Hello! Lordy, I can't believe that it's almost been one year since I published 'Running From The Enemy'! How time flies! Now, my regular readers might be quite confused about the progress of 'Hide And Seek', and honestly, I can't blame you, so explanations and details about this mystery can be found on my profile.

Anyway, I do hope you enjoy the updated version of my sequel to 'Running From The Enemy', and to readers who are new to this story are advised to read 'Running From The Enemy' in order to create an understanding behind the plot.

In this chapter Lindsay, Mei, and Frank are all OCs. Sonic, Amy, Knuckles, and Shadow belong to Sega, which I do not own.

~Xoxomtmodnarxoxo


The wind blew gently and smoothly outside the bedroom window, filled with reassurance and prosperity, like a cool breeze during a heat wave reassuring everyone that the heat will eventually flow away. It was a calm night, it was a peaceful night. Yet, despite the cool air, the small bedroom within the apartment in Towns Square was surprisingly snug. Inside, Lindsay was busy stitching materials together in order to make curtains. It was poorly done, but a very good attempt nonetheless. As she sighed with irritation at the curtains, she looked up at her four-year old daughter, Mei, who sat on her bed in an excited manner whilst clutching her favourite teddy bear, her piercing emerald eyes begging her mother to continue her story.

"And then what happened?", Mei asked impatiently. Lindsay sat up abruptly, as though somebody had struck her with a hot iron rod, and quickly scanned the page in the storybook. And groaned. She had reached the part of the story which she detested.

"And the handsome, brave Knight in shining armour rescued the Princess from the dangerous dragon-"

"Oh!"

"And at that moment, the Princess fell deeply in love with the handsome Knight, and…"

"And…?"

Lindsay bit her tongue. She hated the way fairy tales always ended: the prince-and-the-princess-fell-in-love-and-got-married ending always reminded her of the horrors she had endured four years ago with Sonic. It was too painful for her to remember. It had infuriated her that Mei loved these stories. Lindsay decided to use this to her advantage and altered the ending of the story slightly.

"And… the Princess decided not to fall in love, she decided not to get married, and lived a happy care-free life. The End", she concluded, snapping the storybook shut. Mei squealed automatically, until it dawned on her that the ending of the story was entirely different. What was that about the Princess not getting married?, she thought wildly.

"That's it?", Mei asked uncertainly.

"Yep"

"They didn't get married?"

"Nope"

Mei glared at her mother, crossing her arms crossly.

"You changed the ending of the story!", she whined. Lindsay sighed.

"Mei, it's just a story, it doesn't really matter", she argued whilst putting the curtains in place. Mei frowned.

"It does for me! You ruined the whole story", she exaggerated. Lindsay couldn't help but laugh at her daughter as she got down from the window and looked at her daughter fondly. Mei was a sweet child, no doubt about it, but she certainly inherited Lindsay's stubbornness which tended to cause disputes between them at the worst of times.

"So, how do you think the story should end?", Lindsay teased Mei. Mei thought hard for a split second, and a big grin came to her face.

"The Knight and the Princess should get married and live happily ever after!", she cried happily, her emerald eyes shining. Mei sighed happily, "I wish I was a Princess so that I could marry a handsome Prince"

Lindsay, again, laughed at her. Mei couldn't help but look crushed at her mother's impudence.

"What?", asked Mei, looking hurt.

"Nothing, sweetie, honest. But-", Lindsay stifled a laugh, "Do you seriously want to be a Princess?"

"Yeah! Duh!"

"Wouldn't you want to do something more worthwhile in your life?", Mei frowned at her mother, and shook her violet, curled quills. Lindsay began to panic slightly. She'd always thought that Mei would be like her; to dream big and have plans to become successful in her future. It felt as thought Mei's up-bringing had been a complete waste of time, as far as Lindsay was concerned. And what about the other problem? Lindsay obviously couldn't tell Mei that she actually was a Princess in real-life. It would emotionally disrupt Mei.

What Mei doesn't know won't hurt her, Lindsay decided. She sighed and sat down beside Mei in her bed, putting her arm around Mei. Mei snuggled in happily. Lindsay happily stroked her hair for a second before continuing.

