The atmosphere was dark, damp and very uncomfortable. Shadow seemed to be in a tunnel, which meant no windows. He checked his lantern and noticed that it was nearly empty. Before he went on, he used the three pots of oil he had gathered and poured them all into the lantern, ensuring that he could travel light in case he needed to run and hide. Now that he felt more prepared, he held the lantern in front of him and began to walk through the tunnels.
As he progressed, Shadow noticed evidence of the 'thing' that was hunting him. It was just in the corners or occupying part of the wall, but it was definitely there. Before he could think more, white overcame him.
Shadow knew he was sat down and he had his arms wrapped around someone else, who he assumed was Espio. He could faintly hear the TV before he spoke.
"Look at him; he's practically drowning in his own glory." He complained.
"I sense jealousy." Espio teased.
"Hardly, just fed up of seeing the same face on the news every damn week." The hedgehog complained further.
"I can understand that. He gets all the action, all the excitement, while we sit here doing pretty much nothing. It bothers me… does it bother you?" He felt himself nod.
"To some extent, yes." He held Espio's hand and played with it as he spoke. "It's not the attention that gets to me; it's more the feeling of being… forgotten." Espio rested his head on his shoulder and sighed whilst they continued watching the TV.
Regret. The feeling cast over him like a tidal wave, but he had no idea why. He wanted to know; he wanted answers, even if his former self 'chose to forget'. Shadow kept his guard up. He noticed that he had been walking for a few minutes without anything occurring and that had alarm bells ringing in his mind. His ears paid attention to the noises, while his eyes kept watch for movement. The tunnel then opened up into the main refinery where giant barrels stored untold amounts of wine.
*Growl*
Once he placed a foot into the room, a growl came from a large doorway in front of him. There was no obvious place to hide, but Shadow figured that he could use the darkness to his advantage. The lantern was soon extinguished and he crouched, keeping an eye on the doorway as the same shadowy figure walked slowly past. His crimson gaze locked onto it like a heat seeking missile and only moved once it was out of sight.
Shadow placed each foot carefully. The creature had gone right so in order to avoid it, the hedgehog went left. Once through another door, he closed it behind him and lit a candle in order to preserve oil. He wanted to sit down and rest, but if the human-looking creature was still around, then he had to keep moving. A pot of oil on a shelf to his left was the only item of interest that he found before he continued through another door to his right.
He approached a wine rack and grinned once he saw another bottle of Laudanum upon it. Once it was safely in his possession, he noticed a note on a small, wooden table next to it. Before he could pick it up however, the next door in front of him suddenly blew open. Thinking it was the creature; Shadow ducked down behind the table and kept the lantern off. Nothing followed the strange event and Shadow brushed it off as a fluke. He then read the note.
'Man, I didn't think I'd ever get out of that room!
Tails praised me for my 'courage' and advised us to leave the base as soon as possible.
Anyway, Tails and Cream were worried that they couldn't get the door open again and that I would be trapped. Soon however, they did get the door open enough again for me to crawl out.
Once I was through and back on my feet, Cream… hugged me. Yeah, yeah I know, it's just a hug and she's hugged me a hundred times before, but this one felt different; like we hadn't seen each other in years. It was an amazing feeling and it has been on my mind ever since.
If I could recreate it, then I would in a heartbeat.'
Shadow knew there and then that Charmy had feelings for Cream. It was obvious by the way he wrote about it, but he still wondered what that had to do with anything. Nonetheless, he took the note and went forward into a room with a long table. Nearly every chair was knocked over and for some reason, that made the mammal uncomfortable, as if something bad had happened here.
Shadow came up to a door on his left, but glared slightly when it wouldn't open. There was a light shining from the other side and the hedgehog was clearly curious. Up ahead was a stack of small crates, which had a light shining from behind them. Once Shadow got close enough to investigate, he noticed a small opening in the wall, which led to the same room Shadow wanted to go into. He quickly crawled in and felt safer knowing that the creature would be too big to follow. His security was short lived however, when another roar echoed in the distance. Shadow knew he wasn't safe and wondered how long it would be until he was.
