Reunion
Chapter 11
Sorry about the delay. I meant to have this done sooner, but I just haven't had time to do any lately. And if you review and want me to respond quickly, send it to me in an e-mail. It should be on my profile. I'd do it on my phone, but for some reason, it won't let me log on to the fan fic website to reply. Enjoy.
Sally, Knuckles, Tails & Shadow
The four pushed onward toward Metropolis, trying to get to the outskirts of the city before nightfall. Even though it was still early in the day, they knew they would be out until late that night at the least. It took a good two hours to go from Metropolis and back. It wasn't something that would normally worry them, but they would be dealing with Sonic's unpredictable behavior. They knew it wouldn't be the normal, happy Sonic they were used to seeing.
Shadow made his way along the road, the other three following him. It would take them an extra 45 minutes to reach Metropolis since they had to stick to the roads because of Sally. Knuckles and Tails followed close behind Shadow, following his every move. "So how long will it take?" Knuckles asked, breaking the silence over the three. No one had said much since they had taken off. Their mind's were focused on Sonic. Even Tails, who was usually talkative, was unusually quiet, but wasn't unusual given the circumstances. Shadow glanced at Knuckles. "It shouldn't be too long. I'd guess about 30 minutes at the least." Shadow said. Knuckles nodded. Tails sped up so he was right behind Knuckles and Shadow. "Do you think Sally will be alright?" He asked. He had every right to be worried. No one knew what would happen when she would be face to face with Sonic. Tails was worried for her safety. "I don't know. I think we should keep a close eye on her." Knuckles said without turning around.
"Yeah." Tails said in agreement. After a few minutes, Shadow spoke up. "Shouldn't be too long now." He said, pointing off into the distance. Tails and Knuckles looked off in the direction he was pointing. The outline of Metropolis was visible. Seeing the city, Shadow and Knuckles increased their speed. Tails however dropped back, keeping pace with Sally. He lowered his altitude enough where he could look in on her, and the look on her face told the story. The stress that had hung in the air had clearly taken a toll on her. She didn't look bad, but she looked like she had aged a couple of years. He also noticed that it looked like she had been crying again. He had begun to lose count how much she had actually been doing, not to mention what she did behind closed doors.
He sped up just enough to get ahead of her and turned around and waived. Sally returned the gesture, smiling brightly. When he saw her face, he definitely noticed that she had been crying, but not like he thought . He didn't even have to be close to her to know that. Over the time he had been staying with her, which turned out to be a good thing, he had gotten to know Sally as well as she knew herself. Tails sped up until he had caught up with Shadow and Knuckles. "Hey Shadow, how far are we from Metropolis?" Tails asked. "Shouldn't be too long now." He said, not even bothering to turn his head. "I looked in on her." Tails said.
"And?" Knuckles asked. "She's been crying again. But it's not as bad as it usually is. I just hope she can hold it together." Tails said. Shadow didn't like what he had heard. "I think we should ride with her from here." Shadow said. Knuckles and Tails nodded in unison. It made sense in more ways than one. For one, it would keep Sally from having another breakdown and driving off the road. Shadow also knew that it would be much easier for all of them to get to their destination if they rode with Sally. He looked toward Metropolis and saw it was only a few minutes away. Shadow raised a hand and motioned for Sally and the others to stop. She obeyed and pulled over. Shadow walked up to the window. "You mind if I hitch a ride?" He asked. Sally smiled and nodded and the three climbed in and shut the doors.
Sonic
Scourge had been gone for almost two hours, which had left Sonic alone. He was still feeling the full on heroin rush. It felt wonderful. His entire body felt light, almost as if he was floating. A light, tingling sensation moved up and down his body, just enough where he could feel it. His head was a different story. It felt like his mind was in a fog, unable to do the simplest task. Yet, perfectly clear at the same time. It was like he was high, yet he felt like he was completely sober. Sonic sat slumped back against the couch, riding one of the best high's he had ever had. "I need to get more of this." He said out loud. Blue let his mind drift wherever it wanted, as was usually the case when he had shot up. It bounced around from various thoughts.
All of a sudden, he began thinking back to when Scourge had voiced his concern about Sonic's little 'problem'. He wasn't sure why. Of course, Sonic lied his butt off about how he would try to keep himself from raiding Scourge's stash. The only thing he was sorry about was using the only source of income that Scourge had. Around here, it's either sell or sell yourself. Sonic thought. It had become the unofficial motto with the dealers around town, and he knew he'd rather get his stuff from a friend and take a little heat than getting it out there and catching God only knows. Sonic pulled himself up and to a sitting position, letting out a long sigh. The heroin still had a strong hold, though it had begun to weaken slightly by now. Sonic looked at the wall clock and counted. "One, two... hmph. Two and a half hours this time. Still not bad." He said.
