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The cold air blasted through the AC vents as the car finally came to a complete stop. It had been touch and go for hours at that point, but the final halt felt nothing but defeating. "Come on!" Cole shouted, slamming his hand against the wheel in utter frustration. Road rage has been one of the few things that managed to pull angry emotions from him, so that on top of his fearfulness of the day had become more than enough. Even so, Coke tried to remain calm as he set his elbow on the car door, holding his head with his hand.

"Calm down," whispered Hilary softly, discreetly nodding to the kids in the backseat. Carl turned a little to look at her, marveling at the way Hilary managed to keep her words steady and her face free of worry. He knew she was right. The last thing they needed right now was too feel worried, and as always, she was the voice of reason for such things.

For the most part, Milo and Emmie had been sheltered from the news as much as possible. The TV would be clicked off if they entered the room. The radio was easily shuffled to a different channel. Newspapers were swiftly crumpled into the recycling bin and, just like that, all fear could quickly disappear. There was no point in causing them to panic about something that could be over with in less than a week. Of course, they still had to tell their children where they were going. There were only so many lies you could tell and so many ways you could spin a refugee camp without making it into something it wasn't.

"What's wrong?" Emmie asked, pushing the red button to unbuckle her seat belt. Before Cole could react, Hilary spun around in her seat.

"There's just a little traffic. Sit back down and put on your seat belt in case we keep moving." She lifted her eyebrows, giving her daughter a look that let her know she was serious, even though both of those were lies. Hilary felt like she might actually never run out of them, somehow. Emmie, with a groan, obeyed, falling further into her seat and clicking the seatbelt back on again. It was good for everyone that she had listened because Milo had fallen asleep in his car seat, applesauce drying on his cheek, and Cole was already stressed as it was.

Cars surrounded them. As far as you could see in either direction, there was an endless sea of vehicles with visible streams of heat radiating off of their metallic bodies and into the summer day. When Cole looked out the window into the car in the left lane, he could see a man in the driver's seat with the same expression he had on his own face. A small chihuahua, that looked as though it's time would be coming any day now from the sight of tufts of silvery hair that sprouted around its eyes and mouth, was perched with his head gazing out the open window.

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