The Sudden Brake
It was a typical Wednesday afternoon when the driver, a middle-aged man by the name of Tom, was traveling down an empty stretch of road. He had made the journey dozens of times before, but it was a kind of connection between his home and the next town over. The views were usually unchanging and so solitary that he grew accustomed to the loneliness of the ride. Yet that day, something peculiar caught his attention: small, inconspicuous box abandoned on the roadside.
Tom thought of putting a stop to it. The box looked out of place, but nothing within it was specified. Curiosity and apprehension gradually gained the better of him as he pulled his car onto the shoulder and stepped out; the chilly breeze now added eerie dimensions to the scene.
A waste tin, was his first thought, his heart racing. Perhaps it is something dangerous? Kneeling beside the tin he slowly opened the flaps and something caught his breath: inside were five little shivering puppies. Their eyes up at him in those tiny, insignificant eyes, Tom knew instantly he couldn’t leave them there.
