Hi! Everyone! AHeartForStories here! I just love zombie apocalypse stories, games movies. I just had to write something of my own! I just had to! The idea was irresistable!
So here you have it! Knowing my love for Zombie apocalypses, writer blocks should be very minimal with this one.
Hope you enjoy and please do leave a review or two behind to tell me if you liked it or if you have constructive criticism. Being made aware of grammatical errors is always appreciated. :)
Once again, I'd like to point out that none of the characters have their powers. So no super speed or anything for Shadow or anyone. Let's be honest, their powers would've made this story alot less suspenseful.
Still Fighting: Chapter 10 - A New Light
-Year 2038, Summer-
Shadow knew he had a choice to make. Either he would help Lara-Le with her labour or he could go find Locke and see if he was in trouble. It was a difficult choice and the occasional gunshot and whine from Lara-Le certainly didn't help.
"Locke... Where are you?" Cried the expectant mother as she hunched over a bit, arms wrapped around her painful abdomen.
As Shadow looked towards the darkness outside through the window, he cursed himself.
What happened nearly five years ago was scratching against his mind's eye. What transpired now terrified him and he felt guilt already gnawing at his heart as he actually considered going after Locke.
He didn't want to witness this again. Once was more than enough.
"Dad?" The voice drew his attention down to a small, silvery form. Silver stood in front of him now, pulling at his sleeve and mimicking the same scared expression his parent wore.
Shadow hadn't even noticed his own trembling and hyperventilating until his son snapped him out of it.
"What do we do?!" The small boy asked, once again pulling on his sleeve. Shadow hated that look on his face, but somehow it comforted him.
He wasn't alone. That's what mattered to him and that gave him the courage he needed to make his final choice.
"Lara-Le," The ebony hedgehog called her name as he approached her and took her two hands into his own.
"There's a bed we can use upstairs, right? I'll help you to it." He reassured her and gave her a forced smile. His fear was clearly written all over him and he was shaking, but at least he managed to move again.
The upset Knuckles watched as his mother was pulled to her feet and supported by a hedgehog that was only an inch taller than her.
"You'll be okay... You'll be fine..." Shadow comforted her as they made their way out of the livingroom and up the stairs, though he seemed to be trying to convince himself aswell. The way up the stairs had never been so long.
"The first door is the bathroom, we need the second one." Lara-Le told him in between groans of pain.
"We're here." Shadow told her and held the door for her open so she could enter, though she stopped for a moment to live through another contraction and held a painful grip on his shoulder.
The hedgehog helped her lie down on the bed and as Lara-Le moaned and cringed, Shadow took a step back to try and collect his thoughts.
What was he to do now? Silver had come fairly quickly, but this baby seemed to come even quicker and even back then he had been at a loss on what to do. He had simply helped Silver's mother out of her trousers and underwear and tried to encourage her through it, in hindsight he thought he should've done more.
"Shadow!" Lara-Le called his name as she pulled on her pants, desperate to get it off. The hedgehog acted quickly as he pulled her shoes off and helped remove her pants, tried to turn his mind off, and her underwear.
Now what was he to do?
A quick scan of the room held no answers for him, but he did see two kids hiding behind the door frame and so closed the door to give the mother some privacy.
"Lara-Le, I have only read medical books in my free time back home. So I'm not all that knowledgeable when it comes to this, nor can I be called a doctor of any kind in general, but-"
"I don't care if you're not a doctor! You weren't one when your son was born and you still delivered him, right? Please, I just want it out of me!" Lara-Le cried as she felt the urge to push rise.
"You're right... You're right..." Shadow repeated as he ran a hand through his quills. He attempted to remember what he had done next without getting into another panicking fit.
'Stop it!' Shadow shouted at himself in his mind. He didn't panic when Silver was coming, so he refused to panic now.
He took a deep breath to calm himself down.
"You've already given birth once, so you know what you need to do, right? If you need anything, I'll be right here." He told the woman and sat on the bed on his knees in front of her spread legs.
"I need to push. I need to push so bad!" Lara-Le cried as she threw her head back on the pillow, sweat coating her red fur more and more.
