Before the Vision
Chapter 9: A New Twist
A week after Shadow's first trip to the outside world he was once again back underground with his family, but he spent the past few days taking an avid interest in artwork. He had asked Maria to bring him some art books for him to look at. Although Maria did as Shadow requested, she couldn't help but speculate what the hedgehog was up to. He spent hours each day closely examining the paintings he saw in the books and the distinct detail of each picture. When asked about his new interest Shadow simply replied 'It just seemed to interest me'. He wanted his special present for Maria and Gerald to be secret and tried to be as discrete as he could without giving away too much.
Shadow had spent most of his morning cautiously looking through the art books picking up any ideas he could catch. Prof. Gerald was out working for most of the day leaving Shadow alone with Maria. As the hedgehog literally kept his nose in the books, Maria wandered out of her room and peered over his shoulder at the pictures.
"What are you looking for?" Maria asked causing Shadow to jump.
Shadow slammed the book close in a panic and turned around smiling nervously at Maria.
"Uh… nothing, nothing at all." Shadow made up. "I just like… looking at the pictures."
She knew Shadow was lying to her; it was pretty obvious in his voice but she decided to let it go. As Maria went back to her room Shadow let out a relieved sigh.
"I hope she didn't suspect anything." the hedgehog thought to himself.
He opened up the book once again and slowly went though the pictures one by one, picking out defining details and other features that stood out. Some of the paintings he saw were bright a colorful while others were dull solemn. Shadow was amazed at the many feelings one painting could extract and wanted to do just the same. The paintings varied from sceneries of vast field and cold bitter mountains to portraits of people and abstract shapes and objects. Ideas swarmed into his head of how he could depict the outside world on a canvas and bring it to life in one's eyes. While his ideas were stored away in the back of his mind, Shadow closed the book he had and reached for another on the coffee table. Slowly he opened it up and went through the plethora of pictures that were inside.
The next day Shadow had woken up in the early hours of the morning. Turning on the table lamp he picked up the art book he had read yesterday and continued to look through the pictures. The hedgehog wanted to make sure that he had plenty of ideas for when he would paint a picture for Maria. Hours went by and Shadow was still on the couch deeply engrossed in the art books when Gerald and Maria sat down for breakfast. The two humans observed Shadow and were curious as to why he was so caught up in artwork all of the sudden.
"Shadow, would you like some breakfast?" Gerald asked taking a seat at the already prepared table.
"No thank you." Shadow replied without looking up.
Gerald and Maria looked at each other and Gerald gave a nod to his granddaughter. Quietly Maria stood up from her seat and walked over to Shadow looking over his shoulder. This time the hedgehog did not notice here but was too busy examining a portrait in the book.
"Shadow?" Maria said softly.
"Yeah?" Shadow replied turning a page.
"Perhaps you should put the book down. I know you like the pictures but maybe you should spend some time with grandfather and I."
Slowly but cautiously Maria took the book out of Shadow's hands leaving the hedgehog staring blankly at nothing. Finally he came to his senses and glanced up at Maria with a half smile. It had just occurred to him that he was acting quite rude lately ignoring the professor and Maria, so Shadow figured it was time to get in touch with his family once more. He allowed Maria to lead him to the small round breakfast table and the two joined the professor. While Gerald and Maria ate, Shadow just picked at his food with the fork pushing it around. He wanted to talk to his family but couldn't. His mind kept wandering back to the art book still conjuring up ideas he could incorporate in his own piece of work.
"No. That can wait Shadow." the hedgehog told to himself. "Right now you need to focus on Maria and the professor…"
But to no avail his mind wandered freely through the pictures he saw. He figured that his portrait idea was too important to put aside. So it was settled; his small project would be priority number one. Something that had to be done before Maria's time was up.
Before any words had been exchanged Shadow quietly excused himself from the table.
"I just need to go out for a walk." was his reply when Gerald questioned him as to where he was going.
After leaving his home Shadow sighed heavily and began his trek down the metal corridors of the underground area. He passed the other residents unnoticed but paid them no attention. The portrait project meant too much to the hedgehog for it to be ignored and Maria's future was an uncertain one that Shadow understood greatly.
"Perhaps the world from a fantasy point of view…" he contemplated.
But that idea didn't seem to buzz too well in his head. In and out, ideas came and went. Some great others that seemed like a dud. Yet Shadow was determined to find that idea that would astound Maria and give her wonderful dreams until her time had come. The black hedgehog wandered aimlessly throughout the underground compound, his head hung over and hands behind his back. As he walked through the hallways Shadow eventually walked into the elevator and was on the ground floor of the institute. It wasn't until he had bumped into a personnel that he had finally realized how far from home he was.
