Once again, Shadow felt uncertain fear. He had been dreaming about his life on the Ark, about his past experiences, when a slight sound had awoken him from his slumber. A snapping of a twig, and he opened his eyes. He was still lying at the edge of the meadow, leaning against a tree trunk, the full moon high in the sky. Its light illuminated everything as
Shadow glanced around, trying to see where the sound had come from. After a couple minutes of silence except for the natural sounds of the night, he relaxed and was closing his eyes when a cloaked being suddenly leapt out of the tall grass in front of him. The hedgehog threw his arms up in defense, trying to push the creature off of him. For a moment, it seemed as if he would succeed, but it was only because the red-eyed monster was pausing to laugh at him. It hissed, then forced him to the ground with ease, lowering its head and opening its mouth to reveal fangs.
It was slightly larger than himself, and Shadow felt the saliva touch his skin as the creature sank its long teeth deep into his throat. The dark hedgehog was unable to move, the beast's body covering his legs and his hands holding down his arms as it began to drink his blood. Shadow felt a strange sensation coming over him, and his eyes drooped. He stopped fighting, and fell into unconsciousness.
When he awoke, he was no longer near the meadow. He was in a dark cave, and all around him he saw glowing red eyes, crimson slits in the darkness, all watching him silently. Shadow trembled, he felt weak, as if someone had drained his energy. Without warning, one of the pairs of eyes came closer, issuing a hissing sound.
"Hesssssss mine... I haven't had a drink for dayssssssssss!!!" it said, then it jumped ontop of him, knocking him down. Once again, Shadow was unable to fight it, too weak from his last encounter with the creatures. It forced his head down to the side, exposing his throat, and was about to bite him, when another came over and pushed it aside. "
You fool! Hessssss one of ussssssss now, I already drained him thrice!! Hessssss weak from it, I managed to keep him assssssssssleep through the month, I stretched his blood sssssso I wouldn't have to go huntingssss!!" this voice said, cackling.
Shadow sat up, and stared. He had changed, he realized. If he focused his eyes hard enough, he could easily see the two creatures in front of him. They were hunched over slightly, due to the low ceiling in the cave, and seemed to be wearing long cloaks. The one that had attacked him slunk off, grumbling and growling. The second one came up to him, his face inches from Shadow's.
"Sssssso ssssorry for my friendsssssss missssssbehavior, ssssssshe hassssssn't fed in daysssssss, and issssssss irritable." He hissed, his fangs showing when he spoke. Shadow realized that this beast was a male, the way it spoke and moved showed it.
"Where am I? How did I get here?!" Shadow asked, his voice rising. The other stared at him, then checked to see if anyone was listening.
"Pleasssssse do not ssssssspeak loud, it isssssss the daylight hoursssssssss, and many of ussssssssss our sssssssssleeping... You are in our cave, we are a colony of vampiresssssssss. I am Tegetro, a month ago, I went out to feed, and I found you. You were an eassssssssy target, sssssssssso I bit you. I've been keeping you from the othersssssssss, hiding you ssssssssso I can feed off you freely. However, one can only be bitten three timesssssssssss before they become one of usssssssss, and now I cannot usssssssse you. I will have to go out again tonight to ssssssssseek another meal." He said with a sniff.
Shadow stared at him in shock. This, creature, this vampire, was saying that he had turned him into one of their own?! Not wanting to believe it, Shadow reached up his hand to his mouth. Just beneath his lips he touched the long, sharp fangs that had sprouted out of his canine teeth. Still trying to believe it was all a hoax, he glared at Tegetro.
"Prove it! I don't believe that I'm..." he didn't get to finish, as Tegetro grabbed him by his arms and began dragging him towards the cave entrance. Shadow saw the light coming from the sun outside and for some unknown reason, began to feel afraid.
"If you are sssssssstill a normal hedgehog, then the ssssssssssunlight won't harm you... If you are not, then you will become assssssssh the moment it touchesssssss your ssssssskin!!" he said, preparing to shove Shadow out into the daylight. The dark hedgehog's heart skipped a beat as he began to tremble in fear. Tegetro stared at him and gave an evil snicker.
"What? You aren't afraid, are you?! I thought you didn't believe me, thought you wassssssss normal?!" the beast laughed, then he grabbed Shadow's hand. He brought them up to the hedgehog's neck, pressing the fingers to the bite punctures on his throat.
"Sssssssix, you sssssssee? I wassssssss tempted to try feeding on you more, but you awoke earlier than I expected...!" Tegetro said, catching Shadow as he fell to his knees. "You are weak... You musssssst resssssssssst for tonight, for it will be your firsssssssst hunt. I will help you with thissssssss one, but after thissssss night, you will be on your own!" he hissed, a touch of sympathy in his voice as he dragged Shadow back into the depths of the cave.
