Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of the characters in this story. I only own Scarlet, Iris, and Cecelia Rose, OC's I made to serve as parents for the Rouge, Shadow and Amy respectively. Other made up parents are not named and will only be mentioned in passing.
Title is inspired by lyrics from Flyleaf's song I'm So Sick.
*Trigger warning: Graphic depictions of body parts, blood, and violence. Vague mentions of drugs.*
7 Screaming in Your Itching Ears
Oddly enough, though the dark hedgehog was nowhere in sight currently, Amy couldn't get him off her mind.
When did Shadow save me? I can't even remember the last time Shadow and I spent time together alone, if ever. There's always been at least one other person between us. And anytime Rouge managed to drag him to Sonic's place, he always stuck to his corner. If he really saved me from something, he definitely wasn't obvious about it.
She kept her thoughts to herself as she and Knuckles gradually made headway down the bloodstained sidewalk, keeping their eyes out as muffled groans kept them alert. They hadn't spoken much as the muted light of the late morning gave way to afternoon, but Amy suspected the echidna's thoughts were on Julie-Su. They heard sirens in the distance a few hours into their travels, so Shadow jogged a few blocks ahead of them to scout. Now Knuckles kept pace ahead of her, but walked to her left, the echidna looking back to check on the pinkette every minute or so. Though she expected his look, she couldn't help the irritation that built inside of her each time he did so. Rather than let her attitude show, she tried for conversation, hoping to quell his anxiety.
"How far is Rouge's grandmother's from here?" Amy asked.
Knuckles hummed, checking the paper map. Cell service in the area was spotty, so they resorted to Amy's dusty map for directions. She wasn't certain, but the way he held the sheet haphazardly and flipped it around made her believe he didn't know how to use the thing. Knuckle's brow furrowed and he stopped to lean against an abandoned car as the green-tinted city hummed with distant activity.
"About a half mile if I had to guess," Knuckles said.
"Do… do you really think Scarlet took Rouge to her grandmother's for safety? I was under the impression Scarlet wasn't very friendly with any of her immediate family," Amy asked.
Knuckles folded up the map and crossed his arms, his eyes hard as he eyed the sidewalk before addressing her.
"From what Rouge has told me, Scarlet moved back here when Rouge was little to get the help from her family to raise Rouge after her piece of shit husband finally went to prison. Scarlet didn't exactly have a great relationship with her family before she got married, but she was forced to ask for help after her failed marriage with Rouge's douche of a dad. I mean, you need a village to raise a child, right? Least that's what the echidna's in my family are always sayin'," Knuckles said.
Amy's thoughts flitted to her mother, Vanilla, and Aleena in the early days of her childhood. She remembered the parties, the get togethers, and the shared moments those three women put together with their limited funds to nurture Amy and the rest. She couldn't fathom the thought of any of them perishing in this nightmare. Her heart throbbed painfully and made her stomach uneasy as the feeling travelled. She tried to rid her thoughts of the unit of mothers and her friends to focus on the task at hand. She desperately wanted to find the members of her own village as soon as possible.
One at a time, Amy. You'll find them.
"Of course. I'd probably do the same in her position. I just worry that Scarlet's reputation may have sparked bad blood between her and her family members, Rouge's grandmother especially. Rouge says Scarlet has been taking loans from her grandmother for years and hasn't bothered to pay any of it back. It's only a matter of time before her grandmother snaps and slams the door in both their faces, and this apocalypse seems like the thing to push her grandmother over the edge," Amy said.
Knuckles dropped his arms, defeat seeming to wash over him.
"I don't know, Amy. I don't know anything. All I can do is look for her and hope for the best. I just hope I'm not too late… like I was with my ma."
His mom. Chaos, how could I be so insensitive.
Amy remembered the stories Sonic shared with her when they were in middle school, when Knuckles was a new addition to their group. She and the echidna didn't quite get along at first because his rough exterior ticked off her pre-teen self with his explosive reactions to the smallest of things. Sonic had come to Knuckle's defense one evening, after the echidna punched a dent into Amy's freshly baked cake, a thoughtful gift she'd made after finding out it was the echidna's birthday. Sonic explained to her that Knuckle's mother disappeared when he was eight, the police unable to find her and deemed her missing. When Knuckles was a little older and gained access to the internet, he found traces of his mother's whereabouts through a few social media sites and took off on a week-long journey to find her. Instead he found she'd remarried and was busy raising another son. The adolescent echidna blamed himself for not finding her before she had the chance to move on, and he clearly still felt responsible for her decision to leave. Amy cut the echidna some slack which eventually led the echidna to soften up and tell her himself about his mother. She was a nurse and a loving wife, and she was the only person Knuckles felt he could trust as a child.
"I'm sorry, Knuckles. I didn't mean to bring that up,"Amy muttered, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I know."
They sunk in their moment of silence until quick footsteps drew their attention. Shadow seemed to materialize onto the sidewalk, his breathing slightly labored as he briskly jogged their way, looking behind him in the direction they were headed. When he addressed them, his mouth angled low and his brow creased.
"We can't go this way," Shadow said.
"What? Why?" Knuckles asked.
"G.U.N blockade in the next thirty blocks. Looks like they're in the middle of evacuating a large building."
Though Shadow wasn't looking at her, Amy blinked in realization as his words sunk in and responded with a baffled look.
"Thirty blocks? You were that far ahead of us? You were only gone for ten minutes," Amy said, but neither boy seemed to hear her.
"Well, it sounds like they're busy and we're kinda in a hurry. You don't think we could just slip by them?" Knuckles asked Shadow.
Shadow lowered his eyes with a cross of his arms.
"Unless you want a one way ticket to a safehouse, I wouldn't recommend it."
Knuckles grimaced in distaste and broke from their little sidewalk meeting with a grumble, looking down the street and reading the signs. Shadow watched him for a second, but focussed on Amy. The pinkette, bundled in his washed sweater, held her bow close to her side, eyes lined with dark crescents. When her eyes fell from the echidna's fleeing form and found his, she instantly flushed and looked away. Shadow cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck, leaning against the parked car beside her.
"Are you doing okay?" he asked in a hush.
"Yes. Just a little tired. But I'll be fine," she responded at equal volume.
