BOOM
Sonic the Hedgehog woke to the sound of screams and gunfire.
Smoke hazed past his window. Through his window, he could only see flames rising from the building across his street. He scrambled out of bed, preparing to run at hyper speed out of his door when he noticed that, suddenly, he could not.
My legs... why can't I run?
He couldn't run. Meaning he couldn't save everyone... easily. He pulled on a coat, and with only a second of hesitation, pulled the .45 M1911 from his closet. A birthday gift from Knuckles, which he, ironically, mentioned, "For the day you can't outrun a bullet. This will mean you can at least fire one back." He hoped he didn't have to, holstering it and opening the door. What he saw took his breath away.
Five armed military units, the last of about the fifty that Sonic counted, were making a stand in the middle of the road. A helicopter was burning in a nearby building. Only five were making a stand... against... what...?
Were his eyes failing him?
A woman with half of her arm ripped off was chewing one of the downed soldiers' innards. Another hoard of them were advancing on the units, which were pumping bullets into their chests as fast as they could. None of them dropped until one of them hit them in the head by accident.
"Aim for the brain! It's the onl- AAAAAAAARRRRGGHHHH!" He watched, horrified, as one of those... things ripped his tonsils out. Another soldier gunned the... walker, whatever the monster was... down into the road, but it was too late. The gored man gurgled unintelligible words through the blood sputtering from his throat before slumping into the street, dead. The rest of the men had stood there, watching him, oblivious of the advancing hoard within 2 feet from them. They noticed quickly when another man was swallowed up by them, shrieking almost... inhumanely until being slammed on the ground, cracking his skull open. It only took a matter of seconds before the rest of the small unit was mauled by the undead, their screams echoing down a bloody, deserted road.
He closed the door, locking all three locks. He had just enough time to watch the window down the hall of his house shatter, a walker stumbling through, before he slumped over into his closet, passing out from the shock of the events that just transpired.
Hours later
The smell woke him up faster than anything. Rotting, festering flesh. As he looked up, he noticed that he had somehow managed to catch the door of his closet with his foot as he fell, shutting it behind him. Perking his ears, he heard a wet, slapping sound, and a distant growl in his house.
Amy
He shook his head rapidly, sitting up.
AMY!
He gasped. She was in this too. Not just him. He scrambled to his feet, steadying himself before gently, quietly, peeking out of his closet door.
Nothing.
He drew his handgun, sliding out from behind the door quietly. He could see a walker down his hallway now, gnawing on an unfortunate lady's bones. She had probably sought refuge in his home, but found only the dead to greet her. The pink haired female was long gone, dead hours ago. A single tear traced down his cheek at the disturbing sight, knowing somebody died trying to find him, wanting his help.
Hours ago.
PINK HAIR!?
He forgot, just for a second, how dangerous the creature down his hallway was. He let out a guttural roar, and ran down the hall, picking up what little speed he had left. He slammed his shoulder into the walker with all his might, knocking him to the floor before beating him with the end of the pistol, oblivious to the blood covering his body. After a minute, well past when he knew he was dead, he scrambled to the hedgehog's body.
Not her.
He breathed a sigh of relief. He could still find her. There was only one thing he could do now, and it was go.
Into the streets.
Alone.
He shivered at the prospect and sat down, taking a second to rest on his satin couch, thinking about her.
As he thought deeper, he remembered how they would sit on his roof and watch the stars. Just last night they had done this, everything still peaceful within the city.
He could travel safely.
He slapped his forehead. How could he possibly not think of that before? He moved upstairs quietly, and hauled himself through his window, climbing onto the roof. Even if he wasn't the fastest thing alive anymore, he was certainly athletic enough to make the jump to the house next to him.
He picked up speed, and leapt onto the edge of the roof, almost falling. What caused him to almost fall was the mob of rotting corpses shuffling in the alley between the houses, groaning. They snarled when they noticed him, gnashing rotten, halfway gone teeth. Shivering and looking away, he pulled himself onto the flat platform of the roof, scanning the horizon. Amy's house was only a few streets away, he knew this from the sweet, passionate late night visits he took to her. He shivered, not from cold, but from the sheer weight of the fact that what could have happened to her was somehow far worse than death could possibly be.
He took a deep breath, and charged, leaping onto the next house. For now, this was his only option. He would find her first. After that... he didn't know.
For the first time ever, Sonic the Hedgehog had no idea how he could possibly save humanity.
A/N: What do you guys think of this one so far? I was up late last night brainstorming, and this idea just kind of jumped slammed into my head. Let me know in the reviews, and I'll be sure to continue this one. I've got far too many ways I can make this interesting to not write this one further. Thanks!
1/11/17 Edit: In between chapters, I will be creating flashbacks to life before the apocalypse happened, which will help unfold the story faster for the readers as they go on.