Enjoy!


|chapter ten: the aftershock|

The good news was that Blaze had enough thought to pack bear spray in her to-go backpack. The even better news was that she had managed to reach for it by the time the damn beast charged them.

The bad news was that it charged because Sonic ran past her, dropping his backpack for lighter weight. The even more unfortunate news is that Blaze fumbled with the bear spray as fear made her wonder what it felt like to die of fright.

She wasn't sure if Sonic was the one screaming at the top of his lungs, or if that was her. Everything became a blur as the creature bounded towards her in the most unnatural state. It was worse than seeing a spider dash across the station floor.

As quickly as she could muster, she pointed the bear spray outwards and sprayed.

Another shrieking howl ripped from the beast's lungs. It shook her to the core as she felt the vibration, stumbling over her own boots as she turned and raced after Sonic. It all happened within seconds, so the blue hedgehog was still easily in sight.

"RUN!" she shouted it pointlessly at the already-running Mobian. She was no match in catching up, she realized, and it scared her. Who knows if the bear spray was going to affect the damn wolf for long?! She had to think fast.

She didn't have a gun. She didn't have much protection other than the bear spray. And she had just greatly pissed the creature off. Blaze didn't have to think logically - her mind raced a mile a second. Her heart pounded out of her chest and her breathing got so heavy that she wanted to hurl her guts out. Her stomach had dropped, and her tail was so rigid she wondered if she could even move it.

Still, she pushed her legs forward after Sonic, trying to forget the shrieks the wolf made behind her.

No. It's not a wolf. A wolf doesn't shriek like a damn Mobian - like us. It's not a wolf! It's not normal!

She became increasingly aware of every detail they had captured on the cameras - how fast it had moved beforehand especially. It was intelligent and fast. She didn't want to be around to know how quick it would be able to catch up to her and the cadet. Granted, it looked like Sonic was winning this race.

So much so that he disappeared from her view quickly.

"WAIT, SONIC!" She knew that sentence was pointless. No way in hell that Sonic was stopping even for a second. He was gone. His backpack was left with the wolf - creature - as it tried to clear its eyes from the bear spray. At least Blaze had aimed it right as she ran away.

She rounded a bend and came upon the three-forked trail.

Halting, Blaze tried catching her breath. Her ears were on high alert, trying to hear for the creature. But it was still shrieking behind her quite a ways. The shrieks were turning into grunts and groans. She hoped it would scratch its own eyes out.

"Sonic," she whispered, staring at the three forks. "Which way…" She knew where Sonic was headed just by looking at the ground momentarily. There, in the middle trail towards the tower, were his boot prints.

He was headed the wrong way.

The cat turned to her left, towards the trail that would take her up and towards Half Point, where Silver and Shadow would be. Where protection would be. Shadow had a firearm with him - she knew that much. She knew she would be safe with them, or at least that's what she had to think and hope. Sonic was faster than her - she'd never catch up to him and that gave the creature time to catch up to her. But if she took Half Point's trail, she'd reach Silver and Shadow even before Sonic reached the tower.

But a part of her told her to take the middle trail - she was a ranger. She was still Sonic's supervisor. She needed to know he was okay, despite all of this craziness. He was in danger as much as she was, and despite having left her in the dust, Blaze knew her duties compared to him. He was thinking of surviving solely on his own. He wasn't her. He wasn't a ranger. Blaze swallowed heavily as she moved her legs without another second's thought, a duty calling her in what she hoped was the right direction.

The middle trail to the tower.

She ripped her radio out of its holder on her belt as she ran, stumbling over loose roots and brush - wary that the trail was still in the process of being cleaned up. She wasn't sure if she was hearing Sonic make noise ahead of her, or if it was the creature catching up behind her.

Holding the radio to her mouth, Blaze tried her best to form words in hopes that someone would listen.

"TOWER! I REPEAT! TOWER! NOT A WOLF!"

~.~

"TOWER! I REPEAT! TOWER! NOT A WOLF!"

The radio screeched at the high intensity of which Blaze yelled through it, but Sarah and Amy heard her loud and clear. The rose hedgehog whined a little. "That was in front of us, though."

"They're headed to the tower," Sarah felt a sudden sense of courage. Blaze was in trouble. Blaze needed help. Maybe Sonic, too. But there was something out there, and her friend was in danger. She knew this was what Amy had felt earlier - except it hadn't been to the point of worrying about Sonic's life. Now, she had to worry about both Sonic and Blaze's lives. Maybe even their own.

"We've got to go," Amy nodded in agreement to Sarah's determined look. "Maybe it'll be gone by the time we get up there," she was talking about where they heard the howl. The screams. The shrieks of something.

"Give it a minute," Sarah hated the words. She grabbed the radio. "For fuck's sake, Shadow, you better turn on your goddamn radio."

