Chapter 25: Ashfield Subway Station

After going through the door, we were confronted by industrial, grey and lifeless surroundings. Due to having lived in Soleanna for the majority of my life, I was certainly startled as I had never seen a place look this terrible.

Well, Eggman's base in White Acropolis was unsettling, but still...

I kept a close eye on Megan as we made our way across the steel floors to another door which waited for us. At first, my friends pondered over what we should do, whether to go through the door and face the horrors ahead of us, or just turn around and head back. Meanwhile, I located a set of saint medallions sitting on a nearby shelf, white lights gleaming as if to show their presence.

"Hey," I murmured, interrupting the conversation. "I just saw something that can help us, come on."

They walked over to me, indicating that they were interested in what I had to offer. Manny, Sid, Diego and the possums frowned in thought as Megan, Sonic and Peaches all nodded for me to explain.

"What is it, Elise?" The teenage mammoth asked.

I gave them an appreciative smile. "Well, I found these saint medallions here. From what I heard, these can help avoid falling under a victim ghost's pain aura and heal a set of hauntings in a particular location. There's not very many right now, but I suggest we all wear one, just in case."

After those words left my mouth, I handed Megan and Sonic one each, which they both put around their necks. I was about to offer the Herd as well but shockingly, they all declined the saint medallions.

"No thanks," Manny said, nodding in acknowledgement. "We'll be fine."

"We can handle ourselves alright against those things!" Granny put in, enthusiastically.

"Thank you." Ellie added, smiling gratefully. "But, I think we'll be okay."

Alright, then...

Suddenly, a click echoed, making us turn round to face the door. Megan stood there, holding the same key she used to unlock the hopsital's exit earlier. Apparently she was able to use it for that one too.

"Nice one, kiddo." Sonic said, giving her a thumbs up.

My young friend grinned as she returned the gesture. "Thanks."

She then turned the knob and one by one, we entered the next room. Darkness swept over the hallway, leading to the main area of an incredibly large subway station. Other than a low hum coming from below, there was just a silence which set the atmosphere and sent icy chills crawling down our spines.

At least, Megan has a source of light to guide us through here...

"I don't like this," The sloth shuddered, as we continued walking. "Why can't we be back home?!"

"Relax, Sid." Diego said, reassuring him. "We'll be out of here, soon."

Meanwhile, Sonic was inspecting a far away area where the escalator stood with Megan, Peaches and Louis in tow. I watched from a distance, keeping a firm grip on my knife, in case if the man happened to be in the area too.

I have to protect my friends... Especially that young and innocent girl...

As I scanned the room, I located a different weapon waiting for me on the grey-white floor, a loaded revolver. A small smile creased my cheeks as I went over to pick it up. Besides the knife Megan gave me, this was the only other weapon I used. When I met up with Sonic back in Soleanna, we ventured across the city only to find ourselves in a particular town which brought back horrible memories. To tell the truth, I couldn't remember where my last one went. But at least, I now have a new firearm.

"Ten or eleven bullets will do," I murmured. "I suppose there will be more to find."

E-S

I felt really uneasy being in dark locations, such as this.

To be honest, I didn't even know why I ended up here. Maybe the rumours about the South Ashfield Heights apartments were actually true, not nonsense like I first thought of it.

Mate, you really need to get used to this type of thing...

I couldn't help but let my thoughts drift to my friends; Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Shadow. Even though I knew they were okay, I pondered over what they were doing right now. Were they still at the hospital? Or were they suddenly knocked out and trapped here with us? Regardless, I knew that my friends could handle themselves in a threatening situation.

"Hey Louis! Megan!" Peaches shouted, snapping me back to reality. "Come and look at this!"

Letting my instincts take over, I found myself walking to where the kid, mammoth and molehog were. "What is it?"

"We just found a new weapon." She replied, brightly. "Nothing too serious."

That's good then. Elise and kiddo need all of the weapons they can get...

"It looks like some kind of sword." Louis murmured, as Elise's young friend picked it up. "I don't know exactly what the name means, but still..."

A small smile creased my cheeks as I watched them examine it patiently. It was almost like ... an awesome moment where kids can be kids, not in a dark and freaky place such as these worlds we were trapped in.

"Hey guys!" Crash called out. "We should probably check out the turnstiles, we might find something there too!"

Ah, I wouldn't really head there... But, we'll do it anyways...

The kid gave me a look as if to say she thought it was a bad idea too. We both kinda suspected that something was going to jump out and scare us when we eventually went there, one of those freaky monsters or a victim ghost. After a moment of silence, I gave my signature thumbs up and a wink to reassure her that it was gonna be fine.

"Okay," She murmured, smiling back at me.

We then all went down to the central area to join up with Elise, Peaches and the rest of the gang. I couldn't help but chuckle when I noticed that she had a new weapon of her own; the same one she used during her adventure with me, back when I first moved in.

"I see you found your gun." I said. "Nice one."

Hearing this, Elise quickly took a look at her revolver before answering. "Well, at least I don't have to get in close to attack enemies now."

Soon afterwards, Manny came up and asked us if we were ready to get going. We all responded with the same answer, fully prepared for anything that was waiting for us ahead.

"Well then, let's move." The mammoth replied, setting off towards the turnstiles with us in tow.

Okay then, hopefully this is gonna turn out good...