"Uh… I'm sorry." Shadow quickly apologized.
The man in the navy blue suit turned around and looked down upon the hedgehog.
"Hey! You're not suppose to be up here! What's Prof. Gerald think he's doing?" the man shouted rather loudly.
Soon other employees in the area began to look on and were talking in low voices at the sight of Shadow. The hedgehog felt a sinking feeling in his stomach suddenly and knew something terrible would happen again.
"Security!" the man shouted. "Get this animal out of here immediately!"
Shadow looked over his shoulder to see three officers running his way.
"Not again." he thought.
The hedgehog pushed his way past the man in the suit and ran down the hallway passing other workers as well. He wasn't too familiar with the institute's layout and just ran wherever it felt safe to him. But to no avail more and more security officers began to chase after the hedgehog. Time after time Shadow ran into dead ends and had to fight his way through the mess of officers that pursued him. In and out they went in labs, offices, and small hallways. Shadow began to panic and wanted to return home immediately.
"Maria!" he thought. "Where are you?!"
The hallways suddenly became obscured and twisted as a dizzy hedgehog raced through them in a wild manner. He jumped off the walls knocking people over as the whole world around him became a swirl of gray and white. Shadow had never felt his heart beat so fast in the few months of his life. There was never this much fear inside of him because of his insecurity. The hedgehog wanted to fight back but his conscience constantly reminded him of his true form; the monster that was within him leaving Shadow with the only option of running.
After skidding around a corner the black and red hedgehog ran into a dark lab room where his fears began to fade away. His breaths were quite hard as he laid a hand on his chest and cautiously looked around the dark lab. For some reason there were cages lined up along the walls and from the looks of it animals were inside them. Shadow walked down the middle aisle between the lab tables observing the sleeping animals.
"What are they doing up here?" the hedgehog asked.
Small white bands were around the animals' paws and most of them slept silently while a few watched Shadow walk by. Just when peace finally settled down upon Shadow, the lab doors flew open with a bang! The hedgehog spun around to see a group of security guards heading towards him… his heartbeat shot up once again. Unfortunately he had no where to go this time. The lab doors were blocked off. So Shadow did the best he could to fight off the guards and still control his anger.
Using the lab equipment in the room, Shadow attacked the guards with punches and kicks and threw the equipment at them. Cuts and bruises were made on the men but nothing seemed to stop them. As Shadow jumped down from a lab table, a guard rammed him into the cages. The sudden jolt woke the animals and sent them into a frenzy. Along with the noise of broken glass and crashing equipment, the screeches and cries of the many animals filled the room. A few of the cages fell from their place from the guard's attack on Shadow and he was held on the ground. But the hedgehog pushed the guard off and leapt away running towards the back of the lab.
Some guards were already there waiting for Shadow and made a leap at the hedgehog. But he was too quick for the men and Shadow jumped over them and stood in the middle aisle staring menacingly at the few guards running towards him. Suddenly the leading guard pulled out a gun and fired it at Shadow. The shot echoed harshly in the room but Shadow dodged it with a racing heart. Many of the animals were now awake and squawking and scream from all of the noise. Shadow was sent into a suddenly panic not knowing what to do now. His enemies had weapons and he himself had nothing to defend with.
As the guards reached Shadow he scrambled to his feet and leapt over the lab table slamming into a few cages against the wall. The doors on the cages flew open as they hit the door and animals began to flood out into the lab and ran around in chaos. Shadow frantically made his way back towards the entrance even though two guards were still at the door.
"I must make it back to Maria!" he thought to himself.
The hedgehog took a leap over a lab table but stopped suddenly when the guards came for him. They made grabs at the animal but he barely escaped their grasp and began to head towards the back down the middle aisle again. But to his surprise a cart full of medicines and needles had been pushed out into the middle aisle and Shadow collided with it. The two guards that were going for Shadow backed away cautiously as needles and medicines flew high into the air. The black hedgehog laid on top of the cart in pain from the collision as the needles came back down. Thankfully most of the sharp object missed Shadow but one needle full of a red liquid pierced his arm. The red liquid inside slowly seeped into the hedgehog's body but Shadow ripped the needle out of him still leaving a few drops inside.
