11. Lost
Cream - March 27, 2036, 2:30 P.M.
The bell rang, signalling the end of the school day. I expressed gratitude to the nurse and left the office. Outside, Tails was waiting for me while holding my bookbag.
"Are you alright? It wasn't too serious, was it?" He asked concerningly. I had hurt my wrist last period.
"Oh no, it isn't anything major," I told him, taking my bag. "The nurse said that my wrist should heal in a few days. I just need to be careful of what I do or I might worsen it."
Tails became relieved by my response. "That doesn't sound too awful. I was kinda worried that it might have been more than a sprain." He said as we started to leave the building.
"Don't worry about it. I've had worse before." I assured him. He's gotten a little concerned over me lately. I guess all the stuff that's been going on has been unnerving him just as has been to me. "Anyways, I have to go to Blaze's place today. I promised her that I'd come over to help move in and set up her new home."
"Where does she live?"
"She lives in a town somewhere outside Casinopolis. Dutres, I think it was called. I don't remember exactly where she lives, but I have her address saved on my phone."
"Sounds like it's pretty far away from here. I can give you a ride if you need one."
"No, but thanks for offering. I'll take a bus to the city and then walk to her home. It shouldn't take too long."
"Alright, if you say so. Just stay safe on the way, okay?"
"I'll be fine. I'll see you later, Tails."
After we got out, I took off and headed for the bus stop near the city hall building. When I arrived there, I saw the bus taking in the last of the passengers, so I hurriedly called out to the driver to wait and hopped onto the bus and got into one of the seats in the back row. Thank goodness I didn't miss it. I wouldn't want to be late when I get to Blaze's house.
...
About half an hour later, I finally reached my destination. I double-checked Blaze's address from my phone, got off the bus, and made my through the city. As I walked on, I started glanced around the place, viewing its features and qualities.
Dutres was quite a bustling place, but it's not as crowded or loud as Station Square. It's kind of surprising that Blaze would decide to move in such a community since she's more into calmer places. I've heard that Dutres was relatively poor compared to the other communities around it, but to me, the city infrastructure doesn't appear too bad - I mean, the buildings and houses I've passed by so far looked okay in condition and quality.
"Um… Excuse me?" I felt someone tapping on my hip. I turn around and looked down to see a young fox boy, probably around 9 or 10 years old. He seemed distressed.
"Hi there. What's the matter?" I greeted.
"I… I got lost… I can't find my parents!" He explained. "Have you seen them? My mom has red fur and orange eyes, and my dad has tan fur and green eyes."
"I'm sorry, but I don't think I've seen them anywhere." I told him. "Where did you last see them?"
"They were with me in front of the supermarket over there." He pointed. "While we were leaving, I lost my pet chao, Cina, wandered away somewhere. I tried to find for her, but then I got lost myself!"
The boy started to tear up. I crouched down to his level and told him, "Don't worry, I'll help you find your parents and your chao!"
The boy looked up. "Really? You'll help?" He whimpered.
"Of course! I can't let you wander around on your own." I assured him. "Something bad could happen to you, and your parents wouldn't like that."
He wiped away his tears and gushed "Thank you very much, miss… uh… "
"My name's Cream. You can call me just that. What's yours?"
"It's Snow."
"Alright then, Snow. Let's start searching at the market you were at. Maybe your parents or your chao aren't too far off from there."
Snow nodded and then we went on our way together. I hope we find his mom and dad soon. I'm not going to leave a lost kid all alone, but I don't want to keep Blaze waiting for too long. If too much time passes and we still can't find them, I'll take Snow to a police station.
…
Well, it's been thirty-five minutes, and Snow and I haven't found his parents or his chao yet. We've looked everywhere - not just the supermarket, but the entire block and other nearby blocks, too. We also questioned the people around us, but to no avail. By now, Snow was becoming more and more despairing.
"Cream, when will we find my parents and Cina?" He tensed, holding my hand tightly. "We've been looking all over, but they're nowhere!"
I was getting kinda worrisome myself. I don't know about Cina, and I doubt that his parents just left Snow behind. But I hope that they haven't left the area or city.
"Don't give up, Snow. I'm sure we'll find everyone eventually before the end of the day." I reassured him. "Listen, since we've been searching around here for so long, we'll go to a police station and see if they can help. Does that sound alright?"