Sonic pulled himself off the couch with only a little trouble and walked around a bit to get the stiffness out. It was hard to keep himself from falling over, but he somehow managed to stay standing. The thought about going outside crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed that. So he settled on getting what sun he could from the windows and a beer. Sonic managed to somehow make his way to the kitchen, only stumbling slightly a few times and came back a moment later, beer in one hand, remote in another. Besides the unpleasantness earlier between Scourge and himself, the day had been great. "The only thing that would top this day off is if I got some." Sonic said, and turned on the TV as the fogginess in his mind began to slowly lift.
Sally
Sally pulled away from the side of the road and headed towards Metropolis. It wouldn't be long now until they reached the outside of the city. As they got closer, she thought about Sonic more and more, and the more questions she wanted to ask him. Why had he left? Was it her fault? Why had he chosen to come here? Did he still love her? Would he go back with them? It was surprising she was able to keep the car on the road. Before she knew it, they had reached Metropolis. Shadow had begun giving out directions, but she barely paid attention. Her mind was focused squarely on Sonic. In fact, the only sentence she actually heard Shadow say was, "Pull over here."
Sally turned the wheel, pulling the car close to the curb and behind the car in front of them, obviously belonging to whoever was in the house next door. Sally turned the engine off and leaned back against the seat, her mind racing with a thousand ways this could end up. Shadow turned back to Knuckles and Tails. "You guys ready to do this?" He asked. Knuckles wrung his hands in anticipation. "Oh yeah." He said.
Tails didn't show a great amount of confidence, but tried to put on a brave face. "Yeah." He replied. He was like Sally, wondering how his best friend had been this whole time. His heart was racing in anticipation and his thoughts which were usually focused, were scattered. "You OK?" Knuckles asked. Neither Tails nor Sally had made an attempt to get out. Both had sat there, lost in there thoughts. Tails shook his head back and forth. "Sorry. Just thinking." He said, pulling the handle on the door and opening it. He got out and turned around and saw Sally still sitting in the drivers seat, her hands gripping the steering wheel. Tails let out a long sigh. He poked his head through the window and lightly touched Sally on the shoulder. "Hey. You OK?" He asked. Sally jumped in her seat.
"Oh!" She exclaimed. "You just gonna sit here or get out?" He asked. Sally took her hands off the wheel and opened the door. "Sorry. Just lost in thought I guess." She said, getting out and shutting the door behind her. This set of Tails' internal alarm. God, I just hope she can make it through this. Tails noticed that on the way over when no one was watching, her emotions came out. Even after they had gotten in the car with her, she had hid them well, but not well enough. But the closer they got, the more she tried to hide them. Now, she didn't show any at all, and he knew that was a bad sign. But there wasn't much he could do about it now. He knew the only thing that he could do was hope that she didn't flip out completely. Sally walked around and joined the other three. "Ready?" Shadow asked. The others nodded there heads in unison, and they walked up to the front door.
Sonic
The TV was on but Sonic hadn't really been paying attention. It was just there mostly to provide background noise. But every once in a while, he found something worthwhile. He had actually found a good movie. Enough time had passed since he shot up that he was finally starting to come down. It wasn't fun when you came down from heroin. It felt like the worst hangover ever and the worst case of flu combined. Sonic knew that smoking a little more pot would He went to Scourge's room and grabbed the bag of pot and dived in. After three hits, he felt good. Pot had once again had some sort of an effect on him. Of course, it still wasn't as intense as it had been his first time, but he was relieved it finally had some effect. Sonic put the bag back in it's place, making sure that it was just as he had left it. Even though Scourge had told him he could have at it, he didn't want it to look like he had just walked in and did as he pleased.
Sonic took one last look around to make sure everything looked normal. "That should do." He said casually, shutting the door behind him. Scourge had been gone for a while now. Sonic wasn't sure how long, but he figured at least two hours, and he figured it would be at least another hour before he got back. Blue made it back to the living room, which he had began calling his bedroom. The movie he was watching was almost over and he reached out for the remote, but decided against it. "Probably not gonna be anything on anyway." He reasoned and laughed a little. "But it couldn't hurt to take a look." He said. He reached for the remote again, but just as his hand closed around it, there was a knock at the door.
Sonic took his hand off the remote and turned his head toward the door. What the.. The sudden noise took him by surprise. He hadn't heard anyone knock on the door except for the pizza guy. Blue started to get up but sat back down. The knock repeated itself. Sonic shook his head. "Yeah. Keep on knocking. I ain't gonna fall for it Scourge." Sonic turned his attention back to the TV. (Knock, knock, knock) Sonic continued to ignore it. "Not gonna work buddy. Oh wait. Let me guess. I open the door and you kick me in the balls. Right? Yeah. No dice." Sonic said. This time the it wasn't soft. (KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK) This time the sound made Sonic jump. He leapt to his feet. "Ok. Enough is enough. You got me up. Ha, ha." Sonic said, walking over to the door. Blue grabbed the knob and turned, but it wasn't Scourge. "Remember me?" Shadow said.
