Disclaimer- I don't own the Sonic the hedgehog characters.

Chapter 7

"Ugh… Come on! This wasn't supposed to happen…argh!"

The first thing Shadow heard upon gradually regaining consciousness was Silver's frustrated and strained voice.

"This isn't…This isn't working." There was a pregnant pause. "He's not awake yet, maybe I can…"

The second thing he heard was something so hauntingly familiar that ruby orbs popped open as soon as the sound impinged his ears.

Suppressed memories rushed to the forefront of his mind, and every single muscle in his body tensed. He had been in a dark freefalling elevator. He was still in it – even though now the lights were back on – laying in congealing blood from the human's body that was not a foot away from his face. He felt the man's fluids all over his skin, weighing his fur down.

The blue boy was on the other side of the small room, unconscious in a corner. His azure quills had turned purple in a multitude of places, matting them together.

The noise that had dragged Shadow out of his insensible state – screeching that indicated that the striped hedgehog's ride may not be over yet – grew louder. With some effort, the Robotnik picked up his head, his left cheek and ear dripping red when he did so, formerly submerged in cooling blood.

Shadow's unfocused gaze had flickered from the boy to Silver, and what he was seeing didn't quite process in his mind at first. All he could do was identify the puzzle pieces, not the whole picture. The long-quilled rodent was standing in the front of the elevator, his right side only visible to Shadow. His hands were hanging loosely at his sides. His golden stare was unwavering; it was concrete and fixed on a single target. The metallic sliding doors were being forcefully pried open inch by inch, jerking and groaning all the while.

The striped anthro couldn't make sense of it, so he just watched, still practically bathing in the stranger's blood. When the doors were about two feet apart, showing that the elevator had stopped in a way that only a sliver of an enterable floor was available to squeeze through to escape, Shadow observed numbly as Silver breathed out a shaky breath. He held his head with one hand, and propped himself against the now motionless doors, face scrunched up in a pained wince.

The formerly white rodent's mumble barely registered in his ears. "I…I pushed my…myself a little too hard…"

Shadow's brain was still murky, nothing was clicking for him. That was until a pink tongue licked away the blood that had splashed on Silver's muzzle, the owner reveling in the taste of the liquid. It was then that everything fit together, and Shadow shot up to his feet so fast that his head began to spin.

He almost fell over before managing to plaster himself against the nearest wall, his heavy and erratic breathing alerting the other awake hedgehog of his recovery.

Silver's body was frozen as wary golden orbs locked with cautious reds. "Did you…" His voice was ragged and worn, like he had exerted himself far too much for too long. "…see any of that?"

Shadow didn't answer him. His attention was swiftly switching between Silver and the blue boy, wondering if his safety was endangered even if the beast was out-cold. His neighbor had just opened the elevator doors without fucking touching them. He…He tasted the blood and wasn't disgusted by it. The flicker of the tongue had been deliberate, like he wanted to ingest the red ooze.

Like…Like…

The black anthro's train of thought crashed into a ball of flames when Silver took a step towards him, expression twisted into one of concern. Like he just didn't just use some…some kind of power to…to….

"Shadow…" The other took another step forward, hand out to touch. "Are you alright?"

The Robotnik pressed himself harder into the wall, wishing to phase into it to escape whatever the hell Silver was. Lips pulled back in a hiss, but the black ears folded down in fright contradicted his attempt of intimidation. "Don't get closer dammit! I swear I…"

Silver halted his approach, and his hand fell. His jaw clenched, and his swallow was audible. The white hedgehog's gaze was hesitant yet determined. "Look, I…I'm not going to hurt you."

"Bullshit!" Shadow immediately opposed, clenching his fingers to conceal their trembling. If he didn't regain control of his heat rate soon, he'd surely go into cardiac arrest. But how in the hell was he supposed to calm down when he was locked in a confined space with a dead man, a werewolf, and a…and a… "You're the same as him!"

Silver took one glance at the blue rodent before shaking his hands frantically, his head in sync. "N-No! I don't even know what-" Shadow refused to believe anything he said. Silver had…abilities and a hunger for…for life like the other. The disbelieving glare he was giving his neighbor made the latter's words trail off. Silver went quiet for a moment, the blood on him driving away the innocence he held. Shadow knew that his appearance wasn't better, but he could wash it off. Foreign blood was inside Silver.

