Chapter 3: Fear
The office represented the mere tip of the iceberg of these state of affairs, and yet the salvageable notes enkindled my confusion, rather than remedying it. Some inserts spoke of miners who have all gone mad, crazed with delusions. Except, there was something more than mere symptoms of a disease. All of these delusions collectively revolved around the same motif, regardless of who showed such symptoms, and the miners have seemingly developed disturbing insights, knowing facts about each other which were never in any way relayed between them, and besides interpersonal connections, they all reported being connected to a unifying life force. Speaking of this life force, they only referred to it as such, never as a thing, but neither as one living being with a physical form. Despite the abnormalities, the notes brushed it off as mere hallucinations stemming from the sulphur deposits in the underground. As for myself, I feel inclined to disagree with that notion, as my father most likely did, and which led him to vanish from civilization.
I grabbed what I could utilize to my aid. There was a battery for my flashlight. Excellent find, my flashlight already squeezed out the last bit of juice from one battery, and I didn't bring many of them. There were also some painkillers in one of the drawers. I felt slightly disheartened at the lack of proper aid, but was glad nonetheless that I could at least numb the pain if any harm comes my way. I suppose I wouldn't have time to mend my injuries anyway, and this time I'm basing it on past, or more accurately, near present experience.
Having procured everything that I found beneficial to me, I stepped out of the office. My tension escalated to full-blown anxiety and fear once I took a few steps outside the office. A deep howl echoed through the stone tunnels, which shook with intensity. I felt a tremor in my body, I was gasping for air, my vision convulsed into a dreadful nightmare, my head felt light and sluggish. Luckily, I was able to pull myself together enough to maneuver behind some boxes, peeking around from time to time. This was no situation for some movie stunt, I was alone, weaker than ever, only equipped with a short, lousy hammer. My best chance of getting through anywhere was to stay low and embrace the veil of darkness as my only protection.
I know a lot about myself when it comes to fear. I recall my memories of a camping trip which turned from leisure to anguish after I encountered a shadow lurking near my location. I didn't know what it was that disturbed my sleep, but I kept looking at the ominous shadow, as it passed mere inches from the tree I crouched behind. That was a mistake for which I am fully responsible. I panicked so much, everything in front of my eyes became blurry and distorted, my breathing became loud and I was close to fainting. Not knowing if it was moving towards me or if my eyes were playing tricks, I reflexively let out a loud gasp. Next thing I knew, I wasn't crouching anymore. I stood up without even being aware that I did. If my gasp didn't alert the creature veiled in shadow, the sounds I must have made when I jolted myself up did, and as soon as it darted in my direction, I ran away as fast as possible and kept on running until it hurt to breathe. From that moment, I promised myself that the only attention I would pay to any creatures that wish me harm will be glancing occasionally at it, stopping as soon as I feel the same disorientation as I did that day.
While that night I might have just seen some forest creature, the one creeping through these hallways seemed unnatural. The howling and groaning it made didn't sound like any natural being. It felt so foreign, like it came from a different, shattered reality. I wasn't about to freeze in one place, I had to form a plan to evade it as I proceed to the storage room for further investigation. I moved from box to box, careful not to make any loud sounds. I was about to turn around the corner when I saw it.
I have never seen such a disfigured shape before. Its excruciatingly bent spine held its slender, yet mildly muscular body. It walked on its four, outward bent legs, though the front extremities looked more like arms, or at least they differed from its back extremities. Its hands didn't look like functioning hands, the fingers were just uncomfortably scattered around the wrist, and the one that looked like a thumb was on the opposite site of where it usually sat on a hand. Sharp claws left deep marks in the stone floor as the creature trudged through the mines. Its protruding chest was in contrast with its belly, yet the belly hanged loosely from its body, flailing around as he walked. Its long, rigid, tail was bending towards his back, it looked like its razor sharp tip could penetrate his flesh. It also had pairs of spikes on his back, all long as a sword, bent backwards. The head of the beast was akin to a wolf, but his nuzzle was short and big. The giant fangs came out of his malformed grin, glimmering faintly. Its ears were much like mine, but a bit smaller. The back of its head was like a mane, except it consisted of nothing but long, curved spikes going in every direction. The creature had black, crannied skin, full of blemishes. There were patches of messy white hair on its chest, and on random parts of his body. Apart from the black and white, streaks of read spread through the back of his arms, legs, and on the tips of his head spikes. A red, paralyzing glow emanated from its big, intense eyes.
I have never felt so devoid of sanity the moment I saw him moving in my direction. I pulled myself out before it saw me. Despite its grizzly appearance, its spikes and its colors reminded me of a certain person who was also reported to have gone missing.
I still can't shake off the intensity of the stern look in Shadow The Hedgehog's eyes in the picture my father possessed. Regardless of how much he said, my father insisted that he barely said anything about him. From what I've heard, many got the same impression regarding the volume of his biography. He was artificially created on a space station, where his purpose was to alleviate someone's condition, however the government declared him a threat, and raided the station. He was put into some "suspended animation", and the person who had the condition became collateral in the raid. From then on, he was allies with both sides, but eventually came around and sided with Sonic. They were rivals, mostly because they were similar not just in appearance, but also because of their self-loathing personalities. They both described themselves in hyperboles and superlatives, and competed for merit. They have since relieved themselves of their rivalry and ended up being close friends. Judging from what a bat named Rouge told me, he disappeared earlier than Sonic, about two years before the present day, a year before Sonic disappeared. I am not sure if the monstrosity before me is Shadow, but if he is, then something disturbing, unimaginable must have happened down here and my father is responsible for it.
I didn't have much time to feel disdain towards my father, I had to get away from the monster. Despite his appearance, scent apparently wasn't his strong suit. I let him pass by me, his foamy slobber landing inches from my hiding spot. I quickly but stealthily tiptoed around the corner, got up and sort of hopped away into the darkness. I must have alerted him a bit, since he made inquisitive whimper before going in my direction. Luckily, I managed to get behind some boxes before he reached my last whereabouts. He turned his head quickly in many directions, then growled before turning back. I proceeded to sneak through, keeping myself close to the right wall, before coming to a door labeled "Storage".
There were no doubts about the severity of this situation. Hopefully the source of everything lies close, as I can only imagine what kind of monstrosities will be encounter as I approach further.