Little ShaDows

Chapter Seven (Warning: this product could prove hazardous to infants and individuals three inches tall and shorter)

Rushing into the living room, Amy plumped down on the sofa, causing Shadow to bounce in his seat. He shot her a glare but she paid him no mind, her eyes glued to the television.

"Here's your popcorn." she said, handing him the smaller of two bowls without taking so much as a glance his way. He grabbed it with a scowl.

The television went black and the room was plunged into darkness. Soon white words began to fade on and off the screen. Amy squirmed excitedly.

"Ooh ooh! Quiet, Shadow! It's starting!"

"I wasn't-"

"Shh!"

He narrowed his eyes at her. And she said he was rude...

The movie was of the horror genre. It featured a demonic woodcutter who had somehow risen from the dead (either the movie hadn't bothered to give a reason for this phenomenon or Shadow had been unable to hear it above all the screaming), a camp full of idiotic teenagers, and plenty of gruesome deaths as the woodcutter proceeded to catch the youths one by one and hack them to pieces with his axe, which he called "Betty" after his late wife. An hour into the torture session, Shadow wasn't sure what part of it he found most disturbing-the senseless gore, the woodcutter's freakish displays of affection toward his weapon, or Amy actually finding this entertaining.

"Don't do it, Tony. Stay with the others, it's your best chance. Trust in Greg, he knows what he's doing. Please don't go. Please, Tony. Don't you know how cute you are?...Oh no...Oh no...Oh, Tony, don't go! He's waiting for you! He knows what you're thinking! Tony, stop! Tony!" Amy's whispered pleas fell on deaf, dumb ears. Tony leaves, woodcutter appears out of the mist, Tony panics, runs, trips, sprains an ankle, and now he's screaming bloody murder as Betty does her dirty work. Good grief.

"This is ridiculous." Shadow muttered.

"Shh!"

"Stop shushing me."

"Shh!"

"Amy-"

"Hush, Shadow!"

His fists clenched. He was feeling about ready to bring out his own Betty...

Angrily he stuffed another buttery puff into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed, but something didn't go down quite right this time. Unable to help it, he began coughing, albeit quietly to avoid bringing attention to himself. The kernel wedged in his throat refused to be dislodged, though.

"Shadow, would you keep it down?" asked Amy. But his coughing only grew worse with each second the blasted kernel remained stuck.

"Shadow!" Amy hissed, finally turning her eyes away from the television. "Would you please-"

What she then saw nearly made her heart stop. Shadow was doubled over, clutching his neck while hot tears flowed down his cheeks and a river of mucus streamed out from his nostrils. The poor hedgehog looked on the verge of death!

"Omigosh, Shadow! You're choking!" she cried.

He was too busy focusing on staying alive to even think of a smart response.

Panicking, Amy began slapping his back repeatedly in an effort to assist him. It didn't occur to her to drop the remote either.

"A-Ame...sto...no...e...elp..." Shadow tried to speak, but between his coughing and Amy beating his spine to the point of bruising, it was a rather difficult task.

"Come on, Shadow, get it out! Don't die on me!" She was crying herself, slapping him harder and harder, each strike doubling in force. "Get. It. Out!"

As the final word left her lips, she grasped the television remote with both hands and swung with all her might. Her swing made contact and suddenly Shadow was no longer on the sofa but flying through the air, speeding faster than an arrow across the room...and straight smack into the television screen. Amy gaped, eyes bulging.

What had she just done?

Shaking like a leaf, she scrambled to her feet and went for the lights. She then hurried back to kneel beside Shadow, who lay with his face buried in the carpet.

"Please be alive, please be alive, oh, please, Shadow..." she prayed, slowly reaching out with a trembling hand to turn him over. Never before had she been so happy to see those glaring crimson eyes.

"Shadow!" she gushed. "You're alive!"

His breathing was tremorous, his face was a mess, and he looked ticked off as hell, but he was alive! If she wasn't afraid of hurting him anymore than she already had, Amy would've snatched the ebony hedgehog up and enveloped him in a bone crushing embrace!

"Oh, Shadow, I'm so glad! I thought I...And I was so scared...But you're...you're alright!" Her eyes glittered with joyful tears. The sense of relief she felt was overwhelming.

"What...the hell...were you...thinking?" Shadow managed to ask in a hoarse whisper.

"Nothing at all!" she laughed. "But you're alright, so I guess it was a good thing!"

Not for his back.