Chapter 2: Two Gates
After Leaving Station Square on foot and drifting through numerous cities, Espio had decided to stop in a large, neon lit town called Two Gates. The Chameleon wandered through the bright city, asking passers by directions to the high mountains but was either declined or brushed off, so he continued.
Elsewhere, a train sped down the rails in the country side late that night and Cream sat by herself next to the window.
"How much longer is this ride gonna be? I've been sitting on here for hours now.." The Rabbit thought to herself.
A few teenagers walked from the last train car to this one and they all took long looks at Cream as they passed by.
"Great, I'm sure these guys are looking at me for a reason.."
"Damn, look at this one!" one of them said as he strutted down the aisle of seats.
Cream spat on the floor, stuck her middle finger up and looked out the window again.
Tails trekked through the rainy back roads with his large gym bag over his shoulder. The fox wondered if running away in this weather was the best idea, only to shrug and keep walking, listening to music on his iPod. After an hour of walking and only making it to the city limits, Tails stopped for a break at what looked like an abandoned house.
"I would do anything for a bike to magically pop up right about now, my legs are killing me.." Tails thought to himself.
He walked around the side of the old house and spotted a large wooden garage and the doors were wide open. The fox hurried in and dropped his bag on the ground. He took a seat on a rusty metal table and laid back. He pulled out his iPod and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small bicycle. He scanned the area for anyone and went towards it.
"I'll be damned…"
Tails put his iPod away and pushed the bike a few feet, but this bike squealed aloud so Tails dropped it. Within a second, lights from a house across the street flickered on and a man started to shout.
"Delmar! Somebody's in your damn garage!" the man yelled.
"What? Don't just sit there, shoot that rat bastard, Smokey!" another old man called out.
"I gotta get the hell outta here!" Tails said.
Tails picked up the bike, jumped on and swiped his bag off the ground as he rode out of the garage. He looked across the street and saw the first old man come out of his house with a rifle.
"Shit!" Tails yelled, frantically peddling on the grass.
Bullets wizzed past him and his heart beat even faster. He had to make it to the road or he was done. Just as he got onto the road, a bullet struck the bike frame, making a loud clang sound. Once on concrete, Tails raced down the street and the old man watched him disappear into the light-less country roads.
"I'll get you, boy!" The old man shouted.
"Sorry!" Tails yelled from far away, barely being heard.
After a few miles of continuous biking, Tails decided he better see what the old man shot on his stolen bike. He hit the brakes but only the front tire brake worked so he flipped over the handle bars and landed in a large puddle. Tails was slow to get up but when he did his iPod flew out of the pocket of his jacket and into the water as well. Tails took off his soaking wet jacket and threw it on a barbwire fence.
A glowing light caught his attention so he flew over the fence and picked up a wooden board covering the source. His face lit up as he scooped up the Chaos Emerald.
"Better keep this safe.." Tails thought.
The fox flew back over the fence and put the emerald in his bag, then walked down the street. He saw a small 24 hour convenience store so he went in. A trail of water followed Tails as he walked through the store.
"Hey buddy, do you need a towel?" the Cashier asked.
"No, I just need something to drink.." Tails said.
Attention passengers: Our Next stop is Two Gates City
Cream decided to get off at this stop just to get away from the band of idiots that had been whistling at her since they got on. When she stepped off the train, the same punk kid followed her. His buddies stayed on the train and laughed as they looked out the window.
The kid caught up to Cream and grabbed her by the shoulder.
"Hey baby, I know you heard me talking to you!" The kid said obnoxiously.
Cream spun around, pushed his arm off her shoulder and swung her back pack at him. He backed up, then tried to run at her, but Cream had something else for him. She opened up her back pack and her Chao, Cheese, jumped out to kick the kids' teeth out of his mouth.
"Nice try, pal." Cream said as she walked away.
The kid laid on the ground, bleeding from his mouth and his buddies laughed even harder on the train.
Meanwhile, Espio walked through the downtown area and entered a local pub. He approached the counter and the bar tender greeted him.
"What'll it be, stranger?" The bar tender asked.