Snow agreed, replying "okay". I stopped by and asked someone who was passing by for directions to the nearest station. He pointed us to the way to the Dutres Police Department, and we thanked him for his assistance.
"Do you think we'll find them at the police station?" Snow asked.
"That's possible. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if we met up with them there." I replied.
"I hope they are. I want to see them and go home!"
I smirked. "You really like your family, don't you Snow?"
"My mom and dad are the best! They're very generous and mean the whole world to me! Cina's also fun to play with! I don't know what I'd do without them." He exclaimed. "Do you like your parents, too, Cream?"
I paused for a long moment and then answered, "Of course I do." I didn't say any more.
I stepped on something on the sidewalk. I looked down and saw a shiny and white object on the ground. Curious, I picked it up for a closer examination and it broke up into two pieces.
"What is that, Cream?" Snow asked.
"I'm not sure what it is. I think it's a bracelet." I told him.
And, aside from it being split in half, it looked like a valuable one. Both halves were decorated in gems, with a prominent blue spinel fitted into the center of both parts.
"It must be expensive," Snow noted. "Do you think someone lost it?"
"Probably. No one would just throw something this luxurious away." I remarked, still examining the bracelet. I gained a feeling a deja vu with the object. For some reason, I felt as if it had seen it before, though I couldn't quite put my finger on where or when I could have seen it.
I checked for any engravings that might've been included on the bracelet, but found nothing special or unique. There was nothing on it that would definitely refresh my memory.
"Cream, can we go now?"
"Oh, sorry! Got a little carried away there. We'll move on."
Not sure about what to do with it, I stored the bracelet in one of my backpack's pocket for the time being. If the police station has a spot where I can store or turn in lost property, I'll give it to them there.
The weather got colder than it was earlier today. The sky was getting cloudier almost as if it was going to rain. I hoped that it wouldn't anytime soon because I didn't have my jacket with me today, and Snow didn't seem like he was prepared for rain, either. Even the wind was pretty strong as well. It blew in on us hard, making us feel more chilled than we already were.
Snow nuzzled closer to me and mumbled, "I wish I had my sweatshirt on. It's getting colder."
"I agree. Spring just arrived, but it still feels like winter."
"Yeah… Huh? What's that on your hand, Cream?"
"What? What's the matter?"
"There's something red on your glove. What is it?"
I was puzzled at first, but then I realized what he meant: that strange "r" that's been on my glove for the past week. It never vanished since it first appeared no matter what I did to get rid of it, so in the end I decided to leave it alone. After all, it was never actually bothersome in any way.
"Oh, you mean this…?" When I lifted my hand to give Snow a better view, I was surprised. The "r" wasn't lowercase anymore - it was now uppercase and was in a much larger font size. It was also bleeding through the cloth more.
How did I not notice this earlier?
"It's, umm, it's nothing. Someone did it as a joke," I claimed. Or at least I hope it was done as a joke. Not wanting to discuss it any further, I decided to change the subject and quickly said, "Anyway, you have talked much about your pet chao. What is she like, Snow?"
"Cina's orange except for the top of her head where it's red. She's also got black eyes and yellow wings." Snow described.
"Does she have or wear anything that might stand out? As in easier to spot?"
"Oh, I almost forgot! She wears a bright-pink bell around her all the time!"
"A bell? What is shaped liked?"
"It was shaped like a regular bell. It's small, but it gives off a pretty big sound when it rings. Almost-"
Before Snow could finish his sentence, we heard an high-pitched, audible dinging noise echo from the alley we were passing by. We turned our heads and noticed that the sound that was coming through a wide-open doorway from a building to the right of the alley.
"That's it! That's the sound it makes! Cina must be in there, or at least nearby!" Snow proclaimed, and he dashed into the alley to follow the source of the noise.
"Wait, Snow!" I called out. But by then, Snow had already entered the building.
Oh geez, do I have to go in and find him in that dirty place?
I didn't have much of a choice, so I wound up following Snow. I went through a stairwell and into what appeared to be a lobby. Inside, the place was dark, damp and clearly abandoned. It was dusty and crumbling, and the windows were either cracked or boarded up with planks. Since the lights were out, it was dark inside, but fortunately not pitch-black since it was still afternoon (despite the cloudy weather). From what I can observe, this place was once an inn or a hostel.
"Snow! Come back here!" I called again. I went from room to room, meticulously searching for Snow, using my phone as a flashlight to navigate through the dark. I searched the entire first floor, but found no one.
