Disclaimer: All Sonic Characters © to Sega/Sonic Team/DIC/Archie Comics.
Fan characters belong to the writer of this fiction, which is me: Lynxia aka Patty Hendriks.
Life before and after Death
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Chapter One:
Nothing lasts for ever
"Bronx!"
A voice echoes across an unsteady mountain trail and someone stops his climbing to look back over his shoulder. He is a hedgehog with a dark fur and only wears black and green boots, gloves and a scarf. He arches a brow when he recognizes the voice and looks more surprised then pleased.
"Bronx, wait for me!"
A slender creature climbs up the mountain trail, wearing a dark grey dress with hints of pink and gold. Her fur is light grey and her spikes contain pink streaks which end at the tips. She is smiling and even from where he is standing, he can see her eyes sparkle of joy. The pilot glasses she is wearing to hold the spikes back glow in the sunlight and she waves towards him.
"Jenna, what are you doing here?"
The female hedgehog reaches a hand out to him and he grabs it, pulling her slightly up so she stands beside him. She breaths heavily in and out, but that doesn't seem to spoil her innocent mood. She smiles at him and says:" I wanted to come with you today. I heard from the fishermen that the sea is at her prettiest today and I really want to see it from high above."
The hedgehog she called Bronx looks at her with a doubtful look and he shakes his head to show he doesn't approve.
"Jenna, climbing the mountains can be dangerous. I don't think it is such a good idea."
"But you climb the mountain every day and you always come back without a scratch. Please, let me come with you."
Bronx shakes his head and sighs softly. Jenna is the type of 'girl next door'; the one you adore, yet who seems to be the hardest to get. They are best friends and always spend time together, yet they never tried more. Bronx became Jenna's bodyguard even though she never asked for it. He always watched over her in times of peace and in times of need. If something happens to her, he will never forgive himself.
Jenna looks at him with big eyes and takes his gloved hands in hers, saying:" I promise I won't be a bother..."
Bronx looks at her and arches a brow, leaning a bit back when he gets the sight of her expression. She always puts on that face to get what she wants. And you know... It always does work. He smiles and shakes his head, pulling his hands back to lifts them up as if he surrenders.
"Alright, alright, I give up. You can come with me, if you stop looking at me like that."
"Like what?" Jenna chuckles and gives Bronx a small push," come on, lets go. I want to see the sea, before all the beauty is gone."
"Your wish is my command," Bronx jokes and turns around to continue his climb towards the top.
The climb was easier then Jenna expected, little less did she know that Bronx choose a different path then he normally takes. He enjoys the danger of climbing, that's why he always picks the ones which are dangerous and tricky. But now that the female hedgehog is with him, he was forced to take the easy road.
Bronx climbs over the edge which concludes the end of the road and turns around to look down at Jenna, reaching out a hand to her.
"Jenna, here..."
She looks up from her feet and smiles when she notices his hand, raising hers to take it. She grabs hold around his wrist with her fingers and feels how Bronx pulls her up so she is able to get on top of the cliff.
She sets her knees down on the edge and lets out a sigh of relief, happy to feel solid ground again. She chuckles and brushes her free hand over her spikes, saying:" Piece of cake."
Bronx smiles slightly and nods, releasing her hand to stand up. He stretches himself out and asks to her:" No bruises or scratches?"
Jenna shakes her head as she gets up on her feet and brushes her dress off. She walks passed Bronx who gives her a look of concern and lifts up a hand to get his attention.
"You should stop worrying about me, Bronx. I am a big girl and I can take care of myself."
"Really?" Bronx asks with a smug and crosses his arms over his chest, squinting one eye as he looks towards Jenna," how about the time you were getting berries and those bug robots of dr. Robotnic attacked you?"
"I didn't want to squish the berries or else I would have shown them what I am made of..."
"And what about the time you fell into a hole, because you kept looking up towards the sky, stuck in a daydream and you couldn't get out anymore?"
"I liked it down there..."
"And what about the time you hung upside down the rafters wrapped up in yarns, because you decided to give it a try with your mother's knitting hobby?"
"I wanted to see how my house would look like from upside down..."
