Hi hi! So this next installment of the story took me a while to finish up but is a bit longer and may be written in a slightly different manner. It focuses more on Amy's observations and a lot on appearances. Hopefully it will achieve your satisfaction and peak your interest! I'd also like to thank everyone who left a review for your lovely feedback, I always love hearing what you guys think of it so please leave a review if you get the chance.

Here you go!

Chapter Six: Hearing Me

I woke to find the sun shining down upon my face, the rays warming up my chilled body as I got out of bed. I was wearing the white t-shirt that the nurse had given me at the hospital yesterday and a pair of pajama bottoms that Sonia had lent me for the night. I didn't feel tired much after I woke up, which was unusual for me. As awkward as my living situation was with Sonic and Sonia, they did their best to make my stay there as comfortable as possible. They had to be the kindest people I'd ever met; especially after what I'd been through over the last decade.

I stretched my arms and yawned. I stood up and hobbled to my crutches. I then opened the door to the bedroom I was staying in and stepped out into the hall expecting to hear voices echoing through the apartment but found it to be strangely quiet. I glanced at a clock that hung on the wall of the hallway adjacent to the bedroom. It read 7:30 A.M. I was slightly surprised to find that I had awoken that early. Realizing that the others in the apartment were most likely still asleep, I hopped with my crutches as silently as I could down the hallway to my left, away from the other two bedrooms and slipped into the small bathroom. I closed the door slowly, careful not to make much of a disturbance. I then turned on the tap and let a small trickle of water flow through. I placed my hand underneath to test the temperature and pulled back instantly at the icy cold texture. I turned the second tap for warmer water and tested it again. Once the water was in my preference, I splashed a little of it in my face. The water still had a sensation of coolness but it felt smooth on my skin. I then looked up at the mirror in front of me. I wasn't entirely pleased with my appearance. I realized that in the period I'd been found, nobody felt it necessary to comment on how pale my skin was, how dark my eyes looked, how hollow my face had been, how tangled my hair was or how weak my expression looked. Not one person had thought of telling me how broken I looked or thought that I might care about how I came off to people. I ran a hand through my hair which wasn't very long; it went about three inches past my shoulders. I saw and elastic on the counter next to the sink and tied my hair up in a small ponytail. It looked a little less messy that way. The scar along my cheek was pretty faded but still very apparent in my eyes. I felt along it with my finger, gently pressing on it. I didn't want to look anymore so I finished up in the bathroom, washed my hands and grabbed my crutches again. I walked out into the hallway again and made my way to the kitchen table. There was a box of cereal and an empty bowl with a spoon set aside on the table. Next to it was a note.

Good Morning Amy,

I know you're an early riser and assumed that you'd get up ahead of Sonic. I had to go into work early this morning to make u some of the hours I missed yesterday when I came home early. I won't be home until later today and you'll probably have gone to the police station already so I just wanted to wish you good luck on that. I'll see you later,

Sonia

P.S. - The milk is in the fridge.

I smiled down at the note. She really was one of the sweetest people ever. I hobbled to the fridge and took out the milk. I poured the cereal and milk in the bowl and put the carton back in the fridge. I sat down and began to eat. It took me a while to finish it because I was chewing very slowly. I didn't have much of an appetite that morning. I was nervous for the questions at the police station later on that day and wasn't particularly looking forward to talking about what I'd been through for the last ten years but I realized it was the only way I could help the other girls who were still prisoners of that monster. I was eight o'clock by the time I put my bowl in the sink and rinsed it. I attempted reaching down and opening the dish washer but found it difficult to bend down that far without applying pressure to my ankle. I felt bad leaving the bowl there but I didn't really have much of a choice. I took hold of my crutches and proceeded back to the bedroom. There wasn't much else to do but get ready for the police meeting so I just got dressed. I closed the door and took off the pajama bottoms. I put on the tan colored pants that the nurse had given me the day before. They were tightly fitted but comfortable. I took the pullover hoodie she had given me as well and put that on. It was a dark raspberry color and was made of fleece.

