Chapter 3 - Caring

Ok, don't hit me for taking too long. It's only what? February? Whoops. I know I'm terrible at the moment. However swimming in GCSE Coursework has made me have to slow down in writing. I'm getting this story finished very soon so hold on. I hopefully wont be long unless life throws something else at me.

Anyway, rant over. Enjoy this chapter and let me know where there's room for improvement.

"Wwwhhheeeeeee!" Abigail giggled as she slid down the hill with staggering speed.
"Slow down, Abigail. Otherwise you'll end up on the lake!" Sonic called.
Abigail dug her heels into the snow, slowing herself down.

Sonic watched as Abigail came to a stop. She was a safe distance away from the icy lake. The lake was like a bowl, surrounded by thick pine trees that grew on a steep hill. Over the years all of the rainwater had ran down the hills and created the lake. Sonic didn't dare imagine how deep the water really was and he shuddered at the thought. However, the lake gave the trees a steady source of water and it also became a safe haven for wild animals.

Almost two hours had passed since Sonic had first left Shadow at the town. He only realised this when the big clock chimed several times.
"Uh oh, guys, I've gotta go. I didn't realise it was this late."
"Aaawwww," Abigail and Sean moaned in unison.
"Sorry, but Shadow will be in a foul mood now. I'd best head back."
"Okkaayy," they sighed.

Sonic smirked, "Come on, save me the walk down the hill. Give me a shove down and then I'll have to go."
Sean and Abigail nodded with a devilish grin and pushed Sonic with all their strength.
"Waay heeeyyy!" he exclaimed, clutching onto the sides of the sled as he rushed down.

Sonic sped down the hill. "Careful, Sonic. You're going too fast!" Sean exclaimed. Sonic put his foot down on the ground but he couldn't stop. His foot was only sliding across the ice beneath!
"Uh oh," Sonic gulped, throwing himself from the sled and hoping he wasn't already on the lake. Then he would be in trouble.

Sonic tumbled along the ground and groaned as he slid into the centre of the lake. He had landed on his face and his tounge had conveniently stuck to the ice. He tried to get on his hands and knees but they gave way from beneath him.
"It hath to be ice," he muttered. After a few tugs and plenty of 'Ow's Sonic got himself free. Slowly he tried to get up again but an echoing crack caused him to freeze.

"Sonic, lie flat on your tummy and don't move. I. I'll get Shadow!" Sean instructed.
Sonic wasted no time in doing as advised. He gave a nervous laugh as the ice grumbled beneath him again. "Be quick. I don't know how long this ice can hold... And my belly is getting cold."
Sean smiled weakly at Sonic's optimism and rushed off to find the black hedgehog.

"Abigail, you ok?" Sonic called, noticing how she was uncertain of what to do.
"Uh huh, I'm just..."
"Nervous?"
"Yeah... Are you all right?" Abigail asked.
"I've lost a bit of feeling in my tounge, but other than that I'm fine," Sonic grinned. "Although my body does feel like it's burning on this ice. Why can ice be warm?! I wanna file a complaint!"

Sonic was simply trying to keep Abigail from panicking and he seemed to be getting there, especially when Abigail began to weakly giggle. However, the ice was stinging like crazy. It felt like it was gnawing at his skin and he began to get restless. It was hard to keep cheerful in such irritatingly cold conditions.
He decided to try and move forward with a 'seal' technique. Keeping his arms and legs outstretched, he began to shuffle along the ice. At first it worked but after a few shuffles the ice began to growl yet again. Sonic stopped instantly.

For apparently being 'faster' than me, Shadow certainly takes his time. He'd better hurry up...

(Meanwhile)

Shadow was on the verge of walking away from the sled full of presents and putting a sign on saying 'help yourself' but the fact he had paid for a lot of it stopped him. Two hours and countless cups of coffee later, Sean finally appeared.

"Shadow!" Sean Panted.
"It's about time. Where's Sonic? I doubt he let you win a race back."
Sean was trying to speak but he was completely out of breath. Shadow rolled his eyes and reluctantly handed him his untouched coffee. Sean took it and quickly drank the entire thing, leaving Shadow nothing but the dregs.

"Sonic's... In trouble," Sean panted.
"What happened?" Shadow asked, tipping the last few drops of coffee onto the floor with dissatisfaction.
"We were playing on the... Sledges. We realised the time and-"

"Cut to the chase, kid."
"Oh, right." Sean took a deep breath breath. "Sonic is stuck in the middle of the lake and the ice is breaking beneath him!" Sean rushed in a single breath.

Shadow thought for a second. "You'll need a rope... Skipping ropes will have to do. Luckily, Sonic bought plenty of them," he explained. "Look in that bag for some."
Sean immediately did as he was asked and quickly found a dozen or so.
"Good, now tie them together, that's it, make sure it's tight."

When Sean and Shadow were finished Shadow took the rope. "Stay here with the presents. I'll get Sonic, got it?"
Sean nodded with a gulp.

"Chaos control!"

Shadow reappeared at the edge of the lake a few seconds later.
"Shadow! I never thought I'd.d be so glad to s. see you," Sonic exclaimed through chattering teeth. He looked absolutely freezing.
"Take it easy, Sonic. Catch this," Shadow said, cutting to the chase as usual.

Abigail ran over to Shadow with a few blankets. Sonic must've given her something to do- which was pretty foolish in Shadow's opinion. Had Sonic fallen through, no-one would have been there! Abigail said nothing and stared at Sonic with worry. She seemed relieved that he was ok.
"Calm down, Abigail. We're okay-" Sonic was cut off by another echoing crack.