He staggered to his feet facing the two guards at the entrance and prepared to charge his way through… yet for some reason everything became blurry to the hedgehog. He lost sight of the guards easily as everything in the lab clashed together in odd colors… and then his head became light and slightly painful. Shadow felt his body sway left and right but could barely do anything to control himself. His body parts became horribly numb and stiff with slight pain in his joints. Soon the hedgehog felt himself fall to the cold floor numb and unable to move. He was still conscious and could see the obscured shoes of the guards approach him…
"Maria…" his mind whispered.
…Shadow fell into darkness.
Prof. Gerald rushed through the small hallways making his way past numerous scientists. He was heading for the rebuilt underground lab where Shadow was awakened on account of the disturbing news he had received. The old man flew into the room and urgently approached a group of scientist who were huddled around a clipboard.
"How is he?" Gerald asked getting the group's attention.
"He's stable sir although something isn't right about his genetic structure." the female scientist holding the clipboard informed her superior.
Gerald snatched the clipboard from his subordinate and skimmed over the information on it. Inside the rebuilt lab were new lab tables, equipment, and desks. The capsule had been rebuilt in the center of the circular room and once again Shadow was inside unconscious in a blue liquid. An air mask was over his mouth and nose and he floated motionless inside the capsule with numerous scientist rushing about inside the lab. It had only been a day since Shadow's unfortunate accident in the institute above ground. Gerald was informed about it around noon time and immediately went to work on the situation leaving Maria alone. The old professor had stayed awake through the night gathering up as much info as could and dealing with complaints from employees from above ground. But Maria was completely unaware of the situation yet she knew in her heart something had gone wrong with Shadow again.
After Gerald had gone through all of the papers on the clipboard he gazed up at Shadow floating silently inside the capsule.
"Has there been any drastic changes in his body?" Gerald asked.
"Well his body temperature has been dropping gradually by the hour." the female scientist replied. "We've done all that we could to raise it but nothing's worked."
"And his genetic structure, what have you discovered about it?" Gerald went through the papers again.
The female scientist walked over to a table and picked up a tan folder stuffed with information papers. She took out one and handed it to Gerald.
"Apparently something's changed in it and is slightly altering his body. This is possibly a direct result from what was injected into his arm." she replied.
Gerald looked over the paper until his eyebrow shot up.
"What the…?!" he exclaimed. "Can this be true?"
"Yes. The substance in the needle may have had some chemicals in it to cause this reaction."
A grim expression fell upon the professor's face as he shook his head.
"Shadow…" he thought.
Suddenly an alarm went off from one of the many computers in the room.
"Brain activity has been detected!" a scientist said urgently looking up from the computer screen. "He's awakening!"
Slowly the other scientists began to scramble to their stations to record any data but Gerald silently approached the capsule looking up at his creation. Shadow's left hand stirred and then his eyes began to open slowly. Everything was slightly hazy to the hedgehog but it all became clear to him in just seconds. Slowly he looked around at the few scientists who were staring at him and then to Gerald standing right in front of the hedgehog.
"…Professor…" Shadow said weakly.
"Shadow…" Gerald replied in a soft voice.
"What happened? Why is it so cold?"
Gerald wanted to speak but couldn't bring himself around. He lowered his head placing a hand over his eyes and took in a deep breath. Building up strength inside of himself Gerald looked back up at Shadow, a feeling of sorrow was hidden behind his hazy glasses.
"Shadow… it pains me to tell you this but… you…"
Gerald suddenly became unable to speak but the hedgehog painfully raised a hand against the glass.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Your genetic structure… it shows drastic changes have been made." Gerald finally said.
"Like what?"
"Your body temperature has dropped for one thing. We don't seem to have any control over it though but we do know that what was injected to you by accident is what's causing these changes."
"…What's happening to me then?"
"So far Shadow all we can say is that you're changing. What you will become is something my colleagues may not be so sure about… but I may have a clue."
Shadow was silent. He obviously wanted Gerald to continue on.
"This paper here says that blood from a vampire bat was injected into you. There were extra chemicals added to the blood, perhaps from a previous experiment, but that may be the cause of all of this. Shadow, you may be turning into a vampire of the sorts even though it sounds farfetched."
"A vampire?" Shadow echoed.
He remembered reading a few horror stories of monsters and such. One in particular of a vampire that sucked blood from it's victims but Shadow knew that such things never existed. But he was still slightly shocked that he was becoming one. It was by the blood of a vampire bat, a creature that did exist but did not 'suck blood' in the sense of a real vampire. It was all too confusing to the hedgehog… but then it began to make sense. His powers. His powers could also be contributing to this transformation and only fortified the hedgehog's justification that they truly were a curse unto his life.