"It's not safe to wander about by yourself! Snow?" I listened carefully for Snow, but I got no response. I entered the stairwell and heard the dinging sound coming from the floor above.
Without delay, I rushed up the stairs, entered one of the rooms, and found Snow with an orange chao beside him.
"There you are, Snow!" I chimed in.
"Look, Cream! I found Cina! I knew she was in here!" He turned to me, showing his chao.
"Snow, I don't want you running off on your own like that! You could've gotten yourself in trouble!" I rebuked. "That's how you got lost in the first place, remember?"
Snow quailed and apologized, "I-I'm sorry, Cream. I just got excited after hearing Cina."
I sighed. "Just be more careful, okay?" I told him softly. "I don't want you to get hurt or anything. Come on, let's get out of here now."
Snow latched onto my hand, and I saw Cina cling onto his back. "So this is your chao?" I asked as we went down the stairs.
"Yeah, that's Cina. She's gets shy whenever people she doesn't know are around her, but she gets very friendly once she gets to know you." Snow replied as Cina peered from behind him.
"She seems nice. What was she doing here, though?"
"I don't know. She enjoys wandering around places on her own sometimes, but it's sort of weird that she'd end up in a place like this."
When we reached the bottom of the staircase, something odd caught my eye: I saw someone or something dash through my line of sight and into the lobby. It was too dark and the thing was moving too fast for me to discern what it was.
"What was that?" I said to myself.
"What was what? What happened, Cream?" Snow asked.
"Didn't you see that? Something went passed us and went in there."
Snow shook his head. "I didn't see anything."
But whatever passed by caught must have grabbed Cina's attention, and without warning she began to pursue it.
"Wait, Cina! Where are you going? I don't want to lose you again!" Snow shouted. "Cream, we have to go after her!"
Before I could reply, Snow chased after her, leaving me no choice but to follow them. The chase (fortunately) didn't last long, and we caught up to her in under a minute.
"I got you, Cina! Don't fly away from me again!" Snow yelped as he grabbed her. "Why would do that? You've been worrying me a lot today!"
Snow tried to talk some sense into his chao, but I felt wary of Cina's behavior. She saw what I saw back at the stairwell, and that confirmed that I wasn't crazy or hallucinating back there. I looked in the direction she was facing, which was at the inn's register. There was nothing unusual or suspicious that I saw, but I heard something from behind the counter. It sounded like a young girl quietly mumbling something to herself in a very solemn tone. I couldn't exactly make out what she was uttering - assuming that it truly was a girl speaking - but it sounded like she was saying "please stop" repeatedly. She also sounded very familiar, yet I couldn't quite put my finger on it. It wasn't just déjà vu - I truly felt extremely familiarised by whoever or whatever was making those sounds.
I was tempted to check behind the register. I wanted to find out who that person was. I thought, maybe she's in trouble. Maybe she's lost as well and needs help. But at the same time I was too scared to do so. For some odd reason, severe apprehension consumed my body simply from viewing the register and listening to thing behind it. Thoughts of paranoia and danger filled my mind. What if the person was somehow a dangerous individual, someone who we shouldn't be around with? What if she attacks or harms me if I try to go up to her?
But I had to find out. No, I needed to find out. If someone is seriously distressed over there, I'm not going to just ignore her. I hate seeing people being in agony. So without further delay, I steadily approached the counter with caution, making sure I don't make my footsteps too loud. If there really was a person over there, then I wouldn't want to startle or alarm her. Once I got close enough, I slowly peered over the counter.
What I glanced at was a strange entity: it looked like a person crouching down or some kind of large blob that was entirely black. My anxiety marginally rose when I saw the thing.
Don't be too anxious, Cream. There's nothing to be scared of, I tried calming myself. It's probably black only because there's barely any light in here. It's nothing abnormal. You're-
Before I could make a better observation, a pair hands grasped onto me and covered my mouth, preventing me from making any noise.
"What the fuck is she doing here?" A man bellowed.
Frightened, I tried to break free, but whoever was restraining me had an iron grip. He dragged me out of the building and violently threw me down on ground.
"Ow!" I cried out. As I struggled to sit up straight, I looked up to see a green hedgehog wearing red sunglasses and leather jacket glaring down on me.
"Looks like you and your kid here are in for some serious trouble, girl." He snarled.