"That's to be expected. You lost some blood and, from the looks of it, you put up quite a fight in front of that supermarket. You have every right to be exhausted."
Amy dared to look into his face and found genuine concern, which only confused her already conflicting thoughts about the ebony hedgehog. He looked ready to ask her a question, several at that, questions that had clearly been weighing on his heart, but he seemed to stop himself. And she waited for his questions, curiosity getting the best of her. Instead, he cleared his throat again and replied in his formal way.
"Just let us know if you need to stop to rest and we will."
Amy nodded and Shadow pushed off of the disabled vehicle, looking for the red echidna that had turned down a street and disappeared. His back was to her, but she still picked up the low groan he let out from under his breath as he eyed the direction Knuckles had gone.
"Where is he going?" Shadow muttered.
An urge pulsed in Amy as she eyed Shadow's back, the dark hedgehog already preparing to run after the frustrated echidna. Before he could, Amy reached for his sleeve, gently tugging him back. Questions jumbled in her, the raging storm of unproven conclusions just barely satiating her need to know what was going on in that head of his. Yet, she could only start with a singular question, one that would at least answer why he kept her around in the first place.
"Shadow?"
Shadow's ear twitched toward her before his eyes met hers, though his urgent look quickly melted away as he interpreted the look on her face.
"G.U.N. is evacuating survivor's nearby. Why… why don't you just leave me with them?" she asked.
He frowned and fully faced her, looking above her head to gaze at the littered street behind her before finding her eyes again.
"Do you want to go with them?" he asked.
Amy pursed her lips and furrowed her brow.
"Well, no. I just thought, since you were trying so hard to get me out of your hair, that it would be easier if you could just…" Amy started, but found herself overwhelmed by her questions again.
"I think I'd feel more… at ease with you by my side for right now."
They stayed locked in that moment for a few heartbeats, their eyes never leaving one another.
I don't get it.
Amy's bottom lip moved as she prepared to speak, but someone else broke the silence before she could.
"Hey!"
Knuckle's harsh hiss from down the block broke their moment. Knuckles waved them over with his good hand and Shadow sighed as Amy shifted beside him. Knuckle's hand disappeared and the echidna didn't surface again, making them both worry. Shadow nodded in the direction he went.
"C'mon. We don't want to lose track of him in his current state," Shadow muttered.
With a nod of agreement, they jogged across the street, turning the corner and finding the red echidna already making his way down the alley. Shadow nodded for Amy to follow after Knuckles and Shadow took the rear. When Amy was within earshot, she noticed Knuckles mumbling to himself. She sighed and tapped his shoulder the moment he stopped to check the area.
"Knuckles, where are you taking us?" she asked.
"I recognize this area. My uncle's warehouse isn't far from here. My dad and his friends have a passageway in the building they've been using for years. We can use it to get around most of the city without being detected," he explained, hurrying forward.
"Are you sure?" Amy asked, hot on his heels.
"Positive. You wanna get past that blockade, this is the way to go," Knuckles said.
Amy looked back at Shadow who shrugged.
"Lead the way, then," Shadow said.
~aAa~
The hum of the fluorescent lights overhead unnerved the pinkette as a few flickered in and out, casting shadows on the indistinct corners of the hallways before them. There were no windows in the west wing of the warehouse, and Amy felt herself turning back to glimpse the last rays of greenish light that leaked in from the door as Shadow and Knuckles entered in behind her. She swallowed and scanned the dark crevices, expecting to see a body when the flitting lights shed momentary light on the grimy tiles, but the light gave no warnings of what was to come.
"Knuckles, are you sure this place is empty? The door was unlocked," Amy asked.
"I mean, there really shouldn't be anyone here. I overheard my dad cancel this week's meeting over the phone. No meetin' means no work. Someone just probably forgot to lock the door, Amy," Knuckles said.
Shadow secured the door behind them and immediately drew his pistol, keeping it low. The side door they'd entered through deposited them at the start of a T-shaped hallway, doors lining the halls to the right and left of them and a singular hall stretching ahead. Shadow's right ear twitched as he picked up the buzzes and clicks of the empty warehouse, trying to determine what each noise would entail.
"You said your dad and his buddies use this place to hold meetings and move their… supply, right?" Shadow asked.
"My uncle bought this place when it was just an abandoned shithole. I don't think he ever intended to use this place for honest work. My dad uses whatever cargo my uncle moves in and out to cover up whatever flavor of illegal activity he's into that week. And who knows what kind of merchandise my uncle moves in and outta here. I've never bothered to ask what type of business he runs, and I don't particularly want to know," Knuckles explained, shame tainting his words.
Amy fidgeted with the dangling sleeve of Shadow's sweater that was tied neatly around her waist. Even after shedding the layer, Amy found herself too warm, too anxious. Her heart started to beat in her throat as the fluorescent hum seemed to grow louder. She rolled up her own sleeves, grabbed her upper arms and started to back away.
"I don't think we should be in here. Are you sure there's no other way to that passage?" Amy asked Knuckles as he started forward.
"The closest access point I know of is inside the warehouse. We'd have more options if we were on my side of town. Sorry, Amy," Knuckles said.
She took in a deep breath and wrung her bow between her hands. Shadow placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and stiffened. He lifted his hand the moment he touched her and when she met his apologetic eyes, she felt her pulse begin to calm at his presence. She gave him a timid smile to reassure him.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to touch you without your consent," he muttered.
"I-it… it's okay. I'm just not used to your touch," she said in hush.
His eyes hardened and a deep frown set into his muzzle.
"We'll make sure nothing happens to you," the ebony promised.
Knuckles was already making his way down the hallway ahead of them when the echidna spotted the double doors on the far end of the hall. He shrugged off his own apprehension, looking back at the two hedgehogs with a confident smirk and thumb to the doors.
"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, Amy, the main area is straight ahead. Once we get in there, it's a fifteen minute walk through the ware-room and then we're home free. Easy work," Knuckles encouraged.
Amy sighed and followed after Knuckles. As she kept up with the echidna, her fur stood on end at not feeling Shadow right behind her. When she looked back, the ebony was following at a slower pace, his aim moving from door to door, each window swathed in shadow. She wasn't sure what was making him so uneasy, but she took his caution as a sign to load up. She slipped an arrow from her quiver and knocked it, keeping it low as she and Knuckles passed under a flickering set of lights.
