ZONE 2: THE HOSPITAL
ACT 3: SOMEONE CALL AN EXORCIST!
Shadow glared at the cowboy ghost. It was difficult to keep his eyes on him while also keeping track of the possessed horse statues, but somehow, Shadow was managing. He saw them whinny and kick their feet out of the corner of his eye, their metal hooves scraping against the dirt.
"We're no one's dinner," Shadow growled, his grip tightening around Sonic.
"Watch yourself, boy," the ghost warned, his ferocious grin widening. "You ain't the first folks to have made it this far. I'll round you up like I've rounded up the rest, and you'll be mine again before sundown."
The horses reared their heads back in agreement. Shadow glared at them too.
"I saw through your ruse once," Shadow said. "It won't work on me a second time. You're a fool if you think otherwise!"
That made the ghost laugh. "You've got the spirit of a stallion, hedgehog." Leaning forward, the ghost then said, "But there's one thing you ought'a know: even the toughest spirit can be broken."
The sound of metal on metal suddenly tore through the air. The noise was loud, and horrible, but it wasn't nearly as horrible as the sight of the horse statues charging at Sonic and Shadow. Their twisted steel bodies shuddered with every pump of their spindly legs, and their heads jerked this way and that as if they were puppets on tangled strings, their creepiness factor working on overdrive.
Shadow dodged the first horse by diving to the right, but the second horse adjusted course quickly, and was on top of him before he had a chance to get out of the way. When the metal monster stomped down on him, Shadow was forced to drop to the ground and block the attack with his foot, since he still had Sonic in his arms. The horse's bestial strength was apparent from the gust of wind that blew through Sonic's quills when its hoof connected with Shadow's shoe.
With wide eyes, Sonic stared at the killer hoof. It was less than an inch from his nose, and still fighting to get closer.
Shadow set his jaw. He wasn't willing to become roadkill. With a great heave, he pushed the metal horse back, and jumped to his feet. A bead of sweat rolled down his face, but he was far from beat. "I won't break," he snarled as he shot a loathsome glare at the cowboy ghost. "If you don't back down, your pets will be the only ones left in pieces."
The look in the ghost's eyes was hungry. "Quit yappin', and show me your fire!"
Sonic tugged on Shadow's shoulder. "Stripes," he said tensely, "you gotta put me down."
Shadow didn't break eye contact with the ghost. "No. You're in no condition to fight."
Sonic balled his hands into fists. "I can handle myself. 'Sides, it's no good if I'm slowin' you down."
The two hedgehogs were surrounded. Six metal horses stood in a circle around them, leaving no room to escape. The ghost town offered no spectators, but the fog created the illusion of figures if the sun hit it at the right angle. It felt like they were in the middle of a grand event, a showdown at the town square, except they weren't fighting for the title of sheriff; they were fighting for their lives.
Shadow briefly turned his attention away from the ghost in favor of looking down at Sonic. When he spoke, he did so with annoyance in his tone. "This isn't up for debate. You–"
The dark hedgehog was cut off by the sudden appearance of a third horse. Its huge steel head was plowing forward, ready to bash Shadow's skull to bits. Sonic yanked Shadow backwards, and the two hedgehogs rolled under the horse's attack, missing it by a hair.
Now on the ground, Sonic pushed himself out of Shadow's grasp and said, "I got us into this mess, alright? The least I can do is stay outta your way while you clean it up."
Shadow looked like he wanted to argue, but when the cowboy ghost sent another horse his way, he decided to prioritize the threat. Now that he had both hands free, he was able to grab the horse when it charged at him, and with that same unnatural strength as before, he flipped it over his head and slammed it down into the dirt. The horse shrieked in surprise, but because it was a haunted statue and not a real horse, it couldn't really feel pain.
Shadow would need to completely destroy it in order to take it out of the fight.
Sonic, meanwhile, was thinking about what he could do to help. He didn't want to be a dead weight–anymore than he already was. Surely, there must be something he could do to aid Shadow in the fight. His broken leg complicated things, but he'd sooner break another bone than just stand there and do nothing. So, he looked between all of the horses, at their tall metallic bodies that cut into the sky like cursed blades. And he noticed something.
The horse statue that the cowboy ghost was sitting on moved seamlessly, its motions almost indistinguishable from a living, breathing horse. The ones on the other side of the square, however, moved more erratically, their bodies twitching like they were running out of power.
Maybe, if…
"Stripes!" Sonic shouted, his eyes big from the realization. "You gotta throw it, man!"
Shadow, who had been trying and failing to punch the life out of the undead horse statue, shouted back, "What?!" He narrowly avoided the statue's dagger-like teeth when it snapped at him.
"As far as you can," Sonic answered. "Just do it!"
Grunting, Shadow figured he might as well give it a shot. He ducked under the horse's hooves, whipped back around, and grabbed its spindly legs with both of his hands. Then, he spun it around, faster and faster, until finally he let it go, and the statue sailed through the air, crashing into a house two blocks down the street. It did not get back up.
Shadow's eyes lit up. Five more to go.
Moving fast, Shadow managed to toss all but the last horse out of the fight. When it came to that last one, however, he had to stop, because it was the one the cowboy ghost had chosen as a steed. And the cowboy ghost now had Sonic clutched in his ghastly fist. The blue hedgehog was clawing angrily at the white hand wrapped around his middle, but if the ghost could feel it, he didn't seem to care.
"I'll cut you a deal," the ghost purred, his swirling eyes glowing bright purple as they bored into Shadow. "Surrender, and I'll let him go. Your Chaos Energy's all I'm hankerin' for, anyhow. Ain't no need to be greedy!"
