* * *
The morning of the race dawned clear and hot. Sonic was awake before dawn, jittery and unable to eat. He ran to the course and back three times, checking to see if Robotnik had arrived.
The time of the race was noon, and as the sun climbed, the temperature did as well. Sonic's fur became damp with sweat, but he could not bear to sit still. Sally tried to coax him into the shade, but to no avail. She watched him race up and down Knothole, her stomach in a knot. She knew how he felt, and wished with all her heart that this foolish race were over and done with.
At eleven Sonic jumped in the river to cool himself off, and then sprinted off to the racecourse, dripping wet and insisting he would wait there. At eleven-thirty, Sally and Bunnie went after him, each of them carrying a concealed blaster pistol.
Robotnik arrived at eleven-forty five in his hovercraft, the robot cheetah stalking along below him. Strapped to the back of the hovercraft was the cage containing Tails.
Sonic sprinted to the hovercraft. "Let me see him closer, Buttnik."
"Why should I do that?" said Robotnik, looking out of the hovercraft to make sure he was a safe distance from the ground. Sonic could jump like a cat when he wanted to.
"To make sure he's all right," snarled Sonic. "You haven't tortured him or anything, have you?"
Unseen by Sonic, Robotnik glanced over his shoulder at Tails, held up a small electric taser, and nodded toward Sonic. "I'm all right, Sonic," called Tails, his eyes on the taser.
"Don't tell him anything! You got that? Nothing!"
"Okay, Sonic," said Tails, leaning against the bars and trying to see over the edge of the hovercraft. Sonic moved backward, and they looked at each other. Tails glanced at the taser, and decided to warn Sonic anyway. "Sonic be careful they're gonna try to knock you off the cliff!"
Robotnik's hand clenched on the taser. Tails hoped that Sonic won, because if he did not, Tails's punishment would be terrible.
"Gotcha, Tails," said Sonic, glaring at Robotnik and the cheetah-robot. "Buttnik, hand over Tails now, because you know your sorry 'bot isn't going to beat me."
"On the contrary," purred Robotnik. "What say we start this race a few minutes early?"
"Great!" said Sonic. "Starting line's over there."
"Two laps," said Robotnik.
"You're on," said Sonic.
Sonic and the cheetah marched onto the empty highway and up to a chalk line drawn across it. Sonic examined the cheetah as they walked. It was a jet engine with legs. Its body was a bullet-shape, and the head was tiny and pointed. He noticed the legs had no hinges--rather they worked in sockets, so they could bend in any direction like a spider's legs. He wondered how that was supposed to help the design, because flimsy legs would break off at high speeds.
As they toed the line, Sonic looked around for Sally. He spotted her on the edge of the trees, near cover if Robotnik decided to attack her. Bunnie was a short distance away, a pistol held visibly in her good hand. Good, he had backup if he needed it. Not that he would need it. Sonic could beat any robot ever built. He looked at the cage containing Tails, although the holes in the sides blocked the fox from view. "This is for you, little bro," he said.
"Marks," said Robotnik in a bored voice. Sonic assumed a runner's crouch, wishing he had some starting blocks. The cheetah's engine whirred to life, but it did not move.
"Set," said Robotnik. Sonic waited, muscles tense, sweat dripping off him afresh, for his fur had already dried in the heat.
"Go!"
Sonic sprang away and ran like the wind, and was dismayed to see the cheetah was at his side, jet engine screeching and legs tucked against its sides. It was flying low to the ground instead of running. iThat's cheating!/i Sonic's mind screamed. He was supposed to race a ground craft, not an aircraft! Oh well, he could beat an aircraft.
The pair flashed down the highway, Sonic slightly in the lead and thankful he had practiced this track so many times. He knew every inch of it, and knew when to lean for the left turn that led up the ridge road. The robot swung wide, its legs unfolding and clawing at the ground for a purchase as it turned, and Sonic's lead increased only by two feet. iSo that's what those legs are for/i, Sonic thought.
They streaked up the road that climbed toward the ridge, flying over turns and low hills. The robot was gaining on Sonic, narrowing his lead inch by inch. Sonic was running on instinct now, conscious of the robot only as an obstacle he must avoid. They swept along the ridge road, around the turns, and over the magnetic tacks. Three of them stuck in the soles of Sonic's shoes, but their flat heads prevented them from penetrating the rubber and reaching his feet.