No use in nicknames to her anymore. She thought maybe Blaze would radio back, but hoped not. She hoped that the cat would just get away from whatever it was she saw - and would keep running.

"What the hell was that?!"

She wanted to cry in relief at the sound of Shadow's voice. He had heard Blaze's call too. That meant so had Silver probably, and no doubt the white hedgehog was panicking. "You hear the howl?" she asked back.

"Silver heard something - that must've been it. Then we heard screaming, and then Blaze's call," Shadow's voice was definitely hurried. It sounded like he was moving around, grabbing stuff. "Are you back at the station?"

"Sarah! Where's Blaze?! Why the hell is she out here by herself?!" Silver sounded like he was on the verge of crying. Sarah didn't blame it - to hear your loved one screaming from a distance and then hear the message on the radio, it was like listening to their last moments. Gut-wrenching. And he knew that Blaze wasn't going to answer the radio - that she was fighting for her life by the sound of her voice.

"I'm not at the station. Look, we've got a problem," Sarah tried to explain quickly, but she figured it would give her and Amy some time for the creature up ahead to clear out or head north. It was too close for comfort. "Sonic showed up and snuck into the park. Blaze went after him. Amy snuck into Sonic's car and talked me out of staying in the station - she was either going to follow after Blaze herself or I would go with her."

"HE WHAT?!" Shadow roared and it made Amy flinch. The anger in his voice was understandable. "AMY IS WITH YOU?! YOU'RE ALL OUTSIDE?!"

"Yes! Now, listen, Blaze is headed to the tower. Which might mean that Sonic is, too."

Suddenly, her voice cut through in a hurry and a panic. It was Blaze. "YES - BOTH. TOWER. NOW!"

She was still running by the sound of it. Amy had tears in her eyes. "That means they're both in trouble - we have to go help them!"

"And do what, Amy?! We have no way to help them!"

"Safety in numbers," Amy offered. "Maybe it won't attack if we're all together!"

"Blaze just get to the tower safely!" It was Silver, practically pleading with every god known to Mobian kind that his girlfriend would be safe. "Don't worry about us! We'll find you!"

"Sarah, head back to the station. We'll get to the tower." Shadow knew it was a feeble attempt.

Amy ripped the radio from Sarah's grasp. "No! My best friend could be in serious trouble because YOU failed to tell us the truth and prepare us for what might be out there! Sarah has been the only one truthful with me so far! I am going to that tower to help!"

"Amy, I'm ordering you not to," Shadow snarled. "You two have no way of protecting yourselves."

"We'll head back, Shadow." Sarah knew it wasn't what Amy wanted to hear.

"WHAT?!" Amy wanted to throttle Sarah. She was just going to leave Sonic and Blaze out there to die? To be torn to shreds by some beast? "WE'RE GOING!"

Sarah made the motion for her to shush. Amy raised an eyebrow - what was Sarah doing?

"We're headed back to the station, Amy. No questions asked, we do as he says," Sarah tried to speak her most stern voice over the radio and to Amy - in hopes that it would convince Shadow.

It did.

"We'll call. For now, get back there safely. Out."

He was gone. He and Silver were off onto their next mission: helping Sonic and Blaze at the tower. Sarah bit her lip as she turned the radio down and put it back in her belt. "Let's go."

"But you just said - "

"We're going to Half Point, Amy. Trust me," Sarah's mind was already working on a plan. She grabbed Amy's arm and they made their way north - towards where the howl had come from.

She only hoped that they wouldn't run across the creature like Blaze and Sonic clearly had.

~.~

"What the fuck was that?" Silver kept hissing under his breath with tears in his eyes. The sound of Blaze shrieking through the radio put him on high alert all over again.

He knew he had heard something. But to hear screams and figure out that they were hers - it killed him. Shadow did his best to bring Silver out of his state of mind, snapping him back to reality as they grabbed their packs. Shadow put on his belt last, radio and gun attached.

"Look, we get to the tower and help Sonic and Blaze. Whatever it is could be chasing them," Shadow didn't want to jump to conclusions as Silver was clearly not of any use right now. He had his gun, and it could take down a bear with a good shot. And Shadow was damn good with it, too. He just needed Silver to be aware of their surroundings and not kill them both. "Silver, snap out of it. We need to focus in order to help them. Sarah will take Amy back to the station."

"What if - "

"Shut up and move." Shadow wasn't in the mood for any 'what-ifs' at that hour. He was supposed to be sleeping, and now his mind was in full survival mode. He had to save Blaze and Sonic from whatever the hell this visiting creature was. He hadn't anticipated Sonic coming into the park, but he should've known the moment the blue hedgehog hadn't answered his calls or texts.

