They had been driving all night. Although they had switched off a few times, being able to sit and drive even now was not an easy task. Knuckles almost dozed off a few times, but now was able to regain his composure.
There wasn't much scenery. Mesas to the right, and an expanse of sand to the left. Nothing but sand as far as the eye could see. He took his eyes off the road for a second to look at Julie-Su, who had fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder. He wished that he could see what she was dreaming about, but that fantasy was short lived as he had taken his eyes off the dirt road for too long and began to swerve. He quickly jumped and turned back onto the road. He sighed in relief as they had almost crashed.
(Julie-Su's dream)
Nothing but darkness as far as the eye could see. Not even the ground was visible from where she stood. To her left was Sonic, Tails, and Sally, and on her right was Knuckles. Suddenly a flash of brilliant blue light shone in the distance. All of them ran towards it at top speed, except for Sonic, who was just making sure everyone kept up. But no matter how far they ran, the light stayed the same size. Soon it began to grow as they ventured closer. Suddenly, as she looked to her right, she saw Sally suddenly start to jolt as sparks began to fly from her joints. In a matter of seconds she collapsed in a charred heap. Sonic sped up to try and get to the light as quickly as possible. She saw him speed ahead of her, Knuckles, and Tails, dashing with deafening speed. They ran to catch up with him, but it was too late. The sound of a shot, like that which comes from a shotgun, was heard. Sonic, who had not advanced much more than her, was blown back by the force of the shot. His blood spilled all around them, as he fell to the ground, his chest just a gaping wound. She almost said something but was interrupted by a voice. "Julie. Julie-Su, wake up. Wake up."
(Back to the present)
"Yo, Julie-Su, wake up!" Knuckles was shaking Julie-Su's shoulder. She mumbled as she wearily opened up one eye. Soon she remembered her dream and quickly sat up. She looked at Knuckles, wearing his Oakley sunglasses, smiling at her. "So the sleeper awakens," he said jokingly, "Have a good sleep?" She didn't respond, just looked straight into the horizon. Knuckles expression changed from cheerful to confused. "Hey, you okay?"
Julie-Su sighed, "Yeah, I'm fine." There was a moment of silence until she spoke up again. "Knux, have you ever thought that this might be a trap or something?"
Knuckles cheered up as he saw she was talking. "The thought may have crossed my mind once or twice," he said, "why do you ask?"
"Oh, no reason," Julie-Su said as she slumped back down in the passengers seat and quietly slipped into a deep slumber. Knuckles shrugged it off and focused on getting to this "mansion" on time. *Maybe it is a trap. Maybe were being too overconfident* He sighed as they drove on down the desert road. But soon the air became colder, and the ground itself was showing signs of cold weather ahead. Soon blankets of snow covered the ground, and it became hard to even grip the steering wheel in the intense cold. He took off his sunglasses and placed them back in the glove compartment and stopped the car. He walked out to the rear of the car and lifted up the back hood. All their luggage had been placed back here. He opened up his backpack, took out his vest, and put it on. It didn't provide much warmth, but it was better than nothing. He looked up in front where Julie-Su was sleeping and pulled out a blanket from the trunk. He wrapped Julie-Su in it, then started the car once more. Soon it began to snow; first lightly, than a bit harder.
"Jesus Christ, it's cold," Knuckles muttered softly, "This weather is incredible. Why the heck am I here?" The visibility was low, and he could just barely see 30 feet in front of him. Even in the snowdrift he began to see outlines of a house; possibly a few more miles away. *That's it* He punched on the gas and raced towards the mansion. Soon its features became visible.
It was mostly comprised of brick two stories high. Two chimneys on either side of the mansion billowed out a funnel of black smoke reaching high into the heavens. Soon outlines of a stone gate surrounding the mansion became clear. A metal gate, most likely electronically opened from the inside, made sure no unwanted guest came in. Soon Knuckles was almost on top of the gate, and was forced to make a quick stop. The car skidded to a halt, stopping a few yards from the menacing stone wall. He sighed in relief seeing that he didn't hit the wall, and stepped out of the car. His feet sank deep into the snow, almost up to his knees. He shivered in the cold, rubbing his shoulders to keep warm. He turned to Julie-Su, who had just woken up from her sleep.
"Are we here," she asked quietly.
"Yeah, and it's snowing," Knuckles replied in a reluctant tone. Julie-Su sat up and looked around.
"God, it's cold," she said shivering. She wrapped herself in the blanket Knuckles had draped over her in her sleep and stepped out of the car. "Hey, what's that sound?"
Both of them looked to the south, opposite of the mansion. It was the sound of a car engine, but it wasn't the jeep. Then Knuckles recognized the pitch.
"Oh, great," he sighed, "It's Sonic." Now, this might seem odd for Knuckles to be apathetic about Sonic's presence, but, unfortunately, a few instances caused them to dislike each other for whatever reason. It was just like old times, except a bit worse.
"Sonic," Julie-Su replied, "What's he doing here?" Sonic drove up right in front of them and stopped. All of them stared at each other silently for awhile.
"So," Sonic said, abruptly cutting through the silence, "What are you doing here"
"I'd like to ask you the same question," Knuckles replied forcefully, "Is this your idea of a joke, because I'm not laughing!"
