Chapter 7

Tails stood in the kitchen stirring the boiling pasta that would go into tonight's mac & cheese. He gave a sigh as he turned off the stove and drained the pasta. He returned it to the pot and mixed the sauce with the noodles. Tails went into the fridge and pulled out a pack of microwave hotdogs. After dumping them on a plate and setting the microwave, he shouted, "Hey Knuckles! Dinner is just about ready!" Tails could hear the echidna's bedroom door opening and his heavy footsteps coming towards the kitchen.

He appeared worried, "It 8:30 and neither of them are back yet."

Tails sighed once more, "I know. Sonic goes on long runs all the time but he was just so angry when he left… Shadow also makes all day disappearances but this time I'm worried that he might not come back. I think Sonic hurt his feelings."

Knuckles scoffed, "Sorry kid, but in case you haven't noticed, Shadow and feelings don't exactly go together. Don't get me wrong, he's an ok guy when you spend some time with him but he's kind of a zombie when it comes to feelings."

Tails shook his head, "That's not true. He doesn't show it but I know deep down he's really sad. Shadow's experiences have wrongly taught him that no cares about him and he has to fend for himself. That's why he's always so guarded and aggressive, to prevent getting close and getting hurt. When I invited him to live with us, I think he started to question his old ways of thinking and it confused him. But… when Sonic said all those things this morning… it probably convinced him that what he thought all along was true..."

Sonic was lying down on a park bench in the city looking at the stars. He had been running all over the city and the surrounding area all day but realized it was getting late. However, something made him dread going home. Sonic was a bit ashamed at his massive lack of control earlier that day. It had been quite a while since he had lost his temper like that. He partially wanted to blame Shadow but he was mad at himself too. I keep reaching out to him but he keeps shoving me away. I'm trying to be a good friend and give him a chance to do the same but... argh! It's so frustrating! What am I not doing right? I know Shadow doesn't want be lonely, I mean who does? Or… maybe that where my mistake is. Maybe he wants to be alone. Damn! He's like a living Rubric cube where all the pieces switch around just when you think you know how to solve it. Sonic's thoughts were broken by what sounded like angry shouting. His ears swiveled toward the noise, curious as to what was going on. Suddenly there was a high-pitched scream that made Sonic jump up and sprint in its direction. He leaped over a hedge and saw a tall male Mobian wearing a ski-mask, a lion most likely due the tail seen lashing about, trying to shove a young petite female bob-cat into a van. Without hesitation, Sonic leapt toward the male and delivered a swift kick to his face. He fell to ground and seemed to be unconscious. Sonic toward his attention to the female bob-cat, "Are you ok?"

She gratefully wrapped him in a hug and sobbed, "Oh Chaos thank you so much! This creep pulled up next to me and asked for a smoke. I said I didn't have any and he tried to pull me into the van! I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't come along!"

Sonic hugged her back in an attempt to calm her, "Hey, hey, easy now. Everything's cool." The revving of an engine was heard as the male in the mask, who had been pretending to be unconscious, now was behind the wheel of his vehicle. He stepped on the gas and Sonic was able to grab the bob-cat and jump out of the way just in time as the male had tried to run them over. Having failed, he floored the gas and speed off with a screeching of tires. In a normal setting, Sonic would go after him but the female bob-cat clung to him as she sobbed hysterically. Sonic said to her, "Calm down, he's gone, you're safe now."

She stopped crying and hugged him tighter, "Thank you so much! You must be my guardian angel or something!"

Sonic laughed as he put her down, "I'm no angel, I'm just a guy who can't stand around when people are in trouble. Come on, let's go to the police station and report that guy. I caught a good look at his license plate."

Tails and Knuckles sat on the living room couch as they watched the 9 o' clock news. Most of the stories had been pretty normal. A warehouse fire here, a record-breaking skyscraper had been built there, a kid had fallen in a sewer but was rescued. Knuckles was about to change the channel when the anchorwoman said, "And now, the Apex Killer, as he has been dubbed, is still on a kidnapping and murder spree. There are several missing Mobians whose pictures will be displayed in the corner of your screen during this story. If you have seen them or have any knowledge of their whereabouts, please call the number on the screen. The number of victims is thought to be at least 6 if not more. The elusive culprit's identity was unknown until tonight. We go to Lance Barman at the police station for the scoop. Lance?"

