Glass Heart
Chapter 1 Resenting Fate
By the time he reached the other end of the sidewalk, the minivan already sped past him, carelessly driving over the pothole that was, unfortunately, on this hedgehog's side of the street. Water, mud, and (let's hope nothing else), splashed over the already distraught black hedgehog, soaking him. "Aww thanks a lot you dirty son of a bitch!" Shadow screamed with as much sarcasm as he can muster, as if his anger would somehow affect the speeding car, already miles away.
Shadow was trying to brush off the water, knowing it would be fruitless, when he caught the eyes of two passersby; a grown man, and a young teenager, probably his son, walking quickly through the humid drizzle that was starting to get worse on the cool, early June night. Shadow ignored them; he was used to this kind of shit. But what he couldn't ignore was the fact that that kid wasn't that man's supposed son. No, the kid was owned by the older man, and this assumption was made clear when Shadow noticed the collar around the younger ones neck, and the leash being yanked and pulled mercilessly by the older man.
That kid was a slave, and just the mere thought made Shadow sick to his stomach.
The Ultimate Life Form just couldn't stand it, all of it, this nonsense that he was forced to live in every day, all the time. The nonsense that everyone was forced to live in every day, all the time, but the stupidity was only evident to him. Everyone else in Mobius was blind to the hidden meaning of the governments rule; the rule that spelled out the segregation of the rich and the poor. Yeah, as if they weren't separated enough already, Shadow thought to himself. The whole idea of it all was meaningless to him. But that didn't excuse the fact that the opinions of the civilians were no longer relevant.
The story never changes, and Shadow has heard it so many times he practically memorized it. Once all the humans had died out all that was left were anthropomorphic animals, including him. Without the humans, the anthros took over the government and made Mobius their own. To add to the senselessness of what they were doing, they thought it would be "fun" to bring back slavery and introduced it to the inhabitants of Mobius. But what they did that tore them apart from the other forms of segregation in the history of the world was how lazy and carelessly they executed it. The separation of the people of Mobius was not based on race or social status, but whether you were "rich or poor." That was it; nothing else but whether or not you had enough money. And their beliefs of what "rich and poor" were nothing short of ridiculous. In the beginning, they would simply bust into your house and if you didn't meet their requirements, you (and anyone else in the household, regardless of age, sex or anything) were taken to the now renowned Slavehouse, one of hundreds that were built all throughout Mobius. Now, if you were born into poverty, you were simply given to a Slavehouse, never to see you family again, where you would live and be taught (NOT about schoolwork, if you catch my drift) until you were bought by a Master. As you would have guessed, "Masters" are the rich (or what the government believes are the rich), who are required to buy at least one slave once they reach 18 years old. They have until exactly 2 months from the day the turn 18, no more, no less, no exceptions. If you are not to adhere this, you are taken from your home and killed. End of story. However, you do have one other option. If you don't want to buy a slave, you can work in a Slavehouse instead, but the same principles apply.
In a nutshell, the rich got everything and the poor got shit. Why would anyone agree, or even want, to live in a Hell like this? Shadow didn't understand; he has been trying to avoid it all of his life, and has been quite successful. Being approved as a "rich man" by the government, he was lucky enough to slip by being put into the Slavehouse. Rich man my ass, I'm barely scraping by, what with living on my own in a crappy two-bit house. Besides, it's not like G.U.N. is some big, fancy job. On an aside, the black hedgehog knew he wouldn't be able to avoid it forever. He just turned 18 a few days ago, and knew that he would have to give in to this craziness. It was mandatory to own a slave (or work in a Slavehouse), and if anything was overlooked, this was not one of them.
The hard rain pounding down on his head brought Shadow out of his trance and back into depressing reality. The rain was getting worse, adding to his already damp, cold fur. Despite being June, the nights were still chilly on Mobius, and it didn't help that he was let out of work at 1 in the fucking morning. He was tired, cold, wet, and was rewarded a headache and stomachache for thinking so much. Maybe they should just come and take me and kill me, it would be easier anyway. How am I going to possibly buy a slave? A real, living being? They act like the whole process is no big deal… just think of it as going to an animal shelter, where they keep cats and dogs and birds waiting for adoption! The results are the same anyway! What kind of sick person would say something like that?
The black hedgehog's thoughts were once again interrupted, but this time not by the rain. As he was walking past an alley he heard a noise, almost like a soft, low moan. He stopped, raising his ear, trying to decipher what the noise was or where it even came from. Maybe it was just some stray dog, he thought, or maybe my mind is just messing with me. I surely wouldn't doubt it.
After a few seconds of silence, he started walking again, only to hear the same noise coming from the same alley again. He stopped once more, looked deep into the dark alley, where a dim streetlight was flickering, but he didn't see much. He heard the moan once more, and it was followed by lower, almost guttural sounds, almost like someone was crying. Knowing that he wouldn't rest easy without knowing what the sound was, he tentatively walked into the entrance of the alley looking around some more, determined to find the owner of that damned voice. What is it even a voice? What else could it be? Animals didn't make that sound; it was too human to be an animal. But what was it? Who was it?
The black hedgehog took a few more steps into the alley, and that's when he saw it. Well, he saw something. In the back of the alley, in a deep, dark corner was indeed a body, curled up into a small ball. Shadow stepped a little bit closer until he was practically almost stepping on the person. He knelt down to try to get a closer, better look, but the light was too dim and all he saw was the outline of this person. As low and soft as he could he said hesitantly, "Hello? A-are you, um, okay?" What else could he say? He didn't receive an answer, but the figure looked up at him with light, aqua – blue eyes, that were bloodshot, red and puffy. The figure was a girl, possibly the same age as him, from what he could see on her face, and he told her to come a bit closer to him so he could see her in the light. Surprisingly, she did, without any hesitation at all, and Shadow saw that she was a white bat, who was, well…completely naked. But what really caught Shadow by surprise was that she was obviously drugged; her eyes were huge and her mouth was drooling, and just by looking at her anyone could tell she wasn't in her right mind. She stared at the creepy black hedgehog for a few seconds, whom, as far as she was concerned, was just a drug-induced hallucination. And then, she passed out, banging her head on the hard concrete, her body falling so loosely onto the cold, wet pavement.
To say Shadow was taken aback would be an understatement. He was utterly confused and a little appalled at the sight of this poor girl. He knew that, regardless of who she was, he couldn't just leave her here. She would surely die in her state. So, despite everything, he carefully picked her up bridal style and, looking around to make sure no one witnessed what just happened, he ran out of the alley, and skated home as fast as he could, unfortunately not being able to Chaos Control home. The only thought running through his mind was that he hoped no one would see him on his trek home.
Oh, and of course there was one other thought…
Why the hell did I not bring my Chaos Emerald with me? This girl better be worth it…