Damn it. He thought. If I had handled the situation better then this wouldn't have happened. But he had the sickening thought that if he had been able to handle the situation better, what would have happened with just Silver and him out there? He wasn't the religious type by any means, but he could just imagine Knuckles telling him that everyone was where they needed to be - that fate had a way of handling things.

Was it fate that put Sonic and Blaze out there? Just how foolish had Shadow been himself for trying to camp out there with something clearly not normal to the park? Not normal in general? He took Blaze's words seriously - she knew animals better than any of them. If she said it wasn't a wolf, then it wasn't a wolf. But that left the million-dollar question: what was it?

He raced towards the trail heading north, which would take them to the tower.

Silver was hot on his heels, quiet now but still sniffling as he could only think of the worst outcome. His movements were rash as he practically clawed up any hill they had to get through - Blaze needed him. His girlfriend needed him, and he was so close yet so far.

With any luck, they'd reach it before Sonic and Blaze if they ran. However, if Sonic and Blaze ran faster - they probably would reach it before Silver and Shadow. Shadow banked on the latter, hoping that Sonic and Blaze would at least get out of harm's way. Maybe the creature, whatever it was, would leave.

But there was something in the back of his mind telling him that that wouldn't be the case.

That the hunt had just started.

He was glad he had his gun.

~.~

Sonic had beaten several state records in track, and had beaten several of his own personal best records - this? He was sure this time, it would put all the other records in the dust. He ran like the wind, jumping over the roots in the trail, passing the overgrown bushes, and avoiding the thorns of overhanging branches as the trail closed in before opening up wide into a clearing.

There - the tower. It was in sight.

He could hear Blaze, or who he assumed and hoped was Blaze, running behind him. She wasn't far, but she was nowhere near close to catching up. He thought to slow down only once, but a scream from the wolf behind them somewhere in the woods only made him speed up.

Shit shit shit.

Sonic panted hard by the time he got to the tower. He kept tripping over his feet as he thought about stopping - but then what? What was his plan after this? All his mind told him was to get out of sight and out of the wolf's reach.

So, he did the next thing his flight mode told him to do: get to higher ground.

The blue hedgehog was in track for running, not jumping, but given the correct circumstances, he was always positive that someone could do something they weren't necessarily good at. And this was one of those circumstances.

With a bound and a leap, he reached for the available wooden plank of the stairs. The bottom bit of the stairs to the tower were still missing or rotten and half broken. One would have to make quite a jump to reach for the best step capable of holding weight, but he put his whole faith into it.

It held.

His muscles screamed at him as he pulled himself up. His ears heard the panicked breathing of Blaze as she bolted into the clearing and made a bee-line to the tower. He turned, trying to catch his breath as he readied for what they both expected. Her eyes told it all - she was going to jump too. Thankfully, she was as tall as him and it wouldn't be that difficult for her to reach the step - pulling herself up was the trickier part.

"C'mon!" he yelled, trying to calm down so as not to be so loud. He hadn't heard the wolf in a while, but that didn't mean it wasn't still on their tails. The cadet reached down as Blaze took the leap, grabbing the wooden plank.

She let out a shaky, scared breath. Her arms shook as she tried to pull up her weight. Sonic was there though - hurriedly grabbing at her clothing and arms to yank her up to the step. He backed onto the step above her - the next stair landing was up five more steps. He pulled her all the way there, ignoring her flailing arms trying to swat him away.

"I'm good! I'm good!" she hissed at him as they reached the landing. "Thanks," she said, after catching her breath for a moment.

Adrenaline was at an all time high for the two of them.

Sonic's eyes locked onto the clearing, half expecting the wolf to come barreling out of the brush. But it didn't. In fact, there was no indication that something was following them anymore. No sounds of something running through the bushes, no howls of the beast anymore, and no visible creature moving. Granted, it was dark.

"It's…It's gone?" Sonic hushed. He looked to the ranger for answers with scared eyes. His heart pounded against his rib cage - and he was positive she was in the same boat.

The cat looked terrified. Her hair was sticking up everywhere, her eyes were narrowed, and her breathing labored. She clung onto her flashlight - it looked like she had also dropped her backpack somewhere along the way. She still had her radio and flashlight, though. Sonic had nothing. They were sitting ducks, stuck on the bottom steps of the tower.

"I don't know…Help is coming. Shadow and Silver."

"You radioed them?" Sonic asked in fear. He had to worry about the wolf, and now he had to worry about Shadow? Oh, his night was not going the way he had planned.

"Yes. Or maybe they radioed me? I don't know," she was a blubbering mess of words at this point. There were trickles of sweat breaking out on her forehead.

Sonic stopped for a minute. The ranger in front of him was completely in shock. She didn't know how to respond to the situation, but she had at least followed him. He wasn't out there alone. Sonic had to give her that. "Blaze?" he whispered after a few seconds of silence.