Blue wasn't prepared for what he saw. Instead of Scourge standing there, it was Shadow. Sonic didn't know what to say. Didn't know what to think. All he could do was stand there and stare. "I told you I'd be back. Didn't I?" Shadow asked. Sonic tried to take a step back, but he couldn't move. His feet were frozen to the floor and his knees were shaking. He had to hold on to the doorknob just to stay standing.. "Wh-wh-what-" Sonic stammered. "Am I doing here?" Shadow finished for him. "Like I told you last time. I came back to get you and bring you home." Sonic had started to gather himself again. He took his hand off the knob and he was able to stand by himself. "You're gonna do it? By yourself? If I remember correctly, last time we fought, I won. Let's see you do it." Sonic said, taking a half-assed fighting stance. "Did you think I came alone?" Shadow asked. He took a step back and made a motion with his hand. Knuckles, Tails and Sally walked in front of Shadow and stood in front of the doorway.
The five of them stood there, staring at each other, taking it in. Sonic didn't think he would ever see Sally again after he left. He remembered it like it was yesterday. He wanted to give her something better than a broken down shell of a man just going through life day by day, not really himself. He didn't feel that he could provide for her as he had done before. Supporting her with his writing, something that he had all most forgotten about. In fact, it was because of those books he had written that he was the way he was now. His life was misery. From the moment he was born, fighting to stay alive and fighting to survive the war, to living through the hell he had been through with the one who's name he no longer said, to now. His life was misery. Blue wasn't about to let her suffer along with him.
He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. His vision went blurry and he felt his legs give out underneath him. "Sonic!" A voice cried out as he hit the ground. Just before he blacked out, he saw Sally kneeling beside him, holding his head in his arms.
Sally, Knuckles, Tails & Shadow
"Help me get him up." Sally demanded as she held Sonic in her arms. She didn't think that when she saw him again he would be passed out. Knuckles grabbed Sonic under his arms and Tails grabbed his legs. They both lifted him up at the same time, making there way to the couch and gently setting him down. Sally knelt down beside him, rubbing his hand. It had been so long since she had seen him. He looked different now. He weighed at least 15 pounds less from what she could tell and he looked like he had aged at least 5 years. He looked thinner than she remembered. Not like he used to. Before, he was cut with lean muscle. Now he looked almost like a shell of his former self. But she didn't notice anything unusual/ She was just happy that she was finally able to see him again. As soon as you wake up, I'm gonna take you home.
After a minute, Sally spoke. "He better wake up soon." She said. Tails walked over to where the two were. "He just passed out from the shock of seeing me." He said. Tails watched Sally. She looked happier than ever, and that made him smile inside. "So, you OK?" Tails asked.
Sally took her attention off of Sonic and turned it to Tails. "I'm fine. Even better if I had him home with me, but at least I know he's safe." She said. She bent down and gave him a small kiss. Not on the lips but on the cheek. "I guess it would be a waste if you can't return it." She said, and took his hand in hers. As she took hold of his hand, something on his arm caught her attention. Sally turned his hand so it was palm up. "Hey guys, look at this." She said, unsure of what she was looking at. Tails, Knuckles and Shadow made their way over to where she was. "Is that normal?" She asked, pointing at Sonic's arm.
Tails, Knuckles and Shadow looked at Sonic's arm. It was covered with tiny red marks. The three let out a collective sigh and backed off. "What?" Sally asked. The three didn't respond. Tails bowed his head, Knuckles looked away and Shadow remained silent. The four of them now knew the bitter truth. Knuckles walked over. "Um, I don't want to sound like an a-hole here, but don't you think we should try to wake him up?" He asked. Tails and Sally agreed. Sally shook him slightly, trying to gently wake him up. "Sonic?" She whispered. "Sonic..." She repeated. Nothing. "Hold on." Knuckles said, disappearing for a second. Tails heard the sound of water running from the kitchen. He returned a minute later carrying a glass of water. Sally didn't notice that Knuckles was standing over them both.
"Let me try." Knuckles said. Sally looked up and saw Knuckles standing over Sonic with the glass of water. She got up as quick as she could. As soon as she was out of the way, Knuckles poured the glass out and over Sonic. The water hit him and Sonic bolted upright, coughing from some of the water making it's way up his nose. "What the...!" He exclaimed, forgetting what had happened before he passed out. He looked around, wiping the water out of his eyes. At first, he thought it was a dream. But slowly he realized that it was reality. "What are you guys doing here?" He asked. He was surprised they had all come. Sally looked at him. "We came to get you. I need you. We all need you." Sally said. Tails and Knuckles nodded in agreement. Shadow just scoffed, which was his way of saying 'I do to'. "We miss you. Hell, things haven't been the same since you left." Tails said. Knuckles cleared his throat. "Yeah. What if something happened? You know, like Robotnik decided to try something? I'd have to stop him by myself and I know you'd hate that." He said, laughing.
