The Blair Witch Project

Chapter 4: Conflict

Gasping, the pink girl sat up from within the tent and hurriedly got her camera on, filming within the darkness. She shook Sonic and Shadow awake just as she had done the other night, wanting them to hear the sounds that were now going on outside tonight. "Guys," she said, nervous. "Whatever it was last night, it sounds like the same thing, you guys."

That same sound from last night penetrated their ears and sounded throughout the whole area. Amy struggled to find her boots in the darkness while Sonic and Shadow reluctantly grabbed their flashlights, turning them on. The pink hedgehog crawled out of the tent and the male hedgehogs followed her, shining their flashlights in front of Amy. Amy used her camera to record in front of her, still hearing the sounds around them.

"Hello?!" she called out.

No response.

"It's freezing out here," stated Shadow, irritated. "Let's just go back to sleep. It's just those damn fools messing around again. Come on."

Sonic nodded his head, tired. "Yeah, Ames. Shadow is right. We should just go back to sleep, okay?"

"Wait, hush," Amy told them, listening out for the sound again. "Do you hear that?"

"I don't hear a damn thing," Shadow fibbed, red eyes narrowing into dangerous slits. His expression was incredibly icy and it seemed he wanted nothing to do with the pink girl at that moment. He was sick of these games and he was sick of the woods. He just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

The eerie noise came again, but this time louder. It caused all three hedgehogs to flinch simultaneously. Amy's heart thudded in her chest painfully as she swiveled around in another direction, still recording with her camera. "Did you hear that, you guys?" she whispered, clearly terrified.

Sonic slowly nodded his head, biting down on his lower lip and not liking the sound of it at all. "I heard it, Amy."

Shadow just sighed, unafraid.

"Hello?!" Amy called out once again. "Is there anybody out there?! Hello!"

Shadow growled in frustration. "Show yourselves!"

The only response that they got was that same sound again, striking their ears from afar. Once again, the sound was all around them and they couldn't determine where exactly it was coming from.

Amy shivered, wrapping one arm around herself. "It's so very cold…"

"I think…it's just a deer," Sonic stated, seeking out the most logical explanation for the sound. "I don't think it's people. Just deer."

"Could be deer," agreed the pink hedgehog, nodding her head in confirmation.

Shadow stared at them both, not believing it for a second. Those sounds did not sound like it was coming from a deer. Why would deer be making those eerie sounds? The black hedgehog wanted to tell them that they were wrong, but he didn't want to scare them, so he kept it to himself.

Suddenly, the noises came again.

"What is that?" Sonic exclaimed, almost freaking out. "Now it doesn't sound like it's coming from a deer! It's coming from all around us! I don't…I don't know what that is!"

"I don't either…" whimpered Amy.

"Show yourself, whoever you are!" Shadow hollered, entirely fed up with all of this.

Amy trembled violently from trepidation and from the intense coldness. It was then that she came to sudden realization of what the noises really sounded like. It made her breath catch in her throat and it made her heart hammer against her chest wildly. She turned to Sonic and Shadow and blinked back tears. "It sounds…it sounds like footsteps!"

"Now that you mention it…it does!" Sonic commented, agreeing with the female.

"Of course their footsteps," remarked Shadow, glaring at them. "It's someone messing with us!"

Nobody said anything after that, but they continued to hear the sounds. It was extremely difficult to sleep that night, but they managed to do so. When Amy woke up in the morning, she found a pile of rocks sitting in front of their tent. It was just like the pile of rocks that they had come across before. Amy's stomach dropped once again and her heart increased in its speed. Shaking, Amy retrieved her camera and started videotaping the pile of rocks. "I-I…I just woke up like…a minute ago and I found this pile of rocks," she stated for the camera. "S-Somebody put them there last night because…because they weren't there yesterday. I don't know who's doing this…"

"There are three of them, Rose," Shadow remarked while walking around early in the morning. He pointed at three other piles. "Two and three." Shadow was chowing down on a granola bar; it was his breakfast.

