A/N: Uh, yeah. Chapter 2. Enjoy...
Chapter 2
July 29th 2010 – Chris' House, Calgary, Alberta – 2: 33 PM
Today is the greatest,
Today is the greatest, day,
Today is the greatest
Day that I have ever really known.
I shut off my iPod stereo as the song came to an end. Ah, Smashing Pumpkins, I thought. What better way to make yourself feel better than by listening to some of the most depressing lyrics you've ever heard?
I continued browsing through the internet, with about three pages open like I normally do: deviantART, my e-mail, which I was closing soon, and… the Archie Sonic Comics wiki for some reason. I guess I was starting to be converted into a fan; basically trying to research the continuity of the series.
At that point, I had switched to my e-mail and logged out, and then I went back to the Sonic wiki. The page open was a biography for a character named Dr. Finitevus, an albino echidna who had gone mad and evil after absorbing a large amount of chaos energy, or something like that. I basically just skimmed over the page. Besides, his appearance was kind of disturbing…
I closed both remaining pages, closed my laptop, and lied down back on my bed. Gee, I thought to myself, it sure is boring around here.
You see, even though I was happy that Erin had come back a year ago, it seemed like we weren't as close as we used to be. Besides whatever had happened to her arm, she seemed to have become colder and less cheerful while she was gone. Not only that, but she often still seemed tired and frustrated, and I rarely saw her any more, apart from at school.
You know, I thought, I really haven't seen Erin in a while. Maybe I'll give her a call, see if she's in the mood to do something. I leapt from my bed and walked out of the room to the phone in the TV room. I grabbed it and quickly dialled Erin's number, walking back into my room as I sat on my bed and stuck the phone up to my ear.
After several rings, the phone picked up. "H-hello?" a voice answered. I knew that voice; it was Erin's mother. And judging by her voice, she seemed to be on the brink of tears. I heard her sniffle as she spoke, "Chris? Is that you?"
"Mrs. Bruce?" I asked. "Is something wrong?"
She sniffled again before she said, "E-Erin's gone."
"WHAT?" I yelled, jumping up from my seat.
"I w-woke up this morning, and s-she was gone," Mrs. Bruce continued.
I tried my best not to panic. I mean, Erin was gone again? What the hell was going on? "Mrs. Bruce, are you sure that she left no clue as to where she could've gone?"
"W-well," she began, but then she paused for a second before continuing, "no, she didn't. There was no note, no anything. And she was still so injured from last time…"
"God dammit," I muttered to myself. "Alright, listen to me Mrs. Bruce," I told her. "I need you to stay calm. You're probably already on top of this, but you need to contact the authorities this instant, see if anyone can help find her. Meanwhile, I'll be looking for her myself. Alright?"
"A-alright," Erin's mother agreed. "I already contacted the police, and they said they'll do everything they can. I-I can also ask some friends to help look."
"That's good," I commented. "I'll see if I'll be able to track her down somehow. Don't worry too much, Mrs. Bruce; we'll get to the bottom of this."
"O-okay," she replied, but she didn't sound too convinced.
I hung up the phone and just stared at the ground for several minutes. Finally, I said, "I've had enough of this shit," and searched for my travel backpack.
A few minutes later, I was packing my backpack with spare clothes, soap, rations, my iPod, that sort of thing. As I was packing, I thought to myself, I can't believe this. Erin suddenly disappears, reappears months later with a fucked up arm and a cold attitude, and then disappears AGAIN? She told me later that she was more or less kidnapped the last time. Was she kidnapped again? And if so, why?
I glanced at my dresser when something caught my eye. I temporarily stopped my packing and went to see it; it was the same photo of me and Erin. I picked it up and studied it for a second, and then closed my eyes and stuck the picture into my pocket. My God, Erin, I thought to myself, what's happened to you?
I noticed a silver briefcase lying in the corner of my room. I casually walked over to it, picked it up, placed it on my bed, and then started to unlock it. There's just one thing I know for sure, I thought; If Erin was kidnapped or hurt in anyway… I opened the briefcase to reveal my prized rifle, complete with sniper scope, balance, and ammo. I smiled as I finished my thought;
...Chris Derreson is going to kick some ass.
"Excuse me, sir, have you seen this girl?"
"Hmmm… nope. I'm sorry, kid."
I sighed for the umpteenth time that week. "Sorry for bothering you," I said, and I walked away.
