Chapter Two

I thought we had dodged that bullet.

See, his dad was in the car accident with his mom, and he almost lost his dad then too. Tails holds family pretty close. So I can see why it's so important to Tails to have his best friend help him through the possible death of his dad.

"So what's up?" I ask him, finally arriving at his place after several long hours of anxious thought. He's sitting on the front porch but gets up and goes into the house when I get there. I follow him into the living room. He sits on the couch but I stay standing. He wrings his hands together. I wait for him to speak. I'm trying to be patient but I've been thinking about this for hours and I kind of want to know what's really going on, now.

"He has the flu," Tails says finally. I feel relieved and a little annoyed. "Well, that's not so bad," I say. "He'll make it through that no problem."

"He's had it for a week and a half now. He hasn't gotten any better. And he has a high fever and coughs all the time. Those are all signs that point to a bigger problem."

Okay, I was a little too hopeful for a happy ending, I guess. "Have you called anyone yet?"

"I called Dr. Quack and had him come and take a look at my dad. He thinks dad has pneumonia but needs to do some x-rays and stuff to make sure. He definitely thinks dad should go to the hospital."

"So why haven't you?"

"Dad refuses to go."

"Um…why? Doesn't he know how much trouble he could be in?"

Tails gives me a look, as if I should already know. "My dad's a general, Knuckles. He didn't get there by giving up every time there was a problem. And to admit that he's that sick would count as giving up. Going to the hospital and having all those people take care of him…that'd be giving up, big time."

He looks down at his hands.

"I know it sounds stupid…but to my dad, being strong is a big part of who he is. It's like S…it's like you. You never admit you've lost a fight, even when it's obvious to everyone. You just keep fighting."

I wonder what he was going to say about Sonic. "I think I get it. I wouldn't want to go to a hospital either. I understand how he feels, I think."

"I have to convince him, soon. My dad's old, Knuckles, and I know his health isn't that good. No one's is after being in the army that long. Pneumonia would kill him. Pneumonia after the flu…a lot of people die from that."

"He seriously is not considering all of this?"

"Of course he is."

"Well, then what's the hold up?"

"He has to get over his pride, I guess. That can be pretty hard. To admit you're wrong."

I get that too.

We just sit there for a few minutes. I'm trying to think of how I could be convinced I was wrong, if it were me. I have to admit there isn't a lot that could move me until the last minute.

"Sonic could talk him into it," Tails says suddenly.

"Sonic could sell ice to Eskimos," I agree. "Is that why you want me to find him?"

"No. You wouldn't do it in time. Sorry if I'm insulting you by saying that, but it's true. You'd have to find Sonic within a few days, and you have no idea where to start. I don't know why I said that."

"You miss him." I say it as a statement, a fact. So that he can't argue it.

"I'm not used to being strong," he says. "I don't think I'm doing a good job." He blinks and sniffs a little, and I realize like an insensitive idiot that he's probably been trying not to cry this whole time. I hope he doesn't, though. I don't deal with emotions very well.

"Listen. You try and convince your dad and I'll go and try to track down Sonic. I'll come back tomorrow afternoon and we'll see what happens then. Okay?"

"I guess we have a plan," says Tails. He doesn't sound too convinced, but I'm not either. The plan is so full of holes it may as well BE a hole.

"See you tomorrow, then," I tell him, and walk onto the porch. I don't realize he's behind me until he says, "Knuckles."

I turn around. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for coming," he says. He looks really sad. I know he wishes I was Sonic right now, and I feel a twinge of jealousy that I'm not good enough, that I never measure up to Sonic. Then I remember just how close they used to be.

"I'll find him for you. There's nowhere he can hide that I can't find him," I promise.

"I just hope you find him in time," Tails says.

"In time for what?"

"My dad doesn't know Sonic left," he says. "He thinks I have someone to…to depend on. When I moved back in I didn't tell him why, and he didn't ask."

"Your dad's not stupid. He probably guessed."

"Knuckles, my dad doesn't know about any of it. He thinks we're still friends like we were before. He thinks that I moved out because Sonic got busy doing adventurous things and I got lonely. Which is kind of true. But I don't want him to find out. I know it's wrong to say that, but if he knows that he'll worry about me, more than he's already going to, and he doesn't need that kind of stress. If Sonic doesn't show up when my dad's in the hospital, THEN he'll know. And I don't want to know what's gonna happen if he finds out. He'll be upset with me for hiding it, that's for sure."

"I think you need to talk to your dad more often," I tell him. "If he knew about it he would have tried to help you."

Tails rubs at his eyes. "I know I should've, but…it hurt, Knuckles. I didn't want to think about him anymore."

I shake my head. Tails has gotten himself into such a mess I don't know how he'll get out of it in one piece. Hell yeah his dad's gonna find out. His dad was known as the conductor of the battlefield. He puzzles things out very well.

"I'll get going," I say. "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah," says Tails.

"And Tails? I know you don't wanna worry him…but he's your dad. He's SUPPOSED to worry about you. That's his job. To be there for you when no one else is. He's not made of glass. He won't break."

I close the door and head down the steps and around the back of the house. Tails lives on the very outside of the city, walking distance to civilization but away from other houses, and I figure I can catch the bus into the city. I don't feel like walking and they usually let me on, considering my reputation.

As I'm walking I see a new prefab shed behind the house, about half the size of a gymnasium, and decide to take a look. Tails could be using it as a workshop, and I'd like to know if he's returning to his old self or not.

I'm stunned by what I see.

It's a cream-coloured Cadillac, one of those old-looking ones with the fins on the back. It has chrome rims and dark red leather seats. Right now the hood is up, and the engine block is all gleaming metal under a thin coating of dust. At one time this was a nice car.

I'm saying this because as I walk around the car, I realize what car this is and why it's in here. The right-hand passenger side is completely smashed in and the car is leaning a little to the left due to the useless front left tire. The windshield has a spiderweb of cracks spreading up from the bottom right corner.

How is Tails planning on getting his dad to the hospital? There's no way this car is getting them there, even if it were possible to drive it. You can't drive a car with the door crushed in like that. You just can't.

As I'm sitting on the bus it occurs to me:

If the car still looks like that, Amadeus hasn't driven since the accident. Because I do know that Rosemary didn't have a car.

Whether he realizes it or not, I think Amadeus is afraid to get into a vehicle at all.

I'll try and remember to ask Tails whether or not his dad has been in a car since the accident.

One thing has become clear to me:

I have to find Sonic.

Fast.