Sonic laughed too, but he stopped. He turned to Sally and looked her in the eyes. Inside he was in pain. It had been a while since he last shot up and it was getting hard to focus. Sonic took a breath, trying to clear his mind enough to focus on them and not his next hit. "I know you guys came all this way and I appreciate that. But, do you remember why I left in the first place?" Sonic asked. "Yeah." Sally said quietly. She turned to the others. "C-can you guys step outside for a minute?" She asked. The three nodded in agreement. "We'll be outside if you need us." Knuckles said and headed for the door with Shadow. Tails was the last to go. Before he did, he turned to look at Sonic and flashed him a big grin, trying to hide his emotions, something he was not used to. Words weren't needed at all between them. Tails already knew what Sonic's answer was going to be, but he couldn't bring himself to believe it.
Once the three were outside, Sally turned her attention to Sonic. "Yeah. I know why you left." She said, taking his hand. "You said you didn't want to hurt me. What did you mean when you said that?" She asked. By now, enough time had passed that he was thinking about his next fix more and more, but he somehow managed to force those thoughts to the back of his mind. "When I said I didn't want to hurt you, I meant I didn't want to make you suffer along with me anymore. You remember how I used to wake up at night with the nightmares about Amy?" He asked. "Yeah. I'd wake up and you'd be breathing hard, sweating and I'd ask you what happened." Sally let out a small laugh. "Heh. You'd never tell me the truth right away. You'd always say it was something else. But eventually I'd get it out of you. We'd talk about it, then you'd go back to sleep." She said. Sonic squeezed her hand. "There was more. Do you remember when I was in the hospital after I had come back?" Sally thought way back to when he had come home. "Yeah. I got a call from them saying the sheriff had driven you there. I still don't know how you managed to drive yourself in the condition you were in." She said.
Sonic took a deep breath. "Do you remember that he stopped giving me pain meds?" He asked. Sally thought back. "Yeah." Coming out with everything like he was had proved more difficult than he had imagined. Sonic swallowed the lump in his throat and continued. "Well, he stopped because I was taking too many. At first it was fine. I had you to take my mind off the pain." He said, looking her in the eyes. "But as time went on, it got to be too much. I found another doctor and he gave me what I needed. It started simple enough. Just two every four hours. Like the bottle said, you know?" As Sonic said those words, the wheels in Sally's mind began to turn and the gears began to click. It all made sense to her now. "But soon you were taking way too many? Weren't you?" She asked. Sonic didn't reply, only nodding his head. "Is that why I found those pills in the bathroom?" She asked. Sonic nodded again. "So why didn't you tell me? We're supposed to tell each other everything." She said. "I don't know." He said. Sally knew by now that this wasn't going anywhere. She knew he wasn't coming back on his own. "Let me ask you one more question." She asked. "What happened to your arm?" She asked, pointing at his right arm. Sonic turned his arm over, the small red 'tracks' on his arm in full view. God I hope those aren't what I think they are. She thought. Sally already knew what they were but she didn't want to accept it. Sonic looked at his arm. "What? These?" He asked, holding his arm up. Sally held her breath, hoping the next words out of his mouth would be the ones she wanted to hear. "Damn insect bites. Being here, you don't know what crawls around at night." He said, giving off a nervous laugh. "Yeah. You have to be careful around here." She said. By now the withdrawal pain had become severe.
It had been a while since he had shot up, and now the effects were beginning to gather steam. When he first started, he wondered why the withdrawal symptoms had hit him as hard and quick as they did. It took him a while, but he remembered something his doctor had told him when he had escaped from Amy's. Sonic knew he had begun to develop a problem with pain meds about 2 months before his escape. "She had me taking, uh... oh hell, what're they called?" He asked himself. "Phenotol." He said, remembering the name. "It's weird. When I took them, they worked fine at first, but they didn't last that long. Is that normal?" Sonic asked the doctor. The doctor grabbed the chart and thumbed through it. "Well, I think I have the answer. I believe it's because you have a unique physiology." The doctor said. Sonic didn't understand what he meant. "What does that mean?" He asked. "Well," The doctor began, clearing his throat before continuing. "It's no secret that you can run at blazing fast speeds." Sonic grinned. It made him happy whenever someone mentioned that.
"And since you're capable of that, your heart beats and pumps blood faster than normal. That being said, when we take a medication orally, it goes to the stomach, where once absorbed by the body, it gets into the bloodstream. The time it takes to have an effect varies from person to person. The good news is in your case is, anything you put in you gets absorbed faster than normal. But on the downside, it also dissipates quicker than normal. For example, if something were to take around an hour to take effect in a normal person, it would take about ten to fifteen minutes in you." He had forgotten that conversation. He was so lost in thought that he barely heard Sally say his name.