It had been a week since I started to look for Erin. I didn't actually leave home until five days ago, when I was pretty much given no choice. I had already run out of rations once, and restocking had taken a huge hit out of funds. Still, I wasn't going to give up now. I had to find something leading to Erin sooner or later.
Unfortunately, not a single person I had asked had ever even seen Erin before. That's usually not a good sign. Still, I pressed on, one teenager carrying a huge backpack and an illegal weapon while hungry, dirty, and incredibly lonely.
I knew I was in a part of the city I didn't come to often; I don't often go downtown, and it was right across the river. Actually, this might be a good thing; Erin had once told me that she was often at someplace in the outskirts of downtown near the river, and I was certain I was close to that place.
I saw another person walking by. I shrugged and decided I'd ask him, too, before calling my parents, telling them about my lack of success again, and giving up for the day while trying to find a place to sleep.
"Excuse me, sir," I asked the man walking by, "but have you, perchance, seen this girl?" I showed him the picture of Erin and me.
The man studied Erin in the photo closely, and then suddenly said, "Yeah, I think I have."
I shook my head with shock. "Really?" I asked excitedly. "Where and how long ago?"
"It was about a week back," the man explained to me while handing the photograph back. "I passed her in the street around here, and because she seemed like she was in a hurry, I stopped and watched where she was heading. I saw her walk into that tunnel over there." He pointed at a tunnel off the street in the distance. "I wasn't in a huge hurry, so I watched that tunnel for ten minutes. She didn't come out."
I wasn't sure whether to be overjoyed, disappointed, or horrified at this news. On one hand, this was the closest thing to a lead I had gotten so far. On the other hand, it didn't sound like Erin would've stayed in that tunnel for very long. On the downright scary third-hand, maybe she never did come out of that tunnel…
"Thank you very much, sir," I said to the man, and I walked away. First thing's first; I was calling my parents.
As I inserted the 35 cents into the pay phone and dialled my home number, I started to tap impatiently. Eventually, the ringing went to the answering machine. Damn; my parents must not be home.
"Hey, mom, hey, dad," I said once the beep had sounded. "It's Chris. I just wanted to let you know that I actually found a lead about where Erin went today. The problem is, I'm a little nervous about it, because the info I got said she went into a tunnel. I just wanted to say that I might actually be close, and I hope I'll see you guys soon. Bye." I hung up the phone, took a deep breath, and walked to the tunnel.
I was quite relieved when I entered the tunnel that I could use my iPod as a flashlight; I wouldn't be able to go too far in, otherwise, just because of how dark it was. Looking at the ground, it sure was slippery. A perfect place to fall and bonk your head where no one can find you…
NO! I yelled to myself. Don't say that, Chris! She's got to be in here somewhere!
I continued to walk through the tunnel while shining my iPod's light on the ground, when suddenly, I noticed something odd; another source of light was coming from just around a bend. I put my iPod away and walked carefully to the light source. When I found it, the only thing I could say was, "Holy shit on a shit sandwich."
What I saw completely blew my mind; there was a giant golden ring, glowing and at least five feet in diameter, in the middle of the floor. The light was coming from the ring's glow, and something that… looked like a sunny outdoors-area. Was… was this some kind of vortex?
"All right, Chris," I said to myself. "I think you're starting to go insane. I mean, wormholes don't exist! It goes against the laws of physics and reality. Well, maybe not; science hasn't disproved alternate dimensions or vortexes. But still! This… this is just completely mind-blowing."
I sat on the ground, looking at the vortexy-thing for God knows how long. Eventually, I said to myself, "Now I'm in a real dilemma here. I've always said to myself, 'Chris, if you ever find a wormhole-like-object, jump through it to see what it's like.' And here it is! But following that idea would be incredibly dangerous, very stupid, and at the very least would take the focus off of finding Erin."
That's when I thought, Wait. Maybe… maybe Erin went through here, too! "Alright, I'm going to list pros and cons for jumping through that wormhole," I said to myself. "Cons: I could be trapped in another part of the world, or a different dimension, with absolutely no way to get home; or worse, it could be like a black hole and I could be killed instantly. Pros: Erin might've gone through here, and the wormhole jump could be as fun as hell."
I paused for one more second, thinking. "I'm gonna do it," I said to myself, and I quickly did the sign of the cross. I made sure my backpack was strapped on tightly, and that I was holding onto my rifle case firmly. Finally, I took a deep breath, and cannon-balled into the vortex.
Closing Notes: Yeah, the part where it actually becomes fanfiction happens next chapter. Sorry for delaying it like that. Also, song lyrics are (c) the Smashing Pumpkins.