It was still a bit cold outside since it was nearing the end of March but most of the snow had disappeared already so it didn't really require a full jacket. I remembered that I didn't have any socks so I glanced around the room for a drawer that might have some. I hobbled over to nearest dresser and opened the first drawer. It was mostly empty with only a few pairs of old socks left.

It's the not the most ideal, but it'll have to do...

I hopped back over to the bed and sat down. I tried on the pair of socks but found them to be too big for my small feet. I then remembered that I was in a guy's room and took them off. I put them back in the drawer and sat back down on the bed. I laid back and sighed. I didn't want to wear shoes without socks again because it was uncomfortable but it was either that or the nuisance of floppy socks. I sat up from the bed and grabbed the crutches. My arms were just beginning to get sore from using them. I made my way to the door but just as I opened the door, Sonic was standing in front of it.

I wobbled back a bit from surprise but caught myself.

"G-good morning! I didn't mean to startle you, I was just about to knock and see if you were up."

"It's alright, I've been up for a while."

"Oh, really? Sorry, I'll get back on my sleep schedule when I go back to work. I usually wake up earlier than this but lately, I didn't have to."

"Oh, right. So uh, when are we going to the police station?"

"Oh well, whenever I guess. Do you want breakfast?"

"I already ate. Sonia left some out for me before you got up."

"Oh okay. By the way, I brought up your bag of stuff when I got home last night."

"Oh, really? Where is it?"

"It's right by the door. I'll get it for you-"

"That's fine. I need to get used to using these."

With that, I carried myself to the door and bent over to pick up the bag. I tried my best to ignore the pain that was pressing down on my ankle as I did so.

Maybe it would have been smarter to just let him get it for me.

With the bag hanging from my arm, I dragged myself over to the couch in the living room of the apartment. There it was. A small, black canvas bag filled with a muddy black long-sleeve shirt and a filthy pair of torn and tattered jeans. This was all I had to show for the last ten years of my life. I sighed a little too loudly and Sonic heard.

"What's up, Amy? You sound tired."

"No, everything's fine. It's just... what's in this bag is a big reminder of all I missed out on while I was captured; everything we missed out on."

"Don't worry Amy. Everything will turn out, I promise."

He knelt down in front of me and stared deep into my eyes with a smile on his face. I stared back and managed a genuine looking smile, although deep down I wasn't as confident about it as I looked. I looked back down at the bag sitting in my lap. Sonic got up and walked over to the counter when the toaster popped. When I saw he had his back turned to me, I opened the bag wider and reached inside. I searched through it until I took hold of what I was looking for. I pulled out the folded piece of paper I wanted to find and opened it slowly. Then I heard footsteps coming towards me so I quickly folded it back up and shoved it in my pants pocket.

"So before we leave today, Sonia's left me a checklist of stuff to go and get so I'll be out for a while. Oh and if she give it to you yesterday, there's a box of stuff for you; I think it's in her room, so you can go check that out while I'm out."

"Oh okay."

He finished the last of his breakfast and grabbed his jacket off the coat rack.

"Well, I'm off. See you later, Amy."

"Bye."

The second he closed the door, I took hold of my crutches and traveled as fast as I could to Sonia's bedroom. The door was closed when I got there, so I was nervous about invading her room. It felt wrong to just walk in but since nobody was there, I assumed it was the only thing I could do. I turned the doorknob slowly and creaked open the door. I let go and let it swing open until it nudged the wall. I stepped inside and looked around. It was slightly bigger than the room I was staying in and the walls were painted bright pink, while my room was painted and deep green. Her double bed was set against the far wall, away from the door and her closet was opposite it. A box lay on the floor against the bed so I walked over to it. I sat down on the bed and picked up the box. It was lighter than I expected it to be so the note on top of it slipped off when I picked it up. I rested the box upon the bed and reached down to pick up the note. I liked the way Sonia left notes for everything. This is what it read.

