CHAPTER 39: Good and Bad
"Okay, now that I wasn't expecting," Sonic said as he looked down. He'd just woke up, and had tried to roll over, only to find that someone was in his way. When he looked, he saw that Amy had apparently gotten lonely in her room the night before and crept into bed beside him. Evidently she was sleeping lightly, because she opened her eyes just a second after Sonic had registered his surprise.
"Morning," she said sleepily. "Been awake long?"
"No," Sonic said. "Just woke up. I wasn't expecting this arrangement, either."
"Well, it was cold last night," Amy said. "Those blankets aren't very thick, either."
"You didn't have to explain anything," Sonic said. "I just said I hadn't been expecting it."
"Okay," Amy said. She sat up in the bed and yawned widely. Sonic sat up after she did, and she turned her head around and kissed him on the cheek before swinging her legs over the right side of the bed and standing up.
"Is the floor cold?" Sonic asked.
"Not really," Amy said. Sonic turned and put his feet on the floor, then gritted his teeth.
"Cold enough for me," he said.
"This coming from a guy who can run on the surface of cold water?" Amy asked jokingly.
"You know, I just thought of something about that," Sonic said thoughtfully. "I'm not the first one to do that. There was this one guy a REALLYlong time ago..."
"You saying you're Jesus?" Amy asked. "Well, some people probably look at you like you are."
"Ah, never mind," Sonic said with a shrug. "I'm not. I'm just an average guy who can beat out the best Olympic sprinter in a footrace without my hands starting to shake."
"Good," Amy said. "Otherwise, I'd never get to spend any time with you, with people following you around everywhere asking if they can lick your shoes or whatever."
"That may be taking it a bit too far," Sonic said. He stood up and stretched, then reached his hands up and popped his neck in both directions.
"I got first dibs on the bathroom," Amy exclaimed, running into the bathroom.
"Hey!" Sonic exclaimed. He tried to get there first, but Amy managed to shut the door before he got to it.
"Now Sonic, it's ladies first!" she called through the door, giggling.
"Fine," Sonic said in mock anger. He opened his door and headed into Amy's room, where he occupied her bathroom and proceeded to drain his lizard. After he was finished, he flushed the toilet and headed back into the hall, where he almost stepped on Tails's foot.
"What are you doing up this early?" Tails asked.
"Good morning to you too," Sonic said. "I just woke up. I found out Amy got lonely last night, so she came to visit. So, why are YOU awake? I'd expect you to still be asleep."
"It's only 6:00," Tails said, yawning. "I have to wake up at this hour all the time, so it's not too unusual for me."
"How'd you know what time it is?" Sonic asked, scratching his head.
"They let me keep my watch," Tails said, holding up his right arm to show off his digital watch.
"Oh," Sonic said. "Man, I didn't realize it was so early. I'm wide awake already."
"Sucks, don't it?" Tails said. "Any ideas as to what we can do until everyone wakes up?"
"Nope." Sonic said. "I think Dr. Martin took his cards back into his room with him, and nothing good comes on TV at this hour."
"Crap," Tails said. At this point, Knuckles's door opened, and he stepped out, followed by Rouge.
"Is this women's invasion day or something?" Sonic asked.
"Amy did the same thing to you?" Knuckles asked with a grin.
"Yeah," Sonic said.
"You're both talking about it like it's a bad thing," Rouge said. "Come on, give us a break. It just means we don't mind getting a little cozy with you. Well, that, and it's warmer with two people as opposed to one." Amy stepped out of Sonic's room at this point.
"Morning, everyone," she said. "Anyone know what time it is?"
"Just a little after 6:00," Tails said.
"What're you doing up?" Knuckles asked.
"I'm used to it," Tails said. "School, you know."
"Ah, okay," Knuckles said.
"What are YOU two doing up?" Tails asked.
"Heard you and Sonic talking, and figured it was late enough in the morning to get up," Rouge said. "We don't have a clock or anything, so we didn't know." All of them turned and looked toward the waiting room as the buzzer sounded. A few seconds later, Dr. Lang stepped in, holding his clipboard.
"Good morning," he said pleasantly. "I didn't realize you were all such early risers."
"I don't know about them, but I'm usually not," Knuckles said. "Are you the only doctor who works the quarantine section?"
