Chapter 3: The Rings

The cavern was dark and musty. This was the first thing Summer noticed when she awoke. The second was that Miles was lying right on top of her, unconscious.

She gently rolled him off and stood up. She could hardly see two feet in front of her face, a strange occurrence because of the fact that they had fallen through a hole! But when she looked up, she found that she couldn't see any evidence of the said hole…

Her eyes widened. "What?!" She screamed before running to the wall and trying to climb. She had always been claustrophobic and it wasn't easy being in an enclosed cavern in which there was no exit.

A groan was emitted behind her and she gasped sharply spinning around and peering through the darkness. "Hey… what happened?" She visibly relaxed. It was just the voice of Eddie.

"We're… we're…" She started shakily.

"Summer? What's wrong?" His form came into view and seeing him gave her some minor comfort, but she was still jumpy.

"Look up, Eddie! The hole's collapsed or something! We're trapped!" Eddie fell silent, knowing full well of Summer's terror of enclosed spaces.

"Listen, we'll get out of here. I'm sure there's another opening or something. We just have to fi—"

"Well then, let's hurry and find it!" She said, interrupting him. Another groan caused her to jump, but she realized it was just Miles waking up.

"What happened…?" He asked and then Eddie proceeded to explain their situation. "So… we're trapped?" The young boy asked, surprisingly calm.

"No… we just can't find the exit at the moment. We'll be fine though." Eddie replied. By this time, Summer was on the edge of hysterics and she was breathing quickly and sharply.

"Summer, calm down. We probably have limited oxygen in here and—" Eddie regretted the words the second they came out of his mouth.

"Limited oxygen?" Summer nearly screamed. With a moan, she said, "We're going to die here, aren't we?"

Eddie grabbed her shoulders and shook her slightly. "We'll be fine! Now just calm down! We are not going to die." He hissed with authority. She sniffled a tad, and brushed away tears that were threatening to pour down her face.

"I… I'm sorry…" She said, sounding ashamed. "It's just this whole day… it's been so…" She trailed off when she saw something behind Eddie. "Hey, what's that?"

Eddie looked over his shoulder and let go of her arms. He walked towards whatever it was that they saw and stopped in front of it. "It's some kind of… pedestal. And look! There are others!" Sure enough, quite a few others accompanied the pedestal. There were seven in all. And there was a black box on each. Four of the boxes were open, the other three shut.

"What's this?" Eddie looked closely at the box in front of him and his eyes widened. "Would you look at this? It's a ring!" He pulled out a small golden ring. It had a glittering blue emerald set into the gold.

He held it up to his eye. "Wow… It's hard to tell in this light, but I bet'cha this thing's worth a fortune!" He slipped it on his finger and was amazed at the fact that it fit perfectly. A cold shiver ran down his spine, but he hardly noticed it. "Not too snug, not too loose… it's made for me!" He turned and winked at Summer, but in the light, she couldn't see.

"Eddie, we have to find a way out of here! Why are you wasting time thinking about some cheap ring that probably was buried here as a joke?!" She demanded angrily.

But he ignored her. Instead, he walked over to the next pedestal and pulled out another ring, this one silver with a yellow emerald set into it. "Hey, Summer. This one looks like your size!"

"Eddie! We have to find a way out of here!"

Eddie looked at her. "Calm down. We'll find a way. Now come over here and check this out!"

With a nervous groan, she walked over to him and peered at the ring. Immediately her interest was peaked. "Wow…" The yellow stone seemed to glow as she looked at it and on instinct she snatched it from Eddie's hand. Slipping it on, she felt a shiver run down her spine, but, as with Eddie, she ignored it. "It fits… perfectly."

"Ditto." Miles' voice caused the two to look over to where he stood, which was in front of the third pedestal. He now adorned another golden ring with an orange stone in it.

"So, what do you guys think? Do they look cheap?" Eddie asked, his eyes focusing on Summer. She looked away angrily.

"I think they're great!" Miles piped up while grinning. His eyes focused on the fourth and last of the opened boxes. Inching closer to it, he peered in and pouted slightly. "Empty."

Eddie hmm'ed and walked over to him. "Yep. Empty. Strange… and look! The box is bigger than the others!" He looked at the others and noted the size differences. There was one smaller box and two larger ones.

He walked over to the first large one and tried to open it, only to find it sealed shut. Now, trying to lift the box, he found that it stuck firmly to the pedestal. "What the…?" He walked to the small box and found the same results. The last large one yielded the same. "Weird…"

But before he could think about it any longer, there was a slight rumbling as part of the roof of the cavern collapsed… right above Summer! "Watch out!" Quickly he ran and slammed into her, causing them both to fly out of the way of the falling rocks. If he weren't so stressed out about the fact that the love of his life had nearly been crushed underneath the weight of the roof, he would have noticed how quickly he had reacted and how fast he had run.

He found himself on top of Summer, looking straight into her green eyes. And he just stayed like that, just staring, unable able to take his eyes away. Staring… Staring… "Uh… Eddie?" And then the stare was ended and he quickly rolled off her, trying to conceal his blush.

