Author's Note:

Hey everyone! Well, this is it! The epilogue! Man, what a ride this was. :) I am thinking about continuing on with Megan, Sonic and the other characters, so hopefully something will come up soon. In the meantime, I'd like to say a BIG thank you to those who read and reviewed, your support definitely means a lot! :)

Feel free to tell me your thoughts and I'll see you all again with the next project! :D

Chapter 54: Epilogue

S-M

Well, here we are. Two months have passed since my family and I survived and escaped from the otherworlds.

It was all over the newspapers for a while; rumours of a serial killer lurking in the shadows, Elise being found dead in Soleanna, Cybil being discovered back in Lakeside Amusement Park and Sonic's attack in Room 303 of our apartment complex. I thought they'd mention Maria but ... I guess the police probably didn't go to that part of Silent Hill. The Herd and I were only mentioned in passing, but we weren't bothered about it. Everyone seemed to be focused on the murders and the attack, wanting to know when Sonic was going to be released from St. Jerome's Hospital and if he was doing okay. That was fine with us.

We were just glad that everyone made it out unscathed. But ... But some of us had scars, meaning they had become traumatised and heavily affected by the ordeal.

I'm one of those people.

Every night, I sometimes find myself waking up and screaming due to the nightmares I get. They often involve me being forced to watch every member of my family die at Sullivan's hands and relive the worst moments of our journey. I tell myself that he's not coming back. But due to a certain message he carved into me, I wasn't so sure. Whenever I look at my reflection, I will always see that small message as a reminder of what happened back in those otherworlds. Due to my frantic attempts to escape, there was also a 'C' inserted slightly above the message itself.

I try to keep my mind off the carving by doing the things that any teenager would do; socialise with friends (in my case, Team Sonic and the Herd), fire up my console and play some of Sonic's games with my family, anything. But memories of the fight I had with Sullivan and the events that occurred prior, still flash in my head from time to time. On the bright side, my loved ones are doing well. They sometimes wake up screaming from nightmares, some which are similar to my own. I do what I can to help my parents, Sonic's group and Manny's family get back on their feet, and they return the favour. We've grown a lot closer since the ordeal. I sometimes join my idols on their adventures and assist them with any threats that jump in their way. The possibility of Eggman returning is one of those problems. But if he does decide to show up, we'll be ready for him! Sonic's been fighting him for 24 years now. I just know that our blue friend will beat Baldy McNose Hair again, if the latter reveals a new plan to take over the world.

Who knows what's going to happen in the future? The possibilities are endless, after all...

After my family and I got released from the hospital, I got a really pleasant surprise from Sonic. He told me that during our trip through the otherworlds, he was wearing Chip's bracelet and allowed me to get a close look at it. I knew that my blue friend often wore it to remember all the positive times he shared with Chip during their adventure. I'll admit, I sometimes allow one of my favourite scenes from 'Unleashed' drift into my thoughts, which involves the two play-fighting over a dumpling in Chun-Nan and ending with the blue blur's smaller friend getting his head stuck in a pot. That part was so funny! I laughed so hard when I first watched it, nearly as hard as my blue friend did! I told him about it, and he couldn't help but grin at the memory. It was really nice to find out that Sonic still wears Chip's bracelet to remember him. I ... I guess in that way, the latter was tagging along with us in the otherworlds, helping Sonic back in St. Jerome's Hospital before we all met and assisting us whenever we found ourselves in a negative situation.

If that was the case ... thank you Chip!

Mum and Dad recently revealed their plans to move out of Silver Lake and live somewhere far away from Ashfield. Surprisingly, Team Sonic were also planning to move out and they decided to join us. We've been looking at different cities and writing down the things we liked about them. There ... There is one city in particular that caught my eye for some reason. It's called Stilwater and I heard that a lot of things had happened there 4 years prior. I remember hearing a news report, revealing the details of a sudden boat explosion. Several people, including a well-known figure were found dead, but the police did find a woman who was in a coma. I don't know why that city caught my eye though. When I told my parents about it, they searched for it on the internet and revealed that it seemed to be a good place to put on our list. We also found another apartment complex on the outskirts of Ashfield called 'Daisy Villa'. That didn't seem too bad to us either.

But despite the event that occurred in Stilwater 4 years back, it looked like a pretty cool place.

