Gorge, a novel in progress by Michael Gullo (2026)
“Hello?”
“Hey, Kyle. Plattsburgh is nuts.”
“What’s nuts?”
“I need gas. Champy’s had a line all the way around the block to where it met Sunoco’s line. I drove all the way uptown, and every gas station has a line.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I got all the way to Sam’s, and I got in a five-car line, and…”
“Shawna? I can’t hear you.”
“I hear you.”
“Shawna?”
“Yeah.”
“There you are.”
“Phone’s glitchy too.”
“Why the run on gas?”
“I don’t know. Is there a storm?”
“Come on.”
“Fine. But you can turn it on for a minute.”
“Radio’s got news too, Shawna. If it was up to me, we wouldn’t even own this stupid thing.”
“The radio’s normal – music.”
“No talk at all?”
“I mean, it’s music.”
“No commercials?”
“Not in English.”
“I’m not turning that crap on, Shawna.”
“Every radio station I have is music or French. I can’t find the first sign of the first thing wrong, but gas lines around the block.”
“It’s all Mobil and Sunoco though. Maybe it’s theirs.”
“I’ve been here five minutes already, and the line’s not moving – they have like twelve pumps.”
“Ask the guy.”
“It’s Sam’s, Kyle - no guy.”
“You’re a lot more fun when you’re putting me on a pedestal.”
“I’m coming home.”
“You’re not filling up on my lawnmower gas again.”
“It’s two gallons, Kyle.”
“Two and a half.”
“I used that months ago, anyway.”
“Let’s not argue.”
“I’m not arguing.”
“Shawna? -- Are yo…”
“Good try, creep.”
“Do you have enough sparks?”
“I’ll get home easy, but I need to charge tonight.”
“Then come home.”
“I have a grocery list. The plan was Champy’s and the Co-op. I came to Sam’s thinking – But they’re like down or something now that I look. The gas line isn’t moving, and everyone walking out of the store is cartless.”
“Wait, Shawna. Listen. Gas lines everywhere and people walking out without groceries. It sounds like the credit cards are the problem. Do you have cash?”
“I have that money from the patio furniture.”
“How much?”
“I sold it all for five-hundred.”
“That explains it.”
“What’s it explain?”
“I found the guns on the dresser, and I wondered why you got them out.”
“Facebook strangers, and did you see the moving crew? Woof.”
“So, five hundred’s a good start. Head this way. When you get to Champlain National, run in and get some cash.”
“That’s a good idea. I almost stopped to deposit the cash on my way uptown, but I was focused.”
“Good. Are you headed that way?”
“There’s a fight.”
“A fight?”
“Yup, there’s people fighting at the Sam’s entrance.”
“Like, who?”
“I’m outa there, but it looked like pushing and shoving – one guy in blue pointing at a lady, another guy – don’t talk to my wife that way, kind of thing.”
“Where to first?”
“I think I’ll go to Aldi’s. It’s always quiet there.”
“Get me some hotdogs and rolls.”
“Do we have your coffee?”
“Which one? I have the perc, but I need the Starbucks.”
“That stuff’s like thirteen bucks.”
“I ordered a case from Amazon, but it says, delivery attempted, and nothing else.”
“Okay, Instant, Bold, English muffins?”
“Oh, hell yeah. Get two – the butter ones.”
“What el --- Nope. That’s out too. The lot is full to the curbs.”
“What the hell’s going on?”
“That’s fine. I didn’t have a quarter anyway.”
“There’s gotta be a storm coming.”
“I dunno. That was a lot of Quebec plates in that lot.”
“Quebec? At Aldi?”
“I bet they used Canadian quarters in the cart corral.”
“But they have good ham though.”
“Aldi’s, or the Canadians?”
“Ha! I think I meant the Canadians, but --- jesus.”
“What?”
“Well, there was an accident on the side of the road when I came through, and it’s still there.”
“So?”
“There’s no police yet.”
“Fender bender response time. Where’s the crash?”
“Hospital entrance.”
“Did you get through the light?”
“Beekman?”
“Not yet.”
“Can you see campus?”
“I mean. It’s campus.”
“Any kids around?”
“Not really, but Cornelia’s kind of far out.”
“Are you through the light?”
“Red. I’m not…”
“Come on. Take a right. You can shoot downtown faster on Brinkerhoff anyway.”
“It’s raining.”
“They’re there.”
“Monday morning after Easter, Kyle.”
“Even still.”
“Fine. This light isn’t changing anyway.”
“Like all this time?”
“I mean, it’s red. Been red. No cars on Beekman.”
“Right on red.”
“Not from the center lane.”
“Cops aren’t there, and if they catch you – they have an accident.”
“Still not cops here.”
“How about the drivers?”
“I don’t see them.”
“Sheesh, road’s slippery.”
“That car is slippery.”
“You’ve been down on my little BMW since I bought it.”
“That’s just a badge. That car is the farthest thing from a BMW.”
“i3, baby. Your little lawn mower can got me two-hundred miles.”
“Thief.”
“I did you a favor. If I hadn’t stolen your gas, it’d be bad by lawn season.”
“Six hours up Eighty-Seven, and the Greeks will have stuff all weekend. Guaranteed. Just turn down Brinkerhoff.”
“Not a soul on campus – a dog walker, but that’s no student. Redcay is blacked out, not a light in the whole building. Clock tower’s wrong as usual.”
“They’re fixing that.”
“Best three years of my life.”
“Your mom’s calling me.”
“Don’t answer. I’ll call her when I get home.”
“All these girls know my car.”
“They’re there?”
“No, just turning now, but half the girls in my Women Writers and Women Novelists live on Brinkerhoff.”
“It’s raining. They’ll be inside.”
“Then why come this way?”
“Cars.”
“Fine. Yes. The kids are here.”
“All of them?”
“Come on, Kyle. It’s Monday. I wanna get to the bank and get home, I have exams to grade.”
“So, I turned on the TV.”
“What?”
“I turned it on, and I went to news mix, and it’s a blackout, Weather Channel only, and they have highway tow trucks or whatever and local on the eights.”
“All of them, off?”
“Bars on two and “we’ll be right back on the others.”
“Are you like, back at it, or like…”
“No. I switched to WPTZ, but they’re on reruns too.”
“Go ahead and turn it off.”
“I’ll wait for a commercial.”
“Sky’s grey enough for a storm, that’s for sure.”
“That’s probably it.”
“There’s a second dog walker.”
“It’s raining pretty hard here – like drops hitting the ground to bounce back up, but the downpour drops beating the bouncers back to the ground.”
“How’s the yard?”
“Flooded.”
“This guy with the dog, he’s like walking fast between the trees and slowing down when he gets under them.”
“What about the dog?”
“I think the dog just wants to go home.”
“There’s power downtown.”
“Wait. Were you saying Redcay’s like powerless?”
“It was black.”
“You don’t read any of the emails at all do you?”
“I try not to.”
“There’s a campus-wide energy initiative.”
“Like, lights out on the weekends?”
“Among other things.”
“What if I want to work in my office on the weekend?”
“Do you plan to abandon the kitchen? I get the island if you do.”
“You got the office.”
“It’s a basement, and it’ll be flooded by midnight if this rain keeps up.”
“What’s the sump pump for if it doesn’t pump out water?”
“We’ll see.”
“The Co-op looks good. There’s no traffic down here, and the lot’s almost empty.”
“How’s the bridge?”
“Not a soul. But it’s early still too.”
“Any boats yet?”
“You’re chomping.”
“I’m catching Champy this year.”
“I’m gonna run in here and then to the bank and then home.”
“Okay, seeya in a few.”