Before the Vision

Chapter 13: The Omen

It was another beautiful day outside and Maria and Shadow decided to enjoy the peacefulness of the afternoon. Although the day went by in an unusual slow manner, the two didn't seem to care at all to be bothered by the leisurely pace of the sun. They had stretched themselves out onto the grass in the backyard gazing into the cloudy sky. Maria had suggested playing a small game of cloud guessing where they would try and see if the clouds made any shapes. Shadow was quite confused with this concept. He found it very hard to see any definite shapes of any objects in the clouds, but Maria simply told Shadow to relax and use his imagination.

"My… imagination?" Shadow questioned the girl.

"Yes, you know when you use your mind to create things that aren't real. It can also be used to see things that do not stand out clearly… like a hidden message or image." Maria explained.

Even with the explanation Shadow still didn't quite understand the concept of the imagination… but the hedgehog decided to give it a try just like he would with any other new skills. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply before opening his eyes again. Suddenly he could see it! A star… or at least a cloud that looked like a star. It was a bit deformed but Shadow was certain that the cloud took on a star shape.

"Hey… is that a star right there?" Shadow asked Maria pointing to the deformed cloud.

"Why yes. Looks like you got the hang of it Shadow!" Maria smiled warmly at him.

Shadow blushed a bit in his cheeks and went back to his cloud gazing. The two spotted many more shapes and objects and even shared a few jokes with each other as well. Soon Maria had nodded herself off to sleep leaving Shadow to his thoughts.

"Who knew learning would be such an exhilarating experience." he thought to himself. "As soon as we came into this town my life has already turned around completely! This is too good to be true… and yet… it's what I've always wanted. To live a normal life with out people who detest me everyday. I have tons of friends… and fans as well. But all of it… has to be a dream."

It was hard for Shadow to take in all of the reality that surrounded him… but that's just how his situation turned out ever since his family came into town. It was rare for the hedgehog to actually look forwards to what would happen the next day. Only a few times had made him feel this way. He also found it strange the way he would yearn to be with his teenage friends whenever he was lonely. The only one who had ever given him that feeling was Maria. The human world was shaping up to be something Shadow would have never thought of it to be: an adventurous experience full of life changing decisions. Despite the slow pace of the people around him, it became apparent that life itself is never slow at all. It's fast and furious and could change directions in just a split second. It was this speed that got Shadow's heart pumping and soon became another reason as to why he wanted to live.

"Maybe we can take a trip some other far off place…" Shadow soon thought as he dreamt of traveling to more exotic lands.

He could probably make more friends and go on more thrilling adventures with Maria… but there was also Maria's painting he had to finish. Sure he had slacked off for the last few weeks but now it was time to get back to work on his painting. Already he was beginning to concoct new and brilliant ideas for his painting. Soon it became clear to the hedgehog what he wanted to paint. It was simple but it would last a lifetime. Suddenly a rumbling noise could be heard in the distance. Shadow noticed some distinct looking clouds coming in from the west.

"Must be a storm heading this way." he thought to himself.

Gently Shadow shook Maria waking her up.

"Huh? Is it getting dark already?" the restless girl asked having lost track of time.

"It will be soon but there's a storm moving in. We better go inside before it starts raining." Shadow replied.

Yet a shower of rain began to come down upon the two before they could even move a muscle. Maria began to laugh loudly as she and Shadow scrambled to their feet. Covering their heads, the two quickly ran into the back door of the house which lead into the kitchen. They were somewhat soaked and Maria was still laughing leaving Shadow confused as to what was so amusing. Suddenly he was laughing as well but he didn't know why. The two shared a good laugh as the rain hardened outside and then they calmed themselves.

"I suppose I'll go and change into some dry clothes." Maria said walking towards the kitchen door. "You better go and dry off before you catch a cold."

