Alright, a new story! I kinda scraped the other story since my writing style changed for the better. This is rewritten in first-person, told by Shadow's perspective. It's a bit easier to do it this way, as I was thinking of doing it third-person, but being to be able to know what Shadow only thinks makes the story a bit more deeper. It's supposed to be very surreal and abstract—that's what I'm going for, to make this story as unique a Shadow fic as possible.
*BE WARNED: This story's rated M for a reason. May/will contain strong language and highly suggestive/dark themes. You'll see why in later chapters.
**Shadow the Hedgehog is owned by SEGA and Team Sonic.
I – Simply Fine
I have a problem. Not exactly an injected adrenaline rush and schizophrenic nightmares, but very similar. And now that I think about it, I might as well be this druggie schizophrenic if these such cases are happening to me.
I have no idea where I hell I am.
I look around. I'm in a wheat field, only the yellowed stalks are emitting an unnatural glow. Synthetic, like thin strips of metal waving through the air.
I feel someone behind me. Turing around, I hear a gasp. I don't know whether it was from me or the hedgehog I was now staring at, but she covers her mouth with her full hand. I couldn't help but notice the ribbon tied around her wrist as she clasped her mouth shut. She looks to be about eight years old, but with flowing quills streaked with red. One of her eyes was a glowing shade of blue. The other was a shade of crimson.
She takes her hand off her mouth, wrapping it behind her with her other hand, and says with a playful smile: "Dizzy yet?"
Not exactly 'dizzy', but close.
I dug my fingers into my quills, not worrying if I managed to scratch out blood beneath my gloves. My eyes shut tight enough to strain my retinas; I rocked back and forth in an attempt to rid my mind of these arbitrary visions.
At the time, I felt quite pathetic.
Whatever... visions, or uncalled for events I was thrown into—they all seemed so real. So vivid, more than a dream could ever simulate.
It was also very painful, and the after-effects were very inconvenient. For one, every time these 'lapses' occurred, I found that the room which I was in previous to my visions would be completely and utterly destroyed. In this case, I was in my bedroom hoping for at least an hour of sleep.
Book cases I owned were toppled over themselves, my desk flipped over and my only laptop snapped in half and hissing against the wall I was now facing. I was surrounded by crumpled magazines and novels—and now that I think of it, the only things I really had in my room were my computer and an immeasurable amount of books. Half of them I didn't even know I had, why all these books…
Eventually my headache wore off, but I was still feeling as if I had a hangover. I was also a bit pissed at how f'd up my room now was. Figure I'd let Marie handle it.
Marie. Interesting how her name is so similar to hers. She came almost daily to clean around the house, order groceries and whatever else chores involved the outside world. Usually, she didn't have to do much, but since these 'lapses' (I guess I'll called them that for now) began, her work was starting to get cut out for her. Its not that I hired her because her name was uncomfortably familiar, but she was a rose-colored hedgehog I could somehow relate to. Maybe not emotionally, but in some ways physically…
And no, I haven't tried anything on her. I don't think I could be up for anything like that in awhile, not since these visions.
I grunted as I got up from my disheveled mess, ashamed that I felt like I did something horrible to get into this. Thankfully my bed was still intact (mind the dark wrinkled sheets) and it was still night out. I looked to my end-table clock—a fine device that a certain curvy bat gave to me years ago—and saw the numbers flash 12:24. Next to the numbers were my pair of golden bracelets, my only accessory which I eventually felt comfortable taking on and off. They allowed me to have somewhat of an infinite amount of energy, but for tonight I wanted to be unconscious (the healthy unconscious) for at least several hours. Grumbling, I threw myself on the mattress and sighed when I stretched out my limbs. I never knew my body could hurt this much.
—
At exactly 11:43, my cell began to vibrate. These piece of shit Iphones—I don't even remember setting any alarm, and even if I did it wouldn't vibrate.
In fact, my phone was such a piece of garbage that I found myself shoot up from bed and throw my phone at the wall. That's the only way I know how to turn it off—just throw it at my wall—and it works. Also, it allows me to release some of my frustration… Maybe it's not so bad after all.
After freshening up and grabbing my bracelets, I realized I felt… fine. At the moment it felt odd to feel that way, but I was, clearly…fine.
Reaching my kitchen, I found that Marie was cooking.
She was calmer than most girls I've met, with a tranquil English voice and glistening ocean eyes with specks of hazel (and you wonder how come I know her eye color so well? I don't even know.) On this shining morning she wore a sleeveless beige top with dark, thin jeans to hug the shape of her legs… And her shoes weren't so shabby themselves.
As I rubbed the front of my neck I must have growled, because Marie sharply turned and greeted me with a soft, but bewildered, smile. "Oh, Mr. Shadow," her delicate voice gasped. "How are you this morning?"
"I feel fine," I simply answered. "And you?"
"Fine, fine," she answered with just as much enthusiasm. "Thank you."
It ended there. She swiftly turned back to her cooking, not minding that I just stood there. Without trying to frighten her (I was afraid if I scared her, her petite body would just shrivel up,) I sat down at the glass table and looked away from what she was doing.