Sonic and the robot flew down the dirt road leading to the highway, which was all downhill. Sonic poured on the speed and so did the cheetah.
As they reached the highway and started their second lap, Robotnik flipped a switch in his hovercraft. A screen flickered on with a remote feed from the camera in the robot's eyes. Tails watched over Robotnik's shoulder, hoping that warning Sonic had been enough. He did not know exactly how his captor intended to kill Sonic.
Robotnik laid his finger on a blue button and waited, watching the screen. Sonic and the cheetah were out of sight now, back on the ridge road and nearing the dangerous area with the tacks.
As the robot rounded a corner and the tacks glinted in the sunlight, Robotnik pressed the button.
***
The heads of the tacks embedded in Sonic's shoes flew off, and in three steps Sonic had pounded the barbs through his soles and into his feet.
Sonic yelped at the sudden pain and instinctively curled into a ball, as he did when travelling at high speeds and needed to stop without hurting himself. But that was what Robotnik had expected he would do.
The robot slammed into him like a soccer player shooting a goal, and Sonic went flying off the edge of the cliff road, still in a spin and unable to stop himself. His robot-slicing spines splintered the guardrail. He dropped like a rock, struck the side of the cliff, and uncurled from his protective ball.
The cheetah-robot skidded to a halt in a cloud of dust and raced back to look over the edge of the cliff. It watched as Sonic whirled and bounced to the bottom of the canyon, causing a small avalanche of pebbles from each spot where he hit. He struck the ground forty feet below and lay in an odd, crumpled position.
***
Tails was watching the live feed over Robotnik's shoulder, and screamed.
Sally bolted toward the road, but Bunnie grabbed her. "Hold up, Sally-girl! Wait until the race is over, maybe it tried to hurt him or somethin'..."
Just as she had known that something awful had happened to Tails, Sally knew that something awful had happened to Sonic. She stood with her fists clenched, panic raging through her. Maybe Sonic would come running up with the robot any second. But why had Tails screamed if nothing bad had happened? She could hear the fox sobbing, and it fanned her panic to greater intensity. Why was he crying? What had happened?
There was a rush of hot air and the shriek of a jet engine, and the cheetah robot flashed by, alone. Her fears were confirmed.
"What do you think of that, Princess?" called Robotnik, his voice oozing glee. "The hedgehog lost to a mere robot. The fox is mine now. And, since I'm in such a good mood right now, I'll give you time to run."
His words did not register. Sally was fighting Bunnie, trying to get away and go after Sonic. Something had happened to him, she might still be able to save him if she could only get to him--
Bunnie was yelling in her face. "Sally, we got to get outta here! He's gonna send the robot after us! Sally! Listen to me! We -- have --- to -- run!"
Sally kept struggling, so Bunnie grabbed her around the waist with her robot arm, lifted the squirrel off her feet, and dashed into the woods. Sally kicked and hit her, screaming, "Let me go! I've got to find Sonic! Sonic, you hear me? I've got to find him!"
"Sal, WE'RE gonna be the hurt ones in a minute," panted Bunnie, glancing back. "Aaugh! Here it comes!"
The robot crashed into the forest at full speed, gouging chunks out of tree trunks with its shoulders, its legs tearing at the underbrush. Sally suddenly realized their danger. "Put me down!" she gasped. "Go that way! That way!"
Bunnie dropped her and the two sprinted away at an angle, dodging through the trees, which grew in dense clumps here near the forest borders. The robot slowed behind them, unable to speed through the trees and brush without taking damage. They heard its jet engine sputter and die behind them.
They took a roundabout route back to Knothole, constantly doubling back to listen for pursuit and sniff for exhaust. But the robot had given up, as it lacked the high-tech tracking systems Robotnik bestowed on SWATbots.
Sally and Bunnie were both in tears when they slid down into the cave in Knothole, and sat at the bottom of the slide, holding each other, gasping for breath between sobs. Antoine, who had been waiting for them, hurried up. "What is wrong? Sonic, he is lose?"
"Sonic's been hurt," panted Sally, trying to get a grip on herself. "Come on, we have to get out there to the race course again. He may be ... " She could not bring herself to say 'dead'. "Get the medical stuff, hurry!"
