A/N: Ok then on with chapter 9, thanks to Conor T Hedgehog for the helpful advise.
Theo and Future Theo turned tail and ran as fast as they could, the wild howls and screams of the infected closing in behind them. Theo looked over his shoulder and saw the infected less than 5 metres from them.
"Stop bloody looking and get moving" Future Theo shouted at him, the adrenaline began to pump through Theo's veins, making him subconsciously speed up, away from the chasing horde, his heart was pounding a mile a minute and the muscles of his legs burned but he didn't care. It was either suffer a few pulled muscles or get eaten by the infected. Future Theo speeded left and jumped over the upside-down wreck of a car the blocked the entrance to the alley, Theo skidded, tearing the sole of his boot on some debris as he did so and rounded into the alley, athletically flipping over the burnt out wreck.
Future Theo began to franticly climb a rusty drainpipe at the end of the alley, Theo followed, grabbing on to the bracket and scrambling up. He heard a crash from the blocked entrance, he looked round and saw the infected clambering over the car, not caring whether they sliced themselves open in the process, which some of them did.
"Hurry up!" Theo yelled,
"I'm going as fast as I can!" Future Theo shouted back, as he grabbed hold of the roof ledge and pulled himself up, when he was up, he reached down and held out his hand,
"Grab my hand!" he cried at Theo, Theo tried to scramble up to reach it, but suddenly, there was a metallic groan then a snap like thunder as one of the decaying brackets snapped, causing the drainpipe to lean severely downwards, until he was only about 8ft from the ground, he looked down and saw the maddened faces of the infected leering up at him.
"JUMP!" Future Theo yelled, holding his hand as far down as it would go, there was another metallic groan as another bracket began to warp and bend. Without thinking, Theo quickly pulled himself up onto the falling pipe and threw himself blindly at Future Theo's hand, his hand snagged on his wrist then finally caught hold of his older self's hand. Grunting with the effort, Future Theo pulled him up onto the roof, when he was up; Future Theo lay down, panting;
"Destroy…the rest of…those brackets" he breathed, Theo went over to the edge and fired several bolts as the remaining brackets, they smashed sending the plastic tubing crashing to the ground.
"That should stop the infected following us" Future Theo said as he got to his feet, he looked at the ruins all around and pointed at a small skyscraper about a mile away "That's base, we need to head there before the sun goes down".
"Why? What happens when the sun goes down?" Theo asked
"I have no torch on me and more of the infected come out at night, it's much harder to get anywhere" Future Theo replied, jogging towards a piece of fallen scaffolding that lead onto the next building "From now on, we stick to the rooftops". Theo followed him onto the other rooftop, the cries of the infected getting quieter and quieter as they moved away,
"How did I get here anyhow?" Theo asked
"Tails and Shadow have been helping me create a neuroparticle ionic accelerator"
"Tails and Shadow? I thought they would have gone to the ARK" Theo said stunned
"Not everyone left, a few, who had some sense, remained to help us. Tails and Shadow were the only high ranking ones though" Future Theo said, lifting himself onto a half standing, sloped roof, Theo hot on his heels,
"Anyway, continue about that neuroparticle ionic accelerator thing"
"Ok, neuroparticles are subatomic particles that have the odd property of being in more than one place at the same time, we basically speed up those particles to the speed of light so they bend space-time to the extent where it is possible to latch onto the parallel versions of themselves. Basically we can pluck anything from the past and bring it here." Future Theo said, sliding down the roof tiles and jumping over the gap between the roof and the next ruin, Theo copied him, rolling as he hit the next roof.
"But we can only keep something here for a limited amount of time, in your case, 4 hours" Future Theo said
"Why the hell did you want me here anyhow?" Theo asked, Future Theo stopped and looked over his shoulder to look at Theo
"I want you to see how bad this world has become, I know that at the moment you are hesitating about taking action against the government. But this is what happens if you don't" Future Theo kept on walking.
Theo then thought of something "So why didn't you do anything?"