"I don't know what to say to make you believe me," the white rodent muttered, brow marginally crinkled. "If…If I knew that you were awake, I would've…" He bit his lip, irises drifting back over to the semi-open doors. His stance was nothing near volatile.

But Shadow wasn't letting his guard down.

Silver's clinginess made sense. He was just playing with his food. Silver never returning to his apartment made sense. If he and the boy were one in the same, then he had transformed when the sun had set. He had hunted.

But…why me? What have I done to deserve this?

A sudden low and raspy groan gained the attention of the two rodents. Shadow's breath hitched at the sight of the blue boy's limbs twitching and coming to life, his eyes threatening to flitter open and inevitably watch as another soul got devoured by his own gaping maw.

"When I say go, you climb out, okay?"

Shadow couldn't choose between sending him either a suspicious glare or a flabbergasted stare. There was absolutely no way he was going to fit through that tiny gap, and everything Silver had said from the time the Robotnik had gotten up just put him on the alert.

Shadow didn't respond, body in not moving from his position on the wall. Silver shot him a small smile that didn't match his crestfallen golds. The visible amount of blood on his teeth made his stomach flip.

Feral growls then caused his quills to bristle instinctively. Shadow whipped his head to see the hardened emeralds snap between him and Silver, lingering on the former. Large and dangerous canines were bared as the boy got to his feet, not caring about the blood caking his body.

However, before the homicidal beast had time to lunge and feast on his insides, the human's corpse on the ground began to move. Began to float in the air. The sight was so strange and unexpected that even the blue boy stopped to stare confusingly at it.

It took everything Shadow had in him not to gape. Then, when he blinked, the limp man was hurled in the azure rodent's direction so forcefully that the elevator shook upon impact. The target howled in surprise and pain, struggling to push the human away from him, but the stranger didn't budge. The beast was pinned.

Shadow saw how the bones in the man's body were horrendously bent the wrong way and promptly glanced to the side, his reeling brain now taking in a concentrating Silver. A hand was outstretched, and the ghost of a frown marred his red-splattered muzzle. The more the blue boy struggled, the deeper the frown became.

The azure hedgehog began to claw at the body, strings of flesh being ripped off of bone, forming piles of pink skin on the floor. More blood flowed out of the corpse, the red hiding the exposed muscle that was continuously being shredded.

The beast had nothing but murder in his eyes as he glared at Silver.

Shadow's neighbor flinched at the look, but continued…whatever the hell he was doing. Then the frown on his face morphed into a grimace, and his unoccupied palm was flat against his forehead once more. Silver's knees shook and were threatening to buckle.

The black rodent couldn't hold in the gasp that escaped his throat when the elevator started to shake again. However, instead of shooting off in either an upward or downward direction, it crept slowly, the interior shuddering as it did so. Startled rubies zeroed in on the gap that was growing before focusing on Silver, who still had the boy stuck in the corner.

A harsh pant came from his neighbor. "G-Go…"

Shadow took a quick moment to make sure he wasn't having some fever dream. When pain resulted from a pinch to his arm, his legs propelled him forward without further question. His shoes slipped along the wet floor, but he never lost his balance as he went for his escape.

The striped hedgehog reached the ledge, red-stained fingers straining as they gripped the edge of the floor. Before he managed to bend his legs and propel himself up to embrace freedom and leave the insanity behind him, a gruff voice stopped him in his tracks, the chuckle accompanying it sending chills down his spine.

"Yeah, keep running." Shadow peered over his shoulder to find that the boy had ceased struggling, green blood-thirsty eyes staring at frightened reds, nearly petrifying him to his core. The smirk aimed his way was malicious and promising nothing short of death. "I love a good chase. When I catch you…you don't have to worry about any more injuries to your face because you won't have one anymore." Shadow's forced himself to tear away from that haunting gaze, but the other kept talking. "Maybe that will get you to stop pulling."