Dear Amy,

Since you were to be arriving on Wednesday, I took the time to pick up a few things that you'll need while staying here. As a woman myself, I know there are certain things that you can't really ask a guy to buy so I got them without Sonic knowing. In the box you'll find some necessities that are common and others that are well a little more 'girl business'. Have a nice day!

Love, Sonia

I laughed a little and found myself smiling after reading it. It was very sweet of her to do these things for me and I genuinely appreciated it. I set my crutches against the bed, picked up the pox and hopped out of the room, down the hall and into my room. I set box down on my bed and plopped down tiredly on it. Hopping on one leg took a lot of energy out of someone. I got up once again and hopped back to get my crutches. Once I got them, I went back to the room to see what was in the box. I set the box on my lap and opened it up. Inside was the general necessities like a toothbrush, a hairbrush and comb, a bottle of shampoo, and finally some socks and underwear. I lifted them out of the box one by one and discovered underneath was a smaller box that had something written across it in marker.

Here are the things that are a little more private. Hope you don't mind that I picked up some.

P.S. – I guessed your size! Hope I got it right.

I was now curious so I tore open the box to find two bras inside as well as a box of tampons. I started laughing as I remembered how embarrassed I was about when I saw these. I remembered how comforting Kitty was when I was crying because I thought I was dying. Kitty told me that she complained about it to him and demanded that he keep us supplied since we were under his capture. I really missed all the girls and I began to go back into a guilty mindset. I even started to wonder out loud.

"What did I do? I left you all behind! What did I do!? Am I as bad as her? Am I worse than Feathers? Was running worse than giving up? Oh God, what did I do? I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry..."

I was sobbing on my bed uncontrollably. For the first time since I entered my freedom, I was so happy I was alone and that nobody was around to witness this. I hadn't lied about Feathers, I just hadn't told the whole truth. I sat up and wiped my face. Then I pulled out the piece of paper from my pocket. I had stolen it before I left. It was the one thing I needed to bring with me so I shove it in my jeans pocket before I ran. I had to make sure she was never forgotten. I unfolded it and like I had countless times, I read it once more over.

I'm sorry girls. I tried. I really did. But I can't take it anymore. This place, this life, this man... I just can't go on anymore. I don't want to leave you behind, but I don't think I even have a choice anymore. I don't think that my mind is going to let me take this anymore.

I wish, God I wish there was a way out. An easy way to just let go of it all, a way we could go together. But I can't think of one. I really want to just run away from all of this. Why did it all have to happen? Why couldn't we have just lived on in our normal lives like before we were taken? My God, I can't even remember what normal is anymore. I feel like even though my body is still on this planet, my soul drifted away a long time ago.

If there is anything I could say to you right now, girls, it would be:

"I love you"

I'm sorry but my time has come. Goodbye.

Forever yours,

Feathers

I couldn't keep the tears from pouring down my face as I finished reading it. It was the last thing she had ever said to us; and it wasn't even directly from her. I read it in her voice; she always had a sweet voice and she used to sing to us. Everyone was devastated when we found out what she did. We found the note neatly tucked underneath her pillow in our room. We never actually spoke about it until we devised that plan. That stupid plan that would have never worked. I think I was only thinking that to convinced myself that running wasn't that bad an idea. But they probably all hated me. They must have thought I was filth for abandoning them.

Maybe I am filth...

I curled up into a ball on the bed and cried my heart out.

xXx

"Hey Amy, I'm back!"

I jumped up at the sound of the front door slamming. I wiped my face and looked around. I found the letter next to me with a few teardrops on it. I quickly folded it back up and put it in my pocket. I then put everything except a pair of socks, back into the box and closed it. I put the socks on and reached for my crutches. I traveled to the bathroom and closed the door fast. I looked at my face in the mirror again, which was now full of tear stained streaks that ran down my cheeks. I opened the tap and splashed some water in my face. I dried it into a towel and stepped out of the bathroom and into the hallway. I made my way to the kitchen where I found Sonic unpacking some groceries he had bought.