They were both now looking into the darkness. They didn't dare turn their flashlights on in case they caught sight of the awful creature again, staring back. They figured it had to be out there, closing in on them. It was back in the shadows again, hidden from sight. They might have been up higher, but that didn't mean anything to something that could stand taller than them.

"Do you think it's gone?" Sonic asked quietly amidst the chill breeze. Nothing else was making a sound - no owls, no crickets, nada. He was becoming very aware of it. "Or that it followed us?"

"Bear spray. I hit it with bear spray," Blaze managed out after thirty seconds - worrying Sonic some more that she would pass out in fright. She was shaking. "I think that slowed it down, but I think we're definitely in a tough spot here."

"So, what do we do?" the cadet asked in fright, like a scared little kid trying to hide from the Boogie Man.

Blaze panted as she tried to lean up against the wooden handrail. The tower creaked and groaned at the additional weight. She feared it would break and they would fall several feet to the ground, but she had to rest. Her mind was going haywire, but her body begged to stop moving. Her knee hurt, and she was pretty sure she had tweaked her ankle a little when she jumped up to reach the stairs.

Amber eyes gazed into the night.

It was at that time, she really hated having better night vision. There - just outside of the clearing, was the wolf. She didn't need to shine a light at it or even squint, she knew the shadowed figure was the creature. It was leaning up against one of the pines behind the tall bushes, watching the tower.

Watching them.

She opened her mouth to tell Sonic they weren't alone, but then, the shadowy figure moved down. Hidden by the bushes now, it moved. She expected it to walk out into the clearing, towards the tower. Instead, she saw the tip of its ears and head walk out of sight - south. Away from the tower.

Had it given up the chase? Maybe it hadn't seen them in the tower after all?

Blaze narrowed her eyebrows. She wasn't losing it - that wasn't a hallucination. She saw it. It walked away. But why? It had chased them all this way to just walk away?

No. She wasn't buying it.

She stayed put, settling in on the stairs and waiting for Shadow and Silver. Shadow would know what to do - he handled life or death situations better. He would have his gun, too. They would have protection. All of those thoughts raced rampant in her mind - they were the only things she could cling onto anymore as the logic and science she knew had been thrown out the window.

"Blaze?" Sonic asked her, prodding her a little so she would stay awake as her eyes got droopy.

How could she sleep at a time like this? Was she that exhausted from days with little sleep? She'd slept the afternoon away just to be able to stay awake all night, though. Sonic wasn't going to pretend to know what the cat was thinking or how shock was affecting her. He knew how it was affecting him though - he wanted to bolt out of the woods and out of Glace entirely. He wanted to go back to his parents' house and lock the doors until the sun rose. He wanted to never set a foot back into the park ever again.

"We wait. We sit here and wait for Shadow and Silver to come."

Sonic watched her carefully. "You want us to just sit up here and wait while that thing is out there?"

There was a dead look in her eyes - one that said she knew nothing of the world that she thought she did, and didn't know how to solve the problem. It was an entirely new belief developing in her mind while at the same time, breaking her original, logical beliefs into fragments.

How could something like this exist? It wasn't natural. It wasn't even supposed to be real.

And yet she saw it. Sonic saw it. They hadn't imagined it. It was real, it was terrifying, and it was dangerous. Everything in its eyes told her that it was sizing them up. That it had been stalking them, hunting them, and was waiting for the opportune time to attack. It must have thought that their argument was a good time to pounce. But Blaze could only think of one thing:

What if she hadn't found Sonic? What if Sonic had been a little farther ahead or already at the tower?

Would all three men out there have woken up, gone about their day at the tower, only to come back down and find her bloody remains scattered on the trail? No, Sarah would have radioed like the mother-hen she was. But still. Blaze had no doubt that if Sonic hadn't stopped when he did - that if he had been a few more minutes ahead of her - she would have never seen the creature sneaking up on her.

She would have been dead by now.

The realization only made her freeze up more - she couldn't even tell if her heart was beating anymore, it felt so fast.

"Yes, Sonic. That is exactly what we are going to do."

~.~

The campsite at Half Point was bare, but that's what Sarah expected.

Amy and Sarah had booked it to Half Point - despite Sarah not being in the best of shape. She was determined to help, even if she was the only one who had the faintest idea of what might be in the woods. Blaze's radio call didn't ease her mind one bit, and she knew that there was a possibility that Shadow would falter if he saw the beast.

She also knew that Shadow had brought two firearms.

"What are we doing?" Amy tiredly followed her. Her legs were jelly, and she knew they weren't even at the tower yet. "What's the plan?"

Thankfully, there was no run-in with the wolf. But they had found Sonic's backpack in the trail - no doubt where they ran into the wolf. Amy had picked it up in hopes of finding something useful, but she quickly realized that she didn't even know what would be of use at the moment. So, they left the backpack in the trail as a marker, although Sarah knew where she was at.

