Sonic Hill: Memories of a Shadow

Chapter 2: Fear

-

It was cold. Very cold.

Shadow rubbed his arms and shivered as he stepped down the sidewalk. Considering how cold it was inside, it sure felt a hell of a lot worse outside. The whole town was disorienting. Everywhere he looked, he could only see fog, endless, ever-vexing fog that made the whole world look confined to his small ten-foot-wide field of vision.

As his misty puffs of breath faded into the air, he took note of the fact that the roads were pretty clear. Not a good sign, but at least he wasn't chained to the somewhat littered sidewalk in that case.

'I sure as hell ain't seeing nearly enough cars to supply even a small town…' he thought to himself. 'Or life for that matter, but that's to be expected.'

While the map was definitely helpful, its accuracy of the town's dimensions was far from perfect. What looked like a short walk down the street was really a rather long one. It didn't feel like he was moving anywhere at all, since pretty much everything looked exactly the same. It'd most likely seem less so if he could see where he was going. His "march" had lasted about ten minutes so far, and he was only a few blocks away from the bar.

There was a large barbed wire fence blocking off the north part of town from the bar, and the tunnel leading to the more discrete western area was blocked off by construction too. He had a bad feeling in his stomach that the tunnel leading to East South Vale would conform to its brother also, because if it was that meant he'd have to take the long way around town. And he sure as hell couldn't take walking around the barren streets for that long without getting lost, or going crazy.

"It's so quiet…" Though he was whispering, it felt like he was practically yelling. His footsteps and small puffs of respiration had so far been the only noise he'd heard in over ten minutes. Needless to say, that made him feel only more uneasy. Even abandoned places shouldn't be this silent. Not urban places, not rural places, and certainly not tourist-attracting lake resorts.

'Everybody's gone, dead—'

-THUD!

His body went erect, in an instant. For a moment he thought that was the sound of his own heart, exaggeratedly loud in response to that horrible and blunt thought. But no, hearts can't be that loud. No not at all no—

'—something hard hit the ground not too far away.'

Was that even him thinking this time? It felt more like some sort of outer all-knowing voice inside his head, rather than his own. Whoever it was, Shadow realized to his own discomfort, it was probably right. That noise sounded off from an area out of his vision.

He couldn't tell if it was himself or the environment when the temperature seemed to drop by ten degrees, either. He shivered again and rubbed his arms, wishing he'd had enough pocket space to wear the jacket around his torso rather than tie it around his waist.

"H-hello?" Shadow stared forward, his deep voice penetrating the silence not without a streak of fear in it. The fog still covered his view, but he could hear something moving. "Is anybody there?"

Whatever was alive in front of him, it didn't intend to be stealthy. Shadow's eyes widened in terror as a blood-curdling cry he couldn't even describe emitted from what had to be less than fifteen feet away. A strange electrical fluid seemed to seep through his veins. He took a step backwards—not even really noticing that he had—and squinted, attempting to see through the gray as best as he could.

And he sure did - regretting it immediately. The silhouette of the creature stumbled towards him, materializing into his vision in a ghostlike fashion. His description of its body could not be valid – it didn't look like it had any features whatsoever on it, probably because it was still so far away. But from what he could tell, there was a trail of some liquid flowing out of its rear end.

"Are you—" He didn't even have to finish his sentence to know it certainly was not okay. No living thing could look like that and still be alive, let alone walking towards him.

-Clop…

-Clop…

-Clop…

-Clop…

At first he thought it may be a zombie, and even that seemed like an insane thought. But it looked far, far worse than that. Its lacerated body gave off the impression of a possibility that it was once human—or anthro, even—but there were few remains left to tell. Its arms were binded together as if it was wearing a straightjacket, but its arms also happened to be melded into its torso. That wasn't a good sign at all, no not good not good not good not good—

'—oh my god…'

Its face had no features on it whatsoever; neither did the rest of its body, like its silhouette had insinuated. Only a tiny hole where the nose should be was there. It limped closer to him with redness oozing out of its rear end and dripping onto the ground behind.