"So did you find the box?"

"Uh, yeah!"

"What was inside?"

"Oh j-just some stuff like a toothbrush and some socks; just general stuff."

"Oh alright. So when do you wanna go?"

"Umm I guess soon. I kinda just want to get it over with."

"Yeah that's probably best."

"Well I'm gonna go brush my teeth and then I guess we can go."

"Okay."

I left down the hall once more, retrieved the tooth brush and went to the bathroom. I then, with lots of effort, managed to put the running shoes that the nurse had given me on. Once we were both ready we made it down to the car and took off towards the police station. On the drive down, I could tell Sonic was trying to lighten the mood with talking but it didn't really change much.

"So you nervous?"

"Um, a little bit. Mostly just sad that I need to talk about it."

"Yeah I can only imagine how you feel."

You have no idea...

"Well here we are."

We pulled into the small parking lot of the police station and got out. My hands started to shake a bit; one traveling to my right pocket. I felt around for the letter and sighed when I felt it. It somehow pushed me forward to walk in. I wasn't sure whether or not it mattered to them how she left the world. It sure didn't matter to me now; all that mattered to me was that she was gone. With that, we went inside and straight to the front desk.

"Ah, Amy Rose! Yes we've been awaiting your arrival. Come right this way. You can stay there, sir. We need to speak to Amy alone."

I looked at Sonic and mouthed out the words 'It's okay'.

The police officer that had spoken to me led me to this little room where he sat me down on a chair and closed the door. I suddenly felt slightly claustrophobic and wished that he had left the door open. I also hadn't noticed the female police officer in the room as well. She was the same one that visited me at the hospital. I think they realized how uncomfortable I was getting.

"So Amy. Tell us, how are you?"

"I'm fine."

"I mean, how are you finding- let's say, your freedom?"

"It's going good. I mean I'm trying to get used to it. Everything's still really new to me."

"That's understandable. Are you ready to talk about your past now?"

"I guess so."

"Alright, well that's good. So where should we start. I know we probably already asked you this but how far back do you remember?"

"Umm, well I can remember certain moments with my mother and then remember I can remember some of the first moments I spent in captivity. The first memories I have of home were playing in the park with my mother. That's one thing I couldn't forget. She used to bring me to the park every day. I have a lot of memories of that park but strangely... not that many other ones. I remember the first day I arrived at the man's house. Just to be clear, he never once said his name. I was pulled out of his truck and brought into this cabin of sorts. That was the last day I ever saw the outside from the outside again up until I escaped. When I arrived, he put me in a room with three other girls who had been there before me. The only thing he said that day was this is Rose. She's your new sister. Then they introduced themselves to me as Kitty who had been there the longest, Jewel who was there the second longest and then... Feathers. She arrived several months before I did although she was 2 years older than me."

"How old were the others?"

"Kitty was 3 years older than me and Jewel was 2 years as well."

"So now they would be 19 and 18. You mentioned another girl after that, Tikal was it?"

"Yeah but that was long after. I was 13 when she arrived. She was 8 at the time. That was right after Feathers... passed."

"So we have Tikal who is now 11. You mentioned the last time that your captor possibly murdered your friend Feathers-"

"No! Feathers ran and she... here."

I pulled the note out of my pocket and handed it to them.

"Read this. I took it before I ran. This is what she left before she took off."

The female officer read it to herself and then handed it to the other officer.

"I'm so sorry, Amy. That must have been hard on all of you."

"Yeah."

"Amy, can you tell me how many months after Feathers passed that Tikal arrived? I know this must be tough but it's important so that we can estimate when he'll attempt another abduction since you're out of there."

"Um, I don't remember in days but it was about a month and a half later. He said he needed there to be four of us at all times."