"Sonic?" Sally said. Sonic shook his head. "I'm sorry. What?" He asked. Sally laughed. "I said you have to be careful around here." Sally said. Inside, any hope she had of bringing him back right then died. She knew it would have to be his decision and his alone. To finally admit he had a problem. Sally got up from where she was bent down. "I can see you still need some more time." She said. "Sally..." Sonic said quietly. "I love you." He said. "I know." She said, making her way to the door. She put her hand on the knob and turned it, but stopped before she opened it. Sally turned her head so she was looking at Sonic from the side, but not facing him completely. "I still love you. But not the way you are now. You need help. And when you decide you want it, I'll be waiting." She said, opening the door and walking out.
Sonic just sat there, staring at the door. "Help? Help for what?" He asked. He had become so dialed in to the drug at this point, he didn't even realize he had a problem. By now, the pain had completely taken over. It wasn't severe enough to warrant screaming, but it was there. His stomach was turning in knots and he felt like throwing up. Sonic moaned and lay down on the couch. He knew there wasn't anything he could do until Scourge got back. "I hope he gets back soon. I guess he's the only friend I have now." Sonic said as his eyes grew heavy.
Outside the house:
Sally stood on the porch and shook her head, telling the other three that she was unsuccessful. "He doesn't even realize he has a problem." Knuckles and Tails shook their head in agreement. Shadow didn't say a word. He took a step toward the door when Sally threw an arm in front of him to stop him. "No." She said, knowing what he was planning to do. "I know you want to drag him out here and force him to get some kind of help. But he has to be the one to do it. If we force him, it'll just be harder down the road. You know that." She said pointing to Shadow. He realized she was right, even though he didn't want to admit it. "You guys want to talk to him? I can wait." Sally said, holding up her hand and making a V with her index and middle finger at Knuckles and Tails. They both shook their head's in unison. "I came here to see Sonic. Not some junkie." Tails said, tossing his head toward the house. "Yeah. The kid's right. That's not Sonic." Knuckles said, letting out a long sigh. Shadow stepped out into the yard and stretched, getting ready to take off. "If you guys don't mind, I'm just going to take off." He said. No one did as he stepped out of the gate and shot down the road, leaving the three standing in the yard.
"I guess there's no point in standing around here. Shall we go back?" Sally asked Tails and Knuckles. They both nodded in agreement, and the three headed for the car. "Thanks for the ride." Knuckles said getting in the back. "I'm kinda tired after running all the way out here. Well, that and I'm not in the mood." He said, buckling his seatbelt. "Me too." Tails said getting in on the passenger side. They shut the doors and Sally started the engine. Night had fallen since they had arrived and it would be a while before they got to Sally's. Sally flicked the switch for the headlights, cut the wheel and pulled away from the house, not even bothering to look back.
Sonic
Sonic bolted upright on the couch, shaking uncontrollably. The pain had dulled slightly but it was still there. He was sweating to. And numb, mostly in his legs. Am I having a heart attack. Sonic wondered. "No. That can't be it. No pain in my chest." He said to himself. He thought it might be a stroke, but he dismissed that too. "Can't be that. No pain in my head." Then he remembered that he hadn't shot up for a while. He looked at the clock and it said it was after ten p.m.. "He should have been back by now." Sonic moaned. He pulled himself off the couch and headed for the bathroom. Blue pulled off his shoes and socks and climbed into the shower. He turned on the water and waited for it to heat up. The second it did, he stepped under the falling water, letting it wash over him. It felt good. He hadn't felt this good in a while. There was just something about a shower that made all his problems go away. At least for the time being.
The shaking had stopped and the numbness had almost subsided. Now the only thing he felt was sick. Like he was going to throw up. But he had been through that before and he never did. It only reached the point where he was about to heave, but never did. He turned off the water and toweled off. He tossed the towel into the hamper and sat on the toilet to put his shoes back on. As he was, his mind turned to what Sally had said earlier. 'You need help.' Those words kept turning over in his mind. Blue knew he didn't need help. He only came here so he wouldn't have to put Sally through anymore crap. He knew she would stay up countless nights watching him sleep, that way when he had one of those night terrors, she could be there for him as soon as he awoke. But the terrors were gone as were the pills. "She must be thinking about the heroin." He said as he finished tying his shoes. "Yeah. I take it. But I don't have a problem with it. She's the one with the problem."
Blue knew he could stop at any time. It was just a matter of the withdrawals. Of course, he knew that could be solved by slowly decreasing the dose day by day until he wasn't taking any. "That's all there is to it." (By the way, that was one guy's actual solution for getting off heroin. Just thought I'd mention that.) Sonic knew there was no going back now. "If she can't accept that, then there's no point in seeing her again." Blue said, stepping out of the bathroom.
