The rain pours down on the three heroes as they arrive in the small village not far from Spagonia, the sign read "Chicoree Valley". Many homes were scattered about the area, streets paved with a pale stones and many side streets winding about the corners of each house. Running under a tarp from an outside market, they ask the shop keep for directions of the sudden complaint.
"So what is the mission here? Burglary? an Attack?" Sonic rushed about the dark streets.
"A noise complaint." Nicole read out loud, "It seems many neighbors have heard various crashing noises and shouting from a single home."
"THATS IT?" Sonic whipped his head around looking back at the others, "Thats the big deal?!"
"You didn't exactly wait for Tails to read us any other reports."
"Zis' is true. You flew out of ze room and were shouting for us to 'Pick up ze pace'"
Sonic looked really grumpy now, "Whats so big about a noise complaint that they had to call for another town's police force."
Sally was reading Nicole's findings on the house. "It seems it belongs to a Brighton Flash, he works in a research lab in Spagonia, he's an assistant to one of the professors."
"Doesn't sound like the type who throws a party just to rile up the neighbors." Sonic crossed his arms behind his head, looking up as the rain poured down on his face. Sally pointed up ahead at a darkened house,
"Up there, the one on the little hill."
They stopped in front of the black gates, the thunder boomed as they examined the dark house. It wasn't much different from the houses next door of it, but something felt. Off. Antoine felt a chill go up his spine, "Eet looks like somezing you would see in a horror movie, non?"
"Certainly feels like one..." Sally shivered a bit, opening the gate. They approached the front stoop and huddled under the porch roof, shivering and shaking the water off. The hedgehog ran his fingers through his quills, straight them out again and looking up at the front door. The house number read '314' and the mailbox was empty, the screen door was ajar and banged against the door frame in the harsh wind. "This is it.. 314 Auburn." Sally looked around the front porch, nothing looked out of place or broken. "If it was a break in they might have come in through the back, Sonic eyed the banging screen door.
"Doesn't seem like it." Sally looked at him questionably, Sonic stepped towards the screen door, pulling it open. He noticed the front door slightly open as well, hardly noticeable if not searched. "Looks like whoever they are, barged in when 'Brighton' opened the door."
"How do you know he opened the door?" Sally crossed her arms with some doubt.
Sonic pointed at the door, "No scratching or beating on the door at all..." But then he pointed at the floor at a bunch of muddy footprints, "but it looks like whoever was waiting out here stuck their big foot in the door when the guy tried to close it." Antoine held the screen door open as the other two entered the house carefully, trying no to trample the footprints. The three of them looked about the dark house, Sally felt about the wall and flicked a light switch, as the lights flicker on the three of them stare at the sight before them. "Chaos..." Sonic muttered out.
The house was a wreck, the outside looked fine but the inside, furniture thrown around, torn up books and papers, broken glass and lamps lying on the floor. Muddy tracks paced about all over the place, Sonic took a step forward and heard something crack under his shoe. Thunder rolls by even louder than before as sonic moves his foot back, picking up a shattered picture frame. Sally looks at the photo, pointing at a mobian that looked like he was in his early thirties, yellow fur, and many small quills that all angled upwards, his eyes were a deep violet, "Here, that's the same face as Brighton's I.D."
"Who's the kid?" Sonic asked about the smaller yellow quilled mobian, Brighton was holding him and smiling towards the camera. It looked like they were in a park.
"His son I think, I didn't read that much into it before we got here..." She looked about the tattered home "They really made a mess of things..."
Antoine brushed aside some of the shattered glass with his foot, "Zey certainly did..." They walked around the house carefully looking for people, signs of life at all. But it appeared no one was around. "I do hope no one is hurt..."
"From the look of things, someone was definitely fighting in here." Sonic growled finding another broken frame, this time just of the child. "You don't think the kid got involved do ya?"
"I hope not." Sally made her way around the ruined furniture, she peered into a small, but also destroyed kitchen. "I don't see anyone else around."
"But neither are ze people in zese photos" Antoine was looking at a few frames that managed to stay on the wall, "zey have just disappeared."
"People can't just disappear into thin air, Antoine!" Sally was gathering up a few dishes and utensils off the floor, "Sonic's right. Someone forced their way in here.."
"Zen where is everyone?" At that point Sonic had wandered down the hall, searching around the house for some sort of clue. He could hear the other two chattering faintly but he was focused on another sound, also very soft but, familiar. He couldn't put his finger on it. He came to the end of the hall but the noise was still to quiet for this to be its origin. He looked around, it was a small laundry room. It seemed to be the only place untouched by whatever marched in, Sonic noticed the clothes neatly folded in the basket, mostly a kids size. His ear twitched and the sound was a bit louder, but still muffled. He looked up at the ceiling,
"Upstairs...?" Sonic stared a minute longer at the ceiling, his ears perked up, trying to picture what he was hearing. It was too muffled to really tell, the hedgehog trotted out of the room. He pasted by Antoine who was digging about the rubble, he hurried up the stairs.
"Sonic?" Sally realized the lack of one's voice and peered out of the kitchen, Antoine pointed at the staircase.
"He just went up ze staircase"
The floor creaks as Sonic nears the source of the noise, he is almost sure of it now. The other's hurry up and Sally calls out to him
"Sonic? What is it?" With that Sonic rushes down the hall into the far door, he shoved the door wide open and the others stop behind him. "Sonic what's going on?!" Sonic shushed her.
"What is it?" Antoine's ear twitched at the sound, he marched in and looked about. Sonic headed towards a white door in the room, pressing his ear up against it. "Well?" Antoine neared the door as well, Sonic pressed his pointer finger against his lips silently. Whatever was on the other side of the door was crying, and it was heartbreaking.
Sonic pulled away from the door and looked at Antoine, the coyote nodded and backed behind the hedgehog. Sonic tugged the doorknob, jiggling it about but it was locked. Sally stepped in listening to the cry on the other side suddenly halt. "Be careful... If it's locked we might have to break it down, but we might startle whoever is on the other side of the door." Sonic was looking at the door frame above his head. Sally looked at him "Sonic? Are you liste-?"
"I don't think we'll need to break it down." The hedgehog's hand reached above the door frame, feeling around until he snatched something in his hand.
Sally tilted her head as Sonic brought his arm back down, he opened his fist to show a small black pin. "What?" Sally whispered. Sonic knelt down and spotted a hole in the doorknob, he inserted the black pin and turned the knob. With a click, the door creaked open. They entered slowly, it was a small room. A Bathroom. The crying had ceased completely as Sonic stepped in, A sink with a mirror above it, a small window next to the mirror, and next to that a bathtub, with the curtain pulled over it. Sonic signaled the others to keep quiet as he grabbed the curtain, they nodded and stood their ground. Sonic yanked the curtain back.
