lights did not help me regain my orientation. One of the officers are now at my windows, and knocks with his flashlight. As my dread subsides just a little, the officer at my windows asks if we are OK.

"I think so, but I'm not exactly sure what's going on."

The police officer responds with "Sir, do you live at 16 downsea court?"

"Yes sir, but how do you know that? And what is going on? We got stuck in a crazy rain storm. I thought the machines arm was going to tear the top off the car, and

 

snatch us up like tic tacs out of the box, and chew us to bits!"

The officer, obviously a little irritated with my words and manic behavior, replies, "Sir, we have reason to believe that you have ingested illegal mushrooms from a burrito store that you ordered from about an hour ago. We responded to a customer feeling out of sorts, and found that a disgruntled employee had been putting magic mushrooms in the burritos all evening."

"We got a call from the gas station attendant that there was a car inside the car wash, going back and forth for about 30 minutes, and found that your car is registered to a person who had ordered from them."

I say "What?!? So, there is no hostile robot takeover, or an acid rain storm?"

"No Sir. Why would you think that?"

"Because the news said something really

 

bad was happening, and then all this shit happens!"

So, as it turns out, there were no robots, no machine take over, and the rain was a goddamn car wash.

 

By Joe Cromen

March 13, 2020.

 

 

The End