The Robotnik still didn't know what the hell he was talking about, but he decided that he would revisit that later, after he left with his valuable life.

Shadow grunted as he hopped up, using his upper body strength the finish the job that his legs couldn't. He slid fully out in the open, a trail of blood being left in his wake. His feet were under him immediately as he scanned his surroundings, coming to the conclusion that he was now in the basement. The only thing down here was a large indoor pool and a couple of locker rooms.

He sighed as he ran a trembling hand down his face, wincing when a nail got temporarily caught in one of his stitches. Thickly swallowing, he watched as the accumulated blood dripped off his palm and onto the floor. He needed to shower, urgently.

Shadow was about to begin his trek to where he knew the locker rooms were, but then a pained yell gained his attention. He glanced back and stumbled backwards at the visual of Silver, having escaped the elevator as well, staring at the now closed doors of the lift. The shouting voice belonged to the blue boy.

His neighbor was still holding his head, one eye closed in discomfort. "One…of his hands is crushed." There was that horrid screeching again, and the elevator shot up. The yelling and the grating became distant, originating from somewhere above. "So he's…trapped for the time being…"

The striped hedgie just watched cautiously as the other's arm dropped and shoulder slumped. There was low panting coming from him, body showing signs of exhaustion.

If Silver had been a normal person, Shadow would've offered some help. Perhaps even lent a shoulder to lean on.

But since that wasn't the case, Shadow silently turned on his heel and strode swiftly away from his anomaly of a neighbor, heading straight to the showers. He would call the police, but there were multiple reasons to why he shouldn't and couldn't. One, no one would believe that Silver could move things with his damned mind. Two, 9-1-1 probably had already been called because hearing a loud-ass elevator plummeting out of the sky wasn't normal, and he didn't want to distract anyone from the messy scene they would inevitably discover. He hoped that the pain the boy had to be in lowered his murderous performance.

And three, the most important reason, his phone was dead.

So if and when – most likely the latter – Silver attacked him, he was shit out of luck.

He had nowhere to run either, as if that would matter. The only way out of the basement at this point in time was the stairs, which were in the other direction, past Silver. Fuck, Shadow didn't want to die, but if he was going to, then he'd rather prolong it.

The striped hedgehog was in the pool room now, the area wide and roomy with slowly shifting waters shimmering in the middle. He was alone; no one else was there. Shadow strained his ears, and he heard no footsteps following him. Regaining his courage, he looked back at the hallway he had walked down only to see that Silver had remained standing by the elevator. Now, his face was hidden by his hands, and Shadow couldn't tell for sure, but the other's shoulders were shaking.

No, he had to be wrong. Why would a monster like him start to cry?

Ruby orbs tore away from the white rodent only to focus on the locker rooms on the far side of the large space. He jogged over to them, hypersensitive to any sounds behind him, and eventually entered the male's room. After taking his phone out of his pocket and placing it on the floor outside of a shower, he stepped into the enclosed space, not bothering to peel off his clothes before turning on the warm water.

Shadow let the stream cascade over his body, leaning forward until his forehead was pressed against the white tile. His mind was blank as the water tinted red swirled around at his feet, constantly draining out. He just waited and waited and waited. Waited to be rid of that man's fluids. Waited for Silver to burst in and rip his throat out. Waited for any explanation to come to him about exactly why his life was spiraling out of control.

None of that happened. He had to leave the shower when the water became frigid.

Mental processes at an all-time low, Shadow robotically took off his shirt and squeezed it over the drain, seeing clear liquid drip down and disappear. Blood stains were still on it, and the same went for his shorts after repeating the process.

Feeling damp with his clothes uncomfortably sticking to his body, he grabbed a nearby towel and attempted to get as dry as he possibly could. Which was not much.

Shadow tossed the towel away and grasped his phone again, hesitant to return it to his pocket. After deciding that the device wouldn't be destroyed, it was slipped into his shorts.

The striped hedgehog left the shower area and padded through rows of lockers, heading for the exit. However, when he got there, his feet refused to budge. He didn't want to leave. He didn't know if someone was on the other side of the door, specifically his neighbor.

