not out of the woods yet
It wasn't long before Silver found himself drug by the wrist through the burning hallway. Shadow half walked - half jogged as he led the group of kids throughout the building. Barking occasional orders, he moved along, peeking around corners and looking up stairways for any sign of danger. The kids behind limped and stumbled after him, occasional yelps of pain sounding through the roaring flames.
The pulling and yanking of his wrists pulled Silver along at a faster rate than he was used to. His small arm began to feel sore as the adult hurried along. The constant stop and go was beginning to wear on his joints. Fortunately, Shadow let go in order to lift a heavy beam out of the pathway - allowing the hoglet to slip back towards the rest of the group.
Shadow either didn't notice - or didnt care. Instead he forged onwards, guiding the kids through the precarious environment in search of an exit. Looking around, Silver took in the face of those with him. Everyone seemed scared. More scared than he was. Yet Silver chalked this up to not being around Shadow very much. Being chased by stalkers and that cloud monster was more than enough to lower his standards for being scared. Not that the situation wasn't scary. On the contrary, Silver was terrified. This much chaos was well beyond what he was used to. And even then, Shadow seemed like he had more in store.
A platoon of guards burst through a door on the opposite side of the hall - some armed with more of those fire sticks. With a shout, they opened fire - shooting the strange pebbles directly at the kids. Before any of them could respond, Shadow had kicked up a fallen metal beam and spun it; catching all of the pebbles with loud clangs as he twirled it around like a windmill.
"Get down!" He shouted, mouthing numbers as the bullets dented into the spinning metal. Silver dropped to the floor with the rest of the kids. Cries of distress peeped from various children as a teen girl grabbed Silver and pulled him under her body.
When the pebbles stopped banging, Shadow threw the beam - spearing one of the guards. He jumped into the air, kicking away weapons as he landed in the group; hands punching and grabbing as the green hoods fought back. Silver watched from under the body of the girl, curling himself tight in anticipation. At some points Shadow wasn't even visible to his eyes - creating anxiety. But regardless, the ranger came out on top; the last of the guards falling to the ground with a snap to the neck. Red eyes pierced back to the kids - unsettling Silver by the sheer brutality the hedgehog held towards the Syndicate members. Weren't at least some of them innocent?
"Follow me." He commanded once again, watching as the kids clambered to their feet. Kicking up a sword, Shadow handed the hilt to the girl who covered Silver.
"Use this." He ordered. "Protect those around you."
Waving the group through, He pulled a fire stick off of a guard. With a spin, he slung it on his back and grabbed two daggers off the ground. Vaulting off the walls and over the kids, Shadow took up the head of the group once again; this time taking them up a stairwell. After climbing a bit, he turned and shouted to the boy with the spear.
"Take up the back - make sure we aren't followed." Twisting, he addressed the sword girl. "Cover him - he's mid range; you're short range."
Daggers drawn, he proceeded up the stairs, watching as the door above burst open with guards starting down the top of the wooden stairs. Shouting to the kids to watch their heads, Shadow bolted ahead. Using a burst of speed, with a bit of orange energy flowing behind him, he curled his body to a ball and rammed himself into the closest guard - several flights above. Silver watched with wide eyes as the blue hood fell down the stairwell, sending a resounding thud echoing up from the bottom. The sounds of metal clinging and yelling above scared the group.
All fifty-seven kids slammed themselves against the walls, the older ones holding their arms over the younger ones in an attempt to give them extra cover. Guards continued to fall down the well as Silver closed his eyes. The stories Fliss told him of the Hero did not usually involve so much…violence. Sure Shadow was really good at fighting, but he was never described as… ruthless.
The Ranger's hooded head poked over the bannister, calling for the kids to come. Before Silver could even process, the group had started moving again - him with it. Now in the middle of the pack, Silver felt dizzy staring into the spiraling staircase above. It looked like it could go on forever. A kid his age slipped, knocking into him and tumbling back a few steps. Silver fell with her, hitting his head against the hands of a teen who caught them both and righted them. As he picked his feet up again, He passed Shadow, who crouched on the banister next to the group.