"Pretty much, yes," Dr. Lang said.
"So, what are you doing here so early?" Amy asked.
"I came on the off-chance that you were all awake to deliver some good news," Dr. Lang said.
"You're gonna tell us we're having a big breakfast, what?" Tails said. Everyone laughed.
"Not quite," Dr. Lang said. He looked down at his clipboard for a second. "Alright, Sonic, Rouge and Amy are all in perfect health, so you're good to go. Knuckles, you have some weird kind of starch or something in your blood. We're not sure what it is, but we've determined that it's not anything dangerous, so you're good to go as well."
"It's probably some of the spores from those mushrooms I like," Knuckles said. "They're really good when cooked over a nice-size fire."
"Um, okay," Dr. Lang said. "As for Tails... it's rather obvious that he's NOT fine, and the debate over what to do about him was long and fierce. The virus is completely new, and what's worse, the government heard about it. They fully fund this hospital, so it was a matter of time. So, naturally, they want to study it: its short-term effects, life-long effects, and the like."
"Whoa, WHAT?" Tails yelled. "What are you saying, I'm gonna be stuck in a glass jar for the rest of my life?"
"Not a chance in Hell I'll let that happen!" Sonic yelled.
"Not a chance you'll have to," Dr. Lang said, a grin spreading across his face. "It actually occurred to someone in the lab that the mice would've provided an adequate substitute, as well as faster results."
"Thank God," Tails said, sighing at great length. "So, what about me, then? Am I gonna be stuck here even longer?"
"No," Dr. Lang said. "You'll be discharged with your friends, sometime in the next hour or so."
"What about his... mental state?" Sonic asked.
"Not much we can do about it," Dr. Lang said. "If it's going to be a lasting thing, he'll be here a very long time. No, we decided to discharge him and see what happens. Of course, if he bites someone or something, the government will change its mind, and probably put him in one of those 'glass jars'."
"Good," Tails said. "I'd probably die of boredom, or go insane from it and kill myself."
"That's a really pessimistic way of looking at it," Dr. Lang said. "But, I can understand how one would feel that way."
"I'm going to need some sort of note for school or something, too," Tails said.
"Um, that could get a little complicated," Dr. Lang said. "Firstly, it may create a panic. Secondly, it's really an outrageous story, and not many poeple would be likely to believe it."
"And thirdly, if you don't, I'm going to be in a heap of trouble as far as my grades go," Tails said. "A guardian's note won't cut it if you've missed more than a certain number of days. It has to be a doctor's note." Dr. Lang sighed.
"Alright," he said. "I'll write you something out, and we'll see if they believe it or not. If not, there's nothing I can do about it."
"Have Dr. Martin sign it too," Tails suggested. "Maybe they'll be more willing to believe it if there's two signatures."
"Good thinking," Amy commented. "What are the odds of TWO doctors flipping their lids?"
"Thanks, I think," Dr. Lang said dully. "Anyway, I have some things to take care of, so if I were you, I'd be getting ready to leave. The clothes you were wearing when you were admitted will be returned shortly. They were placed in storage for you, so they're in the same state they were in at the time. If they stunk before, they probably still will."
"Great," Rouge said. "If anyone went through my pockets, though, there's gonna be another person admitted before I leave."
"We have very strict rules against that," Dr. Lang assured her. "Also, there's something the hospital director wanted me to ask Tails."
"As long as it's not anything personal, and that you're not gonna ask me to stay longer," Tails said.
"It's neither of the above," Dr. Lang said. "You're the first known person to be infected by this new virus, which makes you the one who discovered it."
"And?" Tails asked.
"Well, the person who discovers a new organism, parasite, virus, or anything of that sort gets naming rights to their discovery," Dr. Lang said. "I'm sure you've heard that before."
"Yeah, I think I heard it somewhere," Tails said. "So what you're saying is, you want me to name it before I leave?"
"Precisely," Dr. Lang said. "You can give it a scientific name, or just give it a conventional one and let some government scientist derive a scientific one from it. It's up to you."
"Uh, give me a minute to think about it," Tails said. "I kinda wasn't expecting this, so I didn't exactly lose sleep trying to think of a decent name."
"Anyone gonna need a ride?" Amy asked.