"Came here a lot as a kid. Mostly saw this place in passing when my uncle got tired of babysitting me and brought me here to hand me off to my drunk ass dad. Nowadays I don't set foot in this place unless it's against my will, yet I know this place like the back of my hand, as if I've spent a lifetime in here," Knuckles said with a hint of disgust.
"Maybe something weird happened to you here when you were little, something that makes it hard to forget this place," Amy said after scanning over her shoulder.
"Yeah. Maybe."
Light peeked through the small slit of a window to a door on the left and Amy's heart stuttered. Knuckles passed the door quickly, but the pinkette halted, her mind going a mile a minute. She nearly lost control of her arms to a fit of shudders, but swallowed and hardened herself as the growing distance between her and Knuckles made her anxious to catch up. She kept her eyes on the window, a filthy white wall looking back at her and as she scooted down the hall. Then gray dented lockers made themselves visible from the other side and she stopped to examine the room beyond the glass. She found nothing; no blood, no eyes, no gnashing teeth. She calmed her heart as Shadow caught up to her, his gun directed to the door she sought. She shook her head as he approached and raised a dismissive hand. He nodded to her, both following after the red dot that was nearly at the double doors.
They made it to the far end of the hall without incident, and Knuckles ran the security code and pulled one of the heavy doors ajar. Amy was the first one beckoned in and immediately wished she hadn't been. Her boots clicked loudly as she stepped onto an industrial mezzanine, the noise travelling across the eerie expanse in front of her as she stilled. The ware-room below was nearly pitch black, the outer edge of the massive space stretching beyond her line of sight, but lined with cold, distant emergency lighting that reflected hard against the scattered crates. As the room seemed to twist and hum unnaturally, Amy backed into Shadow who grabbed her arms and held her steady, the pinkette too spooked to address his touch.
"N-no lights?" Amy whispered, startled by her own voice, her bow and arrow pressed tightly to her chest.
Knuckles stepped on to the mezzanine, his hand instinctively hovering to the right of him. His hand met a quick shock, which made him recoil and twist around. He muttered a curse and examined a flickering control box bolted to the wall, reaching out to poke it only to be shocked again. He moved from it with a shake of his hand, muttering a curse and addressing the two apologetically.
"I guess we can assume this is why my dad cancelled his meeting," Knuckles said.
"There's still some light out there. Just not enough," Shadow said as he let Amy go and moved to her side, scanning the perimeter.
Each one of them searched their bags for some light, Amy placing her bag on the ground to fiddle with her supplies that were hidden underneath Rouge's blanket. Shadow easily slipped his smaller bag from his shoulder and flipped an outer pocket open, flashlight in hand in moments as he clicked it on. His light stretched down the mezzanine stairway and illuminated a small circle of the ground. After nodding in approval, he turned to the echidna, who was crouched on the ground, rummaging roughly through his pack with his good hand. After rearranging the items in her bag, Amy stood with her light in hand as well.
"Any of you guys got a spare flashlight?" Knuckles asked as she scratched the back of his head.
Amy turned her bulky flashlight between both hands in search of the switch while Shadow gave the echidna a disbelieving and irritated look.
"You didn't think to bring one?" Shadow asked.
"It slipped my mind when we were packing back at Rouge's place. And my phone light is utter shit. I'm sure you guys' phone lights aren't any better," Knuckles explained.
Shadow groaned. Amy looked between the two of them and then to her own flashlight. With a shaky sigh, she handed it to the echidna who looked at the item in her hand like it was on fire before lifting his eyes to the pinkette in question. When he didn't take it, she nudged the flashlight toward him until he opened his good hand to receive the item.
"We're trusting you to get us out of here. Don't make me regret giving this to you, okay?" Amy said.
"Thanks, Amy. I'll getcha outta here. Promise," Knuckles said.
Amy threw her bag back over her shoulder and rubbed her arms, drawing a longing look at the door behind them. Shadow muttered her name and she hesitated before turning to him. His eyes were tense, the features on his face hinting at the weary feeling Amy shared with him. He gestured between his body and Knuckles as they prepared to descend the stairs.
"Stay between us, okay?" Shadow said.
Amy nodded and they descended the mezzanine stairs with caution. On the floor of the ware-room, Amy felt like she was trudging along the bottom of the ocean, the pressure threatening to force the air from her lungs if she were to go any deeper. Knuckles led them through the center of the warehouse, weaving a winding path through the crates and large boxes stacked in towers of various heights. The stacks of mysterious merchandise blocked their view of the rest of the massive ware-room, emulating a sort of obscured maze. Amy nearly tripped over the forks of a loose pallet jack, but Shadow warned her before she fell flat on her face. When she turned to thank him, she realized he hadn't even moved his light toward her at all. They locked eyes at a standstill in the middle of the ware-room, Amy's eyes scrutinizing and Shadow's guarded.
How did he see that without flashing his light on it? It's nearly pitch-black in here. And are his eyes… glowing?
Knuckles tripped over something himself with a curse and broke their tense stare-off, the sound of spilled liquid catching their attention. They hurried toward him and Shadow cast his light on the echidna to find him lifting up a red can with a black spout. He placed the half-empty gas can on a crate that looked to have been used as a makeshift table, discarded wrappers and a half eaten sandwich resting on the corners of the box. Shadow brought his light to the puddle below them and guided Amy around it as its edges expanded across the smooth floor.
"What is that doing in here?" Shadow asked.
"You don't wanna know," Knuckles said, shaking his wet leg and moving on.
"That doesn't seem safe," Amy whispered as she rubbed an arm to sooth her shivers and caught up to the echidna.
"Heh. Nothing about this place is safe. The last time I came here, I watched a fox the size of Vector shove a skunk's face into a toilet and drown him. Never agreed to bring my dad his lunch again," Knuckles muttered.
"Delightful," Shadow responded.
The air conditioner kicked on with a harsh shudder and they froze, scanning their surroundings with wide eyes. Amy's heart was in her throat, and she wished more than anything for her own light. Her peripherals were so muddled from the darkness she couldn't help but imagine a hand reaching for her at any moment. As the heavy whistle of the A/C whirred around them now, Knuckles beckoned them forward, but at a faster pace. When Amy looked back at Shadow, he wasn't looking at her, but faced his light into the void behind them, his ears twitching this way and that. She lifted a hand over her shoulder to skim the feathered end of an arrow and held it there, her grip on her bow slick with sweat.
