The wind rushed past Vince as the unfamiliar sights of the forest around him swirled in a haze of confusion and adrenaline. The farther Vince ran in the forest, the more unsure he became as to where he was going.
Slowing to a stop, Vince panted as he moved his ears to and fro. All could pick up was the chirping of the crickets and the cheerful hum of the cicadas as they hugged the tree with a loving embrace. Sniffing the air a bit, Vince was even more uncertain than he was a few minutes ago.
'Dang it…' Vince thought to himself as he hopped in place from one leg to another. 'I didn't get a good look as to where I was going last night, and the fact that it was too dark to see isn't helping.'
Looking to and fro, Vince brought his hand to his muzzle and tried to remember anything from the night before. The attack, the rage he felt, his retaliation and his defeat came to mind as he relived the horrid events, but nothing he remembered could lead him to the path he needed.
Falling to his knees, Vince gave a yell of frustration that slowly turned into a snarl, before promptly pounding the ground with his closed fist. Feeling a sharp pain on his fist, he raised it and opened his palm to see the left side of his right hand bleeding. Looking to the ground, he realized that he had slammed his fist onto a piece of glass.
Clenching his hand, Vince squeezed it to try and keep the blood from flowing and looked down to see his blood drip to the ground. As the drop plopped into the dirt, Vince watched it with zeal, and his eyes flew open.
Bringing his wounded hand to his nose, Vince concentrated and inhaled deeply. As the scent of his own blood filled his nostrils, Vince took a second to memorize the smell and nodded. He now had the key to getting him back on the right path, and he was going to take full advantage of it. Licking his hand, Vince used his saliva to try and clot the blood before lifting his head.
Taking another deep breath, Vince could feel a faint, yet familiar scent. Facing to what he imagined was the north-west, Vince ran blindly into the woods, Lead only by his nose and determination.
As the scent grew stronger in his nose, Vince could already imagine heading back to the house where his brother would be waiting for him…
…
'Lowen…' Vince stopped as he remembered his little brother. 'I left Lowen back at the house alone!' Fearing the worst, Vince double-timed and sped towards the scent of his blood, Sparring nothing in his path as he tore through plants, insects, and cobwebs that separated him and his destination.
However, the objects in his path proved to be a hindrance, as a rather large piece of foliage snagged his pants leg and brought him down to the ground with a thud. Bruised, Vince rubbed his forehead and looked forward to find a drying up puddle of blood in the road.
As he panted heavily, Vince tried to catch his breath before he began to breathe through his nose. Taking the smell of the blood into his nostrils, Vince recognized it as his own. Taking a moment to look into the trees, Vince saw his father's scythe stuck in the tree's limb.
As he looked at the Scythe, he remembered when it was knocked out of his hands and flew to the left into the trees above. If it was directly in front of him in the trees above, that meant his house was…
With a smile, Vince turned to his left and dashed down the path as he felt a rather dark cloud lift from his soul. 'I made it back home...' Vince thought to himself as his smile broadened. "I MADE IT BACK--"
Vince cleared the trees and looked happily in front of him, but his happiness turned to despair as he saw a huge black patch where his house once stood. The wood that used to hold the walls up had fallen to the ground and turned black from the fire, while everything inside was pretty much obliterated from the fire. Nothing but ash remained where all the furniture once stood.
Everything he had that he held dear… were gone. It was nothing more than ash on the wind. But that wasn't what worried him the most. His brother was no where in sight.
"Lowen?" Vince shouted as he desperately looked everywhere he could in a frantic state of panic. "LOWEN?!"
"LOOOOOOOWEEEEEEN!" Vince called out in a futile attempt to reach him, but to no avail.
He fell to the ground as the tears in his eyes blinded him from the world. He not only failed to get retribution for those creeps crime, but he also failed to protect his brother. The pain he felt was worse then the blades that struck him, for he knew that he had lost the battle, and to win this war was next to hopeless.
He was a failure… and had nothing left.
As he continued to stare at the ground in disbelief, He failed to notice the figure that was lurking behind him until it laid his hand on Vince's shoulder.
Looking to the hand, Vince followed it to see who it led to, and was surprised when he saw Riley standing over him with a jacket in his arms.
"I knew there had to be some kind of Connection…" Riley said with a sigh. "A lone child in the woods, covered in blood after running from a burning home…" Riley put the jacket over Vince and lifted him to his feet. "It's insane."
"How… how did you know?" Vince asked as he wiped his tears away. "I never told you anything about what happened."
