Here it is guys– the long awaited first chapter of "Missing"! Sorry for taking so long. As always, comment, vote– you do you, I'll do me, and we won't do each other. M'kay? M'kay. Enjoy!
"There were at least fifty of 'em, all dressed in black, all staring at me without any eyes. I thought I could out race them. And I did, of course! Except, there was one way up ahead that I hadn't noticed...until..it popped out and grabbed me!"
Small gasps emitted from the small forms of Cream, Tails, and Cheese accompanied by Amy. Their eyes were as big as softballs as they stared up at the blue hedgehog who was kindly telling his story of misfortune. I watched from the side, amused at their reactions. The lights were off, besides a flashlight Sonic used for a creepier affect. His emerald green eyes gleamed in the dark, and it seemed, if only for a moment, that they could glow.
Vanilla sat on the other side of me, drooping with exhaustion but still smiling at her daughter's excitement. She'd spent the whole day with Amy and Cream preparing this Halloween party. I felt bad for not helping, but it was a Monday, meaning it was still a school day.
"I tried fighting 'em off, but there were too many. They tied me up and teleported to a dark cabin. I must've passed out 'cause I woke up some time later strapped down to a wooden table."
I'd heard this story a million times since he'd been back, but it was apparent he never got tired of telling it. Luckily, none of us ever tired of hearing it.
"It was the same room I'd seen in my nightmares. For days they kept me locked in there. They'd send someone to feed me every few hours, and there were some that would even speak to me."
"About what?" Cream probed. Sonic frowned.
"I'm not sure. I'm still a little fuzzy about the whole thing. Anyways, days turned to months and I was still stuck on that table. Then, one day as one came in to feed me, he let me out of my chains. Told me to run. So I did, and I kicked a few butts as revenge while doing it."
"Why did he let you go?" Tails asked. Sonic shrugged.
"Maybe he had a change of heart."
"You could've been stuck down there forever if he hadn't." Amy muttered with worry in her gaze.
"Nah. Eventually I would've gotten out on my own." He grinned. I pushed back the urge to say something snarky. I wasn't about to ruin his story after all that had happened.
"It sounds like they wanted you to go." Tails said thoughtfully.
"What's that suppose to mean?" Sonic scowled. His little brother barely winced as he gave his explanation.
"You had to be sore after laying down for so long, especially on that table. If you couldn't fight them off when you were in shape, I doubt you could've escaped after not running for a year."
I silently agreed with Tails. The whole ordeal had sounded fishy to me. What was worse, we still had no idea who they were or where they were hiding. Sonic himself had rushed back a week ago for a bit of revenge. There was nothing but dense forest.
"If only you could remember what they said to you." Amy spoke. They shared exasperated glances. To my surprise, Cream looked back at me with a smile.
"Why don't you tell your story, Miss Emma?" She asked. I rubbed my arm with embarrassment as all eyes landed on me.
"I don't think that's a good idea." I protested. My side of the story wasn't exactly a happy one. Not to mention my home life hadn't been the greatest. Still isn't.
"I kinda want to hear your story. You've never told us it." Amy stated.
"I mean, it's probably not as good as mine, but–"
"Fine, fine." I cut Sonic off. He smirked, handing me the flashlight. I gave it a funny look, but started talking anyway.
I told them about seeing the metal ship during my fifth period class. How it let loose an army of small robots that were actually very useless. I frowned when talking about my first encounter with Eggman, and about the moment he said I'd never be Sonic. Cream lit up with delight as I spoke about her, Vanilla, and Rouge. I explained the choice I was given, and what caused me to become the next hero of Möbius.
"So you said yes because your granddad killed a coyote?" Sonic butted in. Amy elbowed him, whispering that he shouldn't be so rude.
"In his defense, the kid was apparently sick with some fatal disease. The hospital took it away to do a scan. He could've wiped out the entire town." I stated.
"He couldn't have taken him to a hospital?" Sonic pushed. I shifted with discomfort.
"I..I don't know." I muttered. My eyes traveled to the floor, embarrassment falling over me. Could he had done something different?
"How'd you meet Amy?" Tails suddenly brought up. I was relieved for the distraction.