They stopped at a fork in their path, Knuckles leading them to a yellow-lined path that seemed to stretch beyond their line of sight. Knuckles had them wait as he determined their next course of action. Shadow placed a hand on his hip, unenthused by their current lack of progress. Amy noticed his irritation and shuffled her feet, afraid of what would happen if they stayed still any longer. Knuckles paced a bit, mumbling to himself.
"The door is on the right, but we could take the shortcut through the forklift pit if it isn't closed off right now," Knuckles thought out aloud.
As Shadow watched the echidna rub his chin and move the bulky flashlight about, Amy fidgeted in place, eyes darting around her as she took a few steps backward. She pressed her back against a stack of crates, letting out a calming sigh. A strange smell wafted to her nose and she turned to find a breached crate at eye level, something dark and covered in what she thought was plastic catching her eye. She moved her arm into the box before she could stop herself.
"I wouldn't touch that. I can't guarantee any of the substances in those crates are sealed properly… or safe for that matter," Knuckles warned.
Amy withdrew her hand as Shadow's light illuminated her, a flush of embarrassment lighting her cheeks. A glint sparkled in Amy's peripheral and she turned swiftly to her left. Against the wall, a red and black industrial lantern rested on a stainless steel shelf, and relief washed over the pinkette. She wasted no time in fast-walking through the maze of merchandise and snatching the lantern, leaving her bow on the shelf as she searched for the switch.
"Thank chaos," she muttered, Shadow and Knuckles watching her stiffly.
"Hey, I thought I told you not to touch anything in here?" Knuckles grumbled.
"It's just a lantern, Knuckles. We wouldn't need this if you'd packed your own light. Just give me a sec to turn it on. I think it needs batteries," Amy said.
She placed the lantern on the shelf and tossed her bag on after it in search of her supplies. The movement caused the lantern to fly off the shelf and clatter to the ground, echoes of the sharp clatter against the floor sounding off in violent lurches across the ware-room. They froze and held their breaths for a moment. Amy was the first to relax and bend over to retrieve the lantern, placing it firmly on the shelf before sifting through her bag again. She pulled back her arm, opening her palm to find two batteries and her lighter in hand.
"What the hell, Amy?" Knuckles hissed, clearly startled as he stalked up to her.
Amy turned to retort, but something moved into her peripheral, pulling her attention from the echidna as she jerked back.
"Screee!"
"Ahh!"
Bloodied hands reached for her, two gunshots sounding off just as a stream of light reflected off the bloodied teeth of a crying infected. The batteries and lighter clamored to the floor and Amy found herself slamming into a tower of crates behind her and crumpling to the ground. She blinked furiously to clear the haze and confusion from her eyes, looking up and staring into the maw of a stunned tiger, his clouded eyes directed toward the ceiling as two holes in his chest dripped red. She could hear the struggle in its throat, the effort it made to breath through its garbled esophagus making her feel as if she were suffocating herself. The creature hovered in place, not yet falling to the ground, and Amy found herself starting to hyperventilate, reaching for her throat as she tried to quell her coming panic attack.
W-why isn't it dead?
Bile rose to Amy's throat as the infected lowered its eyes to her, releasing a bloodcurdling cry as it reached for her again.
"Yah!"
Knuckles was on the creature before she could get to her feet, the echidna quickly drawing his crowbar and slamming it into the infected body twice. Amy heard the low thud of its body hitting the concrete floor as she struggled to her feet. In her haste, all she could see in the creeping darkness was Knuckle's back as he towered over the downed infected. She tripped over her own feet as she clammored to reach her bag and bow, grasping the shelf desperately as Knuckles heaved and backed away. With her bag over her shoulder and bow tight in her hand, she turned to get away, but Knuckle's gasp made her turn a frightened eye to the infected, its body painstakingly moving to get upright and back on its feet.
"J-jason?" Knuckles said.
"Get away from it!" Shadow cried.
One more gunshot to the head and the creature was writhing on the concrete. Amy was already backing away from the infected and the shocked echidna quickly when her fur stood on end at the cries and hisses growing around them. Her knees locked and her itching ears angled this way and that, her eyes trying to adjust as she tried to make out the silhouettes of the infected that crawled toward them. Movement from between the crates made her swallow, her lungs closing as she found her escape routes diminishing before her eyes. In front of her, Knuckle's arms went slack as he stood distraught.
"No. No! They shouldn't be here… no one should be…" Knuckles muttered harshly.
Amy watched the echidna through tear prickled eyes, shudders starting to wrack her body. A hand reached for her wrist and when she twisted and tried to snatch it away, Shadow's glowing eyes met hers briefly. He wasted no time in reaffirming his grip around her wrist and pulling her away.
"We need to move! Knuckles, let's go!"
Amy didn't have time to register Shadow's words before he pulled her down the yellow-lined path, calling for Knuckles again without looking back. Amy looked over her shoulder in search of the echidna, eyes frantic as she worked to keep up. All she could see was Knuckle's trembling silhouette, the flashlight slipping from his palm and casting a ray of light around him as it rolled in an arc at his feet. Illuminated by the stream of light, the scattered shoes of the growing infected shuffled closer to the echidna, some of their feet twisted at the ankle, the skin bloodied and raw.
"Tobor… Thrash… Simon…" Knuckles mumbled, just barely audible above the hisses and groans.
"Knuckles!" Amy cried, reaching back for him in vain.
Shadow halted in his tracks, drawing Amy past him with her forward momentum and releasing her. Before the frazzled girl slid into a tower of merchandise, an otherworldly scream erupted by her head, prompting her to cover her aching ears and duck with a cry of her own. After slamming her back into the boxes, she rolled onto her hands and knees, shakily reaching for her discarded bow as blood dripped by her hands following three gunshots. A wet body hit the ground in front of her along with something metal.
"Knuckles! Snap out of it! You can't do anything for them now" Shadow called.