Where Sonic had dropped his backpack was relatively close to where the girls had stopped to observe the muddy trail, right before they heard the howl. Sarah was glad that they had stopped when they did.

"I'm looking for something." Sarah opened the tent. The sleeping bags were in disarray - the men had clearly grabbed their belongings they needed and left in haste. Sarah could only hope that Shadow had left behind his other gun. He always had his revolver on his belt. It was strong enough to take down a bear - that much Sarah did know.

The sage hedgehog was quick about her snooping.

Just because they hadn't run into the creature on their way up to Half Point, didn't mean that it wasn't close. Wolf prints were abundant near the three-forked area in the trail down below. They hadn't spotted anything on their way to Half Point, but Sarah wasn't going to take chances. Especially when she constantly felt watched now.

Sarah was glad to see the other gun in Shadow's small, extra bag. It normally went into his backpack, but he would take it out once the camp was up. Sarah had seen it a handful of times so she knew what she was looking for. The gun felt heavy in her hand, but she knew how to fire it. The safety was on, but it was loaded. It was supposed to be something of protection to her, she knew that. However, she also had lingering doubts that the bullets would do much to the thing in the woods. No - she tried to erase doubtful ideas. She had to hold onto hope for Blaze and Sonic's sakes. For all of them.

Amy waited outside of the tent, and was rather surprised when Sarah walked out with a gun. "What-What are you doing with that?"

"Protection," Sarah nodded at her in reassurance. "We're going to help them. Shadow has his other gun, but he told me he brought two."

"You knew."

"Yes."

"So…can we kill it?"

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Amy didn't want to seem stupid, but she wasn't sure what buying into Sarah's theory meant. She didn't know the first thing about werewolves and Bigfoot. "Like, do we need silver bullets or something?"

"Amy, I don't know. But it's at least an animal of some kind - so if it bleeds, we can kill it," Sarah shrugged as she retorted. "C'mon. We're so close to the tower - let's go."

"Have you ever been to it yourself?"

"Just once. But we stopped before we got to it completely - Shadow and I. We scouted the area last fall before winter set in. Pictures," Sarah said as she carried on hiking, ready to dig deep and put in some more steps. "C'mon."

"Hm," Amy let out a small whine, not enjoying the silence the woods offered. She had never heard it dead silent before, but the phrasing had new meaning to her now. "Right."

She had to trust Sarah, though. Sonic and Blaze's lives were in danger against some unknown animal, whether it worked under Sarah's theory or not, and that meant they had to do something while they could. Amy wasn't going to sit back and just wait to hear that Sonic got mauled by a monster. No, she was going to stop that before it happened.

But, she didn't want to admit that some morbid curiosity in her wanted to see it. She hadn't seen the picture that Sarah spoke about - but she wanted to know exactly what Sarah saw. What the other rangers saw. And why it rattled someone as stoic as Blaze.

Amy wanted answers in true Amy fashion, but she also wanted her friends safe and to get the hell out of those woods.

Trudging onwards, the two rangers could only guess what they would walk into.

~.~

By the time they reached the clearing, Shadow thought Silver might be going into shock.

He was mumbling to himself, but sometimes words would come out. They had rushed - trying to jog or run as safely as possible to the tower. But that hadn't stopped Silver from panicking. Blaze was in trouble and he knew that it was bad. So bad that whatever it was, he was no match for - and that only panicked him more.

What the hell were they going to be able to do? What the hell was it then if it wasn't a wolf? A bear? Something?

Shadow huffed as quietly as possible. Despite racing to the tower, he had done his best to keep the both of them quiet. Whatever Blaze and Sonic had seen was still out there and clearly hunting. He didn't know who it was hunting, though. He didn't dare radio Blaze to see if it was still around her or Sonic - he didn't want noise.

"Shadow?" Silver managed out in a croak as they entered the clearing - the tower would be visible if it were daylight.

"Yes?" Shadow tried to stay calm. He was going into a situation that he didn't know what to expect, and he wasn't sure if he would know the necessary procedures to get everyone out safely.

"What…What is it?"

He knew what the white hedgehog was asking, but he didn't know the answer. He found the question sort of ridiculous to ask - clearly Shadow wouldn't know if Silver didn't. But, maybe he was supposed to know it.

"I-I don't know." Shadow cringed at the stammer. He could feel Silver shaking beside him.

"Hey!" a yell cut across the clearing and Shadow's fright and uncertainty all turned into annoyance.

They jogged the rest of the way to the tower while Sonic flailed his flashlight. Shadow and Silver were both rather impressed to see Sonic and Blaze up on the stairs of the tower - quite a jump to make. It only made the situation all the more real.

Something had spooked them so badly that they had managed to jump up and grab onto the tower - climbing their way up to the safest spot that could hold their weight. Shadow licked his lips as he realized how dry his throat was.