The morning of the race dawned clear and hot. Sonic was awake before dawn, jittery and unable to eat. He ran to the course and back three times, checking to see if Robotnik had arrived.
The time of the race was noon, and as the sun climbed, the temperature did as well. Sonic's fur became damp with sweat, but he could not bear to sit still. Sally tried to coax him into the shade, but to no avail. She watched him race up and down Knothole, her stomach in a knot. She knew how he felt, and wished with all her heart that this foolish race were over and done with.
At eleven Sonic jumped in the river to cool himself off, and then sprinted off to the racecourse, dripping wet and insisting he would wait there. At eleven-thirty, Sally and Bunnie went after him, each of them carrying a concealed blaster pistol.
Robotnik arrived at eleven-forty five in his hovercraft, the robot cheetah stalking along below him. Strapped to the back of the hovercraft was the cage containing Tails.
Sonic sprinted to the hovercraft. "Let me see him closer, Buttnik."
"Why should I do that?" said Robotnik, looking out of the hovercraft to make sure he was a safe distance from the ground. Sonic could jump like a cat when he wanted to.
"To make sure he's all right," snarled Sonic. "You haven't tortured him or anything, have you?"
Unseen by Sonic, Robotnik glanced over his shoulder at Tails, held up a small electric taser, and nodded toward Sonic. "I'm all right, Sonic," called Tails, his eyes on the taser.
"Don't tell him anything! You got that? Nothing!"
"Okay, Sonic," said Tails, leaning against the bars and trying to see over the edge of the hovercraft. Sonic moved backward, and they looked at each other. Tails glanced at the taser, and decided to warn Sonic anyway. "Sonic be careful they're gonna try to knock you off the cliff!"
Robotnik's hand clenched on the taser. Tails hoped that Sonic won, because if he did not, Tails's punishment would be terrible.
"Gotcha, Tails," said Sonic, glaring at Robotnik and the cheetah-robot. "Buttnik, hand over Tails now, because you know your sorry 'bot isn't going to beat me."
"On the contrary," purred Robotnik. "What say we start this race a few minutes early?"
"Great!" said Sonic. "Starting line's over there."
"Two laps," said Robotnik.
"You're on," said Sonic.
Sonic and the cheetah marched onto the empty highway and up to a chalk line drawn across it. Sonic examined the cheetah as they walked. It was a jet engine with legs. Its body was a bullet-shape, and the head was tiny and pointed. He noticed the legs had no hinges--rather they worked in sockets, so they could bend in any direction like a spider's legs. He wondered how that was supposed to help the design, because flimsy legs would break off at high speeds.
As they toed the line, Sonic looked around for Sally. He spotted her on the edge of the trees, near cover if Robotnik decided to attack her. Bunnie was a short distance away, a pistol held visibly in her good hand. Good, he had backup if he needed it. Not that he would need it. Sonic could beat any robot ever built. He looked at the cage containing Tails, although the holes in the sides blocked the fox from view. "This is for you, little bro," he said.
"Marks," said Robotnik in a bored voice. Sonic assumed a runner's crouch, wishing he had some starting blocks. The cheetah's engine whirred to life, but it did not move.
"Set," said Robotnik. Sonic waited, muscles tense, sweat dripping off him afresh, for his fur had already dried in the heat.
"Go!"
Sonic sprang away and ran like the wind, and was dismayed to see the cheetah was at his side, jet engine screeching and legs tucked against its sides. It was flying low to the ground instead of running. iThat's cheating!/i Sonic's mind screamed. He was supposed to race a ground craft, not an aircraft! Oh well, he could beat an aircraft.
The pair flashed down the highway, Sonic slightly in the lead and thankful he had practiced this track so many times. He knew every inch of it, and knew when to lean for the left turn that led up the ridge road. The robot swung wide, its legs unfolding and clawing at the ground for a purchase as it turned, and Sonic's lead increased only by two feet. iSo that's what those legs are for/i, Sonic thought.
They streaked up the road that climbed toward the ridge, flying over turns and low hills. The robot was gaining on Sonic, narrowing his lead inch by inch. Sonic was running on instinct now, conscious of the robot only as an obstacle he must avoid. They swept along the ridge road, around the turns, and over the magnetic tacks. Three of them stuck in the soles of Sonic's shoes, but their flat heads prevented them from penetrating the rubber and reaching his feet.
