Who knew: chapter 20

Shadow's POV

The dark hallway that i followed was enlighted by the lantarn that i held. I walked on the concreet floor and tried to reach it's end. There was no other sound beside my own footsteps. "h... hello?" I called out to make sure that i was completely alone. I didn't want to run in any more danger. That little encounter with Metal Sonic was already to much that i could handle. Another attack like that would be to much for me.

I reached the end of the hallway. There was another ladder. I climbed up the ladder and opened it's hatch. I got up on the surface floor and looked around. Judging by all the carton boxes and old machinery it was probably a storage of some sort. I tried to find my way around all this junk, but it proved to be more difficult then it seemed. I finally reached a door and even though i had doubts about entering this door, i still took hold of the door knob and turned it.

I made my way into the next room to find that i was in an old building. Not one that had been abandoned by everyone because of Eggman's attacks. This building was so much older. I walked around the room and the one's next to it. I explored every single one of them. And i discovered quite a few things. The first thing was that this building was completely abandoned. No other intelligent being was here apart from me. The second thing was that this building had be a few centuries old. Atleast that was what it looked like judging by the look of this building. The third thing was that this had to be a mansion that had been turned into a home or a hospital. I didn't know for sure, but i think that this mansion had been changed so drastically because it was build in the time in which poeple had been bothered by epidemics such as the black plague, or tuberculosis. In other words. This building was extremely old.

I searched for a light switch and flipped the switch. The light turned on. That was good. Atleast i knew that the electricity worked in here. It was a bit filthy and messy in here, but not impossible to clean. If the isolation of this building and the heating system worked, then this could easily be made livable. That could mean that me and the other mobians could live here. This could be a temporary home for us.

I walked around the building and searched for the basement. I found it and checked if the boiler was this of use. It was in excelent state. I turned the boiler on and waited for the heater to kick in. I went back to the ground floor and sat by the cermaic heater. I waited for it to become hot and sat with my back agaisnt it.

Soon enough the room became warm enough to get rid of my winter coat. I smiled as i felt warm for the first time ever since i had lost my home. I laid my coat open on the floor and laid down on it. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to relax. Before i knew it the soothing warmth had lulled me to sleep.

I was awoken hours later in the late morning. It was the baby's kicks who had woke me up. I sighed in irritation and looked around in a dazed state. I sat up and stretched. "good morning." I muttered and stroked my belly in a circular motion. The baby's kicks calmed down as if it had tried to wake me up on purpose. I was a bit confused at first, but i soon remembered what had happened yesterday and therefore recognized this place aswell.

I decided that i should return back to the camp and tell the others about this place. So i puleld my winter coat on and placed a hand on the heater. I pushed myself up with difficulty because of the now six months old belly. What i had failed to remember was the fact that the heater was still on. My hand accidently burned and out of reaction i pulled my hand back. That turned out to be a big mistake as i fell to the floor and hit the back of my head against the top of the heater. I yelped and held my hands against the back of my head and laid on my side.

"damnit." I winced. My eyes were squeezed close and tried to ignore the pain that was temporarily on the back of my head. I sat up again and groaned. "damnit." I repeated and held my hands in front of me. They weren't bleeding, so that meant that there was no wound there. Probably just a bruise. My right hands returned to the back of my hand and rubbed the spot for a few moments before carefully getting up. My right hand went to my side and my left laid on my belly and walked out of this room.

I was alerted and cautious as i made my way through the forest. I was a bit nervous about running into Metal Sonic, but up untill now i had not seen him. There was no sign of the attack from yesterday. But i didn't know if not seeing a single sign of Metal Sonic was good or bad. I reached the edge of the forest and i knew that i had to be close to the camp. I couldn't wait untill i could see my friends again. I kind of missed them and i would feel alot safer amongst them.

I walked out of the forest and made my way into the direction of the camp. The ruins were starting to become more familiar as i got closer. Soon enough i was close and i could smell the fire of the campfire from last night. But i don't remember the smell of smoke being so strong. Especially from a fire that had been extinguished hours ago. I became alerted by the smell and inched closer to the camp. The camp finally got into view. My eyes widened as i saw what condition it was in. There was no one here. This whole place was destroyed.