Wretched Blessing

Chapter 4

Sonic's Point of View

        I returned to the Holoskan village with Blaze after another failed attempt at finding (Name). We had been at it all night, with no rest, and my feet were practically ice blocks about to shatter. I was sure Blaze must have felt the same way, even with her fire-creating ability. It was because of that power we were able to stay searching for so long, but it wasn't enough.

        As we trudged over the compacted snow pathways, I ignored the curious stares of the villagers as they hustled and bustled their way through the day. I could barely look my friends in the eye when I passed them by, too exhausted to say a word.

        "Oh no," murmured Amy. "They still couldn't find her."

        With a depressed sigh, I pushed aside the thick sealskin covering the entrance to our igloo, momentarily forgetting Blaze was behind me until I heard the skin slap against her. "Sorry, Blaze," I said apologetically. Though it must have been midway through the morning, the sun had not risen. That made it hard to seek out my sleeping bag lying somewhere on the ground.

        "It's fine, I understand." A flame sparked in the palm of Blaze's hand, weakly lighting the igloo while we shuffled around to our spots. "After we get some rest, we will try again," affirmed the feline. She sounded so determined, just as I had. However, she had scarcely searched for the (animal) girl in comparison to me. Blaze did not feel the pressure of countless failures pressing down on her. I did.

        Crawling into my sleeping bag and facing away from the light of the flame, pressing my nose against cold ice, I wondered if maybe I should give up. (Name) obviously didn't want to be found. If she did, she would have no trouble following my scent to the village if she came across it. But she was hiding. Hiding from me, from my friends, from Mephiles. (Name) wanted no one to be able to find her.

        "Maybe it's time we stopped looking," I uttered, nearly at a whisper. The ice brick of the igloo further muffled my voice, yet somehow, Blaze could hear.

        "No," she said, the gaze of her golden eyes piercing the back of my head. I could feel my heart patter as she stepped behind me, hovering over my prone figure. Then, there was a painful silence. It was the kind of silence that forced you to stop whatever thought you had and look around for any possible danger. In this case, I tilted my head toward the violet feline, who appeared as if she wanted to pounce on me.

        "Wh-What else are we supposed to do?" I whimpered. "I've been looking for (Name) ever since we lost her, and there has been absolutely no sign that she's even around. She wants to be alone, Blaze. Can't you see that?" I flinched as the brightness of her flame grew, the wavering tendrils of orange and yellow reaching for the ceiling. Drops of water started to fall as the ice began to melt.

        With an irked harrumph, Blaze threw the flame in her hand to the ground, where a few half-charred sticks lay piled in the middle of the igloo. Those came alight, just enough to feel the warmth on my skin but an adequate distance away from the walls of the shelter to prevent it from melting. "The Sonic I once knew would never give up, no matter how horrendous the future had seemed."

        I looked away, my emerald irises dull in comparison to the golden sheen of the fire reflected through the young female. "I'm still the same person," I said, frowning at the doubt present in my words. "It's just that this time things aren't going to plan, so we need to move on and find another solution." I had planned to find (Name) out there in the wilderness and bring her back to the village in order for everyone to band together to fight against Mephiles. Without her, finding that demon was going to be a chore—a dangerous chore that could end up with one of my friends killed.