"Ooooooohhhh!" it moaned with unseen vocal cords once again, right before it leaned forward and vomited steaming blackness out of its throat and onto the icy pavement.

Shadow put his hand to his mouth and felt as if he was going to add his own share of bile onto the street. Stepping backwards even more, he subconsciously reached for the revolver on his waist. "

please…s-stay away…"

But it didn't, not very much to his surprise. It continued to lurch forward at him with a drunken composure. That seemed to melt the ice of fear in his mind, spilling out oceans of terror. It all ran down to his legs and he bolted forward. Before the monster could even react to his movements, he had already sprinted past it with admirable speed. His heavy boots clinked awkwardly against the ground, but he was running alright, and a lot faster than he thought he could too. The sudden panic worked like a dashboard, and he was sprinting even faster without even thinking about slowing down. All he wanted right now was to get the hell away from that—

He skidded to a halt and stared forward in bewilderment once again. The skinless straightjacket man was now little more than five feet in front of him.

'What the…? How did it do that"

"eeeeeIIIIIIIEEEEEE!"

Another one, to his right, stumbled off the sidewalk and into the middle of the road towards him.

'How many of them are there?'

-THUD!

His body spun around, whipping the magnum out from his side, pointing, and squeezing the trigger hard on the monster behind him before he even knew what he was doing. Its face disappeared in a gruesome explosion of gore, splattering onto the cold pavement behind it. The stunning punch of the recoil knocked the weapon out of Shadow's hand and fell to the pavement along with the creature's body. He picked it back up and turned around again quickly, keeping his mind and eyes off what he'd just done as best as he could. He was barely even thinking right now, running off of pure instinct.

But a wave of rationality washed over his burning panic, a split second before he would have blown the second straightjacket monster in front of him to bits.

'STOP!' He stared at it for a moment like an unsure lunatic, listening to what that voice in his head was telling him. 'You only have five bullets left!'

Mr. Rationality was right. They hadn't even attacked him yet, and he was acting like they had jagged claws and were surrounding him by the dozens. The two beside him were mere feet away now, and their friendliness proves as trustworthy as their cadaverous bodies. They leaned back to vomit on him, but he was already running before they had a chance to.

The crisp air stung the back of his throat while he panted lightly. Panic had thankfully subsided greatly, but he was still on edge. Every ten feet he could see another one of them out of the corner of his eye. Perhaps he would have been better off just staying at the bar after all…

His sprint ended when he reached an empty intersection. No monsters could be seen in his shortened field of vision, so he decided to stop for a second and check the map again before he got lost. Whipping the paper out, he examined it to find he was quite close to one of the exits. He was on Stiles St. apparently, which went east for a while till the intersection he was on now, which crossed with LeCompt St. If he went North of here—up LeCompt St.—he'd reach Doggie Avenue after a while. That was the main road of the Sonic Hill South Vale borough, he guessed, judging from the length and width of it. It went across Rosewater Park, a bunch of random buildings, and circled around the Lake Toluca until it reached North Sonic Hill. If he went south—down LeCompt St.—he'd reach the Griffin Tunnel, which led right out of town.

A moan in the distance. Shadow took his eyes off the map and saw yet another straightjacket monster limping towards him about twelve feet away. It was barely visible through the layers of fog. Taking the tunnel was definitely the better choice, so he shoved the map back into his jacket arms and sprinted down the right lane.

About ten seconds later he stopped, feeling a little too drained to keep running at top speed. Fear got the best of him, he guessed. For now it was okay if he just walked, as long as the road didn't have too many monsters on it at least…

Unfortunately, it did. He could three of them right now; one to his left, and the others coming from the rear. Most frustrated than scared now, he began jogging slowly towards the tunnel, until…

"Erg, no…"

Shadow lost another layer of his dying hope when he saw what lie ahead. A big chain-link fence encircled on its top by barbed wire blocked off the tunnel entrance. "Who would put a fence here?"

Sighing, he turned around and jogged back up LeCompt St. So much for that plan – he'd have to find another way.

