9. Suffer
Sonic - March 23, 2036, 5:30 P.M.
The entire trip was a waste of time.
I came to the festival at 4:20 P.M. today, and I didn't noticed any suspicious activity going on for the entire time. The things that were going on around this place are the usual party stuff you'd see in any typical festival: photo booths, inflatables, sports like tennis or basketball, face paint and tattoos, you get the idea. I did see a group of people smoking pot at the entrance, that was pretty much the only illegal thing that was happening (the ban on cannabis isn't really enforced around this city anyway). Other than that, everything seemed completely normal.
I wandered around for probably an hour before leaving the place. At that point, I concluded that I had no reason to be here at all. Nothing special or mysterious was going on as far as I could see, and looking for clues in there was a waste of time and effort. I bet someone was toying with me yesterday by leading me to random places and making me do pointless things. Otherwise, I would at least find some kind of hint of what happened to Sally and Manik.
So now I'm just heading back home. I mean, what was the point of being there? I made zero progress in finding my family. All the time, I thought, Who or what am I looking for? Why am I even here? Is this little trip suppose to help me? And in full honesty… I have no idea.
I actually don't have any hints, clues, or leads to what exactly happened to Sally and Manik. Neither have I nor the police really determined the case to be a kidnapping or an abduction, so it's just a plain old "missing persons" case. In other words, they "just vanished" to them. The only thing I got that could be considered a clue would be that flyer promoting the festival I got yesterday, and that turned out to be a red herring. That girl had told me on the phone that she was stopping by at my house just before the flyer was delivered, so there had to be some connection between those two events.
So what was the reasoning behind all that? It didn't seem like the festival was in any way significant to my current situation. So what was she planning on doing. Is she just trying to distract me from finding my family, or is she playing some despicable joke? Either way, it's infuriating and unforgivable.
Anyway, to make a long story short, I went to the festival and came back home with nothing at all. What a pointless excursion that was.
Bleep-bleep! Bleep-bleep!
My phone went off and I checked the caller ID: "Sonic - XXXXXXXXXX"
Immediately I thought, This strange number… it must be that girl from yesterday!
I quickly answered the call, anticipating some cryptic message. Maybe this time this girl will clear up a few things.
"Hello? This is Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog."
The first thing I heard over the line was someone crying. However it was, she sounded very solemn. I waited 30 seconds before saying, "Hello, who is this?"
"You ignored me…"
"Huh? What did you say?"
"You ignored me again…"
"Ignore? I'm going to ask again - who is this?"
"Of course you would… that was you at the park, wasn't it?"
"What? Yeah, I was at the park."
"I was behind you the whole time… since you arrived…"
"Okay, for the last damn time, who are you?! Did you do something to my wife and son?!"
"Of course… you ignore me all the time…" The girl's voice turned from saddened to angry. Not only that, but it started sounding familiar.
That voice… I've heard that voice before… but where have I heard it from?
"Not only that… but you were always degrading me."
Degrade? Is this person someone I know? Did I hurt her in some way long ago?
"You… you destroyed me… you'll pay…"
Now she's saying that I destroyed her? What the hell is that supposed to mean?!
I yelled into my phone, "Okay, I want answers from you! Who are you?! What are you doing and why?! And what on earth do you want from you?!"
Ignoring my demands, the girl continued, "I'll make you SUFFER… I'll make everyone SUFFER…"
"Oh shut up! Why are you doing this to me?! Again, what did you do to my wife and kid?!"
...
...
...
"You're the evil one. I hate you."
The call ended after the girl made that last comment. She had hung up on me.
"What was that all about?!" I shouted to myself in anger. "What does this all mean?!"
Things are becoming more and more irritatingly confusing as I try to solve this goddamn mystery. I'm not getting any answers, and more questions just pop up as I go. Who is behind all this?! Why is this all happening?!
What am I supposed to do?!
Sonic - March 23, 2036, 11:30 P.M.
I can't sleep. It's been about an hour and a half since I went to bed, and I'm still awake. I just can't help be feel anxious all the time. I'm scared about what's going to happen next. I want my family back. I want to find them now. I've been searching and searching ever since they went missing, but nothing ever comes up. Still, I won't stop until the end. I'm not giving up. That bitch on the the phone earlier better not be hurting my family. I won't let her do as she pleases. I will bring her to justice and make her pay for everything.
I still wonder who that girl is, though. Usually, it wouldn't matter that much to me, but what she said to me got me thinking. She sounded awfully familiar on the phone, but I can't exactly recognize her voice. She seems to have some sort of grudge on me, so I must have met this person sometime in the past. But who could it be? I can barely think up of anyone who would hate me enough to hold a grudge. Eggman's really the only person that I can come up with, but unless he can somehow alter his voice into a girl's he can't possibly be behind this. Besides, that ol' doc isn't that extreme.
So who could it be? Who could hate me so much that she would do these terrible things? I don't know. But finding out who is the least of my problems right now.
Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang. I got out of bed, went downstairs, and walked towards the main entrance.
Who could be visiting me at this time? I wondered. Could it be Sonia again? I wouldn't be surprised if it was her.
I turned on the light outside the front door and looked through the peephole, I couldn't see anything. Suspicious, I called out, "Who's there?", but there was no response. So I unlocked the door and cracked it open, peeked out, and called out again. I still couldn't see if anyone was on the other side and there was still no response, so I fully opened the door.
There was no one at the entrance. Outside, I was met with near-silence. Only the sound of the wind was whispering through the air. I grumbled, "What is this? Some kind of joke?"
Annoyed, I shut the door closed and went back upstairs. I don't know what that was all about, but I seriously don't care enough to investigate.
Perhaps it was best if I did, though. Because what happened next was probably one of the most frightening experiences of my life.
I opened the door to my bedroom, I saw in the right corner of the room a girl in a red, tattered dress standing right in front of me. It's arms dangled like loose rope from its body, and its head was down, obscuring its face. It had pink hair and rotting, pale flesh. Upon seeing it, I trembled in fear. I backed up, readying myself to run, but it heard my footstep and raised its head. It looked directly at me with eyes completely white and devoid of emotion, causing more fear to run through my body.
The girl… that thing - who or whatever it was - she looked incredibly familiar despite her deceased appearance. But it wasn't long before I recognized her.
I couldn't believe it though. It can't be her. It's impossible. She can't possibly be alive! She died years ago!
"A-Amy… is that-" Before I could finish speaking, the girl stretched her arms out like springs, began choking me out, and then lifted my entire body up. It's grip on my neck was strong! I tried to break free, but I couldn't pry her hands off of me.
"Gahk! Please… let go!"
I flailed myself and used all my strength to try to escape, but I couldn't get her to release me.
"A-Amy… if th-that's you, then pl-please… let me go! I-I'm beggin' you, just l-let-"
A sharp pain went through my abdomen. The girl had pierced her other hand into me. I stopped struggling. I couldn't move my body. I felt the blood trickled down. The girl finally released her grip and dropped me.
"Amy… w-why?"
I lied on the floor in a motionless state. My vision is slowly fading, and I'm gradually losing consciousness.
Don't let me die. Please.