"No! Stripes, don't–"
The ghost tightened his grip around Sonic, choking him. His freaky eyes never wavered from Shadow's face. "Refuse, and I'll kill him." Grinning, the ghost said to Shadow, "The choice is yours."
Shadow watched as Sonic's face started to turn blue. His chest frothed with rage at the cowboy ghost, the feeling swirling inside of him like a snowstorm, prickling his skin and fur and threatening to burst out in a storm of icicle spears. He looked the ghost dead in the eye, his expression frigid. His voice was equally as cold when he replied, "I refuse."
The ghost blinked in surprise. However, he quickly recovered, and his expression darkened. "Stubborn hog," he sneered. "As if I'd let a good meal go to waste!"
Then, the ghost loosened his grip around Sonic, and Sonic gasped. But before the blue hedgehog could recover, the ghost pressed his big thumb against Sonic's little forehead, and said evilly, "Do me a favor, won't you, darlin'? Wrangle that friend a'yours for me."
Sonic's efforts to break free from the ghost's grasp died down when his green eyes started to fill with purple. And when he looked down at Shadow from his place atop the horse statue's head, it was with the same swirling gaze as the cowboy ghost.
Great. Now Shadow would have to–
Blinking, Shadow stared at the top of the horse statue's head, but Sonic wasn't there anymore. His ear twitched, and he snapped his head to the side just in time to see Sonic's fist coming towards him way faster than he ever would have thought was possible. Shadow caught it, but only just barely, and his palm stung from the impact.
The two hedgehogs skidded across the dirt, the speed of Sonic's attack carrying them forward even after it had been stopped.
It was the sweat lining Sonic's brow that caused Shadow to look down. Under the leg brace, Shadow could see the bandages begin to turn red as fresh blood seeped through. He gritted his teeth. While Sonic's speed certainly came as a surprise, it was being forced out of him, and if Shadow didn't stop it soon, the consequences could be dire.
Sonic threw another punch, although this one seemed slower than the first. His fist still streaked through the air like a speeding bullet, however, and Shadow had to be quick to catch it. Then, the dark hedgehog's chest squeezed with rage at the cowboy ghost when he heard Sonic's breath hitch from the next step he took.
No more playing around.
Shadow dropped Sonic's fists and ran towards the cowboy ghost and his steed at top speed, his icy anger igniting and turning into a burning flame inside his heart. He refused to let this spirit keep them trapped here any longer, and when he curled into a ball, all of his rage joined him, his body set alight with red hot Chaos Energy.
The ghost did not dodge. His hunger consumed him–when he saw Shadow's overflow of Chaos Energy, he simply waited in anticipation.
Less than a second later, Shadow's hit connected with the horse statue's skull, and the haunted art piece burst into flames, overwhelmed by the power of Shadow's attack. The cowboy ghost was next, as Shadow bounced off the statue's head and slammed directly into the ghost's face, still on fire with that crackling red energy.
It proved to be too much for the voracious ghost. He, too, burst into flames. His spirit burned away quickly, destroyed by the unrestrained power of Shadow's Chaos Energy.
Shadow landed on his feet. He watched as the last of the cowboy ghost's wispy form disappeared into the sky with a dark expression. Good riddance, he thought. Then, he rushed over to the other side of the square, where Sonic was standing, wobbling on his feet.
"Sh… Sheesh! What hit me?" Sonic laughed, though it was strained. "F-Feels like I just went through the spin cycle! Haha!"
Shadow inspected Sonic's eyes, but could find no trace of the ghostly purple that had previously been infecting them. Did he not remember going fast?
"Let's get out of here," Shadow said tersely, casting a glance over his shoulder. The hospital building had disappeared, but that creepy fog remained hanging over everything. "Before anything else shows up."
"Huh?" Sonic blinked, still a little dazed. "Oh, yeah. And let's hunt down a cafeteria while we're at it–one without an ectoplasm problem!"
Shadow suddenly felt a searing pain in his head. It burned him, like the Chaos Energy he had just unleashed onto the cowboy ghost. He squeezed his eyes shut to curb his spinning vision, but it did little to help the sudden nausea that was now gripping at his throat.
Sonic noticed the sudden change and immediately shook off the last of the funk clouding his brain. He reached out to Shadow, holding him steady by gripping the dark hedgehog's upper arm. "You doin' okay, bud?"
Grimacing, Shadow pried his eyes open. "It's nothing. Just–"
Whatever he was about to say died in his throat, as his body completely shut down on him. Sonic, alarmed, caught him before he could become a pile in the dirt.
Thankfully, he could feel Shadow's breath against his shoulder, so he knew he wasn't dead, just asleep. Still, Sonic was concerned.
"Take it easy," Sonic said, even though Shadow couldn't hear him.
Sonic's leg–which he had been pointedly ignoring up until this point–screamed at him to sit down, but there was no way he could stop and rest in this messed up ghost town. The buildings loomed at him through the fog, the specters of the horse statues lurking just out of sight.
Sonic slung Shadow's arm over his shoulders. He didn't have the leg strength necessary to carry him like a Disney princess, so hopefully the dark hedgehog wouldn't mind being half-dragged through the mud while Sonic limped up the hill and out of town. He didn't stop until the haunted town vanished behind the hills at his back, and when it did, he carefully laid Shadow down in a bed of flowers before flopping down next to him, exhausted.
Staring up at the stars, Sonic listened to the soft sound of the wind blowing through the grass. To no one in particular, he asked, "Has my life always been this exciting?"