Save Me (ManxMan)

chapter 2: The Stranger

*Nowadays*

♂+♂=♥

That morning, I left the apartment early. I hastily swallowed some pancakes and put the leftovers in the fridge for Benoit. I took my red car, the same I had during high school, and left for work. The weather was bad, really bad. The road was completely iced so I had to be careful and not to drive too fast. Luckily for me, I was the only one on the road. I put on the radio listening to the news, not really paying attention to what the presenter was saying. I parked in front of the small building after about one hour of grueling driving. I was about to get out of the car when the news caught my attention: "... An enormous blizzard will be over a large part of England, especially London. It is recommended to be extremely careful, the road will be as an ice rink and the visibility will be close to zero. Everybody is invited to stay at home until the end of the storm. Thank you for listening to BBC News..."

"Shit! I hope things will be better during the afternoon..." I cursed under my breath as I exited my car, closing the door behind me. A white smoke was coming out of my mouth at every respiration as I walked toward the small, old and grey building. I took the keys out of my pocket, fumbling with it as my fingers were becoming number at every second. When I was finally able to open the metallic door, I sighed in relief and stepped in, closing the door behind me with a loud noise.

I turned on the light and went to my lab. As you may have guessed, I work as a tester in a pharmacy. I made experiments to see if drugs were great for humans, with no danger and things like that. I liked my job, it was quiet and we were only two in this lab so that was even better. My team mate worked from the beginning of the afternoon until six in the morning whereas I worked from seven in the morning until the end of the afternoon. Long and hard days of work but the pay was great.

I sighed and put on my protective eyewear and began to work.

♂+♂=♥

The end of the afternoon was finally here, I was free. As I made my way toward the exit door, I greeted Rick, my team mate. He was a small, big Asian man in his forties. He had short graying black hair and small dark brown eyes. He was a nice guy; I knew I could trust him.

I opened the door, surprised by the strength of the wind and the horrible visibility. There was a lot of snow and ice on the ground which made it difficult to walk without falling. How was I supposed to go home? I couldn't take my car without taking the risk of having an accident. I took out my phone and called Benoit.

"Hey, how are you sweetie?" I asked with a small smile on my lips.

"Hey... I'm fine... Did you see the weather? Where are you? How..." Benoit began to ramble frantically which made me laugh as I told him to calm down.

Once he was calm enough, I began to speak. "I'm outside, I just ended my shift. I can't take my car because of the bad weather, I have to walk. I should be there in about one hour, alright? Don't panic. I love you." I told him, murmuring the last part lovingly before ending the call and beginning to walk.

At every step, I could feel my legs becoming increasingly numb with every movement. My breath was coming out in short pants. I was feeling like I've been walking for hours. Luckily, I was in my neighborhood, as my apartment was in sight right on the corner. I heard a small whimper which made me stop. What was that? Just when I was about to walk, I heard another whimper coming from a small dark path. It sounded like a dog...

I made my way toward this path, wishing I was already at home, in my comfortable living room with my boyfriend. At the end of this path, I distinguished an average shape. It couldn't be a dog, it was way too big. Could it be... no, I didn't want to believe that. I walked closer of this strange shape and kneeled in front of it.