The alarm clock blasted shocking Lunk awake.  He stared at the ceiling as the clock preceded to list off the things that needed to be done today.

"Get milk.  Call Mr.Stevens about the new account.  Take Trevor back to mothers.", The electronic voice crackled as he thought to himself, "Uhg, I don't want to take my son 'back to his mothers'.", mocking the electronic voice in his head.

He dragged himself up and went to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee.  He was cold.  He felt a chill.  He spoke loudly, "Thermostat 70 degrees.", thinking that would take the chill from the air.

He opened his refrigerator and it was completely empty.  Almost on cue his stomach ached.

He set his coffee down and walked into the hallway, "Trevor!  Time to get up, come on.  I have to take you back to your mothers before I go to work...don't make me late again.".

He finished buttoning his shirt.  Still feeling such a chill.

"Weather.", he said loudly, almost fearing the report.  This time a more pleasant voice came over the speakers, "Today will be a high of 10 million degrees with a slight chance of radiation.  Visibility will be zero for the rest of the day."

He picked up his coffee cup which was empty, thinking to himself, "I thought I got coffee.", just as he realized the time.

"Trevor!", he walked into the hallway, and opened the door to his sons room.  His son standing there dressed, "I'm ready." he said.

As they drove he reached down to turn up the heat, but it was already all the way up.  He looked over and his son had the window down as the cool air blew in giving him a chill.  "Shut that window.  It's too cold for that today."

As the window closed Lunk said goodbye and hugged his son. As he drove to work, realizing the time he pushed himself.  He pressed the accelerator down as far as it would go and looked at his speedometer, he was only going 25.

"Come on, I'm going to be late again."

The main streets were congested, so he decided to go another way to work, following the longer but less used roads through the burbs.

"Current speed?", he asked as the voice responded with a slight German accent, "25 miles per hour."  "No good, no good..." he repeated to himself as he pushed as hard as he could on the accelerator and shifted the gears up and down through all of them over and over again trying to get more speed.  The limits on back roads had not been raised to 100 miles per hour yet, but he was sure that even at the standard 75 he could get to work on time, if he could just get the vehicle to cooperate.

He looked over and his sons window was down, and the cool wind blew in chilling him to the bone. 

"Passenger window up.", he said wondering to himself how it was down again.  but nothing happened.  "Passenger window up!", still nothing.

He stated in a stern voice "Auto pilot", as the car took over the command of the vehicle, the steering wheel slowly descended into the dash and he leaned over to the passenger side of the car to hit the window up button.  As he pressed it again and again, it did nothing.

He sat back in his seat and felt a cool breeze blow through his hair.  As he looked to his left, his window was now down.

Angry, and cold, he grabbed the steering wheel and stomped the accelerator.  The engine rumbled and the car vibrated as it accelerated.

He looked at the speedometer, and the numbers were quickly climbing, higher and higher.  He would get to work on time now if it killed him.

He felt as if he had done this before.  Even though he didn't remember ever having a problem with the windows. His stomach ached.  He thought to himself, "I forgot to drink my coffee this morning.", then thought again, "I don't remember drinking it."

"I don't remember leaving the house either."

For a moment, as if reason nearly cracked through chaos, a single glimpse stabbed him, "Wait," he said to himself with fear, "This has all happened before.  Not the coffee, not the windows."

Then like a flood it all poured in, "No, no, no, no" he repeated.  "Not again, no!"

He pressed the accelerator down as hard as he could, the speedometer climbing so fast the numbers were illegible.  The pleasant German voice came from the speaker, "We are going to die today sir, your son is going to die today sir, everyone is going to die today."

The air became like ice, the wind blew harder and harder.  He was so cold, and his stomach ached.  Tears welled up in his eyes as he cried out. "No!"

"Sir, don't look in the light this time.  This time, don't look sir."

There was a rumble, heat hitting him in the side of the face.  The heat was almost relieving at first because of the chill.  But within a second the heat was unbearable.  Then came the light.  So bright.  He tried not to look.  He tried not to turn to it.  He remembered what happened.  He knew what was going to happen, but like watching a movie, he acted out his part to the letter.

"You may as well look at the light sir, you are going to die anyway."

"What the hell?", he turned, just as the sound came.  The thunder that shook so hard that the vibrations took people off their feet.  The light seared and the heat burned.

Everything turned to slow motion.

The screeching noise, and unbearable heat.  The searing light that ached his head. 

He didn't remember the crash, nor getting out of his car.  He found himself on his knees in the ditch.  Feeling around like a mole who had dug a little to close to the surface and was hit with the sun.

He spun around, unable to see anything.  He fell on his back and waited to die.

He then thought of Trevor.

He was so cold, and his stomach ached.