"There probably is no cure to reverse these effects Shadow even if we were to work on one for years." Gerald said sadly.
"That's ok professor…" Shadow replied looking away.
Gerald curiously gazed at Shadow adjusting his glasses.
"I've survived enough trauma these past few months… one more situation wouldn't make a difference… I just wish to see Maria now."
Gerald nodded silently and handed the clipboard and paper to his female colleague and left the lab. Moments later he and Maria were walking silently down the hallway leading to the main lab. Upon entering Gerald requested the other scientists left the room for a few moments. They did so and the lab was cleared out in a matter of seconds. Maria stared up at Shadow in the capsule with heartbroken eyes. Apparently her friend had gone back to sleep or seemed to be asleep inside the capsule.
"Shadow?" she asked gently.
The hedgehog opened his eyes up and let out a relieved sigh at the sight of his comforter.
"Maria…" Shadow placed his hands on the capsule.
"What happened?" the girl asked.
"I'm changing Maria… changing into something unspeakable…"
Gerald had placed a chair behind Maria and his granddaughter sat down ready to listen intently to Shadow's words.
A week later Shadow had finally been released from the capsule. As the hedgehog left the lab with the professor, a few of the residents they past whispered among themselves the gossip they heard about Shadow. But he completely ignored them expecting the humans to do such a thing. Once again he longed to be in the comfort of his home resting in the arms of Maria, his sister. But other than seeking for condolences Shadow was also worried if he would ever start on his portrait for Maria. His chances were beginning to look grim but tried to keep in mind that there was always a way out in every dire situation.
Upon entering the home Maria walked out of her room expecting Shadow to run to her arms, but he didn't. Instead the hedgehog sulked over to the couch and fell onto it face first. Gerald looked at his granddaughter who gave him a questioning look.
"I must return to work. I'll be back this evening." Gerald announced as he left.
The metal door closed and Maria approached Shadow and lightly gave him a nudge.
"Shadow?" she asked.
The hedgehog muttered under his breath as a reply. Maria carefully lifted his body and sat down on the couch placing Shadow over her lap. She heard the hedgehog sigh loudly and then he turned his head to the side facing the coffee table.
"You're getting cold…" Maria said running a hand over his head.
"It's one of the changes." Shadow replied nonchalantly.
"Anything else you've noticed?"
"No… the professor said it may take a few months for changes to happen."
Maria gave no reply but proceeded to pat Shadow lightly on his back. He sighed contentedly and closed his eyes hoping to fall asleep.
"Grandfather said that we may go to our summer house in a few months." Maria mentioned.
"What about everyone in the institute above ground? Aren't they mad?" Shadow asked.
"The owner said he would let grandfather off the hook this time. Those needles that you ran into shouldn't have been left out in the open so carelessly so he's not blaming us for your mishap."
"I see…"
"Well at least he thinks of you as a living creature unlike most of the people here."
"I guess that's ok…"
Shadow suddenly had a light feeling in his heart. A human who saw him as one of them and not just a threat to everyone. Perhaps there were a few good folks in the outside world… perhaps.
"Where is this summer house?" Shadow asked getting back to Maria's comment.
"It's in a town a few miles from here. It's actually quite peaceful. It's surrounded by a small forest and in a small quiet town. Grandfather always took me there every summer as a child. I would play with the kids who came by even though I really didn't become good friends with them. Anyways I'm sure you'll love it there." Maria explained.
To be away from the busy city and in a small town? To be away from the compound and institute and in a quiet house instead? It was the perfect place for Shadow to be… a perfect place to live in fact. No worries, no enemies. Just spending the days resting peacefully in a quiet house and enjoying some time spent with his small family. This lifted Shadow's spirits greatly and also meant that he might even have a chance to start on his portrait for Maria. The hedgehog sat up and gave Maria a light hug. She in return wrapped his arms around him smiling lightly.
"I'm looking forward to this vacation." Shadow said in a lighter tone.
Maria could only smile for Shadow was beginning to forget about his troubles. Whenever she comforted Shadow it not only lifted the hedgehog's spirits but also hers as well. She hated seeing anyone she loved in pain and would do whatever she could to cheer them up despite her condition. It was her way of saying to them, "If I can be strong in my illness, you can be even stronger in your good health." Words that could only come from a courageous girl with a caring heart.