"What I mean is", she explained, "Don't you want to have a great job, great opportunities, and be happy?"

"But my stories tell me I'd be happy if I met a Prince or a Knight", Mei argued. Lindsay sighed in an infuriated manner. I got to get rid of those fucking books, she thought angrily. She turned back to her daughter.

"You see, Mei", she explained further, "Fairy tales don't happen in real life. Life outside in the World is tough and fierce; you will have to tackle your problems yourself. There's no such thing as Princes waiting to rescue you from evil. You're better off having a good career and being happy with your accomplishments-"

"What's that word mean?"

"It means success, a good feeling if you've done well in something. So, Mei, if you could be anything in the entire World, what would it be?"

Mei thought hard. Lindsay knew Mei was doing her very best to think of something; the way Mei screwed her face up, her emerald eyes flickering slightly from left to right…

Mei suddenly sat up, her eyes dazzling.

"I know! I know what I want to be!", she cried, but then she ducked her head shyly, "Oh, but you'd say no"

"No go on, tell me", her mother encouraged her.

"Well, I'd want to be… oh, I can't"

"Well", Lindsay said, "If you won't tell me… I bet you can tell the Tickle Monster!", and began to gently tickle Mei on her ribs. Mei squealed helplessly, laughing loudly and begging Lindsay to stop. After a fond moment, she settled down and nodded slightly, her eyes looking wistful.

"I want to be a ballerina", she finally confided. Lindsay paused, considering this option. A ballerina wasn't too bad of an option; ballerinas were highly respected and were paid good money. Not to mention having the opportunity to travel across the World to perform in very popular shows. Yes, it did have it's advantages.

"Mei", Lindsay said whilst lifting Mei's chin with the tip of her forefinger, "If you want to be a ballerina, I'll be more than happy. In fact-"

But she was cut off as somebody knocked at the front door of their apartment. Lindsay looked at the small clock on Mei's bedside table. 10pm. Who would come to visit them at this time of night…?

"Stay right here, Sweetie", Lindsay told her daughter and made her way to the door in the small hallway, questions beginning to spring in her mind: Who was it at the door? Was it Meg for a visit? No, Meg only came round after 9pm if it was an emergency. Seth, Stan, Chris, Dixie? Again, impossible. Especially for Seth and Chris since they would likely spend their evenings at clubs. She reached the door. Hesitated. Would she dare open the door at this time of night…? She could be abducted by assassins, raped by a robber, or sliced by a serial killer if she opened the door…

"Oh, God, I'm delirious", she muttered madly whilst rubbing her forehead. The knocking on the door persisted. She sighed loudly and opened the door cautiously.

And then grimaced. There at the door was her landlord, Frank, a black male hedgehog who was rather impudent even to the clearly unfortunate. Both Lindsay and Frank hadn't gotten on well all the time she had lived there with Mei, and decided to stay out of each other's way unless it was time to pay the rent. Without a doubt, it was probably the reason why Frank was at the door at that moment. He frowned at her.

"Evening", he stated.

"Hey Frank", Lindsay said politely, "What's up?"

"It's time to pay the rent, Miss Taylor"

"Already?", Lindsay asked, stunned. She really hadn't noticed that her rent was due, and she was already a few months behind in her payments. She sighed in dismay, that meant she'd have to pay at a later date. Again.

"Look, I'm really sorry, Frankie. I don't have the money just now and-"

"That's Frank to you, Miss Taylor", he snapped, looking very pissed off, "And you're already behind in your rent. You owe me around $290!"

"Look, Frank, I've not been paid much by my job, and I have to support Mei and myself. Surely we can come to an agreement…?", she asked hopefully, trying to look innocent. Frank sniffed and frowned at her.

"Are you hitting on me?", he asked, outraged.

"Oh, Christ, no!", Lindsay cried, disgusted at the thought, "No. no, what I'd meant was can I pay you in supplements, you know, bit-by-bit?"

Frank breathed in sharply.

"I've been very patient with you, Miss Taylor", he explained, "But I cannot ignore the fact that other tenants in this block have fairly paid their rent whereas you have got away without paying so many times. I've already had discussions about you with your neighbours-"

"Excuse me?", she asked, outraged.