"Blaze!" Silver rushed towards the tower, stopping at the base. His eyes were wide. "Where - What - How the hell did you two get up there?!" he whispered in a shout.

Shadow caught up with him, giving Sonic a stern look. "You disobeyed my orders - "

"Yeah, look, I don't give a shit about that anymore, or you, or this goddamn place," Sonic spoke fast as he leaned down - the stairs creaking while Blaze looked out of it. She was glad to see Silver and Shadow, but her hands were clutching onto the stair rail like there would be no tomorrow - which was possible. Sonic wasn't holding anything back. "The next time there's a man-eating beast out there, maybe warn everyone working here and close the goddamn park?!"

Sonic was the only one not trying to be quiet. It irked Shadow, but any annoyance was wiped away at the fact that the blue hedgehog was clearly in shock and pissed off. There were tears welling up in his eyes, and it had looked like the both of them had already maybe cried earlier. Maybe while they had been waiting.

Shadow felt immediately guilty.

"Fine, look," Shadow stepped forward. "Come down and we'll figure this out. We'll get you guys out of the park - back to the station."

"About time," Sonic mumbled more to himself as he looked at the ground. "You're gonna have to help."

Silver was trying to get Blaze's attention, but the cat was clearly still upset. Her eyes were red from crying, whether she realized she had been or not. She was sniffling every other breath. She was holding onto the tower and didn't look like she was leaving any time soon. He reached out his hands after setting his pack down. "C'mon, honey. Let's get you down and go home, okay?"

Her eyes met him fully. "Is it gone?"

"What was it, Blaze?" Shadow asked despite Silver's glare. He looked at Sonic a second later. "What was it?" he repeated.

Sonic shook his head and shrugged. He was itching to get off the stairs and out of the park - he didn't give a shit anymore if Shadow and Silver wanted to know what was out there. They could go and figure it out themselves for all he cared. "No idea, some…wolf thing."

"No. Not a wolf," Blaze quietly murmured under her breath. Silver tried to reach for the closest broken stair, grabbing at it barely and trying to coax his girlfriend down. "Not a wolf."

"What was it then?" Shadow wanted to press for answers. He wanted to know what they were dealing with.

"Look, you can go find it yourself if you're so damn curious," Sonic glowered as he reached for Shadow. "Now help me down."

Red eyes glared back. "You're testing my patie-"

"Shadow!" Sonic yelled. There was a sudden quiet over the area, crickets chirped. The blue hedgehog panted. "I. Just. Want. Down. And out of this hell hole."

Shadow opened his mouth to say something but stopped. He wasn't looking at his cadet anymore - he was looking at a person scared out of his mind and in shock. It wasn't the same way Blaze was in shock, but it was shock nonetheless. Sonic needed assistance, and Shadow couldn't just reprimand him now. There was a time and a place, and he figured that this wasn't it.

"Okay…Okay," he calmly replied, reaching up for Sonic. "Silver, give me a hand. We'll get Blaze down next."

Silver moved to the side to focus on getting Sonic down. Blaze wasn't moving still. "How'd you get up there anyway?"

"Well, when something that walked right out of a horror movie starts chasing you," Sonic turned around in order to put his feet down over the edge of the stairs so Shadow and Silver could grab them, "you'd be surprised what your adrenaline will let you do."

Blaze ignored the three men. She was relieved to have Silver and Shadow there - Shadow had his gun. They were safe. Right? She had to assume they were safe now. It was the only thing that would make her get off the tower. She tried to remember to breathe.

"Right," Shadow tried to comfort him as they grabbed his legs and helped him get off the tower. "Blaze? You with us?"

Her eyes were focused on the clearing. She knew it was out there - somewhere. Maybe it was back at the station or maybe it was lurking nearby. Maybe it had left to follow Shadow and Silver - it could be watching them. Waiting. Hunting. She had to be on the lookout, even if her eyes looked more glazed over and unresponsive than anything, her mind was running a mile a second. She had to be prepared for it to come back. She had to warn them.

But no matter how much she wanted to, words weren't forming. Blaze could only glance at Shadow with fright in her eyes and a pleading.

"Okay, okay," Silver whispered to her as he tried to assist Shadow. "Just sit tight, honey. We'll get ya."

Blaze shivered as Sonic left her side - the warmth gone now. Her tail wrapped around her body tightly as she crossed her arms over her chest. She looked back into the dark of the clearing, watching. Shadow could see her tense. He didn't know what they had seen - but he'd get answers when he knew that they were safe back at the station.