"And what about the time you--"
Jenna turns around to face him and presses her lips together, lifting up a finger to give him the sign to shut up. Bronx shrugs and smirks softly, walking over to her. He pushes her finger down and says with a tease:" Who was the one who always got you out of trouble?"
Jenna laughs softly, pulls her hand back and sets a few steps backwards to greaten the distance between them.
"You just love credits, don't you?" she chuckles and gasps when a gush of wind brushes past her. She grabs for the edge of her dress to keep it down and looks towards the horizon with big eyes. She almost forgot she is now where she wanted to go. From here she can see the ocean in its full glory.
The cliff on which they stand is a green field with white flowers. The wind blows petals and blades of grass up into the air, making them tumble and flip as if they are dancing way up there. In the distance the splendour of the ocean's water attracts Jenna's attention and she walks quickly to where the cliff ends, standing close on the edge. The wind blows harder here than on the field, but that doesn't seem to bother the female hedgehog. She looks across the ocean and smiles broadly. The fishermen of her village were right. It's more beautiful then she could ever imagine.
"Bronx, come here! It's so pretty!" she calls out to him and spreads her arms, feeling how the wing tugs on to the sleeves of her dress. Bronx comes closer and stands still beside her and instead of looking towards the beauty below, he looks towards her. She looks so happy right now and that is what pleases him. He would do anything to keep her happy, he made that promise. He looks ahead of him and sighs softly.
Jenna's parents are the kind who always worry about their precious daughter. If they could, they would never take their eyes off her, just to keep her safe. Everyone in the village adores her and most see her as a child of their own. She takes care of those who need it and plays with the little ones. She always smiles and tries to give everyone a good day.
Bronx is always the one who looks for trouble. He doesn't go along with the rules of the village and likes it to play pranks on the cranky villagers. He has been a friend of Jenna as long as he can remember. When he was caught by an Elder after a prank, Jenna was always there to help him out of trouble. She never asks something for in return, that just isn't her thing.
So that's why he made the promise to protect her and even told her father about it. At first he had his doubts about it, because why would someone like Bronx want to protect his daughter? After all, there wasn't so much danger around the village. Yet as time passed by and Bronx was able to help Jenna out off small accidents, her father was proud of him. The more reason to try harder to full fill his promise to the old man.
"It's like I am flying..."
Bronx gets out off his thinking when he hears the whispering and looks back at Jenna. With her eyes closed she leans a little bit forward with her arms spread to feel the wind. She smiles as if she is caught in a dream, the wind playing with her fur and sleeves.
Flying, that's what she always wanted. She always dreamed about being able to fly, to search the skies for the unknown. Yet the fact she will never be able to do so, cuts Bronx deep. He gave her the pilot goggles as a gift to, hopefully, make a small part of her dream come through. She never took them off after that he gave them to her on her birthday. She wears them as a headwear, to keep the spikes out off her face. They fit her features well...
"Jenna, I..."
The female hedgehog slowly opens her eyes when she hears her name and looks towards Bronx with a questionable look across her face, a smile shimmering through. She slightly lowers her arms, yet remains standing on her toes as her expression softens.
"Yes Bronx? What is it?"
"I..." Bronx is able to bring out, but closes his mouth as he changes his mind. Now just isn't the right time to tell her what has been bothering him for so long. Well, this could have been the perfect moment, but he doesn't want to ruin the atmosphere which hangs around his best friend. What he wants to tell her might scare her in a way. He takes a deep breath and shakes his head, pulling up his shoulders in a shrug with a lazy smile," I am gonna take a nap. You just stay here and watch a little. It won't be long before it becomes dark, so you better enjoy the view while it lasts. I've seen it so many times..."
Jenna nods and watches Bronx walk away from the edge of the cliff to lie down in the grass, his head resting against a bolder. He lifts up his arms and lays them behind his head as a soft support and nibbles on a thin grass blade as he closes his eyes. Jenna sighs softly, the smile continues to remain across her lips and she looks back ahead of her to the ocean. She could have sworn he wanted to tell her something important, but... She straightens her back a bit and folds her hands together behind her back as thoughts cross her mind in a high tempo.