Sonic the Hedgehog was busy devouring his own breakfast over at the tent. His breakfast consisted of water and a chocolate bar. Sonic longed for a chili dog, but he knew he wouldn't be able to have that just yet. They'd have to get out of the woods first. That was the first thing he was going to do once they got out. He was going to buy himself a bunch of chili dogs and consume them all in one go. Plus, he was never going to do a documentary with Amy again, especially not in the woods either!

"Are you sure they weren't there last night, Amy?" Sonic called from the tent with his mouth full.

Amy glanced at him. "I'm sure."

Sonic didn't look like he believed it. "Hmmm. I don't know about that, Amy."

"What? You don't think this is strange? This is not a coincidence!" Amy blared, throwing up one hand and shaking her head at him in disbelief.

The speedster released a sigh. "I do think this is strange! Everything about this trip is strange, okay? Strange sounds in the night? Us getting lost? Piles of rocks? All of that is strange, Amy! I just…I just think they were there last night!"

Shadow snorted. "Or they put them there last night."

"…it could be the witch," inserted Amy feebly.

Shadow scowled. "Enough about that fable! There is no Blair Witch out here! It's just people messing with us for no damn reason! If I ever come across them, they will have to face my wrath!"

"Look, I don't care about no witch and I don't care about piles of rocks!" Sonic exclaimed, quickly gulping down his water and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "I just want to get back to the car so we can go home!"

"I know, I know…let's get back to the car…" Amy commented quietly, recording the blue hedgehog as she stumbled out of the tent, almost falling to the ground.

"I don't care what it is; obviously we're not wanted here," announced the blue hedgehog, shaking his head from side to side and looking very disturbed. "I want to get back to the car. Right now, Amy."

Amy nodded. "Okay, okay."

"Can we just start walking now?" Shadow questioned, quickly gathering up all of the stuff and packing up everything. He slipped on his black backpack and sniffed, aggravated.

"Yes, yes…"

And so they did.

As they walked, Shadow glanced at Sonic, immediately noticing his uncharacteristic behavior. Usually the blue hedgehog was optimistic and was determined to stay that way, but now he was just gloomy and anxious, nervous. "Are you scared?" Shadow asked him out of the blue as they went along.

"No!" Sonic retorted noisily. "I'm not freaking scared, okay? I'm just tired, I want some real food, and I'm sick of these woods. I'm just done, okay? I'm done!"

"Well…so am I."

Amy could hear them talking from behind her, but she didn't want any part of it. Solemnly, she gazed down at her camera, her hands shaking a little bit. Was this all her fault? They both seemed very angry with her, even Sonic! The pink hedgehog wiped away some tears from her eyes and sniffled. They walked for a little while longer and it was starting to get into the afternoon. Sonic and Shadow had become silent behind her, but she didn't look at them. Amy turned on her camera and started recording.

"Rose!" Shadow exclaimed.

"What?" Amy snapped, halting and turning around to face the black hedgehog.

Shadow stopped in front of her and snatched the camera out of her hands, recording her face and then holding out one of his own hands. "Let me see the map. We've been walking for hours and I still don't see the car anywhere."

Huffing, the pink hedgehog reached into her pocket and expected to feel the map beneath her fingers, but she didn't. Trying not to panic, the girl reached into her other pocket and didn't find it there either. She peered at Shadow's face and her expression hardened. "Did you take it?"

"I didn't take the damn map!" Shadow snarled at her. "Why the hell would I do that?"

Running a hand through her pink quills and forcing herself to calm down, Amy searched her pockets once more and still didn't find the map. Her heart started racing and she felt numb for some reason. Where was the map? What could have possibly happened to it? The pink hedgehog trembled slightly and looked in her pockets for a third time, still coming up with nothing. Shadow was watching her closely, expecting her to find the map, but she never did. The black hedgehog could feel his blood beginning to boil and his hands clutched the camera so hard that he was afraid that he was going to break it in two.

"Are you playing head games with me, Rose? Because if you are, I assure you, you will pay," Shadow seethed through clenched teeth, eyes flashing with choleric rage. "Where the hell is the damn map?!"