"What're you going on about?" A voice called out from the front room. The voice snapped him back to reality and once it did, he felt the pain return. He had been so lost in thought he had forgotten about the pain. "Ngh." Sonic moaned as it returned. He made his way back to the front room to see Scourge standing there, holding the small cases he had taken earlier plus a plastic bag of weed and a few bags of groceries that he had set on the couch. "Hey, sorry I took so long." He said. "You ok?" He asked Sonic. Blue shook his head and made his way over to where Scourge was. "I had a bad day. You get my stuff?" Sonic asked. Scourge put his arm underneath Sonic. "Tell me what happened first." Scourge said, guiding him toward the couch. "But what about..." Sonic moaned, pointing at the case in Scourge's hand. "You first." Scourge said. Sonic moved the bag of pot out of the way and plopped down, not even trying to steady himself with one hand. Sonic went over what had happened again with Sally and them showing up. Scourge just listened to it all, not saying a word.
"And that's what happened" Sonic said as he wrapped up the story. "But now that you're here I can finally have my, you know." He said, his eyes locked on the case in Scourge's hand. Scourge cleared his throat. "That's not going to happen." Scourge said flatly. The joy Sonic had felt, the feeling of finally getting the chance to shoot up again, disappeared. He stared at Scourge. He never thought he'd hear that come out of him. "What do ya mean 'no'?" Sonic asked. Scourge cleared his throat again. "I told you when you got here, I don't like it when people steal my stuff. You remember that?" Scourge asked. Sonic thought back to when he first came to Scourge. "Yeah. But I didn't take it. You said I could have what I wanted as long as I left you some." Sonic said.
"No I didn't. I said I only sold this shit to the junkies on the street when I needed money. Like today." He said, heaving a thumb toward the food on the couch behind him. "You just went into my room and took what you wanted. You almost used my whole stash. I can't have that around here." Scourge said. Sonic didn't follow. "What're you talking about? I remember you saying-" Scourge cut him off, holding a hand in front of his face. "I never said that. I said you can't just have as much as you want. This shit'll kill you. But I guess it doesn't matter now. You already look dead." Scourge shook his head. Sonic felt the anger rise in him quickly as he jumped to a standing position. He doubled up his fists as he glared at Scourge. "What're you saying?" Sonic asked through clenched teeth. Scourge knew what was coming. "I'm saying you can get the fuck out."
Sonic raised his fist and swung it at Scourge, but he saw it coming and ducked to the side. Just as Sonic's fist flew past his head, Scourge grabbed Sonic's wrist and stepped to the side, pulling Sonic's arm to his back and pushing up. "Ngh!" Sonic exclaimed. What the hell? Sonic wondered. He knew he could fight, but Scourge had just dodged it without even blinking. Of course, being the best fighter in the world doesn't mean a thing when your high. Scourge wrapped his free arm around Sonic's neck and squeezed. "You know, you used to be something. Someone I actually had respect for. But when you're strung out on heroin, you just become a pile of shit." Scourge said, releasing his grip on Sonic and pushing him down onto the couch. Sonic landed on his stomach, his knees hitting the floor. Blue rubbed his neck, angry and confused. "If I let you stay here, you'll just keep doing this shit again and again, and that fucks me over. I can't have that." Scourge walked over by the door and grabbed the suitcase Sonic had brought with him. It had been there since Sonic had arrived and he never once bothered to look into it. It was the kind that had wheels on the bottom to make carrying it easier. Scourge thrust the handle into Sonic's hand. Scourge reached over and grabbed one of the bag's of groceries. It had a few things in it, but not too much, just enough eat to ease the hunger. But the way Sonic was feeling, he knew it would go a long way. He opened the suitcase and stuck the bag in. "I can't believe I'm doing this." Scourge mumbled as he reached back into his quills and pulled out his wallet. Sonic stood up, tears welling in his eyes. Not from the withdrawal pain, but from what Scourge had done.
Scourge dug into his wallet and pulled out a $50. He shoved it into Sonic's hand. "What's this for?" He asked, looking at the bill in his hand. "In case you need it." Scourge said and walked over to the door. He put his hand on the knob and opened it. Outside it was black, the only light coming from what few streetlights were working and from a few houses. Sonic put the money in his quills. "Can't we talk about this?" Sonic asked, the tears rolling down his cheeks. He realized now what he had done and he would do anything to fix it. Scourge shook his head. "No. You broke my trust. You stole from me. Twice that I know about. I told you I don't like people that steal from me." Scourge looked him in the eyes. "I'm saying this as a friend. You have a problem and you need help. Maybe you'll come to your senses out there, cause in here, I know you won't find it." Scourge said. Sonic knew there was no amount of convincing would change Scourge's mind. He had screwed himself bad.
Sonic stepped out of the house that he had called home for the past three months. He wiped the tears from his face and turned around to face his former friend. " I guess this is it. Huh?" Sonic asked. "Yeah. It is." Scourge said and closed the door. It shut, the light from inside the house no longer illuminating the porch. Sonic was now enveloped in total darkness. Alone.