Bronx himself has trouble with easing his thoughts as well. They annoy him so much it's hard to even take a nap. He grimaces and shifts a little bit, hoping that if he replaces himself a little bit to the left, he might lay a little bit comfortable. Maybe that will help to ease him down. He sighs deeply, already happy enough he was able to please Jenna. Well, maybe he will tell her how he feels about her once they are back in the village. He waited long enough to look for the right moment and he already ruined it a few minutes ago. He nods to himself to approve with the plan and smiles, baring his teeth in a grin, knowing nothing will ruin it now. Not he, not Jenna's father, not the elders of the village and especially not...
His thoughts get interrupted by a faint sound followed by a soft thud which was almost unhearable. He peers through the lashes of his left eye to see where it came from and lifts his head a little bit up. It was an odd sound, hard to place... He shrugs and closes his eyes, thinking it could have been a bird or something. Yet something didn't seem right as he peered around; something was missing.
As fast as he can he sits up with eyes wide open as one question screams through his mind; where is Jenna? He quickly looks around and sees no trace of her. He places his hands on the ground as support and gets up, feeling his knees start to tremble as he put his weight on them.
"J-Jenna?" he whispers, his eyes focused on the edge where he left her a moment ago," Jenna, where are you? Say something!"
He turns around on his heels, hearing his voice echo through the air, but there is no answer to his cry. He shakes his head as he remembers the sound he heard while he tried to take a nap. He looks back to the edge of the cliff and swallows nervously. He has never been so scared in his entire life. Slowly he steps through the grass towards the edge, afraid of what to come. He knows exactly what he will see, but that doesn't mean he wants it.
The sound...crumbling rock...
He tries to swallow again, but it's like someone is putting much pressure on his throat. He almost reached the edge and lowers his head to look down, feeling his legs becoming weak.
The faint thud...
Far below him, on the rocks where the waves of the sea crash against, a fragile body lays motionless as if asleep. Yet the position it is laying in has the urge to call the sight creepy and the dark red color on the rock near the body's head proves it.
"... Jen..."
Bronx gasps for air as he stares down at the body of the person he adored so much and without even thinking, he kneels down and starts to climb down the cliff to get to Jenna's body.
"Jenna! Jen, I am coming!" he yells as he climbs down, risking his own life while doing so. Rocks which should support his feet, crumble and leave him with nothing to stand on so he has to look for another option. It takes a while for him to get down there and it makes him angry.
Why did he have to take a nap? If he just stayed with her, he could have caught her when she fell or at least do something to save her. But no... He had to take a nap or at least pretend to hide his embarrassment. He should have never taken her up there.
Finally his feet touch the ground and he runs across the rocks towards Jenna who still hasn't moved. The cold waves make his fur wet, but that doesn't matter to him now. All is about Jenna now... His Jenna.
"Jenna, talk to me..." he says as he kneels down beside her and brushes a hand over her furry cheek," please..."
His fingers slip underneath her head so he is able to let her sit up and he feels the warmth of the blood through his glove.
One of the goggles is splintered and the left side of her face is bruised. Bronx grits his teeth as tears start to burn behind his eyes and almost chokes, not wanting to believe it. Why won't she open her eyes? He holds her close to him, letting his hand rest against her chest and trying to find a heartbeat, but there is none... This can't be true.
Bronx stands up and lets Jenna rest in his arms, his forehead pressed against the side of her head as he inhales her scent. She never did anything to deserve this and neither did he. He promised her father he would protect her and see what happened. Jenna is dead.
His shoulders start to shudder and tears flow as he stands there all alone with Jenna's life-less body. He has no clue about what to do now, for he knows he can not return to the village. He broke a promise and the most beloved villager is dead. They will never forgive and he will never forgive himself. He can't go back... He has to...
"Jenna... I will ... No, I... I swear... I will find a way... to get you back... what ever it takes... I swear... promise... I love you," he sobs and drops down on his knees, burying his face in Jenna's neck, feeling the thick blood stick onto his fur. He keeps on crying as the sun sinks away in the sea Jenna wanted to see so badly. It has been the last thing she saw and he can only hope it was so beautiful for her that she will even remember it where she is now.
-To Be Continued-