"You feed off of mortal beings by drinking their blood?! Doesn't that bother you?!" Shadow asked, later that night. The moon was full as they headed out, just as it had been when he had first been attacked. Tegetro had given him a long black cloak to wear, and he had found out that the vampire being was actually a wolf.
"It issssssss our way of life, as it hasssssss been mine for nearly twenty yearsssssssss. We can not change it, and if given the chance, yesssssss, I would prefer to be a normal creature, but it isssssss not sssssssssso. There is no known cure, asssss there isssss none for the werewolf, assss my cousssssin knowssssss all too well. It is ssstrange, that I became one of the undead, and he became a mutant of hissssss own kind." Tegetro said, shrugging.
The two vampires moved swiftly in the darkness until they came to a cliff. Here, the wolf halted. "If you would prefer, we could sssssssearch by flight?" he asked Shadow, allowing an enormous pair of bat wings to sprout out of his back. His hedgehog companion nodded, doing the same. Even though he did not say it, Shadow felt pity for his new friend, as he did for himself. Tegetro interrupted his thoughts by suddenly pointing down to the meadow below, where a small figure was sleeping in the grass by a burned out campfire.
They landed, and began to slink up to the small form. The wolf jumped in a seized the small creature in the sleeping bag, pulling her out and holding her securely. Shadow stared at the little girl. It was Cream the rabbit, and she sobbed in fright at the two dark creatures.
"You can have thisssssss one, ssssssssince it isssssssss your first time. It issssss not difficult, just allow your insssstinctsssss to guide you." Tegetro said, shoving the bunny into Shadow's arms. Then he turned, a sad frown on his face. "I go to find my mine, now, you're on your own!" he said, disappearing into the night.
"Let go of me, please! Don't hurt me!!" Cream cried, struggling to get away. The dark hedgehog didn't let go of her. At first, he was going to release her, but then something deep down inside him stirred, and he held her tighter. His hand touched her throat, and he felt her pulse beneath his fingers. With every beat of her heart, his urge became stronger. Slowly, he lowered his head to her neck. Cream pounded her fists on his chest and tried to escape, but he was stronger than ten hedgehogs of his normal size, and it was futile.
"Cheese! Amy!! Help!!!" she screamed, frightened as his fangs touched her neck. His instinct had taken over him completely, the hunger driving him. But he wasn't prepared for what happened next. A pink hedgehog jumped out, and smacked him hard with a large hammer.
"Get off her, YOU FREAK!!!" She screamed as she hit him. Her blow was so powerful that it knocked the dark hedgehog unconscious, and he fell to the ground. For the first time, both of the girls got a good look at the creature.
"Oh my gosh!! It's Mr. Shadow!!" Cream said, beginning to cry. "
Yeah, but what was he doing to you?! And why does he look so... evil?" wondered Amy. Suddenly, Cream's small chao Cheese came flying up, Sonic running along behind him.
"Is that... Shadow?!" he asked, looking at his rival lying on the ground. "Yeah, and he was attacking Cream!! At least, I think he was..." Amy said, blushing at the fact that she had knocked the black hedgehog out with one smack of her piko piko hammer. A red echidna came out of the bushes not too far away.
"Oh, hey, Knuckles! Shadow tried to kill Cream and Amy knocked him out, but we can't figure out why." Sonic told him, as Tails also came up behind him.
"You ever think that maybe he just likes hurting people?" said Knuckles, rolling his eyes. They turned as Tails gasped, he was kneeling down beside Shadow, inspecting him.
"Sonic, come look at this!" the small fox-boy said, showing the blue hedgehog the puncture marks on Shadow's neck. "Those look like, like...!" Tails stuttered, as Sonic moved him aside. Without further hesitation, the blue hedgehog opened Shadow's mouth to show off the two fangs gleaming in the moonlight.
"He's a VAMPIRE!!" Amy screamed hysterically.
Just across the wide meadow, Tegetro heard the pink hedgehogs scream of suprise. Believing that it was because his companion had finally caught someone on his own, he decided to see if it was so. His smile turned to a frown as he peeked out from the long grass at the scene. He had allowed himself to be captured, what an idiot, he thought, but then again, he hadn't been so hot when he had first started out.
The wolf listened in on their conversation, his eyes growing wide with every new idea that they came up with.
"We could just drive a stake in him, ya know." The echidna said, apparently not caring for Shadow. The others ignored him, their ideas showed more concern. Cream pulled Shadow into a sitting position against a stump nearby. She forgave him for his actions, after all, he couldn't control himself.
"Well, we can't just leave him like this! Maybe we can find a cure for him or something, I'm sure there's one somewhere!" said Sonic. Tails glanced at the slumped form by Cream, unnerved.
