Author: "Mature content is still coming children...PATIENCE!"
Me: Yeah...SCREW finals. It's a pain the butt studying for them, it's taking so much of my free time, even though it's A FOUR DAY WEEKEND FOR GOD ALMIGHTY! :(
Whatever happened to the definition of a school break?
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That night, it was difficult for Silver to get his rest. In his tight corridors that he shared with another, Silver tossed and turned in his mattress and found himself restless, unable to pull his mind off of this hellhole. Blaze was gone now, what could he do without her? While she is off on her deathly conquest, Silver is still stuck here in this redoubt and taking more training just to dig his own grave in the future. By this time, he had almost forgotten the familiar faces of his two close companions that he lost almost a month ago now. And of course, he had already forgotten everyone and everything about this family. His mind was finding it increasingly difficult to hang onto all of these various sorts of fragments in his memory; all of these pieces were falling out of his slippery grasp. It was like looking into a shining mirror to search for those recollections, while the cruelty of warfare had taken its iron mallet and shattered these thin planes into thousands of intangible shards that were no longer useful to him. And while Silver wanted to pry his bleeding heart open and scream his agony out, he felt as if his arms were tied behind his back, and his soul heavier than a lifeless rock.
"Shut up!" Snarled the other who was sleeping in bunk on the other side of the cramped room. "Quit crying like a baby already!"
But Silver was not a baby, he was only passionate human who wanted mercy. And why should he be condemned for wanting just that?
Chocking on his final tears, Silver forced the side of his head to rest against the pillow and he curled up into a fetal position with his arms tucked under his chin, but before his knees. It was extremely cold in the room, and the linen blankets that were provided made no effort in retaining the generated heat. His sobs transitioned form bitter chokes, to terrified shivers as the freezing temperatures slowly worked its way towards his failing heart.
The ivory hedgehog made one last attempt to think back and remember the oldest memory since his childbirth. It was completely futile, and he could not recall a single event. He had forgotten what he used to enjoy doing, he didn't have a clue on remembering what girls (or possibly guys) he liked, he didn't know why he hated his younger brother so much, but worst of all, he couldn't recollect what his parents' names were.
His mind was racing, desperately trying to think of something else that would comfort him. His vision was getting hazy, and his toes were already numb from the cold. He shut his eyes, and prayed to God for a helping sign. There were some events that he could still pull together…somehow. If only he could hear his mother's voice for one last time…
"Silver! Silver! Where heaven's name are you?"
"I'm over here mum!"
"Where? Come over here right now! You didn't even bother doing any of your chores today for God's sake."
"But I don't want to!"
"Oh Silver! Get off that tree, now! I don't want you hurting yourself up there!"
"But it's fun up here!"
"My goodness, you can have fun with your brothers instead. Now get back down here before I have to lick you good!"
"fine…alright…."
…
Was that his mother just talking to him?
...
"Hey, look! It's Shorty from my class!"
"Oh no…I swear on my life, I didn't do anything! Just don't hurt me!"
"Did you guys hear that? He just swore for his mommy!"
"Haha! Look how tiny he is still! He hasn't grown since he was a baby I bet."
"What are you talking about? He's a freaking nerd who thinks he's so smart."
"And he's only a farmer for crying out loud!"
"I'm surprised you don't wear glasses kid!"
"Hey, what's in this book? Can I see?"
"Don't touch that! Leave me alone!"
"Oh my god, look! He's reading Shakespeare! What a pussy!"
"Ahhahahaha! He's must be in love with Juliet!"
…
"Wanna tell me what happened today son?"
"No…."
"Was it those kids again Silver?"
"No…."
"Don't lie to me son, I know it's them."
"It's not…."
"Then what is it?"
"It's nothing, okay daddy! I'm just, tired…"
"Well then, was it your teacher who—"
"Dad! I told it's nothing! I just want to go to sleep, that's all…"
….
"The only way to beat those bastards is to beat the crap outta them, that's how you show them."
"Really?"
"Yup. Guys like this followed me around when I was your age. One day I was walking home and when I met them as usual, bam! I almost killed every one of them?"
"A-alone? You mean by y-yourself?"
"Yes sir!"
"But, what they said about me is right…..I'm just a shorty."