"Than push. I believe you should push with every contraction, whenever the need arises." Shadow told her, no longer shivering as much.
He finally felt himself calm down.
"Shadow." The pained woman whimpered in agony.
"Don't worry, I'm right here. Just push." The said dark hedgehog comforted her and returned her some peace of mind, the knowledge that she wasn't alone in this reassured her greatly.
Knuckles and Silver sat right outside of the room on the floor with their backs to the wall. The silvery boy shivered silently while the crimson one tried to shy away from his mother's cries. Neither one of the two had the slightest idea about what was going on in that room.
"What do you think dad and Lara-Le are doing?" Silver asked the other boy, but Knuckles could just barely bring himself to answer.
"I don't know, but I don't like it! It sounds like he's hurting her!" The small echidna shouted as he got up to land an angry kick on the door. Seeing that no one was responding, he stomped over to Silver and dropped down on the floor next to him. With his small fists he grasped his arms tightly as he buried his face within them and he pulled his knees up to his chest.
"My dad doesn't hurt people." Silver felt compassion for his temporary friend, but he just couldn't let that claim pass by. For aslong as they had been wandering outside, he had only witnessed his father avoiding people for as much as he could. When Silver saw him cradling his broken arm outside of the human infested town in one moment of peace without realising that his son had been watching, it had become quite clear to Silver just who hurt who.
Knuckles glared at the hedgehog next to him, believing him to be a liar. But as he heard his mother cry out again, he jumped up to his feet once more.
"I'm gonna go get dad!" Knuckles stated with resolution in his voice and quickly ran down the hall.
"Come back!" Silver yelled after him, but it was no use, prompting him to get up aswell and follow him.
Nearly tripping down the last few steps, Knuckles reached the front door and could only just grasp the knob when he was suddenly halted.
"What is that?" The young echidna asked as he let go and looked back at Silver, who stood halfway on the stairs, listening intently.
To them it sounded like someone was crying the lungs out of their body. It sounded muffled to them.
"I think that's a baby." Silver stated, having heard that sound in the Quarantine Zone once or twice.
"Mom's baby!" Knuckles exclaimed and ran back up the stairs even faster than he had descended it. In no time at all was he back in front of his parents' bedroom door and left Silver to chase him once again.
He grabbed and turned the knob of the door with such a hurry that he stumbled inside and fell to his knees.
The boys came to a halt upon the sight they found within.
Lara-Le cried as she sat there slouched with her upper back and head resting on a pillow propped up against the head board. In her arms she gingerly held something wrapped in a blanket. It was moving and it was the source of all that crying.
Shadow was still sitting on his knees on the foot end of the bed, his shoes kicked off, an expression of relief and contentment was worn on his face as he watched mother and child.
As the new mother noticed the two boys standing there, she had to call them over.
"What are you two boys doing there? Come on in." Despites her exhaustion and tears, she smiled as she coaxed the two over, but they only took a few reluctant steps.
"Knuckles, why don't you come meet your little sister." Upon hearing his mother speak directly to him, Knuckles approached the bed and climbed up to meet with his mother and the newborn she held.
The infant of barely an hour quickly fell asleep as the labour had drained her completely. She lay quietly in her mother's arms, still filthy and covered in blood and amniotic fluid, but already cozily wrapped in a warm blanket.
When Knuckles laid his eyes on her, he was stumped and sought for answers with his mother.
"That's your little sister, Knuckles. Won't you say 'hi' to her?" Lara-Le tried to persuade Knuckles to speak to his new sister, but it seemed he was interested in only one thing.
"She's so dirty." He stated with a furrowed brow and a frown, earning himself a tired laugh from his mother.
"Of course, she is, she hasn't been cleaned yet." As mother and son continued to converse, Silver climbed up on the bed to join his father.
"Is that Lara-Le's baby?" The silvery hedgehog asked, crawling onto his parent's lap. It was then that he noticed the blood and unidentifiable fluid coating his old man's hands and a bit of his wrists. He could see it covered the infant aswell.
"Yes, it is. It's a girl." His father replied as he wrapped his arms lightly around the boy and intertwined his fingers in front of him, seemingly not a bothered by the filth on his hands at the moment. He was much too content simply watching the new baby.
