A rough life for a human pet

The biting wind whipped around me as I trudged home, each step a painful reminder of my aching body and the endless shifts. The thought of my meager, cold apartment offered little solace, but it was home, a sanctuary from the creeping darkness. A strange blue car pulled up beside me, its engine a low hum in the quiet street. "Hey, Valor, did you hear the news?" Draino's voice cut through the chill, a fleeting offer of warmth in a world growing colder by the day. I waved him off, my pride a stubborn barrier against accepting help, even as my shivering hands yearned for warmth. The autumn leaves, almost gone, mirrored my dwindling hopes for a comfortable winter. The thought of the heating I couldn't afford gnawed at me. Inside my ramshackle kitchen, the static-laced radio crackled to life, announcing the late news. The Franus presenter's voice, laced with bitterness, began to speak of 'the human problem,' and a chilling solution that would change everything.