The Speed of Sound

From the Shadows

        You jolt awake in a cold sweat, bumping your head on a low hanging branch from under the pine tree. The needles stick to your fur as you pull free from their spiky grip and roll out from under the cover. Your heart is beating a mile a minute from the terror of the nightmare. A sudden lurch within your stomach tells of what is to come next. With great dread you lean forward as spurts of foul liquid come escalating up your throat. From overeating and from the intense nightmare, you have now lost your dinner. Small grunts of disgust leave your hunched-over body.

        Almost two minutes pass until the last of the food has emptied from your cramping belly. With a groan you straighten your back, avoiding the revolting sight beneath you. It smells so, so bad. Licking and spitting the last traces of chunky (f/f) from your lips, your mouth then feels extremely dry. You sigh, a sharp action as your anxious heart is still murmuring for you to flee from the fire of your nightmare. To relieve the jitters you shake your limbs around and spin in a couple circles. Afterward you are feeling just a tad bit better.

        Your rough tongue sticks to the dry roof of your mouth, telling that you really need a drink. Remembering the crystal clear water of the pond, you turn in that direction and speed away through the dark forest. With the time that you have been living in the wild, your eyes have come to adjust themselves to where you can almost see clearly in the night. At least, you don't run into trees...usually.

        You look up at the stars and around at the shadows; anything to keep your mind off of that horrid nightmare. Opening your mouth you can taste the cold, muddy air of the nighttime forest. Using your sharp nose you can even detect an unfamiliar scent in the wind. What is that weird sme—

        Your thoughts are cut short as you collide with something hard, and roll head-over-heels through the overgrown grass.

        "HEY!"

        Opening your eyes and hissing from the pain of the roll, you see the outline of a spiky hedgehog approaching. Sonic? At first you mistaken the hedgehog's dark color for the reason of it being night, but as it comes nearer you see that this hedgehog actually is black and red...with crimson eyes. You must not have seen it since it blends in with the shadows around.

        "Watch it, fool! You will pay for that!" the hedgehog bellows with a raspy, hostile tone. His lips are curled back into a snarl, and his eyes flare with rage. You have never seen anyone so angry in your life! The sight of the furious creature leaves you in a paralyzing shock. When he is only a foot away, you watch as his arm rises to strike you.

        Although you are terrified, you will not allow yourself to be harmed! With a growl you use your speed to push yourself to your feet and dodge backward as an arm swings toward your head. His narrowed eyes reflect anger and surprise at your rapid movements. Not waiting for the hedgehog to try and attack you again, you speed off into the forest as quick as possible.

        Miles away, you decide that you have traveled far enough from the frightening hedgehog. Your breaths come in deep huffs as adrenaline courses through your body, causing your heart, lungs, and muscles to seize. Slowing yourself down causes you to clumsily stumble around as your head spins with dizziness. When you come to a complete stop you gasp for air while you lean against a small tree. You are even thirstier than before. Pond: never again, you mark down in your mind. It looks as if you won't be visiting the crystal clear waters anytime soon. However, in your panic you didn't notice the small puddle of rainwater beside the tree you lean on.

        You stare at it dumbly as you see a drop of liquid fall from the tree, landing into the puddle with a tiny splash that causes the entire surface to ripple. You sigh, you would rather not drink from the muddy ground, but you are much too thirsty to search for somewhere else. Balancing on your haunches you cup your hands and place them as far under the puddle as they can go, before bringing them to your face. With a groan of regret you sip from your now mud encrusted hands.

        You shiver at the ruddy taste of the water and drop the last bit of liquid back into the puddle. A glance at the sky tells you that it is still late in the night, maybe even early enough in the morning where the sun hasn't yet begun to rise. Looking around you seek out shelter once again, observing that this part of the forest is slightly different from where you are used to.

        The trees grow much sparser here, and there are many, many large bushes and ferns. Ferns seem to appear as a soft plant, so you head over to a large clump of them, smash them down a bit, and plop yourself to the ground. Your eyes close, wanting very much to become fully rested. Sleep eludes you. Fleeing from that black hedgehog who had wanted to hurt you, it keeps your heart thumping and body trembling. It looks as if you are going to have a wonderful night.