Secluded
2
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters mentioned
They were in the beginning of the thick, dense forest, plunking with weary heels on what they made out to be a track; trotting through the underbrush, enduring the enmity of the sun upon their exposed furry bodies. The path was rugged, covered with coarse grass, torn up every which way by the upheavals of large and small trees alike.
"Where would we find fruit, if there is any?" asked Sonic, eyeing the tops of the tropical trees in a desperate search for food, as he had not eaten for a long while and was becoming fairly hungry.
"In trees."
"I don't have time for your wise ass answers Shadow-"
"C'mon guys, this is no time for arguing with each other, we're trapped on a tropical island in the middle of an ocean which I cannot identify" said Tails.
"Gee, ya think?"
"Shadow!"
"Guys,
quit it!"
Shadow looked backwards, gazing at the ocean. The tide was coming in and there was only a narrow strip of beach between the water and the palm terrace. The group had chosen a firm strip of jungle with little rocks and mounds so they would not have to watch their feet, and instead watch the tops of trees. The search was, however, fruitless (hah, that's like a pun or something…) and they were becoming quite weary from the heat ridden hike. Shadow didn't help their exhaustment, as he took the time making rue comments about every other thing they said, causing both Tails and Sonic great irritation. This went on for a while until Tails spotted a patch of bananas growing from atop a tall tree that hung over them, shielding their eyes from the blazing sun.
"Sonic look!" yelled Tails in excitement.
"Hey, bananas; good eye Tails."
"Fantastic" said an uninterested Shadow in a sarcastic tone.
Tails passed the lame body of Shadow over to Sonic, who supported him my slinging his arm across his shoulders. Tails started to spin his Tails and propelled himself skyward, sending dust in every which direction. He reached the top of the tree and plucked the fruits from amongst the tree leaves, envying the lack of taste in his mouth as he licked his dry lips.
There were about twelve bananas in the bunch, two for each of them. Tails doubted that they would last long on the bunch and decided to head back to the scar to meet up with Knuckles and Rouge, had they returned.
Rouge angrily thrust the threshold of branches down onto the sandy strip of land between the ocean and the forest of creepers. She hastily pulled up a rotting log to rest on, although she was more flustered than tired at the moment.
"Stupid echidna…" she mumbled to herself.
Coincidently, a few minuets later, everyone had returned from their scavenging, Tails, Sonic, and Shadow with a few bunches of bananas, and Knuckles with a large heap of logs which he carried over his shoulder, his arm supporting the front of the supplies. As he dropped the logs to the ground, Rouge made out that the shaggy bark had scratched his shoulder and forearms a fair deal.
Tails began to speak.
"We need to decide about being rescued."
There was a buzz amongst the anthropomorphs. Each of them started to say something different at once, making it hard to hear Tails trying to dictate orders.
"Shut up!" yelled an irritated Tails.
"We need someone to give orders, like a temporary leader" suggested Shadow absently.
"I out to be the leader, I usually am" Said Sonic with one sided arrogance.
"No one ever voted you the leader; we just assume you know what you're doing."
"I always do."
"Define "always"."
"Quiet!" demanded Tails, becoming more and more irritated with the group.
"Knuckles had a point. We never voted, so we should now" added Rouge.
Another buzz rippled throughout the group. The idea of voting seemed to entice them and get their minds off the fact that they could very well die in a matter of weeks.
"Fine then, who votes for me?" asked Knuckles angrily, not expecting anyone to say they did. Rouge considered raising her hand, but then remembered how angry he had made her earlier and that no one was supposed to know or even suspect that she had a crush on the echidna.
Knuckles let out a low growl at the lack of hands raised.
Sonic spoke.
"How about me then?" he proclaimed, standing up and assuming a gallant position.
Only tails raised his hand.
"Hey c'mon guys…Knuckles?" he whined, disappointed that his friend had refused to vote for him.
"How about Tails?" suggested Knuckles, shivering at the idea of Shadow being their leader and refusing to vote for Rouge.
Everyone seemed to come to agreement to Tails being the leader, even Sonic (with some prodding).
