Hailfire Vulpes: Sorry about the late update. Been dealing with other stuff, like life...
Anyways, this'll be the last update for a little while, since I'm going on vacation.
~Chapter 3~
Shade stared in a shocked silence as he woke from a sudden nap to see the Dark Garden.
Bodies lay everywhere. Eyes wide open and blank staring to the sky. Arms frozen in place...and without a trace of the cause.
"What..." Shade began, sitting up and blinking. He felt his feet begin to move across the ground. He wove among the scattered forms, seeing their unblinking, dull eyes and motionless bodies. It looked like a bloodless massacre...Shade shuddered at the thought.
The Chao recognized some of the frozen faces he saw, including Gladys, who lay stiffly on one side, arms crossed and bearing a characteristic sneer on her face.
Shade looked among the petrefied Chao, seeing how no expressions showed shock nor horror...whatever had affected them bore no face and afflicted the victims soundlessly.
He was sure not to make physical contact with any, remembering how Kura had strangely come out of her paralysis very briefly, contaminating and freezing her sister in place...was that how it spread? Through touch?
Shade looked up to see a small, child Chao creeping up toward a frozen form, one hand extended tentatively. Shade recognized the toddler Chao, hatched only a month ago. Memphis was his name, and like Shade and Blossom, his parents had disappeared under unknown circumstances. Shade looked alarmed as Memphis reached out to touch one of the petrefied Chao.
Shade broke into a run, "No, don't!" he called to Memphis, who looked at him with wide, startled eyes. When Shade reached him, Memphis had broken into tears. The little Chao was dark purple with jagged jesters on the back of his head, and two blue bat wings that were set to grow slightly broader than Shade's, indicating he was a flyer.
Shade felt awkward comforting the little Chao, as he kept crying, "Don't worry. It's okay..." Shade kept repeating. He blinked, and a dark realization passed over him. Only he and Memphis were left animated in the clearing...
Shade felt a growing panic well up in his core, and he realized the urgency of this strange epidemic. An epidemic that seemed to just...absorb its victim. Maybe not on the outside, but based on the lack of reaction the hospital equipment had recieved with Kurai and Kura...what to call it? It was as if a...void had stolen their essence. Their souls...
A void?
"M-mister..." Memphis stammered, pulling Shade out of his thoughts, "What happened to everyone...?"
Shade looked miserably at Memphis, "I...I don't know." he said, "...just...don't touch them, okay?"
Memphis looked at him through tear-shiny, yet naturally glaring eyes, "Why not...?"
Shade looked around the clearing, "Just...don't." he said, not wanting to scare the child further. He sighed, knowing it wasn't safe to stay around here with the contagious void just inches from his person. It wasn't safe for him, nor Memphis.
Shade picked up the little flight Chao. Need to find Blossom. He told himself. Hopefully she knew not to touch any infectants...
Shade's feet were a blur as he sprinted down through the exit tunnel, Memphis held awkwardly in his arms. The baby Chao didn't squirm or make noise out of his own fear, and Shade felt a growing hope as he neared the Neutral Gardens.
As soon as he stepped into the next garden, his hope fell like a dense stone.
The Neutral garden was half-shaded, the sun obscured mostly by a inky-black cloud. Many motionless Chao lay all around. Memphis made a small sound out of fear, and Shade's gaze was rapidly flicking from one body to the next, relieved that none of these Chao were Blossom.
He saw her and Berry standing a little ways off, their eyes wide with horror. Shade, still holding up Memphis, strafed toward them, "Blossom?" he asked softly, his gaze meeting hers. The lavender Chao looked at him miserably,
"We were just talking, then everyone just..." Blossom trailed off. Shade sighed, and he felt Memphis squirm in his arms. He put the little Chao down, and he began sucking one paw anxiously.
Berry looked at Blossom, "What do we do? What if whatever this is gets us too?" she asked quietly.
Shade answered for Blossom, "...We can't stay." he said. Blossom, Berry, and Memphis all looked at him in surprise,
"What? Where could we go?" Blossom cried. Memphis began whimpering. Shade sighed, looking at this group miserably. It had started like any other day, save for Shade's nightmares, and this...thing had happened upon the Gardens so suddenly. And it managed to spread very quickly...
Shade sighed, "We can't stay." he repeated, "We need to save ourselves. Whatever this is...it'll spread to us too if we stay."
Blossom shook her head, "You sound like you know a lot." she murmured. Berry blinked, and looked at her, then Shade.
Shade admitted that he had had a similar nightmare about this. His dream of complete darkness and the prescence of a crowd all around. But dead silence. As if he were being watched, and soon the silence felt suffocating...like dark water.
Shade blinked, and studied the face of his sister, "Maybe I had a forewarning. But that doesn't matter..." he muttered, "Something just tells me we need to get out of here."
Blossom put her paws on her hips, "Well, 'something' doesn't need to tell me that we need to get the heck out of here!" she said, "It's just we have nowhere to go..."
Shade sighed, "I guess not...maybe that's not so important right now." he said. Berry looked at him with a bemused look,
"Why isn't it important?" she asked.
"We just need to get someplace far away from here. This place is dangerous, and you don't need reminding of that." Shade replied curtly, "Anywhere safe is where we need to go."
Berry sighed, "Fine..."
Blossom looked around the clearing, "Are we the only ones left...?" she asked. Shade shrugged,
"It's safest to assume so. We're the only ones left...and we need to get out of here." he said grimly.
Good? Okay. I'll be back in about two or three days! I'm going to Seaworld.~
Review and shampoo a duck...and whatnot. Bye! :D