She was about to thank him but then she saw the wide shaft of light that hit the ground and the dark humanoid shadow that covered part of it. With a gasp, she looked up to see the silhouette of a man. He looked quite short and he had what looked like dreadlocks. But before she could make out any of his other features, he was gone. As if he was never there. "Who was that…?" She whispered to herself.

"Summer? Are you okay?" Eddie asked, looking at her with a look of worry and confusion. She smiled at him and nodded. "Good! Now, let's get out of here!" He immediately began trying to climb a section of the dirt and rock wall that looked easy to climb. When he reached the top, he looked back down to see both Miles and Summer following.

His eyes focused on the pedestals below and he remembered the ring on his finger. "Oh!" He began to pull the ring off but then he stopped himself. With a glance around, he realized that nobody would miss the rings. They had other worries. With a small smile, he dropped the hand that was going to pull the ring off to his side.

And after the other two had reached the top, the trio began their trek to find another way across the bridge…

None of them noticed the person who watched from the shadows of a formation of rocks. None of them noticed Knuckles the Echidna walk out from behind the shadows and get to work on covering up the hole he had previously created to help them out…

TSEEW! A laser bolt slammed into the dirt, causing a spray of sand and rock to hit the party of three in the faces. Directly in front of them was a group of robots, all having guns trained on them.

"Other way!" Eddie cried before turning swiftly and running back in the direction they had come. His comrades followed. TSEEW! Another laser crashed into a rock formation, causing it to break apart, sending rocks the sizes of pebbles to the sizes of a human head flying everywhere. But by then, the trio had already passed the rocks.

Summer and Eddie ran quickly and easily began to outrun the robots, but Miles, who had even shorter legs and was already exhausted, was beginning to lag behind. With fear, he realized that if he didn't do something soon, they would run so far ahead that they wouldn't be able to help him if he got in a jam!

"Wait up, guys!" He cried desperately. The two in front of him stopped and looked back. Both of their eyes widened at the same time and suddenly Eddie ran back and grabbed Miles roughly and began pulling him along. A laser bolt slammed into the ground right where he had just stood.

They were nearing the bridge now. Planning on running past it, the trio didn't even slow. But then they saw the regiment of robots on the other side. "No!" Eddie cried and then he turned left only to see some Hovercrafts screaming in their direction. And just like that, they were trapped—a broken bridge behind, and robots on all other sides.

"What do we do, Eddie?" Summer asked as the robots closed in.

Eddie bit his lip and tried to think of a plan, but his mind came up blank. But when a laser bolt shot right in front of his face, close enough for Eddie to feel the heat radiating from it, he threw away any plan to make a plan and grabbed both Summer and Miles and ran for the bridge.

"What are you doing?!" Summer hissed as they ran. Eddie didn't even answer, but he just picked up speed, now only holding onto Miles' arm. Then with a sudden motion, Eddie swung Miles up ending up holding him cradle-style. Miles cried out in surprise and wrapped his arms around Eddie as he saw the gap closing in on them. The hovercrafts were closer than ever as well. Summer realized Eddie's 'plan' and she nearly stumbled. "Are you crazy?!"

"Just jump!" Eddie said before adding on another burst of speed, making his legs a blur of movement. Subconsciously, Summer noticed that Eddie had never ran this fast before, but then she noted that she was keeping up.

And then the gap was upon them. Eight feet across, they couldn't hope to make it, but regardless of that they jumped… and sailed through the air. Eddie was the first to jump and he was the first to land on the other side. He stopped to make sure Summer got across.

And get across she did. She cleared the gap with ease and ended up landing softly almost five feet ahead of Eddie. From Eddie's standpoint, it looked like she had flown across the gap.

"How did you…?" Eddie started but she he stopped when laser peppered the bridge. Deciding to ask her about it later, he set Miles down, grabbing onto his hand again, and then began running. Summer followed closely behind.

Behind them, the Hovercrafts screamed on, but the robots were stuck at the gap. One or two had tried to jump across, but they fell quickly to the river below. The rest of them seemed to have a bit more intelligence because they simply stopped there are started blasting off pot shots at the three.

Faster and faster they ran towards the tree line. The Hovercrafts seemed to slow from their screaming pace to a slow walk while the three sped ahead at neck breaking speed. In reality, the three had just left them behind.

"Let's stop here." Eddie said as they came upon a clearing nearly a mile into the forest.

"How far have we been running?" Summer asked as she looked around for any hidden enemies. With a shrug, Eddie sat heavily on a nearby log and motioned for Miles to sit next to him.

"It feels like miles…" Miles said softly before taking off his shoes and rubbing his feet.

"Whew! Boy, you'd better put those back on!" Eddie said waving his hand in front of his face, all the while grinning like an idiot. Miles glared at him while Summer simply rolled her eyes.

"Think they'll find us?" Summer asked while she still stood, looking around. Just then a Hovercraft screamed overhead, causing them all to take cover in whatever they could find. It soon disappeared though.

"No… If we're careful, we'll be safe here…"

"But we can't stay here forever!"