"God, Silver! Will you listen to me? That doesn't matter, just meet them tomorrow and give each and every one of them a good punch to the nose. That'll show them for good."
"But there's five of them, how do I—"
"Just like me, bro. I got hit too, but I never gave up! And make sure to yelled your head off!"
"O-okay, I think I'll try it sometime…thanks brother."
….
"Silver, come here."
"Yes mum?"
"Sit down here. We need to talk."
"Y-yeah?"
"Your teacher has been telling me that you've been rather, 'absent' lately. You are not paying attention, you're falling asleep in class, your scores are falling, and you are not participating in classroom discussions anymore."
"No mum! Not true! She's just—"
"And do you care to explain how you failed all of your civil examinations? I just got the scores back today, and it says that you have failed…..every, single, bloody subject there is on the test."
"…"
"What have you been doing all this time, son? I don't see you working as hard as usual? Is something bothering you?"
"No ma….nothing 'is bothering me'…"
….
"Hey you! It's Shorty again! Where you think you're going?"
"Why is he smiling?"
"Because he's retarded, that's why."
"Hey, whatcha got this time in your stupid little book?"
"Yeah! Is it more—"
"My nose! That kid punched me in the freaking nose!"
"So that wimp can fight after all!"
"Let's get him!"
…..
"Think you're so tough now, Shorty? Take that!"
"Yeah boss! Beat him to the death!"
"Finish him off!"
"Tear off his limbs!"
"Strangle his neck!"
"Cut his throat!"
"Spill his blood!"
"Kill that little piggy!"
…
…
"What's going on here boys?"
"Oh, crap! Who is that?
"I don't care! What the hell does he want?"
…..
...
"Hey, you alright kid?"
"Ugnn…I don't know…"
"Can you stand up?"
"Mhmmmnnh. No...I don't think so. Are you here to beat me up more?"
"My goodness, no! I'm here to help you out. And, uh, your own nose is still bleeding like crazy. Pinch it up here buddy, that should stop it."
"Who are you? You don't look like the rest of them."
"Well name's Maurice, if you want to call me by my first name."
"Maurice?"
"But I prefer Sonic instead."
"Sonic? Why?"
"You'll see….but I'm curious to know what your name is."
"Me? Well, it's just, uh, Silver."
"Silver? That's perfectly fitting name."
…
"Son,"
"Yes daddy?"
"Come here, I wanna tell you this before you go to bed. Sit down here, we should talk."
"What is it?"
"I know you have been getting into fights at school. Don't you try denying that now…"
"But daddy! I was just—"
"Ahah! Let me finish son. I just want to tell you something that I've been holding something onto my chest for what seems like ages now."
"What is it?"
"This place, this country, this motherland, that we live in Silver, is about to go through...well, a hardship, let me put it that way. You won't like it, but I promise you, we'll get through it."
"Hardship? What hardship?"
"Do you know your Czar, Silver? The one that you pledge allegiance to everyday at school?"
"Yes dad,"
"There are a lot of bad people out there who don't like him, and they want to kill him. And kill him bloody good they want to! They want to take his head, and cut it off clean in the guillotine. And then, after they kill our king, they will take over us, like tyrannical lions watching over a flock of sheep."
"They are mean people, daddy…"
"Yes they are, and they are going to fight against the good people and kill everyone who is protecting the czar. And this, my boy, includes us: a civil war of this beloved motherland is coming son."
"War? How bad will it be?"
"An ugly and terrifying war that will hurt many good people out there Silver: It's all over the press now, and you'll hear your friends talk about it tomorrow."
"But why do people fight all the time dad? Does everyone hate each other?"
…..
"Name's Shadow. Pleasure to meet someone as refined as you this evening."
"I beg your pardon?"
"You obviously don't know what that means, do you kid?"
"N-no, not really."
"Oh come on Shads! Give him a break already! Don't you know what he's been through so far?"
"Would I care to know?"
"Shadow, you're so mean sometimes!"
"You, Silver, come over here."
"Y-Yes?"
"You're awfully tense for some reason. Are you nervous?"
"No, not really."
"Are you scared?"
"Not so much I think."
"Liar."
…..
"Well, I guess this means goodbye to both of you. I don't know if I'll see you two ever again."
"Oh cheer up already Silver! We promise to not forget you from our past, ever. That's our oath for you."
