CHAPTER 5
Three more hours passed before one of the doctors came with news.
"Well? Is he going to die?" Silver asked from where he was curled in a chair and annoyed from being awoken.
"Only time can tell," The doctor sighed. "Whatever was done to him…it was almost too much for him to take. We barely kept him from death."
"There are others like him in the basement of the prison in Emerald Town," Ginny spoke up. "Many more. Some are worse than him…"
The doctor shuddered, as if just thinking about the fact that there were more victims would kill them. He sighed, turned, and attempted to leave.
"Hold on a second. Can we see him?" Sonic asked.
"I suppose. But he isn't very pretty." The doctor lead them down the hall, coming to a pair of doors labeled 'RECOVERY'. They entered, coming to a back room.
"He may not be able to move on his own for a couple of weeks…if he can even more at all. They severely damaged his spine, crushing part of it…" The doctor sighed. "I'm going to have a word with GUN about this."
"Leave that up to us," Ginny said. "Don't worry, we'll handle it."
They entered into the small room, finding a bed shoved up against the far wall. Shadow lay motionless, most of his body covered in bandages. A thick tube entered his throat, the other end connected to one of many large machines stacked behind the bed. Wires sprung from under many of the bandages, leading back to the other monitors. Tails clutched the Chaos Emerald in his hand tightly, never once taking his eyes off Shadow.
"We believe he'll still be able to speak. What damage they did to his throat was amazing…it was almost as if they tore it open just to keep him from screaming…but it was improperly done. I'm absolutely amazed he's survived even after that," The doctor sighed. "He just refuses to accept death."
"I think this will help him. We used most of its power to get him and Sonic here, but it should do something." Tails held up the Emerald.
"Go ahead."
He gently placed the Emerald in Shadow's less mutilated hand, stepping back as a soft glow covered him. A few readings on the monitors behind them grew stronger, bringing hope to the group's eyes.
"Well, we're off to a good start." Knuckles said. "Come on, guys. Let's get some food."
"One more thing…" The doctor said. "Along with the broken pieces of glass, we found this."
The group looked up to see he was holding something dark and rectangular, covered in dried blood. Ginny blinked hard, knocked the thing to the floor and stomped on it with all her might. It broke in two, revealing tiny wires and pieces of metal. She glanced up, finally muttering, "That's a tracking device. "
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"This is bad!"
"You don't say."
"No! I mean GUN probably knows we smuggled him here…they'll storm the hospital! More innocents could die! We've got to get Shadow out of here!" Ginny paced.
"And what? Move him where?" Silver asked.
"Well, where's the last place they'll look?" Rouge asked.
Ginny halted in her tracks, gazing out the window with a look of horror and disapproval on her face. "Prison Island," She said at last. "There's actually an abandoned building that's just painted to look like an observatory tower. We can hide him there. No one will ever know."
"I can think of so many ways this could go wrong." Sonic muttered.
"This is probably our only chance." Tails piped up. "Besides, once we reach the island I can construct security measures."
"Well, we have to move fast." Knuckles said. "We've already spent more than enough time here."
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The guard on duty was reclined back in his chair, feet up on the control panel. A newspaper was folded over his face, but it did nothing to mute his snoring. He had been on 'watch' for a few hours now, but like any other day, nothing happened.
And now, unlike many days, an alarm went off.
The guard fell out of his chair, landing heavily on the ground. He pulled himself up, swearing, and glanced towards the many monitors that watched the island.
There…in sector 4…someone had broken in.
"Man, I sure hope they told you guys what to do in case of an emergency, because not a word was spoken to me!" He shouted into a radio, turning and leaving the room.
He did not notice the helicopter land in the middle of the forest, next to the old observatory tower...
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"Go!"
Rouge kicked open the abandoned building's door and rushed inside, checking for any danger. She motioned for the others to follow and they hurriedly crowded into the small main floor. Last came a few of the doctors, pushing Shadow's gurney in the furthest and safest corner of the room, stacking equipment around it.
"We'll be back shortly!" The helicopter's pilot shouted, motioning for most of the doctors to head back to their means of transport. They lifted off quickly, zipping straight up into the sky and flying off at a breakneck speed.
"That actually went well," Silver said, looking over the bags of supplies that had been brought with them. "Did we pack any Oreos?"
"Now if everything actually went according to plan Sonic won't get captured." Knuckles sighed. "But knowing him, something happened or else he'd be back by now."
"Who should be back by now?" Sonic asked, bursting through the door and smacking him with it.
"No one. Put your speed to use and run far, far away. Because if I catch you there won't be enough of you to bury." Knuckles hissed.
Tails began to gather up supplies from another bag, using the junk to make a medium sized generator. Ginny risked a glance at the window and everyone else went to explore their new home.
"We need an X-Box," Sonic decided. "And a flat screen and surround system. All about right here." He stared at a wall, as if thinking about the electronics would bring them into real life.
"You wish." Silver sighed.
"Well, there's not much to do over the next few months here. Might as well invest in a PlayStation Portable,"
"You wish. We're dead broke."
Sonic cast him a glare but quickly brightened up again. "Hey, Rouge, you steal things, right?"
Silver facepalmed.
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Aaagh, short chapter! Shortest one, probably! Oh, well. More stuff on the way; this is where it really begins to get good, I swear.
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