Stop the Car.

Stop the car, I'm getting out.

The driver's eyes flashed at me contempuously in the rear view mirror and returned to the road.

Man, I said, stop the car. I slid to the rear passenger side door. I'm getting out, I said, flatly.

I pulled the latch and pushed the door into the current of air flowing past the passengers' side. The driver looked angrily at the rear view mirror, slowed the car, and pulled the car to the right.

What the hell are you doing? The door alarm screamed angrily as the atmosphere blew out the back.

I'm getting out of the car, you moron, I said, being careful to enunciate.

Hey! Are you crazy! The driver was yelling at me now, his reddened face flashing between the rearview and the shoulder ahead. The car rolled to a stop in the scattered gravel. I stepped out of the car into the daylight and stood beside the car.

Yah, go to hell... He strained as he yelled at the mirror.

Ok. Good luck. I did not move.

Hey! Close the door! Close the damn door! I didn't move. He reached around the back of the passengers seat, twisting and extending his neck to curse me directly. Close the damn door!

Close it yourself, you idiot.

The driver slammed both hands onto the steering wheel. In one motion, his door flew open and he stepped out, and slammed his door shut. His lip muscles pulled taught across his teeth in an sarcastic smile. He was shaking, he was so enraged. He trained his teeth and eyes on me as he came around to shut the door.

As soon as he rounded the hood of the car, I sat down in my seat and locked the door. I saw him stop in his tracks and bring his hands down on to the hood of the car. No!

I stood to reach the powerlock, which dropped shut just as the driver reached for the passengers' side handle. I threw myself into the front seat of the car, positioned myself carefully in the driver's seat.

The driver was rabid now, yelling and hitting the car intermittantly as I fastened my seatbelt and readjusted the mirror.

As I pulled away, I lowered the windows with the power switch on the arm rest. First the front windows, then the back. You are not a smart man.

He grabbed the window pane as I rolled by, cursing and yelling. I tapped the gas and the car slipped out of his fingers.

Hey! Hey!

In the rear view mirror I could see him sprinting, almost on top of the trunk. Stop the car! he said, STOP THE CAR!

I stood on the break pedal with both feet, closed my eyes, and felt the car lurch forward as his body slammed into and over the trunk and rear windshield. When I opened my eyes, my rear view was clear. I activated the left turn signal and pulled carefully into the lane.

When I had reached the speed limit, I checked the rear view. Clear. I thought about turning on the radio when my cell phone began to ring.

At this point in the dream I woke up, sneezing. My mouth was dry and sour, and I had 12 good minutes before my alarm had been set to go off. I rolled out of bed, into the bathroom, and yawning and reaching with two hands I turned on the bathroom light, fan and clock radio all at once. I splashed some water into my mouth and checked my face in the mirror.

Nah, I thought, I'll shave tomorrow.