"Thank God," Tails said, pushing open the front door of the hospital. In his left hand was an envelope, which contained the letter Dr. Lang had written explaining where Tails had been. "I thought we'd never get out of there." Sonic walked out behind him, stretching; Amy was right beside him; Rouge right behind her; and Knuckles still inside fighting with his shoelaces(they'd somehow been tied into a knot).
"What a fitting name you picked," Sonic said. "The Miles Madness."
"Hey, it worked," Tails said. "That's what matters, is that the name works."
"So, where's everyone going?" Amy asked, digging through her purse for her car keys.
"I need to go pick up my car, then I'm headed home," Rouge said.
"I'm going for a little run," Sonic said. "See you guys later." He turned and ran off down the road, leaving behind a dust trail that was quickly blown away by the wind.
"I'm headed for home," Tails said. "Unless you need me to come in today."
"Nah, don't worry about that," Amy said.
"I'll go and ask Knuckles where he's going," Rouge said. She turned and walked back inside.
"Where did you park?" Tails asked.
"The other end of the parking lot," Amy said. "We were really worried about you, you know. I swear, you should've seen Sonic's face. I think he would've killed someone if he thought it would've helped you."
"I'm kind of at a loss for what to say about that," Tails said in a slightly quieter tone of voice.
"All I can really say is, you're lucky to have such a good friend," Amy said. "Not many people do, from what I've heard."
"Guess I had to have some kind of bad luck to balance it out," Tails said. "I'm not looking forward to school."
"It'll get better," Amy said. "I'm sure of it."
"Try saying that after you've been through swirlies, beatings, locker-stuffings, hangings, and that sort of crap," Tails said.
"You've reported all this, right?" Amy asked.
"Yeah," Tails said, kicking at a rock on the ground. It flew across the road and hit the bumper of a parked car. "But it doesn't matter to them. The object of their dumb game is to not get caught. It just makes it more thrilling for them if the risk is greater."
"What are we discussing here?" Rouge asked, stepping back outside.
"Nothing," Tails said. "What did Knuckles say?"
"He said he's going back to his island," Rouge said. "But he said he's gonna walk, since he hasn't gotten any exercise since we checked ourselves in. He's gonna grab some breakfast from the cafeteria, first, though."
"Alright," Amy said, finally pulling her car keys out of her purse. "I guess we're all kind of eager for a little privacy since we've been stuck together for that long, huh?"
"Yeah," Rouge said. "That's kind of our fault, though. If we wanted privacy we probably could've just closed our doors."
"I could do with a little social interaction, personally," Tails said. "I got more privacy than I knew what to do with. I mean, I can understand that you my have been afraid that I might get ticked off and bite you or something, but give me a break. I didn't bite Knuckles, did I?"
"No," Rouge said. "You just knocked him out." Tails chuckled a little from that.
"You're not mad at me for that, are you Rouge?" he asked.
"Nah," Rouge said casually. "That wasn't your fault. I think we've all kind of forgiven you for that one, since we figured out what brought it about."
"Good," Tails said.
"But I'll admit, I'm curious to know exactly what you did to him," Rouge said.
"I just hit him with my tails twice," Tails said. "The first time I knocked him out of bed, then the second time I kinda gave him a left hook in the jaw. That set him into a spin and knocked him off his feet and into the wall. He hit face-first, and the rest is history."
"Wow," Amy remarked. "I guess you weren't kidding when you said those things could hurt."
"Like I said, I can support the weight of three people pretty easily with them," Tails said proudly. "I could probably hold up more than three if I tried, but it obviously wouldn't be as easy to do."
"Maybe if those jerks at school start screwing with you again, you can rearrange their faces with your tails," Amy suggested.
"I'd get suspended," Tails said, shaking his head. "That wouldn't help me any. Aside from that, I'd be stuck sitting at the police station for who knows how long until someone picked me up."
"The police station?" Rouge asked.
"When there's a fight at my school, the offenders are taken to the police station until a parent or guardian picks them up," Tails explained. "I'm not sure what all happens at the police station, but I'm sure there's more than just sitting involved. Anyway, let's get going. We've just been standing here for nearly five minutes."
"Sheesh, that long?" Amy asked. She stepped off the sidewalk toward the other end of the parking lot, followed by Rouge and Tails but they didn't get far before they heard Amy's name.