For now, he had to hurry and get them off the tower and then out of the woods. But even if Silver and Sonic failed to realize the sudden quiet around them, Shadow and Blaze were all too aware of it. Shadow didn't smell any disgusting smell though - so he hoped they were okay. He hoped that whatever the creature was, it was gone. But there was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind telling him to hurry the hell up as Sonic and Silver seemed to take their time. Something in the way Blaze looked at him told him that they needed to get the hell out of there. Shadow knew that he and Blaze had the most experience out in the park compared to the other two, and he trusted her senses over the others'. So while Blaze stared off behind them, into the darkness, Shadow did his best to remain calm but keep his senses on alert.

After all, they were sitting ducks.

"C'mon," Shadow hurried Sonic along.

After what felt like several minutes, Sonic felt his feet touch solid ground. Normally, he would have probably been happy, but given the circumstances, he'd rather be in a hot air balloon if it meant getting away from the creature. He breathed heavily, bending over with his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. He was shaking now.

Shadow and Silver were trying to coax Blaze down, but that meant she had to look away from the clearing. She would have to turn her back to it, let her feet down, and trust the two rangers to get her down. She swallowed and nodded, slowly turning around.

"Okay, okay," Silver repeated constantly, trying his best to be calm for her. Normally, the roles were reversed, but in the rare times that it was him that had to be the grounded one, he never failed her. "I'm right here, honey."

Shadow did his best to remain silent. Blaze responded well enough to Silver, he didn't need to interrupt. They grabbed her legs as they had done Sonic, and hoisted her similar to how a cheerleader would. Shadow carried some of the weight as Blaze let go of the stairs and wrapped her arms around Silver's neck and quills, burrowing herself into his familiar scent.

The dark hedgehog watched as Blaze's feet grazed the ground but Silver clung onto her just enough that she was lifted. Blaze wasn't about to let go either, though. "Oh, thank Tikal," Silver blessed as he hugged her.

She cried into his shoulder. Silver slowly put her down, waiting for her feet to plant on the ground, but he kept a hold on her.

Shadow stared at them - hoping that Blaze wouldn't be too shaken and that they could get out of here soon. He glanced over at Sonic and walked towards him, clasping a hand on his shoulder as Sonic was still bent over. "You alright?"

"Yeah…" he managed out although his body was shaking. He nodded at Shadow. "Thank you. For showing up. How did you know?" he suddenly raised the question.

"Sarah."

"Oh."

"She heard the howl."

"What?" Blaze sniffled as she turned away from Silver's chest. She still hung onto him, though. "What do you mean?"

"She was outside. Looking for you and Sonic. With…Amy."

"What?!" Sonic lurched up. "What do you mean Amy's out here? That's impossible - I came by myself."

"No. I would say you didn't," Shadow responded calmly. He had to remind himself that now was not the time to lose his temper. "You disobeyed orders and came out here anyway. Ever think Amy was probably tagging along secretly to stop you?"

"Well…No. Damn it," Sonic hissed as he paced away from Shadow. "That does make sense though, she was nowhere to be found when I was saying goodbye to the others. Is she okay? Sarah?"

"Told them to head back to the station. They'll be fine."

"And you believe that?" Sonic scoffed.

"What?" Shadow acted like that was a dumb statement. "Sarah might be hot headed but she is surprisingly non-confrontational. She'll listen."

"Amy sure as hell wouldn't listen to you," Sonic shook his head. Now his heart was racing but for the sudden realization that Amy was probably, most definitely, still out in the woods.

"If they heard the howl and Blaze's radio call, they'll know better and hightail it out of here," Shadow remarked as he grit his teeth. "They'll do as they're told."

"Here's to hoping," Sonic refused to believe it - there was something in the back of his head knowing better. He knew Amy better. He knew that if she was here, then she had every intention of coming to the rescue. "But you don't know Amy like I do. I've known her for years - she will put herself in danger if someone she cares about is in trouble. She won't care about some demon wolf thing."

"Whoa, slow down there," Silver held out a calming hand as if it would slow down Sonic. "Demon wolf thing?"

He felt Blaze shudder against him. "Not a wolf," she whispered.

"What is it, Blaze?" Shadow asked quietly, going closer to the couple.

Sonic watched her. Blaze shook her head. "It's not a wolf. It's not a bear."

"It's not anything that should fucking exist," Sonic hissed out. "It's some…beast."

"There's a logical explanation," Shadow told him.

"No." Blaze stared at him with tear-filled eyes still. Her hair was a mess and her clothes had mud on them. Her ankle felt like hell, but she could walk on it. "It wasn't anything I know, Shadow. It…It shouldn't exist."

Shadow was taken aback for a moment before pointing between Sonic and Blaze. "You're actually agreeing with him, then?"

"Yes. Please. Listen - "

"Okay. Shock is setting in with the both of you, it can be logically explained, try to breathe. We'll get you back to the station - "

"It wasn't normal!" Sonic yelled. His outburst made Blaze fearful. Her eyes darted about their surroundings. "C'mon, Shadow, you have to believe us. We witnessed the same thing at the same time," he motioned to Blaze in a desperate attempt. "It wasn't a normal wolf, it shouldn't exist," he repeated.