Sonic's team and I still keep in touch with the Herd. It didn't take long for us to find them as the hole in my bedroom was still there, when we returned from St. Jerome's. My loved ones and I were very thankful that Switchback Cove was the only place we could visit through the hole, as we loathed the thought of going back to the otherworlds. But on a brighter note, Shira and Diego recently told us that they were expecting! I couldn't be more happier for them! 9 months from now, they'll have mini versions of themselves running around and playing in the snow! Sid, Peaches and Louis were just as pumped as I was, even Manny. As the former would say: "We'll have an even bigger and happier herd!".

I honestly don't blame them for being excited! I'm really happy for those guys...

At first, I was reluctant to return to my school due to the bullying I endured before. But because of the fact that I was due to enter college next month, I convinced myself to go back for a short while. Most of the teachers were aware of the ordeal I went through, and believed us when my parents and I told them what happened. We thought that they wouldn't, but ... I guess we were in for a little surprise. The members of staff who taught my class then passed the information onto the other students and explained about my condition and the difficulties I go through because of it. I wasn't expecting them to become more friendly towards me as it was a complete shock! Even some of the girls who assaulted me on that fateful day began treating me kindly, apologising for their actions. I was slightly uncomfortable to begin with, and I still am. But ... I hope that we could move past those events and possibly become friends in the future. I guess there's no harm in trying, right?

I know I've changed quite a bit, due to the traumatic ordeal my family and I went through. I still have shades of the shy and quiet girl I once was, but I've become more confident and willing to take risks. Instead of having no friends whatsoever, I now have a group of friends who I socialise with every chance I get. I venture outside a lot more than how I used to, and I've become more mature and slightly happier. But deep down ... I still suffer from my severe survivors' guilt. I sometimes wish I could go back in time and prevent Elise, Maria and Cybil from dying at the hands of Sullivan. They didn't deserve to die at all! I feel like ... I feel like I deserved it. Maybe things would have been different if I did something sooner to save them! I could have acted faster and prevented their deaths from occurring!

I think ... due to what happened, I've become a little distant to new people I cross paths with. The reason why is that ... I developed a fear of being forced to relive the moments I watched my first three friends die and being alone. I've become more hardened. I am still a bit of a softie as I love spending time with everyone I know but ... I don't want to go through the same thing again, losing those I hold close to my heart. I ... I don't think I can handle watching people I meet die anymore. I can't dwell on the ordeal for too long though. I know bad things happen, but we can pick ourselves up again and keep going. Just like Sonic and his friends would say; Live through negative events, and move on. Because there are much more positive things to look forward to in life.

But I will never forget the first four friends I made, especially Eileen and Elise. Even though the latter and I didn't get the chance to interact a lot, she ... she was like an older sister to me...

"Hey Megan, how did your results go?!"

I nearly jumped out of my skin when Sonic's cheerful voice rang out as he entered my room. Clad in a pair of light-blue jeans, a purple t-shirt with a black long-sleeved shirt underneath and my converse sneakers, I had recently gotten my exam results back and managed to achieve positive grades in English, Drama, Maths and Science! The other subjects were a little difficult, but I was glad that I had the right number of grades to get into any of the courses that were available at Ashfield's college. Mum and Dad were just as excited as I was, instantly telling our other relatives the good news as soon as we got home.

"Whoops!" Sonic yelped, chuckling when he noticed that I jumped. "Sorry kiddo, I didn't mean to scare you."

"Don't worry, it's okay." I responded, sending a huge grin in his direction. "Um, my results are pretty good actually! I managed to get the grades I need for the course at the college I'm going to!"

"Niiiiice!" My blue friend said, giving me a thumbs-up. "So, do you know where you're going next month?"

"I think it's the college in North Ashfield." I answered honestly. "I don't know when we're all moving but for now, it's gonna be there."

"Oh right," Sonic replied, happily. "I don't know either, but I'm hoping it's going to be soon. I can't wait to get out there and go on adventures! There's literally so many places we can visit!"

I gave a cheerful giggle, upon hearing the blue blur's words. Oh Sonic, you awesome hedgehog... "I don't blame you there, mate. Don't let me or anyone else stop you from doing what you do best, though."

"Hey, as long as the wind blows, I'll be running. Don't you worry about that."

As the two of us continued chatting, thoughts on the future drifted into my head. I was about to enter the next chapter of my life, and anything could happen! I could make new friends, meet someone special, visit exciting places and find a job I liked. The possibilities were endless. I know this may be the end of my story, but ... I honestly feel like I have a couple more pages I need to fill in. Team Sonic and the Herd would venture out into the world and do the things they love. And, that was what I was going to do!

Bring it on world! I'm ready for what ever challenges you're willing to throw at me! You want to know why?

Because, I will live life to the fullest in the time I have ... and smile.