Sonic felt lower than he had before. Even lower than he had with Amy. He bowed his head and turned away from the door. "So what now?" He asked himself, but there was no reply. Just before he was about to step off the porch, he heard the sound of something opening behind him. It was Scourge's face looking out the small security window that was in the door. It was a square taken out of the door where the peephole would normally go. On the outside of the door were bars going up and down and on the inside, the opening was covered with a metal plate. When you wanted to see who was on the other side, you simply opened the plate and looked out.
He saw Scourge's face and his spirits improved, a smile on his face. "Wait." He said, pushing something out through the space's between the bars. Sonic didn't even need light to tell what it was. It was a syringe. "Sonic took it greedily from him and held it lovingly in his hands. " I imagine it's going to be tough out there. That should ease it somewhat. I don't know why I'm even giving this to you." Sonic didn't say a word, his eyes fixated on the syringe in his hands. "But you should know it's not full. So take it easy. See you around man." Scourge said, closing the metal plate, leaving Sonic alone in the darkness again. But Sonic didn't care. He had what he wanted and that was all that mattered.
Sally
As the three made there way back to her house, there wasn't much talk. It was spent mostly in silence. Knuckles was asleep in the back and Tails decided to ask about her. He imagined what she was going through was horrible. "You ok, Sally?" He asked. Sally smiled. "Yeah. I mean, I'd give anything to have Sonic in this car with us, but I guess he isn't ready." She said. "Yeah." Tails said. "At least I know he's fine." She said. A few minutes passed before Tails spoke again. "You know, I thought for sure you'd have a nervous breakdown after all of that." Tails covered his mouth, trying to stop himself from saying those words, but it was too late. Sally glanced at him. He didn't know why he said what he did, but it was too late now. "I-I'm sorry." He blurted out. Sally reached out and lightly squeezed his shoulder. "It's ok." She said, giving off a small laugh. "Really? I didn't mean for it to come out like that." Tails said nervously. He may have been super smart, but even he could do something stupid now and again.
"Yeah. I thought it would happen too, and you know what ?" She asked. "What?" Tails asked. "You can't cry when you don't have any tears." She said. Knuckles just stared out the window.
Sonic
Now what do I do? Sonic asked himself. The only person he knew in town had just kicked him out, he had only one syringe, which wasn't full, and he had nowhere to go. "Perfect." He said flatly. He picked up his suitcase and headed out the gate. It was a cool night. The middle of may. Not hot, yet not cold. The perfect time of year if one were forced out onto the street. Sonic walked out the gate and took one last look at the house he called home for the past 3 months. The windows were covered up, obviously to keep people with sticky fingers from looking in for something to steal. The only way to tell that anyone was living there was to stare carefully at the window closest to the door. If one looked closely enough, they could see light barely poking through a crack in the blanket at the top.
Sonic looked back at the house, but didn't feel anything at all, besides the need to shoot up. When his mind was focused on something, such as Sally giving him an ultimatum, of Scourge kicking him out for good, he didn't notice the pain, shaking and chills very much. Now that he was outside, wandering around, they had returned. And returned hard. It was almost as if he were drunk and had a bad cold. Anyone looking outside at that moment would see a tired, shaking hedgehog wandering around aimlessly. Since he had his belongings, some food and his needle, the only thing to worry about was finding somewhere to sleep. He headed down the street, not heading in any direction in particular. Looking for something, anything that would offer shelter for the night.
As he wandered up and down the streets, he noticed there wasn't anybody outside. Not one person. Sonic laughed through the fog his brain was in. Scourge had told him the streets were filled with roaming gangs and hookers. "I can't believe I fell for that." Sonic moaned as he turned the corner. Sonic knew now what Scourge had told him was a lie. Something he said just to try to scare Sonic. Blue had been wandering around for about an hour now, having no luck finding a spot. He had to find somewhere soon. An abandoned building, cardboard box, anything. Blue began to think he wouldn't find anything, but finally, luck smiled upon him. He came upon an alley behind a small apartment complex. Nothing big, only five apartments connected together.
He went down the alley in the back and finally found something he could use for the night. He didn't want to, but it was getting too late to continue. Sonic didn't know what time it was, but he guessed it was around 12:30, judging by the moon. He didn't like it, but at least the bin, which was one that needed a trash truck with front forks to empty it, was surrounded by a brick wall on the sides and the back. On the front of the enclosure was a chain link gate with strips of plastic running through the gate to keep people from seeing inside. "Perfect." Sonic said as he opened the gate and made his way around the back of the bin.