"Well, then what was it?" Shadow seethed back.

"I don't know!" Sonic wailed. His chest hurt at this point from trying to catch his breath so much. "I don't know, Shadow! I came out here for a fun time and an enjoyable summer and this is what I get - some freaking wolf thing that stood up and howled after Blaze chewed my ass out because all I wanted to do was prove to you that I could be helpful because I can be but in reality I should have just stayed home this weekend with my parents because they showed up and they would probably love to spend time with all of their kids including me so I should've just stayed home - "

"Sonic!" Shadow was shaking his shoulders at this point. "It's okay. It's alright." Wide red eyes stared into petrified green. "Sonic. Stay with us, okay? I need you to breathe. You're in shock."

"You don't think I don't know that?" Sonic whispered breathlessly, sudden tears welling in his eyes.

"Look…just sit for a minute, okay? Put your head between your knees." Shadow guided him as he did so, and for once, followed orders that night. Sonic was on the ground, head between his knees, and trying to remember to breathe as the events suddenly came whirling back to him.

Silver tilted his head as Shadow remained by Sonic. "Stood?"

"What?"

"He said stood. The wolf stood up?"

Blaze nodded as she sniffled. "It…it was like a wolf, Shadow. It was. But it wasn't. It looked too…aware. Emotional? And then it just…stood. When we noticed it."

"Okay. Maybe it was a bear then - "

"No." Blaze shook her head quickly. "Muzzle was a wolf. Long fur. Paws…like a wolf," she rattled off the details she could remember, but it was the yellow eyes glaring into her soul and the grin-like mouth that kept scarring her memory. "It was terrifying," she whispered.

Shadow gave Silver a look. They both had no idea how to respond to that. Silver shrugged a little. "O-Okay. So…Shadow, what do we do?"

"We get out of here," Shadow spoke matter-of-factly as he stood with Sonic at his feet.

"What if we run into it?" Silver asked.

"I have my gun."

Sonic ignored their words as they talked about a game plan. He stared at his boots before something caught him off guard. He wasn't sure if he was hallucinating it or not, but it sort of smelled like…

Wet dog?

He suddenly had a feeling as his quills shivered and the hair on the back of his neck rose. Sonic figured it was the feeling that prey gets when out in an open field - like when a deer suddenly senses danger and runs away. He slowly turned his head to look to the left of him - towards the clearing where the trail began. He made no sudden movements because he figured if something was there, he could pretend to be a rock or something. Hell, he didn't know.

A small whimper escaped him before he realized.

Shadow glanced down at him to see that Sonic wasn't paying attention to their conversation as they were discussing procedures. Instead, the blue hedgehog was looking to their left. Shadow glanced in the direction, a little annoyed that Sonic wasn't paying attention. At first glance, he didn't see anything in particular so he looked back at Silver and Blaze as Silver trailed off in a sentence.

Wait. Shadow's head snapped back to where Sonic was looking after his brain processed what he just saw.

But it was gone.

Whatever he had seen - or thought he had seen - wasn't there anymore. He cautiously grabbed Sonic by the arm and lifted the blue hedgehog up, still scanning their surroundings. Sonic never made eye contact with him, which only concerned him that something had been there. Silver and Blaze were so silent that Shadow almost wondered if they were even still standing there.

"Did you - "

Silver was cut off from whatever he was about to say by some other noise. A snapping of branches in the brush behind them. Then more around to the right. It was staying just out of the clearing.

"It's circling," Shadow found himself whispering as Sonic clung onto his arm suddenly.

Silver and Blaze crowded closer to the two men. They stood huddled as a group now, hoping to appear larger than whatever was toying with them. Shadow found himself losing his calm as his breath quickened. He could hear his heart pounding.

The rustle of branches and sticks went around to their left now, back where Shadow had thought he'd seen a flash of movement.

"Ugh," Silver whispered as his nose scrunched up. "What is that smell?" he nearly hurled there, but the others appeared to be indifferent to the odor.

"It's here," Blaze managed out barely as her grip on her boyfriend only got tighter. She stared in every direction - as if waiting for a surprise attack from the sides. Just what the hell was it doing? How were they supposed to get out of this situation? Were they just supposed to start running?

Shadow didn't think running was the best option right now. He wanted to see just what Blaze and Sonic had seen. He wanted to face the thing that made him freeze up just by the sound of it.

Any minute now…It'll pop up. He waited impatiently and terrified with the others for something to happen. For something to come barreling out of the brush towards them.

Instead, what filled the night air made their stomachs drop. All turned cold and helpless at the sound. Blaze felt tears well up again as she and Shadow shared a look.

Coyote-like screams echoed around them.