"And they agree that you've to take some responsibility in your life. If it were up to me I'd throw you out of your apartment right here and now"

"But-but-", Lindsay spluttered, "Frank, please", she paused and sighed, "I have a daughter to think about. I have nowhere else to go. Not just now. Please. Please give us more time"

Frank paused for a moment, and pondered. Lindsay held her breath. Any deal would be better than being evicted at that moment. Anything. Frank sighed.

"Alright", he concluded, "I'll give you two more days to pay me the money you owe. If I don't receive any money, I'll expect you to leave at the end of the week. And that's final"

And with that, Frank left down the hallway and down the stairs. Lindsay froze on the spot, considering the situation. It was Tuesday, and if she didn't have the money by Thursday, she and Mei would be doomed to be homeless. Slowly and gently, she closed and locked the front door… and slid to the floor. Wondering what to do next.


The Towns Square was alive with jazz musicians, businessmen, students travelling to school and universities in the area, and tourists. Lindsay envied their freedom, their vast opportunities, their happiness. True, she was happy she had Mei, but it was becoming more and more difficult to manage on her own. As she dropped Mei off at a Day-care nursery, Lindsay looked at her surroundings as she took the tram on the way to work. Towns Square wasn't too bad, really, it had modern shops, churches, museums, universities, clubs… but it still wasn't a patch on Capital City. For one thing, women were still thought of an inferior to men. In addition, marriage was heavily stressed upon in the area, but the rules were relaxed as far as arranged marriages were concerned. If a woman wasn't happy about her marriage, she was allowed to prevent it from taking place. Also, rules and views about dying hair, clothes, drinking and swearing were also very relaxed. Lindsay cursed to herself as she reached her stop. Why couldn't she have been born in Towns Square in the first place?

Lindsay looked at the café she worked in. 'Jenny's'. It was a small, select café which was situated near the town centre. It was a bit shabby, but it wasn't to be sniffed at. It made reasonable money, and attracted many customers. She sighed and walked into the café. As she closed the door behind her, Lindsay pinned a smile on her face at Amy Rose, who was making tea behind the counter for two businessmen. Amy smiled whilst pouring the tea.

"Morning Linds", she called. Lindsay waved slightly and made her way to the backroom. When she dumped her bag and jacket, she appeared back into the café in her uniform. Amy smiled and handed her a cup of tea.

"So how's things?", Amy enquired. Lindsay sighed; she didn't want to use Amy as a personal leaning post, but she was just desperate to confide in someone. She was desperate to change the subject, and focussed on the music playing in the background instead.

"What the hell is that playing?", she asked over the jazz music from the CD Player.

"It's 'In The Mood' by Glen Miller. It's old, but still very popular", Amy answered, "So, how's things?"

"Shit"

"That bad?"

"Yep"

Lindsay let out everything, there and then. Amy sighed, lectured her, and hugged her sympathetically.

"Hey, things will only get worse before it gets better", Amy admitted.

"Thanks", Lindsay answered sarcastically, "But how am I suppose to get $290 in two days?"

"I don't know", Amy admitted, "Maybe you can kind of take out a loan?"

"Yeah, and then I'd be loaning more money than ever"

"What about moving back in with your parents?"

"No way! They're history!"

"Then you're kind of screwed, my friend"

"No duh, Sherlock", Lindsay sighed, "I don't know what to do… I really don't"

The two girls stood for a moment, unable to say anything to one another. Amy suddenly sat up eagerly.

"I know!", she squealed, "I have a friend who works in the performing arts! Maybe they can give you a job?"

"Geez, Ames, I don't know…"

"He told me that he had a client who danced in a festival and they earned over $200 on their first day. Think of it! In one day, they had earned $200; imagine how much they would earn in two days…", Amy teased. Lindsay hesitated, considering the idea. The idea of dancing for money seemed really sleazy and disgusting… but then again, she was desperate for the money. And how hard could it be to dance for strangers?

"Tell me, is it all… sleaze, you know…?", Lindsay enquired cautiously.

"Nope! It's all highly respectable. They treat their clients very well, honest!"