"Whatever we do, we need to do it quick, before he comes around. It was only lucky that he didn't hear Amy coming, if he was awake, he could easily beat us all, even though he would be outnumbered." the fox said. With a small moan, Shadow began to stir, lifting his head and opening his eyes, only to see Amy's hammer hit him full in the face again. Cream caught him as he toppled over once more, out cold. Tegetro muttered a curse under his breath, then leaped out, prepared to take them on.
"Ahhhhhh!!!!!! It's another one!!" yelled Cream, as Cheese flew in front of the bunny to protect her. The wolf let out a low hiss, then selected his target. If he could manage to snatch one of them, the others would attempt to follow. He would easily lose them, and he would have someone to feed upon. They would leave Shadow, and Tegetro could come back for him later. The vampire wolf leapt forward, grabbing Tails around the waist and then disappearing into the tall meadow grass.
"Soniccccccccc!!" the fox screamed as he was being carried off. Tegetro hadn't counted on the blue hedgehog having such speed, but was able to lose him nonetheless by hiding in the woods.
The young fox struggled in his grasp and began to shout, and the wolf bared his fangs viciously at him. It silenced him, seeing the seemingly murderous red eyes and the saliva dripping off the fangs inches from his own face. Tails became quiet, trembling and listening as his friends' calls grew fainter and fainter, until all he could hear was the sounds of the night.
Tegetro stood, and didn't say a word as he carried the two-tailed fox back over to where Shadow lay. The black hedgehog was beginning to move and come around, opening his eyes as the wolf gave him a look of annoyance.
"I had hoped that you wouldn't need my help, but I sssssuppossse that all of usssssss have to sssstart ssssssomewhere. It isss getting nearer to the light hourssss, we will have to drag thissssss one to the cave and hide him from the others. We can feed on him later, jusssst don't tell anyone I sssssssshared him with you, or they'll all be assssking for me for favorsssssssss!" the wolf said, when he noticed that Shadow was staring at the fox strangely.
"Tails?!" he asked, rising to his feet.
"Shadow!!! Please don't bite me!!! I don't want to be a vampire!!!!" the fox said, shaking fearfully as the tears began to run down his face.
"Sssssssshutup!!" Tegetro said, then turned to Shadow. "The more you let them talk, the more you don't want to feed off them, do you know thissssssss creature?" he asked. The dark hedgehog nodded, then sighed.
"Yes, I do. He's a friend of Sonic, and obsessed with mechanics." he said. The wolf began dragging the whimpering fox off in the direction of the cave.
"Well, that changessss nothing. He sssssshouldn't have been out late, camping or whatever. If he'sssssss a good friend of yourssssssss I'll keep him for myssssself, if you're going to have a problem with it!" Tegetro muttered as Shadow followed him.
Upon reaching the cave, Shadow saw that it was growing closer to dawn, and he knew that the sun would come up any moment. He didn't really want to feed off Tails, let alone anyone, but he was afraid what would happen if he didn't.
"It lookssss like the othersssssss have not yet returned, if you hold him, I will check. Don't let him go... or elsssssse! I've had a hard enough night, and I am not in the mood for merccccccy!" the wolf sneered, handing Tails to Shadow and entering the cave. The fox trembled violently in the hedgehog's arms, whimpering and letting tears flow down his cheeks. Shadow loosened his grip a little, but not enough so the fox could escape.
"Tails, take it in mind that I don't really have much of a choice. I have to feed of others to live now, and you're just as good as the next fox, sooner or later you probably would be bitten anyway." He told him, hoping that it would ease the fox's fear a little. If it did anything it made Tails even more frightened.
"We w-were gonna find you a c-cure, Shadow!! If y-you leave now, I'm sure we c-could find one, it would just take some t-time!!" the twin tailed fox stuttered, a new look of fear coming to his eyes. Shadow thought about it for a moment, then slowly, he released him.
"I couldn't bring myself to drink your blood anyway. Tegetro may have some compassion, but I have a feeling that he will try to kill me. Go, run, before he returns and it's too late." The hedgehog sighed, turning his back on Tails. The fox began to run, but halted after a few steps. He turned back, a moved over to Shadow.
"Come with me, Shadow! If we find a cure, you should be there to see if it works!" he said, putting a hand on his shoulder. He remained silent for a moment before answering.
"If I lose control, you won't be able to stop me, Tails. It's best if I stay away, now go!" he said, turning a baring his teeth.
"But Shadow...!" the fox began. Shadow rushed forward and moved as if he were going to grab him. "Go now! Or I will attack you!! I can feel the hunger trying to control me already!!" he screeched. The fox stomped his foot on the ground and stood firm, even as he felt the vampire's teeth touch his neck.
"NO!! I'm not leaving without y-you!!" he said. Shadow let go of him and glared.
"You're stubborn. Fine, I'll go, but I did warn you, next time I may not be able to stop!" he muttered.