More piles of flesh dotted the room, but not enough to slow him. As he looked around, he found another barrel of oil which, while contained less than before, still filled the remaining space in his lantern until it was nearly full. He also found three lighters, one on a shelf and two in a small chest. His most intriguing find though, was a trapdoor that could be opened by a rope mechanism that was attached to the wall. When Shadow turned it though, it wouldn't open and felt as if it was jammed. The hedgehog followed the rope across the ceiling until he saw a small plank of wood lodged into it. He tried his best to reach it, but couldn't because of his height. Thankfully, there were plenty of crates nearby, which Shadow climbed on in order to reach. It was difficult to remove at first, but it eventually snapped and the two broken pieces fell to the floor, thus allowing the trapdoor to be opened.
The handle turned smoothly and the hatch lifted. Before he jumped down, Shadow looked to see that he would be landing on a web of flesh. He could only hope that his legs wouldn't be ripped off. With a deep breath, he dropped and continued on unharmed until he got to the door that led to the Cellar Archives with more roars booming from behind him.
"Ugh, more tunnels?" He thought in annoyance. He was really starting to miss the natural light. Three steps forward and his vision went black. His mind began to scream and he tightly gripped his skull, begging for it to stop. The moment his vision returned, the screaming had silenced and the tunnels were now flooded, nearly up to his knees.
"What the fuck?!" He yelled, only to be quietened when he heard splashes in the water. Shadow was stood still. His red eyes soon widened when he saw the splashes coming towards him, yet the cause of them was invisible. "Oh shit!" He shouted before jumping onto a heavy crate nearby. The splashes approached, but then stopped next to the crate he was on. Whatever it was, it couldn't get him… as long as he was out of the water. Shadow looked around wondering where to go. The corridor went left, which was where this 'water monster' came from, so he figured that was where the exit was.
The mammal hopped from crate to crate, trying his best to avoid a watery grave. Once he reached the corner, he jumped in the water for a second to reach the next crate and was far too quick for the creature to grab him. He kept going until a heavy gate to his left stopped him in his tracks.
"ARG! Give me a damn break!" He yelled in fury and punched the wall next to him. The gate was mechanised meaning there had to be a switch somewhere in order to get it to open.
Shadow went back and saw a room to his right, but he would have to go into the water again in order to get into it. He tightly closed his eyes for a second and he leapt as far as he could before wading through to another crate. The creature had now caught up with him. It seemed as if it moved faster when Shadow was in the water, as if it honed in on its prey.
"No… no, you've got to be kidding me!" Shadow thought in panic when the only thing he found in the room was one more bottle of Laudanum. Not a switch anywhere. The hedgehog now had to backtrack to a room he remembered seeing on his right when he first entered.
The water monster was hot on his heels as he waded through the water, but he made it to the room only by the skin of his teeth. This feeling was hell; the feeling of being hunted to the brink of death, that any mistake at all could cost you. It was a kind of pressure he had never felt before or at least couldn't remember, and he hated it. Every fur on his back was on end and shivers wouldn't stop ravaging his bones. Confidence was injected into him the moment he caught sight of a lever on the far wall.
Jumping across more crates, he made it and instantly pulled it up. Without thinking, he bolted past the creature and moved as fast as he could before the gate closed. Ticking caused his pulse to race even more and he could barely breathe at the thought of failure. Shadow raced down the corridor and back to the gate to see it slowly descending. With no time, he dove for the gate hoping to crawl underneath it, but the water slowed him down more than he anticipated.
The water creature was able to close the gap far quicker than Shadow thought and it wasn't long before it was clawing at his leg. Shadow cried in agony as its invisible claws easily broke the skin and caused him to bleed heavily. In a fit of rage and panic, the hedgehog kicked madly until his leg was free and the gate closed. The mammal heaved himself up onto a heavy crate next to him and grabbed his leg in pain, but his brief moment of relief diminished as he noticed more splashes in his peripheral vision. His head turned left to see that he wasn't dreaming. The gate was closed, meaning that there was no way the first monster could've gotten through.
"There are two?! There are fucking two of them?!" This was the first time since being here that he felt like giving up. Shadow couldn't see a way out and this room in particular, was much larger with nearly no crates. Trying to wade across would be suicide. He threw a smaller crate next to him in the water out of frustration only to notice a pot of oil, a human leg and a human arm next to him.
