Author's Note:

Hello everyone and welcome to 'Sunlight', a Horror/Tragedy story set in the Sonic, Ice Age and Silent Hill universes. This idea came to me when I was watching a walkthrough of Naughty Dog's 2013 video game,'The Last of Us' and whilst I was watching it, I thought: "Wouldn't it be cool if a possible human protagonist for a future Sonic game was similar to Ellie and the character Jodie from Quantic Dreams' Beyond: Two Souls?" It is unlikely I know, but that was one of the reasons why my original character came to mind. She starts off rather shy but as the story goes on, she'll become more confident and I hope that you all will like her. :) Anyways, without futherado, feel free to leave your thoughts in a review and I hope you all enjoy Chapter 1! :)

Plot Summary:

Megan Ellis' life changes completely when a series of events occur; her mother is missing, a hole has appeared in her room and an infamous serial killer has made himself known. But when she meets Team Sonic and the Sub Zero Heroes, things slowly get better. Will Megan be able to save her mother ... or die trying?

OC Faceclaim: Ellen Page as Megan Ellis.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic, Ice Age or Silent Hill.

Chapter 1: Prologue

"And now, the news. Yesterday in Ashfield and the woods near Silent Hill, the bodies of five murder victims and a sixth severely wounded female were discovered. The woman was immediately rushed to St. Jerome's Hospital, but died a short time later of her injuries. She had been identified as a Miss Eileen Galvin of Ashfield."

"The last body discovered was found in Room 302 of the South Ashfield Heights apartments. It is believed to be that of its' occupant, Henry Townshend. The body was reportedly disfigured beyond recognition, making identification impossible."

"Once again, we've got late-breaking news... Five unnamed police officers have been found dead, for reasons unknown, in the South Ashfield Heights apartments, along with its superintendent, Mr. Frank Sunderland."

"All other residents of South Ashfield Heights have been rushed to St. Jerome's Hospital, many complaining of severe chest pain. These strange incidents are similar to the ones which occurred in Silent Hill some years ago."

"More news to follow."

...

It was shocking, hearing the news that Eileen was one of the victims who died. I remember I sometimes saw her in the streets, coming back from a weekly shopping trip and we would have a pleasant chat. She was a really lovely woman to talk to and I enjoyed chatting with her, during the times we met. The last time I saw her, she was smiling and slightly blushing at the same time. Apparently she had a slight crush on this dude...Henry Townshend, I think it was. We both didn't know much about him, but I playfully teased her and told Eileen to 'go get him!'.

But now they're both gone. And like they always say, sometimes we have to leave the past behind and move on.

I guess I should probably tell you a little about myself whilst we're still here; my name is Megan Ellis, I'm sixteen years old and to other people, I'm just a normal teenager. But actually I'm not, due to the fact that I'm on the autistic spectrum. This affects how I do things; such as communicating and trying to develop a bond with those my age and younger. Because of that, I spend most of my time alone and isolated. Sure, some of them gave me a chance and I gladly took every one, but it wasn't the same.

Well ... at least I had my parents and family by my side to get through it.

On a brighter note, everyone has things that they are interested in; favourite movie, game, singer or band. My interests were a little different, but the same too. Ever since the age of five, I've been a fan of the Ice Age movie franchise. I've watched them all and bought some of the merchandise and posters, literally covering my entire bedroom with them. Well, I managed to save a large amount of space for a certain video game franchise I like too. Here's a little hint; the main protagonist is a speedy blue hedgehog going by the name of Sonic. He's pretty cool, I have to say. What I'm about to tell you now is a story of what I've been though, two months ago. Memories that are breaking as I remember them; some I keep close to my heart and others I desire to forget. It all started three weeks after hearing the news of Eileen's death. I was working at school and going through life as I normally would.

But after returning home, that was when my life changed completely.

...