Shadow nodded his head and Maria left the kitchen. The hedgehog walked upstairs and into the bathroom to dry himself off. After coming out the storm was heavily pounding onto the housed and all across the town. It wasn't long until night had fallen and outside it was almost pitch black with little lighting coming from the town. Great bolts of lightning lit up the dark sky quickly followed by roaring sounds of thunder; some that even trembled a few objects in the house. Gerald had gone into his personal office located next to his bedroom and Maria remained in her bedroom as the hours became late leaving Shadow alone with nothing better to do.

After wandering around the house for some time listening to the raging storm outside, the hedgehog decided to stop by Maria's room to see how she was doing. He approached the bedroom door and silently knocked on it. A muffled 'come in' was heard from the other side and Shadow went inside. Maria was seated at her desk working on what looked like a small knitting project of hers. The hedgehog approached her side to get a better look.

"It's a pair of mittens I'm making for you to wear when it gets cold." Maria said holding up the red mittens she was working on.

"But I thought we were only staying here for the summer." Shadow replied.

"Well yes but sometimes grandfather and I may end up leaving here after autumn arrives. It's just depends on our circumstances." Maria handed one of the finished mittens to Shadow. "Try it on. I wasn't sure what size you wore."

Shadow slipped the mitten onto his hand. It was a snug fit and very comfortable as well.

"It's… nice." Shadow said examining the mitten.

"I also made you a scarf as well, although I wasn't sure if you would need some earmuffs to go with everything else." Maria commented holding up a finished scarf.

"No, this is fine. Who taught you how to sew?"

"It's called knitting and a neighbor back at the institute taught me when I was young. She said she knew my mother and had learned it from her, so in a way it's as if my mother taught me."

"Interesting…"

Shadow continued watching Maria knit for a few more minutes until she grew tired. Maria then set the mitten and needle on her desk and turned off the desktop light.

"I think it's time for me to go to bed now." Maria said after a long yawn.

"Goodnight then Maria. Um… can I ask you a question?" Shadow asked nervously.

"Sure."

"…Can I… tuck you in?"

Shadow's face slightly turned red from embarrassment but Maria only smiled.

"If you want to." she answered climbing into bed.

Shadow smiled sheepishly and slowly approached Maria's bedside. More thunder and lightning flashed and rumbled from outside as Maria laid back against her pillow. Nervously Shadow pulled the covers up to Maria's neck and then stood there unsure of what to do.

"Goodnight Shadow. Thanks for tucking me in." Maria said to the blushing hedgehog.

Maria held out her arms for and hug and arbitrarily Shadow wrapped his arms around her. They parted after a few seconds and Shadow turned off the bedside lamp. But before he left the room, Maria asked him a question.

"Why did you want to tuck me in?"

Shadow stopped at the door holding it open. He took in a deep breath and slowly looked over his shoulder.

"We're family right? Brother and sister? I… just thought it would be appropriate." Shadow answered unsure of himself.

"That's so sweet of you. Goodnight."

Maria finally laid down in bed and Shadow left silently closing the door. When the door was shut, the dark hedgehog breathed a sigh of relief and gave a half smile. It was interesting how the smallest of deeds gave Shadow's heart a huge tug leaving him feeling warm and wanted on the inside. He did remember reading a quote once that went along the lines of this:

The smallest deeds often make a bigger difference.

Strangely enough it applied very closely to what he had just done. Soon his feeling of loneliness had diminished and Shadow was on his way down the steps into the foyer. The house was now completely dark with Maria and Gerald sound asleep. Flashes of lightning from outside flashed in through the windows briefly sometimes followed immediately by booming thunder. The rain poured down as hard as it could against the old house and Shadow stood silently at the bottom of the steps. He tried to think of things he could do since he rarely slept at night anymore. Slowly he began to pace down the narrow hallway towards the kitchen and dining room. The hedgehog rubbed his ice cold hands together but was well aware of the fact that they would never heat up again.