"Oath? But what's the point if you won't see me again?"
"You will Silver. We'll cross paths one day for sure; just stop talking and get on with it. Hey look, your parents are leaving now. Ya might want to catch up with them unless you want to stay here."
"Say, Silver? Just exactly where are you moving to, anyway?"
"To Kansk! A village in the middle of nowhere!"
…
"Silver? Silver? Get yourself and your brothers back inside, right now."
"What is it ma?" The ivory hedgehog asks in confusion. But the mother standing at the porch only whimpers and points to the hilltop a half kilometer away, and to everyone's horror, there is a line of uniformed standing in straight lines like an iron wall, with occasional artillery wagons stationed at various line points. It was difficult to recognize that unfamiliar banner of that army, and it was certain that those men were part of the rebel army.
And right when the young hedgehogs playing in the yard pointed to the cannons in fascination, the first unison explosion could be heard from the hillside, and this drenched out everyone's gasps. Everyone cowered and ducked their heads, but nothing had actually combusted on the field yet; the younglings peered up in the sky to observe lines of flaming bombs shriek through the air as they made their descent for their target.
Now realizing what was reality, the ivory hedgehog fled first and behind him, closely followed his brothers. All of them dove for their mother first and cowered inside the house, believing that this would shelter them from the bombs.
…
Silver suddenly jolted back into reality to the sound of the fortress bell furiously ringing from the one of the towers. Through this clamorous noise, Silver rubbed his head, realizing that he had fallen asleep somewhere through his memories. Casually, Silver rubbed his eyes and yawned out loud, knowing that this bell was just another one of those mundane drills. Other than the sound of the noisy alarm bell continuously ringing, he hears something else outside, like soldiers barking out orders like the usual training exercise. Slowly climbing off of the bed, Silver nonchalantly walked over to the window as he slipped his uniform on over his pajamas, and peered out the glass window.
And immediately, Silver's jaw dropped wide open in fear and took a full step back as he saw the horrific scene outside.
The entire center courtyard has been set aflame; however, not just the training fields, but also the castle itself that was on fire. There are various soldiers lined up to their positions, and each of the equipped with either their rifle, or an iron pail full of water. Uniformed men were scrambling all over the place, desperately trying to put out the fires, and defend the fort. It was apparent was raid was imminent, and a siege was underway.
For long minute, Silver stood there, completely dumbfounded and unsure of what to do; it was like this nightmare had come true to him. He sat back down on his bunk and quickly gathered his belongs to begin his escape. More angry shouts could be heard, and now gunfire was imminent. Every time a round went off, Silver instinctively covered his head, and gripped his ears with his palms.
"God save me." muttered Silver under his breath. He noticed that his roommate was already gone.
Unfortunately, the only weapon Silver had with him was his personal knife and a pair of stones to throw. Throwing his bivouac over his shoulder, Silver kicked the wooden door open and made his way down the smoky hallway. He was incredibly lucky, however, because seconds after he retreated out of his room, a stray artillery shell made a direct hit with the bunks and it completely obliterated the corridor, tearing yet another hole in the stone fortress. As he room exploded, Silver squealed in surprise and fell down to the ground as he shielded his face. More bombs flared through the air as they continued to tear down the sturdy fort, bit by bit. Realizing that this shelling was not going to let up anytime soon, he continued to make his way down the deafening hall and towards the exits that led outside. As he ran, he kept his head low, but did not bother to protect his hearing since he has already gone half deaf from all of the bombing. Through the heavy shelling, the rounds of rifle shots went off as the defending frontline exchanged fire with the enemy behind the lines, accompanied with the sounds of screaming men getting shot. As Silver made his way around the corridor, he paused in his tracks since he reached the corner of the hall that was stationing troops positioned at the windows. This corner was especially busy, and men furiously ran back and forth, transporting various equipment. But he ran past these men, and made his way towards the exit as more men scrambled down the halls, either carrying rifle ammo or medical supplies for the injured.
At last, the terrified hedgehog made it outside, and the intoxicating smell of smoke and burning corpses was intensified out there. He gagged on the poisonous fumes, and crawled on his belly for uncontaminated air. There was ash everywhere, and Silver was beginning to take up more of a gray color, instead of his usual white. The once sturdy walls that bordered the entire fortress have been torn down, and large gaps could be seen in the perimeters.