"Amy!" Big called, running toward them.
"Wow, he's an early riser too?" Rouge asked.
"Guess so," Tails said. "It's not exactly an uncommon thing, really." A couple of seconds later, Big skidded to a stop in front of Amy, Tails and Rouge.
"Good morning," he said.
"Morning, Big," Amy said. "Came by to see us a little early, did you?"
"Well, that IS why I'm in town," Big said. "Did they say you could leave?"
"Yeah," Amy said.
"Great!" Big exclaimed.
"They just had to make sure we weren't sick," Amy said. "Obviously, we weren't. Well, except Tails, but they let him leave anyway."
"What was it, flu?" Big asked.
"Uh, not exactly," Tails said. "It was kind of a new strain."
"Oh," Big said.
"Hey Big, where's Cream?" Amy asked. "I thought she said she'd be coming back with you."
"She told me to go ahead, and she'd catch up in a few minutes," Big said. "I think I woke her up. I know her dad wasn't very happy."
"That's her uncle, Big" Amy said gravely. "I thinkher dad drowned when she was two."
"Oh," Big said once again.
"She's living with her uncle?" Rouge asked. "Why?"
"Well-" Amy began, but she was cut off when they heard Cream's voice call out to them.
"Hello!" the short yet cute rabbit called out, running toward them and waving with her right arm. She had a plastic bag with her as well, which she was holding in her left hand. What struck Amy as odd, though, was that Cream was wearing a white tank top and shorts, instead of one of the dresses she was always wearing. Rouge, Tails and Big overlooked this, as they didn't see Cream nearly as often as Amy did, and didn't realize that she never wore anything except one of her dresses.
"Hi, Cream!" Amy called as Cream ran toward them. In ten seconds, Cream had slowed to a stop just a few feet from her.
"I'm sorry I'm late," she said, panting.
"Late?" Tails repeated. "Shoot, you're early. It's not even 7:30."
"I meant for not being here until a few minutes after Mr. Big," Cream said with a small laugh. "My uncle told me not to invite people home before 10:00 without his permission, and then I had to warm up something to eat before I left."
"Oh," Tails said.
"What's with the sudden change of attire, Cream?" Amy asked. "You never wear anything but a dress."
"While Mr. Big and I were visiting yesterday, my aunt went shopping for new clothes for me," Cream explained. "She said it was time I started wearing something different, for the sake of not looking like the family's too poor to afford new clothes. I didn't agree, but I have to do as I'm told."
"Oh," Amy said. "And they're just now deciding this, why?"
"I don't know," Cream said. "I just know I'd prefer if they had paid it no attention."
"I can imagine," Amy said. Before she could say anything else, a thunderclap from above jerked the group from its conversation.
"We should find your car and get in it before it starts raining," Rouge said.
"Yeah," Amy said, starting once more in the direction of the end of the parking lot. "Even if it won't start up, better to be inside it than out here."
"I agree, more than you know," Cream said, looking upward worriedly and following Amy.
"Uh, isn't he too... stout?" Tails asked, motioning to Big as they walked.
"I have an umbrella," Big said. "I'll be okay."
"There's the car," Amy said, pointing to her red convertible. "Good thing I left the top up."
"Yeah," Rouge said. Cream didn't say anything, but she picked up her pace a little bit, and ran to the car.
"Are the doors unlocked?" she called to Amy.
"No," Amy called back. "Why?"
"I'm a little afraid of storms," Cream confessed. She waited somewhat anxiously for Amy to unlock the driver-side door, then climb in and unlock the other door. As soon as the passenger-side door was open, Cream reached inside, pushed the passenger seat forward, and climbed into the back seat. Amy pulled a lever on her seat and slid it forward, and Tails climbed in behind her, beside Cream. Rouge took the front passenger seat.
"I know the car's gonna stall once it starts raining," Tails said, "but we should see how far we can get before it does. I mean, whatever it is that screws up when it gets wet probably won't get wet the second a raindrop touches the hood of the car."
"Yeah, you're right," Amy said, turning the key in the ignition. The car took a few seconds, but finally started. Amy rolled down her window as Big stepped up beside the car.
"I guess I'll have to walk, huh?" Big asked.
"Sorry Big, but yeah," Amy said. "Do you know where my house is?"