"Keep going.''He ordered, counting heads as they passed him. When the last child was logged, Silver watched as the adult leapt from below him, grabbing onto the banister a flight above him with a mighty leap. With another jump, Shadow had cleared the next flight - this time on the opposite side. Red eyes glared down at the group from the outside of the rail, observing as they began huffing and puffing along the flights.
"How much further?" One of the teens gasped, grasping onto the rail for support.
"Not much." Shadow responded, looking behind him. "The door is over here."
When the first of the kids reached the top of the stairs, Shadow flipped himself onto the right side of the ballister and tore open the door, walking through and scanning the environment for any sign of danger. When there was none, he waved the crowd through.
As the kids gathered behind them, Shadow shot his arm out- blasting the wall across from him with another burst of energy. Children squeaked and hid as the resounding explosion rocked the air. As the dust settled, Silver peered with large eyes at the massive hole that laid ahead.
"The exit is that way." Shadow spoke. Turning, he unslung the fire stick from his shoulder and snatched up a small box from the floor.
"Who here has a good aim." He asked, turning around and facing the group.
Awkwardly, a young hawk raised his hand.
"This gun has six shots." Shadow instructed. "Pull the lever to undo the safety and pull the trigger to shoot the bullets."
The ranger approached the teen and handed him the weapon. With confused eyes the hawk looked up, only to be met by Shadow's hands reaching down and touching the weapon.
"Hold it up to your shoulder like this and aim down the barrel." Leather clad fingers opened a compartment. "Load six bullets into the chamber like this and you'll have more shots."
Shadow jumped over from the group, vaulting off the walls and back into the stairwell. Crouching on the railing once again, the ranger gave more instructions.
"Meet me by the exit." He firmly commanded. "I'm going back for those girls - and protect the young ones."
Without another word, he leaned off the ballister and fell down the stairwell. With a squeak, Silver ran to jump after him, only to be caught by a teen. Without a word, he pulled him back into the group as they formed a circle. At first, the kids just stared at each other unsure of what to do. Then, an idea hit Silver square in the brain.
"Why don't' you take the front?" Silver squeaked, pointing at the girl with the sword. "The other guys can do the middle and back."
"The real question is where do we go?" The girl responded, looking at the gaping hole.
"Well just going that way might lead us in the right direction." The teen with the gun responded. "He wouldn't have blown that hole in the wall and told us to go through without a good reason."
"But what do we do if we get caught?" The kid with the spear asked, holding it close to his body.
"I'd assume stay together and put up a fight." A girl from the circle responded. "We don't have a lot of time."
Another explosion shook the foundation from a few floors down. Several kids found themselves knocked to the floor as the ground trembled. Cracks crept along the stone under the group as another explosion rang through the air.
"Let's go." The sword girl hurriedly exclaimed, not wanting to get caught in a cave-in.
The group followed without hesitation, pace quickening as soldiers ran past in other hallways. Silver found himself swept along, dragged like a tide out to sea. Not aware of where they were going or what they were doing, he just followed; little legs managing to keep up with the older teens pace. The hoglet found himself glad that Shadow made him walk all those miles. While the other kids his age were tripping and being carried through exhaustion, he was still strong - legs and arms strengthened through the time and effort Shadow put him through.
With his strength, he found agility - being able to hop rocks and climb over debris at a better rate than other kids. Even teens were struggling at some points where he vaulted with ease. Hard work was paying off.
Soldiers appeared at the end of the hallway, screeching the running crowd to a halt. Unsure of what to do, the two groups stared each other down. The silence in the air was only broken by the rumbling explosion a few floors down. Kids and adults alike stood frozen in place, not wanting to break eye contact and brains pulling to figure out the next step. Eerily, the commander at the head of the charge simply stared, eyes calculating the next order to give.
Slowly, out of his peripheral vision, Silver saw the hawk bring the gun to his shoulder- looking down the barrel to the blue hooded leader on the other end of the hall. A few seconds passed before a loud pop echoed through the air, dropping the blue hood to the floor. Before the other guards could react, the hawk shot again. Silver counted to five as the rapid fire shots echoed through the air, dropping soldiers as they began to charge the group. Four soldiers dropped while the other nine kept charging on.
