19. Oddity
Sonic - April 2, 2036, 8:50 A.M.
A part of me kept insisting that everything I had just witnessed was yet another nightmare, that I was still in my bed at my home. Hell, I even tried telling myself that the whole situation was just a bad dream from the start. Sally's making breakfast right now, and Manik's trying to wake me up before he leaves for school. Sonia's helping Molly get ready for her school day, too. Mighty and Julie-Su are on duty probably resolving a minor incident or whatever. Tails might be studying for a big exam in one of his courses or constructing something cool. Just another day in Station Square, just another day for Sonic the Hedgehog.
But reality soon kicked in, and I woke up a couple hours later on the cold, hard floor of Tails' attic. My head was still kinda fuzzy from being slammed against the wall, but I could stand up without struggling too much.
"That couldn't have been real. But then…" I glanced around, still in denial. "Why am I here at Tails'?"
Then I soon found Tails lying on the floor in front of me again and rushed towards him.
"Tails! Oh god, you alright?" He didn't answer. I shook him to try to wake him up to no avail. "You have to be okay! You have to be!"
I checked his heartbeat and felt it beating slowly to my relief—a miracle given his severe injuries. Still, he was neither waking up nor was breathing. No matter how hard I nudged him, no matter how loud I shouted, he remained idle and inanimate.
I tried to get my phone out, but realized I didn't have on me. I found it near the steps and hastily went to go grab it. "Don't worry, buddy. I'll call for help now. Please… don't die on me!"
…
The paramedics carried Tails from his bedroom and into the back of the ambulance and then sped off into the distance. I wanted to stay by his side, but the police had me stay behind.
"What happened here? How did you stumble upon this?" Mighty began questioning and took out his notepad.
"Tails had invited me over a couple hours ago to come look at a new gadget he made. When I arrived, I found him lying unconscious on the floor in the attic." I answered. "I tried to call 9-1-1 immediately, but then someone attacked me and I fell unconscious myself."
"Do you remember what attacker looked like?"
I nodded but didn't respond immediately. I looked back at the scene and mentally debated whether or not that girl really was who I thought I saw last night. It shouldn't be possible, but at that point I couldn't convince myself that my eyes were playing tricks on me—this was the second time I saw her. Given all the crazy things I've been through in the past, I couldn't tell myself that it was a mere coincidence. Eventually I lamely coughed out, "She was… a pink hedgehog. She looked young, almost like a teenager. Had a red dress and a pair of boots on."
"A female culprit? Could it be—"
"Oh yeah, it was her. The girl we've been trying to catch. She had that exact voice."
Mighty grunted to himself in frustration, "Damn it! She slipped through our fingers again! Well, at least we finally have a description of her now."
"Is Tails going to be okay?" I asked abruptly. "It wasn't too late to call for help, was it?"
Mighty, with a dismal sigh, muttered, "I don't know… we'll have to hear from the hospital, but from I saw, it doesn't seem likely that he'll survive."
My heart dropped. "No… but you guys were able to get Julie-Su to the hospital, right? Isn't Tails' situation the same as hers?"
"Su is in a coma. The doctors say that she might not make it," He breathed. "If Tails' condition is just as bad then we can't be optimistic and think he'll be fine. I'm sorry to be so upfront, but I don't know how else to put it."
I felt like shrivelling up and dying. This was all my fault. I should have never got Tails involved. Yes, he's an exceptional and reliable friend who's been through a whole lot–I mean, he and I have always risked our lives to help each other out–but there was no way either of us could have seen this coming.
"Look, I can't promise you that your friend will recover, but I'll nonetheless make sure he does. I'm not letting another innocent life die on my watch." Mighty affirmed. "We're doing everything we can to catch the person responsible and find your family. You can still count on us, Sonic."
"I really appreciate the help, Mighty. It's just… I'm scared of what'll happen next." I told him.
"Sonic, we will solve this sooner or later. Don't give up." He said. "Hold on… did you say pink hedgehog?"
I retorted "Yes, I did. Does that remind you of something?"
"Relic, come over here!" Mighty called, and a white cat officer appeared. "Do you remember about the attempted murder case that recently occurred in Dutres?"
Officer Relic replied, "Of course. What about it, sir?"
Piqued, I turned to their conversation more closely. Mighty continued, "Do you recall the suspect's description that the town's police agency gave us?"
"Yes, I believe it was a pink hedgehog girl who was wearing red that day." His colleague answered. Now I was really feeling roused with curiosity.
"My god… this is becoming more complicated…" Mighty grumbled under his breath.
I interjected, "What's going on? Is this girl going after other people, too?"
Mighty returned to me and replied, "It appears so, unfortunately. You may not be the only one being targeted by whoever it is."
"What happened at Dutres?"
"Several days ago, a failed murder attempt of a 17-year-old rabbit girl took place there. The suspect was reported to be a pink hedgehog, too," He started explaining. "As it turns out, not only was the target a visitor from Station Square but her mother was the victim of another murder that occured in their home only a week prior. My team isn't assigned to investigate that case, so we don't have all the precise details."
I was stunned and began wondering to myself, A previous murder… here in Station Square? How have I not heard anything about it? Have I been too preoccupied with my own troubles that the story never reached me until now?
"Who exactly were the victims? What are their names?" I inquired.
"I believe the girl's name is Cream and her mother's was Vanilla. Do either of them sound familiar to you?"
It took me a few moments for me to let his answer sink into my head. And when it finally did, my eyes really widened. "Wha… Cream? She was the one being targeted?"
Mighty just repeated his question, "Are you familiar with those two?"
"Um… yes. Cream is one of my other longtime friends. It's been a pretty long time since we last met and our friendship has been kinda rocky ever since, but I'd say we're still on good terms overall." I let out.
"I see… do you know anyone who may hold any hatred towards her or her mother?"
"Well, no. She and her mother got along with everyone she met but, like I just said, I haven't seen her in awhile so I'm not aware if either of them made any enemies since then. And they're not the kind of people who'd hold any grudges against anyone themselves. What did Cream say about her attacker other than her appearance?"
Mighty shrugged. "Nothing else, as far as we're concerned. The Dutres police provided our investigation team only the description that she gave them. However, they did note that her attacker reportedly looked like a deceased friend of hers. Do you have any idea who that could be?"
That sealed it for me. I told him, "She must be talking about Amy Rose. She died eleven years ago."
"Can you provide us with a picture of her? Or sketch one out?"
"No… I didn't keep any pictures that show her and my drawing skills wouldn't be useful. But I'm sure Cream will definitely be of help if you talk to her. Amy was one of her closest friends after all."
He jotted a few more things down on his notepad before putting it away. "Alright. I'll inform the investigation team responsible for looking into those cases as soon as possible. Thanks for the tip, Sonic."
"No problem, Mighty." I felt glad to see that we were finally making some progress despite what had transpired earlier this morning. "Hey, do you know where Cream is being treated?"
"No, I don't. Even if I did, I wouldn't be legally allowed to give you that kind of information without explicit permission from the proper authorities." Mighty explained.
"But you think there's a connection between my case and Cream's, right? I think that makes me relevant to what she's dealing with as well! We might even uncover something as well."
Mighty looked contemplative for a few seconds before conceding, "I guess you do have a point when you put it like that. Okay, I'll talk to my superiors as well as the team and see what I can do. But I still can't guarantee that I'll be allowed to disclose her location to you if I get the info."
"That's fine by me. I just want to get to the bottom of this quickly." And I damn well hoped I'd find her because I now had one big question: if the culprit is really who I think it is, why would she go after Cream of all people?
