Matt the rescuer
#5 of Thirty days; Thirty stories
Turning off a stove and talking on the phone, two simple things that are incredibly difficult to do when you're only 1-inch high. However, when duty calls, someone has to answer.
-"What... happened... here?"
The young wolf had woken up. All around him, lights were flaring and people in uniforms ran one way to the other. He suddenly felt a bump and heard the screechy sound of an ungreased wheel moving.
-"He's finally awake!" A rescue worker shouted before turning back at the wolf, "Don't worry kid, you are safe now."
Meanwhile, in the distance, a small figure hid in the shadows.
Matt tried covering his ears, but he could still hear his flat-mate's loud music through the walls. It'd be tolerable if he only put it during the weekend, but no. Ever since the wolf had arrived, it had been one sleepless night after another.
The bear continued covering his ears until a piece of roof fell on his nose. He had enough. Matt got to the entrance of his room and opened the door, but he stopped for a moment. He wasn't used to dealing with other people, so he needed to think what to do.
Talking with him would be a waste of time, and dangerous too, so his only hope was to turn down the volume when the wolf was not looking. If only the speakers weren't that far. However, those few moments he spent at the door saved his life.
Just as he was about to get out, a huge paw appeared in front of him. The micro polar bear hadn't noticed when the wolf stood up from the couch and went to the fridge. Had Matt gone out a few seconds earlier, he would have become just another stain on the wolf's feet. Not that the latter would notice given his love of going barepawed and his hate for cleaning the place and himself.
The polar bear stayed where he was while the wolf cooked something and went back to eat in front of the TV. Matt then made his move. He got out of his hole and ran as fast as he could to a nearby beer bottle on the floor. He watched the wolf, and darted behind the table's legs when the canine wasn't looking.
The wolf had left his food on the floor and lay down on the couch. Sleeping while leaving the TV and his music on. Typical. The bear moved more slowly this time. He didn't want to wake the giant, and he had more than enough time to do his task.
Luckily for him, the wolf had left the remote on the floor next to his food. When Matt got there, he wondered how the wolf could eat something like that. It looked like normal spaghetti, but the stench was too hard. For a moment, he thought that it was undercooked, spoiled even, but then he noticed where he was. Not so far to them lied one of the wolf's paws; that could also explain the smell.
The micro hurried and got on the remote to turn off the hellish music. Mission accomplished; he now only had to go back to his room. Maybe this night he'd finally get some sleep.
However, when he was halfway there, he froze on his tracks. The stench he smelled near the food was still there. He put his shirt on his nose and inhaled. It wasn't his clothes. Nor the food or the wolf. There was a gas leak.
Matt ran to the kitchen as fast as his little legs allowed him. The wolf had left the stove on and the flame had got out. This was bad.
The bear didn't have a way to turn off the stove; and, while he could get out by himself, he didn't want to leave the wolf behind, annoying or not. That only left one option. Matt returned to the giant.
He looked around just in case the wolf had left his phone on the floor, but no dice. The micro then held his breath and started to hit the sides of the giant's foot to try and wake him up, but the wolf was out cold. Matt then rested against the paw while he thought what to do.
Funny, now the smell of the wolf comforted him. It was strong enough to overpower that of the gas, but it wouldn't last long. With every second that passed, his scent waned. It was no wonder why he slept with the music on.
At that moment, the wolf's phone started to vibrate. Matt looked up but didn't see the wolf's pockets move with the sound. It had to be outside, yet on the couch. With no better options left, the bear climbed the paw in front of him and looked at the long road ahead of him.
Climbing inside meant that he'd later on have to find a way out of the wolf's pants; but climbing outside meant that it was far easier to fall off, making all of his efforts meaningless. Being more of a fan of touching a male in many ways and being scent-marked by him than of dying, the bear decided to get inside.
The legs were easy, since the fur gave him more than enough footing than he needed, but things got more heated as he neared the crotch. In a literal way. However, the wolf liked to wear baggy clothing, which meant that the bear could get out without a hitch, though he had to grab the giant's package at least once to get out of his prison.
Once he was on the couch, Matt looked for the phone. Unfortunately, he forgot to take one important thing into account. The phone was meant to be used by normal people. As a micro, it'd be difficult at best to operate it. Impossible at worst.
The bear climbed the phone and tried unlocking, to no avail. Even if he stretched as far as he could, he was still too small. He then tried to put one of the wolf's fingers on it and moving it, but the pressure was too weak and the movement too slow for it to register. There had to be another way.
He was running out of time. Not knowing what else to do, Matt picked the phone and rested it on the wolf's palm and pushed it with all his strength. To his surprise, that unlocked it. He quickly got on the phone and dialed.
-"9-1-1, what's your emergency?"
A smile appeared in Matt's face, "Hi, there's a gas leak in my apartment and--"
-"Sorry, sir, I can barely hear you. Could you speak louder?"
Not again. The bear wasn't sure if they would trace back the call if they didn't know he was in danger. So he got closer to the speaker and shouted with all his strength, "Gas! Leak!"
-"Understood, sir. Where do you live?"
Matt froze in the spot. It had been several years since he had come live there, and he didn't have a need to go out once he did. Moreover, the gas was starting to get to him. Even if he knew the address, he doubted he could give it to them.
-"Sir, are you there?"
He pushed the phone all the way to the edge of the couch. Maybe if they heard it hitting the floor, they'd send someone already. The micro took his last gambit and pushed it off. However, be it a lack of preparation or a lack of reflexes due to the gas, the bear also fell to the floor. A distance of one or two feet: pretty much irrelevant to someone of regular size, but potentially lethal to him.
Matt didn't know how long he had been unconscious. The only things he knew were that his head hurt and that he was smeared with something. The discarded leftovers had saved his life. The bear looked up, but the wolf was no longer there.
The micro went to his room and used his secret route to get down the stairs, where he could see his flat-mate getting into an ambulance. From the distance, he looked alive and that was enough, so Matt returned to their apartment.
Maybe he could finally sleep for a few nights now.