"No," Big said. "But I can find it if you're in the phone book."
"I am," Amy said. "Sorry to do this to you and all, but if something under the hood gets wet, the car won't start, and we'll be stuck here."
"Alright," Big said. "Better get going then."
"Okay, see you later," Amy said. She rolled her window back up, then put the car into gear and backed out of the parking space.
"I hate to just leave him like that," Rouge said. "Can't he take a cab or a bus or something?" Amy shook her head.
"No," she said. "He wouldn't fit. Poor guy."
"He probably gets it all the time," Cream said quietly. "As much as I hate to say it."
"Yeah," Rouge said.
"Hey Cream, what's in the bag?" Amy asked.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Cream exclaimed. She handed the bag to Tails, then said to him, "Amy told me you had said you wanted a triple bacon cheeseburger, so I took a hamburger out of the refrigerator for you this morning, then I put some cheese and bacon on it and microwaved it. It's not a triple cheeseburger, but it's about the same size."
"Thank you," Tails said. "I didn't know you just kept a plate of hamburgers in the fridge."
"We don't, usually," Cream said. "My uncle decided to barbecue last night and we had some left over."
"Oh," Tails said. He pulled the hamburger out of the bag, and found it wrapped in plastic as though by a professional. He unwrapped it, and the scent of the cooked meat invaded his nostrils, causing his mouth to water like it had never watered before. Cream noticed his eyes go wide and that he was drooling in les than two seconds, and giggled.
"If nothing else, I can say for Uncle Jack that he really knows how to barbecue," she said through her giggles.
"Anyone want a bite of this before I devour it?" Tails asked.
"No thanks," Amy said.
"Nah, you go ahead," Rouge said.
"Cream?" Tails asked, offering her a bite.
"No thank you," she said. "I already ate."
"Alright," Tails said. "You guys had your chance." He opened his mouth and took a huge bite of the burger. While it wasn't hot and juicy, there was still something about it that made it unlike any other burger Tails had ever tasted. He hardly chewed the first bite, then bit nearly half the burger off in the next. Cream's eye went wide.
"Wow!" she exclaimed. "You must be hungry!" Tails shook his head, then pointed to the burger and gave a thumbs-up, signifying that it was just a damn good burger.
"Uh oh," Amy said. "It's starting to come down already." The windshield was covered in raindrops, but not enough to force her to turn on the windshield wipers; nevertheless, she did anyway. She then turned to Rouge and asked, "Where's the garage you left your car at, Rouge?"
"Just a couple of blocks from my apartment," Rouge replied. "If you can get us there before this thing stalls, I'll take over."
"Sounds like a plan," Amy said. A few seconds later, she groaned as she saw an accident up ahead. Cream was watching as well, and sighed at length.
"Looks like we're stuck," she said. "Unless everyone manages to ignore their curiousity." This was not to be, as traffic had slowed to a stop just so everyone could gawk at a car that had hit a telephone pole. Five minutes later, they were finally past the scene, but by then the rain had picked up, and was coming down so hard that visibility was drastically reduced.
"Looks like we're stranded," Amy said as she felt her power steering go out. She had to fight the car over to the right shoulder, but she made it. Once she'd gotten the car stopped, she leaned forward and pressed her forehead against the steering wheel.
"What perfect luck," Rouge muttered. "Why can people never be considerate enough to have an accident in the middle of nowhere?"
"Have you got any tools in the trunk, Amy?" Tails asked.
"No," Amy said. "I never figured I'd need them, since I could fit my knowledge of a car's anatomy on the head of a pin."
"Crap," Tails said. "Well, at least the top's not down."
"Yeah," Rouge agreed. "Well, if we've gotta be stuck, might as well make the most of it." She removed her seat belt and reached down to the right side of her seat, then turned a large, circle-shaped, flat object. The back of the seat leaned backward as she turned it, until it was back by about forty-five degrees. Then she leaned back and closed her eyes, hoping to get some sleep.
"Nice thinking," Amy said. "Too bad I can't do the same. I'm wide awake, so I'd never be able to get to sleep. At least, not for several hours." Rouge grinned, but didn't move otherwise.
"It's really coming down hard," Cream said, looking out Amy's window. "I hope Mr. Big will be okay."