"That doesn't give us much time then. Thank you, Amy. I think that's all we need for now. You are free to go."

She handed me my crutches and I stood up to leave but then I remembered something.

"Umm, can I have the letter back?"

"Well we need it for evidence right now but I assure you that once all of this is over, you can have it back."

"Oh. How long will that be?"

"A while. But we appreciate that you gave this to us."

"No, I need it back now, it's all I have left of her. Please just give it back!"

"I'm sorry Amy, we can't do that."

"No! I need it back! I need it. I need her..."

"Please escort her out of here."

"I can't leave without her."

My head hung as an officer led me back to the front desk. Tears began forming once again. Sonic looked at me and got up immediately. He rushed towards me and lifted my face up with his hand delicately to see that I was tearing up.

"We're leaving now, don't worry."

He led me out to the car and opened the door for me.

"What happened in there?"

"N-nothing... actually..."

"Come on, you can tell me."

"Well, I didn't exactly tell you the whole truth about what really happened to Feathers..."

"W-what do you mean, the whole truth? She passed in the wilderness, right?"

"Well... yeas but she- it was on purpose. She did it herself..."

"What! Really? How do you know that?"

"She left a letter... I-it said that sh-she couldn't take it anymore! She gave up too easily! She left us behind... but so did I..."

"No, no she didn't leave you behind. Some people are just not able to handle stress and unfortunately, she was one of those people. If you're looking for someone to blame, blame him. He's responsible for anything that happened in that time. And you... you have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. You did the best thing you could to help them. You're the hero in this situation, not the villain."

"W-what? But they're still suffering and I-I'm... here."

"And you're still suffering when you shouldn't be. You need to keep thinking about how you're helping them by being on the outside. Now let's just get in the car and we'll go and eat somewhere."

"A-alright."

He brought a hand up to my face and wiped a falling tear off my cheek with his thumb. I was happy to have someone on my side; I just wish I was able to be there too.

xXx

"That was really good for a place I'd never been to."

"Yeah it was. Sorry I didn't want to go to a bigger place but I didn't really want to be around a lot of people."

"Yeah I understand. Anyways, I'm surprised I'd never been there myself. It didn't look new either."

"Do you normally go out to eat?"

"I guess so but I normally go to bars and stuff or sports restaurants or fast food places, not diners."

"Oh, so you and Sonia don't cook?"

"Sonia does and I do a little as well but mostly on week nights, my friends invite me out and stuff."

"Like the last night?"

"Yeah only we didn't eat."

"Oh. That's cool."

I gave him a little smile as we pulled into the parking space of the apartment building. Sonic got out of the car and opened my door for me then handed me my crutches out of the back seat. I thanked him and we walked up to the elevator. When we got out, someone called out to us.

"Hey! Blue."

"Hey Shadow, what's up?"

"Nothing, I was- Oh sorry, I didn't realize you were busy. Alright, well never mind, then."

"Oh no we were just heading in. What do ya need? "

"Well the last of my furniture is arriving today and I was hoping I could get a hand with it?"

"Yeah, sure. Just give me a minute."

"Yeah."

I stared curiously at the dark hedgehog that Sonic was talking with. I'd never seen him before and Sonic had never mentioned him. I guessed he was the neighbor but judging from his request to Sonic he seemed to have only moved in recently. I turned away and motioned towards the door but was stopped by Sonic before I reached the door.

"Oh, sorry Amy! Uh Shadow, this is Amy; Amy this is Shadow, the new neighbor."

"Hello Amy."

"H-hi."

His voice was so low and hard, I seemed to tense up a bit as he stared me down for a moment.

He sure doesn't seem like he talks to people much.

I stepped forward and entered the apartment. When I walked in I headed straight to my room.

"Where you goin'?"

"I'm kinda tired from the interrogation. I think I'm gonna go lay down for now."

"Alright, well I'll be- somewhere in the building helping Shadow if you need anything."