"You know, you were once that small too." Shadow could help but tell him, gaze finally moving to settle on his son.
"I was?" Silver asked as he looked up in surprise, his disgust for the bodily fluids suddenly forgotten.
"Hm-mh." Shadow responded with a simple nod and a hum.
Silver looked back at the echidna infant sleeping in her mother's arms.
And then a thought popped up in his mind.
"Did my mom hold me like that?"
Immediatly the black hedgehog froze up.
"Dad?" Silver called for him, but received no response.
"Lara-Le, I hate to interrupt this moment, but I have to go out and make sure Locke is okay. I haven't heard him in a while." Shadow instead got up from the bed as he turned his attention to the older echidna, picking Silver up from his lap and leaving him on the bed.
"Okay, I'll be keeping an eye on the boys." The woman responded back to him.
Shadow cleaned his hands and left the room, trusting the children to stay close to Lara-Le while he quickly left the cabin to search for Locke, leaving his son behind in dissapointment.
With his gun loaded and tucked away in his belt and some extra ammunition at his disposal, the ebony hedgehog ventured outside. Almost instantly did the chilly air of the outside catch him off guard. As he left the porch he could feel the rain still coming down on him. Everything was soggy and muddy, but at least the thunder and lightning had let up for now.
Shadow squinted his eyes as he tried to see anything through the trees and rain, but saw nothing. He was about to risk it and go in a random direction when he heard someone call his name.
"Shadow!" The said hedgehog turned to face the source of the shout and came face to face with an angry, unharmed echidna.
"Did you find what was making that noise?" He asked as he turned his body towards him.
"Some deer, but that's besides the point. What the hell did I tell you about leaving the house?! Something could've snuck inside!" With a harsh shove did he emphasize his anger and Shadow could only stumble, fists clenching.
"Instead of reprimanding me, maybe you should go inside and join your wife in the bedroom. her water broke while you were out deer hunting." Shadow informed him, trying not to let his annoyence show.
Locke's eyes widened and his posture stiffened as realisation hit him like a ton of bricks. Then, but a moment later, the man pushed past him as he raced inside. Shadow was left to watch him dissapear inside and threw one last quick glance at his surroundings before following him back into the cabin.
Upon arriving back in the bedroom, Shadow noticed that Locke had joined his wife by her side, one arm wrapped around her as he stared, mesmerized, at their newborn.
He soon turned his attention to Silver, who still sat on the footend of the bed.
"Silver, let's leave them alone for a little while." He told the silvery hedgehog and took his hand as he guided him out of the room and down the stairs. He didn't want to be in their way any longer and waited for the rain to pass in the livingroom.
Barely half an hour had passed when Locke came walking down the stairs, a grim expression on his muzzle. Shadow drew up from his slouched position on the couch to show he had his attention. Silver, too, sat up straight as he watched the two adults.
"I don't know what happened to that boy's mother and frankly I don't trust you and certainly not your persisting silence about it." The echidna began, obviously voicing his feelings and thoughts with difficulty.
"But Lara-Le and I have been talking and she seems convinced that you're a good guy. So she's suggesting we stay together indefinitely." Locke finished and looked more at the wall than the hedgehogs he was talking to. Swallowing his own words had never sat all that well with him.
The meaning of his words sank slowly into the dark hedgehog's mind as he realised what this meant.
Teaming up meant more protection for Silver. It meant more food, more hands for help, less vulnerability. In other words, nothing but good for now.
"Does this mean we'll eat together again?" Silver asked. He knew aswell what this meant, but didn't think beyond the possibility of more food to eat.
He was excited already, especially when Locke reluctantly nodded, but his father didn't even smile.
They had made new friends, joined a group for the first time since their home fell apart.
How long will it take before they're alone again?
The decision has been made and a new life was brought into a world torn apart by the apocalypse and her family couldn't be prouder of their little girl. Meanwhile Shadow isn't so excited about teaming up with the recently expanded family, though he likes the thought of extra protection.
Also I would really appreciate it if you guys made me aware of any mistakes I might've made both grammar wise and story wise.
So anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! And please do leave a review and tell me what you think! :3