"I was still trying to find Utopia, but to no avail, I'm starting to think that Utopia was a load of bullshit. But when the infection broke out, it was so quick and sudden, it was like the world went into shock" Future Theo jogged and jumped over the edge onto another devastated building "Come on lets keep moving".
Half an hour later, the two hedgehogs reached the base of the grand tower, its base was surrounded in barricades made out of scrap metal that had been welded together to form a tall defensive wall. Future Theo looked up and down the deserted street for any sign of the infected, then walked up to a slightly raised panel on the scrap wall and knocked quickly five times,
"It me!" he shouted over, the grinding of bolts could be heard from the other side as the door became unlocked and swung forth. Holding the door open was Shadow, his face was covered in scars and his eyes were dark and emotionless. He wore similar clothes to Future Theo, but they were much more battered and ripped, suggesting heavy wear and tear. His red eyes cast down to Theo,
"Good, so you found him" he muttered
"Yep, are Levinski and the others back yet?" Future Theo asked walking through the door, with Theo hot on his heels. Shadow slammed the door after them and immediately began sliding the six huge bolts across its frame, sealing it,
"Yes they arrived back about 15 minutes ago, they got quite a lot for one day" Shadow said, turning round and leading the two hedgehogs through some smashed glass doors and into a large entrance foyer, glass shards lay all over, the discoloured tiles on the floor had either been badly cracked or had been ripped up from the floor entirely, a smashed chandelier lay in the centre of the floor, it looked like it had been there for years, as the metal that had made up its frame was bent and rusting. A few corridors lead off to the side, but they had all been stacked high with crates of general necessities like ammo and food.
"Welcome to HQ" Shadow said.
They went through a door and onto a high metal staircase, with cracked concrete walls and dying lights above,
"How long have you guys been here?" Theo asked as they began to ascend the stairs,
"Best part of 4 years" Future Theo said "Before that we changed camps almost every month".
"The trouble is the infected do more or less the same" Shadow said, pulling out an MP5K pistol from its holster and checking the ammo "They never stay in one place for long, they are constantly on the move". Shadow sighed and cast his eyes upwards
"But this place is safe, we have an old water main running through here which we can drink from, we've got food, shelter, clothing and several floors that we have turned into sleeping quarters using old mattresses we found". They walked a battered 3 floor sign and continued to climb,
"This is fucking ridiculous" Theo stated, "It's the end of the world out there and you lot just think you can wait it out?" Shadow rounded on him and slammed him against the wall,
"You think I wanted any of this? You think that I wanted billions of people to die? We are just trying to survive, but I suppose you just think you can run in there, all guns blazing and turn out the hero? This isn't a war, you ignorant cunt, it's a fucking slaughter!"
"That's enough" Future Theo said, pushing Shadow off Theo. Shadow growls and continues climbing the stairs.
"Thanks for that" Theo breathed, but Future Theo just grunted and continued climbing the stairs, Theo frowned and climbed up along side him. Then Theo realised something.
"Hang on, what about Rafael?" Future Theo sighed and looked at him,
"Do you even know who Rafael is?"
"Yeah, its Mephiles, right?" Theo said, confidently, Future Theo shook his head
"No someone even more dangerous and unstable than him"
"Who?" Theo asked, Future Theos expression darkened
"Take an educated guess".
Theos heart plummeted
"No" he muttered shaking his head "No, it can't be"
Future Theo swallowed and nodded "Yes, we are Rafael", His words only strengthened Theo's dread.
"You're lying" Theo said, shaking his head.
"Would I lie to you?" Future Theo said, his words dark with truth
"YOU'RE A LIER!" Theo yelled and ran back down the stairs, with insane speed, Future Theo's cries a blur to him; he reached the bottom of the stairs in less than ten seconds and flung the door open so violently that the door ripped from his hinges. Tears were forming in Theo's eyes, he couldn't be Rafael, he couldn't be destined to be a demon overlord, but at the same time there was a part of him that knew it was true, that Future Theo wasn't lying. He raced though the smashed doors and threw himself into the air, soaring over the barricade as he did so, he landed on the pavement without a scratch physically, but mentally, he was being torn apart, as the realisation of Rafael pierced into him. He yelled in anger and started firing electricity off at random, the electricity ignited some of the fuel left in the tanks of the cars, causing them to explode as one with unbarred force, the ring of fire and twisted surrounded Theo, he looked around at the carnage as the flames reseeded but the mirage still scorched the air around. Beyond the circle of devastation that surrounded him, Theo saw the infected, not just one or two but an entire army, at least a hundred of them, all savage and ravenous.
