“Just do it,” I mumbled and opened the door. The wind, sleet, and cold slammed into me so forcefully it was like a brutal slap to the face. I clenched my jaw and persisted forward, hanging onto the side of my car as I made my way toward the vehicle. I slipped several times, the ground beneath me wet and slick, dangerous, coupled with the steep decline of the hill. It made it almost impossible to walk normally.
The closer I got, the clearer the vehicle became. At first, I thought they were hazards flashing, but I recognized they were brake lights. I realized the lights hadn’t been flashing like I had first assumed, but because of the weather and the occasional blackout conditions, it appeared as though they had been blinking.
My heart was thundering the closer I got, and once I was within reaching distance, I grabbed onto the truck and braced myself against the torrential weather.
The vehicle was an SUV, big and sturdy, but not invincible against this type of weather.
My fingers were frozen as I braced my palm on the side of the truck, keeping my hands flat on the cold, hard metal. When I finally got to the driver’s side door, I gripped the handle and pulled it open, hanging onto it so I didn’t fall backward.
The door flung open, the wind and gravity making it almost brutal as it nearly knocked me over. I held onto the edge and braced myself, bracing my body as I looked inside. I saw a very large body hunched over the steering wheel. It was a man. That was clear by his size.
His arms hung on either side of him, his head turned away from me. I didn’t touch or move him right away but instead reached inside my coat pocket for my cell phone and flashlight.
I clicked on the light and pointed it at him, running my fingers along his neck, his short dark hair smooth under my fingertips. I didn’t see any blood, but his face was turned away from me, so I didn’t know what I was dealing with. I also didn’t want to move him until I properly looked him over, making sure I wouldn’t do any irreparable damage by shifting him around.
I looked in his vehicle to see if I could find anything that would be of use, and aside from a couple water bottles, a blanket haphazardly thrown in the backseat, and a black duffel on the passenger side seat, I couldn’t find much else. I reached across him for the duffel and unzipped it, seeing nothing much but clothes. I pushed the bag back on the seat and heard something hard bang against the inside of the door. I was about to reach for the duffel again and see what was inside that had made that noise, but a gust of wind had me nearly being pushed back.
I gripped the edge of the car, my fingers really starting to hurt from the cold. The bag could wait. I needed to get us out of this weather.
I looked at my cell phone. Of course there was no service, but then again, I was on backroads, and with the storm most likely knocking out the towers temporarily, I was shit out of luck right now. After shoving my cell back in my pocket, I stood there for a moment, the wind whistling around me, my hair blowing in all directions. I had no idea how I was going to get him out of the vehicle and into mine. I couldn’t leave him here though; that was for sure. There was no chance of getting any help, not with the way the weather was, and who knows how long it would take me to get into town?
My house was closer than town anyway. The best bet was for me to take him to my place, get him situated, and check him out fully. We could wait for the storm to subside, and hopefully cell service would be back and I could call for help.
I didn’t see any outward injuries, didn’t feel any broken bones. I didn’t know about internal injuries, but I wouldn’t know more until I looked him over properly. I might not be a doctor, but then again, I was an ER nurse and had seen plenty, learned tons of shit on the job. I was confident in my ability to properly diagnose something in an emergency situation.
When I was pretty sure I wouldn’t do any more damage by moving him, I braced the flashlight between my neck and shoulder as I reached out and grabbed his wide arms as gently as I could. I pulled him back. He was big, tall as he filled the seat, and very muscular. I could feel how hard he was underneath my arms, his muscles all but tearing through the material of his shirt and jacket. Even unconscious, his strength was unsurmountable.