Shadow was doubled in front of her, Amy's vision working to correct itself as chaos erupted around her. She could barely make out Shadow's backside as he turned from her, firing a few rounds in Knuckle's direction, pained cries ringing out across the ware-room. Amy directed her attention to Shadow's discarded flashlight as she tried to get her bearings, crawling toward it before a groan made her heart stop. Her vision adjusted as she eyed the dark mass that had fallen to her left and right as her fingertips grazed the flashlight, it came back to life.
"S-Shadow!" Amy said.
The dark hedgehog was already reloading and twisting to come to her aid when she called him. Her trembling hand grasped the flashlight and right as she got a foot under her, the creature leapt for her ankle.
"Get away!" Shadow said.
Right as he fired his rounds into the screaming creature, Amy crawled away on all fours, covering her head as blood splatter pelted her side. When the gunfire ceased, she cast the light on Shadow as the infected withered near her. Relief nearly washed over her, but she swallowed her tongue as the face of an infected man moved behind him.
"Behind you!"
Shadow was quick enough to face the offender, but not quick enough to finish reloading and pull the trigger. With a cry, the infected managed to get its hands around one of Shadow's arms, making him drop his pistol. Shadow was strong enough to keep its snapping teeth from his neck, but his struggle led him to trip, taking the hissing man down with him. On her shaking feet, Amy turned to call for Knuckles to help but realized there was no time. Adrenaline surged to her chest as she shakily circled Shadow, keeping her distance from the flailing creature. She tucked the flashlight underneath her arm and pulled an arrow from behind her, knocking it and steeling herself as much as she could manage as she pulled the string back. Still, her bow arm shook and her aim wavered, heartbeat in her ears.
Come on, Amy. Shoot!
A shiver ran across her skin at the activity behind her, the chaotic scrambling and demonic screams following the sounds of Knuckle's efforts to stave them off made it hard to focus. Shadow cried out as the infected man slashed at his chest and grabbed his throat. Finally, her vision tunneled, and Amy found her aim at the back of the wriggling creature's neck. She gritted her teeth and released, squeezing her eyes shut as the arrow pierced through to the other side, blood squirting across her face as the infected's body went taut, its hands scratching at its throat. She wiped the warm liquid from her face with the back of her arm as she gasped for breath, Shadow throwing the stunned creature off of him and getting to his feet. Shocked at what she'd done, all Amy could see was the blistering gash cutting through Shadow's white chest fur at eye level. He grabbed her shoulders and checked her before giving her a small smile, her eyes finally finding his glowing ones and bringing her out of her shock just a bit.
"Thank you," Shadow said.
Amy nodded to him before looking back in search of the echidna as Shadow grabbed the flashlight from her. Through the dark haze, the quivering bodies blocked the echidna from their view. Amy swallowed, taking a step toward Knuckle's muffled voice.
"Knuckles! Please!" Amy cried.
A slam and a wet splatter answered her. Knuckle's labored grunts filled the dark space, and when Shadow cast the light in the echidna's general direction, all they found was a streak of red and the reflection of the light against his metal crowbar as it blurred with swift motion. The light drew some of the infected toward the hedgehogs, and Shadow reached for Amy's arm and pulled her behind him, preparing to shoot.
"Go right! I'll catch up!" Knuckles called.
They flew through the obscure corridors of various chutes as Shadow led Amy away from the horde, skipping over rogue packages and kicking empty boxes into the oblivion. A hiss erupted near them every few seconds, their efforts to escape drawing the meandering infected to them, but Shadow made no motion to stop and fight. Shadow made a sharp right after a stack of pallets and pulled Amy down a relatively open stretch of the ware-room. A few drifting infected heard their hurried footsteps and headed for them with a screech as they moved through a pair of conveyor belts.
Their path led them underneath a metal bridge, connecting the mezzanine that lined the outer walls of the ware-room. Clicking against the metal sounded overhead and Amy could just make out the shuffling bodies above them through her tears. Before she could warn Shadow, he skidded to a stop and had them switch places, pushing her forward before taking aim above and firing. Amy covered her ears as the pained wails of the infected sounded off above her with each shot. She blinked away her frightened tears just as Shadow lowered his gun, infected falling from the littered bridge.
"Keep going!" Shadow ordered.
He tossed her the flashlight and reloaded, the pinkette eying the slim light before shaking her head.
"I-I can't. I won't leave you!" she called over his gunshots, not sure if he'd heard her.
Shadow backed up as an infected drew too close, lifting a leg and kicking the creature over the conveyor belt with ease. Another clawed at him and he backed away, grabbing its shoulder, and bringing his pistol right to its head and firing. Amy felt her urge to vomit arise again at the dark blood shooting from the infected's head as it careened away from the dark hedgehog. Shadow threw an arm in her direction before taking on the assault headed their way on his own.
"I'll be right behind you! Go!"
She hesitated, taking a step toward him as he aimed and shot endlessly. She screamed as bodies fell down on both sides of the conveyor belt, and she gave Shadow one more desperate glance before taking off without him, flashlight lining her path. An infected clamored over the conveyor belt and came for her, but she wasted no time in hopping onto the belt and skirting past its grimy hands. She ran the length of the belt and jumped back to the concrete of the ware-room, her frantic footfalls drawing a few infected that followed after her as she bobbed and weaved through towers of pallets.
Each set of hands that reached for her pushed her into a new direction. Left, right, then right again, a quarter turn and down a length of perfectly aligned pallets until she reached a ware-room wall with a mezzanine overhead. She heard a squeal behind her and twisted to face it, backing into the wall as she dropped the flashlight. Her light faced the empty path she'd come from, the creep of several infected coming into the light as they materialized from the gaps between the stacks. She snatched an arrow and took aim, the closest infected baring its teeth as it dragged a broken leg.
"S-stay away from me," Amy said, pulling her string tight.
The creature cried out and she let her arrow go, her ammo piercing its chest and earning the pinkette an unearthly scream. She flattened her ear to her head, heart beating out of her chest as she drew another arrow, shakily aiming for its throat. The stunned creature kept going, even as she released an arrow into its neck. She pressed into the wall as she reached for another feathered tip, but realized how close the infected were to her now and sought an escape route instead.
T-this can't be it.