"COME ON THEN YOU BASTARDS!" Theo yelled at them "I'VE GOT NOTHING TO LOOSE!". They all moved in for the kill, scrambling over the burning cars, yelling maddeningly. Theo conjurered up two long, orange beam swords out of the palms of his hands and ran towards the horde screaming blue murder. As soon as he neared, the infected jumped at him, snarling, Theo jumped out of the way of a few of them and span in the air, decapitating some of the infected, blood spurted up into the air, staining Theos grey fur. He landed neatly on the ground, the infected turned sluggishly, but not before Theo was darting forward, rotating his wrists, causing the beams to spin, anyone of the infected caught in his way were ripped to pieces, then suddenly, one of the infected grabbed his leg, causing him to fall flat on his face, breaking his nose, the creature was now on to of him, snapping eagerly for his throat, hissing delightfully. Theo roared as savage as the infected and with his fingers straight, he ripped through the flesh of the creature's stomach with his hand, the creature gargled but still kept going for his throat. Holding it back with one hand, he tore through the creatures spinal column and out through its back, The creature roared then lay still, Theo threw the diseased body off him, but the horde was still moving in from all sides, some started to try and bite him now that he was on the floor and vulnerable, but Theo slammed the palm of his hand onto the base of the nearest creatures chin, its head snapped back with a sickening crunch.
He jumped to his feet and instantly began fighting like an animal, not using his powers just ripping and tearing, splintering his fingernails and cutting his body as he did so. He could feel the blood rushing down his fingers but he didn't care, it was like he was embracing his animal instinct, He jumped over the horde then, plummeted down and punched the ground creating a shock wave that blasted the horde back away from him. The tarmac beneath him was hot and cracked from the impact, he straightened up and roared demonically at the infected, his eyes now starting to turn a blood red as if someone was slowly tipping blood into his iris. He could feel himself becoming stronger and more powerful, he glanced down and saw that his lightening had also become red, he felt the energy build up inside him, he smiled and let loose a huge wave of red energy, which blasted the wreaks of the cars backwards, crushing the infected that were still close to him. Theo began to laugh, why was he worrying about Rafael? He could become Rafael and use his power to destroy the government and prevent this future. He saw the world begin to whiten and drain of colour, he lifted his arms and bowed his heads as he disappeared form the future. After a few seconds of nothingness, he reappeared in a dark, wet alleyway, overflowing rubbish bins clustered around on both sides. Theos red eyes scanned the area, he recognised that he was in The Cradle, a old run down district of Station Square, controlled by psychos, a breeding ground of lust and greed and once your there, your life expectancy tends to be on the short side. Theo calmly walked out onto the main street, paying no attention to anyone, he then caught sight of his reflection in one of the shop windows, he stopped and looked, his nose was seeping blood and dried blood was already clumped around his mouth and nose, he had cut his lip which had now swollen slightly. The black veins around his body had spread so know all of his body was covered in vivid black lines, and his fur was bloodstained, his leather trench coat was covered in dust and mud and the black trousers were ripped at the knees, exposing grazes underneath, his quills had become more spiky and thick and were matted with blood.
He grinned and wiped away the blood from his nose with his sleeve, he looked around back at the dark street, he knew that mercenaries hung around in a club here called, his eyes suddenly fell upon the sign a few hundred metres away;
The Gun and Knife
If some mercenaries were there, then there was a chance he could find Chaos and Cynder, he didn't know how long had passed, an hour?, a day?, a month? Either way he had to find the feline and the bat. With his hands in his pockets, he began to walk towards the club.
A/N: Hope you guys liked that, please give a looooooonnnnnnnnggg review with your thought on the story and how its going. Thank to everyone for your help, remember to tell other authors about this story to get it more popular!