Suddenly his thoughts just wandered aimlessly as he turned around the corner and walked towards the green room. Upon entering the plant filled room, the sound of rain was obviously much louder in here than in any other room on the first floor because of the lack of insulation. The windows that served as the room's walls were beaten down upon by the rain. Silhouettes of trees flashed in the night sky with each bolt of lightning but Shadow was not stirred by this frightening scene. Since he couldn't think of something active to pass his time, he chose his passive activity of daydreaming to get through the late hours. He would've started on his painting but was afraid that the noise he caused would wake up Maria and Gerald. Reading also became quite a bore to the hedgehog now that he was in a need for constant activity throughout his days.

When night fell upon the town, Shadow just found himself wandering the house without direction or at least until he fell asleep on the couch. Yet tonight… he felt a bizarre need to stay awake. It wasn't the rain that kept him awake for he was known to be a heavy sleeper even during the roughest summer showers. It was… something else. A strong yet still and quite urge that kept Shadow from sleep and lead him into the green room. Calmly he paced around the center of the room as the thunder clashed and roared outside. But then he began to look out of the windows as if he was searching for something. The hedgehog's eyes darted from side to side trying to catch some invisible object. Then another clap of thunder sounded causing Shadow to jump from shock.

Inside his chest his heart began to pound harshly against his ribcage. The hedgehog became aware of someone or something lurking around just outside of the windows. Instinctively his hearing became more acute and he listened closely for any outside sounds besides the pattering rain. His ears twitched back and forth… but nothing out of the ordinary was heard.

"Maybe it's just me." Shadow thought.

A disturbing chill ran down his spine… something was definitely wrong.

"There's something out there… but what?"

Shadow had a gift for sensing people whenever they came near him even if it was from around a corner. But whatever it was outside… Shadow couldn't tell whether it was human or not… or even if it was real. His eyes continued to dart around at the windows but the hedgehog remained careful to stay centered within the room.

"Come on already! Where are you?!" his mind shouted.

An eerie response came in the form of silence. The pattering noise of the rain slowly faded away as well as the wind that accompanied it. The lightning and thunder had ceased as well leaving Shadow with an awkward feeling inside of him. Something terrible was about to happen… but what was it? Would it be an attack from the unknown that waited just outside of the windows? Perhaps it was the people from the institute. They probably followed the family to the summer house and waited silently in the forest surrounding it for the perfect moment to attack. But then it became dreadfully obvious to Shadow.

An instinctive feeling of warning and panic was quickly building up inside of Shadow, but he made no reaction to it whatsoever. He suddenly knew whatever it was would soon show itself in the darkness… and yet he remained inside of the room just waiting for it.

…

ROAR!! An extraordinary wave of thunder exploded into the hedgehog's ears. An unusually bright flash of lightning accompanied it and Shadow found himself lying on the floor staring at what seemed to be his mysterious 'stalker' outside in the rain. A shadow larger than anything Shadow had ever seen stood outside. Its eyes were red and a large set of wings were on the creature's back… it almost seemed familiar to the hedgehog. Shadow was nearly petrified as he laid on his back staring up at the creatures blood red eyes. Then it gave another shattering roar causing Shadow to cover his ears in pain. But this time it seemed to have gone on forever forcing the hedgehog out of the green room and into the narrow hallway where the roaring had finally disappeared.

Shadow laid against the wall clutching his chest. Slowly he began to connect back with reality and noticed quite a change in the atmosphere. The pouring noise of the rain and the howling wind had suddenly diminished along with the roar. Now there was only the gentle sound of an average rain shower going on outside and the thunder and lightning had moved on. But Shadow was still left frightened from the terrifying visitor and could only ask himself what was going on. Had it been a dream or did his imagination get the best of him? The earthshaking roar was too real to be apart of some dream and the pain he felt was even more evidence that what he experienced was authentic.

He soon tired himself with his own brainstorm and staggered to his feet. Shadow felt his body shaking uncontrollably from the fear he felt as he swaggered into the living room and fell onto the couch. Finally the hedgehog felt exhausted and tired and easily fell into a deep sleep. He could care less about what had just happened for now he just wanted to get through the rest of the night undisturbed.