A set of gunshots made her wince, but when she opened her eyes, Shadow was smashing the last infected away from her with a pipe. The bar bent at his last swing and he tossed it away, grabbing her arm and drawing her to the left path. The infected behind him littered the ground in bloody pools, but began to reanimate and drag themselves to their feet.
"Come on! We-" Shadow started, only to stop in his tracks as the sound of something accelerating alerted them both.
Shadow pressed Amy into the wall, covering her head as a dark, hulking mass smashed into stacks of pallets behind them. Wood splitters pelted the two, but Shadow held still, only looking back when a frustrated curse emanated from the disabled machine. Both hedgehogs unfolded to find Knuckles hopping out of a tilted forklift he'd driven into the horde of infected. He'd speared a few onto the forks, the rest trapped under the machine and the wooden shrapnel.
"This way!" Knuckles called, running the length of the wall.
Amy went after the echidna, Shadow not far behind as they followed the emergency lights. She kept her eyes on the echidna, fearing she'd lose him in the dark, swallowing each time they passed an emergency light that brought him into focus before he was obscured by the growing shadows.
"What's up with these guys?" Amy cried, wincing at a screech.
"I think they may have sampled the supply," Knuckles said.
"Of course. We would be trapped in a place like this with drug-enhanced monsters," Shadow grumbled.
Finally, Knuckles stopped to breath, pointing to a set of mezzanine stairs lining the wall, an aisle of stacked crates between them and their exit.
"Up there! That will get us to the door!" Knuckles said.
Knuckles led them through the stacks, making headway with the two hedgehogs in tow. Just as they emerged from the aisle of pallets, the mezzanine in front of them rumbled and shook, a trail of aggravated infected making their way down the stairway they sought. With a curse, Knuckles had them retreat, the trio sandwiching themselves between three towers of cased merchandise. Amy pressed her back against the furthest pallet stack, Shadow taking his place in front of her as Knuckles wiped his head around, watching the infected close in with slow steps back.
"Fuck!" Knuckles cursed.
"Knuckles, make a path! We'll head for the stairs once they clear the mezzanine!" Shadow shouted, exchanging his pistol for his shotgun.
Knuckles kept pace with Shadow, smashing a head with a dodge and letting the dark hedgehog take a shot at the closest offender before reenforcing his assault with two more swings of his crowbar. Amy watched on in a numb trance, their efforts barely lit by the diffused emergency lighting that reached for them through the gaps in the palletized inventory. Time seemed to slow as a pounding in her head made everything feel as if it were spinning, her labored breaths resounding in her ears.
We won't make it out like this.
Scanning the mezzanine stairs desperately, Amy found the door Knuckles was leading them to at the top of the stairs, several feet to the right of it at the center of the mezzanine floor. As her eyes kept right, a ladder surrounded by a cylindrical industrial cage caught her attention, hope surging in her. She followed it down and realized it wasn't extended to the ground. Determination filled her a moment and she swallowed, second-guessing her plan with a glance at the older boys and their failing assault.
Come on, Amy. You don't have time to overthink this!
Without another thought, she pulled herself up onto a sturdy box, climbing on to the next before testing her weight on another and leaping onto top of a higher stack, her balance wavering as she lowered herself to keep steady. It was then that Shadow noticed her and it took everything she had not to freeze at the fright in his voice.
"Amelia! Stop!"
She brought herself upright, her legs working to balance on her unstable purchase. She gaged the distance between her perch and the mezzanine rails and tossed her bow over it before launching herself with a deep lunge. The adrenaline that filled her couldn't stave off the feeling of her stomach dropping and she hit the lip of the mezzanine with her top-half hard. She scraped the metal floor with her sweat-slickened grip, dangling in the air from the waist down as she reached for something to pull her up. Finally, as she started to slide off, she grabbed the railing with one arm, her other hand feeling around for more purchase before pulling herself onto the mezzanine completely.
"Amy, are you shitting me?! What are you doing?" Knuckles called.
Ignoring them, she got to her feet with a sharp intake of breath. She gripped the outer edges of the ladder and searched for the release latch in the limited light, but even her hands couldn't figure out how the thing worked. Her frustration overwhelmed her as Knuckles cried out and Shadow shouted for him. She searched the ground below her to find the echidna arm-in-arm with an infected, Shadow heading for him in an effort to help. Tightening her grip on both sides of the railing, Amy shoved her boot onto the contraption until it gave way, the bottom half of the ladder sliding viciously to the ground and screeching to a stop just before the concrete floor. Knuckles kicked away the infected he was entangled with, eyeing the new escape route. Shadow followed suit.
"Come on!" Amy cried, waving them up.
Shadow nodded for Knuckles to go, the ebony covering the echidna with steady gunfire as they retreated. Knuckles struggled up after sliding his crowbar into his pack and working with his good hand and the pit of his other arm to stay on the ladder. Once he was close to the top, Amy helped him up, the echidna emitting a cry of pain at instinctively using his injured hand to bring himself over the metal flooring. Once safe on the mezzanine floor, Shadow climbed up himself, skipping rungs as he joined the two with a hastened nod to the door. He was first to approach the exit, and as Amy and Knuckles struggled behind him, he turned the knob for the door with an aggressive jerk, snapping the handle.
"Shit!"
Knuckles was next to the dark hedgehog in an instant, pressing against the door before finding the broken handle in his hands.
"Damn it, Shadow!" Knuckles growled.
Amy watched the two bicker a moment before Shadow tossed the handle and started shoving his shoulder into the door. Knuckles pushed him away and shoved at the door himself, sending a few punches to it. The pinkette tightened her bow hold and bit her lip, not sure how she could help. A startling clang from below made her jump and look out beyond the mezzanine. The infected that followed them to the ladder pooled around the foot of the contraption, but a few started to break from the pack, clamoring up the stairs opposite of their escape. Amy swallowed as her stomach squeezed fearfully, desperately eying the older boys as the door barely budged at their efforts. Finally, she released a harsh breath and darted for the stairs on the other side of the door.
"Amelia, no!"
She was already past the door and skirting by the top of the mezzanine stairs when Shadow reached for her. She took a moment to grab the infected's attention by stopping her boot heels into the metal, turning to run and drag her bow across the railing as she scaled the ware-room's outer edges. She heard a gunshot in the distance, but continued to distract whatever creature would follow her. She stole a glimpse below where the lingering infected dispersed among the palleted maze and directed themselves in her general direction, following the sounds of her bow against the metal. She swallowed, unsure of how to end her deadly chase.
