walk forward through the cold dawn;

They walked. Sonic could not remember the last time he walked somewhere.

“This is taking sooo long,” he complained, thumping his feet against the ground in an exaggerated manner and slapping his hands against his cheeks. “How much farther is it? Do we have to walk the whole way?”

Nine lifted himself up onto his mechanical tails so he could see over the gently waving rows of corn. The way he squinted and lifted a hand to shade his eyes from the sun did not fill Sonic with confidence that they were anywhere near their destination.

“Not far,” Nine said, which was probably a flat out lie.

“Ugh.”

Sonic kicked the dirt to vent his feelings while Nine lowered himself back onto his actual legs. They walked side by side in silence for what was probably only a few seconds but felt like a million years. At least it was nice to be with Nine again. Sonic glanced over his shoulder to check if anyone was following, but couldn’t see anything past the corn rows. He peeked sideways at his friend instead. Nine was walking with purpose, a slight frown creasing his yellow forehead, his blue eyes focused on the path forward.

“So uh,” Sonic scratched his head, unsure if questions were welcome. “What happened after I left? Did everyone…?”

Nine kept looking ahead. “They returned to their shatterspaces. We could probably run for a while as long as we take it slow and conserve energy.”

Sonic kind of wanted to follow up on the answer to that question, but he wasn’t about to turn down the chance to run for a bit. He kicked into a low gear and cruised forward, calming instantly as the wind rushed against his face. He could hear Nine’s tails whirring just behind him. Briefly, he debated continuing the conversation but ultimately decided against it; it felt like the kind of thing best discussed face to face.

They broke out of the field of corn swiftly (although for Sonic it still felt like it took forever) and rolled to a stop on tarmac. A couple of brightly coloured vehicles sat idle in front of a long, mahogany-brown building bearing the name Cedar Creek Visitors Center. Thank the stars it was in a language they understood. Nine had already scuttled up to the building and elevated himself onto his mechanical tails to take a peek through the windows. He gestured Sonic forward. Sonic tried the door, which was unlocked; it opened into a cozy lobby with a crackling fireplace and the kind of plush red sofas you could sink into. Nine made a beeline for the shiny oak desk sporting a desktop computer.

“Keep a look out,” he hissed, leaping up onto the rotating chair. He glanced at the screen and smirked. “Pft. Pathetic encryption attempt.”

While Nine tapped at the keys, Sonic wandered around, taking in everything from the cacti in cute little animal-shaped pots on the windowsill to posters on the walls detailing local flora. This place wasn’t so bad. Amy would love it. He tried a door near the fireplace, which was locked, and then wandered back past the desk through an archway. A couple of doors on the other side were marked with bathroom symbols, and there was a double staircase heading up.

“We’re on the outskirts of a place called ‘Meinville’,” Nine said. Sonic turned his back to the staircase to look up at him. “Okay… weather reports… humidity…”

Sonic pointed at one of the wall-mounted posters. “It says there are 42 different types of ferns.”

Nine ignored him. “I searched Meinville and I’m getting a load of news articles which describe this place as a human-only city, hostile to non-humans.” He glanced up, his frown deepening. “We could be in trouble.”

“A city of Eggmans?” Sonic shuddered. “Sounds terrible. Is it Eggmans or Eggmen?”

Nine ignored that too. “What we need is to get away from this city and regroup somewhere safer, preferably with WiFi. I’m pulling up maps now.”