It was nearly daylight, and they did not make it far before Shadow was beginning to tremble in fear for himself. "It's too close, I can't stay out in the daylight, it'll kill me!!" he moaned as the sky became brighter with each passing moment. They had reached the groups old campsite, and the tent that the friends had attempted to erect in failure was still in a jumbled heap on the ground.
"Come here, quick!" Tails said, and he threw the tent canvas over the dark hedgehog. Then he reached under the folds of it and grasped Shadow's hand. "I'll lead you back to the city where Sonic and I usually meet, it'll give us a head start to the vampires, as they can't travel during the day. When we get there, I'll find somewhere for you to sleep while I go looking for Sonic." He said, checking to make sure that the tent covered all of Shadow's body.
Upon arriving in the city, Tails immediately began receiving funny looks, but he didn't say anything about this to Shadow. They climbed up some steps to an apartment building with some difficulty, then stopped at a door on the fourth floor.
"It's too bad the elevator's broken. This is the apartment that Sonic and I are staying at, sometimes Bark comes over, but not that often." The fox said, turning his key in the lock. After leading Shadow in, he proceeded to shut all the blinds and curtains, and made sure all the lamps were turned off and the door was closed. "Okay, you can take it off now." He said, sitting on the couch.
Shadow pulled the canvas from him, and muttered something about looking stupid. It was dark, but not so dark that you couldn't see anything. He looked at the floor, his hunger growing. Tails watched as he collapsed on the floor, his body shuddering. The fox began to move towards him, but the hedgehog motioned for him to get away.
"Don't come any closer, it's hard enough just having to look at you!!" he said, sitting up and gasping. Tails stood there for a moment, trying to think of a solution, then ran into the kitchen. He returned a couple moments later with a large uncooked steak, and he set it on the coffee table in front of the couch.
"I almost forgot I had this, is it alright for you to eat?" he asked. Shadow looked up, and the moment he saw the food he pounced on it. Tails turned and went back into the kitchen, unable to watch the hedgehog eating the gruesome meal. He returned after about ten minutes, and found the plate that had held the bloody steak empty and licked dry.
Shadow was lying on the couch, and as he slept, he gave a sigh of contentment. I guess some things about vampires are true while others are just rumors, Tails thought, because he doesn't seem to need to sleep in a coffin with dirt. He covered Shadow with a blanket anyway, incase someone were to come in the apartment unexpectedly and let sunlight in through the door.
It was quite some time before anything happened. Tails spent the day on a computer in his room, trying to figure out where Sonic was and researching all he could about vampires. He couldn't find him, and suspected that he would just have to wait until his friend came back to the apartment for something. He knew that Sonic was looking desperately for him, and that it might be a while. But he couldn't just leave Shadow unattended, anything could happen. From what he learned, vampires were allergic to many things, such as garlic, holy water, and sunlight. But what could cure them? The fox couldn't find out anything about that, but he knew he couldn't stop looking and get discouraged.
It was about nine o' clock at night, when he heard the door in the living room to the apartment opening. Before he could get in the room, he heard a shout, and the sounds of fighting. When the two-tailed fox entered, he found Shadow cowering in a corner his hands trying to keep Sonic from stabbing him with a silver dagger. The vampire hedgehog already had cuts on his face from it, and was weakened. Tails moved in quickly, pulling Sonic off of Shadow.
"Sonic, don't!! He's under control, and I'm fine!!! Stop!" the fox said as the blue hedgehog looked at him in shock.
"Tails, you're all right!! But what's Shadow doing here, and why did you stop me?!" his friend said, staring at Shadow, who was lying on his side on the floor, gasping in pain.
"Sonic, calm down! That wolf vampire was going to take me to a cave and bite me, but when he left for a moment, Shadow let me go. I convinced him to come with me, and I'm trying to find a cure for him! You could have killed him with that dagger Sonic, vampires are terribly weak against silver, it burns their skin if they even touch it, and you were cutting him with it!!" the fox explained, examining the dark hedgehog's wounds. Shadow collapsed against the fox, his body trembling, the anguish almost too much to bear.
"Help me get him to the couch, Sonic! We have to counter-act the poison from the silver!" the fox said, and they carried the quickly fading hedgehog over to the sofa. "Okay... From what I read today... Do we have any dogwood flowers?!" Tails asked, as Shadow's breaths became more ridged and he began twitching uncontrollably.
"Uh... Actually, Amy gave me some the other day, they might still be in the trash in my..." before the blue hedgehog could finish the sentence, Tails returned with the flowers from his room. He pressed the white petals to the cuts on the dark hedgehog's face, and after a couple moments, his breathing became more normal, and his limbs stopped moving. As Shadow slept, Tails explained to Sonic the details about what had happened in the past night and day.