I'm running out of floor!
The metal rails of an industrial ladder at the end of the stretch materialized from the darkness, making her already thudding heart skip a beat. The hisses and groans were increasing, but she focussed on extending the ladder, managing to do so in one shove, bringing herself over the rungs and searching the floor to ensure it was clear. She started down the ladder in the next moment, but half way down, a wicked cry erupted much too close to her ears and the wet arms of an infected slamming against the top of the ladder elicited her panic.
"Ah!"
She missed a step with her left foot and slid down the remainder of the ladder, landing on her backside before rolling onto her hands and knees, her bag cushioning her fall. As she recovered, reaching for her discarded weapon, she realized her hands were wet and the smell of gasoline wafted to her nose. An idea sparked in her and she struggled to her feet with a whimper. Right as she gained some semblance of balance, an infected slammed into the slick concrete from the mezzanine. She began to duck between the pallets before any more bodies could rain on her.
She wove in and out of the tight spaces between the towering shipments, noticing the outline of the gas can and snatching it, narrowly avoiding the wet hands of an infected that caught up to her. Swallowing a scream, she ducked behind a stack and kept moving, stopping to rip off the spout on the can and toss some of the remaining liquid on the merchandise around her before moving on, in search of one more item.
"Amelia!"
Shadow's desperate call for her made her already furrowed brow deepen as his tone made her heart squeeze painfully. She wanted to call out to him, but thought better of it. His gunfire persisted, but she couldn't rely on his help from where he was. She was on her own for now.
I'm okay, I'm okay.
Slipping past a palleted corridor to dodge the coming mob that hissed her way, she recognized the area she was in and looked to her left to spot the metal shelf from before. She headed for it, but a few infected jumped into her path, making her reel. Thinking quickly, she tossed the can at the nearest creature, the liquid pelting the demonic man and coating the floor beneath. Still, the creature grabbed at her arm as she fled, ripping into her sleeve as she pulled away frantically. With the rest on her heels, Amy skidded past a teetering load of crates and shoved her body into it. The trailing infected were at her heels when the tower came crashing down on top of them, several pallets nearby collapsing as a result. Amy emerged from the aftermath mostly unscathed, screeching reverberating across the ware-room as she climbed over the barrier the fallen freight had created.
Using the wall as protection, she slid to the ground at the foot of the shelf, patting around for her something in the dark. After grabbing the batteries and tossing them to the side, she got her hands around her misplaced lighter and flicked it to life. Yet, as the small flame lit her worn features, she realized she wasn't sure how to proceed. She wracked her brain for a reasonable way to spread the fire without trapping herself in it, when the strip of ripped fabric at her wrist made something click. Sliding her ammunition from her quiver, she wrapped the strip around the arrow head, ripping the sleeve further until it fully encapsulated the tip. With a swift tug, she snapped the cloth from her arm and tied it off on the bow, dipping the clothed tip in the gasoline puddle at her feet before lighting it aflame.
Taking a rigid stance on the downed crates, she took aim, releasing her flaming arrow in an arc above the shrieking masses. The light cut through the endless dark, and for a moment, Amy wondered if Shadow and Knuckles could see it too. The little flying light disappeared and Amy waited, wondering if it had gone out before it could catch. Then a distant stack of merchandise burned bright against the black, the rising screams floating to her anxious ears as the flames travelled across the slick floor.
She started to feel the heat that rose on ware-room horizon, the concrete landscape of the warehouse lit with fire and pained shrilling. Stunned into a serene trance, she couldn't keep her eyes from the spreading flames that danced in her jade eyes as she dropped her arms to her sides, the bodies of burning infected jerking and wriggling grotesquely. She snapped from her morbid reverie at Shadow's voice and jumped from her perch, slipping onto her backside again before getting to her feet and heading for the ladder she'd come down. An infected lingered by her escape, but she tossed the lighter above its head before it noticed her, drawing its attention away as she climbed back to the safety of the mezzanine.
Amy caught Shadow's attention first as she approached the older boys and eyed their work, Knuckle's crowbar wedged between the door and the wall. Right as she turned the corner, Knuckle's final shove brought the door ajar, his crowbar hitting the floor on the other side of the door after the echidna. Amy didn't stop as she neared the door and Shadow ushered her inside, the pinkette immediately falling to the ground once she passed the threshold. Shadow joined them and slammed the door shut, and Knuckles was already knocking over a stack of pallets, revealing a copper-colored trap door embedded in the ground. Amy watched him work, but could not shake off the panicked state her body was in. Color left her face and she shifted to sit against the wall of the small space, grabbing her chest as her attack took her.
"Hey, hey. Head between your knees, Amy. Deep breaths," Knuckles ordered.
On either side of her, Knuckle's strong palms hovered around her head. Her body reacted violently to his presence, weary of his hands, and she searched for a way out, finding Shadow against the wall by the door, but nothing else. Knuckles kept his hands up in surrender, and the pinkette blinked to clear her quickly fuzzing vision to look at the echidna again. He patted her head gently and she gave in, bringing her knees in and pressing them to her lowered head. She focussed on her heartbeat and after a moment of silence, she started to feel her sanity return.
"T-thank you, Knuckles," she muttered.
"Hey, it's the least I could do after what you just did. You should thank my ma if you see her. All she does is shove her medical know-how down my throat when I come up to visit," Knuckles explained with a small chuckle.
The echidna patted the side of her leg and she sighed. She relaxed at his lighter tone, feeling a bit at ease until Shadow broke their moment.
"That was reckless of you! I've never seen a more careless display in my life! I don't know what god has kept you alive at this point, but you better hope it's not through with you after the stunt you just pulled," Shadow said.
Amy only flinched once at his words but kept her head where it was. She wanted to speak, but figured Shadow didn't want to hear her pathetic excuses. She was glad to be alive, but the consequences of her actions were starting to surface.
".. but even I can admit that what you did was nothing short of incredible. Your quick thinking saved our lives," Shadow admitted in hush.