'Okay, maybe if I can take this up to Doggie Avenue, then go east…If it's not blocked off, I can either take Doggie Avenue out of town or the forest path. Either way should work…' He stopped for a second, surprised at how he'd managed to practically memorize the map with only three glances. 'That's weird…I think my memory must be coming back or something. Maybe I really did live here in the past…'

After jogging and evading for a few more minutes than he thought he would be, Shadow's hope was destroyed once again. There was yet another chain-link fence, this one blocking his path to Doggie Avenue.

"Ugh…" he muttered in aggravation. "Now which way am I going to go?"

He examined the map over again, trying to find another route he hadn't tried yet. He could take the tunnel across Stiles St., but that was barricaded, leaving him only with Mission St. And that was fenced off too. He was shit out of luck.

'Wait…'

There was a rather large gray square right around where he should be standing right now. Two words were typed over it.

'Boyd Mansion'

Hugging the southeastern half of the mansion was an L-Shaped alleyway, which headed up north past the Creekside apartments and right into Doggie Avenue. Shadow raised an eyebrow in interest. If the mansion was big enough to be that noticeable on the map, whoever owned it must have been pretty damn rich. But that didn't matter, what did was that it might be his way out of here. From the looks of it, if he went through the mansion and exited it via the back door, he could take the L-shaped alleyway to the other end of the main road, then proceed his escape from this insane place.

'If those monsters don't have arms—' Shadow stopped himself for a moment, realizing with disgust the bluntness of that thought. '—it means they can't open doors, which means they probably can't follow me into that house.'

'But what if there are some in there?' Another part of his mind, Mr. Paranoia, cried.

'Shut up, that doesn't matter. It's better than staying out here. Besides, it's my only option – all the goddamn roads are blocked.' A discontent sigh emitted from his icy lips. It was true; he really didn't have a choice either way. 'This isn't my day…'

The door to the private driveway of the residence stood halfway open on the sidewalk on his right, to his luck. If it was locked earlier it didn't really matter, because he could get in either way. He slipped in and peered into the much less foggy but equally empty block of space that was the driveway. If there were any cars here, they must have been in the garage. The large garage door was on the opposite end of him, obviously, but it couldn't be opened without a remote so he didn't bother trying to pull it up. There was a black gated door in the left corner though, which he guessed lead into the mansion's courtyard. Shutting the driveway door behind him, he walked up to the courtyard gate and pulled it open, turning around the corner and stepping in—

He almost screamed at what he saw.

Blood was splattered all over the stone flooring, along with sprinkles of crimson along the plants and walls too. In the middle of the courtyard lay the corpse of what must have once been a full-grown male squirrel. His crimson-stained body was as bruised and beaten as the straightjacket monsters', though it lacked the slick absence of ripped flesh.

Speaking of which, one of the straightjacket men stood above it, looking directly at Shadow with its faceless head. The creature leaned back for a moment, and Shadow covered his eyes with his gloved hands with lightning quick reflexes. Had he seen the monster puke its own insides out onto the battered corpse, he knew he would have thrown up too.

A moment later his hands tore away from his face, instantly grabbing for the magnum and pointing it forward at the creature. Enough bullets or not, he didn't care. Fuck the bullets. Later on he'd decide that that disgusting thing shouldn't be alive.

-BANG!

The gun roared, and when Shadow opened his eyes half of the straightjacket monster's shoulder was gone. A spray of more blood coated the withered flowers behind it, along with tatters of its dead flesh…

Shadow turned away, not even wanting to register the thought. He couldn't tell if the monster was alive or laying on the floor or what now, because he was already running for the front double doors of the mansion to his right. They opened, thank goodness, and he charged into the front hall. The doors cried with pain when he slammed them closed and put his back against them, panting slightly.

He was inside, and it was safe from the looks of it, but he didn't want to take any chances. Running up to the cupboard to his immediate left, he dragged it across the boarded flooring and into the path of the door, creating an improvised barricade. This way, that thing couldn't get in.

'…not that the doors open inward anyway.' He couldn't help but chuckle at that. It seemed almost a relief to be able to.