The last image Shadow had of Silver popped into his mind, and he couldn't make sense of it. As much as he denied it, Silver had been clearly crying, nothing a blood-thirsty beast would do. Silver had never come at him like a monster either, his friendliness being off the charts. That could have been a ploy, but…

Shadow shook his head to oust those thoughts. What in the hell was he thinking? Just because Silver played nice now didn't mean that he'd remain the same once the sun went down. If that was the case though…he did leave Shadow alone and safe in his apartment…

He gritted his teeth, mind a whirlwind now. The rodent stepped through the threshold, and instantly froze when he saw that the pool wasn't empty anymore.

Silver was sitting on the underwater steps leading down to the shallow end, half of his glistening body submerged. There was less red on him now, chlorinated water rolling down his face in beads. Golden irises were trained on the blue liquid, watching the tiny ripples he made with a single finger. The only indication of him noticing Shadow was the subtle twitch of an ear.

Shadow stood immobile for a long moment, breath shallow like the smallest disturbance would set the other off. When Silver didn't show any reaction to his presence, he began to walk back to the entrance of the area, almost hugging the walls as he went. It wasn't until he was nearly out when Silver spoke up, shy and hushed.

"That wasn't your…first time seeing him, right? From the way he talked to you…" Shadow paused in his movements. He turned, not expecting that question, to see the other continuing to wade in the pool, back facing him. "…Have you told anyone? That he clearly isn't normal, that is…?"

Shadow didn't know why he wasn't leaving and shutting the white rodent out of his life. His lips moved without his consent. "No."

Silver's finger stilled, and the ripples stopped. The striped hedgie's pulse marginally increased in response. "If he had been a friend or…something like that, if he wasn't trying to…kill you, would you have?"

Shadow remained silent, mental gears turning. He didn't like Silver's questions. Did he want him to keep quiet? Was that his purpose of this? The Robotnik hadn't blabbed his mouth about the blue boy because he knew that the beast would brutally murder anyone without a hint of remorse. Shadow had no clue if Silver had killed anyone. Silver hadn't tried to tear him to pieces. That didn't change what he was though.

Shadow didn't know how to answer the question, so he didn't. "Why do you care if I will keep your fucking secret?" he boldly asked, his fear of being gutted decreasing substantially. His anger at this situation was speaking now. "Damned if I do, damned if I don't. Like hell if anyone would believe any of this."

Silver finally glanced at him, hope and nervousness swirling in those golden depths. "So you won't..?"

He threw caution to the wind and glared. "Stay that hell away from me, and we have a deal." Needing to put some distance between him and the other, he didn't wait for Silver's reply before leaving and striding towards the stairs. He passed the elevator and pushed the door that revealed the long stairwell. He prepared himself for the multitude of floors he would have to walk up. After a second, he began his march.


Shadow had only risen a couple of stories before he heard a commotion. He halted in front of the door leading to the second floor, pressing his ear against the cool metal. He registered fragments of sentences.

"…dead man…"

"…door sliced open…"

"…window at the end of the hall broken…"

"…heard screaming…"

He leaned away, wondering if those voices actually belonged to police or someone else of similar profession. From what it sounded like, the blue beast had broken through the doors – surprise, surprise – and had jumped out of a window. At least no one else had been attacked, in the complex at least.

Shadow ran a finger down his healing injury, brow creasing. The boy said that…that Shadow was pulling him. Well maybe he could use that as an advantage. He was completely insane for thinking this, but…he could possibly kill the beast. Hell, he had almost did it before with his car. But that wasn't enough, it seemed. There had to be another method to get rid of that monster. There had to be…

With that thought festering, the anthro glanced at the door one last time before continuing his journey up.


He was relieved to find that his room had finally been left alone. Tower hadn't lied.

The striped hedgie shut the door behind him and locked it, sweeping his apartment with a keen gaze. Some things had been moved around, but nothing else was wrong with it. No blood splatters, no police tape, and it seemed like they had replaced his window for him. There was no corpse smell lingering either.

Wasting no time, Shadow stripped in his living room. It wasn't long until the rodent was barefoot while only in his boxers. His stained shirt and borrowed shorts were bundled up in his arms. He definitely was going to throw the shirt away; it was unsalvageable. The shorts were in the same condition, but because he knew who they actually belonged to, he was thinking about burning them to ashes.