Shadow set into action, throwing the massive skipping rope at Sonic. He was lucky Sonic had bought so many. The rope was thrown straight forward, clearly Shadow did this a lot. Sonic reached out but he only just couldn't reach it.
"T.T. Typical." he grumbled.

"Dang, I'm going to try again. You're going to need to wrap it around your wrist, since your grip wont be very strong."
Shadow was right, the coldness had made Sonic's body numb. He felt like he was probably going to end up getting hypothermia or something if Shadow didn't hurry up.

Shadow pulled the rope back quickly and carefully stepped onto the ice. He knew if he fell he'd never be able to live it down, not with Sonic watching. He went a few steps forward but kept onto the thicker parts of ice. He threw the rope again, this time it was close enough.
"You know what to do, Sonic. Wrap it around your wrist as many times as you can and hold on tight."

Sonic was grateful for the fact Shadow was able to keep so calm. Being trained up by G.U.N certainly had it's advantages. He could imagine Amy running around like a headless chicken. Sonic smirked to himself as he reached for the rope.
"Uh, Shadow, why don't you just Chaos Control over here. Surely it'd be easier?" Sonic asked, wrapping the rope up and down his wrist and forearm like his life depended on it.
"I'd reappear in mid-air, Sonic. I'd end up breaking the ice around you."
"Fair enough. Just hurry please."

Shadow knew that Sonic was beginning to feel uneasy. His fear of water was beginning to rise in his throat; every time the ice cracked Sonic looked paler and paler.

"Abigail, give me a hand. There's no way I'll be able to pull this lump of lard in by myself," Shadow said lightly. If his only way to keep Sonic focused was to wind him up, then Shadow would- after all he was a natural.
"Hey!" Sonic protested. Yep, he was definitely a natural.
Abigail giggled and took the end of the rope.

Together, Shadow and Abigail began to haul Sonic in. Sonic began to inch his way along the ice but it continued to grumble beneath him.
"Shadow, I. I think you really need to stop."
"Stop panicking already. You're gonna have to trust me on this."
"No way! If I fall in this-"
"You wont, now just keep hold of the rope."

Sonic had been gripped by fear and panic. Shadow knew he had to calm him down, otherwise he would fall into the icy depths beneath. Shadow tried to think of something but his mind was as numb as Sonic's body. He continued to pull Sonic in, knowing with his body heat the ice was melting and would eventually give way...

Crunch.

Me and my big mouth, Shadow cursed. Sonic was now on an island of ice. If he wandered too far towards the edge he would surely fall in and become trapped.
"Shadow, hurry up!" Sonic was practically screaming at the black hedgehog. Fear choking his voice and actions. He was a sitting duck. Perhaps it was stupidity that seized his thoughts, but Sonic stood up. Hopefully he could be quick enough to avoid actually falling into the water. After an unnerving moment of pure silence, except from the tiny sounds of the splashing of water beneath him, Sonic ran.

The first few steps were successful until his foot slid from beneath him. Sonic hit the ground with a thud, followed by a crack. Sonic had fallen through, leaving only a tiny hole for him to escape from. The shock of the icy water slammed into Sonic. It yanked any warmth Sonic still had away from him and left him gasping for air. Sonic tried to focus and steady his breathing but with no avail. He was panicking.

"SHADOW!"

Abigail could only watch in horror and cling onto Sonic's only lifeline. Sonic lost his grip on the ledge and he sunk down into the depths. Abigail and Shadow began to pull at the rope to help Sonic get back to the surface. It was working until the rope snapped from scraping alone the sharp edge of the ice for too long. His body reacted before his mind could give any sensible suggestions. Shadow threw himself into a full on sprint. Sonic was struggling to keep hold of the ledge and keep his head above water.

"Sonic, hold on!" Shadow eventually had to drop flat onto his stomach and shuffle towards the hedgehog. Two hedgehogs falling into the water was the last thing they needed. Sonic made a desperate attempt to get out of the water but the ledge crumbled beneath his fingers. He fell into the dark and bitter depths of the lake.

Shadow made it to the edge of the ice and looked for Sonic: There was no sign. Gritting his teeth, Shadow threw himself into the water. He could not see a thing, all he could rely on was his gut and instinct. He could vaguely sense Sonic's chaos signal, as Shadow liked to think of it. It was directly beneath him, although he couldn't tell how far. His body wanted air. He had spent too long thinking and less time acting.

Shadow shot to the surface and took a single breath of air and disappeared back down. He swam as quickly as his body could manage. The cold made him feel sluggish, like a reptile in the cold. He needed to hurry up, Sonic wouldn't be able to hold his breath for this long. Thirty seconds was Sonic's maximum and that amount of time had passed long ago.

Shaking the thoughts out if his mind and reaching down as far as he could, he finally he felt the frayed edge of the rope. Shadow seized it and tugged up on it. Sonic was still on the end, fully unconscious. Relief washed over him. He looked up, amazed at how far down he actually was. A light as bright as a star trickled into the water. Shadow's body was numb, he could barely move and the corners of his mind were fuzzy. He needed air. They couldn't make it back to the top.

"Chaos Control," Shadow managed. He only hoped it would work underwater. Finally, Shadow couldn't take it anymore. He finally fell into darkness...

Ah, good old-fashioned cliffies. Sorry about that XD. I intend to finish this within the next week and then I'm getting back onto 'When will this End' So bear with me XD

Actually, speaking of other stories, I have a poll on my profile if you'd like to have a quick look.

Thanks again, bye