Turning around, he finally got a good look at the mansion's foyer. It was a pretty tidy T-shaped corridor, the center part being about ten feet wide. Plenty of room for a crowd of people to walk around comfortably in, let alone a single family. Above where he stood, a very small section of the second floor could be seen. It looked like some sort of bridge or something that overlooked the foyer. The two windows on that floor acted as the only source of light in the whole place, casting a dark gray shadow over everything.

Shadow placed his hands on his face like a horn and called out. "Is anybody in here?"

His voice sounded almost deafeningly loud as it shattered the building's silence. Unfortunately, his call proved to be useless. No response came at all. Discontent but not surprised, Shadow walked forward towards the small table in the middle of the foyer. His leather jacket wrapped around his waist loosened its knot a bit and began to drag across the floor behind him. He re-tightened the arms and stopped at the double doors parallel to the front door.

To his left was a short hallway that ended at a brown door, and too his right was another hall with two doors in it. One of them probably led to the garage, but he wasn't sure where the other one led. Either way, what was more important was getting to the back of the house. And the most straightforward approach would be going through the double doors in front of him probably.

They opened up into what appeared to be a living room, though it was hard for him to tell. It was pitch black within the windowless room, the only light coming from the opened doorway he stood in now. He could make out a couch with its back facing him, perhaps a sofa right beside it. In front of that was a coffee table—a pretty generic layout really—and in front of that a very classical looking stone fireplace. A few cabinets and cupboards aligned the room, along with quite a few small bookcases. All of it was encased in a thick layer of dust. This room hadn't been entered in a long time, clearly. How long was the town dead like this anyway?

If there were any answers within the confines of this old mansion, he wouldn't be able to see them. Trying the light switch beside the door had no effect—the power was out, not too surprisingly. And with no flashlight or anything, he didn't stand a chance of walking around the place without tripping over something and getting lost. And if there really were monsters inside…all creeping along the shadows, ready to pounce upon their next unfortunate victim…

Shadow shook his head, trying not to think about that. He wouldn't die like that, he refused to except that idea. Just the idea of dying, period, seemed preposterous.

'Light. I need light.'

An idea came to mind. One that seemed rather logical. That fireplace was right in front of him; maybe there'd be some matches somewhere in here…

Leaving the door ajar so he could get the little light he needed, Shadow cautiously entered the living room. Reluctantly, he circled around the couch and stopped in front of the fireplace. Black shapes were all he could see, but a particular rectangular one on the mantle caught his interest. Wishing Lady Luck actually might exist, he grabbed for it and was pleased to see the world around him burst with a somewhat decent glint of light. His finger pressed against the top of the lighter, expelling the small flame and illuminating his pale face against the dark shadows around him.

'Thank god.' He smiled slightly. While a flashlight would serve him much better, a lighter would do fine. At least it gave him the under-appreciated pleasures of vision back.

There was no firewood in the fireplace—and it was covered by iron bars anyway—but there were duel candles on both sides of the mantle, each standing over where he'd spotted the lighter like eerie guards. Holding the gold-plated lighter within his grip, he lit both candles, supplying him with an even greater (though still lackluster) view of his surroundings. All his insinuations of what lie in the room were correct, though he did notice two new things of interest. A normal wooden door stood on both ends of the room, each leading to god-only-knows where. His feet guided him, lighter in hand, to the left door. He wrapped his fingers around the knob and turned it, feeling disappointment in the results. The knob didn't move at all – it must be locked.

So, he turned to the other door. Walking across the room, he reached it and tried the knob. In contrast to its partner, this one opened. Good – he'd be beyond frustrated if it didn't.

No doors were in sight in this new room though, only a coat hanger and a stairway that led up to the second floor. Better than nothing. He began to ascend the stairway, hearing the crickets of Old chirping beneath his feet with every step. Yep: this place definitely wasn't made recently. If its dusty interior didn't tell that, its classical design did.