Amy covered her face with her hands and inhaled deeply, feeling her stomach drop uncomfortably. The map was gone. It was gone. She had no idea where it was. Sonic trekked over to them and stood beside Shadow, wearing a blank expression. The pink hedgehog couldn't read his eyes either. All of it was emotionless. "I don't have it," she stated dryly, allowing her hands to fall limply at her sides. "We have to keep moving. I don't have the map."

"What the hell do you mean you don't have the map?!" Shadow roared, losing all control. He looked about ready to punch the girl in the face.

Sonic placed a hand upon the black hedgehog's shoulder, trying to calm him down before he did something regrettable. "Shadow, geez, just calm down, alright?" he said, but he sounded very upset too that Amy lost the map.

"I'm serious. I don't have it…" whispered the pink hedgehog, voice broken.

Shadow violently shoved Sonic off of him and lowered the camera a little, not caring what he was recording anymore. He took a step forward and towered over Amy's small form. The girl shrank back in fear, her knees shaking. "Are you freaking serious?! Are you serious, Rose?!"

"I-I don't have the map…o-okay…?" Amy whispered out shakily, still trembling from Shadow's apparent rage.

Sonic released a heavy sigh, pushing Shadow out of the way a little bit so he wouldn't hit the pink hedgehog. "That is so not cool, Amy. That really isn't cool."

"I know…I'm sorry…" Amy looked away from him, ashamed that she had somehow lost the map.

Sonic put on a serious look. "That is the most irresponsible thing you've ever done, Amy…"

Amy whimpered. "I-I know…"

"You really don't have the map, huh?" Shadow snarled at her, about ready to pounce on her and beat her face in. That's how furious he looked. "You don't have the damn map?!"

Amy shook her head. "One of you…one of you has to have the map," she muttered quietly, blinking back tears. "I put it in my pocket. I don't know how it could've gotten lost! It was always with me…I don't understand."

"Impossible," Sonic countered, shaking his head. "I gave the map back to you after we did a map check. Shadow and I always gave you the map back and you were in charge of the map, Amy. Don't try to blame us for this."

Amy seemed to be pondering in frustration. "I know," she commented, folding her arms as the wind blew against them within the silent woods. "And I've always put the map back in the same exact place, so one of you has to have it!"

"You dare to blame us?!" Shadow shouted at her, taking a step towards her. "It's YOUR fault that you lost the map! YOU were in CHARGE of it, Rose! It was your responsibility!"

The pink hedgehog didn't look at him. "Let's just go."

"Which way?" Sonic questioned her, frowning.

Amy randomly picked a direction. "That way."

"We're in the middle of the woods without a map, Amy," remarked Sonic, shaking his head.

"Exactly," added Shadow, still beyond ireful. "We're in the middle of the damn woods! We're just going to continue in the same direction that we've been walking in! We're bound to come across something!"

Sonic shook his head slowly, knowing that wasn't such a great idea, but what else could they do? They didn't have a map anymore. The blue hedgehog put his eyes on a sad Amy Rose and he sighed deeply. "I gave you back the map, Amy."

"Let's just go," Amy mumbled.

The three hedgehog started walking and Shadow shoved the camera back into the pink hedgehog's hands hard, almost knocking the wind out of her. Amy stumbled a little bit and tears filled her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Sonic patted her shoulder, not wanting her to cry and Amy appreciated that, but she still felt stupid for losing the map.

"Why don't we run, Shadow? We're both fast," Sonic suggested, looking at the black hedgehog.

Shadow glared at him. "We can run as fast as we want, but if we don't know where we're going, then it really doesn't matter. Get it?"

"I get it…"

After that, all was silent.

The three individuals strolled along through the woods for another hour or so before they decided to take a break. Sonic was on his back in the dead leaves on the ground, underneath a dead tree. He stared up at the blue sky, past the many crooked tree branches. Amy plopped down upon the ground in front of him, recording him with her camera and Shadow preferred to lean against a tree, eyes closed in deep concentration. Amy sighed sadly and peered down into her lap.