"I was actually looking for directions to the high mountains.." Espio answered.
"You follow Kensington up north for about twenty klicks, can't miss it."
The chameleon nodded. "Appreciate it, sir."
"But why don't you have a drink? You know, just to fuel you up for the walk."
"I'm not much of a drinker, sorry guy…" Espio said on his way to the door.
"Come on buddy, loosen up. Tell you what, first round is on me."
Espio thought about this, then grabbed a seat in a high stool at the bar. He guzzled down his first mug of beer, feeling pretty good so he said yes to the next. And then another. And another. Soon he drank close to a hundred dollars worth of booze. When the bar tender asked for him to pay up, Espio nodded and turned to the man next to him. He slipped his hand into the jacket that was slung over his stool and took out his wallet. Espio counted up a few dollar bills and slapped them on the counter and quickly left. Shouts come from the man he just stole from but The Chameleon was long gone.
"That beer is strong. Let's not make a habit of this..." Espio said to himself.
Tails pulled out his wallet and counted only twenty bucks so he was limited to what he could buy. He saw a couple of hats hanging on the back wall behind the counter and one hat stood out to him.
"Hey man, how much for the beanies?" Tails pointed up to the hats.
"10 bucks." The cashier answered.
"Oh. Dude, will you do 5?"
"Sorry, I can't go that low on price."
"Come on man, I just got rejected by this girl I like, and 5 minutes ago I got robbed. Please man?"
The cashier looked towards the back of the store, then back at Tails. "alright, 5 bucks but you gotta go after that."
"Thanks, I really appreciate this."
Tails purchased the maroon beanie and promptly left the store. He went over to his messed up bike and gym bag, pulled his iPod out and then tried on the beanie. It covered his whole head and left his hair and one ear hanging out from the top. He used his iPod to see how it looked and grinned.
"Not too bad, I'd say." Tails thought.
Tails jumped on his bike and rode down a long street that went past a few small cities and by dawn he stopped again. Casino Night Zone. Tails sat at a bus stop and found a newspaper from the day before.
"Wonder if they have job openings."
Tails looked for a job around town, then he closed his eyes and passed out for the rest of the day. The reality of his situation set in but it was too late to go back.
Cream walked into a local shelter and stayed in a small room until whenever she decided to leave. She pulled out an old photo of her and Vanilla smiling and hugging. A tear dropped from down her cheek, but cheese wiped it away and the two fell asleep.
Over the course of 2 months, Espio periodically visited all the bars around Two Gates and drank his nights away. Cream went sight-seeing all over town and Tails immediately found part time employment. He worked in a warehouse doing paper work and unloading packages from trucks. It wasn't long before the warehouse was sold and all the workers were laid off. Just before he left, Tails was stopped by his former boss and they talked.
"Listen Miles, I have a cousin over in Two Gates who owns a warehouse. I'll be heading over there so if you want more work, you should head there too." The boss said, handing the fox a business card.
"Thanks Vince. I'll meet you there." Tails replied.
"I'll put in a good word...you're a good kid with a head on your shoulders. You don't come by that much these days."
Tails and his old boss shook hands and they went their separate ways. Tails grabbed his bag from an old locker he was using and put on his hat. He went outside and started up his silver dirt bike, purchased with the money he'd earned during his time at the warehouse. With the help of his new GPS, Tails made his way to Two Gates City via the freeway. He got there by night and saw the city all lit up so he took a few pictures with his iPod.
"I guess this is my new home."
Tails rested his bike against a tree and counted his last pay he got from work. $575. He put his wallet away and went to ride his bike, but then he heard a girl scream. He looked around and then she screamed louder but she was far away. He threw a thick chain around the bike and tree and then flew into the sky. He soared high above the city to look for the girl and he spotted a familiar face: Cream.
"What is she doing here?!" Tails asked. "Sh - She can handle herself.."
A group of hedgehogs circled the Rabbit and she screamed out for help once more, then they covered her mouth.
"Damnit, Cream…"
Tails flew towards them, ready to fight off the thugs.