"I know. That's why tomorrow we're going to explore this forest some more and see if we can find a way out of it and into the next town!" Eddie finished with a tone of voice that obviously said that there would be no arguing.

"Eddie…" Miles said softly, causing the other two to look at him. "I don't want to let that man get away with this." Miles finished almost coldly.

"Miles, I know that it—" Summer started, but Eddie cut her off.

"He'll pay somehow, Miles. I'll make sure of it." He said with an equally cold voice, causing Summer's head to snap in his direction.

"What are you talking about?" She questioned. Eddie stood up and began walking around some.

"I don't know yet… I'll come up with some kind of plan though."

"You can't possibly think that we can take on that guy's entire army… do you?" Eddie ignored her but kept pacing. "Eddie? Answer me."

Suddenly his head shot up, a look of excitement etched on his face. "Miles! You're our key here! Could you, if you had the materials, make us weapons of some sort? Maybe even robots to fight his?"

Miles paled. "I… I don't know if I can… I mean—"

"No, he will not!" Their female companion snapped while stepping towards Eddie. She was within a foot of him when she stopped.

"Summer, what are you—" Eddie started, but he was cut off by a low whisper from her.

"You are not asking him to create… create… killing machines, Eddie! You are not going to put that kind of thing on his shoulders! He's just a kid! And you aren't going to risk all of our lives either!"

Eddie bit his lip. "I was just running through some ideas."

"Well don't! The last thing we need is you or Miles going on a revenge quest and getting yourself killed by that freak!"

Eddie smiled. "Wow, you're worried about me! I'm touched!" Summer groaned loudly and, throwing her hands up in the air, stomped back to the log. On the way there, she hit her broken wrist on a tree branch that was jutting out and with a cry held it tightly against her stomach.

Running to her quickly, Eddie knelt down in front of her. "Let me see it."

"I-it's fine…" She said through clenched teeth, trying to keep the tears that threatened to pour from doing just that.

"Now!" Eddie yelled suddenly leaving no room for discussion. Slightly angry, she let him take her wrist into his hands and examine it. "We need to get a doctor to look at this soon… It does not look good. Look." He pointed at a section of skin visible through the splint he had made. "I think that's where it's broken. I think… I think that lump is the bone."

Summer resisted the urge to throw up and just barely stopped herself. "Don't even remind me." She said when she felt she could trust her voice.

"Tomorrow. We have to move out tomorrow. We have to get this looked at." He said softly. Summer nodded in agreement and continued on to the log where she sat down.

It wasn't long until Miles fell asleep. In fact, he fell asleep leaning against Summer. But she didn't mind it. He'd been through a lot that day and she wasn't about to feel sorry for herself because of him.

Eddie watched them with amusement. "I think he likes you." He said with a grin. Summer shot him a warning glance and he decided not to tease her. "Anyway, I think I'm going to find some water or something. I'm thirsty."

"What about the rest of us?" Summer asked in bewilderment.

"I'll take you to it after I find it! I'd bring some back with me, but…" She cut him off with a wave.

"Fine, just when you come back, remember where the water is!" Eddie nodded once and walked off into the forest. "I sure hope he doesn't get lost or something…" Summer said softly to herself as his figure disappeared…

"I sure hope I don't get lost…" Eddie said to no one as he walked. Picking up a rock, he began putting various marks on trees every few steps so that he could find his way back.

It wasn't long until he realized that the trees and grasses around him were getting taller and taller, signifying that he was going even deeper into the forest. A bush near him shook slightly and before he could react, a rabbit bounded from it.

Normally, Eddie wouldn't have even noticed this, but the rabbit was half Eddie's size! He yelled in fear and started running, forgetting completely to mark the trees. He didn't stop until he heard what sounded like rushing water. Sure enough, as he continued on, slower this time, he found a small brook with clear water running through it.

Grinning, he started running to it, but ended up tripping over his pant legs. Growling, he looked down and gasped. His shirt that used to extend down to just below his waist now hung over his knees. It was much bigger than it had been ten minutes before. His pants had endured the same treatment, the legs now extending far past his feet.

"What's going on?" He cried helplessly as he realized why the trees and grasses had grown taller. He realized why the rabbit had been half his size. He realized that it wasn't those things that had grown taller, but it was him that had shrunk!

Desperate for some answers, he ran to the brook, splashing water on his face, hopefully waking him up in the process. He had no luck in that, but he did get a good look at himself.

In the reflection on the water's surface, he saw a blue creature looking back up at him. Long and sharp spikes, or quills, stuck out from his back, forming the illusion of fewer but larger spikes. Where the quills weren't, there was blue fur.

His two small eyes had grown to at least five or six times their former size. The whites of his eyes seemed to extend so far that they nearly formed into one eye with two pupils! His formerly brown eyes had turned a beautiful shade of green.

His mouth and nose had changed completely, forming into a more animal-like snout. One that would belong to a fox or something like that, only it didn't extend nearly as far. His nose was now a black oval-shaped ball at the end of his 'snout'.

Eddie Wilsans had changed into a creature that shouldn't exist. And when he saw this, he promptly fainted…