Sonic jumped out of the car and stepped right up to Knuckles. "Are you saying I did this? That this was one of my pranks. Well, it isn't!"
"Well, I guess not," Knuckles said looking at all their luggage, "Seeing as you packed like a mamma's boy." Needless to say, that was the straw that broke Sonic's back. He lunged at Knuckles and tackled him to the ground. Both of them started fist fighting as Julie-Su and Sally started trying to break up the fight. Tails just sat in the car and laughed to himself. This wasn't the first time they had gotten in a fight, so it never surprised anyone.
"Get the hell off of me, you freak," Knuckles yelled as he kneed Sonic in the stomach. Sonic keeled over in pain from the blow. Knuckles got up and brushed himself off. He only had a few cuts and bruises, but nothing compared to the number he had pulled on Sonic. Sonic groaned in pain, clenching his stomach.
"Wuss," Knuckles muttered as walked back to his jeep.
"W…wait," Sonic muttered as he tried to stand up. He had one arm wrapped around his stomach, but the other hung limp. "Get back here, I'm not through with you."
"Oh," Knuckles said and laughed, "You think you can still take me on? Well come and get it you little b-."
"Gentlemen, please!" Everyone turned to the direction of the British-toned voice that had broken up the brawl. A young man, probably 13 or 14, wearing a long sleeved, dark blue t-shirt and cargo pants, stood in the doorway of the mansion. His complexion was calm, his hair buzzed short, and his eyes a hazel color. He walked up to the gate, two other men, probably two of his housekeepers, following behind him. He rested his arms on the metal gate and scanned a look across the crowd. "Now, this is no time to start a fight. You just got here. I want you all to be fresh and full of energy so you can enjoy your vacation."
"Look, I don't know who you are," Knuckles replied forcefully, "But I am not spending four days with this blue psychopath!"
"You take that back," Sonic yelled at Knuckled, who walked up to him so they were about three inches from each other.
"Why should I," Knuckles said calmly. A fight would have broken out again, had not the young man stepped in-between them.
"Alright you guys," he looked at both of them, "If you just want to fight, I suggest you leave." His tone changed from stern to joyful in a matter of seconds. "We're here to have a vacation, are we not? Relax, my house is large. Chances are you won't be seeing much of each other, anyway. Now, I would like to meet my other guests if you don't mind, so please, don't interrupt with another one of your petty fist-fights." He walked over to Sally, who was closest to him besides Knuckles and Sonic. "And who might you be, my lady?"
Sally paused for a moment, and then managed to squeak out the word 'Sally'. He smiled, and turned to Julie-Su, who was still wrapped in a blanket.
"Oh, my apologies. I should have waned you all of the weather. But don't worry, we make sure our house is warm, don't we cousin?" He turned to one of the men standing behind the gate. He nodded in approval of the statement. "Now, I didn't catch your name, ma'am."
"Julie-Su," she replied. He smiled quietly.
"Oh, my sincere apologies to all of you. I forgot to introduce myself! I am Zachary Farley. It is a pleasure to see that you all-." He spotted Tails still sitting in the car. "Oh! Who might you be, young man!" Tails looked up at Zachary, sighed, and then turned and started digging for his backpack.
"He's Tails," Sonic said, "He's just pissed off about something right now."
"Oh, I see," Zachary said softly, "Well, why don't you all come in, or you'll catch your death of cold. Come!" He walked to the gate and pushed it open. He led them to the front door of the mansion. He slowly pushed the massive doors open.
The inside of the mansion was large and majestic. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and a fireplace burned in the corner, casting its light on the floor. The whole room was a circular shape, and had three doors. One on the left, which led to the master bedroom and some of the facultys' quarters. One on the right which led to the kitchen, and two double doors straight ahead, leading to the bedrooms.
"While my cousin gets your bags," Zachary stated, "I'll show you to your rooms." He walked through the double doors, which led to a long hallway, with a sliding door at the end, leading into the backyard. He turned to the first door on his left, and opened it. It was of the same décor as the other rooms in the house; a fireplace and a chandelier. The craftsmanship was extraordinary. "Now, this room is designed for one person only. I'll leave it up to you to decide who gets it."
"I'll take it," Tails snapped as he took his backpack and flung it onto the bed.
"All right, problem solved," Zachary laughed, "Now who wants the next room. They're all the same as the last one, but we can put in another separate bed if you so desire."
"How about this one," Knuckles asked Julie-Su, "We'll just take another bed and put it in."
"Fine with me," Lara replied as she dropped her stuff in the doorway. Zachary signaled to his cousin ant told him to retrieve another bed from the storage room.
"Looks like you two get the last one," Zachary said to Sonic and Sally, "I'll just get another bed then?"
"Yes, please," Sonic said as he threw his tuff on the bed already in the room. One of Zachary's faculty came in with Sally's luggage and placed it in the room near the fireplace.
"I'll leave you all to get situated. If you need me I will be in the kitchen grabbing a snack." At that he walked out the hallway and into the kitchen. Soon his cousin came in with the other beds. They weren't the same as the others, but just as comfortable.