"Well…", Lindsay dithered, "I'll have to think about it"

"If you change your mind, here's his phone number", Amy scribbled a number in a notelet and handed it her. At that moment of time, college students came into the café, hungry. Amy sighed.

"We'll talk later", she laughed, "Right now we've got mouths to feed!"


"Yeah, who is this?", the voice asked on the other end of the line. Lindsay swallowed nervously and spoke into the phone.

"Hi, this is-", Lindsay paused. She remembered her cover-up name which she used when Sonic was searching for her, and thought it useful to use it now, "This is Celie Carter. I was told about your company and I'm interested in applying", she paused delicately, "Erm, who's this I'm speaking to?"

"This is Shadow"

"Oh"

"Who told you about our company?"

"A friend"

"Cool", he answered, "If you're interested, then come to this address. Get a pen and piece of paper ready"

"Oh-yeah. Cool", Lindsay answered whilst searching for a pen and paper. Amy stood beside her and gave her a thumbs-up gesture. Lindsay felt as if all her problems were over; she was now at peace regarding most of her worries. Still, there was still the matter of performing…


Highly respectable indeed! She stared with horror at her surroundings. The streets were dark with nightfall, but what was most disturbing about it was the fact that the streets were rough, the people were threatening, and worst of all, the address that Shadow had given Lindsay led her to a shabby club. She felt revolted that she ended up here. Then again, looks can be deceiving at the worst of times. Did she dare go into the club…?

She didn't have to. The door opened by itself, and out came a male echidna. He was tall, heavily built like a gorilla, and he frowned at Lindsay behind his shades. She wanted to run away right there and then.

"You the new kid?", he enquired in a serious tone.

"How'd you know?", Lindsay enquired.

"Cause you've been standing out here for about twenty minutes", he answered, "Get inside"

And she did. She didn't need persuading. However, the club inside wasn't as bad and sleazy as she had expected: It was… exotic, a spacious area with dim lighting, silk curtains on door hinges, purple walls, and soft music in the background. Lindsay stood nervously and took in her surroundings. It seemed safe, but there was something about it that she couldn't put her finger on…

"Carter?", a dark voice enquired. Lindsay turned around. There stood an ebony hedgehog with red streaks in his quills, a serious expression on his face, his red eyes looking at her suspiciously. She didn't really like the look of him.

"Celie Carter?", he tried again. She caught on and nodded nervously.

"Yes", she croaked, "I presume you're Shadow?"

"That's right", he answered. He looked at her up and down again, "How old are you, again?"

"Eighteen", Lindsay answered. Well, she would be in a years time.

"Fine, and you're still interested?"

"Yeah"

"Fine", he stated, "Follow me"

Shadow led them to a small office. Lindsay sat down at his desk, not daring to look at him straight in the face. Shadow peered at her again. She dared to question him.

"What?", she asked.

"You look awfully young", he remarked.

"Um ,thank you?"

"I'm just saying, we look after our staff to a great extent", he explained, "If I find out that you've been lying about your age, I'd be willing to excuse you from the post. My business is NOT one of those infamous clubs you hear on the news who hire young children from the streets"

"I didn't say you were", she argued, and then bit her tongue. When would she learn to hold her tongue at the worst of times? Shadow frowned at her. Lindsay stared innocently back at him, waiting for him to ask her to leave…

Shadow smirked, and shook his head.

"You're street-wise", he commented, "That's a good thing. You'd be surprised how many innocent girls have been taken for granted in this business. But you at least have spunk. Now, as for your hours…"

"Is it during the daytime?"

"Why? Do you have another job?"

"Yeah, in a café"

"Your shifts are during the evening, and we'll be happy to send you a taxi to take you home. If we need you to do an extra shift, we'll let you know in advance-"

"How much would I be paid?"

Shadow smirked again.

"It depends on your performance. If you want good money, knock the audience dead, otherwise we'll pay you $4.18 an hour"

"That's… not bad"

"It's a good rate"

"And what about the job? What am I doing?"

"You'll be dancing onstage from time to time, however you'll also be serving a few tables, so there's always something to do"

"And is it all… sleazy…?"