He didn't know when he'd get to do that however, so he went into his kitchen and dumped both articles of clothing into the trash can. He'd take it out later.

Shadow then went over and picked up his phone that he had placed on his immaculate couch beforehand. He carried the device to a specific corner of the room where a small stand was resting, holding a particular cord. Once the socket on the wall, the cord, and the phone were connected, a soft ding was heard, and the hedgehog set the device down.

He shuffled over to his sofa and fell onto it. He laid on his back and threw an arm over his eyes, letting himself sink into the cushions. Shadow knew that the wetness from his underwear was seeping into the upholstery, but he didn't care. He deserved to nap, to rest. Everything else was put on hold.

The striped anthro's body fully relaxed when sleep ultimately embraced him.

It let go far too quickly for Shadow's taste.

He tiredly groaned as he slunk out of his comfort, rubbing his eyes and sitting up on the couch. Black ears twitched when another round of ringing filled the room. After thinking about just ignoring the person and returning to slumber land, Shadow made himself stand up and shuffle over his phone.

"What?" He snapped without reading the caller ID.

"Well! Sorry for calling, you grump!"

"Maria?" Shadow's irritation levels swiftly bottomed out, and his lethargy was unfortunately slipping away. He pressed against the nearest wall; he couldn't go far without unplugging the phone. "Sorry. I was sleeping."

"Really? Do you want me to call back later?"

"No, it's fine. I shouldn't…" He let out a sigh. "…shouldn't nap too long now. I won't get restful enough sleep later."

"You sound stressed lil hedgie. Was today alright?"

"It…could've gone better."

"Uh oh, what happened?"

So much, too much. And Shadow could only tell her just a sliver of that amount. "I got stuck on the elevator in my complex for a while."

"Wow…you didn't get hurt right? How'd you get out?"

"I'm perfectly fine," he lied, "and it eventually started to work again. Nothing serious."

"Okay that's great! Because I've heard stories where other people's endings are just horrific. Like if the whole thing collapsed or things like that."

"I must've been one of the lucky ones," Shadow muttered.

"Right!" Maria's giggle was like a chime on the opposite end. "But anyway, I just wanted to call so I can hear your voice and to procrastinate on some homework." She laughed again. "I'll talk to you lat-"

"Maria."

She was quiet for a moment, then, "Yeah, Shadow?"

The striped rodent exhaled deeply. "I'm getting a head start on this essay I have to do for English, and it's about folklore and myths. Do you know anything about…" He raked his fingers through his quills. "…killing a werewolf?" Maria was more into those kinds of stories when they were younger. Shadow never did favor fictional creatures, for he didn't want to waste his time learning about things that didn't exist. Little did he know.

"Killing a werewolf?" Her tone was both perplexed and amused. "What kind of teacher do you have for that class?"

"He is a bit eccentric."

"Ha! I wish my professors would be like that! Right now, they all seem to have no personality! But with your question…hm… I do remember something about silver…bullets maybe? Or just silver in general? How specific do you have to be in your paper? Do you know?"

Shadow's lips were somewhat pursed. It couldn't be that simple, could it? "Not very. It's our first one, so he should be lenient."

"Good, because that's all I got. Need any more help with anything? Any tips about being a senior and staying out of trouble?"

He scoffed. "I think I'm good Maria, thank you." He doubted anything she told him about that subject would actually help.

"Well then, I'll talk to you later lil hedgie!"

"Bye, Maria." Shadow hung up and put the phone down. He glanced over at the window, the sun shining its rays down on the city. In a couple of hours, shadows would cover the landscape, letting a different kind of monster roam its inner streets. Something hungrier.

Something that shouldn't exist.

Silver bullets… Where in the hell was he going to get silver bullets?

It took a minute, but a lightbulb finally went off in his head.

He was going to need his wallet.


Well, Silver wasn't what he had appeared to be, but at least he isn't trying to tear Shadow to pieces. That's definitely a plus! Shads only has one set of sharp fangs to worry about XD