Silver kicked a pebble along the ground as he walked home. He grinned to himself. He had just turned 12 a little while ago. As far as he was concerned, he was practically an adult. Even if his father disagreed. Swinging his backpack off his back, he pushed the door open and ran inside. Going straight to the striped hedgehog waiting for him, he cheerfully said, "Hi, Dad!"
Shadow ruffled Silver's quills as he darted past. "Hey, Silv. Have a good day?"
"Yeah!" Silver rushed up the stairs and into his room. He tossed his backpack aside. Almost the very moment he threw himself onto his bed, he heard a loud crash downstairs. Sitting up, he cautiously called out, "Dad? Mom? What happened?"
No response.
He crept to the door and pressed his ear to it. Other than footsteps and clattering, it was quiet.
A loud, commanding voice suddenly spoke up, "Where is he?"
Silver flinched.
Another unfamiliar voice responded, "I don't know."
"Check up the stairs. I'll keep looking down here."
Silver froze, leaning against the wall. He instantly felt cold and sick. This is a dream. He's dreaming. That's the only explanation. Right?
Heavy footsteps marched toward him.
Unconsciously, Silver ran to his closet. He dragged the door open and ducked into the corner. His hands shook as he shut himself in.
Closing his eyes, he curled up and buried his head in his arms. No matter how hard he tried to calm himself, his breathing just kept getting faster and louder.
It didn't make sense. None of this made sense.
A flash of green appeared in the corner of his vision. Silver jerked his head over. Shadow knelt beside him, traces of chaos energy evaporating off his quills. He put an arm around his son. They sat in silence, tensely listening for any sign of what was going on outside.
A few steps. Two voices shouted to each other. Something rattled noisily.
Silver leaned against Shadow. He felt the older hedgehog's lungs expanding with each controlled breath.
Comforting fingertips buried into Silver's quills. He forced a steadying sigh.
The door to Silver's room burst open.
The young hedgehog flinched backward, grabbing his dad's arm tightly.
"Shadow the Hedgehog!"
Silver looked up at Shadow with wide, frightened eyes.
The dark hedgehog lowered his head and calmly put a finger to his mouth, wordlessly instructing Silver to stay quiet. He pressed something into his son's hand. Then, he closed his eyes, focusing.
Silver heard a faint whisper. "Chaos…"
Another flash of green, and Shadow was gone.
Silver pressed his head to his closet door, peering through the slats.
He saw Shadow, standing confidently, facing an armored soldier.
The soldier pushed his weapon toward Shadow and yelled to his team. They rushed in, surrounding Shadow.
Silver watched, terrified. Unable to look away.
Shadow glanced back at him slightly.
Silver fought back a distressed scream.
Why? Why Shadow? Was this GUN? Why would they do this?
Shadow looked at the soldiers calmly. He held his hands out to them. He made no effort to resist as the soldiers pulled him away.
He would find a way out. Somehow. But not now. Not when Silver was in danger.
Now things are ramping up. Short but very important chapter. So, I'll take this opportunity to ramble. First of all, thank you so much for reading. I really appreciate it. It motivates me to keep writing. Second, if you like this, noticed something, or just have something to say, leave a review. And if you like this, check out my other stories. I like to post themed mini-stories before each big story. The companion fic for this one is Silver Linings. Feel free to leave a review on older works. I still read them. Any feedback is appreciated.