Saving me || Dan and Phil

Counting down

Phil and I finish with our drinks. We actually finished them a while ago but have been talking for so long neither one of us wanted to tell the other. Hanging with Phil feels like I have known him for years. He is really easy to talk to and is able to keep a conversation going no matter what the topic is. Even when it feels like we have ran out of things to say he will start up another story of a weird encounter he has had with someone or crazy things like how he has been attacked by squirrel before. He has so many interesting stories that have me asking loads of questions and it feels good considering with any other human interaction I would have driven them away from how socially awkward I am.

I haven't forgotten the reason why I am talking to him though. Every so often I will glance up above Phil to check where his numbers are at. Each time it making me more nervous than the last. Phil's numbers are really low now since we have been talking for a while. So long in fact that my mum has called me 7 times and has left dozens of texts wondering where I am, all in which I have ignored. There is nothing more embarrassing than having your parents yell at you in front whoever you are with, but if I'm able to save Phil's life then the yelling and possible grounding when I return home will be worth it. I continue to ignore all of the messages and use my calculator to calculate how much time he has left.

"Okay 742." I say in my head. "A minute is 60 seconds. If I keep adding 60 to 60 I should eventually reach around his number." I calculate. This is the highest my math skills will go. I plus 60 with 60 a few times. The number reaching 720 at the 12th adding.

12 minutes

He has around 12 and a half minutes before something takes his life.

As Phil returns after throwing our cups in the bin, he sits down and immediately I watch as his fingers begin tapping the table. 

"Something wrong?" I ask. Phil looks up at me.

"Oh, yeah. I just have this weird feeling that something bad is going to happen. I don't know why." He says as he begins chewing on the nails of his fingers. I look back up at his numbers. He can sense something is wrong, maybe he really is physic. Phil then jumps before pulling out his phone from his pocket. His eyes widening as he stares down at the screen. "Oh shoot!" Phil says as he suddenly jumps to his feet.

"Whats wrong?" I ask. He places his phone back into his pocket and grabs his jumper he took off.

"As much as I have enjoyed our little hang out, I have to go." He says as he throws his jumper over his head. My eyes widen to the thought of Phil stepping outside where everything out there could potentially kill him.

"What!" I blurt out as he turns for the exit. "Wait." I try to stop him.

"I'm sorry Dan. I completely forgot I have to babysit my little cousin and if I don't get going I will be late." He says. I follow him to the door, thinking hard to try to come up with an excuse so he won't leave.

"Do you really want to babysit though?" I ask.

"If I want the money, which I do, so yes." Phil responds with.

"Can't you reschedule?" I ask. Phil turns around to me, giving me this weird and questionable look. He goes to say something but backs out. He then shakes his head.

"Why do you want me to stay so badly?" Phil asks. I take a second to look up at his numbers.

12 minutes

Phil patiently waits for me to respond. I keep my stare at his numbers above, watching the numbers continue ticking down, making my heart beat at the same pace.

"Okay then." Phil says to break the silence between us before turning around. There's nothing I can do to stop him from leaving, so I have to follow him and see what's going to happen. Phil exits the store. I follow right behind him down the street. I take in everything around us. The cars, people, dogs, buildings, outside items, anything that looks a bit off and could kill Phil. Nothing seems out of the ordinary, but then again he still has around 10 minutes. Phil turns around, noticing that I'm still following behind him. His pace quickens and so does mine. He turns a corner, as do I. He stops in his place and faces me. "Will you stop following me?" Phil says. I bump into him. Almost knocking both of us over as I was too focused on our surroundings and wasn't paying attention. Phil grabs a hold of me and keeps us from falling. "Can you please tell me why you are following me home?" Phil asks once we both are stable on our feet, this hint of panic in his voice. I guess he does deserve an explanation as I am sort of acting like a stalker following him home like this, but how do you tell someone that I am able to see the time of their death and are following them to see what is going to happen to try to save them?