"Rouge brought me to her for training. Apparently my spinballs weren't top notch." I feigned a sigh. Sonic flicked the tip of his nose and leaned back in his seat.
"That reminds me...after this, I'll have to give ya some real practice."
Amy scowled, but otherwise stayed silent. Cream giggled at her friend's reaction and Tails rolled his eyes.
"Amy was a great coach, mind you." I fake glared at him," And it sure helped later on. After my next encounter with ole Eggy, I was promised a real fight."
I winced as I continued, recalling the dumb mistakes I had made.
"Sadly, I was out of town when it happened. There was no service, so I didn't receive any texts or calls till the week after when I finally came back. But by then, everyone was already kinda mad at me."
"Well, you did leave without telling us." Amy said. Tails rubbed the back of his neck as he added on.
"Yeah. A warning would've been nice."
Sonic furrowed his eyebrows as he started firing questions.
"Where'd ya go?"
"The beach." I shuddered. He snickered as he noticed.
"Did the trip scare ya?"
"Not the trip itself." I muttered," My Granny dragged me into the water to catch some fish and I was attacked by a flipping jellyfish."
They all flinched, besides Cream, who hugged Cheese with wide eyes.
"Did it hurt?"
I shrugged," Not at first. When I go on my runs, I zone out and lose track of where I'm going. I finally ran through so many ant beds and thorns that I lost most of the feeling in my legs."
"Maybe you should have that checked..." Amy said.
"Meh, it's fine. The jellyfish wrapped it's tentacles around my leg and put the feeling back into it." I chuckled dryly," Anyway, Eggman attacked one day after school. My poppy just happened to glance at the TV before he announced it. I rushed as fast as I could to the fight and did my best to help out."
"And we kicked butt!" Tails finished, high-fiving Sonic.
"Yep!" I agreed," And then you showed up at my house days later."
Amy shifted in her seat uneasily, as if I had said something wrong.
"Did you and your mom ever make up?" She asked. I pretended she didn't ask and stood up with a stretch. My hand reached for my phone as I took a quick glance at it. My heart skipped a beat as the numbers 10:43 flashed across the screen.
"Mother of Chaos! I've gotta get home!" I cursed. I grabbed my jacket from the back of the chair I was sitting in and slipped it on.
"Will you stop by tomorrow?" Vanilla asked. I watched as the others circled around Amy as she prepared to tell one of her stories. I smiled, observing the gleeful faces of each anticipated listener. Call it luck or destiny, but someway, somehow, I got tangled up in this group's messes. And I loved every minute of it.
"Yeah." I answered," I'll stop by here after school."
"Good." I sensed her hesitance," Amy told me...about your mom and dad. How are you taking it?"
I flushed and looked elsewhere. A few days back Tyler started sending me weird messages. Ones about Dad. He said he had a new girlfriend– a wack job named Virginia– and they broke into Nan's house while she was away. When Dad got in trouble, he practically flipped off the entire family. Said it was just him and Virginia now. He told Tyler he was going to move somewhere far away where none of us could find them.
I had a break down that day. Right in front of Amy. All my home problems kept pouring out. From Mom, to poor Tyler being moved into Aunt Tara's home. I hadn't expected her to tell Vanilla.
"I'm better, I guess." I told her quietly," But Rose doesn't want him as our dad anymore, and Tyler is going through therapy."
She nodded in understanding, casting a quick gaze at Cream.
"I couldn't imagine putting Cream through something like that." She whispered. I forced a smile and a sad laugh.
"Yeah. You're doing amazing with her." I said. The young rabbit was leaning in, almost as if she believed she was in the story herself.
"Thank you, Emma. And remember you always have a place here."
I turned to her, nodding at her kindness. My granny had told me the same thing. She didn't like me staying at home when Mom was in one of "those moods".
"The party was great. Night guys!" I called before slipping out the door. The cool night air hit me with a pleasant feeling. Autumn had always been a favorite season of mine. I faced the way home, ready to race away at the push of my foot. And yet, I halted. Ever since that fateful day that my secret came out, I found myself questioning whether to return home or not. Sure my family would miss me, but...
I shook my head and braced myself again. It was home. It was where I belonged. I bursted forward with great speed and didn't look back.