She didn't smile, couldn't really, but Shadow's words warmed her still. Quelling her urge to cry in relief, she lifted her head to look at the ebony hedgehog. Amy found him pressed to the wall, working to catch his breath as he addressed her with low, glistening eyes. She held his gaze, his rubies filled with frustration and melting furiously with something else she could not place.
"And you? You've lost your leadership privileges," Shadow grumbled between gasps, a pointed glare in Knuckle's direction.
Knuckles scoffed without a glimpse in Shadow's direction, but Amy noticed a small smirk ghost Knuckles' muzzle as he leaned over to tinker with the door in the ground. She couldn't help the shaky smile of relief that started to curl on her own face. She leaned back into the wall, closing her eyes for a second as Shadow joined the echidna in working to pry the heavy door open.
Her pocket buzzed and Amy bucked to life, feeling into her pocket for the green smart phone. Her heart stopped as she read the message waiting for her.
Silver : Amy! Thank Chaos. - 7:50pm
Silver : If you guys are still alive, meet me at Sonic's place ASAP. I'll be waiting for you. - 7:51pm
~aAa~
Happy new year, lovelies!
I have finally resurfaced after treading the waters of non stop overtime at my main job. It was brutal and unexpected, but I'm actually grateful for it because I could use the extra money. Adult responsibilities and the like, ya know? How else am I supposed to buy a movie version figurine of Shadow or commission a giant plushie of our favorite edgyhog? Jk JkAnyway, apologies for the wait, folks. I really wanted to at least get one more chapter out before the new year started, but such is life.
On the bright side, expect the next chapter in the next few days! I wrote the back half of this chapter first(the drama at Sonic's house) and realized I was nearly at the length of one full chapter… yet again. I kept writing and went back to the start to write the action sequence leading up to it, hoping to clear up everything in a few thousand words with hopes to keep both parts under 9k combined but that did not happen. Thus, the chapters have been split up again(this one is officially just an exciting transitional chapter). But ughhh. I blame my overwriting… or just my poor planning. I think I just want waaayyy too many things to happen in each chapter, but the events just don't fit with the parameters I've set for myself. I need to make better adjustments given my tendency to ramble.
Personally, I struggled with this chapter, mainly because I felt myself repeating certain phrases and sections started to feel the same. IDK, let me know if you think this chapter was too long and could have been summed up in fewer words. I'm finding certain sequences should probably be shorter, but my overwriter tendencies are getting the best of me and I need to do better in my pre-writing sections or in editing.
(SPOILERS) On another note, I almost took this awesome chapter (which was supposed to only be the first third of the chapter before going into the text from Silver and then the drama at Sonic's house) and made it the beginning of chapter 8 just so Silver could be in it (or what was supposed to be chapter 8 where Amy and the rest leave Sonic's place to find their missing companions). Slight spoiler, Silver joins the crew in chapter 8 so he can find Blaze and as I was rearranging some plot points, I grew this desire to include Silver in more scenes, as I love him and think he's underutilized as a character. I nearly dissected this chapter just to put Silver in it so we can see him in action and see how he works combat wise with Shadow, Knuckles, and, most importantly, Amy since she is his closest friend next to Blaze. So instead of this awesome action sequence with Amy, Shadow, and Knuckles, this chapter, you guys almost had the Sonic household drama and then this cool warehouse sequence with Silver all badass afterward! But I remembered that the initial purpose of this chapter was to show Shadow and Knuckles that Amy was indeed capable and brave enough to protect herself and her friends and to make Shadow less averse to her joining them on their dangerous mission. Shadow is still going to be worried about her after this heroic display of hers, but he's going to start to change his mind about her usefulness after seeing her in action. So, I decided to keep this chapter as is and Silver will join them in chapter 9. I'll concoct some delicious scenes for our boy in that chapter and beyond. I really want you guys to miss him in case he gets killed off….(SPOILER END)
Fun fact for this chapter: The bit about Knuckle's mother leaving and taking another husband was something I pulled straight from the Archie comics. I couldn't help but include it when I was working to include tidbits of these characters' back stories into the narrative. Just thought I'd throw that in there. Also, Knuckles is forklift certified… let me know if you get the reference lol
I think I can keep the next few chapters in line with my current plans, so I will include the rough story map below, adjusted for my overwriting tendencies(I'm noticing that my action scenes are quite long and are messing with my pacing). Cross your fingers and hope I don't overdo it. Again.
Chapter 8: To Sonic's house(drama ensues)
Chapter 9: Leave to find the others/Shadow remembers/Amy finds a dead body/ Shadow and Amy are taken(the list of the fallen)
Chapter 10: Trapped in a safehouse/Tails, truth of the note, and the emerald/Escape
Chapter 11: Truth of Twinkle Park/Moment in the park/ (chaos control?)Meet with Silver and Knuckles
Chapter 12: Rouge's rescue(I'm playing it safe and giving this it's own chapter)
Chapter 13: A moment to mourn/Blaze, Cream, and the will to fight
Chapter 14: Changing Silver's mind/Emerald 2/Escape
Chapter 15: Everyone together again/Race to the Acorn Estate/Robotnik closes in
I just realized I pulled a Mulan and infinitely increased Amy's kill count in comparison to Shadow and Knuckles by way of fire. Shoot.
In private school
Our Cast
Amy 16 (Junior)
*Shadow 18 (Senior)
Sonic 18 (Senior)
Sonia 18 (Senior)
Manic 18 (Senior)
Sally 18 (Senior)
Rouge 18 (Senior)
Knuckles 19 (Senior/held back a year)
Cream 11 (Sixth grade)
Tails 13 (Freshman/skipped two grades)
Silver 17 (Junior)
*Blaze 17 (Junior)
*Mighty18 (Senior)
*Espio18 (Senior)
*Charmy11 (Sixth grade)
Vector (Mighty, Espio, and Charmy's adoptive dad/more like a brother)26
Vanilla (Cream's mother) 30
Aleena (Sonic, Sonia, and Manic's mother) 40
Iris (Shadow's aunt/OC) 40
Cecelia Rose (Amy's mother/OC) 35
Scarlet (Rouge's mother/OC) 35
Elias (Sally's brother) 23
Bunnie 20 (Graduated/Sally's close friend)
Mina 18 (Senior)
Julie-Su 17 (Junior)