"No", Shadow confirmed in a stern tone of voice, "We don't see ourselves as a sleazy club, for a start. We look after our colleagues well, and we have a good reputation. We see ourselves as an exotic club - nothing more"

"So… when do I start?"

"Tonight"

Lindsay was taken aback slightly. She hadn't expected to start as early as this. And what about Mei? Who was able to look after her at such short notice? She pondered this offer. Shadow looked at her again.

"Is that a problem?", he enquired suspiciously. Lindsay shook her head nervously.

"No, no", she answered, "It's just that-"

"Then there's no problem then", he concluded and smiled in a dismissive fashion, "I'll see you at half past eight, then?"


"Hey!", Knuckles shouted over the noisy traffic, "Hey, Sonic!"

Sonic looked up from his cell phone, and sighed irritably. Great. Of all days that he wanted to be alone, it was interrupted by an inconsiderate person. For the past couple of years, every day was an irritating day for him. Which was understandable for him considering his experiences in the past.

Four years. To Sonic, it seemed like yesterday when he had been struck by the car and left for dead. He was left in a terrible condition in which his head was savagely split open, allowing him to lose a great amount of blood, not to mention his badly bruised body and broken ribs and fractures. He tried to forget the horrible memories, but they remained in his mind, as did the hideous scar on the back of his head. Sonic anxiously traced the scar as he watched Knuckles make his way through the traffic, cursing at a student driver.

Four years. Four terrible years of uncertainty, anxiety, anger, and hurt. He couldn't even recall the number of visits he had from his therapist; it was all a distant blurred haze in the back of his mind. Nothing had distracted him. As each day went by, Sonic's sanity slowly drained away. He began to question himself. Supposing he had a few anger issues? Did he really intimidate others around him? Is that why Lindsay had left him?

Lindsay.

Not a day went by when he didn't think about her. He wondered how she was doing, what she was doing at that precise moment, where she was…

His therapist expected Sonic to forget about her, which was ridiculous. She was the reason that he was in such a mess. She was the reason why he was constantly exhausted. She was the reason why he was emotionally drained. She was the reason why Sonic had isolated himself from everybody else…

"Wait up, buddy!", Knuckles called and clapped Sonic's right shoulder in a friendly manner, "How've you been, man?"

Sonic scoffed. He had such a nerve!

"Good days and bad days", he answered back darkly, "Still, I don't suppose it matters, really, just the typical lifestyle of a crazy person"

"Whoa!", Knuckles exclaimed, "Just a simple question, man"

"Whatever", Sonic answered back, "So… what are you doing here?"

"Just out and about. You know me. What about yourself?"

"Just hanging around"

"So… how's things been, Sonic?"

"What do you think?"

"That bad?"

"Yep"

"And… Lindsay?"

"God, are you seriously this stupid?", Sonic snapped and began to walk away rapidly. Knuckles followed him like a persistent pet. He was very concerned. Sonic had really changed during the previous years. Usually it was himself who was quite ironic about everything, but seeing one of his friends becoming like him was… scary.

"Sorry! Sorry!", Knuckles exclaimed, "I didn't mean any harm, dude. I'm just worried about ya-"

"Well, there's no reason to be worried about me! I'm just fine, okay?", Sonic shouted and continued his way down the busy street. Knuckles continued to follow him.

"No you're not", Knuckles argued.

"Oh, fuck off!", Sonic growled. Knuckles grabbed Sonic's shoulders and forced Sonic to look at him. He looked very ill; with eyes red with fatigue, a pale complexion and quills brushed back in a bedraggled manner.

"You're not okay, Sonic", Knuckles concluded, "Wanna talk?"

"No! Jesus, why won't everybody just leave me alone?"

"Seriously, dude, you need a bit of fun. You busy tonight?"

Sonic sighed. Anything for a quiet life, he thought to himself impatiently whilst scuffing his shoes on the ground.

"Nope", he admitted.

"Great!", Knuckles exclaimed happily, "Come out with me tonight. It'll be fun! I know this place where…"

Sonic gazed at his surroundings in a desperate manner, regretting his answer. He really didn't want to go anywhere, he was perfectly content being by himself. What had he got himself into…?