"I don't think I will but okay."

He curtly nodded at me once before leaving. I turned back and headed toward my room, glancing at the clock on my way.

Only 4:00? Well I shouldn't sleep now, Otherwise I'll wake up in the middle of the night. But what can I do in the meantime?

I closed the door behind me as I walked into my room and sat down on the bed. The box was still partially open where I left it. I leaned over and reached inside it for the hairbrush. Once I retrieved it, I pulled the elastic out of my hair and ran the brush through it.

"Ow!"

I didn't realize there were so many tangles in it before I attempted to brush it. It took a good ten minutes to get rid of them all, but I was happy it was done. I made my way to the bathroom to look at it in the mirror. I liked it a bit better but I still wasn't pleased with it. It was slightly greasy and generally unclean so I just stood there for a moment before going back to my room. I crawled over the bed and opened the box in search of the shampoo. I made my way back to the bathroom and locked the door behind me. I removed my shoes with great pain then my sweater. I set the shoes aside and laid my folded sweater on the counter away from the sink. Next, I took off my pants and removed my shirt leaving me practically nude. I removed the last articles of clothing that clung to my body and gently made my way into the shower.

I observed the water temperature handle and turned it barely enough to make a weak trickle of water come out. I put my hand underneath testing it. I turned it further until it felt like a decent warmness. I opened the shower head and let the steamy water rush down my body. At first it shocked me a bit but then it became almost hypnotizing. I felt relaxed and forgot all about what had happened earlier that day. I washed my hair and body thoroughly, leaving me feeling refreshed and comfortable. Once I turned off the tap, I stepped out and grabbed the nearest towel and dried myself off. I wrapped it around my body and picked up all my clothes and tucked them under my arm then hopped over to my crutches.

I realized how hard it was going to be to hold up the towel as well as my crutches and prayed that nothing accidental would happen. I unlocked the door with my free hand and peeked out through the small gap in the door I had opened. There seemed to be no one there so I moved onward through the hall, going as fast as I could without losing my grip on the towel. I'd almost made it to my room when I heard the doorknob of the front door turn. I was so startled by the sudden sound, that I accidentally let go of the towel, allowing it to fall to the floor, leaving me completely vulnerable to embarrassment.

I lunged forward to grab it, trying my best to ignore the screaming agony my ankle was in. I crawled forward on my hands and knees until I reached my room. I then remembered the clothes I dropped and rapidly grabbed them along with my crutches from the hallway. I slammed the door shut and sat up against it, clutching the towel to my bare chest. I was breathing heavily, panting out of anxiety and adrenaline. My ankle had become numb with pain but my body was too hyped up off of fear to instantly react.

"H-Oh... My-ha... God-hah...!"

I could feel the tension that had built up in my body dissipating slowly as I calmed down. I turned around and pressed against the wall for support while getting up then picked up my crutches and made it over to my bed. I reached in the box for underwear and a bra, then put back on my shirt and pants. I took the comb out and combed my pink, messy hair, little droplets flinging everywhere as I pulled and tugged on the tangles. I parted it on the side and dried it once more with the towel. And then I tensed up again.

"Amy?"

Did he see me? No, if he did he surely would've said something, right?

I didn't respond hoping he'd think I was already fast asleep. I put the box on the hard, wooden floor and crawled under the covers. I was momentarily aware that the rest of my clothes were bundled up in a smile pile on the floor but decided to deal with them later. With my crutches resting against the dresser, the gleaming metal reflecting the lowering rays from the window as the sun was disappearing over the horizon; I shut my eyes and hoped that tomorrow would be better.

Well, what do you think what happened? I didn't want to leave it on a totally sad end so I added that bit just to humor it up a bit! Let me know what your views on this chapter were by either PMing me or leaving a review. Heads up for the next chapter! Drama is on its way over to Sonic and it could get pretty messy! Stay tuned :)

-DarkRose