I groggily opened my eyes and let out a tired yawn, sitting up in my Ice Age and Sonic covered bed and taking in my surroundings as I did so. My bedroom's walls were painted in a creamy-white colour and draped in posters from my favourite video-game and movie franchises, accompanied by a large number of pictures from my life. I also had a small bookshelf sitting on the right side of my room, a few metres away from my radiator which was placed underneath my window. The floor was coloured in a soft brown fabric, whilst a warm light shone through the window, somehow making the entire room appear as an inviting location.

The first thing I did after climbing out of my bed, was grab my hairbrush and run it through my light brown hair, checking to see if there were any knots present. Thankfully there weren't, which lead to me tying my hair up in my usual ponytail, with my fringe travelling down the right side of my face and stopping a few metres above my right eyebrow. Afterwards, I stripped out of my black and white striped tank top and grey shorts into an outfit which consisted of a long-sleeved white shirt, dark-blue ripped jeans and a pair of black and white converse sneakers. I then grabbed my green and blue nylon backpack (which had a small number of Sonic badges and pins attached to it), slung my arms through the straps and exited my bedroom to find myself walking into the bathroom to sort myself out and take a look at myself before going into the living room.

To be honest, I was feeling a little nervous today. As my time at school was due to finish shortly, the other students and myself were still preparing for our final exams and today, we were given a last chance to get everything on track before the process began. I rested my hands on the porcelain white sink, trying to calm my breathing as I gazed into the glass mirror. Due to my autism, people would often think of me as anti-social. But the truth was that I was shy. Painfully shy. I sometimes told myself to be more outgoing and I would try my best to approach a stranger and strike up a pleasant conversation... But due to the horrific bullying I endured throughout my life, it wouldn't work as I was often teased for being "weird" and "uncool".

But one day, it will work. Just you wait.

After sending a small nervous smile towards my reflection, I released my hands and exited the bathroom to find myself walking down the hallway into the living room, allowing the sounds of a TV programme to greet my ears. The living room had a wide space which was filled with a creamy-white sofa and chair which sat beside each other on the right side of the apartment. A dark-brown table sat a few metres in front of the furniture, with a black and red exercise bike perched in front of four small windows. There was also another creamy-white sofa which sat a few feet away from a large black TV near the exercise bike. The walls were painted in a bright white, whilst the floor was draped in a furry grey fabric. The kitchen on the left side of the apartment looked a little different from the living room, as its' walls were draped in bright white tiles and the wooden floor was a light-brown colour. The counters were painted in a darker shade of grey whilst the wooden shelves and drawers were painted in a darker brown.

"Oh, morning Megan!" A familiar voice greeted my ears happily, influencing me to place my backpack down by the chair, venture into the kitchen and face the owner of the voice who was my mother. She was a really lovely lady in her early forties, looking pleasant in her work outfit; a blue long sleeved shirt with darker jeans and a pair of black boots. Her hair was just like mine, but only a darker shade of brown and not tied up in a ponytail. Just like me, Mum was quite shy but not as much as I was and like I said before, I was really happy to have her in my life.

"Morning Mum!" I replied brightly, sending a huge grin in my mother's direction. "I take it Dad's at work already?"

"Yes, that's right. He's only going to be there for a couple of weeks. But once he's back, we can have some family time." Mum answered, returning my grin as she finished making her lunch for today. But then, Mum's grin faded into a concerned look which lead to her turning to face me. "How are you feeling about your GSCES, though?"

"I'm..." I began, finding myself trailing off for two seconds as I struggled to calm my nerves about the amount of time I had left at my secondary school. "I'm feeling a bit nervous, because I really want to get a good result and achieve the grades I need for what's coming up next year. I'm just ... I'm just hoping that everything's going to be fine, you know?"

Hearing my words, Mum's concerned look was replaced by a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Megan. Your Dad and I believe that you will achieve a positive result and if you don't manage to achieve them, you can always retake your exams." I nodded in agreement happily, just as Mum was instantly reminded of something. "Oh, before I forget! Your dad said that he's going to give you a ring at break time, just to see how you're doing."

"Okay," I chirped in reply, quickly rinsing my water bottle and refilling it with water as I began making my lunch. "Sounds cool to me, thank you for letting me know!"