"He's a big boy," Amy said. "He can handle himself. Besides, he's got his umbrella."
"Sonic and Knuckles don't," Tails said. "I'm kind of concerned about them."
"They're both better off than us, I think," Amy said.
"Can you call for a tow truck on your cell phone?" Cream asked. Amy pulled her phone out of her purse, than shook her head.
"No signal," she said. "That's the problem with cell phones. They only work when you don't need them."
"This sucks," Tails said, leaning his head on his right shoulder. Several moments passed in silence, save for the sound of the rain, before anyone said anything else.
"So, Cream, where are Cheese and Chocola?" Amy asked.
"They wore themselves out playing last night, so I let them sleep," Cream replied, resting her chin on the palm of her left hand. "Lucky I did, otherwise we'd really be squeezed in here."
"Yeah," Amy said. "They're getting pretty big."
"Uncle Jack says that they eat too much," Cream said. "He just doesn't know that much about raising Chao. I make sure they eat just the right amount."
"Why do you live with your uncle, anyway?" Tails asked. In the front seat, Amy's eyes went wide, and Rouge frowned without moving. Cream hung her head before answering. Tails knew he'd asked the wrong thing right then and there. Before he could say "Never mind" and tell Cream not to answer, she started her sad story...
:Just a short 2 years ago...:
"Oh boy," Vanilla said, looking at the TV. "This is going to be a bad one. I just hope it doesn't actually hit." She put the remote down on the table beside her chair and picked up her glass of tea to take a drink. On the TV was The Weather Channel, and a red bar was displayed across the bottom of the screen. It was labeled "Tornado Warning".
"What's happening, Mom?" Cream asked, walking into the room sleepily. It was nearly 11:00 at night, and the weather outside could not have been worse. Rain was falling in sheets, lightning preceded thunder by less than one second, and it came quite often. The wind was howling loudly, and limbs were blowing off of trees.
"Nothing, sweetie," Vanilla said reassuringly, picking up the remote and muting the TV. "It's just a little bad weather. Go back to bed."
"Why did you mute the TV?" Cream asked.
"So you can hear me better," Vanilla said. She stood up and walked over to Cream. "Come on now, let's go back to bed." At this moment, Cheese and Chocola flew out of Cream's room and started fluttering around in an alarmed manner. They sensed trouble, and both Cream and her mother realized it.
"It's not just bad weather, is it?" Cream asked.
"It's bad weather, but I don't think 'just' is the right word for it," Vanilla said. "I didn't tell you this because I didn't want to worry you, but we're under a tornado warning." No sooner than she said that did the emergency weather sirens outside begin blaring, alerting all of Station Square to the danger outside. Also, the wind began howling even louder than before, and the sound of tree limbs snapping ceased as it was replaced with that of a tree being uprooted.
"Mom, I'm scared!" Cream cried, pressing against Vanilla and hugging her close. Cheese and Chocola weren't as concerned with hugging someone as they were with getting into the living room closet.
"It's okay, sweetie," Vanilla called, trying to sound reassuring. But this is hard to do when one has to yell to be heard over the wind, and even more so when the person being addressed is pressed up against the person speaking. Suddenly, two windows in the kitchen exploded inward from the force of the wind, and various items, mostly paper and the like, began blowing around in the kitchen. Vanilla reached down and grabbed Cream's hand, then pulled her toward the closet in which Cheese and Chocola had sought refuge.
It's not okay! Cream thought. We're all going to be blown away! She finally moved her feet and ran into the closet, then sat down and hugged her two Chao close. Vanilla didn't sit down inside the closet immediately; rather, she reached up onto the shelf above and pulled down a comforter and several pillows. These she placed down beside Cream, then she climbed into the closet herself, pulled the door shut, and then threw her arm around Cream, who had started to cry.
"It's okay now," she said. "Don't worry."
"What if it comes here?" Cream asked through her tears. Vanilla didn't answer for lack of something soothing to say that Cream was likely to believe.
"CHAO!" Chocola cried out as the whole house gave a violent shudder. Over the course of the next few seconds, more windows exploded around the house, indicating that the wind had gotten even stronger. For the next two minutes, wind was all that the occupants of the closet heard. Finally, Vanilla heard the sound that she feared most: an endless roar outside, growing louder every second.