Riley took a step back and removed the newspaper from under his arms. "It had made the headlines Vince." Unfolding the newspaper, Riley handed it to Vince for him to see.
Vince held it above his face, and to his dismay, Riley was right. The paper shook in his hands as re read it aloud.
'Tragic house fire kills two, and Causes a disappearance.'
'It was believed that around 10:15 last night, a house fire broke out in a suburb home outside the city of Salandras. A citizen supposedly saw a thick black cloud in the nighttime sky as well as an odd orange light in the distance and became suspicious. Upon closer inspection, he was alarmed to see a huge blaze on the outskirts of town.
'24-year-old Remisis alerted the Fire Department, who quickly set out to control the blaze and keep it from spreading.
'They were successfully able to stop the fire, but were horrified when they found to skeletal remains in the house. Their remains were unidentifiable, but were believed to be the parents of 9-year old Lowen A. Wolfox.
'Young Lowen was seen outside the home where the fire had started, trembling with fear. When asked how the fire started, city officials were unable to get any answers from the shaken wolfox. However, Lowen told officials that his brother "Vince" went missing after he had got his brother out. Officials assume that he left to get help, but are unable to determine why he's not found.
'Investigators agreed to do some searching around the home for clues, for they feel that it's highly unlikely that the fire started accidentally.
'Moreover, young Lowen is being put into a foster home while they look for any living relatives to care for him.
'Story continues in A-5'
Putting the newspaper down, Vince gave a sigh as he scratched the back of his head nervously. He didn't quite know how to feel, he was glad that his brother was safe, but at the same time, He was constantly and silently cursing to himself for abandoning him in the first place.
"Well, I guess the only thing we can do, would be to take you to the authorities." Riley said solemnly as he looked at the young wolfox. "If anything, they'll know what to do."
Vince watched the ground as a slow breeze brushed past him. Raising his head, Vince turned to Riley. "I'm not going to go Riley." Vince said with a look of determination. "I'm not going to go and have a bunch of people decide my life for me, just because they think I'm young and defenseless."
"Then what are you going to do Vince?" Riley asked before crossing his arms. "I can't take care of you forever, and I'm sure if you told someone what happened, they would do whatever they could to bring them to justice."
"That's just it Riley." Vince said as he took the same stance. "I'm not going to let someone else do something I need to do myself. I'm going to find my brother, figure out why they attacked in the first place, and then get even with them.
"It might take me a year, or even until I grow up, but I plan to back at them no matter what for ruining my life, with or without help." Vince said as he started to walk back the way he came.
Riley chuckled a bit, which caused Vince to stop dead in his tracks. Turning to the 'coon with fire in his eyes, Vince stomped up to his face and Growled, "Do you find something FUNNY about what I said?"
"Heh, you got it wrong Kid." Riley said before patting Vince's head. "You just remind me of myself when I was about your age."
"Adventurous, Bold, willing to do whatever it took to get what you wanted; it's almost like reliving a past memory." Riley ruffled Vince's hair and smiled happily. "I like you kid. I know you probably won't budge on it, but if you'll accept it, I'd be happy to let you live at my home, at least until you're ready to go, Deal?" Riley asked as he stretched out his hand towards Vince.
Vince was dumbfounded. Riley, The raccoon he had just met after a near death experience, was opening his doors to him. Vince was unsure what to do, but as he stared at the 'coon, Vince felt a familiar presence.
Looking to Riley with a slight suspicious look, Vince hesitated to see if Riley would pull his hand back. After a few seconds, Vince beamed happily and grasped the 'coon's hand and shook vigorously.
Vince had found a place to stay, and for a brief moment, felt like he was with family once more.
As Vince and Riley started to head back to the house, Vince looked to the trees above and saw his Fathers scythe.
'I'll come back for it one day…' Vince thought to himself as it slowly started to disappear from his view. 'It may not be soon, but I will be back for you.'
Riley looked to Vince and then to where he was staring to. With a smirk, Riley patted Vince's back as they started to head home.
Prologue complete.
To be continued… in Chapter 1.
Heya everyone! Sorry for taking so long to finish this chapter, but with my hectic school schedule eating up my time, and with Gaia stealing what's left of my free time, it's hard to be able to find time and do my Story. Anyway, I do plan on having a bunch of Sonic-related cameos in my story in the actual Chapters following this prologue. Anyway, thank you for finding the time to read the longest story page I have ever typed up.
Be seeing ya in Chapter 1. Django Urikashima
