All Sega characters belong to Sega. All OCs belong to me.
Nightmare
The two story house was dark as everyone slept soundly. The homey décor felt warm and friendly. The main color was a burgundy color as this was the favorite color of the eldest of the house. Many called this house the glass house because of the giant window that parted a clear view of the dinner table. If someone were to drive by at precisely six in the evening they would've saw the perfect family of three laughing, eating, and enjoying each other's company. No one would've known the gray-blue streaked hedgehog, who smiled warmly at the other two, was a full time protector. Nobody would've guessed the crimson streaked boy, who held a teasing smirk, was a hollow shell of his former self. Not one person would've suspected the ebon girl with quills as long as Rapunzel's, who laughed sweetly, was broken beyond repair.
Never would anybody suspect a thing. Never would anybody the horrors that used to go on in the glass house. Never would anybody know there was more to the perfect three.
Shrill screams cut straight through the quiet air. The bloody scream was high pitched, strained, and fearful. This same scream instantly awoke the dull blue striped hedgehog whose fur was as dark as night; much like his younger brother's. This twenty-one year old, who went by the name as Mephiles, jumped out of his bed and ran like never before. His feet slammed against the carpeted floor faster than his rapid pulse that seemed too fast for him to keep track of. His ears perked as there were fast footsteps ahead of him. Knowing who it was, Mephiles followed close behind the second eldest, Shadow. Their ragged breathes were nothing compared to the penetrating screams for mercy they heard.
It wasn't until later that they reached the source of the terrible sounds that they crashed the light brown, wooden, door open. "Elena!" Shadow shouted over to the bundle of sheets that tussled and turned. Another scream emitted from the thick blankets. Mephiles, who had found his voice, went over and urgently shook the trembling frame. "Wake up!" he demanded with exigency.
In a second the girl snapped her eyes open and frantically propped herself up on the mattress. Sweat matted her fur and she gasped for breath. Her dilated pupils, which were surrounded by a murky orange, madly searched her whereabouts for any signs of danger. When her eyes landed on her worried brothers' expressions she closed her eyes in minor relief and put a hand to her head. She shook her head and smacked her lips wincing at the slimy salvia in her mouth.
"I-I'm fine," she hoarsely breathed, "It was just another nightmare. I'm sorry." Elena bowed her head and crossed her arms over her chest, hands grasping her upper arms.
Fiery blood red orbs were half covered by midnight lids. Shadow pitifully casted his gaze over his younger sister's frail frame. They were five years apart, she being thirteen and he being seventeen and because of that he felt more than just a brother. He felt as some type of father to her but he wouldn't dare to even think he was in fear he would become like their deceased father. So instead he took the role as the brother who was mostly strict but a bit of a tease.
Shadow clenched his teeth as his anger rose. He absolutely hated how she lied all the time. "No you are not," he sternly declared, "You are not fine and you know it. I wish you would just stop spouting fables when you know they're not true!" he shouted angrily. Elena grimaced at his dangerously high voice but did nothing about it. Her ears pinned to her head and tears stung her eyes.
"I'm sorry," she weakly apologized.
Without warning he hit the bed causing her to jump and clutch her arms tighter against herself. "And would you stop apologizing all the time! You're really starting to annoy me Elena-"
"I think that's enough Shadow," Mephiles quietly stated. He received a cold glare from his look alike but only shook his head. Shadow turned his back on them and crossed his arms willing himself to cool off. The eldest gently smoothed a hand over Elena's sweaty forehead. His expression stayed calm and stoic.
"Are you sure you are alright?"
"And please tell the truth," Shadow added harshly. He only rolled his eyes when he got another look from Mephiles.
Elena nodded timidly. Her eyes rolled up to peek at Mephiles and when their eyes met hers immediately shot down. The green eyed male sighed and took his ungloved hand away from her forehead. Mephiles kissed the place where his hand was and whispered his farewell. His thumb signaled for Shadow to follow along. It wasn't until they were half way out the door that a shy voice stopped them in their tracks.
"I can't go back to sleep."
Their upturned quills swayed along as their heads turned to her direction. Elena kept her gaze on her lap as she could feel their stares.
"Elena," Mephiles called out making her lift her head. "Do you want us to sleep with you for the night?"
"Yes, only if you-"
"Keep quiet," Shadow interrupted.
The two older brothers walked to the bed and got in it, one on either side of her. Elena lied down face up before turning to her side snuggling into Mephiles' bare chest hair. The white fluffy puff contrasted greatly from his dark fur and pale muzzle. She felt her other brother's fur smooth on her back, arms surrounding her midsection. She curled her legs into theirs while their arms embraced her sweaty body. Minutes went by and Elena couldn't help but to sniffle. Tears began to heavily collect in her bottom lids and she tried to blink them away in fear that her brother's would be angry for her tears.
It was surprise when Shadow had grabbed her hand and entwined his fingers into hers. "Cry," he whispered. Elena gasped with her eyes wide with shock. Soon they narrowed and tears spilled over. Her face contorted in pain that was emotional. Her free hand clutched Mephiles' chest fur and her lips parted. Squeaky sobs escaped her mouth as she trembled with each one. The two on either side just held her quietly, only using actions to console her.