Oh no! she thought. Please God, save us all! She still had her presence of mind, despite her extreme fear, which was on the border of panic. The only thing keeping her from crossing that border was Cream, and the thought that nothing must happen to her no matter what the cost. Cream, in the meantime, had figured out what the pillows were for. She had picked one up and was using it to cover her head, which she had pressed against those of her Chao, who were sitting in her lap, pressed against her. Vanilla grabbed the comforter and quickly unfolded it, then threw it over herself and Cream. She didn't see how any flying glass would get into the closet, but she had to be sure. Then she pulled Cream as close as possible and threw more pillows over her. Outside, the uprooted tree gave a loud crack, which rang out almost as loudly as the roar of the twister that was breaking it apart. The house was shaking nonstop by this point, and the sounds of everything, inside and out, blowing around had become almost deafening. It became clear to Vanilla at that point that the twister was more powerful than the TV had indicated, and that the house was not likely to hold up to its immense strength.
"Mom, look!" Cream cried, pointing to the crack under the closet door. Aside from particles of dust, sand, and the like, water was blowing in under the door. This meant that either part of the roof had blown off and the twister hadn't hit directly, or it was a waterspout. This was not an entirely ludicrous idea, despite the fact that the house was, of course, built on land.
"This doesn't matter right now, but maybe it formed over the lake!" Vanilla called out. "Don't worry, it won't get high enough to drown in!" Over the course of the next minute or so, no one said anything else. They just huddled together and hoped for the best. At one point, the house gave such a violent shakethat Cream and Vanilla just knew it was fixing to be torn apart. To their great surprise and relief, it wasn't. However, the walls of the closet had cracked, and bits had been torn away so that very small debris was blown in. Within another minute, the sound of the twister had lessened considerably, and the wind wasn't as violent.
"I think it's leaving," Cream said in a quiet voice. Even though the wind was still howling somewhat, Vanilla heard her.
"I think so too," she said. "Everything's going to be okay now." Over the course of five more minutes, the sounds outside gradually became less and less, until thunder and rain were all that was to be heard.
"It's gone," Cream said. "Le'ts get out of here." Vanilla nodded and reached for the doorknob, but when the turned it and pushed, the door wouldn't budge. She had to stand up and put all of her strength into pushing before the door would move. However, a more-than-slight problem arose: when the door moved, the remains of the roof above began to creak threateningly.
Once I open this door, the whole thing's going to go, Vanilla thought. I'll have to make sure Cream gets out before then.
"What's wrong, Mom?" Cream asked nervously.
"Cream, sweetie, I want you to listen to me very, very carefully," Vanilla said. "As soon as this door is open wide enough for you to squeeze through, I want you to get out of the closet. I mean it. Do you understand me?"
"Yes Mom, but-" Cream began.
"No buts," Vanilla said. "As soon as you can fit through, I want you out of here." At this point, Cream began to understand what her mother was saying, and tears began to flow once more. She didn't try to argue, though. Vanilla began to push on the door again, causing more unpleasant noise from above. Cheese and Chocola managed to squeeze themselves through the door at this point, so Cream stood up.
"I think I can get through now," she said, trying not to cry. Vanilla stepped back from the door, and Cream pressed her head against the crack between the door and its unstable frame. She managed to get her head through, but she needed just a little more room to make it the rest of the way through. Looking around, Cream was amazed to see that the closet was the only part of the living room left.
"Are you stuck?" Vanilla asked. Cream nodded, and her mother pushed against the door a bit more. It slid open that small amount Cream needed, and she squeezed through. Just as she made it out, the entire closet caved in.
"MOM!" Cream cried. She ran to the huge pile of debris that only moments ago had been her shelter from the storm, and began to pull away as much as she could. Cheese and Chocola flew up to help her, but she had other plans. She looked at them and cried, "Go find help, quickly!" Both Chao nodded and flew off as fast as they could toward the city.
Around twenty minutes later, Cheese returned with a truckload of firemen, who saw the heap of debris and immediately understood what the frantic Chao had been trying to get across for nearly five minutes before giving up and leading them there. Chocola, however, was nowhere to be seen. (He had separated from Cheese to cover more ground, and hadn't found anyone.)
