Bunnie Rabbot and Sally Acorn copyright Archie Comic Publications, INC. Delphine copyright Delphine Kiminsu. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ There is always someone else. Even when there is no one. -- Offred, The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Running Intermission I --Delphine Kiminsu Foreward This story is narated by Sonic the Hedgehog. This is my first try at a first person view; I hope it doesn't bomb. Read on. Bunnie Rabbot walked through Knothole Village, checking everything and making sure all was well. Well, that's what she told me I was doing. How do I know that's really what she was doing? Anyway... She saw that not everything was okay. Del's hut door was open. And Del wasn't home. "'ello?" She called as she walked through the doorway. There, on the stairs down to the floor, she saw me. "Sonic, what are ya'all doin' in heyah?" I looked up at her. "Why?" I asked. "Yah'all have yer own hut. Yah duhn't need tah be messin' up othah people's. 'Specially Del's." I winced, decided to ignore her, and stayed where I was. "What does it matter, she's not here." "And whose fault is that?" I winced again and tuned Bun out. I wished Sal was there... She would have understood. Hell, Del would've understood. But she wasn't there. And whose fault is that? Oh shut up. Nobody asked you. "Sonic? Are you'all all right?" "Fine," I muttered. Hardly an answer, according to Bun. "Feelin' guilty?" "Nope." "Really. Are yah'all sure about that?" "Yup." Nope. Doesn't have a clue. His emotions are all twisted up. And there's nothing you can do about it, so go away. For once I agree with you. This little voice in my head was really starting to bug me. It kept using logic on me. So tell her to leave, stupid. I'm going to, gimme a sec. Nope. You're gonna leave. And she's going to wonder, and then she'll let it go, and then you're back to having no one to talk to but yourself. I already asked you to shut up. Just trying to help. Like hell you are. I stood up and walked past Bunnie. She watched me go, making sure I didn't "try anything" as she later put it. You don't know how much it sucks to have one of your best friends distrust you. I walked back to my hut... I'm not entirely sure how I did that. I was kinda out of it... if anyone saw me or said anything to me, I don't remember. When I got back to my hut, I walked down the stairs and sat on the couch. I sat there for an hour ago, and I guess during that time, I fell asleep. I know I fell asleep because I had a dream -- a really funky dream. I wasn't blue anymore, I was purple. I was in the great forest... but something was wrong with it. It looked okay, but it felt wrong. You'll see what I mean in a minute. So I walked along for a while, wondering where I had gotten the new paint job, when soebody's fist connected with my face. when the stars faded and I could look, I saw Knux. But his colors were all screwed up too; he was orangish, I think. And secondly: Why had he punched me? I thought we were cool. "What the hell's going on, Knux?" I asked. He looked at me kinda funny and said, "Whadaya mean? You gonna fight back or'm I gonna hafta beat you sensless?" What the hell?! Wait-- maybe he knew about Del. "Look, Knux, I..." "Guess I'm gonna beat you senseless." He threw a punch at me, but I ducked. And then I did something I've never done before: I ran from the fight. I don't know why, but I HAD to. I guess I didn't want to fight Knux, 'cause I had THOUGHT we were friends. I stopped to catch my breath. There was another thing: I was tired. I hadn't been running for more than a minute. And what was up with the color scheme? Nothing made sense. Then I heard a twig snap. I whirled around, just as someone stepped out of the bushes. Someone I knew very well. "Sal?!" My voice cracked. I almost lost it. How? How could this be possible?! "Hello Sonic," she said calmly. "I need to show you something." I was so freaked out that I didn't ask what, I just followed her. Soon we came to a clearing. An empty clearing. "Sal--? What's... going on?" Before I knew it, she had my arms pinned behind my back. "What--" Someone else stepped out of the bushes. Someone else I knew very well. "DEL?! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" I was scared. I don't know why, but I was. Wordlessly, she pulled the crossbow out from behind her back, and strung it. That's when I knew I was in DEEP shit. I struggled to get away from Sal, but somehow, she was stronger than me. I don't have a clue as to how this happened, but it was true. "Del... what's going on... what are you doing... Del?" She glared at me. "You're going to pay, Sonic Hedgehog," she said in a hoarse whisper. She raised the crossbow, so that the arrow was aimed at my chest. "...Del? No!" "Fuck you." She pulled the trigger. I saw the arrow, hell, time itself, slow down. I could see the arrow coming towards me. I could feel it pierce my skin. And then my heart. I screamed... My eyes flew open. My heart was beating against my chest, making it's way to my throat. I breathed heavily and stared at my surroundings. It was only a dream I told myself. Only a dream When the world stopped spinning and my heart stopped pumping so hard that I could feel it in my feet, I stood up and slowly walked towards the door, shaken. Why had I had this dream? Why had Sal been in it? Or Knux? And why had Del killed me? I hate thinking. I walked out the door of my hut and down the steps, took a quick look around, then headed off towards the woods. To be continued...