Before the Vision
Chapter
4: Fearful Atmosphere
A
week later after Gerald's talk with his colleagues, Shadow was
released from his capsule and was back in the underground compound.
But things were very different for him. He received looks of anger
and distrust from people and noticed that a few whispered behind his
back. He was not allowed back into the library so he could not read
as much as he wanted. In fact he was very limited in the places he
could go. Almost everywhere Shadow went he felt harassed emotionally
by the people who saw him. Shadow ended up spending most of his time
in his small home with Maria thinking about his actions a few weeks
ago.
He was angered about what Richard had said about Maria but did not have any control over his emotions. Even though he tried to explain this to the people, they refused to listen to him or just called him a liar. Just thinking about their reactions hurt him inside. He grabbed onto a pillow on the couch and squeezed it in his hands. But suddenly the hedgehog felt Maria's soft hands on his and looked up into her caring eyes. Shadow dropped the pillow and laid across Maria's lap sighing heavily.
"Why doesn't anyone want to listen to me? They just ignore me and turn their backs…" Shadow said sadly.
"People tend to be afraid of things they don't understand." Maria commented.
"But still…I don't want to feel left out."
There was a short moment of silence where Maria had nothing else to say. She wanted to comfort Shadow with encouragement, but even she knew that nothing would lighten up the situation. Everyone was afraid of Shadow and nothing would redeem him from his heinous crime. Shadow sat up from Maria's lap and began to walk towards the front door. Maria asked Shadow where he was going. He paused and looked back over his shoulder.
"…Just out." he replied.
He quietly left the room and made his way down the hallway towards the destroyed lab. As he neared it, a burnt smell came across his nose. His mouth twitched for it reminded the hedgehog of that horrible night. He rounded the corner and could see the singed doorway ahead of him. The double doors had been removed and a 'do not enter' sign was placed in front of the door. The repairmen must have gone on a break for their tools were still in the area. As the black hedgehog approached the entrance he could see very clearly for the first time the massive damaged he caused to the lab.
The burning smell was strong almost causing Shadow's eyes to water. Some repairs had just begun on the left side of the lab for most of the destroyed equipment had been removed. Shadow stepped around the sign and entered the room. A few wires where still hanging from the ceiling and walls but did not spark any electricity. He could see large claw marks all over the room from his vicious attacks. Then there was the capsule…the very machine he was born in. It was nearly destroyed with large and small pieces of glass surrounding it. The base of the capsule had been slightly uprooted from the floor, and the top portion of the machine lay on the floor nearby.
Shadow began to shiver at the horrific sight.
"I did this…I did it all." Shadow thought. "The fear…the destruction. What was I thinking?"
Shadow's thoughts continued to wander throughout his head. Then vivid images of the attack entered into his mind flashing every few seconds. He then began to hear the screams and shouts of the people he attacked. Unable to take anymore of this, the hedgehog quickly left the room and ran down the hallway. He stopped at the end and took one more last look before heading back to Maria.