After I made my cheese sandwiches and put them along with a kit-kat bar, two cheese strings and a red apple into my blue and white lunchbox, I quickly poured some cereal and milk into a bowl, grabbed a spoon from the cutlery section in the counters and placed my lunchbox into my backpack. I then took my breakfast into the living room, sat down on the chair and began eating whilst glancing at the TV every couple of seconds to see what was playing. The TV was currently on the news channel, but a commercial revealing information about Sonic's 25th anniversary next year was playing during a break. Seeing Sonic, Tails, Amy and their friends on television always brought a smile to my face, same goes for the Herd! Just knowing that those two groups were doing well and felt happy, was good. But ... just as I finished my breakfast and was about to show Mum the commercial excitedly, I was suddenly struck by a series of visions.

Looking back on this, it was ... It was almost like a number of flashbacks someone would receive, during their last moments.

I saw a 24-year old man with dark-tanned skin, long dirty blond hair, piercing green eyes and a menacing but calm expression on his cleanly-shaven face. Dried blood caked his hair, face and dark blue coat, making him appear as a threat. I couldn't hear the majority of his words but thanks to my skill in lip-reading, I was able to figure what he was trying to say. And they sent a cold, frightening and uneasy sensation crawling through me.

"You're it. The last of the 21 Sacraments, the Final Sign. The Receiver of Wisdom."

The man's image then morphed into something more unsettling. A woman (or a ghost, I should say) floated a few feet away from me, clad in a dark-red top which exposed her chest, a short skirt and a pair of high heels. Her face was incredibly pale, almost as white as a sheet of paper and fresh blood coated her mouth. Thick black hair covered her eyes and fell down her back, strewn across the floor. Her fingers were also coated with blood and two golden bracelets were wrapped around her wrists. I couldn't tell the emotions she had, but I felt intense and powerful pain beginning to build up in my head. That obviously meant that she had me in her negative books, and was not happy with me. I didn't remember doing something to provoke her, as I never saw her before in my life! But the woman's ghost seemed very interested in inflicting pain on me, during to my crippling headache. What is she going to do, Whatisshegoingtodo?! I gritted my teeth and clenched my eyes shut tightly in order to prevent a tormented scream ripping from my throat, fighting to keep my fear of her hidden.

"Megan, are you okay? ... Hey, hey talk to me. ... Megan!"

I opened my eyes and discovered that the woman's ghost had disappeared. Sitting in her place, was my concerned mother who was gripping my shoulders and shaking me slightly to snap me out of my vision. "Are you okay? What happened?!"

Rubbing my head, I blinked a couple of times to snap myself back to reality before answering. "Y-Y-Yeah! I'm fine...!" I stammered, mentally kicking myself for not revealing the visions I just had. I never saw anything like them before and truth be told, I didn't want to see them again. Plus my mother would probably freak out if I told her about my visions, so I kept them secret. "I can't remember...I got a vision but ... I can't remember what I saw, I'm sorry!" After those words left my mouth, we were left in a moment of silence, thinking the whole thing over. I felt very shaken. I never really believed in ghosts but...maybe the vision I had was trying to tell me that they actually did exist?

Something strange is going on here, I can tell.

Just then, Mum released her hands from my shoulders and pulled herself to her feet, gesturing for me to follow her. "I think we should get going now. But if you remember something today, message me and let me know, okay?"

Upon hearing my mother's words, I nodded. "Y-Yeah, okay, sure. I will do."

After I quickly washed my bowl and spoon, I switched the TV off, grabbed my backpack and slid my arms through the straps. I then followed Mum out of our room, making sure that I had my butterfly keys and light-blue butterfly purse with me. Our room was located on the third floor of the apartment complex so there were only three flights of stairs to descend, which was a little tough occasionally. But once Mum and I exited the building into the pleasant warmth of the sun, my spirits soared back up as I prepared myself for the events which were about to occur.

Okay, first the Subway Station, then King Street Line and bam! North Ashfield Junior High. Let's see how today goes.