Suddenly, Silver found himself shoved to the back as the teenagers rushed forwards to protect the younger ones. Claws drawn and teeth bared, a fight broke out; blood splattering against the walls as the teens fought for their - and the children's lives. Silver covered his golden eyes, not wanting to watch. The sounds of injured people and bodies hitting the floor echoed through his head. The stories never told about this part. They always painted the battle as glorious and fun. Never as gorey and terrible…
Shouting blasted into Silver's ears as metal met metal. Teens pulled what they could off the ground to protect themselves from the drawn swords and slashing claws. The cries of pain and the squelching of bodies made everything dizzyingly horrific. Silver saw the world shift left and right as his body swayed from stress and emotion.
With much struggle, the teens emerged victorious - barely living as they limped their way over the dead bodies and down into the hall. Silver followed the trails of blood leaking from the injured kids as they blazed the path as best they could. All they needed to do was get out.
Silver closed his eyes, not wanting to see a dead teen laying on the ground with her blood spilled out. Soft squeaks echoed from the kids as the elders in the group hurried them along, limping from their wounds. The metallic smell of blood shriveled up Silver's nose, bringing his paws to his face as he gagged on the horrid smell.
An explosion rocked a nearby room, sinding both shivers of terror and relief through every child's body. Shadow was close. Hurrying along, Silver picked up his pace. The door was very close - the group could feel it. It riled them up, energy renewing as the air grew clearer and clearer. Speed picked up as the hallway grew wider and wider. They were so close…
The wall behind them exploded open, fire blazing at their back as rocks and debris fell. Silver cowered with a squeak as Shadow's familiar silhouette outlined itself against the roaring fire. This time, he was not alone.
With a cry, one of the teen boys from the group bolted forwards, dropping a metal beam to open his arms as a girl ran towards him. The two siblings slammed into each other, holding onto each other and sobbing as they looked at the other's injuries. Other girls came into view, some wearing nothing but blankets as they united with the other kids. Silver watched on as the scene played out, not understanding why the elder kids were so upset and overjoyed at the same time.
There was a lot he didn't understand. Such as why the kids were kept separate from the teens, or why the girls hung out with the adults and not the other teens. There was so much he didn't understand. Looking to Shadow, Silver anticipated instruction only to be met by none. The ranger merely watched, standing with an unrecognizable expression as the rescued girls reintegrated with their peers.
"Let's keep moving." He ordered after a minute, seemingly calmer and more vindicated. "We have quite a trek to the nearest village."
Slowly, the kids organized themselves, the least injured of the teens picking up the youngest of the children as they prepared to walk on. With a bit of stumbling, the group continued down the hallway, Shadow pulling aside one of the oldest teens for a quiet discussion out of earshot. Silver found himself picked up by a girl, who carefully wrapped him around her neck and limped on. Golden eyes glanced back at the adult, who had pulled another teen into the discussion. Weapons were tossed around as the elder kids exchanged for more desirable tools. Tension was still high as even now, they hadn't left the complex.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the front door came into view, with Shadow pushing himself to the front of the crowd in preparation to lead them back to society. With a deep breath, he pushed the doors open, letting the view of a cave meet their eyes. Slowly, the kids picked their way through the rocky landscape, a light shining at the end of the tunnel like a beacon in the night. As the light grew brighter, hopes flew higher.
Light exploded into Silver's big golden eyes as he was carried out of the cave. The forest around him felt refreshingly cool from the heat of the burning hallways. Closing his eyes, the hoglet felt the breeze hit his face, letting a contented sigh exit his lungs. Something was off though, Shadow was uneasy.
In the distance, Silver saw something move, slowly darkening the horizon, as it raced along. Squinting, the hoglet tried to get a better look. Was it…a hedgehog?
Suddenly, plumes of smoke exploded out of the ground, shaking the ground as Shadow flipped back, knives drawn. Indescribable laughter rushed through the air as a wall of fog filled the forest in front of them, creating a harsh line between light and darkness.
"Well well well." Sang a voice that sounded like everyone and no one at the same time. "What have we here."
Shadow bared his teeth, leather gloves gripping tighter around the blades he held in anticipation.
"Kids RUN!"