"Okay guys, I need some time to think things out, I can't decide what to do strait off. I know it's an island for sure, but I'm not sure if it is one we will be rescued off of strait away. I suggest that we separate into Teams; one team will explore the island and see if it is inhabited, and the other will stay here and construct these shelters" said Tails.
"What are the teams?" questioned Shadow, becoming more interested with the situation, as if he had just realized that he was trapped on an island with an amount of people he didn't particularly like.
"How bout' you and me go on patrol Shadow?" said Sonic with a smirk on his face, irking the hedgehog.
"Hey, it's Tails decision" argued Knuckles.
"Look, I'm all for democracy. If you have an ideas speak it. And besides, I like Sonics idea. He and Shadow will be able to investigate the island faster than any of us" said Tails.
"You're making me more miserable."
"Quit complaining Shadow and go do your little mission" prodded Rouge, happy she got to stay on the vibrant beach instead of that violent threshold crawling with whom knows what.
The two hedgehogs ran off, one eager to search the island, and one ready to engorge himself with seawater.
They ran briskly through the lush jungle, hoping not to miss anything or anyone on the way. A sort of glamour spread over them and the scenery and they were both conscious of it, but didn't find it all too amazing.
Now towards the end of the afternoon, the sun had begun to set and the mirages began to settle a little. They found the end of the island, distinct and normal, not made too look awkward or out of shape. As they trudged on, they came to a granite cliff which dropped off into a dense fog.
"We can't continue here, because there's no way to go," said Shadow "only a deep trench, and the rocks get worse."
Sonic walked briskly towards the jagged cliff behind them and the ledge. His eyes followed the outline of the crags and stones covering the large cliff. He couldn't see what was on the other side, but assumed that it was from where they came.
He noticed some of the stones had clean cuts made into them by some unknown force, but didn't take the time to ponder it. Darkness began to set, and there was just enough of the sunlight that they had learned to hate to guide them the way back to the scar.
"Argh!" what the-? Cursed winged spawn of Satan!" yelled Shadow, swatting at a large mosquito that was buzzing around his head.
"C'mon Shadow, we better head back, before it becomes to dark to see."
Shadow had already taken off.
Back at the scar, Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge had just finished constructing one large shelter, big enough to fit them all.
"This is it?" said a disappointed Rouge, placing her hands on her hips with an annoyed expression on her face. She was not used to this kind of living, as she was not used to sleeping without luxury or sharing a bed with another person.
"Well sorry if this isn't your normal routine bat girl, but you'll have to deal with it until we're rescued" growled Knuckles, knowing he wouldn't be able to stand much more of Rouge's attitude much longer.
"Don't worry guys, there's almost no unmapped islands on the world now, and someone's sue to notice that we're missing. Once we're rescued we'll be able to go back to civilization" said Tails in an attempt to comfort everyone.
"At least you will" said Knuckles, folding his arms and turning the other way.
Rouge folded her hears behind her head in concern for the echidna. She had forgotten that he lived just about every day in a manor similar to this, and could not help but feel for him.
Not much later, Sonic and Shadow returned from their mission, covered with a decent amount of mosquito bites.
"I fucking hate these things!" yelled Shadow in a blind fury, jumping around and scratching every part of his body that had been bitten by the evil little creatures.
"I'm gonna get malaria for sure…" said Sonic, running his back up against a palm tree.
"So
is there anyone on the island?"
"Nah, not that we saw. There
was one deep trench that we were unable to explore, but there's
probably only a bunch of trees and insects down there."
"Argh!" yelled Shadow, becoming more and more frustrated with the mosquitoes.
"Well, maybe someone will come for us by tomorrow, but before that, we should get some sleep and replenish our strength" suggested Tails.
Everyone huddled up inside the shelter, which was made of the tree branches that Knuckles collected, and covered with large palm leaves.
When everyone had long since drifted off to sleep, Rouge awoke, and exited the shelter. She then reentered near the end of the shelter, were Knuckles was sleeping, and huddled up against him, embracing him in a comforting hug, hoping to herself that the moment could last forever.
Authors note: I hope this one gets as much feedback as the first chap. (the reviews inspired me to write more, thanks guys). I've had a lot of homework lately and I took a lot of time working outside (I just finished an ash bow, hurray for me) so I haven't had to much time to devote to my fics.
Review please!