Naturally, he gave a disgusted look at the detached limbs, but then began to think. The creature hunted organic prey, perhaps the arm and leg could be used as bait. He picked up the oil and then studied his leg. It was badly wounded and blood poured from it, but it wasn't broken and Shadow knew he would have to run if he had any hope of escape. He held the arm in one hand and crouched on one knee as if ready to start a race. Suddenly, he threw the arm some distance away into the water and then waited patiently. His expression seemed calm and focused, but on the inside, he was a complete wreck and the pain from his leg was causing his eyes to water. His blood orbs stared at the splashes as they made their way towards where the arm had landed. Once there, Shadow ran for it.
He moved as quickly as he could to another heavy door with a wheel next to it. Acting on instinct, he turned the wheel, which then slowly lifted the door. The process was slow and soon enough, the creature was back on his tail. Another heavy crate to his right provided him with temporary safety and thankfully, an entire human torso was also on top.
"Would you kindly FUCK OFF?!" Shadow yelled as he threw the torso into the water ready to be devoured. Once it was distracted, Shadow went for the wheel and turned it until the gap was big enough for him to crawl under. He then waded through the water and through a wooden door. A heavy door was on the other side, but it wouldn't open. Shadow glanced around in panic until he saw a hollow needle on one of the bookshelves. He could trick the lock! A crate was next to the door, which allowed Shadow to briefly concentrate long enough to unlock the door and get through into the Archive Tunnels.
Once the door was securely shut behind him, Shadow took a second to breathe. He was genuinely surprised how he hadn't had a heart attack already. His eyes were closed as he appreciated the silence, but he knew all too well that it wouldn't last. Once calming himself enough to think, he moved forward through yet more flooded tunnels. Flesh lined the walls and made the water appear red.
"Comforting." Shadow thought sarcastically. He waded up to another wooden door and walked through. "It's far too quiet…" As if being able to read his thoughts, splashes could suddenly be heard behind him. There were no crates and nowhere to hide; all he could do was run.
He kept his lantern off as he used all of his strength to propel him through the water. He would come to a wooden door and close it behind him in order to slow the creature down. He would go left every time there were multiple paths, for reasons he didn't know, but it seemed to work. There was debris, which the hedgehog would effortlessly jump over with a rush of adrenaline. This chase felt more familiar to him. While the risk of death was still all too real, he felt that speed was one of his strengths and with the help of doors and debris barricades, he could outrun it with no problems. Shadow had completely forgotten about the pain in his legs and continued to speed through the water until he finally found the way out; another heavy door leading to the Back Hall.
*Slam!*
The door was closed and his aquatic nightmare, over. Shadow collapsed to the ground gasping for air as if he had just been strangled. Water dripped from his now drenched fur and blood still continued to flow out of his leg. He moved himself until he was sat leaning against a wall and used another bottle of Laudanum on his leg. It seemed to be enough to tame the wound for now and he took this opportunity to rest.
He didn't need sleep, he never had done, but his body felt exhausted and his mind felt drained. It was as if his life force altogether was seeping from him.
"Why am I here?" He questioned as his thoughts quickly returned. So many questions had been thrown upon him, yet he had answered very few. He knew Espio was his lover, but why was he here and how was he in danger? Who was Charmy and what was his relation? What was hunting him and why?
The sound of running water caused his ear to twitch and, as much as he had had enough of water, he wanted to know what it was. A long, stone staircase led up to another floor with large windows and a fountain opposite. It was light and even angelic considering the experience he had just been through. It was if he had just ascended to heaven.
Shadow paid attention to nothing else for now and went straight to the fountain. A gust of wind blew open a door to his left, but it didn't frighten him and he felt no hostility. It felt… normal.
Once he reached the fountain, he set the lantern down next to him and knelt down. His hands cupped some of the water and he splashed it onto his face, refreshing him. He then cleaned his fur that had been stained by blood or the filthy water of the Archive Tunnels. This water was clean and even healing to his body and mind. Shadow's entire aura felt calm and for once he could say the one phrase that had jinxed him so many times before.
"I am safe."