Later on, when her cries were almost nonexistent Elena mumbled a thank you. They didn't answer but she knew they had accepted her note of gratitude. Mephiles was the first one to talk soon after. "You've been having frequent nightmares. Are they about father?" He knew he hit a sore spot when the young teen gasped. A light scowl was placed on his features. "Tell me," he whispered.
The girl hedgehog felt Shadow's hand tighten around hers and she silently thanked him for his mutual support. He was hard on her at times but she knew he would always be there to lift her up. Shadow, no matter how much he looked like the other, was a great contrast to Mephiles. Mephiles was much quieter. He rarely spoke but when he did no one could ever really tell what he was feeling. It was also quite hard to tell what he's thinking. The eldest one out of all of them was the one who watched after them. He was the one more so like the loving father they never had. Elena always liked when he smiled because it was one of the things that he showed rarely. Although she would've preferred for him to display that beautiful smile of his she would never blame him for the reason why he never does.
"W-well, I can't remember everything," she started, "but I do remember daddy being there." Elena felt Shadow's growl at the nape of her neck and she whimpered. He had always hated when she called her father 'daddy' but she couldn't help it.
"Shadow," Mephiles warned.
"I'm sorry. It's a habit."
He nodded. "Go on," he prompted.
"Okay. I think he might've been drunk because of the way he walked. I remember I was watching TV when he turned it off and told me to go to his room. I don't know why, but I thought he had a present for me so I followed him to the room and he locked the door. I asked him why he did that but he j-just-he just slapped me. Then he punched me and kicked me and repeated it over and over again. For some reason I didn't move. Maybe it was because I was too weak or maybe I just didn't want to fight anymore, I don't know, but I just laid there. There were things that happened after that, things I think I chose not to remember but after he said something to me. Mephiles, h-he said something really mean." By this time she just spoke without emotion. Tears rolled down her cheeks but she didn't notice.
The girl could feel her brother from behind squeeze her very hard. Shadow's hot breath came out on the back of her neck like gallons of water from his mouth and through his teeth. Mephiles' scowl deepened and his forehead lied softly on hers. "You don't have to continue if you don-"
"He said that because I looked so much like mom I would have to be a whore like her. Daddy said I was worthless and bound to die just like her, raped and then shot. That was when he pulled out the gun. I think at the time was when I started to scream because I realized it wasn't a dream but a memory," she finished.
It was quiet after that. Very quiet. There wasn't much left to say or to do or, in other words, no one knew what to say or do. It wasn't for the fact that they were shocked it was just that there weren't any words that could comfort her seeing as they had used all of them. All three of them remembered that day clearly. That was the first day of their four years in hell. It was quite horrible but somehow they were here. Happy to be orphans, but at the same time not.
Shadow's strangled gasps were the only noises they could hear. Those noises were his way of telling them he was about to go off. And blow off did he. It was at this point he started to scream curses. He had already buried his face into Elena's back but it didn't nothing to muffle the shouts. It was obvious he was upset, a dead give in, and his curses towards their father wasn't anything new to them but something happened that he hadn't done in quite awhile. Shadow started to cry.
Here's the thing, even at their mother's funeral he did not spill one tear. All the crimson marked hedgehog did was stare blankly at the coffin. He had turned to rage instead, much like their father but without the abusive side. At first he would blow up at the mention of the beautiful woman they used to know and love, it was really bad. But as time went on he had gotten better with dealing with his feelings as time went on but you could tell he wasn't himself. In fact the other siblings would say he had lost almost everything that made him, him.
Elena turned over to the weeping male and encircled her arms around his neck. Shadow tightly embraced her back. "I'm so sorry," he wailed, "I'm sorry I didn't do anything. I'm sorry we had to go through that. I-I don't know why we had to. W-what did we ever do? It wasn't our damn fault that mother died."
He cried and cried until he was empty of moisture. His blood shot eyes stung him to the point where he could not open them. It wasn't long until his ragged breathes turned into steady patterns. Shadow had fallen asleep. Elena kissed his cheek tenderly. "I'm sorry," she whispered against his cheek.
Her body twisted over to Mephiles. She kept Shadow's hands securely entangled in hers. "That was very brave of you to tell me. Even when I suggested for you to stop you went on," Mephiles said.
A loving smile etched his features when she replied, "I'm only brave because I have you two in my life."
"Mephiles?"
The said hedgehog pushed her head into his chest as she yawned. "What is it, beautiful," he mumbled.
"Do you think God still loves us?"
Ah, that question. It was a question he had pondered on forever. For four wretched years they had been put through torture and heart break. If it wasn't for the little reminder of maybe someday meeting his mother Mephiles would've turned his back on Him. There were times where he questioned everything He had ever said in the Bible. There were times where he thought God had forsaken them. It was hard trying to keep faith when his father was screaming in his face that nobody loved him but somehow he did. Mephiles had managed to restore his and his sibling's severed faith. He made sure to take them to church every Sunday and sometimes during the week when there was nothing to do. There was the place he had learned to forgive his father. His mother would've wanted that.
"I have no doubt he does," he said tiredly. Mephiles wasn't sure if she had heard him seeing as he could hear her light snoring but she just kissed her nose. He wrapped his arms around both Shadow and Elena and whispered, "I love you both very much."
And then he fell into the abyss of soundless sleep.
Tiny one-shot. :)