Sonic and the robot flew down the dirt road leading to the highway, which was all downhill. Sonic poured on the speed and so did the cheetah.
As they reached the highway and started their second lap, Robotnik flipped a switch in his hovercraft. A screen flickered on with a remote feed from the camera in the robot's eyes. Tails watched over Robotnik's shoulder, hoping that warning Sonic had been enough. He did not know exactly how his captor intended to kill Sonic.
Robotnik laid his finger on a blue button and waited, watching the screen. Sonic and the cheetah were out of sight now, back on the ridge road and nearing the dangerous area with the tacks.
As the robot rounded a corner and the tacks glinted in the sunlight, Robotnik pressed the button.
***
The heads of the tacks embedded in Sonic's shoes flew off, and in three steps Sonic had pounded the barbs through his soles and into his feet.
Sonic yelped at the sudden pain and instinctively curled into a ball, as he did when travelling at high speeds and needed to stop without hurting himself. But that was what Robotnik had expected he would do.
The robot slammed into him like a soccer player shooting a goal, and Sonic went flying off the edge of the cliff road, still in a spin and unable to stop himself. His robot-slicing spines splintered the guardrail. He dropped like a rock, struck the side of the cliff, and uncurled from his protective ball.
The cheetah-robot skidded to a halt in a cloud of dust and raced back to look over the edge of the cliff. It watched as Sonic whirled and bounced to the bottom of the canyon, causing a small avalanche of pebbles from each spot where he hit. He struck the ground forty feet below and lay in an odd, crumpled position.
***
Tails was watching the live feed over Robotnik's shoulder, and screamed.
Sally bolted toward the road, but Bunnie grabbed her. "Hold up, Sally-girl! Wait until the race is over, maybe it tried to hurt him or somethin'..."
Just as she had known that something awful had happened to Tails, Sally knew that something awful had happened to Sonic. She stood with her fists clenched, panic raging through her. Maybe Sonic would come running up with the robot any second. But why had Tails screamed if nothing bad had happened? She could hear the fox sobbing, and it fanned her panic to greater intensity. Why was he crying? What had happened?
There was a rush of hot air and the shriek of a jet engine, and the cheetah robot flashed by, alone. Her fears were confirmed.
"What do you think of that, Princess?" called Robotnik, his voice oozing glee. "The hedgehog lost to a mere robot. The fox is mine now. And, since I'm in such a good mood right now, I'll give you time to run."
His words did not register. Sally was fighting Bunnie, trying to get away and go after Sonic. Something had happened to him, she might still be able to save him if she could only get to him--
Bunnie was yelling in her face. "Sally, we got to get outta here! He's gonna send the robot after us! Sally! Listen to me! We -- have --- to -- run!"
Sally kept struggling, so Bunnie grabbed her around the waist with her robot arm, lifted the squirrel off her feet, and dashed into the woods. Sally kicked and hit her, screaming, "Let me go! I've got to find Sonic! Sonic, you hear me? I've got to find him!"
"Sal, WE'RE gonna be the hurt ones in a minute," panted Bunnie, glancing back. "Aaugh! Here it comes!"
The robot crashed into the forest at full speed, gouging chunks out of tree trunks with its shoulders, its legs tearing at the underbrush. Sally suddenly realized their danger. "Put me down!" she gasped. "Go that way! That way!"
Bunnie dropped her and the two sprinted away at an angle, dodging through the trees, which grew in dense clumps here near the forest borders. The robot slowed behind them, unable to speed through the trees and brush without taking damage. They heard its jet engine sputter and die behind them.
They took a roundabout route back to Knothole, constantly doubling back to listen for pursuit and sniff for exhaust. But the robot had given up, as it lacked the high-tech tracking systems Robotnik bestowed on SWATbots.
Sally and Bunnie were both in tears when they slid down into the cave in Knothole, and sat at the bottom of the slide, holding each other, gasping for breath between sobs. Antoine, who had been waiting for them, hurried up. "What is wrong? Sonic, he is lose?"
"Sonic's been hurt," panted Sally, trying to get a grip on herself. "Come on, we have to get out there to the race course again. He may be ... " She could not bring herself to say 'dead'. "Get the medical stuff, hurry!"