SHADOWS OF DOOM: NIGHT OF THE HUNTER
By Jason de L'Epee
FOREWARD: After concluding the three "Great Adventure" fanfics, I found that it is time to start telling the story arch revolving a mysterious find that was introduced in The Great Adventure 2: Revenge of the Shadow and explored in The Great Adventure 3: The Flames of Solaris. Inevitable questions from the third installment of the "Great Adventure" trilogy will begin to be answered in the newest trilogy, Shadows of Doom. To get a grip on where this story falls within the grand scheme, it happens literally the day after that The Fall…and Back Again 2 ends. This is also my first attempt to making an action/horror genre fanfic, but hopefully lighter on the cheese. As a consequence of this being a horror, I have taken the liberty to take studying upon the nature
This fic is rated T for Teen:
Violence
Blood Depiction
Mild Language
A few refreshers and revelations:
Shadow over the past few years has regained his memory after losing it after his "death" during the ARK incident. He was nursed back to health by Big the Cat, and after regaining some memory, Shadow took off north to find Sonic. This was covered in The Fall…and Back Again. In more recent events, he remembered Maria as well.
Before that, Shadow and Sonic, while fighting the Biolizard, had discovered the source of the Biolizard's power, embedded in its life-support. While they did not know what it was, they sensed that it was evil. However, it fell with the Biolizard after it was destroyed. It was presumed destroyed with the Biolizard's corpse.
The Chaotix are beginning to form a detective business in Echidnaopolis on Angel Island. By the time this story takes place, it has been only two months within operation.
The Guardian Unit of Nations, G.U.N., often hires bounty hunters when dealing with situations outside normal boundaries of human peacekeeping. These deals are often kept under wraps and away from the ever-prying noses of the colonial bureaucracy.
DISCLAIMER: Sonic and all other related characters are copywrited to SEGA and Sonic Team © 1991-2011. Any additional characters have been conceived by the author for the use by the author only. Events told are based on the video game series and various other media, and are considered non-canon to the original events told by the games and other media; therefore, events told in this work should not be used to explain unanswered questions presented by the original game or media stories.
This story by the author should not be reproduced electronically. Copies of the fictional piece can be found on and under the name of the author himself and himself only.
PROLOGUE:-
Pray to your god, open your heart
Whatever you do, don't be afraid of the dark
Cover your eyes, the devil's inside
One night of the hunter
One day I will get revenge
One night to remember
One day it'll all just end
-Night of the Hunter, 30 Seconds to Mars ©2009
No moon tonight looked down upon the dark steaming jungles of the Mystic Ruins, collectively known as the Forests of Indra. Once these jungles held a magnificent civilization, an empire that encompassed most of the Western continent, but the mighty race had been swallowed up, and its grand empire reclaimed by the forests. Nightly the doleful noises of the forest creatures would greet the rising moon, but tonight the darkness was thick as the night sky held no moon. Mists as thick as cold stew rose up beneath the canopies, hiding whatever roamed the jungles tonight…
Tonight was the night of the hunter.
Shots rang out through the darkness, shattering the nighttime resonance of the jungle. Mere moments later a figure tore through the underbrush at a frenzied run, his eyes bulging and drenched in sweat. Running blindly, he slipped on the wet green undergrowth but clambers back to his feet as if he would die if he stayed there. One could feel his thudding heart as adrenalin raged through his veins like water, and his terror was just as contagious.
The man, an explorer of the Mystic Ruins expeditions, had gotten separated from his scouting party earlier that day, and had been wandering the forests until well into night. Now he was running for his life from something so terrible that his brain was assaulted by the madness of pure fear. The scouting expeditions were somber, and each one carried a firearm, although many didn't know why. Tonight, the lost man now knew why.
Again he slipped, falling into the enormous leaves of a philodendron. The fall dislodged a firearm from his hands, sending it into the thick underbrush, lost to all eyes. There, the man hid, whimpering like a lost puppy. Despite the fact he could not see at all in the jungle, he wouldn't dare use his flashlight. The flashlight was a beacon, leading it to him. That creature. There was no way that God in heaven could have created such a monster. It had sniffed him out, and was seeking to devour him. He couldn't even shout for help. The monster would hear him. He was all alone, left to be food.
A hiss broke the silence of the jungle, and the man jumped. It was coming, coming closer. It was tracking him, sniffing him out! The man dashed away again, stumbling through the darkness as his lungs ached for air. He had no idea where he was going, but his blind fear drove him to run, always run.
He could hear no noise but the sound of his own frantic footsteps, but he knew. He knew that the creature was sniffing him out like a pack of hounds to the fox. There was no escape, but he kept running. It could even be in the shadows just to his left or right. He was hunted, and he was food for it.
He tripped again, falling flat on his front. He tried to get up, only to find that his feet were now hopelessly entangled in thick lush vines. He was trapped. The prey was caught. He tried to vainly free himself, but he could not.
Another hiss, closer, following by slow dull thumps as the creature drew closer. The hunter was coming. It has smelled its feast. He could feel its evil already upon him. He knew he would regret it, but he whipped out his flashlight and turned it on. For one brief moment, he looked into the face of his devourer.
As the air was split with a terrified piercing scream, the birds of the forest took to the sky as the scream dissolved into silence for the final time.
It was feeding time.
CHAPTER 1: Drinking Game