Thirteen steps, a turn, thirteen more steps, and he was on the second floor. Two more doors—he was already getting tired of doors—were in this small corridor. One was right in front of him, and the other was to his left. There was a third door actually, hugging the wall beside the one in front of him, but it was very thin, so he guessed it was just some sort of closet that wasn't worth checking. The door ahead probably wouldn't lead anywhere near the back of the mansion, but he didn't really have any choice but to check it out. Three steps forward, and he grasped the handle. Turning it quickly, he began to pull it open—

When suddenly, as if it received a magnetic jolt, it slammed back shut. A small yelp of surprise escaped his lips, a yelp that sounded almost humorously helpless coming from his baritone voice. A little confused, he grabbed the handle again and pulled. This time though, it didn't move at all – something on the other side was holding it closed.

"…is someone in there?" Shadow asked questionably. With excited quickness, he knocked repeatedly on the door's wooden surface. "Hello?"

No response.

He knocked again. "Is anyone there?"

Still no response.

"Hello…?" he repeated, notably more helpless sounding.

Silence.

Discontent, he looked down sadly and whispered. "I guess not…"

"Stop it please."

His ears perked up with surprise. The voice of what sounded like an old man emitted from behind the door. With that voice, a huge sense of relief and thankfulness overcame him. "Oh man, thank god! I finally found someone!"

Silence once again.

"…hello?" Shadow raised an eyebrow.

"What?" the old man asked, sounding more irritated by his presence than excited.

"Can you open the door?" Shadow asked.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Go away."

Shadow couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Why?"

"Is it really necessary for me to answer all your tedious questions?" the old man's voice asked.

Crossing his arms, Shadow frowned slightly. "Well…yeah."

"…just go. I want to be alone. Outsiders only irritate me."

"But sir…" Shadow's frown deepened. "I just want to see another living face…"

Silence.

"…are you okay?"

The stranger responded this time. "Why won't you leave?"

"I've been alone for so long…" Shadow's own voice never ceased to surprise him. It sounded more depressed than he imagined it could as he spoke. "There's no one here. Just monsters…I thought I was the only one left…"

"So what?"

"What do you mean so what? This place is insane! There's weird monsters everywhere, the whole town's abandoned, and it's so cold! And…and the fog!" Shadow bit his lip, trying to hold back what could be hours of random babbling if he didn't stop himself now.

"I don't care. It has nothing to do with me," the old man replied. "No one here means there's no one to disturb me."

"You really want to be alone in this insane asylum?" Shadow questioned, bewildered. Was this man nuts?

"Yes, exactly." The hedgehog didn't know what to say now, so the man continued speaking. "But how can you say that it is this town that's insane? Perhaps it is we who are insane…both of us…hopelessly insane…"

Shadow took a step backwards at that awkward statement. Things were getting weirder and weirder by the second.

"Are you satisfied now? Will you leave me alone?" The man's bloated irritation wasn't subsiding.

"Listen, this place isn't safe. If we work together I think we can get out of here. We'll be safer in numbers—"

"No."

Sighing, Shadow looked at the door to his left distantly. "I don't understand why not…"

"Just go away, whoever you are."

"My name is Shadow." The black hedgehog introduced himself. "…are you Tails?"

"No."

"What's your name?"

A pause.

Wondering if he was still there, Shadow knocked on the door again.

"Gerald."

"Boyd?"

"Robotnik." Gerald said with annoyance.

'Gerald Robotnik…' Shadow stated to himself. Interesting name.

"Please, just go away. I want to be alone."

Perhaps it was best just to give up for the time being. This man really didn't seem to want to be bothered. "Okay…Gerald, I'll be right back. Alright?"

He got no response. Sighing again, Shadow turned and walked over to the other door, a slight bit disappointed.

'I wonder what's eatin' him…' he contemplated. 'I hope he's okay…oh man, I'm so glad I'm at least not completely alone here…'

That was a good thing to know. This place was getting really weird. Well, far past weird by this point. But knowing there was someone else not too far away made it seem a little easier to go on. Feeling rather reassured, though still disappointed, Shadow opened the other door and entered the new hallway.