Secluded
9
Title
It's strange how a good and blissfully happy situation can turn horrible in a matter of seconds. One could be enjoying a day in the park, and a horrible calamity could occur, killing many. All it takes is a second, but for that second to happen; it needs steps before it too occur, each taking their own second out of time. Unless you write about it, you never take these notes of cause and effect into consideration because you are preoccupied with the situation at hand. No doubt this is what Rouge felt after listening to Knuckles story. Only horrible reflections such as one on the account of rape at the hands of ones own father could change such a happy mood into such a horribly depressing one. Knuckles wasn't even sure why he had brought it up, for he was sure that it would kill the moment. Maybe it was to show Rouge that he trusted her deeply, and even with memories he tried to hide even from himself (which explained why he couldn't remember anything quite as clear as he should have been able to). Rouge had asked about his parents, so he told her. Maybe he should have just said "I don't remember my parents". Than again, lying to someone you love is never good, nor is lying in itself.
Despite these malefactors, he had told her, and there was no changing that. The feeling of someone other than himself knowing about the fate of his parents began to hit him, and he began to regret his decision about telling Rouge.
"Rouge I-"
Rouge placed her index finger on his mouth, silencing him.
"No Knuckles; I'm glad you told me. I'm guessing you never told anyone that before."
He slowly moved her hand from his face and replied,
"No, I haven't."
Rouge wrapped her arms around him and pressed her body against his, holding him in a tight embrace.
"I'm glad you told me, it shoes that you can trust me with anything, even something you keep from yourself."
Her voice wasn't her normal one, but a soft, sincere one that soothed the stress Knuckles had created for himself. Her eyes glistened with the reflection of the sun and made her look more beautiful than she already was. Almost like a goddess of understanding.
Knuckles said nothing and rested his head against hers, returning the embrace.
……….
Back at the campsite, situations weren't taking a direct turn for the better, but more of a turn for the worst. Tails suspicions of the hedgehogs growing thoughts of suicide were becoming confirmed. Sonic was sitting in a patch of creepers near some large trees, fiddling with something he couldn't see through the grassy shrubs. Amy remained in the spot she fell after Sonic had slapped her, holding the spot she was hit. It looked as if the idea of Sonic hitting her for a seemingly innocent suggestion hadn't exactly sank in to her brain, as if it had to enter an unseen filter fort her to be able to process the information, and then react to it. Tails secretly hoped she would remain like that for a good while, for he feared she might to something irrational, such as cut herself with one of the flint flakes that littered the ground.
It was ironic how the flint symbolized that thin border between life and death. At the beginning of their "adventure", they had been used for survival, as knives for cutting food and branches. Now they could be used for something more sinister, such as cutting something other than food.
"It's not like we can cut meat…without Shadow, he have none."
Tails mentally slapped himself for thinking a thought that could lead to him joining Shadows tribe, or possibly suicide. He found it funny that someone like himself, who lived in the realm of technology, could find fear in the simplest of tools. He wanted to laugh at even this, but it seemed like the function to do so had left his body and was floating around in space, a place he couldn't possibly reach while on the island.
While pondering these anomalies, Amy seemed to snap back into reality. Her upper lip quivered as she began to look at herself. She couldn't believe how horribly messy she had become. It was hard to believe that she was ever clean. Rolling around in her own bile would be cleaner.
Then she remembered Sonic. That bastard. All she does is make a suggestion, and BAM, she's on the ground. Pathetic. Simply pathetic.
"That's you", she said aloud.
"Huh?" Tails weakly replied, his voice cracking.
"Me, pathetic. Yes that's right. Of course, of course, how could I be so blind? I've been living in this shell for so long, I forgot all about it" she mumbled.
"Amy? Are you okay?" asked Tails. He'd never seen Amy so out of character, and it scared him.
"Is that what he wants?" she continued, "Fine; I'll give it to him. I'll shove it in his face and he'll never forget. That's it. That's exactly it."
She shakily reached for a shard of the razor stone and stood up, a condensation of sweat forming on her brow.
"Amy?" called Tails again, with no answer.
Amy approached Sonic, who took no note of her. With a glazed expression, she slowly raised the shard, preparing to lodge it in her idols head.
"AMY, STOP!" shouted Tails, as he rushed towards her. He was bent on seeing every one of this island, alive and intact.
He grabbed hold of the makeshift knife, but underestimated it's potential for destruction. The blade easily slid through his unprotected hand, spewing blood in every which direction.
"Grrghghghhhh…" he sputtered.
The blade had totally passed through his had as if it weren't even there in the first place.
"Ah-aaaaaarrrghhhh!" he bellowed, buckling backwards in shearing pain.
Amy seemed to return once again, but back to her old self.
"Oh my-Tails!"
"Ahh-ah-gahhh-hahhhh!" He whined, rolling around in a puddle of blood and dirt.
Amy quickly tore off a part of what was left of her skirt and grabbed Tails mangled hand. She quickly wrapped it around the wound, knotting it tightly. She then removed one of her gloves and tied it around his arm even tighter, creating a makeshift tourniquet.
"Sonic, h-help me!"
No response.
"Sonic?"
She turned to see him lying face down in the dirt, unresponsive.
"N-no-"
…….
"We should probably head back now."
Rouge looked at her lover and nodded in agreement. They had been at the oasis for a good two days and thought it was a good idea to go back. It's interesting how spending such little time with another person can make you realize how much you love them. Rouge's interest in Knuckles was no longer a meager crush, but a burning inferno of affection and love.
"Yeah, they're probably wondering where we are" she replied, dusting herself off.
Knuckles remained silent for a second and then said:
"But it's strange; we've been here for almost two days and they haven't sent out a search party for us. Don't you think they would be the least bit concerned?"
"Maybe they're to busy with Shadow leaving the group. They know that you live in the wilderness 24/7, so it's safe to assume that you'd be ok."
"Yeah but what about you? They don't know that you're with me."
Knuckles concerns made cense. There was no way of knowing that the two would be at the oasis together, even stranger that they didn't look for Knuckles, the one of the two they were closest to. One could argue that they had been looking for them, but couldn't find them, but with a supersonic hedgehog to search, it's likely they would have been found.
As Knuckles pondered this, he became more concerned.
"We have to go."
"Knuckles-"
"C'mon Rouge, I think something is seriously wrong" he yelled as he darted onto the pathway back to the campsite.
Rouge sighed and then proceeded to follow him.
………..
Note: wow, it's been a while since I updated, sorry for the wait. I plan to finish the story in the next chapter, so that's why this is so short, and I just want to post it.
The more reviews I get, the faster I'll post the next and possibly final chapter; so review!