The screen went the field reporter, "Thanks Cathy. I'm Lance Barman here at the city's police station with a young lady who almost became the next victim. Can you tell us your name miss?" Lance aimed the microphone at a female bobcat.

"My name is Samantha Burks."

Lance asked, "Can you tell us what happened Ms. Burks?"

Samantha nodded, "I was walking home from my job when a large black van pulled up beside me. The window rolled down and a guy inside was wearing a ski-mask. He asked me if I had a smoke and I said no. He really gave me the creeps so I started to walk away when he jumped out of the van and tried to shove me in the back! He was yelling, 'Get in there you little slut! Get in there!' So I just started screaming! I thought he was going to kill me!"

Knuckles commented, "She's cute."

Tails said, "Shhhh! I'm trying to hear!"

Lance than asked, "How did you escape?"

Samantha smiled, "Well this really nice guy came from nowhere and kicked him right in the face! But then the creep got up and tried to run us over! But that other guy was really fast and we got out of the way. If it weren't for him, I'd probably be dead."

Lance turned to the camera, "Just incredible. It just so happens that the young man who rescued Ms. Burks also was kind enough to walk her to police station and is here right now. Lance turned to a nervous looking blue hedgehog.

"Hey that's Sonic!" cried Tails.

Knuckles laughed, "He looks constipated. Hahahaha!"

"Shut up Knuckles, I can't hear what the news guy is saying!"

"-to save Ms. Burks?"

Sonic cleared his throat, "Well, um, I couldn't do nothing, you know? It, uh, heh heh, wouldn't be right."

Lance smiled, "Its good thing this city has people like you around, huh?"

"Heh. Yeah." replied Sonic as he nervously scratched his ear.

Lance said, "According to police, it was you who reported the license plate of the kidnapper correct?"

Sonic nodded, "Yeah. That guy is a real lowlife and I hope he goes to jail for a long time."

Lance turned the camera, "Well hopefully he will because the police were able to use the plate number to identify the Apex Killer." On the screen appeared the mug shot of a fierce looking lion with a short messy mane and many scars on his face. As the picture was displayed, Lance said, "The culprit's name is Alex Ortiz. He is heavily built and is extremely dangerous. Police say that he has a tendency to attack Mobians of predatory decent, earning him the name Apex Killer. If you see this Mobian please call the police immediately. Back to you Cathy."

Tails turned to Knuckles, "Wow, the Apex Killer sounds like a real psychopath. I hope the police catch him soon before anyone else gets hurt."

Knuckles shrugged, "He didn't look that tough. People like that have glass jaws."

Tails frowned, "Knuckles, this serious! The streets aren't safe anymore with this guy running around."

Knuckles replied in a mocking tone, "Your right. Hey, aren't foxes a predatory animal? Stay inside after dark cause he might get you too Tails! Hahahaha!"

"You shouldn't joke about stuff like Knuckles." said Sonic as he entered the living room.

Tails jumped up, "Sonic! We just saw you on the news!"

"You looked like you were about to wet yourself." snickered Knuckles.

Sonic glared at him, "Ha ha. I just hate it when people put cameras in my face." He took a minute to look around, "Is Shadow here?"

Tails immediately turned somber, "No. he left around the same you did out his window. Hasn't come back since."

In a partially serious voice, Knuckles asked, "Do you think he'll be alright out there with this Apex Killer guy on the loose?"

Tails thought for a moment before saying "Well, I think so. Hedgehogs are not of predatory decent." Sonic stared at the T.V. screen. The closing news report was something about stocks and the economy.

Sonic thought It's almost 11 o'clock at night. What the hell could he be doing out there all by himself? But… it doesn't matter. Out loud Sonic said, "Guys… if he isn't back by morning, we're going to look for him. Shadow is a part of this family and if he doesn't know that, we need to tell him." Tails and Knuckles nodded. Sonic said, "Ok, let's get some rest." Everyone went to their bedrooms and climbed to into bed but no one got much sleep.

Author's Note: Here's Chapter 7 just like I promised. What happened to Shadow? Did the Apex Killer nab him? Fun Fact: Hedgehogs are omnivores that a variety of things from berries to snakes! Cool huh? But will that be enough for the Apex Killer to consider Shadow prey? Please read, review, and most importantly, enjoy!