He looked over his shoulder, and heard the shouts of men at their positions above the fortress, shooting at their targets, only to be shot back at or killed in response. The frontline was failing to keep the raiders off their chest, and in the billowing smoke off in the distance were shadows of foreign soldiers approaching the courtyard.
"Cadet Silver!" boomed a low voice above Silver. Quickly, the grey albino turned around and looked up to see that it was General Mephiles standing over him.
"Get up you little bugger!" he shouted at him as he picked Silver up by the collar and set him up back up on his feet. "What the hell are you doing? Get back to your position now!"
"No! I will not!" growled Silver back at him, suddenly with his own authority. "I don't need to work for your damn army anymore! I'm leaving!"
This defiant phrase, however, gave Silver a heavy punch to the face from Mephiles. Right when the smaller hedgehog fell to the ground with a thud and a bleeding nose, the general picked him back up again, but this time, holding him by the neck.
"What did you say, cadet?"
Silver could not breathe, blood pour down his nose, and onto Mephiles's hand which was already bleeding from the start too.
Mephiles would've chocked Silver to death, but with all of his might and courage, he decided that this was the time to use the special ability that Mephiles had been seeking all this time. The albino flashed a temporary blue and used his telekinesis on this dark predator and threw him off of himself. Mephiles yelled out in disbelief as he was thrown backwards and sent crashing into the stone façade, cursing as stones toppled over him. Right at this moment, Silver took this chance to flee and disappear through the flames and deadly maze of gunfire.
"Silver! Come back you! Where do you think you're going?"
He ignored this, knowing that he didn't have to believe these threats anymore.
"There are loyalists surrounding the entire fort Silver! How do you think you'll escape them?"
Silver continued to run for his life, and sprinted through the flames and made for cover to avoid shells and sniper fire. Some pieces of shrapnel and stone have punctured varies parts of his body, and he was losing a significant amount of blood. But while his heart was still beating like a horse, he ran another hundred meters past the other men that were still at their posts and defending their land. As he escaped through the gaps in the stone barricades and made it outside, he decided to sneak through the on the backside of the fort. Luckily, unlike the front side, the landscape behind the redoubt was covered by shrubs and thick grooves of trees, allowing for Silver to pass through in stealth. Carefully, Silver made his way through the bushes, and swore to not snap a twig to revel his location. It was difficult to keep his sanity, however, because in the darkness, Silver swore he could feel himself stepping over dead corpses that were lying in the ground. And this was affirmed when Silver suddenly froze, and noticed another rebel comrade race past him who was trying flee the scene as well. While he was making a lot of noise from running so fast, Silver was about to quietly call him out and decide to work together, but suddenly the terrified man abruptly fell dead, not making another sound. Silver quietly shrieked at first, unable handle the fact that he had just witnessed someone suddenly die. Covering his own mouth with his hand that instinctively came up, he peered over the tree trunk that has hiding behind to observe what anything else.
And to his horror, another soldier emerged from his hiding spot, and stood up in the pale moonlight as he grinned at his marksmanship. He was in a different uniform, and sewed onto his shoulder was the czar's coat of arms that gleamed in the light, and this confirming that he not going to be friendly.
It appears that there are loyalist snipers hiding in the forest, hiding in the trees. Each of them equipped with their own rifle and ready to execute those trying to flee.
In the distance, he could still hear artillery going off, and men screaming in horror as they were shot. The sounds of death made Silver queasy, and it was difficult to focus on the word 'escape' since everyone else was ordered to stay behind. As Silver cautiously went on, the shrubs became thicker, and it was more increasingly difficult to maneuver through the vegetation. And worst of all, Silver was making so much noise now by rattling so many leaves. Numerous times, the hedgehog heard a bolt go off, and a metallic shot would narrowly miss him each time.
How could not stop, but something caused him to freeze in his tracks unexpectedly, he wasn't sure why though. He wasn't hit, but did he just hear something ruffling in the bushes too?
Through erect ears, he peered at the greens against the darkness, but could not see anything, hoping to meet another fleeing rebel. Nevertheless, he certainly heard something out there, someone else was following him.
Before moving on, the terrified hedgehog unsheathed his hunting knife and drew it out at the ready, just to be safe. Cautiously, he spun around in more circles, ensuring that the forest was completely absent of other foreign presence. Slowly he carried on, only to have something trip him.