"We need to work together," Sonic said suddenly. "We need to stop blaming each other and we need to work together. We're all in this together. If we work together, we can successfully get out of here, alright guys?"

Amy looked at him. "Okay."

"Hmph. Fine," Shadow stated, opening his eyes. "Our friends should probably be noticing that we didn't come back yet. They should come looking for us soon. I know Rouge and Omega know that I've been missing. I didn't show up for work today. We were supposed to go on a mission tasked by GUN."

"Tails should know that we've been missing too!" Sonic chattered, nodding his head.

"All of our friends!" Amy put in, grinning.

When their conversation was over, the tired trio moved on. They walked through the woods aimlessly, not sure where they were going, but hoping that they would run into something eventually. They came across a wide creek with water running through it. Sonic went over first with his speed and Shadow lazily hobbled across. When Amy got across her boots got wet and so did her socks. Sonic wouldn't stop laughing at her and Shadow just seemed highly amused, obviously thinking that she deserved it. Amy was extremely upset by this.

"You guys are jerks!" Amy screeched, becoming angry. She stomped her foot on the ground while she videotaped the two males. Sonic had his hands on his knees and he was chortling like there was no tomorrow. "You guys are big fat jerks! I hate you guys!"

Sonic smirked at her. "You love me."

"Whatever!"

Shadow rolled his red eyes. "We should keep moving."

"You guys seem to be in a better mood." Amy noticed, frowning at the two of them. "Just tell me, do either of you have the map? Please don't lie to me. Just please tell me. Do you guys have the map or not."

"I told you, I gave it back to you, Amy…" Sonic narrowed his eyes at her accusation.

Amy's frown deepened. "You guys aren't joking, are you?"

"No!"

Shadow shook his head. "No, Rose. This is all on you. Now, hand over the compass."

Muttering something nasty underneath her breath, the pink hedgehog dug into her pocket and pulled out the compass, handing it to him as she continued to record. "We've been screwed the moment we got out here. I bet you didn't even know where we were to begin with, Rose," Shadow grumbled indifferently, peering down at the compass in his palm, trying to figure out which way they should go. "You messed us up from the beginning."

"You're a JERK!"

Sonic sighed loudly and shook his head, walking ahead of them. "Come on, you two. We're supposed to be working together," the blue hedgehog commented.

Amy snatched the compass out of the Ultimate Life Form's hands and started walking after her blue hero. Shadow growled lowly, but followed them.

So, the hedgehogs started walking again, this time not conversing with each other at all. They were all pretty much irritated with each other at the moment. Shadow was thoroughly done with Amy and he wanted nothing more to do with her. Sonic didn't feel like talking and he was slowly losing hope that they would ever get out of the woods. It started to get dark as the day moved into deep evening. Amy breathed heavily as she started recording again with her camera, sniffing. Shadow and Sonic were way up ahead, constantly walking at a fast pace.

Suddenly, something happened.

"Amy, get over here!" Sonic hollered from where he was, staring at something with wide green eyes. "There's all sorts of stuff down here!"

Amy felt her heart racing as she started jogging towards the two other hedgehogs. "What? What kind of stuff?!" she shouted out at them.

"Like food and stuff!"

Confusion colored the pink hedgehog's face as she continued to jog after them. "What?"

"Food and stuff is hanging all around us! Look around you!"

Finally noticing, Amy peered around the area and slowed down to a stop, finally noticing all of the food and stuff hanging from the bare trees within the woods. It was like someone used all these materials to form some kind of eerie symbol. All of the symbols looked the same, like some kind of deformed T, but with two legs at the bottom. Amy felt her heart lurch into her throat and she trembled a little.

"They're all over the place…" trailed Sonic, looking around with his green eyes.

"What the hell are these things?" Shadow wanted to know as he fingered one of the things hanging from the trees. Some of the things were made out of small twigs, but it was clear that someone crafted them and purposely hung them up.

