Beautiful Curse

Chapter 10

Sonic's Point of View

        "Huh, thought I was sure that girl had something to do with the (animal)..." I sigh and turn around the corner, officially leaving the neighborhood. The buildings of (Hometown) rise to greet me; a few towering high above the rest, almost as if begging to be climbed. That will have to wait. For now I must concentrate on my thoughts, as hard as it is since even my mind seems to run at 100 miles per hour, and take into consideration the many strange sightings that have occurred over the past week.

        That (animal)...that girl... Somehow the two are connected, but I'm just not sure how. After stopping Shadow from continuing his "hunt" and meeting the limping human girl the exact same night, I should have gone to Tails for an explanation...but I didn't. My buddy surely would believe I was crazy if I even mentioned the possibility of supernatural beings. So I had withheld the information until I could be completely sure that what I thought was real. Apparently, with the physical evidence observed of the girl, I must be wrong. However, I can't shake the feeling...

        A wicked quality in the air halts me in my tracks as I am about to pass by an alleyway. Instantly I snap my head in its direction, peering into the solemn, dark depths. At the far end of the alley I can make out a few lingering shapes. "Hey, li'l blue dude!" A deep, yet at the same time high-pitched voice calls out, cracking as if the owner is within the horrifying clutches of puberty. From the sound of three males laughing with the same qualities to their vocals, it must be true.

        I patiently wait at the entrance to the alley while the young men lumber near, finally able to see their faces as they emerge into the light. They stop a couple meters away, still within the claustrophobic confines of their suspicious hang-out spot. "What's that, a mouse tail?" the same voice as before sneers, and a dark-haired boy with a pimply face points at the offended limb. I just raise the ridge of my eyebrow, emerald eyes gazing coolly at the kid. Then the tallest of the group steps up from the rest, smirking from the side of his mouth and giving me a stare that tells he must be the leader of these misfits.

        "What're you? Some kind o' blue mutant rat? Haha!" The boys behind laugh along with him, further proving my assumption. "Call the pest control! They're gonna need a really big mousetrap to catch this 'un," he snickers while the other two bump fists. I stand my ground as they have their fun, in fact even allowing a smirk to appear as I consider their impractical attempts at undermining my dignity. And then I open my mouth.

        "Might wanna get those manners checked 'fore somebody comes 'round and ya make a fool o' yourself," I point out, over-stressing the bad grammar that these boys seem to have. This seems to make them angry, and the boys start raining curses and vulgarities down on me.

        "Screw you, rat!" "Get your bastard blue ass outta here 'fore I make my boys kick it out!" "Squeak off!"

        Okay, these kids are really grating on my nerves now. What is it with the rat jokes? I have to tolerate that Egghead's name-calling, and now these jerks are doing it too? Also, that last remark was going way too far. Perhaps it's time somebody taught them a lesson! Hmm, do I really have time for these guys? I consider with a quiet hum. Well...if I'm not going to knock them into shape, I guess no one will. Geez, these spoiled kids!

        "Are you gonna leave or not, twerp?" the leader scathingly jeers. I lift my head and look straight into his eyes, our intense gazes silently fighting for dominance. A few moments we stay this way, still and unspeaking within the alleyway, our audience consisting of two adolescent boys. A large grin slowly spreads from my lips to my eyes.

        "Oh, I'll leave. Just after this..."

        Before the boy can even blink I have curled into a spiky blue ball, revving up like an engine stuck in place. In front of me I hear surprised footsteps scattering to the sides of the alley. The boys are trying to escape, however I, the spinning ball of deadly blue quills, am blocking the only exit. One of them lets out an odd-sounding scream, most likely the result of a severe voice crack. When most of the group is transformed into blubbering babies, I release my natural body-brake and zoom into the alleyway, headed straight for them. All three close their eyes and shriek as one, but they never feel the slice of sharpened spikes. Of course I wasn't going to hurt the kids, all I wanted to do was scare them. And now...I shall jump on their heads.