With a loud and clumsy grunt, Silver fell to the muddy ground as his knife disappeared in the bleak darkness.
"Whaa?" muttered Silver as he looked up.
And on top of him stood are dark figure, it was a tall man, wearing a hat and carrying a rifle on his hands. Immediately at the sight of meeting a soldier, Silver cried out as he scrambled back on his feet to escape this captivator. But as he got up, he was simply given a smack to the head with the butt of the rifle that caused him to lean to one side and fall over clumsily once more. Chuckling, the sniper walked over to him and picked him up by the quills, and looking at what he had just caught.
"What's this? Another soldier of the rebel army trying to escape, hmmm?" teased the man in an terrifying voice as he examined Silver's torn uniform.
Desperate, Silver had no strength left in his telekinesis, but administered a solid kick to the man's groin, which caused this soldier to drop him and cry out in bittersweet pain.
"Ahh!"
As Silver dashed through the bushes for his life, he desperately ran in any direction that was possible, just to escape this man who wanted him dead.
"Trying to get away little boy? I'll get you good this time!" More rapid shots went off, and Silver covered his head and ducked as he ran.
But as he scurried, he bumped into another sniper, and this one caught him too. Screaming for mercy, Silver flailed his arms madly and begged for freedom as the other one plucked him by the quills. His crying was obnoxious, and a normal gentleman would gag his mouth with his hand or a roll of tape. But these two were men who were bloodthirsty for pain from the effects of war, and both loved to hear the bitter melody of the innocent and suffering such as this.
Snickering, the two towering men listened to Silver wailed as they abused and tortured him before stabbing him to death with a bayonet; first by slamming his head repeatedly into the muddy ground, then by tearing off his uniform and observing him completely naked. Finally, Silver found it useless to resist, and immediately cut off his own cries as the first sniper that found him drew out a long knife and pointed it towards his furry belly.
"How about we encarve our names on this little fucker? What say yee Henry?"
"Sure thing! I call gutting him after!"
And of all the ways he could've died, he just had to find himself here in this horrifying position. He could've been hung, or better yet, simply just shot in the head.
But right when Silver felt the tip of the blade reach his chest, a bloody gurgle was heard, and suddenly both men wore deathly expressions, like they were shot in the head. His rapists coughed out wads of blood as they collapsed and fell to the mucky ground, with Silver realizing that someone had stabbed both of them down the neck.
As he held his breath, Silver noticed another dark figure standing over the two dead corpses. He wasn't sure if it was just his desperation, but he was darn sure there was another prominent person standing over him.
It was a hedgehog, with its back quills sticking upward in the shadows as they made a shape in the faint moonlight.
Could it be? Mephiles! Somehow all this time, he had been following him.
Silver let out a shriek as he tried to stumble back on his feet, now escaping yet another. To his defense, Silver abruptly threw an uncoordinated punch at this black silhouette, but this shadow effortlessly caught his hand, and twisted his arm which drew out a loud cry of pain. The albino wrestled to liberate his twisted arm, but suddenly this person silently lashed out and gripped him by a specific part of the neck that cut off his blood flow to the head.
The move was lethal, and within a few seconds, Silver collapsed to the floor with a heavy thud, muttering, "Ugghhhm…" as he was stoned out. He should've known that he was so weak without his powers.
And in response to all of the commotion, another sniper shot shrieked through the air that nearly hit either of them. Hoisting the body up and over his shoulder, the silent dispatcher disappeared quietly into the trees without leaving clues behind for his shooters.
Silver was completely limp, and had no conscience as he drooled over the shoulder. His kidnapper, however, continued to run, and quietly make his way around the forest. At last, when the sounds of the fort could faintly be heard and the booming sounds of the battlefield were no more, the dark figure carefully dropped his victim to the soft ground.
Resting Silver's muddy head against a rock, he carefully examined the ivory hedgehog, first by studying his lacerations and severe areas that were spilling blood. Grunting to himself, he pulled out a roll of linen bandages and a glass bottle of rubbing alcohol, preparing to begin his medical work on the ivory hedgehog, once more.
Tacitly under his breath, the silhouette muttered something as he made his first bandage wrap on the left arm.
"Found you."