Amy made sure to record all of it, wanting to get that good footage. Her mind was chaotic and her heart was beating against her chest like a rapid drum, but she pushed away her fear to allow herself to become awestruck. Who in the world did this? How long had these things been hanging up like that? Amy videotaped the things for about thirty minutes as it started to get dark outside. She was still desperately trying to figure out what all of this meant and how it happened. She could tell that Sonic and Shadow were doing the same from where they were.

"This is creepy…" chatted Sonic, sounding very uncomfortable. "The creepiest thing I've ever witnessed."

"Can we get out of here now?" Even Shadow was disturbed by this. He wanted nothing to do with any of what was going on here. Something about those things hanging in the trees was very wrong and he got a dark feeling. He felt cold all of a sudden. "Can we go? Now?"

"Yeah, can we go please?" Sonic questioned, wanting to leave as well.

Amy recorded for a few more minutes. "Hold on."

"Amy, you've got enough, alright? Let's go." Sonic went over and looped his arm around the pink hedgehog's, tugging her away from the spookiness.

Amy pulled her arm out of his grasp and continued to film some more, wanting to get all of this on camera. "Wait! Just hold on!"

"You've got enough!" Shadow roared at her, causing her to flinch. "Let's. Get. Out. Of here!"

"Okay, okay, okay!" Amy shot back, putting on a sad expression. "We're leaving right now!" The pink hedgehog started following Sonic and Shadow through the woods once more, still recording as they went.

Once they got as far away from the sight as possible, Sonic seemed to have lost it as he stopped walking, looking around with wild eyes. He looked to the sky and howled, "HELP! HELP! HELP US! PLEASE HELP US!" Sonic totally lost it.

"Sonic, please stop!" Amy wailed; Sonic was scaring her to death. Since when did Sonic cry out for help? That told Amy that he was really frightened.

"Yelling senselessly is not going to get us out of here, Sonic," remarked Shadow, rolling his red eyes at the blue hedgehog. What did Sonic hope to accomplish by hollering like that? The only thing he was doing was attracting unwanted attention.

Sonic's shoulders sagged down and he breathed out a heavy sigh, calming down immediately. A disappointed expression decorated his features and he seemed downcast. Amy walked over and put her arms around him, shutting off her camera. Sonic didn't even push her off. Shadow glanced at the sky and noticed that the sun had set already. It was time to set up camp once again, unfortunately.

"Let's set up camp here…" muttered the black hedgehog. "I think we're far away enough from that…unpleasant sight."

The two hedgehogs agreed.

Amy put up her pink tent and unzipped the opening. She kicked off her boots and sat down in the tent, recording in the darkness with her camera as Shadow turned on a flashlight. Sonic was about to start a fire, but Shadow quickly stopped him.

"No. I don't think we should light a fire," Shadow told him, shaking his head from side to side. "I don't think that's a good idea. So far we've lit two fires and we heard the sounds in the night. The first night we didn't light a fire and nothing happened."

Amy wanted to tell him about the cackling, but decided against it. "Okay. Shadow's right."

"Of course I'm right." Shadow snorted, crossing his arms over his chest in a firm fold. "We light fires, they follow us. So far, I haven't even heard anyone following us."

"You should probably turn that light off too." Sonic motioned toward the flashlight in Shadow's hand. "That could attract them too."

Shadow immediately flipped the switch and the flashlight turned off, putting them in eternal darkness. Sonic fumbled around in the darkness before finding the tent. Well, he actually found Amy since she was sitting in the entrance and he bumped into her. Amy fell backwards onto her back and Sonic fell on top of her. Giggling could be heard from Amy and Sonic groaned in frustration, not liking this position at all. Before Amy could crush him in a hug, Sonic rolled off of her and got into his side of the tent, squished against the female. Shadow shoved himself into the tent next and sat his flashlight down. After that, he zipped the tent up and grumbled something about being squished in a tent with two incompetent hedgehogs.

"Sonic, can we cuddle?" asked Amy, turning around to face him.

Sonic gave her his back. "No, Amy. Just…no."

"Let's just go to sleep," muttered Shadow, laying down on his side and putting his hand underneath his head as a pillow. It didn't work though.

Amy and Sonic agreed and the three hedgehogs were sent into a slumber after a little while.