Yes, I was used to her company in my home, but lately our conversations have turned bland. Maybe it was because of these 'lapses' and her having to do more work? I hoped that wasn't the case, because that would just mean she's more pleasant when she has less work.
Just then, she turned back to me with her head leaning to the side and her hands carrying a plate of… It wasn't disgusting, but I didn't know what it was.
"I made strawberry crepes," she declared as she set the plate in front of me. There were long rolls of what looked like light, flattened out cinnamon sticks with a white zigzagging sauce and freshly cut strawberries on top. The scent of the pleasant dish mixed with Marie's lilac perfume.
She pointed towards the sauce and said, "Usually you're supposed to use chocolate, but I know that you don't eat that, so I used vanilla instead." Clasping her hands together she asked, "Is that alright?"
I inhaled the scent of her perfume once more. "No, it's okay," I said, trying to give her a small, warm smile, "But it looks really sweet. You should have some, too."
Marie looked a bit bewildered at my request, and I didn't blame her. Usually I preferred to eat alone and she understood that, but today I felt that I had to break routine. Besides, I didn't think I could consume such a sugary meal myself.
Still, she gave a modest smile and nodded.
So we both crunched on the crepes for a few moments, and she managed to get me into talking about the occasional messes I happened to make. It wasn't something I wanted to talk about, not even to Marie, but she just fit the topic into the conversation that I didn't really notice what she was asking until it was too late.
"I feel like something is wrong, Mr. Shadow," she said to me with obvious concern. "Are you alright?"
This was when her deep, oceanic eyes looked into mine and she set her hand on my arm. I looked at where her delicate hand was placed, but she didn't seem to notice, and nor did I seem to mind. I started to conflict with myself on whether or not to tell her about my 'lapses'.
When I looked back into her eyes, I could see that she was deeply worried. Just the way she looked at me made my spine impulsively shiver. It's been awhile since anyone had genuine care for me, and neither was I used to someone looking after me. Marie was like a mother I never had. A younger, eye-catching mother.
I put my fork down which contained the last bites of my crepe and looked away from her stare once again. "I've been having these… visions, lately," I told her slowly. "They just—" I gave an exasperated sigh and I felt her rub her hand against mine. "These visions just come out of impulse—I don't provoke them, at least I don't think I am, and… I don't know what's causing them. They come at such random times…"
This time I felt her hand squeeze mine. Apparently she was listening, but I didn't look up to see if she took her eyes off me. She quietly asked, "What type of things do you see?"
"Just random scenes," I told her. "Like last night, I had a lapse and I saw this-this little girl, and we were in a field and both of her eyes were different colors… And she asked me—she asked me if I was dizzy." Finally I looked back up to Marie, whose face was frozen in a blank stare. Apparently, that wasn't the answer she was expecting. Still, she held onto my hand as if she'd fall if she didn't.
She looked away from me and then down at the glass table, sucking in her lips as she did so. Then her eyes were caught back in mine again and she quietly asked, "Have you told anyone else about this?" As if I've admitted a scandal to her.
Still, I couldn't pry myself away from her gaze. I was submerged in her pool of storm-blue eyes. I found myself in a trance, my mouth slightly gaped open. Fortunately I caught myself and snapped it shut. Then I softly answered, "Just you."
Time froze, but only for a little bit. We swallowed in each others features, as silent as the rays of sunlight piercing through the kitchen window. The light framed her delicate face, her eyes now sparkling a more turquoise shade of blue. Suddenly I felt myself grow hot, and I had the feeling that it wasn't because my fur was absorbing the sunlight.
Maria was the one to break the bond, since she shyly looked away and had the hint of a smirk on her face. I found myself cock my head to the side as she lifted her hand off mine as she got up, still looking away. She smoothed out her top, cleared her throat, and mumbled, "I would suggest you see a neurologist," before leaving me with two plates of half-finished crepe.
I didn't bother to ask where she was going, although I did hear footsteps on the stairs. Well, at least she was still here. I looked down to the glass table where she was previously looking, and I saw myself flinch a crooked smile. Immediately I began to frown, as I saw that my smile didn't suit me at all. Then I saw that my frown didn't suit me either, so I decided to keep my face neutral. So this was the face Marie had to see every morning…
Even though I hated to smile, I couldn't help but look away from my reflection but still keep the soft grin, knowing that my relationship with Marie has gone to a different level.
This really was turning out to be a fine day.
—
But not for long, dear Shadow… Tee-hee-hee, Mwah-ha-ha—giggle-giggle. Yes, the first part did sound like a hangover and the second part a bit sappy, but I'm quite satisfied. After all, it won't be like that for long… I plan on introducing a lot of my favorite characters to Shadow, most of them—in fact all of them—being male, since I hate how weird all the female Sonic characters are. Except in the comic—some of the comic girls are alright… eh… Anyway, favorite this story or whatever so you can see the latest installment in this wonderful, deep, dark, angsty story… may not be like that for now, but just wait… wait—that's the key word… wait…