"Alright boys, get to it!" the driver ordered, getting out. All the firemen in and on the truck jumped to the ground and ran toward the heap, which, despite her best efforts, Cream had been unable to clear away. In fact, she had been able to move only a very small amount because of its weight.
"CHAO!" Cheese cried out to Cream. She turned and saw that help had finally arrived. (She hadn't noticed at first, due to how frantic she was.)
"Please help me!" she cried to the firemen as they approached. "My mother's trapped under the rubble!"
"Get digging!" the driver ordered the other men. "Ross, check her for injuries!"
"Yes sir!" one of the men said. He took Cream by the hand and walked her back to the truck, where he asked "Are you injured in any way?"
"No sir," Cream said sadly. "Just my mom. She's been trapped ever since a few minutes after it hit."
"Jesus," Ross said. "That's about twenty minutes ago."
"It didn't feel that long," Cream said, tears coming to her eyes again.
"I can hardly believe it," Ross said, taking his helmet off and running his head over his head. "We had about three or four twisters hit all over the city, and one out here, and the one out here did more damage than any of the others. It blows my mind."
"Please don't saying anything about blowing," Cream said.
"Sorry," Ross apologized.
"Hey Ross!" one of the other men called. "Over here!"
"Stay here," Ross told Cream, putting his helmet back on. He ran to the heap, where a few of the men were kneeling, looking at the same place. He spoke to the driver for a few seconds, then ran back to the truck.
"What's going on?" Cream asked.
"Would you go around to the other side of the truck and grab one of those blankets for me?" Ross asked, ignoring Cream's question. "They're inside one of the side panels."
"Alright," Cream said. She jumped down and walked around to the other side of the truck. As she walked, Ross reached into the truck and picked up the radio.
"9-8-7-4 to B-1," he said, keeping his voice low.
"Go ahead 9-8-7-4," the voice on the other end said.
"You'll have to forgive me for keeping my voice down, but there's a child here, and I don't want her to hear me," Ross said quietly. "B-1, we have one confirmed death."
:Back in the present...:
By this point, Cream was in tears, and couldn't even say a word through her sobs. Amy and Rouge were both close to tears themselves, and Tails, while not as close as they were, felt the pain of guilt stabbing him in the heart. When Cream hugged him close, the guilt overtook him worse than before, and he found himself ready to bleed if he thought it would help.
"I-I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I shouldn't have asked you-"
"You're damn right you shouldn't have!" Rouge said rather sharply, cutting him off.
"If you want to throw me out and make me walk home, I won't try and stop you," Tails said guiltily.
"Well, you didn't know any better, so I guess it's what anyone would have done," Rouge said, sighing at length. "No use picking on you for it now."
"And now I thinkwe can add a parking ticket to the whole thing," Amy said, looking in her mirror. Rouge and Tails turned around and looked, and saw that a police car had pulled up behind them. A policeman wearing a plastic poncho was already approaching the car. Amy turned the key enough to turn the car's electrical system on, then rolled her window down enough to be able to talk.
"You guys broke down?" the policeman asked when he reached the window.
"Yeah," Amy said. "Something's wrong with my engine. When this part of it gets wet, it won't work and the car stalls. I'm not sure what it is, though."
"You need me to call a towtruck or something?" the policeman asked.
"That'd be nice," Amy said. "It'd be nice if we could get a ride, too."
"I'm not on duty right now, so I should be able to take care of that for you," the policeman said. "Let me just call a towtruck for you, and I'll take you wherever it is you're headed."
Finally. Sorry about the long delay on this chapter, but for a while I had some trouble sitting down and typing out more than a few lines at a time. Plus, it's a frickin' long chapter. Proofreading it is gonna take me a while... Anyway, I warned you that there would be angst in the last chapter's summary, and you got it. Cream losing her mom may or may not have been what you were expecting, but it falls under the category of emotional pain, and that's what angst is to me. Well, review it plz. I hope you like it. Oh yeah, in case you're curious, that part about water flowing under the door DID matter. Vanilla wasn't suffocated by the weight of the debris. She drowned.
Alright, this part wasn't in the original draft of this chapter, which is why I'm separating it from the rest of the chapter epilogue. When I uploaded, a lot of the punctuation disappeared, so I had to go through and re-puncuate a lot of it. If there's an unusual amount of commas and such missing, that's why.