Blue looked inside the bin and noticed it was empty. He made his way around the back and maneuvered one corner of the bin toward the front, causing it to sit at an angle. Then, he pulled the opposite corner toward the wall as close as he could so it was sitting slightly diagonally. That way, anyone that walked up wouldn't notice him. Sonic sat down and let out a long sigh. "Oh, man." He said quietly, rubbing his eyes. The shaking had let up slightly, but the chills and pain were still there, and getting worse. He grabbed his suitcase and opened it. He grabbed the syringe and looked at it. "Dammit." He muttered. Scourge had given him just enough for one shot. He thought about his options. On one hand, he could take it all and have to suffer without more for a long time, or, take half and save the other for later. The only downside of that was he needed the entire thing to calm the pain and hope he could sleep. He decided to take option a.
Since he didn't have anything to tie off his arm, he would have to do it like he did on the couch the first time. He put his upper arm between the wall and the side of his body. The pressure made the veins in his forearm plump up enough to get the needle in. He took the cap off with his teeth and grinned with anticipation. This was his favorite part, aside from the high itself. Holding the needle in his right hand, he put two fingers to his lips and licked them, then rubbed them over a spot he found suitable. It might not have been the most hygienic way to go about things, but he didn't have a lot of options at this point. Once the area had been 'cleaned', he found a vein and pressed the needle against his skin. Taking a breath, he plunged the needle in. He welcomed the sting as the needle broke the skin. He drew back on the syringe slightly, making sure to draw a little blood in. If there was blood in the syringe, it meant he had hit the vein and he was good to go.
He pulled back on the plunger and sure enough, a small amount of blood entered the syringe. Finally, the moment he had been waiting for. He smiled as he pushed down on the plunger, the drug working it's way into his system. He pulled the needle out and bent the needle backward and replaced the cap, making sure no one else could use it or get stuck with it. He may have been a junkie, but he knew better that to leave a used needle lying around. As the drug coursed it's way through his system, he decided to look through his suitcase. Something to pass the time until the drug kicked in. He opened the top and looked inside. Since there was a full moon, there was no need for light. He could see the contents clearly. On top of the pile was the bag Scourge had given him. A few random food items, just enough to make it a day or two, and his clothes, which he hadn't even bothered to unpack. "Hmph." He grumbled as the drug began to take effect. The pain and chills were gone now, replaced by a warm, fuzzy sensation. The shaking had stopped too. Glad that's over. He thought to himself. He grabbed the suitcase and went to close it, but just as he pulled the top over, something inside caught his attention. It was almost buried underneath the few clothes he had packed, barely sticking out enough to catch the glimmer of the moon. He pulled it out and couldn't believe he had forgotten about it. It was a picture of Sally. He stared at it for a while, wondering why she had shown up in the first place. If she cared about me, she would have left me alone. I told her I need to work this out on my own. He thought. One thing still bothered him. 'You need help.' That's what she said.
Help? With what? The only thing I need is to get through the shit I went through up there so I can get on with my life. I can do that by myself. I don't need a shrink. He thought. Sonic had managed to come to terms with most of what had happened. And of course, there was his writing. It had come to a stop since he had been up there. The last book he wrote was somewhere up in the mountains where he had the accident, no doubt destroyed or whatever hand fate had dealt it. Blue looked up to find the moon. It's position told him it was at least one o'clock. He laid on the ground, stretching out as far as he could. He wouldn't be able to get much sleep in where he was. He knew he would have to leave early in case someone came by to dump there garbage, and he didn't want to be spotted. Blue grabbed his suitcase and took the jacket out and covered himself up with it, then put the case under his head, using it as a makeshift pillow. It wasn't comfortable, but at least if he managed to get some sleep, he knew he would only sleep a few hours at the most, waking up from the pain of sleeping on a suitcase.
He shifted to get maximum comfort and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.
Sally
It was just after one when the car pulled into the driveway of Sally's house. It was a welcome sight for the weary three. Sally shut off the car and got out, the other two following suit. Locking the doors and turning on the alarm, she turned to Knuckles. "You wanna stay here tonight? I know it's a long way back to the island from here." She said. Knuckles shook his head. "Naw. I feel better now. I think I'll be alright." He said. "You two take care." He said as he headed down the road towards the island. "You too." Sally said. She turned to Tails next. "Shall we go inside?" She asked. Tails nodded in agreement and the pair headed inside. Once they were inside Tails put a hand on Sally. "How you doing?" He asked. She sighed, "I'm fine. I guess just seeing him, knowing he's ok made me ok too." She said. "I could ask you the same thing. She said. Tails smiled, but the smile quickly vanished. "Yeah. I guess... now that I know he's somewhere safe, it's taken a lot off my mind. You know? Now if he could just get off the drugs, then things would be perfect." He said as he walked over to the couch and sat down. The only thing that was missing was Sonic.
A/N: One more down, but how many more to go? I don't know. I hope I can keep going with this as long as I can but it's getting harder and harder to come up with parts of the story and keeping everything together with what happened before. Hope you're enjoying this so far. Thanks for reading. R & R please.
